Anonymous wrote:Yesterday was tough, and I ended closer to 1800-2000 cals. And my weight was up 2 lbs this morning. (I know people say it doesn’t register this quickly but for me it does seem to.)

I’m already thinking about food but trying not to eat until lunch so I can maybe have a satiating dinner. I might quit because I feel like I’m going crazy trying to eat so little. How do you all do it and manage feeling hungry all the damn time?

Weight and fat are not the same thing. Yes, eating more one day can make the scale spike 2 lbs the next day. Same with eating more salt than usual. Scale can also go down 2 lbs in a day is you get dehydrated. But you did not gain 2 lbs of fat eating 1800 cal one day. You are just retaining more water.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I saw 142 on the scale today, so two lbs down after a week, so I answered my initial question: was my weight gain perimenopause or other age related issue or was I just eating that much. I was just eating that much. I found it hard with all the noise about protien and intermittent fasting. I do better when I eat after I wake up unless I am going to the gym that morning. I also eat an early dinner because of an even workout session once or twiceca week, so I am a bit flexible in eating times.

Op here. Correction: 1lb weight loss not 2! But still pleased with the results!

We have similar numbers - was at 141.4 this morning and I have been losing 1 pound a week.
What is your goal weight?
I would like to get to the 130's and leave the 140s behind. I think I will see how I look and feel at 136 or so, hopefully will get there without issue.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. I saw 142 on the scale today, so two lbs down after a week, so I answered my initial question: was my weight gain perimenopause or other age related issue or was I just eating that much. I was just eating that much. I found it hard with all the noise about protien and intermittent fasting. I do better when I eat after I wake up unless I am going to the gym that morning. I also eat an early dinner because of an even workout session once or twiceca week, so I am a bit flexible in eating times.

Op here. Correction: 1lb weight loss not 2! But still pleased with the results!

Op here. I saw 142 on the scale today, so two lbs down after a week, so I answered my initial question: was my weight gain perimenopause or other age related issue or was I just eating that much. I was just eating that much. I found it hard with all the noise about protien and intermittent fasting. I do better when I eat after I wake up unless I am going to the gym that morning. I also eat an early dinner because of an even workout session once or twiceca week, so I am a bit flexible in eating times.

Anonymous wrote:Other than eating canned tuna, salad Nicoise, every day, do you have any recommendations for food that keeps you reasonably non hungry?

I am concentrating on chewing evert bite and letting my stomach settle. There are moments of hunger. I won't lie. But in general a breakfast taco in the morning and a veggie egg scramble for lunch seem to work for me. I have treated myself to a misto with soy milk which actually has some good protien. For a snack, I have an icelandic plain yogurt which is also heavy in protien and I added special K, which has a lot of protien for cereal. Dinner has just been smaller measured portions and it seems to be working. I am strangly not hungry. I think I am also okay psychologically since I only expect to do this another week and reassess.

I ended up averaging about 1359 for the week, but I’ll give some examples of days I stayed under:

Breakfast — coffee with milk
Lunch — cabbage braised in bone broth with tomato ane carrot
Snack — 1 cup grapes
Dinner — serving and a half of spinach ravioli plus cake and low fat milk


Breakfast — coffee with milk
Lunch —carrot and shredded broccoli salad with a Thai curry paste binegreyte and 1/4 cup spiced peanuts
Snack — 4 town crackers. Tea with cream.
Dinner — pasta with Italian saysage, tomatos, arugula and Parmesan
Evening snack — yoggies strawberry snack pack


Breakfast — coffee with milk, homemade banana whole wheat muffin
Lunch — 1 cup pinto beans with 1/3 cup brown rice and one slice provolone
Dinner — pasta with shrimp and scallops sautéed in butter with white wine

And here’s a day where I would have been under except for the pina colada I had with dinner:
Breakfast coffee with milk
Lunch — Greek yogurt with a cup of blueberries and 1/4 cup of granola
Dinner—fried egg with a scallion pancake and peri peri mayonnaise. If I’d just had the pineapple and even the rum without the cream of coconut added in, I would have been under.
After dinner snack — homemade whole wheat banana muffin


I’m cooking for teens so my dinners tend to be my biggest meal and typically include something like pasta. That’s probably not the best strategy but I don’t have the will power to cook it for them and not eat it myself. Doing something like mixing in arugula helps me keep my pasta portion a little lower.

Anonymous wrote:Other than eating canned tuna, salad Nicoise, every day, do you have any recommendations for food that keeps you reasonably non hungry?

nope, just resigned for hunger to be my new normal.

Other than eating canned tuna, salad Nicoise, every day, do you have any recommendations for food that keeps you reasonably non hungry?

No Western Adult needs 1600 calories. Good for you for realizing this. I feel best at around 1300-1200.

Op here. Thursday and Friday were tough at 1600+ and 1400+ respectively but down to 1240 today and very happy. I have been coming in at a pound under. I talked to my weight lifting trainer and I am going to do another week at 1200 and then we are going to talk specifics of diet. I think the best part is I have been feeling good all week! I don't feel bloated. I haven't felt terribly hungry and I find I am more mindful when I do eat. I also realized how much I was eating. I don't need all that food!

Anonymous wrote:Why would you all restrict to 1200 regardless of height and weight? It’s setting yourself up for failure. I am 43, 5’1” and around 110-113 currently but have been as high as 130 or so postpartum. I have been my current size for several years. I workout 5-6 times a week and prioritize lifting but none of my workouts are longer than 30-40 mins. I can lose on 1350-1400 easily. This isn’t because I am genetically gifted..it’s math! Please look up your TDEE and subtract 250-500 cals per day. I also eat back my exercise calories most days. You don’t have to suffer at 1200!

Good for you that you figured out what works for your body!!

Anonymous wrote:Why would you all restrict to 1200 regardless of height and weight? It’s setting yourself up for failure. I am 43, 5’1” and around 110-113 currently but have been as high as 130 or so postpartum. I have been my current size for several years. I workout 5-6 times a week and prioritize lifting but none of my workouts are longer than 30-40 mins. I can lose on 1350-1400 easily. This isn’t because I am genetically gifted..it’s math! Please look up your TDEE and subtract 250-500 cals per day. I also eat back my exercise calories most days. You don’t have to suffer at 1200!

Everyone is different. I don’t lose as easily at 1350-1400. I have been eating at the 1200 level since mid-December new year and have lost 25 pounds.

Why would you all restrict to 1200 regardless of height and weight? It’s setting yourself up for failure. I am 43, 5’1” and around 110-113 currently but have been as high as 130 or so postpartum. I have been my current size for several years. I workout 5-6 times a week and prioritize lifting but none of my workouts are longer than 30-40 mins. I can lose on 1350-1400 easily. This isn’t because I am genetically gifted..it’s math! Please look up your TDEE and subtract 250-500 cals per day. I also eat back my exercise calories most days. You don’t have to suffer at 1200!

Op here. Today was bad--there was work event plus a birthday, so ended up with 1675 total. I am going to have to plan better for going out/social events.

1400 calories today

- 5' 4.5"
- 141 lbs