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.

Children are back in school and some routine can come back!

I've been out for an hours walk ON MY OWN! I needed that peace, being autistic it's hard when routines are out and I have no time alone.

My why's are simply I cannot stay this weight and expect to live a healthy life.

My knee is degenerating (my Mum is waiting a replacement), I still have a damaged nerve in my spine from my first pregnancy which causes my leg to be numb and affects that same knee. I fell down steep stairs in November and hurt my toe, which is still very limited in movement, basically that whole left leg is rubbish!!

Today:
Breakfast: Blackbean burrito
Lunch: Cabbage and small amount left over Thai green tofu curry
Dinner: Cauliflower/potato mash, broccoli, chicken

Hi everyone.

I’ve just got back from the gym, and haven’t eaten yet. I’m just not hungry. But my plan today is to have 2 bigger means instead of 3 smaller ones.

So lunch & dinner will be a bit more filling.
Lunch will be a couple of pitta breads, stuffed with chicken & salad, with a few hard boiled egg whites on the side (approx 600 cals)

Dinner is going to be steak with stir fry veggies (approx 670 cals with noodles).

That will leave me with about 300 cals for a snack this evening, a protein bar most likely.

@WeirdPookah im glad you enjoyed your walk alone. I love walking, especially on my own. It can be so peaceful!

@Bookaholic73 hope you find splitting your cals across two meals instead of 3 works for you, it does for me, I think that must've been when I started cutting breakfast out because there just wasn't enough and I found that by starting my eating window early I just spent longer feeling hungry.
Having said that, I seem to be having a really hungry day today and nothing is satisfying my appetite. My insomnia is terrible this week which isn't helping. I've input all of my food, and planned food, to MFP and I'm within range, I'm just fighting the urge to think sod it and make myself some toast or something.
Lunch was ham, eggs, rice cakes and an apple.
I've also had some chocolate.
Dinner tonight is sea bass with new potatoes and vegetables. I'm not really looking forward to it, fish isn't my favourite and although I'm sure it'll be nice, it sounds like a bland meal to my palate. I'd rather have it with a risotto.. Coming in at 1200.

Thank you @Summerscomin it has worked so well today. I’ve had no cravings and had a lovely lunch.
Your username seems apt today, as I’m thinking more and more about summer approaching. I’m so determined to look and feel good this summer!

The sunshine and warmer weather feels so inspiring!

Hi everyone,

Wfh today, I struggle having all the snacks just there! I didn't gave in but I had an extra piece of toast midmorning.
B. Toast and tea.
L. Chicken noodles, egg, spinach and mushrooms bowl
S. Extra Toast!
D. Lentil bolognese with some pasta and green beans on the side.

I also have to deal with doing a freezer clean. We have too much crap in there and need to use up old stuff.
Hopefully I have enough protein there to not gave to buy the next 3 weeks. Nice problem to have I know. Lots of chicken, mince beef, a couple of roasts, tofu, vegetarian burgers.
Any ideas for frozen butternut squash? I have 4 bags of the stuff.

@Lalanbaba butternut squash & sage risotto is absolutely delicious, I use this recipe https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/butternut-squash-sage-risotto
I love doing a freezer cleanout, it saves me so much money and I use up everything I have. Actually, I could probably do with a freezer clean-out myself!

I've only just finished dinner and am struggling with wanting snacks already. The good thing is that when I want sugary snacks straight after I've eaten, I know its not hunger. It's just cravings and they will pass. For now, I'm making a nice cup of tea and will put Netflix on.

Glad you've found it suits you @Bookaholic73 I know some people can't cope without breakfast but I think it's worth a proper try, your cals just go so much further split between two meals.

I'm a bit too efficient with my freezer these days and don't often find stuff I've forgotten about but I do use it a lot. With it generally just being me and DC, it's handy that we can have different meals at the same time from previous batch cooking. It's a lifesaver on busy work days too. That said, @Lalanbaba has reminded me I bought a yellow stickered gammon joint that would free up some space I could do with for more batch cooking!

I picked this username with slimming down in time for it in mind, so it can remind me every time I post..

Today I have had
Breakfast- banana
Lunch- salad with boiled eggs, a clementine
Snack- two light babybels
Tea- roasted Mediterranean veggies and toasted new potatoes with dollops of Boursin cheese
Snack- three mini chocolate peanut butter Easter eggs

That risotto looks delicious @Bookaholic73. I would eat so many more veggie/ fish meals if it wasn’t for the rest of my family! I hate fussy eaters. I can see how splitting calories across 2 meals can work- you get to eat more meals that are higher in fat/ protein so can keep you feeling fuller, also it opens your range of foods to more- 700 cal dinners are easier to plan for than 500 cal.

I listened to you guys and added a scoop of husbands vanilla protein powder to my yogurt at breakfast today. It had a slightly claggy texture and added 50 cals but an extra 10g of protein. I’m not sure if it helped me feel fuller for longer, or if it was just a really busy day at work.

My food for the day has been.
B- yogurt, protein powder, frozen berries and sprinkle of granola.
L- chicken and chickpea salad (I made a double batch yesterday
S- skyr yogurt
T- steamed seabsss, pak choi and rice

I had a good day today but my office day is Tuesday and it’s Sooooooo looooooooong, it’s incredibly draining and every Tuesday I come home totally frazzled and exhausted. Unfortunately I fell head first into firstly a cupcake in the staff room at work, then the biscuit tin and therefore have not had either a low carb, or a low calorie day. I’m annoyed because my food was actually pretty good but, hey, it’s one day. I’ve just got to get over it and get back on the horse.

I ordered some new scales which came today as my old ones were really old and temperamental. I’ll do a little weigh in mid week tomorrow, might as well weigh myself at my heaviest point after my feast today!

my period arrived today, full force and 6 days early. This won’t have helped my food cravings today, and also goes a long way to explaining my absolute car crash of a week last week as well. So hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some hormonal balance and a bit more stability for a few weeks.

positives today : my meals were actually good, and I would have come in well under target if I’d not had all the biscuits. Hmmmph. Lesson in there somewhere.
I went to the gym and also a brisk walk after work.
I drank 3l water. I’m going to have a nice bath and get to bed early as I’m so tired.

foods all sorted for tomorrow and I’m wfh so hopefully should be able to stick to it. I have a dentist appointment about my ridiculous swollen jaw after having a tooth out 6 weeks ago (maybe longer)- I’m sure I have some sort of lingering infection which cannot be helping matters- so won’t eat breakfast until after that, then I’ll have salad and feta or halloumi for lunch, and then we have duck breasts and broccoli for dinner. All good and can definitely have a good, on plan, low carb day.

@Bookaholic73 love the idea of risotto! I always think of it hypercalorific with butter and cheese. But 600 cal seems doable.
@Summerscomin I am a bit of a food hoarder. If 10 people would show up unannounced I could easily feed them. I tend to buy big packs and split them and end up accumulating after a while. Also got one beef roast from Xmas still that is too big for the 3 of us, so need to plan what to do with leftovers and a lamb shoulder I got on Easter.

Good morning everyone.
I had another successful evening without any snacking last night, so I'm really pleased. I do feel like I snacked a little bit too much throughout the day though. So I'll be sticking to the 3 meals a day from now on.

I'm off to the gym this morning before heading to work. I definitely feel like I'm getting more confident in the gym, which is nice.
I'll have to eat breakfast before going to the gym though, it's leg day and I have a tendency to almost pass out if I don't eat before leg day.

@Lalanbaba I do love risotto, but like you say I've always thought of them being too calorific too. But that one I linked to is super delicious and not too high in calories.

@thenewaveragebear1983 I always get extra snacky around my period too, so don't be too hard on yourself. I hate PMS as it's such a terrible time for me over eating in general, not just sweet stuff. And I always gain about 5lbs too!

Todays food will be

Breakfast-Beans on toast with a protein drink (520 cals)
Lunch- Tuna salad (446 cals)
Dinner- Pork steaks with veggies. No roast potatoes or gravy for me. (338).
That leaves about 300 cals for a protein bar or other snack during the day.

Morning all!
@thenewaveragebear1983 it's hard to resist temptation at work isn't it. Since I had to cut gluten out it's a lot easier to say no to treats from other people because 99 times out of 100 it's got gluten in 😅 but people seem offended if you just say no! Hope today goes well for you.
@Lalanbaba oh yes I can relate to the food hoarding. It started with just keeping a few back ups, it's probably got a bit out of hand now, but with an uncertain job future I find it comforting to have a food stash and a couple of quid tucked away. Also freeze leftover meat, lamb in particular freezes really well and goes great in a curry or chunky shepherd's pie.
@Bookaholic73 you sound on it today 💪 I ended up having risotto with my seabass last night! I followed the recipe on the seasoning packet and it said it would be 340 cals per portion so I didn't have to bother putting all the ingredients into MFP, bonus! It was delicious too.

Oh I pressed post too soon. Although I'm probably waffling, sorry.
I'm not sure what I'm going to be eating today, not even sure what my allowance is yet. I've got to go for an urgent colposcopy this afternoon and it's all I can think about.
I know there's some chicken breasts in the fridge that need using up so it'll be something with that. Lunch will either be on the go or very late, so I'll just see what I can face. Got that nervy/sick feeling.

A tip for any of you wanting to add more protein to those risotto's, white urid dal looks remarkably like rice, but it's a lentil, so while it won't save many calories, it will add protein and fibre if you use 1/3 urid to rice. I batch cooked plain rice/urid and froze it in portions a little while ago.

Today I tried making iced coffee with the unflavoured protein powder, needs a few tweaks to be good enough!

Breakfast: Black bean burrito
Lunch: Rajma masala with spinach and cabbage.
Dinner: homemade mango/almond korma with chickpeas, cucumber, half naan.

@WeirdPookah Do you have a recipe for your curry. It sounds bloody lush!! Never added mango to a curry before.

@WeirdPookah the dal trick is a good one. I wonder if the rest of the family will notice 👀.

Today
B- protein powder mixed in Greek yogurt, berries and muesli
L- half a pack of indome noodles with stir fried veg and onions
T- salmon something (when I decide what to do w/ it)

Hi Everyone.

I'm just about to head out to dinner with a friend. It's at a pub, and the food is not calorie-counting friendly at all. I'm slightly worried about the choices, but I'll do the best I can with what options I have.

@WeirdPookah such a great tip about adding more protein, thank you! Did you post a recipe for the protein iced coffee? I would love to try it!

I think I made a friend at the gym today, which isn't an easy feat when you have autism ( not formally diagnosed but I've suspected it for years). She has lost 2st so far, and looks incredible! We were chatting about going to the gym etc and I stupidly said "Let me know if you want a gym buddy since we both want to work out more" and she then went on to say she would love a workout buddy AT 5AM!! Oops! Haha, looks like I'm getting up at 4.30 5x a week from now on.
Secretly, I am quite looking forward to it.

I've done well with food so far today, I'll let you know how dinner goes!

Hello everyone,
Long day at work, doing the boring jobs I keep postponing.
B. Toast and tea
L. Boiled egg, ham, veggie sticks.
D. Stir fry noodles with chicken and some crispy five spiced tofu. Little yogurt.
1250 cal today so far but I feel that I have eaten more than yesterday.
Does anyone else have this, some days feel like you eaten loads and have like 1000 cal and some days starving you consumed 1800. I feel my brain plays tricks on me.
I have booked the little one to a swimming class, so I have to go with her (preschool age needs a parent in the water with them) as a small step towards doing some activity (refuse to call it exercise)

I definitely get that feeling @Lalanbaba I try to attribute it to what I've eaten ie protein/carb ratio but realistically we're human, not machines, so some days we might just feel a bit hungrier!
I didn't manage to eat anything until I had dinner so basically ate my full 1100 cals in one sitting
I had chicken breast in a creamy mushroom/blue cheese sauce with mixed frozen veg and some of yesterday's leftover risotto.
Then I had cake. Then I finished off with chocolate..
Tomorrow is a 900 day but I've shopped and I think I'm ready for it.

@Weallgottachangesometime I do actually have it all typed out as I had it on SparkPeople years ago! I make it pretty thick to freeze as this make a lot as the tins of mango are big, so freeze in smaller tubs and add a little water when reheating to thin it down and add a tin of chickpeas then.

Mango Korma 12 Servings

1 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1 tsp Cumin seed
1 tsp Fennel seed
1 tsp Turmeric, ground
1 tsp Garam Masala
3 tsp Ghee
1 tsp Cardamom, ground
.5 tsp Pepper, black
.5 tsp Allspice
.5 tsp Asafoetida
850g Mango (pureed) (KTC canned is what I usually use)
4 clove Garlic
5 tsp Ginger Root
600g Onions, raw
300g Ground Almonds
0.5 tsp Asafoetida
500 gram Low fat Plain Yogurt

Directions
1, Gently toast any whole spices before grinding them.

2, Any ready ground spices, mix with ground almonds and GENTLY toast it all, stirring well to avoid catching, to just get a bit of colour on the almonds and release the best tastes. Remove from hot pan to avoid burning after taking off the heat.

3, Melt ghee and gently fry onions until softening without a lot of colouring, add garlic and ginger. This takes a while to soften without burning, it's worth it, don't rush!

4, Add mango, almonds, spices and yogurt to slightly cooled onions, off of the heat.

5, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth, adding enough water to make consistency of korma sauce you like best.

6, re-warm through, makes 12 servings as it freezes well, just re-warm carefully to mix yogurt back in.

@Bookaholic73 I just tried using the protein powder in water, with coffee icecubes and a greek coffee, which wasn't strong enough, so added some instant. I used some sugar free syrup as well. It wasn't quite there, I looked up some recipes and most use a milk or alternative to mix it up, it was a bit wishy-washy with just water. I think making up with milk of some kind would be better. But then it's more calories of course!

I'm Autistic too, I got a formal diagnosis nearly 2 years ago now.

Thanks so much. Sounds bloody Delish!!
gonna pop it on next weeks meal plan.

Morning everyone.

I had such a lovely time catching up with my friend last night. But it wasn’t healthy at all.

Scampi & chips followed by profiteroles in chocolate sauce.

However, it’s done now and I don’t regret it. Eating out is a part of my life so I just have to eat a little lower calories today to make up for it.

@WeirdPookah thanks for the iced coffee recipe. I hit some decaf espresso powder yesterday to have a play around with recipes. But I’m missing the crucial ingredient, ice!

I’m taking my son into town today to get his hair done and to buy him some clothes. I need to make sure I don’t eat any junk. It’s so tempting in town!

@Lalanbaba yes I totally get what you mean about feeling like you’ve eaten loads on a low cal day, and vice versa too!