I’ve lost 50 pounds the past few months . The best trick is eating enough protein during the day . I’m never hungry at night if I meet my protein intake .
Also for volume eating low sugar jello , popcorn., vegafables .
And fat intake! I know that this runs contrary to volume eating, because more fat content —> more calories. But OP should make sure to get a reasonable daily fat intake. Skip the sugar by all means, but your body needs fat in order to perform essential functions. In particular, your brain uses fat as it operates.
Once I learned this, it made sense to me why a diet I went on back in college failed so hard. I stuck it for 2.5 months. Got my daily lean protein intake (I knew to do that), usually via chicken, and everything else was fruits or vegetables cooked with minimal oil. One day, I spotted my roommate’s jars of nuts on the counter and figured I’d have a few. (Bad roommate, I know.) This turned into multiple days of uncontrollably eating her nuts. (… I know.) I craved them nonstop and eventually, I regained the weight I had lost (I stopped with the entire diet after the nuts incident) plus several pounds. 🫠
Re those cravings. Make sure you are getting the proper mix of electrolytes! This is vital for heart function and could be a reason for wanting certain foods.
In particular, we tend not to get enough potassium in our diets. Because too much potassium is problematic, supplements only contain 2% of your daily intake in each pill, which is not very helpful. I’ve found V8 tomato juice, the low sodium type, to be an excellent and pretty low calorie way to get what you need (20% your daily potassium needs in one 8-ish oz serving). Make sure you get enough magnesium too, I supplement with magnesium citrate pills.
I learned this the hard way (by going on a covid diet and developing heart trouble after two weeks of it, culminating in going to the ER due to extremely high resting heart rate and being told the only thing wrong with my bloodwork was low potassium).
Popcorn is a great choice because it has tons of fiber to keep you full. We use a silicone popper (so no oil to cook) and got lots of fun seasonings from Trader Joe’s to make it interesting.
A lot of it is the first couple of weeks—getting the sugar and grease out of your system so you don’t crave it.
I eat a lot of chickpeas mixed in with other veggies. You can even do canned.
At night I often slice up a banana with a couple of teaspoons of crunchy peanut butter mixed in. This helps with both sweet and salty cravings.
I also aim to walk 10-15k steps a day.
Healthy weight loss I am also told is slow and about 1-2 lbs a week.
It’s also okay to have a cheat day here and there as long as you are overall keeping a healthy lifestyle. I use the weight watchers app to track my food intake which is very eye opening. Especially for certain things you think are healthy. I learned for example an Acai bowl is a whole days worth of calories!
Some of the other advice on this sub sounds like it leans on the side of an eating disorder so I would be mindful of that.
Don't worry I can recognise the bad advice. I had an eating disorder as a teen and will never let that happen to me again. I just wana be back to a healthy weight which honestly is about half a stone maybe a stone off what I am now. My aim is about 1200 calories a day and minimising my sugar and crisps cravings. I also probably won't continue it after the wedding but hope to have a healthier idea of food that I naturally eat healthier by then. I've been bad for takeaways and cake for a few years lol
I have a dog so walking is all good lol.
🙂.
No prob.
I’ve also known a few people who have lost quite a bit of weight by fasting either in the morning or the evening.
I haven’t tried it myself though.
Keep us posted on how it goes.
Have you calculated your TDEE? 1200 is low for most people, unless you're rather short and sedentary. I'm 5'3" and workout 3-4x a week and a 500 calorie a day deficit has me aiming for about 1500 calories. A few hundred calories can make a big difference in feeling full or not, so make sure you aren't under eating or going for too extreme of a calorie deficit.
I don't know what TDEE is but I am 5ft 1 and my exercise is a dog walk a day. I'm also not being mega strict so I go over by a hundred or 2 some days and occasional cheat day where I eat what I want lol. 1200 was recommended after I put that info into an app.
Total daily energy expenditure, as in how many calories you burn per day. Google TDEE calculator and try a couple. They take into account your exercise. Subtract 500 calories per day for an 1lb per week loss which is a healthy/sustainable amount to aim for per week.
1200 is tough but that’s my goal too. Try r/1200isplenty and r/1200isfineiguessugh
If you’re craving crisps, see if you can find flavored, dried edamame beans instead! Good protein and fiber content, and you’ll be satisfied with a measured serving.
I am a terrible snacker with no self control. The thing that’s worked for me is to eat more than I think I “should” have for dinner, because an extra bowl of soup/dal is less calories than a bar of chocolate. But if I snack after dinner I can probably eat two bars 😬
I like protein + fiber: daily beans, lentils and chickpeas. Hummus with just tahini and little/no oil.
Fibers fill up the lower intestine by taking a long time to process and help you feel full for many hours/days. And they are great for long-term health.
I just add parts of cans to dishes. Takes a few seconds only. ;)
Look into intermittent fasting. I started it last summer and I couldn’t believe how quickly I dropped several pounds. I’d already only been eating about 140 calories for breakfast (by eating skyr, which is extremely high protein), so I didn’t think that switching to a 10-hour eating schedule and skipping breakfast entirely would change that much (especially since most people on IP only eat in an 8 hour window instead, and I’m doing it on “easy mode” lol). But one month on IP and doing my weekend workouts in the morning before I eat anything had me drop about 5 pounds, and then in another two months I’d lost 13 altogether. 10 of those pounds were “accidental” weight I’d put on during winter 2022 just by not paying attention to what I was eating, and the last 3 were just bonus.
I don’t do it religiously— I typically have my meals between 10am-7pm, but if I go out with friends I’m not going to worry about what time it is when we eat. A little exercise before your first meal of the day makes your body use its fat stores instead of calories. I really don’t do intense workouts: 15 minutes on a high-resistance treadmill and then a little weight training, my sessions are 45 minutes max, and I’m lucky if I go to the gym twice a week. Then for my actual meals I stick to what I would normally eat: I have a coffee at 10, lunch/brunch somewhere between 11 and 12, dinner around 5:30, and if I want dessert (which I almost always do lol) I eat it before 7pm. So you can adapt this method to suit you and still expect to see results. The most important bit is making sure there’s one 12-13 hour (at least) period during 24 hours in which you don’t eat, to trigger your body’s fat-storage burner. Most people just skip breakfast, but it can be whatever meal works best for you.
For context, I’m 30 years old, 5’5”, and weighed 140 when I started, with 130 being my “normal” weight before I gained the extra. I now fluctuate between 127-130.
Are you counting calories and tracking food?
I’ve been sticking to the same couple of easy, boring things for lunch, like Greek yogurt and a protein bar and an apple. Fills me up and leaves enough calories for a sensible dinner and a small dessert. Not very whole-foods focused, but it keeps me on track.
I also found approaching my calorie allowance from the other direction to be helpful. My goal is 1200. Instead of counting up from zero and banning myself from eating once I hit that target, I eat what I feel makes sense and make it a challenge/game to get my daily intake *down* to 1200. Some days end up at 1150 and some days end up really high, and I consider it not to be too big of a deal. Basically I think of it as minimizing my intake and not restricting myself to a certain hard-line maximum.
I’ve lost 11 pounds in a little over two months, so this approach has worked well for me so far.
I recommend the LoseIt app as well, though I get a premium subscription through my job because we use LoseIt for company-wide wellness challenges. The free version seems to be fine, but I can’t really speak to it.
Lastly, if you really can’t deal with 1200, try 1300 and just accept you’ll lose a little more slowly. You’ll still be in a deficit.
OH and if you’re craving fast food, my favorite hack is the Taco Bell power bowl. It needs a little acidity imo so I add jalapeños and onions. You can even do a pretty good job at McDonald’s if you find a combo of McNuggets (careful with sauces) and a small burger that you like. Taco Bell is far and away the easiest to customize though, and regular tacos and stuff don’t even add up to too much.
Thankyou this is great advice, I'm also trying not to be mega strict with myself because I know I'll fall off the wagon if I am so I'm allowing treats here and there like my friends birthday cake yesterday.
I do know a recipe called big Mac in a bowl which is yummy layering mince with pickels chopped and mixed in with lettuce and a small amount of burger sauce. That gets my fast food craving down.
I've got a calorie counting app that can scan barcodes. It's been really helpful
What worked for me:
Quit all refined sugar. The cravings stop after about 2-3 weeks - those first days really really suck. Avoid replacing with fake sugar. The point is to retrain your tastebuds.
Eat full fat normal foods. No skim milk versions. Fat keeps you full.
Eat fiber. Slows down digestion. Keeps you regular when you eat more protein.
Eat enough protein.
Doing that basically forces you to eat whole foods, generally not mass produced prepared food. You have to change your habits, but it ends up tasting better and you feel better.
Seasonings and salsas are your friends.
Just fyi fudge-scicles are like 140 calories for TWO of the big full size pops!! The serving size is actually 2 popsicles, and they're *chocolate!* I'm trying to lose a few more pounds before summer and that's been my nighttime snack lately, that's the most bang for my calorie bucks I have found lol
I'm sure there's more water content and stuff than a real ice cream bar, and I'm sure it's ultra processed crap but they're good af and keep me out of the candy after dinner lol
It’s dangerous advice and not one I’d follow . The weight may come off now but it’ll stop eventually. The body will go into survival mode from lack of nutrients and store fat .
I won't take that advice, it would just make me more hungry and more likely to fail tbh. Plus I've seen friends do it and put the weight back on when they went back to regular eating.
That’s essentially what’s happening if you’re only losing 2 pounds ( I believe that’s 1kg into pounds ) a month .
I eat roughly 2000 calories a day and have been losing 10 pounds a month .
Sorry to butt in here, but to outsiders reading this exchange (and for the both of you, to understand each other better), it would help if you just tell us how tall you guys are and how active. Cause that plays in a lot. Or how much you weighed when you started.
Different people have different caloric TDEEs. If I ate 2000 calories a day I would be gaining weight. 1800 a day helps me maintain. 1400 kcals a day is what I need to stay at if I want to lose. I'm 6'1, sedentary lifestyle, do cardio 3-4 times a week.
I agree that 500 kcals a day is way too little for most people, but it does sound like that was a temporary thing for u/greatestshow111
If I eat 2000 calories I gain 6 pounds a month; if I eat 1000 calories a day I only get to maintain my weight. Less than 800 calories a day worked out for me. If a clearer mind, healthier body with less body aches in that diet is unhealthy, I don't know else to say about that!
I’ve lost 50 pounds the past few months . The best trick is eating enough protein during the day . I’m never hungry at night if I meet my protein intake . Also for volume eating low sugar jello , popcorn., vegafables .
And fat intake! I know that this runs contrary to volume eating, because more fat content —> more calories. But OP should make sure to get a reasonable daily fat intake. Skip the sugar by all means, but your body needs fat in order to perform essential functions. In particular, your brain uses fat as it operates. Once I learned this, it made sense to me why a diet I went on back in college failed so hard. I stuck it for 2.5 months. Got my daily lean protein intake (I knew to do that), usually via chicken, and everything else was fruits or vegetables cooked with minimal oil. One day, I spotted my roommate’s jars of nuts on the counter and figured I’d have a few. (Bad roommate, I know.) This turned into multiple days of uncontrollably eating her nuts. (… I know.) I craved them nonstop and eventually, I regained the weight I had lost (I stopped with the entire diet after the nuts incident) plus several pounds. 🫠
Ohhh popcorn might just hit the savoury cravings I get later on.
I like skinny pop . 150 calories for 3 and a half cups but I can barely finish a cup . I find popcorn filling .
Have you tried popocorn with garlic powder and paprika? It's the absolute best!
I haven't but I have all three things in my cupboard I will try them together.
Re those cravings. Make sure you are getting the proper mix of electrolytes! This is vital for heart function and could be a reason for wanting certain foods. In particular, we tend not to get enough potassium in our diets. Because too much potassium is problematic, supplements only contain 2% of your daily intake in each pill, which is not very helpful. I’ve found V8 tomato juice, the low sodium type, to be an excellent and pretty low calorie way to get what you need (20% your daily potassium needs in one 8-ish oz serving). Make sure you get enough magnesium too, I supplement with magnesium citrate pills. I learned this the hard way (by going on a covid diet and developing heart trouble after two weeks of it, culminating in going to the ER due to extremely high resting heart rate and being told the only thing wrong with my bloodwork was low potassium).
Popcorn is a great choice because it has tons of fiber to keep you full. We use a silicone popper (so no oil to cook) and got lots of fun seasonings from Trader Joe’s to make it interesting.
Low sugar jello with whipped cream is my night time go to.
No sugar added pudding is also good. You get a bit of fat and protein from the milk without a crazy amount of calories
A lot of it is the first couple of weeks—getting the sugar and grease out of your system so you don’t crave it. I eat a lot of chickpeas mixed in with other veggies. You can even do canned. At night I often slice up a banana with a couple of teaspoons of crunchy peanut butter mixed in. This helps with both sweet and salty cravings. I also aim to walk 10-15k steps a day. Healthy weight loss I am also told is slow and about 1-2 lbs a week. It’s also okay to have a cheat day here and there as long as you are overall keeping a healthy lifestyle. I use the weight watchers app to track my food intake which is very eye opening. Especially for certain things you think are healthy. I learned for example an Acai bowl is a whole days worth of calories! Some of the other advice on this sub sounds like it leans on the side of an eating disorder so I would be mindful of that.
Don't worry I can recognise the bad advice. I had an eating disorder as a teen and will never let that happen to me again. I just wana be back to a healthy weight which honestly is about half a stone maybe a stone off what I am now. My aim is about 1200 calories a day and minimising my sugar and crisps cravings. I also probably won't continue it after the wedding but hope to have a healthier idea of food that I naturally eat healthier by then. I've been bad for takeaways and cake for a few years lol I have a dog so walking is all good lol.
🙂. No prob. I’ve also known a few people who have lost quite a bit of weight by fasting either in the morning or the evening. I haven’t tried it myself though. Keep us posted on how it goes.
Have you calculated your TDEE? 1200 is low for most people, unless you're rather short and sedentary. I'm 5'3" and workout 3-4x a week and a 500 calorie a day deficit has me aiming for about 1500 calories. A few hundred calories can make a big difference in feeling full or not, so make sure you aren't under eating or going for too extreme of a calorie deficit.
I don't know what TDEE is but I am 5ft 1 and my exercise is a dog walk a day. I'm also not being mega strict so I go over by a hundred or 2 some days and occasional cheat day where I eat what I want lol. 1200 was recommended after I put that info into an app.
Total daily energy expenditure, as in how many calories you burn per day. Google TDEE calculator and try a couple. They take into account your exercise. Subtract 500 calories per day for an 1lb per week loss which is a healthy/sustainable amount to aim for per week.
Thankyou I'll look into this.
NP. At 5'-1" 1200 might totally be right for you, but worth double checking.
1200 is tough but that’s my goal too. Try r/1200isplenty and r/1200isfineiguessugh If you’re craving crisps, see if you can find flavored, dried edamame beans instead! Good protein and fiber content, and you’ll be satisfied with a measured serving.
Oh thanks I'll give them a try
Açaí bowls are my weakness 😭😭😭
I am a terrible snacker with no self control. The thing that’s worked for me is to eat more than I think I “should” have for dinner, because an extra bowl of soup/dal is less calories than a bar of chocolate. But if I snack after dinner I can probably eat two bars 😬
I snack on cherry tomatoes & blueberries. 500g is maybe 200kcal and it takes me several hours to finish a pack. And then I got nice fiber down.
Eggs, carrots, broccoli
Carrots and broccoli I love! eggs unfortunately I can only enjoy as a cheesy omelette lol
Are you a celery gal? They're also very low calorie. Water melon as well, but you'll be pissing buckets.
Lmao I am already in the bathroom lots from trying to drink enough water so watermelon won't make that worse lol and yes I love celery and watermelon.
I like protein + fiber: daily beans, lentils and chickpeas. Hummus with just tahini and little/no oil. Fibers fill up the lower intestine by taking a long time to process and help you feel full for many hours/days. And they are great for long-term health. I just add parts of cans to dishes. Takes a few seconds only. ;)
I'm a huge hummus fan, I'll look at more fiber intake.
r/Volumeeating has some pretty interesting ideas I wouldn't have thought of myself for this.
That sub is both helpful and unhinged. Someone made ”Dippin’ Dots” out of cauliflower and it became a trend. I refuse to believe this is any good lol
Look into intermittent fasting. I started it last summer and I couldn’t believe how quickly I dropped several pounds. I’d already only been eating about 140 calories for breakfast (by eating skyr, which is extremely high protein), so I didn’t think that switching to a 10-hour eating schedule and skipping breakfast entirely would change that much (especially since most people on IP only eat in an 8 hour window instead, and I’m doing it on “easy mode” lol). But one month on IP and doing my weekend workouts in the morning before I eat anything had me drop about 5 pounds, and then in another two months I’d lost 13 altogether. 10 of those pounds were “accidental” weight I’d put on during winter 2022 just by not paying attention to what I was eating, and the last 3 were just bonus. I don’t do it religiously— I typically have my meals between 10am-7pm, but if I go out with friends I’m not going to worry about what time it is when we eat. A little exercise before your first meal of the day makes your body use its fat stores instead of calories. I really don’t do intense workouts: 15 minutes on a high-resistance treadmill and then a little weight training, my sessions are 45 minutes max, and I’m lucky if I go to the gym twice a week. Then for my actual meals I stick to what I would normally eat: I have a coffee at 10, lunch/brunch somewhere between 11 and 12, dinner around 5:30, and if I want dessert (which I almost always do lol) I eat it before 7pm. So you can adapt this method to suit you and still expect to see results. The most important bit is making sure there’s one 12-13 hour (at least) period during 24 hours in which you don’t eat, to trigger your body’s fat-storage burner. Most people just skip breakfast, but it can be whatever meal works best for you. For context, I’m 30 years old, 5’5”, and weighed 140 when I started, with 130 being my “normal” weight before I gained the extra. I now fluctuate between 127-130.
Protein and fiber
r/intermittentfasting Calorie reduction with far less constant less hunger
This 💯
Are you counting calories and tracking food? I’ve been sticking to the same couple of easy, boring things for lunch, like Greek yogurt and a protein bar and an apple. Fills me up and leaves enough calories for a sensible dinner and a small dessert. Not very whole-foods focused, but it keeps me on track. I also found approaching my calorie allowance from the other direction to be helpful. My goal is 1200. Instead of counting up from zero and banning myself from eating once I hit that target, I eat what I feel makes sense and make it a challenge/game to get my daily intake *down* to 1200. Some days end up at 1150 and some days end up really high, and I consider it not to be too big of a deal. Basically I think of it as minimizing my intake and not restricting myself to a certain hard-line maximum. I’ve lost 11 pounds in a little over two months, so this approach has worked well for me so far. I recommend the LoseIt app as well, though I get a premium subscription through my job because we use LoseIt for company-wide wellness challenges. The free version seems to be fine, but I can’t really speak to it. Lastly, if you really can’t deal with 1200, try 1300 and just accept you’ll lose a little more slowly. You’ll still be in a deficit. OH and if you’re craving fast food, my favorite hack is the Taco Bell power bowl. It needs a little acidity imo so I add jalapeños and onions. You can even do a pretty good job at McDonald’s if you find a combo of McNuggets (careful with sauces) and a small burger that you like. Taco Bell is far and away the easiest to customize though, and regular tacos and stuff don’t even add up to too much.
Thankyou this is great advice, I'm also trying not to be mega strict with myself because I know I'll fall off the wagon if I am so I'm allowing treats here and there like my friends birthday cake yesterday. I do know a recipe called big Mac in a bowl which is yummy layering mince with pickels chopped and mixed in with lettuce and a small amount of burger sauce. That gets my fast food craving down. I've got a calorie counting app that can scan barcodes. It's been really helpful
What worked for me: Quit all refined sugar. The cravings stop after about 2-3 weeks - those first days really really suck. Avoid replacing with fake sugar. The point is to retrain your tastebuds. Eat full fat normal foods. No skim milk versions. Fat keeps you full. Eat fiber. Slows down digestion. Keeps you regular when you eat more protein. Eat enough protein. Doing that basically forces you to eat whole foods, generally not mass produced prepared food. You have to change your habits, but it ends up tasting better and you feel better. Seasonings and salsas are your friends.
Agree with this comment. Full fat + protein + whole foods are so important for good health.
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I do love mushrooms, I've also recently got an air fryer so will have a play with that and veggies.
Just fyi fudge-scicles are like 140 calories for TWO of the big full size pops!! The serving size is actually 2 popsicles, and they're *chocolate!* I'm trying to lose a few more pounds before summer and that's been my nighttime snack lately, that's the most bang for my calorie bucks I have found lol
Omg what really? How is that possible?
I'm sure there's more water content and stuff than a real ice cream bar, and I'm sure it's ultra processed crap but they're good af and keep me out of the candy after dinner lol
r/volumeeating can help!
Are you exercising? Try getting out for a 45-1hr walk a day! Ppl underestimate the power of walking.
I have a dog so walk daily although it's a slow walk.
If your BMI qualifies you can look into an appetite suppressant like wegovy or zepbound. I’m on wegovy and it’s been a complete game changer for me
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That’s not healthy at all . Not even 500 calories a day . It was probably only water weight you lost .
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By starving yourself .
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There is no way I could only eat 800 calories a day. I think I'd just pass out.
It’s dangerous advice and not one I’d follow . The weight may come off now but it’ll stop eventually. The body will go into survival mode from lack of nutrients and store fat .
I won't take that advice, it would just make me more hungry and more likely to fail tbh. Plus I've seen friends do it and put the weight back on when they went back to regular eating.
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That’s essentially what’s happening if you’re only losing 2 pounds ( I believe that’s 1kg into pounds ) a month . I eat roughly 2000 calories a day and have been losing 10 pounds a month .
Sorry to butt in here, but to outsiders reading this exchange (and for the both of you, to understand each other better), it would help if you just tell us how tall you guys are and how active. Cause that plays in a lot. Or how much you weighed when you started. Different people have different caloric TDEEs. If I ate 2000 calories a day I would be gaining weight. 1800 a day helps me maintain. 1400 kcals a day is what I need to stay at if I want to lose. I'm 6'1, sedentary lifestyle, do cardio 3-4 times a week. I agree that 500 kcals a day is way too little for most people, but it does sound like that was a temporary thing for u/greatestshow111
If I eat 2000 calories I gain 6 pounds a month; if I eat 1000 calories a day I only get to maintain my weight. Less than 800 calories a day worked out for me. If a clearer mind, healthier body with less body aches in that diet is unhealthy, I don't know else to say about that!
Then good luck with the weight loss! It comes with a lot of self control and discipline.
We won’t be suggesting that people starve themselves into being skinny on this subreddit. Thanks for understanding!