Not eating enough.

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  • Courtneyl423
    Courtneyl423 Posts: 11
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    Wow, so fats are really important huh? And I'm sitting here thinking the less calories and fat, the better.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Courtneyl423 wrote: »
    Wow, so fats are really important huh? And I'm sitting here thinking the less calories and fat, the better.

    At a minimum you should aim for about .35 grams of fat per pound of body weight. Fat was demonized in the 80s and 90s but it's actually pretty important to get enough. It helps keep your hormones balanced, help cell growth, and keeps your skin and nails healthy.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Back when I was trying to lose weight, I didn't worry about fat at all. In fact, I would choose the full fat versions of foods instead of fat free. I think they are more filling. I did avoid too much carbs though. I lost a lot of weight this way.
  • poohpoohpeapod
    poohpoohpeapod Posts: 776 Member
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    Courtneyl423 wrote: »
    Apparently I'm not eating enough. All I eat is fruits and vegetables and protein shakes for breakfast. I don't wanna eat too much but I don't know. Any ideas? For lunch, I eat a baby spinach salad with low fat mozzarella cheese and light dressing. Thanks :)
    If you need more calories add walnuts and feta cheese to that salad with some rasberry vinagarette nad a few cranberries! Yum yum!
    You could have oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana in the morning. You can also fill your shakes out with coconut oil, or peanut butter add fruit as well.

  • leyla87
    leyla87 Posts: 18 Member
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    Whole eggs, oatmeal, lean meats, full fat Greek yogurt, olive oil, nuts, avocado etc. Try adding some sliced avocado to salads.
  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
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    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    Here's a calculator to figure out how much to eat on average :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Well, if you put all of your info into this calculator, MFP will give you a number...that little number down there on the bottom of your diary...that's your GOAL...you don't have to try to undershoot it...it's a GOAL, and it's probably too low to begin with but hitting your GOAL would be a good start.

    Also, there's more to proper nutrition than veg and fruit and salads and sucking on celery sticks. You need to eat a balanced and varied diet..you need protein and healthy fats...some whole grains, etc.
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
    edited January 2015
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    As others have said, fats are not the enemy. It is an individual choice on how you want to eat, but don't avoid fats because you think it will hinder weight loss. They are important for your body to function optimally. I've had many tell me they see their fat macro as a minimum. When I changed to that mindset it made my life easier. I often exceed my fat macro for the day, and I am still losing weight steadily on roughly 80 or more grams of fat per day. I eat regular dairy, cheese, butter (I eat grass fed butter), etc. along with nuts and other foods rich in healthy fats. They are more satiating to me. It's more about calories in vs. calories out than fat intake.

    The only reason I say all this is because I used to have the same mindset as you. When I lost weight previously, I would limit fat drastically, and I was hungry all the time. Now I realize that limiting fat to that extent isn't necessary at all. Track your calories and stay within them, and you will lose weight. I wish I had known then what I know now.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    Seems like the 1990's view of fat is still misleading people. That's sad.
  • kimw91
    kimw91 Posts: 355 Member
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    Take it from someone who ate low carb, low fat, low calorie, low everything really for quite some time: it completely screws you over in the long run and it is not feasible or sustainable. I've started adding more eggs, avocado, salmon and nuts to my diet, as well as some wholewheat pasta for dinner now and then.

    If you don't like a heavy meal in the evening, consider eating something higher in carbs and fat for lunch and saving your lighter meal for dinner. So for example, you could have an avocado chicken sandwich or a tuna pasta salad for lunch and then a green salad with a protein of choice, soup or other light meal for dinner: I often just eat protein with veg in the evening.

    As for the mornings, throw some nuts in with your yogurt, or add a tbsp of nut butter to your smoothie. Oatmeal is a great source of healthy carbs and you can still add your protein powder and fruit to it.

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