I’m starting to calorie count. Anyone want to join me?

[Bookaholic73]

I’m going to be starting calorie counting from tomorrow, with the aim of losing around 2st (28lbs).

Would anyone else like to join me and hold each other accountable here on this thread?

I’ve tried so many ways of losing weight (Keto, Vegan, Low Carb etc) and none of it works long term.
So I’m quitting the fad diets and starting something that I can stick to.

I’m 5,5 and 12st. My aim is 10st, and I’ll be eating 1600 cals a day.

Can I join? I have 12lbs to lose. Am more trying to eat clean so will be eating 1500 cals a day. Does anyone want to follow each other on MFP. Years ago I used to have loads of followers and found it really helped. Still have my old profile pic up from 2016 which is depressing haha

@Tobermoryeveryday I have severe anxiety and am actually trying to eat 'better' to help my anxiety. Have had a fairly clean diet for the past 5 days and do feel much better for it xxx

@Weallgottachangesometime just thought I'd chirp in with the oil chat. After a bit of research last week, extra virgin olive oil is meant to be the best for health and digestion too. Hope that's of some help xxxx

@bluebottle23 i agree, when I did whole30 which is a totally clean, paleo lifestyle plan, my anxiety levels generally dropped. There’s a lot of literature about gluten affecting anxiety, and dairy too. Problem is, if your anxiety is food related then cutting out whole groups is also not always easy/advised. I think it’s fair to say though that eating a cleaner, more nutritious diet will benefit us.

I’ve felt really hungover today and in the end I went back to bed and slept for an hour! Feel a bit better now.

@thenewaveragebear1983 I have really cut back on dairy and gluten (to be fair most of my meal were beige and I barely ate a vegetable for the past six months. I want to strike a happy medium and have been reading the gut makeover book, which is really interesting.

So sorry to hear about your hangover. My tried and tested cure is diahrylite, if you can get your hands on any. Normally I'd also recommend a dirty burger BUT maybe just a healthier version of your fave hangover foods? Xxxx aldi do some amazing 5% fat burgers and I've seen they started selling burger thins too. I can only eat healthy if I find healthier versions of all the unhealthy food I like.

Hi @bluebottle23 welcome aboard.
I definitely feel that eating healthier helps with other mental health issues. Personally, I have had depression on and off, and it's always at its worst when I'm eating junk food all the time.

I've just got home from the gym and devoured my lunch. It's a later dinner time this evening, so lunch at 3pm wasn't too much of a bad thing.

@Bookaholic73 oh well done for the gym! I need to try and get more exercise in. What do you do at gym if you don't mind me asking?

Nothing wrong with a late lunch and yes food definitely alters moods. Just some of the bad stuff tastes so bloody good haha x

I use cold pressed rapeseed oil, it's really nutty and nice. I use a light olive oil when I won't taste it, as I hate olives and olive oil! I also use ghee sometimes, which isn't necessarily the healthiest, but it makes curry taste so much better.

I am working on the 40 plant food varieties a week, it's quite fun and eye-opening how a standard diet is so restrictive. It's great for gut health to eat lots of different plant foods, the diversity is the key to creating a better environment for them.

Yesterday was
B: Kidney bean burrito
L: Homemade thai green curry crabcakes and slaw
D: Lentil and bean "sloppy joes" but I had mine on a potato, not bread.

Today was
B: Fried egg, miso mushrooms and crumpets
L: Soup and a crumpet
D: Vegetarian enchiladas.

Fab that’s good to know thanks. I’ll stick to that then. Also may invest in a better frying pan so oil is not required sometimes.

@Weallgottachangesometime you can also use a technique where you use a little oil, and a little water, so it sort of cooks off in the boiling water, then that boils off, leaving the spot of oil to finish it nicely. I do that with the miso mushrooms I make for breakfast.

@WeirdPookah ohh 40 plants a week. I have been aiming for 30! Miso mushroom sounds delicious... do you have a recipe you can link to? I've got some mushrooms that need eating up this weekend.

Im off to pizza express tomorrow. Im so worried my willpower will give in as I can't resist the garlic bread with mozzarella! I see they do a Buddha bowl type thing and I might have the hallumi bites to start was as gluten free (which im trying to stick to). It's good that they have calories on menus now x

@bluebottle23 I think the number talked about a lot is 30, but I decided to push myself!

Miso mushrooms is so easy it's barely a recipe! Slice your mushrooms (about 400g I use), I start them off cooking in the microwave to soften and get the juice going, put in a pan with a tsp of oil and a bit of water if there isn't much juice, helps finish cooking (mentioned above). Then when the juice and water is boiled off, and they are browned in the oil, remove from the heat. Stir a heaping teaspoon miso into a little warm water to make a paste, stir into the mushrooms and done!
You don't want to re-heat with the miso as it kills off the beneficial fermented microbes.

Evening everyone.

I’m making chicken katsu curry with rice for dinner. Can’t wait!

For those of you who are/ quitting sugar, were you exhausted for the first few days?
I have been so tired since last night, I can barely keep my eyes open!
The only thing that’s different is that I’ve stopped eating and drinking anything with sugar in.

@Bookaholic73 katsu curry sounds amazing!
And more the sugar quitting for me is the whole getting used to eat less, your body has to burn fat rather than sugar and I think that can make you feel quite low.
Today so far has been OK but I already have consumed my calories for today and I have a feeling that I will get hungry in an hour. 🙄
B. Toast, tea and strawberries.
L. Carrot soup and some ham slices.
S. Mini Maltesers bunny
D. Creamy chicken pasta with a big green salad.
1486 cals for the day.
I will definitely have another cup of tea (and maybe another snack)

@Bookaholic73 absolutely to the utter exhaustion, if you haven't already had it I'm sorry to say the headache may be on its way.

Interestingly one of the first signs I realise I've been "glutened" is heart palpitations and a general feeling of panic/doom. Gluten definitely does not agree with me but I can't face eating it for 6 weeks to have a coeliac test.

I've tracked my terribly off-plan day and (so far) I'm about 300 cals over. I've had to guesstimate because the calories weren't actually on the menu! It's helpful for eating out generally though.

I've got a rare quiet evening so hoping to meal plan for next week. This is the time when I'd normally start to get complacent (couple of weeks in, just had a decent loss= go wild) but I really want to lose a bit more before summer.

Thank you @Lalanbaba and @Summerscomin I already have the headache unfortunately.
But it’s not too bad, so I won’t complain!

@Lalanbaba I am sitting in bed with a cup of tea, can’t beat a good brew.
The Katsu was so good, but when I looked at the calorie count I almost died! For the sauce mix is was about 400 cals! That’s not even including the rice.

@Summerscomin I would like to start meal planning, but am clueless! Any tips would be great. Do you meal plan just dinners or breakfast and lunch too?
I’m lucky in that I WFH 3 days a week now, so can make lunches from scratch. But I don’t always have the time to.

If you can stick it out @Bookaholic73 you'll feel fab in a day or two and the cravings reduce so much! I thought katsu was a brave choice, was going to ask you what low cal hack you'd found.. glad it was worth it though!
Re meal planning, I only plan dinners and just have a "calorie allocation" for lunch based on that. So on a low cal day if I don't have a lot to play with I know I can do a salad/brothy soup or on a higher cal day I might plan a sandwich or a jacket potato. I WFH too and it depends what I fancy/what I have time to do.
I'm absolutely no expert but I tend to go for "rough idea" instead of "concrete plan" based around the highest calorie element so it might be 'something with mince' or 'something rice-based' then I'll firm up my plan on the day when I know what I/DC feel like. I don't like feeling restricted by my plan, but nor do I like having no idea whatsoever. I always keep my cupboards and freezer well stocked so there's options.
Also always cook double, so there's half for the freezer!

I agree with the detox headache. You may find that you need a bit of salt, added to your food or have a cup of bovril if you like it, it really helps with the fuzzy detox head.

I’m really looking forward to detoxing however, I really need it!

Good Morning :)

Thank you @Summerscomin for the meal-planning advice. I love the idea of just planning dinners and having a calorie allowance for lunch & breakfast. The one thing I don't like about meal planning is that I don't always fancy what I've planned, so this would make it so much easier to stick to. I have so much food in my freezers, it should also help with the food shopping costs!

@thenewaveragebear1983 would Marmite do the trick, or does it have to be Bovril? I have to go to Waitrose and buy some veg today, so I'll pick some Bovril up if needs be.

I am so pleased with myself this morning. Another evening of not drinking any wine or eating any junk food.
I really feel that making a strict rule for myself not to eat after dinner is helping me to stick to my calories. I'm already feeling and looking a lot less bloated. I'm 'lucky' in that I only overeat/drink alcohol after dinner. So as soon as I stop doing that, the weight comes off quite easily and quickly.
The most important thing for me is to make sure I eat enough during the day so that I'm not hungry after dinner. I'm making sure that each meal is about 500 cals, so I get a 100-cal snack in the afternoon.

@Bookaholic73 I’m not sure, can you make marmite into a hot drink like you can with bovril? I tend to just add a bit of extra salt to my food as I’m not a huge fan of hot bovril. I’ve also heard of people using bullion powder to make a hot drink to help detox as well.

Morning, @Bookaholic73 you sound bright and breezy (through a screen at least!)- the hard work breaking the evening habit is paying off!
Glad the meal planning tips are helpful for you, I feel like a bit of a fraud calling it "planning" but it just works for me. It was originally borne out of financial necessity "what can I make with these ingredients?" but like you, if I plan rigid meals I find I don't often fancy what I've planned and I really LOVE food and cooking. I'm definitely not one of those "food is fuel" people and if I'm going to the effort of cooking and cleaning up for something I'd better bloody well enjoy it.
I forgot to mention breakfast because I don't tend to eat it, very rarely a bacon sandwich or cafe breakfast, but obviously it'd be fine to just split the allowance.

@thenewaveragebear1983 I think I'll just get some Bovril, at least I know I'm getting the benefits that way.

Thinking about my food today, this is my plan:

Breakfast- protein pancakes with berries & yoghurt
Lunch- beans on toast
Dinner- Pork ribs with veggies and salad

@thenewaveragebear1983 I've never tried it with marmite, don't see why not though? I gather you can do something similar with miso paste but I still haven't managed to track any down!
How are you feeling today? Hope motivation is strong!
I forgot I put today as a 900cal day 😬 I probably need it after yesterday's excesses. Even though I know it's doable without feeling ravenous, I'm still a bit nervous at the beginning of 900 days.

My plan is something around 300 cals for lunch- maybe a ham salad with a hard-boiled egg and cottage cheese (hooked on the chive one!).
Then I've got leftover pulled BBQ chicken. I might have it on a big bed of mixed veg, a decent spoon of greek yoghurt or hummus and as much rice as I can have in my cals.

Oh and a load of water, I think I'm a bit dehydrated after yesterday. I didn't want to drink too much as I went to the theatre and didn't want to miss bits with toilet breaks!

I’m going to collect my shopping order at 9am then my meals will be:

greek yog and frozen berries
feta and salad
pork and veg and cauliflower cheese (no roasties 😢)

i’ve ordered some protein shakes so I might switch my breakfast to that if they arrive in time, or have it as an extra after my run if I go a long way.

my mission this week is to load up on the veg. I like veg but I just don’t eat enough of it, I have to really make myself. So I’m aiming for 50 portions this week as a target. And of course the usual drink more water which is always high up on my list.

I’m feeling very determined though, I didn’t drink last night but we did have a takeaway Chinese, and it really was ‘last hurrah’ time. 6 weeks til holiday!

@Summerscomin try looking in Asian supermakets for tubs of Miso, way way cheaper than mini jars in mainstream supermarkets priced up for novelty value.

@Bookaholic73 I make katsu and have it with just broccoli instead of rice. They taste great together. I use Linda McCartney chicken "nuggets" because they are little flat mini things.