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

Agreed, I currently have pots of roasted cauliflower, roasted aubergine and roasted broccoli in the fridge, I mix them with things for my lunches, they're all very spicy and strong

I also get through huge amounts of garlic!

That's why I have my blueberries with greek yoghurt

And yet I lost 2 stone just using MFP. I even ate back exercise calories most days. You just have to be brutally honest about tracking and weighing everything.

Philadelphia is an ultra-processed food, here are some alternatives from the Go UPF free Facebook:

It's astounding how they add up isn't it. I was so surprised how much rolled oats have, need to be careful with porridge.

Following as snacks are my downfall....

I was raised to think snacks would spoil dinner, they were just not eaten. DH was raised in a similar vein. So now maybe ice cream after dinner or something like cheese and crackers to end the meal but not every day. But for us it’s just how we were raised. Good luck.

Had an extra coffee today

I've had a shitty day though so I'm saying it was justified

Ugh I can so relate to this, OP.

Yesterday I did really well (I'm a really similar weight to you) and had eaten to my deficit, but then just a few biscuits and a crème egg later I've obliterated my deficit! Haven't gone over, but that was the progress I was feeling so good about gone, and a 5 day streak of meeting my calorie goal ended.

I just need to not have certain things around. I'm snacking on some watermelon right now and I have a couple of babybels in the fridge which will do for later, they really do hit the spot.

It's insane isn't it? Going to get some low cal snacks in for the weekend

Tell you what has worked for me? Nutritious food, full fat, high protein, lots of fibre, low UPF. I don’t snack now as I’m full.

@cardibach I try really hard with the low UPF thing. I've noticed my energy for meal prepping declines towards the end of the week so I'm going to work on that!

If biscuits are your downfall I recommend Tesco sponge fingers, they are only 25 calories per finger and are lovely with a cup of tea.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254948751

Yeah, MFP was a wake up call

Bowl of cereal and milk?

600 cals

Oouf

It’s not just low UPF. That’s the least of it. Good protein. Good fat. Whole meal carbs.

@cardibach I know, I'm trying my hardest

I managed to ignore the digestives today and had just one Rich Tea with my morning coffee, and none with my second coffee. Humbling to realise that my morning walk of an hour only burnt 200 calories ie 3 biscuits?

Personally I don't think 'low cal snacks' are a real solution. Many are either mostly carbs which are rapidly converted to sugar and/or have artificial sweeteners which seem to not be helpful, and/or less-good fats.

A small amount of something more like 'real food' may be better - a bit of cheese (with a couple of walnuts for crunch) , fruit and yogurt etc. I plan on having that mid-afternoon so it's not an 'extra'. Using a smaller bowl for such things helps too.

I've found it absolutely mind boggling how calorie counting really goes against my expectations when it comes to foods.

Example - Day 1 breakfast - pretty small home made breakfast muffin with processed sausage patties, egg and processed cheese slices - was about 750 calories, gone in about 4 - 5 bites. Still hungry.

Day 2 breakfast - Huge chimichurri beef hash egg, cheese, plenty of potato, 2 whole peppers and a large onion - 650 calories, absolutely stuffed afterward.

Doesn't feel intuitive being able to eat such a big meal with meat, cheese and carbs and it be less calorific than a tiny muffin, but perhaps that's why I'm in this position in the first place 😋

I eat fruit daily regardless of the "sugar," as it fills me up and is healthy. I don't obsess too much about sugar as I am not that overweight, just have a squishy middle.

Doesn't feel intuitive being able to eat such a big meal with meat, cheese and carbs and it be less calorific than a tiny muffin, but perhaps that's why I'm in this position in the first place

Meal 1 no veg, low fibre, meal 2 lots of veg!

Fruit is definitely good but visceral fat (squishy middles) and sugar are likely linked.

Really? Like one portion of fruit per day? I don't eat any other sugar except a digestive with my coffee, which I am now cutting down on. I don't eat chocolate or cake except very occasionally. And I don't eat any UPF at all.

Then I might just live with my middle.😊

I'd take a squishy middle and eating fruit over not eating it, I'm sorry but the sugar in fruit is definitely better for me than the sugar in biscuits etc

No, I misunderstood, thought you meant lots of snacking on it.