I didn't realise how much the little snacks were hurting me!

[concernedchild]

I'm a large lady. That's being polite. I'm 19st13lbs. By virtue of this weight, my maintenance calories are 2600.

I'm eating at 1800 odd, and have been really frustrated that I wasn't losing weight. Surely an 800 calorie deficit should have the weight falling off me.

But I recently tracked all the extra snacks that "definitely can't hurt" and realised I was eating closer to 2500 a day!!! No wonder I wasn't losing. I was absolutely shocked by this and also a bit annoyed at myself because I was working hard in the gym and just not getting anywhere.

So yeah, just a rant. But now I'm taking berberine to kill the food noise and I'm eating in a proper deficit. Hoping to lose a stone in the next 50 days

What did you find were the worst offenders? 😵‍💫

Cheese, god the cheese!! I'd have cheese on crackers because it's "low UPF" and suddenly be eating an extra 250-300 calories!! That and biscuits, I'd have one or two with a tea and be all "oh it doesn't really matter because I've walked/been to the gym" and then I'd end up having 4 or 5 because sugar just messes with my head! Absolutely shocking

I mean it's fairly obvious you won't lose much weight if your snacks are cheese and crackers and four or five biscuits lol. Biscuits are the worse and I've always avoided them as they're not worth the calories . Lately I've really not cared and been raiding the biscuits can definitely feel weight creeping on

Yeah but you never realise just how much it adds up! It feels like nothing then you track it and it's like "holy shit"

Yes I’ve found have to be so strict to lose anything. Calorie checker is definitely good to keep on track just have to be honest 🤣
Weighing out portions as well if you’re really serious as I think it’s easy to underestimate the amount we eat as well

Yeah you grate some cheese and reckon it's 30g and it ends up being 60!!

Even healthy foods add up, my vegetables with my main meal last night were nearly 200 calories and no that’s not with potatoes!

My go to snacks are wotsits, or quavers, carrot sticks with salsa, or apple slices with a small dip of bifscoff. Im trying to break my addiction to kitkats - they're only 107 calories but I inhale them. Snacking is my absolute downfall.

Could eat 17 kitkats to be honest

I've found peas are weirdly high calorie!!

I’ve put on a stone and a half over a year and could not work out why. I thought I was eating healthy but have gone on a diet and started counting calories and am shocked at how many calories I’ve been eating and that’s when I’m trying to cut back! Little things really add up!

Doesn't satisfy the low UPF requirement but I find having cheesestrings or babybel light in the fridge really helpful for those 'need cheese' moments.

Longley farms full fat cottage cheese is brilliant too. It's not the sour lumpy runny stuff like most cottage cheese, it's really nice.

Sainsbury's do a brand of crackers called 'Good guys bakehouse crackers' they are quite small and like wafers but very cheesy flavoured and 5 calories each. A couple of those with a bit of cottage cheese satisfies the snack craving for under 100cals.

Oh I'll take a look at those crackers!! I usually get the cathedral city mini cheeses, they're under 100 calories if I remember

The marmite cheese and the light baby bels are less calories than the little cathedral city blocks.

im not prepared to give up cheese. I will give up everything else but not that!

I just don’t eat biscuits if possible as they are all so high in calories and 2 never feels enough

I'm walking a thin line between avoiding UPF and going low calorie on everything! I've got a decent calorie budget to play with atm

frozen yoghurt. That’s my sweet treat. I make them with fruit

My lightbulb moment was when I decided I should weigh the organic pumpkin seeds I had been enjoying by the handful multiple times a day…after all it was healthy…300cal later

Have you calorie counted the milk in your brews too?

I use a splash of semi skimmed milk, to be honest when I'm sticking to my deficit strictly (like I've started again) I don't think it really has an effect, and I can't really count the ones at work as there's no scales

My mum is like this with handfuls of nuts! She can eat 500 cals easily

Rice cakes and hummus are my current weakness.. What does every one do on holiday? Have a holiday and pay the price on return?

I'm a firm believer that the changes happen over months not weeks and therefore a "blowout" shouldn't affect your deficit that badly. But obviously it's tough when you get back and the scales change

This is why you have to religiously track every single morsel sadly, even weighing items (which may seem a little OTT, but believe me some slices of bread can be 50% more than the supposed weight of a slice on the packet).

I always allow 100 calories a day for milk as again it all adds up. Some days I might only have 1 cup of coffee with almond milk but other days it probably goes over so generally as a rule 100 calories for milk covers it.

Hah this is why when people say they don't lose weight eating 1200 calories I laugh at them in my head.

Pretty much everybody under estimates and those people calorie counting without food scales are just pissing in the wind.

Well done for giving it a proper go as well.

I used to do SW for 20+ years so was low/no fat everything but have recently been following Davinia Taylor - I was looking around peri meno and weight loss - who advocates full fat and no UPF/Seed oils - she doesn't calorie count (count chemicals not calories) but I need to - and I've found I'm much more satiated and satisfied with the "full fat" cheese/yoghurt etc. I've lost 19lb since 2nd Jan and I track on Nutracheck. I try to do 16:8 fasting but I don't worry if I break early or start later. I wanted to shift 2 stone so I'm not far off but currently on holiday in Mexico so I'll have a gain when I get back I'm sure!!

Davinia has written a couple of books about her journey and has her own products. I'm no way affiliated to her but I like the Collagen Peptides and MCT Keto Creamer, I have a teaspoon in a coffee in the morning with some collagen and I find it blocks the "food noise" of wanting something sweet in the afternoon. Could be a placebo effect but it's working for me!!

Also, love a Babybel!!! 59 calorie cheese hit!