Having trouble eating all of my calories

kitsteroo

I'm currently 330 pounds, following the MFP recommendation of eating 1760 calories a day for a loss of 2 pounds a week. I know for a fact that I have routinely eaten at least double this on a near-daily basis for years. I've only been doing this for a week, but day by day I'm still under by 200-300 calories when I go to bed. I don't know what the deal is. I don't know if I don't like what I'm eating or if I have some kind of mental block or what. I feel hungry pretty much constantly but making myself eat is like trying to swallow medicine. I don't think that problem is that I'm eating too many calories. I mean, I'd have to have a pretty high deficit to be set to lose 2 pounds a week, right? Lowering my calorie goals would probably be unhealthy. Does anyone have any experience with this, or any advice that could help me eat a bit more? Does this go away?

MyaPapaya75

I don't think the 200-300 will be an issue if your eating 1760 cals a day. Many people have the same issue at first due to dietary changes the addition of fiber and added protein your body probably wasn't used to. You seem to be well over 1200 even with the 200-300 deduction I would say your fine and normal for now. Try handfuls of nuts maybe yogurt and additional snack items. One thought as well do you know I you have sodium issues? Your numbers are pretty high there could be a bloated thing water retention. Try 1500-2000mg of sodium intake max daily and see how that goes.

kitsteroo

I'm not very concerned with my macros right now, I admit. I need to get used to the calorie adjustment before I can do anything else. The adjustment is hard to get used to. I'm not used to looking at serving sizes or caring about calorie content, and I think worrying about other stuff is going to overcomplicate to the point where I'll quit if I focus on it too much. I can pretty much guarantee my sodium intake is lower than it was before I started MFP so I don't think that's causing me to have trouble eating, either.

Aemely

If you are used to overeating, it might take a while to get used to eating healthier portions and allowing yourself to eat a minimum of 1,500 cals. a day. Nuts and cheese are great ways to get the proper amount of calories in without breaking your calorie budget. For example, I took a wheel of President Brie and sliced it into 8 portions. Each portion was 100 cals. What a treat! It lasted me for over a week, so I didn't feel bad about spending a little $$ on it. Ha-ha!

Staying away from sugary stuff and adding in good proteins and fat has really helped me to feel satisfied without getting hungry all the time. I'm hungry in the morning before I eat, and I'm hungry at night when I go to bed, which is solved by sleeping. In between, I eat at least my recommended calories (or more if I exercise), and I don't feel hungry because I've learned how to space out my eating in a way that keeps my body happy.

You are developing eating habits, which will take some practice and experimentation to find foods that make you feel satisfied. To me, staying satisfied during the day keeps me from viewing this as a d**t and instead allows me to understand this is a lifestyle change.

Ooh, also, a good tip from another MFP'er. Try sticking with an eating plan for a couple weeks to see if it's working for you. Then, make slow changes to tweak the plan moving forward.

Good luck!

NoMoreTwizzlers

kitsteroo wrote: »

I'm currently 330 pounds, following the MFP recommendation of eating 1760 calories a day for a loss of 2 pounds a week. I know for a fact that I have routinely eaten at least double this on a near-daily basis for years. I've only been doing this for a week, but day by day I'm still under by 200-300 calories when I go to bed. I don't know what the deal is. I don't know if I don't like what I'm eating or if I have some kind of mental block or what. I feel hungry pretty much constantly but making myself eat is like trying to swallow medicine. I don't think that problem is that I'm eating too many calories. I mean, I'd have to have a pretty high deficit to be set to lose 2 pounds a week, right? Lowering my calorie goals would probably be unhealthy. Does anyone have any experience with this, or any advice that could help me eat a bit more? Does this go away?

Good morning,
Are you sure you are measuring your calories correctly? Do you use the food labels, a scale, measuring spoons and cups to determine if you are eating the correct amount? If not, you are not putting in the correct information into MFP. I noticed that you were using a smartphone in your pic. Try scanning the food packages into MFP using the barcode icon as you add in your food. That takes a lot of the guessing out of entering your foods correctly. You have to log ALL of your food in order for the app to help you. I also noticed that you said you are hungry a lot. Try increasing the protein your are eating with foods like: greek yogurt, grilled chicken breast, eggs, beef, etc. Those foods combined with some good complex carbohydrates will allow you to feel full longer. Lastly, try planning your meals better and limiting yourself to 4 to 5 meals a day that add up to your 1760 calorie allotment. You shouldn't let yourself get too hungry. It will take some getting used to, but you can do it for YOU. You're worth it!

RodaRose

I agree to tracking and paying attention and seeing what patterns are emerging. Those are good things. You are creating good habits for yourself.

I noticed that often when people say they are having trouble eating all their calories it is because they cut out fat.
It is possible you need to add a a tiny bit more more fat: nuts, cheese, yogurt, oil, . . .
Or you might benefit from adding some more vegetables.
Both of those -- fat and vegetables can help you feel more satisfied.

hortensehildegarde

If you want to get yourself a few more calories in you could put 100 calories of nuts in your pocket (should be around 10-15 nuts) and eat one at a time throughout the day. Same can be done with an ounce of cheese for around the same calories.

(Or fit them all in your mouth at once I am pretty sure I could do this LOL!!)

I too started at morbidly obese and I initially set my calories at .5 per week loss as I started to ease into tracking and things. Sounds like that is not something that would help you currently, but I did want to mention playing around with target goals as you progress through the process of figuring out what works for you.

I too used to routinely eat in the 4-6k range, not paying attention to anything calorie wise, so I know it is so oddly overwhelming at first. I wasn't really hungry I ate a lot of yummy things I enjoyed and the eating part wasn't so hard, but the MENTAL part of starting I found to be a bit of a mindf***. It wasn't hard it was just.. uncomfortable?

Another thing I have found to be my routine is that I regularly have lower and higher calorie days. My days in the course of a week go anywhere from 1200 or a little under to right up to a little over 3000. My averages work out to a deficit so I consistently lose, it's just easier for me with my schedule to cycle calories.

Other than that I would encourage you to explore your mental state about why eating seems like medicine, and find foods you do enjoy eating. Like I said I can totally understand having a weird mental block or odd thoughts/feelings at the start of this but I think working through them to a more positive relationship with eating will help ensure your long term success. Basically I think we have to work through the discomfort but at least you know you are far from alone!

lemurcat12

kitsteroo wrote: »

I'm currently 330 pounds, following the MFP recommendation of eating 1760 calories a day for a loss of 2 pounds a week. I know for a fact that I have routinely eaten at least double this on a near-daily basis for years. I've only been doing this for a week, but day by day I'm still under by 200-300 calories when I go to bed. I don't know what the deal is. I don't know if I don't like what I'm eating or if I have some kind of mental block or what.

It could be that you aren't excited about what you are eating or just an adjustment period. I think these kinds of things typically work themselves out, so I'd only worry about it if you think it might mean you are too hungry and end up having trouble resisting some of your old favorites and end up way above the calories.

Beyond that, my concern would be that you might be overdoing it and have in your mind the idea that the only foods okay to eat are ones that don't excite you. It's best if you can eat foods that you look forward to and enjoy, even if they have fewer calories (and that may mean smaller portions of some things you used to eat).

Are you enjoying the foods you are eating or missing anything in particular?

lolly715

I had this problem specifically at breakfast. I would have oatmeal and berries which was fine, but very low cal at the portion size I was having - around 120 or so. So I started adding a scoop of protein powder, which added 100 calories without drastically increasing the volume of the food. Once I was used to that, I then added a spoon of nut butter. Again, barely any volume but a good chunk of calories due to the fats. My breakfast is now around the 300 calorie mark, and much better balanced macro wise.

peachyfuzzle

Not sure if this has been said yet...

An easy way to add calories is to use something like olive oil in your cooking, or directly on your food. It's around 120cals per serving with a good amount of polyunsaturated/monounsaturated fats, and does not really add any extra bulk to fill you up any further.

FatFreeFrolicking

Nuts
Seeds
Nut butters
Avocados
Cheese
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)