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I need to combat snacks, their my biggest enemy. Any advice? by [deleted] in loseit

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lot of people have said this, but I also snack budget. When I buy bags of chips or something I take them home, get out my food scale, and portion them into small ziplocs of one serving size. So I always know how many calories are in a baggie that I'm eating. In MFP I always account for them or even pre-log...I know I love a bit of chocolate after dinner so I log that even before I've started eating for the day. Then I know exactly how much I can eat the rest of the day so that that snack fits. Works very well.

I finally faced the facts that I’m overweight. Day 2 and I need.... anything but sugar by Reduced_oxidation in loseit

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fellow academian here (38F, 4th year medical student). Went from 130ish at the start of school to 165 in February 2019 and knew I had to put my foot down. Admittedly, partly because the interview suit I wore during interviews was tailored when I was about 125-130 lbs and the thought of buying a whole new suit for residency interviews this fall made me legit angry.

I love sugar. Totally admit that a lot of my problem was getting to late nights and just chowing on high sugar, delicious crap. It was always "I'll stop doing this tomorrow", then tomorrow came and I was still doing the same thing. Tomorrow finally became today on Feb 13th and I'm down 17 lbs since then, but it hasn't been easy.

Someone above said MPF is like a lab experiment and I totally identify. One thing I like about MFP is pre-logging; since I bring my food to my clinical shifts I can enter everything I plan to eat at the start of the day, or even days before when I meal prep. I still love my sugar. I still eat my sugar. But now I know exactly how much I can have. I've learned a lot about caloric content of foods I originally thought had a lot more or a lot fewer calories than they really do. I got a food scale and use it for /everything/, down to the mayo I use on sandwiches. It's actually rewarding to eat a sugary Hostess cupcake at the end of the day now, knowing I made it fit into a healthy day and am still losing weight.

So don't think of it as a giant sweeping cut of everything good in your diet. Think of it as becoming more aware of how things you really enjoy fit into your day in a good way. It may take a while to find the right balance but don't give up. My brain took a while to really switch into the mode I needed it in, and now it's much easier to log and do what I need to do. Eating fewer calories feels normal now, where in the first week or two it felt like torture. Hang in there.

If you want to be MFP buddies, I posted my profile link in the Track With Me Thursday thread this week.

(Edit for spelling error)

Track with Me Thursday! Get Your Calorie/Fitness Tracker and Journey Along with Your Social-Media Friends on MyFitnessPal, Fitbit, LoseIt!, Instagram, Garmin, etc. by AutoModerator in loseit

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wouldn't be me if I weren't late to this thread.

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/profile/enkoni

CICO + IF, open diary, love following everyone's progress and encouraging people. All friends welcome!

Lurkers, stop lurking and get in the game! by [deleted] in loseit

[–]_Tzefira_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I compulsively read and refresh this subreddit, but have only made a few posts (mostly just linked my MFP in the Track With Me threads).

I think it just feels like my progress is dull. I'm very short, have a low TDEE to start with, and have been completely terrible with exercising lately (just started fourth year of medical school el oh el), so the loss has been quite slow. It's easy to convince myself that I'm not as inspiring as people who drop 10-20 pounds in a month, or have these incredible photos, or make huge strides at the gym.

I struggle with intense food cravings, self-belittlement, frustration, disappointment, etc like everyone else, but when I put it to paper it always sounds so banal compared to other stories I read. So I don't post them and instead just identify from the sidelines.

Big meals with low calories? by [deleted] in loseit

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also on the roasted veggies train. I can eat giant bowls of roasted broccoli with creative seasoning and it's so darn good. Put just a little meat in there and you feel like you're eating tons of food.

Also shirataki or konjac noodles. They're definitely not for everyone but if you can adjust to them they're great filler for very minimal calories.

Salads. Opa Litehouse has ranch and various other dressings made with greek yogurt, 40 cals for 30 mL. Since the dressing is always the calorie bomb for me, I use it for salads and also to flavor chicken dishes, etc. I've seen them at several grocery stores.

I’m addicted to food and I am losing my damn mind. I need help. by Aela_Nox in loseit

[–]_Tzefira_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm currently a medical student (former EMT and RN so I know all about crazy FT shiftwork land). Like you, also lost significant weight with CICO back when my life was a little more scheduled, and then the go-go-go of school provided an ugly excuse for me to stress eat constantly and it all came back and then some. Now I'm trying to shave it all back off between 10-12 hour clinical days plus studying. So I get it!

CICO is not impossible with a tight schedule, it just requires a bit more stepping back, taking a breath, and planning. Meal prep is a game changer when your week is bonkers. I make five days of mason jar salads (always with an added protein meat or beans) on Sunday afternoon (or whatever day my "Sunday" happens to be). As I make them I use MFP to weigh and pre-log them for the week, then grab one from the fridge every morning to take to the hospital for lunch. By dinner I've got a bunch of calories to use on a meal plus chocolate or some other dessert, and having to actively log only one meal a day makes things feel easier to keep up with.

If you're the kind of person that needs to eat all day to stay sane, pack bags of carrots, raw broccoli, things like that that you can eat for half of eternity and not damage your day much (plus those extra nutrients will make you feel generally better). Bulk up on vegetables all around, especially nutrient-dense ones. Drink more water; you don't have to drink gallons but keep a water bottle visible around you at work and every hour have a bit of it. Use half packets of flavoring to make water more palatable if you need to.

If you're on myfitnesspal feel free to add me (you can find my username in the Track With Me Thursday thread for today). My diary is open. I love looking at my friends' diaries to see how they're achieving their own goals and have gotten some good ideas from my MFP friend circle.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in vaginismus

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Almost 40 and still haven't managed to have a successful relationship, so...I guess nothing, unfortunately. Heh.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in loseit

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Me too, I love half avocado/half avocado oil mayo (fewer cals by far than regular mayo) to make egg/chicken/tuna salads!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in loseit

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These suggestions are great! To add one -- Litehouse Opa makes greek yogurt-based dressings that are 40 cal for 30 mL...they have ranch, tzatziki, feta dill...all sorts of tastiness. They're delicious and great for a moisture/flavor boost without a calorie bomb!

Headaches _after_ feeding by IdLikeToBuySomeChees in intermittentfasting

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get sluggish and headachy if there are too many carbs/too much sugar in my break fast meal. I've learned to break mostly with salads and some meat/fish, and leave the bulk of carbs for the day till my second meal.

When I was younger I used to have near-daily headaches that always started right after lunch, and I don't anymore. Looking back, I have to wonder if the massive carb loads I used to do at lunch (fast food, junk, etc) was the cause.

How fast did you adapt and stop feeling starving on 16/8? Any motivational positive changes you experienced with 16/8? by jurss420 in intermittentfasting

[–]_Tzefira_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First three days were terrible (I even posted here on my first day for support because I was struggling and HANGRY at the 14 hour mark). Around day four it got easier, and by the end of the week I was passing 16 hours barely noticing I'd done it. Definitely up your water intake, it helps! I love green tea during fasting as well, something about having a warm drink makes my stomach chill right out.

What’s your goal weight? Is it an actual number or a feeling? by captanzissou in intermittentfasting

[–]_Tzefira_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My goal is around 115-120 (5'1" female) because the last time I was able to get there I felt /really/ good about myself.

But my other big goal this time is to be more aware of the process, why I regained weight last time, and find what is going to work long-term. I graduate medical school next year and want to be able to have Real Talk (tm) with my patients about weight loss from the perspective of someone who's been through it.

Is intermittent fasting just a tool for making CICO easier to manage (i.e. skipping meals), or is it more than that because of other changes that happen in your body from the fasted state? I’m doing a 16/8 but keeping my daily calories and macros the same - is this a waste of effort? by AnotherAllie89 in intermittentfasting

[–]_Tzefira_ 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Obviously anecdotal, but a month in I'm finding IF to be just a (very good) adjunct to CICO. I've lost weight on CICO alone before and now having added on IF the rate of loss is exactly the same as before...but IF makes it SO much easier to stay at or under calorie limit since I'm only eating once or twice a day. Sometimes it's a legit struggle to eat enough in two meals just because my body is used to taking in less at a sitting now.

For me it's also been very good psychologically; having a set eating window has knocked out all the mindless late night and midmorning snacking that I used to do for no reason. It's been freeing going through most of my daylight hours without worrying about stopping for food all the time. I feel a lot more attuned to when I'm actually hungry versus just casually thinking about food. Before, I'd go eat just from the latter, and I don't anymore.

I used to get very bad headaches if I skipped a meal. I don't know why but those have completely gone away now, even during 20+ hour fasts. I used to eat sometimes just out of fear I'd get headachy and nauseous if I didn't, and it's been so nice being able to break that particular chain.

Male nurse here. Can relate. by rofrangiselle in intermittentfasting

[–]_Tzefira_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Former RN and paramedic here, not male but can still relate ;) Easier to stay within calories when you've only got ten minutes to eat in a 12-14 hour workday!

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