Struggling With Being Told I Need To Eat More.

CGSummer

Hi, does eating more really work. Every time I went to my doctor because I struggle with my weight I was told "calories in, calories out" is the only way to go, that I needed to eat less. I have tried every duet in the book and for the last 7 month I am trying to do things correctly. I am 55 years of age and my metabolism is in the basement. I gave hired a trainer and am working out with home 2-3 days a week, cardio and classes as I can. I also have a fit bit and try to get 10,000 steps. I am not weighing myself as I get too wrapped up in the scale. I am trying to get "healthy"
I struggle with going over 1200 calories, unless I add a chocolate bar to my day LOL, I am supposed to do a minimum of 1400 calories a day. I gave heard about eating according to Macros, for me it calculated out to 25% fat, 45% protein and 30% carbs.
Does anyone do Macros eating, is it easier, helpful etc.
Dies eating more really help you to lose? Today I am at about 1000 and need to go eat again, don't get me wrong, I could eat 2000 if I could eat a large piece of chocolate cake but know sugar is the killer here.

XavierNusum

First, welcome.
Second, take a look around there are plenty of threads with the exact same dilemma as you. Eating "more" just goes against everything we've been taught, but it is a real thing.

It stems from the "metabolism in the basement" statement and understanding that your body is going to survive if it has any way to make that happen. So you keep eating less and less and your body adapts to work on less and less WITH sacrifices. Mood swings, hormonal issues, temperature regulation (hands and feet always cold) and even hair loss.

When you eat to fuel your activity level, your body starts to run optimally. You gain strength, lean muscle mass, burn MORE calories and overall are happier.

If you feel like you just can't eat more, eat something small or like me eat a larger breakfast. My body really liked that and I started to be seriously hungry first thing in the morning. Set alarms! I just watched a periscope with KiKi, one of the founders of this EM2WL group, and she still uses alarms to remind her to eat because she will get busy and forget. All that being said, you need to go all in and do it.

Good luck on your journey.

heybales

You can't eat totally by just macros - because % is based on a total calories eaten.

So back to number of calories eaten.

Be aware US Dr's, and from what I've been told elsewhere too generally - don't require more than 6 month class in nutrition, and even that class may not have been anywhere near recent info with current research. Unless it's a personal passion or focus of theirs and they've kept up - their advice can be very dated and not very insightful.

The should tell you to go to dietician, just as a podiatrist should tell you to see your dentist about a gum issue.

And just like good or bad Dr's, it's the good dietician that has kept up on recent research, and got it from schooling too (some are badly outdated classes they took) to give good advice.

And while it is CI/CO - it's the knowledge that you can by your choices of diet level and exercise type actually effect the CO part of the equation in a very negative manner as Xavier mentions.

So think of it this way.

Would a healthy body lose fat easier than an unhealthy one?

Guess which side of the range you are probably far out on?

mymodernbabylon

Go check out my diary and see how I easily eat 1950 calories. And I don't eat chocolate cake every single time. Yes, this works. I'm 46 yr old and did the diet thing for ages. Then I realised I didn't want to eat that little for the rest of my life to keep at a weight that should be much more easily attainable. This works. Go check out the Eat More 2 Weigh Less website and read up on everything. Go to the forum and read about other people's experiences.

Valtishia

You will get enough about how eating more works, so I am going to share something else with you.

Many years ago, my doctor (former doctor) told me to lose weight. He said to stop eating chips (simple enough, I didn't eat them anyways), canned soups and other high sodium foods (didn't eat those either) and lastly to eat less. He repeated to eat less every time I went to see him. The problem here is not once did he ask what I ate or how much I ate when advising me to do these things. It got to the point I was eating a little salad and maybe a yogurt cup each day and getting nowhere.

I eventually demanded a referral to a dietitian who made me do a food journal. When she viewed it, she told me there was nothing wrong with my food choices but that I really need to eat more. I have no idea how much I was eating as far as calories and such, but it worked. The weight started to come off. the next time I went to see the doctor, I had lost weight. I told him what I had been doing and that it was based on what the dietitian told me to do. He called me a filthy liar. That was officially the end of our patient-doctor relationship.

General practitioners are not educated enough in nutrition to give proper advice, so please take any advice they give you with a grain of salt.

wannabf1t

I've recently gone from eating 1200-1400 cals a day to 2000, so I can relate to feeling like you just can't eat anymore. What has been working for me is eating bigger meals at breakfast and lunch so I don't have 1000+cals left for dinner. Maybe start by adding a half an apple and save the rest for an afternoon snack.
Also, try eating nuts, they are high calorie and a good source of fat, so is avocado. If you like cottage cheese you can eat it with fruit as a snack. Right there you have your carbs, protein and fats covered. It takes some time but you will eventually adapt to eating more.

Like the other poster said, setting up a reminder is a great idea (I'll be doing that myself). We tend to get busy and forget that we need to eat, specially if you are not hungry. So an alarm is the way to go. I know when I started I thought no way I can eat 1700, just a few tweaks and I have been able to reach my calorie goals and even managed to go over them! I say give it a try, if the scale isn't moving what do you have to lose?

mcclanahanaja

Glad I found this place. I started on a reset in May and am now at 1600 cals... I've lost about 11 lbs since March of this year.....very slow...but I am starting to see what this is about. Lifting heavy for 3 months now.... Does anyone here use a coach? I've been paying one, but was wondering if there is away to continue upping my cals and doing my routines without one. I want to save that money for when I really need a coach for a bikini competition! Any thoughts?

XavierNusum

mcclanahanaja wrote: »

Glad I found this place. I started on a reset in May and am now at 1600 cals... I've lost about 11 lbs since March of this year.....very slow...but I am starting to see what this is about. Lifting heavy for 3 months now.... Does anyone here use a coach? I've been paying one, but was wondering if there is away to continue upping my cals and doing my routines without one. I want to save that money for when I really need a coach for a bikini competition! Any thoughts?

Of course I think you can do this without a coach. Once you have a way to calculate your numbers (like heybales spreadsheet) you can do it all yourself. 3 months with a coach should be enough for you to have learned the fundamentals and how important form and technique are.

mymodernbabylon

I've never used a coach for lifting or eating, and I'm doing perfectly fine. Most people don't use coaches unless they are doing competitions.