I'm not starving! How I eat 1,200 calories a day and feel satisfied.

If you would have told me 6 months ago that I would not only log all of the food I eat but also try to stay under 1,200 calories a day, I would have laughed.  I always had some excuse about why I did not need to keep track or count calories:

1)  I eat a plant-based diet, no meat or dairy.  I don't need to worry about it.
2)  I am eating gluten-free or nearly so and not really anything with sugar, so I should not have to worry about calories.
3)  I am focusing on protein shakes and eating a lot of egg-whites.  I can't be consuming many calories!
4)  I am staying within my Weight Watchers points for the day, so calories do not really matter!
5)  I worked out every night this week and burned thousands of calories.
6)  Blah blah blah ... some other similar excuse equal to those above.

NONE of those things worked.  It took a lot of frustration and wasted time on my part but I eventually figured out that tracking calories will probably always be a necessity for me.  I may get to a point where I do not track everything, everyday.  It would be nice to eventually use regular weigh-ins and how my clothes fit to assess if I am on track or need to cut down a bit.  I have heard that many reach a phase where they can intuitively know when to keep eating and when to stop each day.  I am nowhere near that point.

I aim to fall in the 1,100 to 1,300 range.  I have 1 day every week or two where my calories spike and another day or two when they go lower.  I very much believe in the concept of "caloric cycling," or trying to avoid eating the same amount of calories day after day.  If your metabolism knows what to expect, it goes into autopilot mode.  If you are always providing your body with a slightly different caloric intake, it removes the ability of your metabolism to adjust and become more efficient at a set caloric intake.

I LOVE to eat.  I am not someone that could eat three times a day and never snack.  Besides, that way of eating is not good for our bodies.  When you eat a lot and then go more than 3 hours without eating again, you create a huge spike and then subsequent crash in your blood sugar/glucose levels.  That makes you tired, agitated, irritable, etc.  You need to eat within an hour of getting up and every 2-3 hours throughout the day.  I have a whole list of 50, 100 and 150 snacks and mini-meals that I choose from.  This allows me to eat on a regular basis and to stay within my calorie range.  I went back through all of my food logs and found many of the non-fruit and non-vegetable snacks and put them together on a list at Pinterest.

You need to think of your calories like money:  put yourself on a daily budget.  If I know that I am going to have something higher in calories for dinner (usually a restaurant meal), I try to eat all low-calorie snacks earlier in the day.  If I have a high-calorie lunch, I know that I need to wisely budget the rest of my calories in the evening and also at night.  Some nutritionists believe that you should stop eating a few hours before bedtime.  I really enjoy a bedtime snack.  If a snack at night and its ensuing digestion bothers you, skip it.  If not, enjoy.

This exact plan will not work for all women but consider analyzing everything that you eat for a few days.  I think most of us underestimate exactly how much we consume.  Experiment with the amount of calories that you eat to find an amount that leaves you satisfied yet also allows your body to maintain your health weight.  And for men, I would not recommend anything under 1,500 calories a day.

What are your main obstacles to eating what you consider to be a healthy diet?  Share them with me below or via email and I can assist help you think of a few tips and tricks to try.