How to eat in a calorie deficit and not be bloody starving!!

Am a little confused - do you mean you are eating 1600 cals a day to lose weight because this creates a calorie deficit? If so, it will take you months to loose weight because for most women the average requirement is 1800-2200? Ie you may only be cutting down 200 cals a day, so losing 1lb every 2-3 weeks? Low carb/moderate to high protein definitely helps, but one of the ways it works is that it satiates better, meaning you naturally eat a little less.

Also, various studies have shown that the calories in pre-prepared meals are wildly inaccurate, and can vary by as much as 10% of what is stated on the label, so if you are eating pre-made soups, yogurts, granola bars, you may be taking more calories than you realise - preparing food from scratch using whole ingredients is really the only way to calorie count. Have lost nearly 5 stone - basically veg/salad + a protein at each meal, no processed carbs (bread, pasta) plus portion control and snacking on low GI fruit (ie no calorie counting), and accepting that I won’t die of hunger. It passes.

Maybe you are finding your hunger patterns, now that you are not eating before you get hungry.

As PP have said, try having breakfast later. Get through as much of the morning as you can until you actually feel hungry.

Try Skyr instead of Greek yoghurt. It's high protein and very low calorie so you can have a big bowlful with 80g of berries for only 130 cals. I'd usually add about 3 walnut halves to that (another 50 cals, so go easy on nuts) to stop myself from feeling too hungry later on.

300 cals for a bowl of soup seems quite high. A tin of Baxters country garden is only 140. Might you be over estimating how many calories there are in the soup if it's home made? You can make a big batch of veggie soup for 300 cals. You could add a small slice of wholemeal toast with a boiled or poached egg for another 120 cals. Or a ham salad on the side - leaves, cucumber, tomatoes and a couple of thin slices of meat for about the same - 120 cals.

I usually get through until about 4 or 5pm and then feel proper hunger. 1 oz of pretzels and an apple or nectarine helps. That's about 200 cals.
If you ate all that, you'd have eaten 720 cals.

Plan an evening meal around 600 cals and then you have some spare calories to play with for lots of cups of tea with milk, or for a light dessert or an evening snack. Bulk out the evening meal with lots of green veg - asparagus or stem broccoli with lemon juice or pak choi with soy or roasted kale with chilli flakes and garlic granules, or grated cabbage and carrot slaw in a honey, herb and vinegar dressing or with salad cream or a mix of low fat mayo and yoghurt.

I think you may not be eating enough during the day, leading to a heavy meal at night, which is harder to burn off.

Depends what you buy, there are a lot of low sugar granolas

I can't believe some people saying 1,600 calories a day isn't enough. 1,600 calories a day is more than enough for the average person. Unless OP is exercising like a demon every day, she doesn't need more than that. Peoples idea of how much 'food' we need makes me weep and tbh goes to show why so many people have serious weight issues. The fact is, losing weight on 1,600 calories IS working for OP - so we should be supportive of that rather than telling her to increase her intake. All OP needs to do is adjust the quality of what she is eating.

OP - I had 1,300 calories yesterday (most days I eat about 2K as I do a lot of exercise, but yesterday I was lazy and adjusted my calories to reflect that). I don't eat snacks on days I don't exercise as I am a picker.

Breakfast was: Greek Yoghurt, home-made granola (basically just nuts and dark chocolate), one apple chopped up, cinnamon, (400 calories)
Lunch: 200G Rump Steak, 150G Broccoli, 300G Beansprouts. (400 calories, including seasoning such as garlic, ginger, coriander, red onion which has basically no calories etc).
Dinner: Chicken breast wrapped in Parma ham stuffed with cream cheese and spinach. Mediterranean vegetables (in the oven, no oil but lots of seasoning) and 200G asparagus. (500 calories).

As with anything, it's about the quality and quantity of what you eat.

For days you're working (assuming you're going into an office) try a homemade yoghurt bowl or homemade breakfast muffins (with egg, chorizo instead of sausage, cheese and red pepper - you just mix it together and pop it in the oven a few days before. They reheat nicely or you can have them cold). For lunch try homemade marinated chicken breast with vegetables or a big salad or a 'fancy salad' (I have a butternut squash, rocket and blackberry one I do). For dinner, something high protein (Chicken, Steak, Salmon) and bulk up with vegetables - don't do carbs like pasta as tbh it's satisfying at the time but not filling and not really nutritionally 'dense'.

Don't forget seasoning. Seasoning really changes a meal. The mistake so many people make is trying to have things like soup or fruit and yoghurt or chicken and rice and veg and they forget about seasoning - any diet or restrictive eating will fail if you don't give yourself variety.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/diet/gut-health/tim-spector-calorie-counting-doesnt-work/

I think Zoe is a marketing huge success and wouldn't sign up to it. But there's some sense in what he's saying about eating whole foods.

This.

High protein, low carb. Eat little and often.

Try a meal replacement like Huel - it is very filling and slow release.

if you can’t bear to lose carbs altogether, cook & cool to make them less easily absorbed.

But basically high protein is the only way. If you’re a meat eater, stick to low fat meats like turkey, chicken breast - avoid red meat and fatty cuts. If you’re veggie, chickpeas, beans and pulses are low calorie and high protein. You can eat an entire can of chickpeas without adding to the calorie count much.

look at the NHS diabetes pages on hand portion size and stick to it - you need less in a sitting than you think. If you’re hungry again quickly, try splitting meals up into 4 or 5 a day so you’re only going a few hours without food.

drink more water. Drink less (no) alcohol.

sliced bread has 100 kcal a slice so your sandwich is already 200 kcal before you add any filling. Switch to wholemeal wraps, make your own so you can use Greek yoghurt instead of mayo (add lemon juice / other flavours).

stop with cereal bars / granola - too much sugar. Have porridge or overnight oats with non dairy milk (oat or pea milk is quite high protein) and grated apple for sweetness.

Snack on nuts not biscuits.

Lots of small changes will add up.

good luck!

More protein
More veg than you can think possible
Carbs that are fibre rich - beans, lentils, whole wheat bread, brown rice.

Where are you getting 1600 from?

I just ask because a lot of people take 2000 daily calories as a fact but depending on your lifestyle 1600 might not be a deficit at all. That's about average for me with a low energy lifestyle.

If you drive to/from work, sit at a desk all day then come home and watch tv etc... then 1600 is probably just daily amounted needed to maintain.

If you go to the gym everyday before going work as a waitress in a busy restaurant where your on your feet all day etc... then you probably need more like 2000-2500 to maintain.

I would always suggest cutting out saturate fats, they are what cause 'fat' to pile on... things like cheese. As counting calories blindly is not a very effective measure. I you do want to diet I would also suggest 5:2 diet where you 'fast' for two days and eat normally otherwise.

It's not directly what you've asked -

but, if you can build up your muscle strength at all, you'll find you can eat more without gaining weight as it burns more at resting state. Even things like squats at your desk, or working on holding a plank will help.

Not all calories are made equal - and fat is not the enemy. Fat carries oestrogen and is essential for body function. Cooking rice with a bit of oil or butter means you don't absorb as many of the calories, and eating the equivalent calories of almonds vs granola, you will absorb more of the granola calories because it's more easily available to your body -

So focusing entirely on the numbers is tricky way to actually lose way. If you can work on physical strength you might find a more natural way to eat for what your body needs and learn to understand your body's signals better.

I didn’t even mention you or any of your posts in my reply, I’ve not RTFT so I have no idea what you personally have advised. Talk about ‘if the shoe fits…’ though. You seem to have taken a post I wrote vaguely about 4 pages worth of advice very personally 👀

Hi @tartancladpjs

No, not training for anything, just a 48 year old woman trying to keep trim! 😁

I’ve always done a lot of exercise but often stuck to cardio and I was really conscious that as I got older, I needed to get stronger. I got myself a PT who has really pushed me and I’m lifting weights I never thought I would. He’s a 32 year old who I think sometimes forgets that I’m 16 years older than him and am not in training to be a gladiator 😲 but I love the fact that I’m in the best shape I’ve been in for years.

As for calories, my maintenance is approx. 2200 but like most people, I go over at weekends when we have a treat meals and I have wine so I try to keep my calories lower in the week to give me more to play with at the weekend. I never used to eat this much protein but that coupled with the training has really changed my body shape (for the better!)

What strength psyllium husk tablet do you take ?

Amazon has everything from 500mg to 5000mg

Its hard work and I think a lot is about will power. Esp at the beginning.
I'm currently trying to lose weight and on 1400 calories plus additional depending on exercise level that day. Some days I find it easy, others are so hard.

Protein has good filling power. I tend to remove half the carb element of a meal and replace with protein.
I also find having a better breakfast makes the day easier. Like today I've had eggs and sausage for breakfast (with tea). I haven't felt the need to snack yet and usually on a office day I would have cereal and be snacking by this point any ready.

Do you pre plan your meals and snacks? I find of days I have pre planned everything I am eating, it is easier to stick too. I'm trying to pre plan a few days in advance at the moment and it is easier to stick to it. On days where I kind of go with the flow, it feels alot harder to stick too.

If you can watch the programme Fat Fiction (I think its on Prime) you'll get some great advice from professionals. Fat is not the enemy and is in fact very nutritious. Protein and fat all the way, carbs = sugar and are inflammatory and cause insulin spikes which will increase appetite.
Eggs, meat, fish. avocados etc. You'll probably find that you can't even eat 3 meals a day doing this. I generally eat one meal a day and no snacking as I don't feel the need because I eat the correct foods.

Team RH - really generous deficits that can be easily adhered to and it works (so long as you commit to a minimum of 10k steps a day).

Not all Greek yoghurts are the same. For calorie deficit I found Fage 0% the best, it is high protein, low sugar/calories. Combine it with a low sugar muesli, or rolled oats instead of granola and add berries. You can buy frozen berries relatively cheaply which improve the taste and are low calorie.
Then add low fat cottage cheese to everything! It bumps up your protein and is low calorie. I stir it into soup for an extra protein boost.
Protein shakes are really good for filling you up if you're still hungry in an afternoon, just choose carefully watching the sugar content.

@wiggleweggle - would you be kind enough to post a link to your 5 seed crackers recipe please?

I've lost a stone since January but if I was eating the way you are I would be starving.

If I have cereal or granola etc for breakfast I am hungry by mid morning. I don't like yoghurt but the Greek yoghurt is fine with proper fresh fruit but what I have is eggs. Scrambled egg on toast (2 eggs but only one 1 bread and a tiny amount of butter) keeps me going until lunchtime.

Lunch will then be a sandwich or similar. I can't cut out bread but what I do is pack it full of chicken or ham with salad I actually like so for me that is romaine lettuce, grated carrot, sweetcorn etc. Heck, I will even have a pack of lower fat crisps such as frazzles or french fries.

If you have soup it needs to have plenty of protein so with a chopped up chicken breast or tofu or lentils etc.

Evening meal is a larger portion of protein so for me chicken or fish with jacket potato or wedges and lots of veg. I might have a mini chocolate bar or a biscuit as a treat

I would concentrate on protein and fibre. Definitely change your breakfast (ditch the granola). Look up the glucose goddess hacks.

Unfortunately im very short and menopausal and if I ate 1600 calories a day I'd be gaining weight. So Ive had to cope with training myself not to snack and to eat all of my calories within an eight hour period (11.30- 7.30). When I'm trying to lose weight I eat 800 cals and when I'm maintaining about 1200 cals.

Things that fill me up are massive tuna salads with a mayo and lemon juice dressing, eggs, eggs and more eggs, homemade pho with loads of veggies, chicken and rice noodles. Sometimes having a little bit of something sweet after dinner also helps me to put a full stop in my eating day so I'll usually have a 10cal jelly or a couple of squares of dark chocolate.

Apples, fish, peanut butter.

Granola is basically a deconstructed flapjack, delicious but high in sugar and low in valuable nutrients. Try porridge instead.

Cut out bread anyway, it's so processed. Protein is the way to go. Eggs, chicken, beef, lamb, fish, with fresh veg. Yogurt with high protein like quark or Skyr, with fruit. Graze rather than meals. I cook chicken fillets and snack on them during the day, for instance.

Placemarking for reading later. Watch button doesn't always work.

Have you got time to exercise? I try and make sure I do 10,000 steps a day which gives me more calories to eat! I can’t get to the gym at the moment so this was my only option for now. I’ve lost half a stone, albeit slowly, since I really committed to the walking.