Having trouble eating all of my calories

gingerlaurie

Good Lord, I never thought THAT sentence would ever come out of my mouth! But seriously. I'm calculated at 1380 calories per day, though I normally try to stay under it by at least 100 calories. Lately, though, I'm having a hard time even getting to 1200, which I know is VERY important to do. The last thing I want is for my body to go into starvation mode. I am eating exactly what I want to eat, not denying myself (working hard on portion size), and I don't see the sense in forcing myself to eat if I'm not hungry. So I think I am going to have to increase my portions a bit to make it work properly. Does anyone else have this problem when they've finally committed to staying on track?

Rogsman

Starvation mode is a myth. There's plenty of articles debunking it, here's one that recently made rounds in the forums: http://goo.gl/Zt9G42

You need to hit your goal calories. Don't just look at your calorie counts, but your protein/carb/fat counts. Carbs are easy to hit, but how far down are the others? Start tweaking things to get closer to those goals and suddenly you'll wish for more calories.

Avocado's, walnuts, almonds are great fillers.

Sometimes we feel "fine" on a calorie deficit. But over time a prolonged deficit takes it's toll. The brain alone use around 20% of calorie intake just to function, not leaving much for the rest of the body when you've crashed your diet. So pretty soon your body starts to wear down, you get an abnormal EKG, your mind starts playing tricks, you get confused and dive head first into a tub of chocolate. Then you feel guilty cause you ate the entire tub and wonder why your willpower wasn't strong enough and how Bobbie Joe down the street lost all that weight without hardly trying (secret bypass surgery plus steroids).

Alternatively, you can take a hard look at the numbers, figure out what you enjoy eating that fits them and focus on the long term. Weight drops, your life changes, you laugh cause Bobbie Joe is now stuck in perma-bulk mode.

jpmo69

I do too. Some days I just don't feel like eating. But not today. Pretty sure I'm over today.

gingerlaurie

Thanks, Rogsman. I think I knew much of what you mentioned, but conveniently forgot. Thanks for the reminder! I've decided to add nuts to my diet and working on lowering the % of carbs. I'd sure like to meet this Bobbie Joe....she sounds like a character.

gingerlaurie

jpmo69, that's what occurs with me as well. Quite ok with eating a decent meal, and I just don't feel like eating more. But going to incorporate a few things that Rogsman reminded me of.