Getting enough calories

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  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Cap the night off with some ice cream and voila, you are there! :)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    GlindaGoodwitch wrote: »
    Can someone explain the "eat more calories, and lose more weight"?

    According to MFP, I am not eating enough calories most days. I don't disagree, but I'm not hungry either, and I had been focusing on WHAT goes into my body, more so than "how much". Am I stalling my weightloss, but not eating enough?

    (Please just a simple explanation, not a judgement - I'm trying to find what works for me!)

    I eat 1800 calories a day and lose 1/2lb a week...that's what that means.

    You are essentially starving yourself, your body will react in a negative fashion if you continue.

    Not just hair loss either...muscle loss, and remember your heart is a muscle, thinning nails and later on in life if you continue this type of thing brittle bones.

    Hunger is not a good indicator of what your body needs...as mentioned our bodies are wonderful machines and if it's being deprived of food it turns off the hunger signals to prevent us from going insane...so think about that...you aren't hungry because you are not eating enough and your body already sees that and it's changing itself to adapt.

  • vilepixie
    vilepixie Posts: 13 Member
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    I have the same issue with having a tough time meeting my caloric goals, at least when I'm not eating out at a restaurant ( I have the opposite problem there.. lol) I recently signed up with a personal trainer who gave me personalized macros, as well as weekly workouts. The calories and protein were much higher than what I was doing before, but the carbs were a little lower. On the first day I thought I ate really well, lots of good protein throughout the day, lots of veggies - I even made a delicious homemade burger with a lettuce wrap, I wasn't hungry at all. But at the end of the day i was under 1000 calories! I ended up eating some nuts just to reach 1200 cals. My trainer told me to add some avocado to the burger, some cheese, maybe some turkey bacon. Add a hard boiled egg as a snack etc. My friend has been with the trainer since the beginning of the year and she has lost 40lbs and looks great, so I know it works, but it's hard to get used to eating more!
  • GlindaGoodwitch
    GlindaGoodwitch Posts: 157 Member
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    @vilepixie - The add-ins your trainer is suggesting make a lot of sense. That's exactly what I was thinking too. I've booked an appointment with my family doctor to request an referral with the nutritionist. I'm hoping they can give me a personalized diet plan too. I want to make sure I'm getting the most out of my food!

    @Hornsby - while I"m not opposed to ice cream to cap off my evening, my calorie count right now sucks, and I'd have to eat half the tub to round things out. That cannot be healthy ;) ... I'd do it for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream though.. :hushed:
  • melanieliving
    melanieliving Posts: 69 Member
    edited April 2015
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    @GlindaGoodwitch Ask for a dietitian, they are generally better educated then nutritionists (which are far less regulated and don't have a governing body over seeing them)
  • GlindaGoodwitch
    GlindaGoodwitch Posts: 157 Member
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    @melanieliving Good advice. Thank you!
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    Cap the night off with some ice cream and voila, you are there! :)
    And wine!
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Night time snack: cheddar cheese, apple slices, grapes and peanuts. (Or cashews, my fave, but they're a bit pricey.) Some or all as calories allow. I'm not into wine but cheese & fruit go well together!
  • steffenson
    steffenson Posts: 312 Member
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    As others have mentioned too much of a calorie deficit is actually detrimental in healthy fat (weight) loss. I read recently that every pound of fat in your body can supply 22 calories per day. Thus is if you know around what your body fat percent is and are good at math you can figure out the maximum deficit your body can sustain.
    (Picking easy numbers to work with) if for example someone was 200lb and 20% body fat then they have 40 pounds of fat (and 160 lean body mass). 40x22cal is 880 cal per day. Any larger of a deficit and you will not see increased fat loss results (though you will/can lose muscle). If someone else was also 200 pounds but 30% body fat they would have 60 pounds of fat. 60x22=1,320 max calorie deficit per day.
    I certainly found this to be true when I was eating too little and still not losing weight. I ended up having to increase my daily cal amount to lose weight.

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