Meal planning is my nightmare. Help!

Hi all,

I'm having a really hard time creating a meal plan or something to follow that is within my calorie deficit / macros, which is currenly annoying as a vegetarian. I hate having to find all the calories of everything so have tried to create a recipe tracker but haven't found a method that sticks.

SO. Curious how you all do this. Do you just eat the same thing every day? Do you have a fun worksheet or way to capture recipes? Tell me your tips/tricks so I can finally get over this stupid mental block. TIA!

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Anxiety + successful weight loss, anyone?

I’ve (46F, 5’4”) weighed 180 for a good 5 years. I’ll be really good about tracking calories and exercising and then life hits, my anxiety level is high for several days and I fall off the wagon. I fall off because I’m so in my head that any effort to make healthy food is “too much” for me. I reach for anything easy and sugar satisfies the most. Exercising doesn’t even cross my mind because I’m so preoccupied. Then the shame and anxiety about gaining the weight back and feeling so dysfunctional and hopeless sets in for several more days. I’ll be in this place for a few weeks, finally get myself to snap out of it, but now I’ve undone any previous progress and I’m back at square one. I’m in therapy and take an anxiety med, so I’m doing what I can on that front. Does anyone else relate? Any advice on what I can do to stay on track with CICO and exercise when anxiety hits in the future?

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how worried should someone be?

I’ve been reading a lot about weight loss recently, and one thing that keeps popping up is that losing weight too fast can cause gallbladder stones.

Now I’m kind of spiraling, lol. Every small stomach discomfort suddenly feels suspicious.

For people who’ve actually dealt with this or know more about it:

Is this something that happens only with extreme dieting?

How fast is “too fast” when it comes to losing weight?

What can someone do to keep their gallbladder healthy while cutting?

Are there any warning signs that the gallbladder is actually acting up?

Just trying to understand the reality vs. the scary stuff online. Any real experiences or advice would help a lot.

Thanks.

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Update & Questions

It's been 10 months since I posted!!!

I'm still struggling to actively see physical results myself, but according to the scale I lost ~10 kilos & according to my grandma it is visible.

I moved my week schedule I little so I now go to the gym on Fridays rather than Tuesdays (because that way I have the weekend to recover & don't lose therapy days to exhaustion).

At the moment my gym visits have the following activities regularly;

• Indoor Bike • Leg Press • Arm Extension • 3-4kg Dumbells (different activities based on day) • Treadmill (walking with increased steapness, I'm too scared to try running on it lol)

Some may not be very weekly depending on my physical state that day, but they're the things I use the most.

If anyone has tips for any of these (or specific things to do with Dumbells ) that would be highly appreciated!!

One issue I'm still facing are cravings & living in a household where it doesn't matter how often I ask to "stop buying me chocolate or sweets, it makes me overeat" it only lasts for a few weeks before they start again 💔 -- LOVE my grandparents and know they mean well, but it's getting exhausting to re-explain myself constantly. I tend to rely on sweets during emotional distress, which due to my mental health is part of how I ended up overweight! I'm trying to resist the urge but cravings do take over a lot.

Any advice on how to redirect myself to maybe use more healthy snacks (if I cant stop stress eating fully yet) and maybe help keep those sweets more moderated? I keep trying to but fail miserably every time :(

Another question I have is how do you motivate yourself to go outside on walks more? I haven't done so in a decade, and childhood memories of walks aren't pretty. Being an artist, I was planning to try going outside and draw out in the forest a bit during the warmer months: but now its the end of the year and I never did it. I'd love to go out and play out in the fields and forests like a kid again, but shame/embarrassment is a huge reason I'm scared. I'm an adult now, and terrified of getting weird looks or remarks if I start just having fun outside 😔 Covid and being quarantined alongside my social anxiety have only made this fear worse.

I probably for that also will need to wait until it is warmer again, as i don't have the money to get clothes to actually hang out outside in winter, but hey! I'm still better off than last year!! (i have consistently gone to the gym 2-3 times a month this whole year!!)

Last but not least I DO have Dumbells for at home. I got them hoping I could try doing smaller things here. Issue is my grandparents immediately got worried about me accidentally dropping them and harming the floor, and i suffer a lot with embarrassment being observed doing things differently than my usual life, so I'm not sure where to start. Are there any sport mats or something I could get? where if I drop them on accident the floor is protected & the noise is reduced ? I don't have a ton of space atm so I need minimal/smaller equipment 🙏

Thank you so much I you really through this!!

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How can I lose weight with an injury?

I'm not positive yet but I'm pretty sure my tibia has a small stress fracture. I ran cross country for a couple years and a few months I increased my mileage to around 7.5 miles a day, 3 being ran at a medium pace and the other 4.5 I incline walked. Yesterday, my leg started hurting while I was on the treadmill and it matches the feeling of a stress fracture.

I've lost 10 pounds in the last month and a half and I'm afraid that with this injury I won't be able to get my cardio in and continue losing weight. I eat around 1550 calories each day (sometimes over or under a bit). Should I decrease my calories while I'm healing to lose the weight or can I bike or eliptical to get cardio? I want to heal but I also don't want to lose my progress.

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Reduced hair density during weight loss

I'm a 21 year old male who's 25 pounds down since February, and I just got my hair cut and under the bright light of the barber shop, I was mortified to see so much of my scalp after the haircut. My hairline is intact and its not just in one area, from my sides to the top to the back of my hair theres reduced density everywhere, so much so that under bright lights u can see some scalp no matter how I style it.

I asked GPT and it said this is normal and is called "telogen effluvium", but I'm not losing hairs. Im pulling on my head and checking my pillow and no hair is falling out, its density has just significantly reduced. I'm looking back on photos and videos of me, and my hair was very good and thick up till around mid august, and that's when I start noticing decreased density in photos. The haircut I just got has just woken me up to how bad it's gotten.

Has anyone experienced this and what should I do? Should I take a long break from my cutting phase? Should I go to a dermatologist?

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I need help on losing fat percentage

Hello, I have been trying to lose weight/ body fat for almost two years now. I have lost 33 lbs so far and building/ maintaining my current muscles. From my previous body scan from the gym, it says I only lost like 2% of 40% body fat and I have been struggling in decreasing that percentage and moving the scale. I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice?

What I am currently:

5'4 ft women, 21 years old, current weight 157 lbs, fat is mostly store around legs and face

Issues with menstrual cycle (I added this because it affects my life crazily): super hunger a week before and current week of time (I try to not eat crazy during it)

Here is what I been doing so far:

Calories budget of 1,300 per day, work out at least 3-4 times a week (two leg days, arm day with core exercises, optional full body for the fourth day), I do physical work and school, so I usually walk around 8,000-10,000 steps a day so I don't do cardio while working out just 5-10 mins to warm up or cooling down. I try to eat at least 100 grams of protein but there are days I eat at least 50 grams when I'm not working out. I like to use gym machines to do exercise and go up weight by adding at least 5lbs a week or two, but I am trying to incorporate exercise that use dumbbells or smith machine.

Also: I have been told I look different but maybe its body dysphoria that I don't see it on my face but on my legs and arms only. I have always had a lot of fat on my face since I was a baby, and I have always been chubby, but I lost good amount of weight recently after reaching 190lb. I don't know if that have an effect on me since I have always been on the heavier side.

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Scared of the weight gain

For context I recently lost about 20kg and I am on a trip right now, and before that I was busy with work so I couldn't really hit my goals for about 14 days.

I noticed that even if I didn't walk 7k steps yet ate 1800 calories (my maintenance), I didn't gain weight at all in the first two days.

But now I'm on like day 12 and I feel so bloated. I tried out one of my jeans earlier that were very loose on me but now they're tighter but still a bit loose.

Just coming here to see if this happened to others before, and how much weight gain should I expect when I go home. I'm expecting +5kg to be honest 😭

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I’ve lost a little over 40 kg (90 pounds), but I can’t seem to lose any more.

Hi, I’m 18, male, 185 cm (6 feet), and I currently weigh 93 kg (205 lbs). I’ve been training at the gym for a year and a half, I’ve been losing fat and gaining muscle, and considering that I’ve been on an aggressive cut the whole time with only short breaks, I’ve still managed to gain some muscle. and I only recently started taking creatine and protein (for the past 2 months). But for the past few months, I haven’t been able to lose any weight at all, and there’s been no visible change, not even on the scale, which I really don’t like., but nothing seems to make a difference. In your opinion, should I switch to calorie maintenance, continue an aggressive cut, or try something else?

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I’ve gone to a size small but I have a bad relationship with food

So I have lost about 20 lbs over the course of the last year using slight deficits and walking. However over the past month or so I’ve definitely been slacking and I think it’s due to stress. For example, yesterday I was having a really bad day so I came home and I’ve eaten the following 1. 5 large chocolate chip cookies 2. Most of a bag of white cheddar cheese it. 3. A bowl of chicken pad Thai 4. A sleeve of club crackers 5. Vanilla wafers and pretzels dipped in caramel dip 6. Around 3 servings of ice cream 7. A cheddar bay biscuit 8. Half a tub of grapes

I know that there are probably much worse stories but I honestly just feel terrible about myself. I wanted to look less bloated for a party coming up in a week and I just feel defeated because I know I won’t make it. I feel like a disgusting glutton because of how I deal with stress. I just need to know how to stop myself from doing this, it feel like self sabotage

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Diet fatigue? Idk. Advice please

So I've successfully lost 21 kgs since February (SW of 92 kgs/174 cm) but this month I've hit a plateau and now I have the urge to binge, which is not a normal thing for me. I think I've eaten reasonably, 500-600 kcal deficit, high protein, minding my fiber intake, mandatory budget for treats each day, wasn't at all hard to adhere to. I am finally within a healthy BMI for the first time in my adult life. But seeing all the change and all the loose skin made me slow down a bit at first, I got more lenient and now I'm almost like "whatever". How do I snap out of this? Thank you and thank you for helping a newbie here.

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Stomach issue since cutting calories and exercising.

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Continuing weight loss

Hello, I recently hit 100lbs down using a GLP-1, while it’s changed my life I am ready to quit and lose 30 more lbs on my own. For reference I’m 25f 5’10 220lbs. I have been overweight my whole life so I have never really been on a “diet” until I got on the GLP-1, but honestly I couldn’t have lost the weight without it. I feel confident in myself now to do it on my own with diet and exercise. As a beginner, what do you guys recommend? I’ve seen counting calories/ counting macros, but I don’t know the difference ( sorry if I sound dumb). I’m scared to do this without the medicine, but it’s time. Any advice for a beginner is greatly appreciated! Also, what apps do you recommend.

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It Gets Better

6 months ago I (22F) reached 200lbs, and seeing the number go from 197 to 200 was my moment I decided to change. I struggled a LOT at first. It was hard, I was always hungry, it sucked.

But here I am six months later and I've lost 25 lbs.

No diets. No exercise routines. No hard calorie counting. No professional trainers or coaches. Just small, manageable changes.

I made little tiny changes to my life. Speed walking the dogs or the grocery store instead of walking slow. Learning how many calories I needed, and became conscious of what I was consuming.

For the first while I had to restrict myself. If I felt hungry I asked myself, "is it actually time to eat?" If my last meal had been filling and a sufficient size, I would ignore the hunger until the next meal. If it became unmanageable, I had a small snack.

After I adjusted to fewer calories, I was hungry less. Now I follow a schedule. Watch calories M-F, eat whatever on the weekends! (Which now, is usually not nearly as much!)

At first I tried to stay under 1900 calories. Then I lowered it to 1600. Now I'm working at keeping it under 1500 a day. Do I measure everything? No! I eyeball things, keep track of calories on my head. Rounding numbers. If I want a snack that will take me slightly over? Okay!

Go grocery shopping after eating. Never hungry. Look at the calories on the box. Is it worth it?

When you're eating a meal and you feel full, think to yourself, is the rest worth the calories? (It's okay to say yes! One meal won't ruin your journey)

It took a LOT of discipline at first, but it gets easier. It gets better ❤️

TLDR It's hard, but it gets easier. You will constantly feel hungry at first. That's normal. Avoid shopping hungry and learn how many calories your body needs.

YOU CAN DO IT! I promise :)

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Any Advice is Appreciated!

Anyone have advice for someone who gets little sleep in their weight loss journey. I'm a bartender and get off usually between 1-2, get home between 2-3. It takes me a half hour to crash, so going to sleep between 230-330am. I'm at by 630 to get up and get my sons ready for school.

I'm a wreck the whole day. I'm starting this regimen as soon as my protein powder and psyllium is delivered Saturday.

My days off are Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I feel like Friday and Saturday should be rest days, but then I'm short changing my sons by not going out and doing things with them

Constructive advice is welcome!

Edit: I'm 6'2" and 230 pounds, a lot of that is gut. I'm decently small boned, so 235 is way too much for my natural frame.

Also, this isn't a woe is me post. In March 2024, I lost 25lbs doing a modified carnivore diet with intermittent fasting. It legit worked for me and I stuck to it. Eggs with jalapeños around 9. A ribeye steak (usually 6 ounces) finished with unsalted Irish butter, an over medium egg on top, with 3 spears of asparagus. I only drank water, ice tea with lemon, and coffee with an ounce of heavy cream. My fast time was 5 on, 19 off, the first week was HELL. I moved from 5 minutes from work to over an hour away for financial reasons. Because of my travel time, and with how extremely tired I am (I literally feel like I save up all my energy for a busy work shift), I just can't keep up with that fast. Not to mention when I get off between 2-3, I'm STARVING. It was one thing to drive five minutes home, have a glass of water with lemon and go to bed. With an hour plus drive, I need something to keep me awake.

Any advice is appreciated! I'm tired of being tired!

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Did your taste buds change during weight loss? Because mine literally did, and I wasn't prepared for it 😅

I always heard people say “once you stop eating junk, you won't even want it anymore.” I used to roll my eyes like sure, Karen, my brain is addicted to sugar, not magically broken.

…but then it actually happened.

After a few months of being consistent with cleaner eating (not perfect, just more mindful), something weird happened: foods I used to crave suddenly tasted way too sweet, too oily, or just… artificial?

• I grabbed a can of regular soda after weeks of water and sparkling drinks and nearly gagged. It tasted like carbonated syrup.
• My old favorite fast-food burger? I couldn’t finish it everything felt greasy and heavy.
• But on the flip side, things like blueberries, Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey, or sautéed veggies started tasting amazing. Like my body was more excited by freshness than junk.

And the more whole foods I ate, the easier it became to stop overeating. My hunger cues felt… reset? I’m not saying I never enjoy treats (I still love a good dessert), but now I choose them instead of craving them like a reflex.

If anyone’s currently starting or restarting their journey and wants help building momentum without going “all or nothing,” I put together a free starter guide — link’s in my bio if it helps. No pressure, just sharing in case it’s useful 💪

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I am doing something wrong and I can't figure it out (trying to lose 5kg/10lbs)

I know this is a small goal, but it's my perfect vainity weight that makes me look good and I can't afford to buy new clothes right now. If I can lose more the better, but I found my body works best at 120lbs.

I am 29F, 157 cm / 5.2ft and 59kg / 130 lbs.

I have a office job, but I walk 30min-1hour a day to and from work, I also take brisk walks and on top of this and of course do all ny shopping daily on foot cause I don't have a car. This summer I also biked 1.5 hours daily.

My friends who are into gym life calculated that I need 1800cal for maintenance and the issue is I measured my own calories without restricting and I already eat 1600-1700 without thinking. That would be deficit.

They told me to try 1450-1500 deficit and I began being shaky and faint (not hungry, but my arms and legs shook and vibrate and I had terrible brain fog). I kept it up for 5 weeks and lost 0 kg.

Some of my numbers is wrong, but I can't figure out what. I don't eat out, I don't eat gluten and rarely buy gluten bread cause it's expensive. So no burgers, pasta, pizza, cookies, cakes or anything with flour. I measure everything. But I feel like I am doing something wrong.

Is exercise my only way forward? I also have PCOS if that's a factor. I brought this up on reddit and people said that I am lying which was incredibly frustrating and discouraging. I want to lose, but I feel lost if I even have the right measurements.

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What has been your experience with oatmeal and satiety? Any good low-cal oatmeal topping recommendations?

I’m adding back some carbs to my diet after escaping pre-diabetes lol. I ate very low-carb for most of my weight loss and so far I’m down 60lbs. I added back all fruits and sweet potatoes as well as waxy potatoes (prepared no oil at all as I’m trying to still be in a deficit).

I find these foods to be really filling and not too calorie dense. Great bang for my buck. My previous keto days for some reason has me afraid of oatmeal 🤣. I plan to try it a few ways, maybe with fresh fruit/PB/vanilla/maybe some kind of artificial sweetener. I use unsweetened almond milk for most things, probably will with oatmeal too.

Are you hungry soon after eating a reasonable amount (like a cup or two) of cooked oatmeal? Do you find it keeps you satiated or craving more sweets/carbs during the day?

I would love some oatmeal addition ideas if you have any!

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upper belly fat won’t go?

Hi! So i’m 20, 5’7 and currently weigh 175lbs got about 15lbs more to go. I’ve lost just over 60lbs but no matter how much weight i lose my upper belly stays the same and it’s starting to get on my nerves. I feel like i’ve lost weight in every part of my body except that bit, it’s at the point where it actually sticks out like a shelf right above my belly button, makes all my shirts look really odd as the bottom part of my stomachs flat and the top provides out, and i feel like it looks really lumpy in photos.

Will this go away? I don’t understand why the top part of my stomach hasn’t really gotten smaller the same as the bottom. :(

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Losing weight very slowly: Summary of my progress so far

I committed to this weight loss journey in the last week of March, 2025. I've been losing weight very slowly, averaging about 3 lb/month. That's not surprising, as a woman of mature age, although of course I wish the weight would come off more quickly. Still, I am thrilled with my results - so far, I've lost 21 lb (9.5 kg). Some of my jeans are falling off me, and I am wearing clothes that were too tight before. Most of all, I have more energy and feel lighter. Yes, I'm still fat and there have been some struggles, and I know it will be a while before I reach goal, but this is one of the best things I could have done for myself this year and I am very happy to keep going with it.

Here is a summary of my progress thus far:

MARCH (started 3/23/25)
START 228.0
END 228.0
That week I lost 2 lb after a few days but gained it back, ending at the same weight as when I started.

APRIL
START 226.7
END 225.2
I saw this month as a time to experiment with foods and figure out what my caloric intake should be. A good start but shed only 1.5 lb for the month. Still, it's a trend downward and I was glad about that.

MAY
START 225.6
END 222.4
Still experimenting and finding what approach works best for me. Lowered my daily target calorie range. Shed 3.2 lb for the month, trending downward.

JUNE
START 220.8
END 218.0
Lots of ups and downs on the scale this month. Started walking regularly. Shed 2.8 lb for the month, still trending downward.

JULY
START 218.4
END 211.4
More ups and downs, but less drastic. Also more consistency and more walking. Shed 7 lb for the month. By end of month, according to BMI calculators, moved down from Class 2 Obese to Class 1. Trending downward.

AUGUST
START 211.0
END 210.0
Lost momentum and struggled. Sort of had a tantrum and rebelled against my own efforts. Hovered around the same weight in first week, spiked upward in middle of month, tried to get back in the groove near end of month. Went walking only a few times. Shed 1.0 lb for the month. Downward trend leveling out.

SEPTEMBER
START 209.4
END 211.0
Struggled again. Lost focus and stopped tracking food. Trended downward in first week, spiked upward after that. Disappointed in myself. Gained 1.6 lbs for the month, trending upward.

OCTOBER
START 210.2
END (as of today, 10/21) 206.8
Recommitted to tracking, weighing, and measuring food at start of month. Shed 3.2 lbs so far this month, with 10 more days left to go. Trending downward again.

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