"What is normal eating?" 5'1 43F 274.4>234.4=40lb lost

[dawn16]

@joyinyah I love peanut butter lol.

One thing i’ve found is that people’s bodies seem to have a certain macro preference for energy. Took me a long time to realize that I don’t utilize or process fats very well. Which is why (apart from the fish) I switched to lean proteins. I was vegetarian for 5 years and overweight the whole time despite being an athlete. When I got the chronic pain condition and learned my allergies, removing those helped and everyone always demonized carbs, so I tried the keto thing which was high fat moderate protein and I gained weight and felt awful on it. Then I switched over to trying the starch solution which I did much better on but I couldn’t survive on vegetarian proteins sources anymore and with only one main macro – starch, i was hungry very frequently.

So I learned that I cannot make my body compete for energy by giving it two major macro sources. If I have a meal that is high in carbs, particularly starchy ones, the amount of meat that I eat in that meal I keep very minimal. If I have a high protein meal such as my omelette breakfast, I might add some berries but I won’t combine a starch with it. That made a major difference in my weight loss. And also removing sucralose from my diet. Turns out it up regulates fat storage, and while individuals may have different experiences I personally tend to gain weight when I consume beverages that are sweetened with sucralose so I switched entirely over to Stevia and Monk sweeteners.

 

[joyinyah]

@dawn16 Hmm... that could be part of my problem too. A trend I've seen in the replies here is a lot of the meals are a big thing with 2 little things...

Like a big slab of meat with a small side of veg or a pile of rice with a bit of tofu or ... whatever...

I think I have some outdated idea of a "complete" meal in my head somewhere that's like... 1/3 meat, 1/3 carb, 1/3 two veggies... and then a dessert ofc...

Which is how I used to eat, other than the veg which I largely ignored lol

Obviously it didn't work out for me... maybe it's time to change that!

 

[dawn16]

@joyinyah It could be! And the idea of competing macros is more of a holistic nutrition based approach so not particularly mainstream.
The food triangle is kinda what you described but MyPlate is more accurate.
However they don’t differentiate between type of protein and type of carb (for example plant proteins actually combine well with starches and don’t compete as much as animal proteins. The body prioritizes digesting animal proteins (which take about 6-8 hours to break down) over breaking down starch (which will turn to sugar in 30 minutes if it doesn’t start going thru digestive processes right away and then it will influence glucose spikes more quickly).
There is a good book called “your health, your choice” by Dr Ted Morter (he discusses food type combinations but I do disagree with him on the recommended grams of protein per day that he suggests).

 

[bones49]

@joyinyah I found this really tough when recovering from an ED. I think the best thing you can do is work with a dietician or nutritionist on a structured food plan. It shouldn't be crazy strict or anything, but eating a healthy amount at healthy time intervals will help you relearn what a meal or snack should look like and tune into hunger and satiety signals. Eventually, you can ease off of the structure (or use it forever - whatever works).

You say your obesity is related to trauma. If you use food as a coping mechanism, long-term weight management needs to mean learning other coping skills. I think DBT is the best approach for this but other approaches or therapies can help.

As for what I eat (I'm at the high end of healthy weight for my height). I focus on lots of produce, low sugar, and generally somewhat high fat (helps control my blood sugar):

- Breakfast is usually whole grains with fat - eg steel cut oats and chia porridge with peanut butter and no-calorie sweetener or whole grain bread with avocado and a an egg. A big breakfast sets me up well for the day

- Lunch is usually legumes and veggies, eg a beans, greens and tomato stew; lentil dal and crudite; or a bean salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, pepper and plenty of olive oil dressing

- 1-2 snacks between lunch and dinner: nuts (1/4 cup) and a piece of fruit or some yogurt (2/3 cup whole fat) and fruit. maybe a couple squares of dark chocolate (90% cacao)

-dinner: my lightest meal. Usually cooked veggies (non-starchy) and some kind of protein a stirfry or sheetpan bake (with chicken, tofu, tempeh, fish, eggs) or salad with protein on it

 

[joyinyah]

@bones49 Thank you! I am working on the therapy side of things too, dw!

And omg I've literally never thought about putting peanut butter in oats and now I want it so bad lol. I love oatmeal, so definitely putting that on the menu!!

 

[bones49]

@joyinyah I use a little brown sugar style monk fruit sweetener and then a dollop of creamy peanutbutter on top. It gets melty... so good!

 

[comfortingheartsministry]

@joyinyah I'm 47, 5' 0.5" - I started at 240 lbs two years ago and am currently 150. It was a very steady decline for those two years with probably averaging 1700 calories a day. I've plateaued for almost 5 months now at 1700 calories. So I think I've found my maintenance for 150 lbs - which is what the TDEE calculator said would be my maintenance and it puts me at overweight instead of obese (although it said that is the calories for sedentary but I am not sedentary).

I like the amount of food I get at 1700 calories and I plan to continue it for now and continue to make cardio and weight lifting a habit. My typical food day is:

Breakfast - 170g of Greek yogurt and whatever fruit is in season and sometimes Nutella or powdered PB with it

Lunch and dinner are mostly vegetables, a protein, and often some fruit. I try to make it flavorful or spicy so I enjoy it more.

I now rarely snack and will sometimes have air popped popcorn. I like to drink diet soda occasionally to cure my sweet tooth and the bubbles make me feel full longer.

Instead of going out for a meal with friends and family, we opt for going walking or doing something non food related instead. I feel this has helped quite a bit.

Good luck and congrats on your accomplishments so far!!

 

[joyinyah]

@comfortingheartsministry Ooo! You know, I do a lot of going out to eat = the whole celebration... maybe that is a big change I should work on!!

Also hearing how you settled in to that maintenance weight is extremely helpful... I'm thinking about a maintenance break at 220!

Thanks so much!

 

[cscotte]

@joyinyah I'm in the same boat as you. Became extremely obese due to mental health issues. Currently at my lowest weight since middle school at 224, and 5'4" (okay, 5'3.5", but I'd rather round up).

What it looks like when I'm losing weight is pretty restrictive unless I'm knocking out a long day hike. But I cycle through maintenance phases between cuts. It's a good tool for letting my body get used to my new weight and reduce diet fatigue. On that note, if you've lost 40lbs in 2 months, you might actually want to do a maintenance phase, because that's a gnarly cut that's difficult to keep up. Anyway-

If I went into a maintenance phase now (I'm trying not to for a while), then I'd be eating ~2000 calories at my current weight. On a cut, I usually eat 1200-1500. I've found that I have two options for a successful maintenance phase:

Option 1: hit my protein goals, then fill the rest of my maintenance calories with whatever I want to eat. This method requires that I continue measuring and tracking whatever I eat, but I might be weighing out a serving of ice cream or potato chips.

Option 2: don't track, but eat "clean" and high-protein. If I'm already out of the habit of overeating, I tend not to do so unless I'm eating hyper-palatable foods. I might still have a pizza night planned or something like that once a week, but I'll probably eat very lightly or plan a long hike leading up to that meal.

 

[joyinyah]

@cscotte Oh yeah! The first 15 lbs or so were almost definitely volume of food in-tummy-so-on-scale and water weight, and it has evened out a lot, but I was thinking about doing a short maintenance sort of reset at 220? Do you think that's fair?

Your maintenance phases look smart... maybe I will try that... starting with protein... I will almost certainly overdo it if I stop tracking lol, I'm not the most aware

 

[cscotte]

@joyinyah Some people just need to make tracking more or less a lifelong habit to maintain their weight, and that's okay! It's good to be self-aware and use whatever tools help you to be successful.

I'd probably suggest not dieting for longer than 12 consecutive weeks before starting a maintenance phase, whether you make it to 220 or not. You're about 8 weeks in now, and it sounds like you're already experiencing a fair amount of diet fatigue (that "I'm not sure I can keep this up" feeling). It would even be fair to take one now if you're really struggling, but that's up to your judgment.

I recommend checking out Renaissance Periodization on Youtube; the channel has a great video on how to do a maintenance phase. It's Part 8 of a "Fat Loss Dieting Made Simple" series, which is actually pretty great overall.

 

[joyinyah]

@cscotte I'll definitely check that out!

And I'm ... more scared cause I'm losing focus and worrying about maintaining in the future, rather than actually struggling now... if that makes sense. Like... this is around the time I have given up during past attempts.

I have meals planned out for a couple of weeks. I think I'll maybe make a maintenance break happen at the end of the planned period

Thank you again!!

 

[cscotte]

@joyinyah You're welcome!

You can do it! Try to focus on building sustainable habits, even if it means slower weight loss. Losing 5lbs and keeping it off is better than losing 10 in the same period of time and gaining it back later.

 

[joyinyah]

@cscotte Yeah... 5 years ago, I started at 220 and got down to low 170's so nearly 50 lbs... and here I am lol... regained everything, plus an extra 50! Don't want to do that again!

 

[cscotte]

@joyinyah I've done that too! Never again.

I've been losing more slowly this time, but I'm keeping the weight off. Used to rush it and then fall off the wagon.

 

[joyinyah]

@cscotte Yeah... I've tried to keep my goals pretty microscopic this time qnd just focus mostly on staying in qn average weekly calories that are sustainable for awhile and work on improving mobility... which might be part of my current questioning too. I've lost more faster before, so I keep thinking I'm doing something wrong

 

[cscotte]

@joyinyah 40lbs in 2 months is actually pretty astounding; even if you assume it's only 30lbs of tissue, that's still something like 3.75lbs a week. Most people struggle with 2lbs/week.

Out of curiosity, what does your food intake look like these days? Unless you're getting truly hardcore levels of cardio in, the math suggests you must be eating a very calorie-restricted diet.

 

[joyinyah]

@cscotte I'm averaging 1440 per day most weeks! I'm not even up to sedentary levels of activity yet, though I am getting close.

I don't do well with breakfast so I've sort of defaulted to IF, 16:8.

~35 cals: In the morning I drink black coffee (a lot, I'm bad about caffeine), water, and "ketoade" water with water flavor drops and electrolytes... ends up being like 20 kcal of coffee per day, cause like I said, I drink a lot! And magnesium gels which are 15kcal per day

~300 cals: Early afternoon I have 2-3 eggs (150-225 kcal) scrambled with usually some cheese (~75 kcal) and chopped frozen spinach (usually about 20 kcal)

More coffee (decaf), water and ketoade

~350-400 cals: Then late afternoon/early evening, I'm having "lunch"... usually something like tuna (80kcal) mixed with laughing cow cheese (30 kcal) on a slice of keto bread toast (60 kcal) with a slice of provolone (70kcal) and some raw baby spinach (5-10kcal), a few mini pickles (15 kcal) and cherub tomatoes (25 kcal) with wayyyy too much salt, and a coke zero (5kcal) and usually about 100 cals of like an apple, banana, or some cottage cheese

~ 480- 570 cals: "Dinner" has been like... chicken breast (200kcal) and rice (170 kcal) with I can't believe it's not butter lite (35kcal), more chopped spinach mixed in (20kcal), 86g broccoli (30kcal) ... it's as much as I can make myself eat right now... more cherub tomatoes (25kcals) and sometimes a slice of keto bread (60) with laughing cow (30) abd maybe another coke zero (5 kcal)

~200-300cals: I then have little bento boxes to keep me from binging which are like 200kcal worth of lil snacks like turkey pepperoni or tuna, small cut veg, salsa, babybel cheese or cottage cheese, berries, whatever fits (I posted a few on my profile)

A couple times per week I also have a "milkshake" made with regular and chocolate flavored pbfit, almond milk, vanilla and ice, which comes out at exactly 100kcal

And several times per week, I snack on mini pickles and get another 50 kcal or so (I could literally eat a whole jar if I'm not careful!!)

Then on Thursdays, my grocery shopping days, instead of the dinner above, I usually have around 700 kcal instead, usually a big serving of some kind of baked cheesy pasta!

And for the last month, I've had a weekly fasting day on Saturdays, so I only get the coffee/water/electrolytes on that day...

Weekly averages have been like... 1414.4, 1562.8, 1383.3 (was sick that week), 1408.9, 1565.5, etc...

Most of the loss was before I even went below maintenance (sheer volume of food in-stomach-on-scale) and the first week after that, from I think mostly water weight

It's leveled out quite a bit, lol

I had a 51.6 BMI when I started, and I'm told it's normal for people who are super-morbidly obese to lose quite quickly at first?

But I'm glad you asked, cause I do worry if I'm being safe/sensible... and I'm quite far down from where I started, so might need to reevaluate!!

As far as cardio.... lol.

I'm getting in about 1k steps per day on average .... way up from what I used to do... I can hit 3k in a day, but not consistently due to disability issues... maybe once per week...

I can do 4 pushups consistently now and do that about 4 days per week ..

I sit on the floor so I have to push myself off the ground every time I go to the bathroom.

I can do 20 squats consistently now

... and that's about it. I'm supposed to be doing curls with my lil 3lb dumbbells but I haven't for like 2 weeks.

And I'm no longer laying down all day but other than the above I basically sit in one spot from wakeup till bedtime

Not exactly going hardcore, lol, though it's a lot for me!

What do you think?

 

[dawn16]

@joyinyah I’m 5’4, 145 pounds, I’ve lost 15 pounds in the last 6 months and looking to lose 15 more.

For breakfast: usually multigrain (angelic bread from Costco is what I prefer) toast with avocado and a fried egg and coffee. A big part of breakfast for me is drinking water in the morning and realizing that after having this for breakfast, I have all the nutrition I need, so if I feel hungry, I need to ask myself if it’s true hunger or just thirst or boredom.

I usually don’t have a huge lunch, usually a small container of leftover burrito bowl (cauliflower rice, lean ground turkey with mushrooms, and a little cheese. Add Siratcha, garlic and onion powder) or a salad. A big help for me has been realizing I don’t need meat with every meal. Chickpeas, black beans, and pinto beans help a lot.

Dinner is similar to lunch. I try to avoid eating in the evening, but I usually allow myself a healthy choice chocolate ice cream bar for 100 calories, or a serving of chips (or both if I’ve had a light lunch or dinner)

For me it has come down to being honest with myself about what is actually healthy, how much I’m eating, and if I’m actually hungry or not. Calorie tracking, weighing food, and drinking water helps a lot. Once I started working out more I also realized it got easier to recognize my body’s thirst cues instead of defaulting to hunger every time. Also, coming to terms with the fact that even once I reach my goal weight, maintenance will be a challenge if you’re used to overeating or eating mostly junk like I was. That’s why people often say weight loss has to be a lifestyle change. I’ve accepted that even once I reach maintence, my diet will only change a little- maybe I’ll incorporate more hummus or switch out cauliflower for brown rice, but I know if I start letting my habits slip, the weight will come right back.

Hope this helps!

Edit: just remembered a trick my boyfriend and I use! We would tell each other “one less donut a day”- if you usually eat a dozen donuts, eat one less a day or one less a week. If you usually add a lot of sugar to your food, switch it out for a zero calorie sweetener of your choice. Just make one small change a week and once you feel you can stick to it, de another change. Little changes like this really add up in the long run.

 

[johnathan_d_hill]

@joyinyah First of all, great job on your weight loss! I feel like finding our way around food to maintain a healthy weight is one of the hardest things to do, esp for petite people. What I have found works for me is a lower carb, high protein diet (not keto though). I eat around 1300 a day which is honestly pretty low according to a lot of things I have read, but with the high protein I feel good and not hungry. Example of a day:

Breakfast: I usually skip cause I'm not hungry yet, but I do some cold brew coffee with creamer. Love boiled eggs when I am hungry though.

Lunch: Some kind of deli meat, cheese, raw veggies, chips. I weigh out my portions.

Snack: Fage yogurt with hemp hearts and strawberries

Dinner: This really varies, honestly. I try and ensure there is some protein source. I like pork chops, drumsticks, thighs, all cooked in different way. I will do carb heavy dinners like spaghetti or rice once or twice a week and let that be my carb allowance for the day. Tonight is creamy garlic shrimp, salad and mixed veggies.

My exercise is ballet 2x a week and light lifting/cardio another 2 or 3x a week with a sedentary desk job.