Calories? Eating more! Struggling!
john_t_lengel
Posts: 16 Member
So I don't understand what I'm doing essentialy. My previous routine was to skip breakfast, sometimes eat lunch not eat lunch depending on time but would eat a hearty dinner. With that being said that same routine over several years I gained weight. Why? Now I'm using this app it has calories set for me and I am struggling to hit 1000 and they want me at 2200. I eat now a nature Valley crunchy granola bar for breakfast with a sugar free red bull, water in between lunch, lunch I have a fruit bowl and another nature Valley crunchy peanut butter granola bar, water in between dinner and then normally chicken breasts or tuna for dinner. And I am not even hitting 1000 calories. What am I doing wrong? Why with what I am eating will this not help weight loss? It seems like I'm shoveling more down my face in a days time and this is helping me lose weight how? And my app screams at me like I need to consume more yet. If I'm more than doubling my food intake in a days time how will this help me and I'm still not hitting the calorie goal? It seems like it wants me to gain weight not lose it and I do not understand. Please help! I go to the gym everyday for about 2 hours I also work retail and am on my feet moving all day everyday. I just don't get it.
0
Replies
-
Let's back up. If you're truly in a spot where you need to lose weight, you've been consistently eating more than 1000 calories per day for a long time. Before you decided to lose weight, what, specifically, were you eating at each meal?0
-
Like I said I always skipped breakfast I mean always and lunch was rare but if I ate lunch it was normally like mabey 2 pizza slices dinner I won't lie I would pig out I'm a pasta guy so a large plate of chicken alfredo, spaghetti, sometimes stomboli, but dinner was always huge.0
-
john_t_lengel wrote: »Like I said I always skipped breakfast I mean always and lunch was rare but if I ate lunch it was normally like mabey 2 pizza slices dinner I won't lie I would pig out I'm a pasta guy so a large plate of chicken alfredo, spaghetti, sometimes stomboli, but dinner was always huge.
Then how are you doubling your food intake right now? You may be eating more often but you're eating far fewer calories. Alfredo has a s*** ton of calories, especially a huge plate. Spaghetti and strombollis can be the same. Why not continue eating those foods in smaller portions?0 -
Weight loss comes down to calories- calorie deficit equals weight loss
Calorie surplus - weight gain
So it makes no difference if you skipped breakfast and lunch for 20 yrs straight. If you gained, you ate at a surplus.
It makes no difference what time you consumed the food. It makes no difference what foods you picked. It comes down to calories.
0 -
Are you currently using a food scale for all solids ? Are you using a measuring cup for all liquids.
Open your diary, go in and set it to public.
0 -
I'm sure I could I just don't understand how the routine I'm in now with eating and struggling to hit the calories they want me at is going to help lose weight it feels like I'll gain it I'm struggling to eat the foods through the the day cause I'm used to not eating and then on top of it the app is saying I'm still not consuming the intake I'm supposed to have so which means I need to eat more lol its confusing. And trying to hit this calorie counter in a days time is hard I have my fitbit linked up to it I'm entering in what I'm eating and can't seem to hit it and it feels like I'm consuming more. So in that sense I don't get how I'll lose weight0
-
john_t_lengel wrote: »Like I said I always skipped breakfast I mean always and lunch was rare but if I ate lunch it was normally like mabey 2 pizza slices dinner I won't lie I would pig out I'm a pasta guy so a large plate of chicken alfredo, spaghetti, sometimes stomboli, but dinner was always huge.
Then how are you doubling your food intake right now? You may be eating more often but you're eating far fewer calories. Alfredo has a s*** ton of calories, especially a huge plate. Spaghetti and strombollis can be the same. Why not continue eating those foods in smaller portions?
I'm sure I could I just don't understand how the routine I'm in now with eating and struggling to hit the calories they want me at is going to help lose weight it feels like I'll gain it I'm struggling to eat the foods through the the day cause I'm used to not eating and then on top of it the app is saying I'm still not consuming the intake I'm supposed to have so which means I need to eat more lol its confusing. And trying to hit this calorie counter in a days time is hard I have my fitbit linked up to it I'm entering in what I'm eating and can't seem to hit it and it feels like I'm consuming more. So in that sense I don't get how I'll lose weight. Sorry didn't realize I could post back to a reply. Lol0 -
You don't have to force yourself to eat breakfast/lunch if you don't want to. Look into Interment Fasting. There is one version I'm aware of where people eat all of their calories in a very small window of time (usually one large meal) and they fast the rest of the day. Some people are much happier eating this way.
0 -
john_t_lengel wrote: »john_t_lengel wrote: »Like I said I always skipped breakfast I mean always and lunch was rare but if I ate lunch it was normally like mabey 2 pizza slices dinner I won't lie I would pig out I'm a pasta guy so a large plate of chicken alfredo, spaghetti, sometimes stomboli, but dinner was always huge.
Then how are you doubling your food intake right now? You may be eating more often but you're eating far fewer calories. Alfredo has a s*** ton of calories, especially a huge plate. Spaghetti and strombollis can be the same. Why not continue eating those foods in smaller portions?
I'm sure I could I just don't understand how the routine I'm in now with eating and struggling to hit the calories they want me at is going to help lose weight it feels like I'll gain it I'm struggling to eat the foods through the the day cause I'm used to not eating and then on top of it the app is saying I'm still not consuming the intake I'm supposed to have so which means I need to eat more lol its confusing. And trying to hit this calorie counter in a days time is hard I have my fitbit linked up to it I'm entering in what I'm eating and can't seem to hit it and it feels like I'm consuming more. So in that sense I don't get how I'll lose weight. Sorry didn't realize I could post back to a reply. Lol
I think you're confusing volume and frequency with calories. Losing weight require you to eat fewer calories than you burn. You are eating more often during the day but you're eating much lower calorie food. Those granola bars are, what, 190 calories? Chicken breast is 165 calories for 100g? Tuna is very low cal too. Pasta is usually close to 200 calories per cup just on its own. Alfredo sauce is around 300 calories per cup I think. Your huge pasta portions could easily have been 1500 calories or more.0 -
Well by just reading your posts in this thread, you're no longer eating huge bowls of alfredo and stromboli, but are eating lean chicken and tuna. Quite simply, you're eating substantially fewer calories than you were before.0
-
That helps guys so repeating this then does what for my body as far as in losing weight?0
-
thorsmom01 wrote: »Are you currently using a food scale for all solids ? Are you using a measuring cup for all liquids.
Open your diary, go in and set it to public.
I set to public I have only used this app for 2 or 3 days now however have this schedule for about a month and have been consistent with the setup I have entered0 -
Try eating regular foods and not relying on granola bars. Fruits? Vegetables? Rice? Oatmeal? Peanut butter? You will not gain if you eat more just because you are full if you are only eating around 1000 calories a day. You are going to start becoming very tired and lethargic. You will lose weight eating so little but you won't have much energy and eating like that will be impossible to maintain for a long period of time.
If you don't want to eat breakfast or lunch then don't, you don't have to. You can have some kind of snack or something and then have a very large eating period at night where you eat 2000 calories or whatever.0 -
MsBuzzkillington wrote: »Try eating regular foods and not relying on granola bars. Fruits? Vegetables? Rice? Oatmeal? Peanut butter? You will not gain if you eat more just because you are full if you are only eating around 1000 calories a day. You are going to start becoming very tired and lethargic. You will lose weight eating so little but you won't have much energy and eating like that will be impossible to maintain for a long period of time.
If you don't want to eat breakfast or lunch then don't, you don't have to. You can have some kind of snack or something and then have a very large eating period at night where you eat 2000 calories or whatever.
Ok. I was always under the assumption that eating like that at one time was severely unhealthy and hurts your body. Is that false? I'm just trying to ensure I am effective with my weight loss / muscle gain efficiently effectively and most result driven way. With my daily 2 hours at the gym having the fitbit and maintaining active I feel this makes it even more difficult to track in all reality.0 -
A: Stop the Red Bull- It helps you feel 'not hungry' so you don't eat real nutritive food which is what your body actually needs.
B: Try logging a day with foods you used to eat- Just add them to the calculator and see what it does to your totals. A bowl of pasta with sauce can be upwards of 1000 calories right there.
To lose weight, you need to eat in a deficit of your total daily expenditure. As long as you're eating under your daily expenditure of calories, you'll lose weight.0 -
You think one sugar free red bull a day hurts? That's like my morning coffee lol! I used to drink 4 to 7 regular energy drinks a day and dropped it to the one am sugar free one0
-
ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »A: Stop the Red Bull- It helps you feel 'not hungry' so you don't eat real nutritive food which is what your body actually needs.
B: Try logging a day with foods you used to eat- Just add them to the calculator and see what it does to your totals. A bowl of pasta with sauce can be upwards of 1000 calories right there.
To lose weight, you need to eat in a deficit of your total daily expenditure. As long as you're eating under your daily expenditure of calories, you'll lose weight.
You think one sugar free red bull a day hurts? That's like my morning coffee lol! I used to drink 4 to 7 regular energy drinks a day and dropped it to the one am sugar free one0 -
The problem is that drinks like Red Bull make you feel artificially full. If you were reaching your daily caloric intake and malnutrition wasn't a concern, that would be one thing, but you're asking why you can't manage to eat a healthy caloric intake.
If you've cut back from 7 down to 1 then, yay! You're doing great! Breaking the stimulant habit is HARD! But if it's causing you to not feel hungry when your body really needs nutrition, then it might be a problem.
0 -
ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »The problem is that drinks like Red Bull make you feel artificially full. If you were reaching your daily caloric intake and malnutrition wasn't a concern, that would be one thing, but you're asking why you can't manage to eat a healthy caloric intake.
If you've cut back from 7 down to 1 then, yay! You're doing great! Breaking the stimulant habit is HARD! But if it's causing you to not feel hungry when your body really needs nutrition, then it might be a problem.
Yeah 7 full blown balls to the wall ones to the sugar free one which had significantly less everything lol but I see what your saying0 -
OP, search for the 'Eat, Train, Progress' group in this app. Read everything. It's full of great information that will set you on the right path, dispell the myths we all grew up with and get you eating right for your body.0
-
john_t_lengel wrote: »I'm struggling to eat the foods through the the day cause I'm used to not eating
So don't eat throughout the day. If you like having very little for breakfast/lunch but having a hearty dinner, do that. I've always done that myself, both when I was gaining and now when I am losing weight. Meal timing is totally irrelevant, just do whatever you prefer.and then on top of it the app is saying I'm still not consuming the intake I'm supposed to have so which means I need to eat more lol its confusing.
So bring back some of the higher calorie foods you used to eat, just bring them back in moderate portions. It's fine to eat pizza, pasta, etc. as long as you plan for the calories. Eat the types of foods you intend to eat for your whole life, just plan your meals so you get as close to your daily calorie goal as possible.
0 -
rankinsect wrote: »john_t_lengel wrote: »I'm struggling to eat the foods through the the day cause I'm used to not eating
So don't eat throughout the day. If you like having very little for breakfast/lunch but having a hearty dinner, do that. I've always done that myself, both when I was gaining and now when I am losing weight. Meal timing is totally irrelevant, just do whatever you prefer.and then on top of it the app is saying I'm still not consuming the intake I'm supposed to have so which means I need to eat more lol its confusing.
So bring back some of the higher calorie foods you used to eat, just bring them back in moderate portions. It's fine to eat pizza, pasta, etc. as long as you plan for the calories. Eat the types of foods you intend to eat for your whole life, just plan your meals so you get as close to your daily calorie goal as possible.
Hey of I can eat foods I enjoy lose weight gain muscle etc. I'll be happy so ty.0 -
john_t_lengel wrote: »rankinsect wrote: »john_t_lengel wrote: »I'm struggling to eat the foods through the the day cause I'm used to not eating
So don't eat throughout the day. If you like having very little for breakfast/lunch but having a hearty dinner, do that. I've always done that myself, both when I was gaining and now when I am losing weight. Meal timing is totally irrelevant, just do whatever you prefer.and then on top of it the app is saying I'm still not consuming the intake I'm supposed to have so which means I need to eat more lol its confusing.
So bring back some of the higher calorie foods you used to eat, just bring them back in moderate portions. It's fine to eat pizza, pasta, etc. as long as you plan for the calories. Eat the types of foods you intend to eat for your whole life, just plan your meals so you get as close to your daily calorie goal as possible.
Hey of I can eat foods I enjoy lose weight gain muscle etc. I'll be happy so ty.
If*0 -
-
john_t_lengel wrote: »rankinsect wrote: »john_t_lengel wrote: »I'm struggling to eat the foods through the the day cause I'm used to not eating
So don't eat throughout the day. If you like having very little for breakfast/lunch but having a hearty dinner, do that. I've always done that myself, both when I was gaining and now when I am losing weight. Meal timing is totally irrelevant, just do whatever you prefer.and then on top of it the app is saying I'm still not consuming the intake I'm supposed to have so which means I need to eat more lol its confusing.
So bring back some of the higher calorie foods you used to eat, just bring them back in moderate portions. It's fine to eat pizza, pasta, etc. as long as you plan for the calories. Eat the types of foods you intend to eat for your whole life, just plan your meals so you get as close to your daily calorie goal as possible.
Hey of I can eat foods I enjoy lose weight gain muscle etc. I'll be happy so ty.
Yes, you can. In fact, if gaining muscle is a key goal, you definitely need to up your calories. The lower your calories, the harder it is to gain muscle, since it requires a fairly high amount of energy to build new muscle.
What I basically do (lost 85 lb so far) is plan all my meals in advance, where the only things I care about are getting as close as possible to my calorie goal, and getting close to or ideally above my protein goal. I'll use shakes or protein bars for days I want to have other foods that aren't very high in protein.
I definitely eat what I like - today was hamburgers (very yummy protein there!), tomorrow is homemade pizza. I'll certainly eat things like chicken breast too, but I really like grilled chicken breast, it's not something I force myself to eat because I think I need to.
0 -
rankinsect wrote: »john_t_lengel wrote: »rankinsect wrote: »john_t_lengel wrote: »I'm struggling to eat the foods through the the day cause I'm used to not eating
So don't eat throughout the day. If you like having very little for breakfast/lunch but having a hearty dinner, do that. I've always done that myself, both when I was gaining and now when I am losing weight. Meal timing is totally irrelevant, just do whatever you prefer.and then on top of it the app is saying I'm still not consuming the intake I'm supposed to have so which means I need to eat more lol its confusing.
So bring back some of the higher calorie foods you used to eat, just bring them back in moderate portions. It's fine to eat pizza, pasta, etc. as long as you plan for the calories. Eat the types of foods you intend to eat for your whole life, just plan your meals so you get as close to your daily calorie goal as possible.
Hey of I can eat foods I enjoy lose weight gain muscle etc. I'll be happy so ty.
Yes, you can. In fact, if gaining muscle is a key goal, you definitely need to up your calories. The lower your calories, the harder it is to gain muscle, since it requires a fairly high amount of energy to build new muscle.
What I basically do (lost 85 lb so far) is plan all my meals in advance, where the only things I care about are getting as close as possible to my calorie goal, and getting close to or ideally above my protein goal. I'll use shakes or protein bars for days I want to have other foods that aren't very high in protein.
I definitely eat what I like - today was hamburgers (very yummy protein there!), tomorrow is homemade pizza. I'll certainly eat things like chicken breast too, but I really like grilled chicken breast, it's not something I force myself to eat because I think I need to.
I love grilled chicken as well and eat that regularly0 -
You are not eating enough. stop eating lab-made foods and start eating real food. Real meat, greens, fruits, whole grains and nuts0
-
-
john_t_lengel wrote: »
She believes that "processed" food or things whatever are bad for people. She says this in a lot of threads. OP you need to eat up to around you calorie goal to lose the weight at the rate you put into MFP. If you put in all your stats right and set you goal it gives you the amount of cals you need to make that goal happen. If you workout you eat back like 50%-70% of those cals if you believe they are fairly accurate #s. IF you don't eat at your goal... you will lose more weight, but there will be problems with that. If you have it set to lose 2#s per week that is the regular amount for a person with a significant amount of body fat to lose safely. Doing more than that can hinder aspects of your health and muscle mass. Also as you lose weight the amount of food you need to maintain your current weight will go down shrinking how much you can eat to lose a day and your goals will need to shift.
Also right now you wont be gaining much muscle because you are losing weight. If you lift heavy you might see some strength gains but you wont be packing pounds of lean body mass on. For that you need to eat around maintenance or a bit above and hit you protein macros .6-1g per lean body mass. One meal is fine, but you need to hit your goals otherwise there is a good chance they will hit back later.0 -
john_t_lengel wrote: »
She believes that "processed" food or things whatever are bad for people. She says this in a lot of threads. OP you need to eat up to around you calorie goal to lose the weight at the rate you put into MFP. If you put in all your stats right and set you goal it gives you the amount of cals you need to make that goal happen. If you workout you eat back like 50%-70% of those cals if you believe they are fairly accurate #s. IF you don't eat at your goal... you will lose more weight, but there will be problems with that. If you have it set to lose 2#s per week that is the regular amount for a person with a significant amount of body fat to lose safely. Doing more than that can hinder aspects of your health and muscle mass. Also as you lose weight the amount of food you need to maintain your current weight will go down shrinking how much you can eat to lose a day and your goals will need to shift.
Also right now you wont be gaining much muscle because you are losing weight. If you lift heavy you might see some strength gains but you wont be packing pounds of lean body mass on. For that you need to eat around maintenance or a bit above and hit you protein macros .6-1g per lean body mass. One meal is fine, but you need to hit your goals otherwise there is a good chance they will hit back later.
Ty this is the closest post to what I was asking on my original post. And I am ok with protein bars for breakfast and lunch they have higher calories and stuff my body needs than nothing in the morning and lunch and I'm comfortable with that now to just find a way to consume just a bit more without feeling over full or sluggish.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 426 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions