Struggling to eat enough calories!

David2788

Hi All

I have been doing My Fitness Pal for just over a month now and for the first few weeks I was also doing a Paleo diet. I have stuck by this with the odd exception but mainly sticking to the principles. I have also started exercising much much more and go running about 4 times a week.

However every day without fail I get told of that I am not eating enough when I complete the entry for the day. Each morning I am having 3 eggs either scrambled or in an omelette and will usually add spinach and some cherry tomatoes. Throughout the day I will have a banana and an apple as snacks. For my lunch my wife has been making soups so will have one of them or the leftovers from the previous nights dinner. For dinner I have been cutting carbs out so it has mainly been meat and veg, and when I say veg I mean lots of the stuff! I have been using the recipe importer and using the exact ingredients but I can never seem to get a serving about 400 calories.

Do I need to be eating more or can I continue on 1200 calories per day? Although I only really feel hungry before lunch and dinner and then I am full after.

For reference I have 102 kg and 5ft 11 and in my mid-late 20s.

Since doing the my fitness pal I am lost as to how I could eat 2500+ calories per day!!!

Amanda4change

1200 calories is way to low for a man. I would suggest adding some good calorie dense foods to what you are eating. Add some cheese or avocado to your omelets, some nuts for snacks, things like that. It will increase your calories without making you eat a lot more food.

David2788

Thanks Amanda, my main worry is that my metabolism will really slow down and will have negative impacts on my weight.

I am also a bit worried that when I use the recipe importer that it is undervaluing what I am eating.

SLLRunner

Amanda4change wrote: »

1200 calories is way to low for a man. I would suggest adding some good calorie dense foods to what you are eating. Add some cheese or avocado to your omelets, some nuts for snacks, things like that. It will increase your calories without making you eat a lot more food.

Agreed.

AmyRhubarb

I'm a 46 year old woman, less active that you are, and I lose on 1800-2000 calories a day. You need to eat more. The recipe importer works well, I use it all the time. Double check the entries for each item in the recipe to make sure you're getting the most accurate info, and edit the items as needed.

To add more calories without piling on mountains food to your plate, avocado, nuts, bananas, nut butters, throw some pinto beans or rice into those soups, use olive and coconut oils....small portions pack in some dense calories.

David2788

Thanks Amy, that's great advice.

David2788

More Avacado sounds like the way forward.

Sued0nim

Amanda4change wrote: »

1200 calories is way to low for a man. I would suggest adding some good calorie dense foods to what you are eating. Add some cheese or avocado to your omelets, some nuts for snacks, things like that. It will increase your calories without making you eat a lot more food.

This

Sued0nim

How is your goal set to 1200? Check your settings please.

David2788

It's not my goal. My goal is 1700 calories a day but even with 3 meals a day and snacks I usually end up with about 1200. Because I am eating so much veg with all my meals they are filling me up without really giving me much calories.

Sued0nim

David2788 wrote: »

It's not my goal. My goal is 1700 calories a day but even with 3 meals a day and snacks I usually end up with about 1200. Because I am eating so much veg with all my meals they are filling me up without really giving me much calories.

H'ok

Are you determined to stick with paleo for life because personally I couldn't which would mean for me, no long term maintenance ...

If you are butter, cream, peanut butters, avocado, cheese, chocolate, oil

Or calorie count and introduce carbs back until you have a balanced diet

David2788

I like the philosophies behind paleo but for me personally I am not sure I could stick with it forever as I do like my carbs. Over the last few weeks I have really been pushing the exercising and personally think that if I continue exercising the way I am I can easily bring in a bit more carbs. For me the best thing about paleo is the increase in veg that I get and the extra vitamins etc. I think the long term plan is paleo at the heart with a couple of exceptions. I have cut dairy out completely apart and really don't miss it to be honest.

Amanda4change

David2788 wrote: »

I like the philosophies behind paleo but for me personally I am not sure I could stick with it forever as I do like my carbs. Over the last few weeks I have really been pushing the exercising and personally think that if I continue exercising the way I am I can easily bring in a bit more carbs. For me the best thing about paleo is the increase in veg that I get and the extra vitamins etc. I think the long term plan is paleo at the heart with a couple of exceptions. I have cut dairy out completely apart and really don't miss it to be honest.

If your MFP goal is 1700 and you are currently eating 1200, you have 500 calories that could be carbs and still in your deficit. How much weight are you losing per week (average) on this?

David2788

I have been averaging about 1 kg a week. A bit more at the start but now it is between 0.8 and 1kg a week. At the weekends I never have a problem with the calories as that is mainly socialising and drinking which I am trying to not do as often!

Amanda4change

Actually I did a quick TDEE calculation on Scooby ( http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) for a 27 year old male (I guessed on age, based on your mid to late 20's) at 225 pounds, 5 feet 11 inches at lightly active your goal of 1700 is low by 500 calories. So at 1200 calories your looking at a deficit by diet alone of 1,200 calories per DAY. There is no way that is healthy or sustainable and in fact is likely to cause some serious damage to your body

David2788

WOW!!!! I know its not healthy to be eating less and really need to start adding some carbs into my diet

Amanda4change

Here's a link to some healthy calorie dense foods: http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/highest-calorie-foods.php

David2788

perfect thanks Amanda.

Really appreciate it

Amanda4change

No problem. I hope it helps. And actually I made a math error that 1200 per day deficit is actually higher, because the 2,400 number (on the Scooby site) already has a deficit worked in, so it's an additional 1,200 calorie deficit on top of the 20% deficit already taken to give the 2,400.

David2788

just out of curiosity, if I didn't increase my daily intake by enough then what implication would this have on my weight and health. Just worried that if I start eating lots more calories I will either stop loosing weight or perhaps even put weight on.

mathandcats

Another way to add more calories to your diet is through beverages.

David2788

I think that could really help as currently all I drink during the week is water and green tea. The only exception is at weekend when I have some beer.

cityruss

1200 calories for a young man is ridiculous, how on earth are you fueling your exercise? Keep that up long term and you are risking health implications. Your body is currently cannibalizing lean muscle mass and things like connective tissues.

You will lose weight in a sensible deficit.

This all sounds like an end of day bowl of fun to me.

Ice cream
Chocolate
Nuts
Nut butters
Biscuits

You'll hit your macros.

Amanda4change

From: http://www.livestrong.com/article/277053-what-are-the-dangers-of-low-caloric-intake/#page=2

Inadequate caloric intake can lead to malnutrition over time. According to MedlinePlus, malnutrition occurs when the diet does not allow the intake of a sufficient amount of nutrients. A diet with extremely low calories does not allow for adequate consumption of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants the body needs to perform its daily life processes. Vitamin deficiencies can lead to various problems, including fatigue, impaired wound healing and extreme weight loss.

A decrease in caloric intake may cause positive physical changes at first, primarily weight loss. However, an extreme decrease in caloric intake can cause negative physical changes over time. Once individuals lose excess weight, calorie restriction can cause various physical problems. The Calorie Restriction Society indicates that decreasing daily calories too much can lead to reduced bone mass, fatigue, sensitivity to cold temperatures and food obsession due to extreme hunger.

My suggestion is to go up to 1800 calories per day, log your exercise (preferably with a HRM) and eat back 50% of those calories as well). You should still see results on the scale, depending on how long you've been at 1200 you may see a stall in loss for a week while your body adjust, or you may see a drop as your body (while losing muscle and fat at 1200 calories, your body is holding onto water) drops the water now that your giving it more fuel. If after 2 weeks your still losing more than 2 pounds per week, you need to increase the calories again.

Amanda4change

One more:

From:http://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/body-fat-calculator-2/caloric-intake-affects-health-2/

When your caloric intake is too low you will have several health problems. One problem is reduced muscles mass. Your body searches for sources of energy to just keep vital organs functioning and it will turn to your muscle mass for those energy foods. This is called catabolism. Your metabolic rate will drop dramatically if you eat too little calories and after three days of low calorie intake this will compound your muscle mass loss. When you don”t eat enough calories you become sluggish, develop nutritional deficiencies, and are often highly irritable. If you are lowering your caloric intake for weight reduction, you are actually setting yourself for high weight gain when you do being to eat properly again.

Binge dieting or not taking in enough calories can cause your vital organs to stop functioning properly. You will also have inadequate nutrient intake which will lead to electrolyte imbalances, low-potassium levels and low blood sugars. Watch for gallstones to form and gastrointestinal distress will now be a part of your life.

If you are looking for a quickie weight loss program look for a diet that will provide you with adequate calories to keep your organs and body functioning. Remember that you will definitely regain lost weight using low calorie diets, fatigue will keep you from working out and gaining back muscle mass, and you will lower your quality of life.

David2788

cityruss wrote: »

1200 calories for a young man is ridiculous, how on earth are you fueling your exercise? Keep that up long term and you are risking health implications. Your body is currently cannibalizing lean muscle mass and things like connective tissues.

You will lose weight in a sensible deficit.

This all sounds like an end of day bowl of fun to me.

Ice cream
Chocolate
Nuts
Nut butters
Biscuits

You'll hit your macros.

I think the only reason is that because everything I am eating is just packed full of nutrients so my body is getting most of what it needs.

When I put down what I eat yesterday it seems like it should be more but it comes out at 1057.

Breakfast;

3 Scrambled Eggs - 210 calories
spinach - 23 calories
cherry tomatoes - 20 calories

Total - 253 calories

Snack - Hard Boiled Egg - 68 Calories

Lunch -

Home made Roasted Butternut Squash Soup - 159 calories (used the import recipe)
Granny Smith Apple - 80 calories

Total - 239 calories

Dinner

Home made Beef Stew - 264 calories (used the import recipe)
half a broccoli - 49 calories
half a cauliflower - 14 calories

Total - 327 calories

Snacks

10 pistachios - 60 calories
Banana - 110 calories

Total Calories for the day - 1057

I also ran 3 miles in the evening and burnt 564 calories.

What I really don't understand is that before I started eating healthy which was about 6 weeks ago I would have been eating near on 3000 calories a day and I feel less hungry now than I did then.

Amanda4change

If you ate 1057 and burned 564, your net calories for the day are 493. Even netting 1200 is an issue, seriously you are starving your body. I get that you want to lose weight, but you are going about it the wrong way. Your body is going to be eating the lean muscle you currently have just to keep your organs running. Lean muscle is what you want to keep while losing body fat. Trying to rebuild that lost muscle later is going to be 1,000 times harder than eating enough calories now and preserving the lean muscle (seriously go read the bulking threads and see what these guys are going through to build muscle). If you keep on this track not only are you damaging your body, you are not going to get the results you want at the end, because rather than losing fat your losing muscle as well. So instead of hitting your goal weight and being lean, you'll hit goal weight (maybe depends on what it is, you'll likely land in the hospital first) and have body fat that's much higher than you want and limited muscle mass, which is going to be much harder to fix.

David2788

Time to up the carbs then! Will help with my running as well which is a bonus as I am currently running 3 miles 4 times a week.

Sued0nim

David2788 wrote: »

cityruss wrote: »

1200 calories for a young man is ridiculous, how on earth are you fueling your exercise? Keep that up long term and you are risking health implications. Your body is currently cannibalizing lean muscle mass and things like connective tissues.

You will lose weight in a sensible deficit.

This all sounds like an end of day bowl of fun to me.

Ice cream
Chocolate
Nuts
Nut butters
Biscuits

You'll hit your macros.

I think the only reason is that because everything I am eating is just packed full of nutrients so my body is getting most of what it needs.

When I put down what I eat yesterday it seems like it should be more but it comes out at 1057.

Breakfast;

3 Scrambled Eggs - 210 calories
spinach - 23 calories
cherry tomatoes - 20 calories

Total - 253 calories

Snack - Hard Boiled Egg - 68 Calories

Lunch -

Home made Roasted Butternut Squash Soup - 159 calories (used the import recipe)
Granny Smith Apple - 80 calories

Total - 239 calories

Dinner

Home made Beef Stew - 264 calories (used the import recipe)
half a broccoli - 49 calories
half a cauliflower - 14 calories

Total - 327 calories

Snacks

10 pistachios - 60 calories
Banana - 110 calories

Total Calories for the day - 1057

I also ran 3 miles in the evening and burnt 564 calories.

What I really don't understand is that before I started eating healthy which was about 6 weeks ago I would have been eating near on 3000 calories a day and I feel less hungry now than I did then.

scramble your eggs in butter with cream
try your vegetables roasted in oil with grated cheese, salt and pepper
eat more nuts
bring back carbs slowly

protein and fats are highly satieting

DawnieB1977

I did carb cycling for a while and found it harder to get to my calorie limit.

I'd add some ham and cheese to your omelette in the morning, get some nuts for snacks and maybe protein bars too.

I only did it for 8 weeks or so. I do still try to eat lower carb, but I generally have a slice of bread with breakfast and sometimes have a jacket potato for dinner, or rice.

David2788

cheese and ham will add some easy calories so definitely worth doing.