Calorie Goal Help??

leslienicole318

This is my first day on here so new to all this! I need help meeting my calorie goal. Its set to 1200, but after exercising today its been set to 1452. I only have dinner left but still have to eat over 900 calories! I'm in a hurry today so was thinking of picking up a mcdonalds southwest salad which is 290 calories but I can only eat like half of that before getting full so not even 290 calories. I ate a boiled egg, 2 slices of tomatoes with salt and pepper, and a half a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast, a lean cuisine and cantaloupe for lunch, and had a snack of lean chicken breast slices (Oscar Meyer) and some cantaloupe for snack. I know after my salad I'll be completely full! I only drink water too. I heard it's bad to eat under 1000 calories so how and what can I get a few more today?? Thanks in advance for advice!

godlikepoetyes

If MFP set you at 1,200 (I'm assuming you don't have much to lose, or you're very short, or you're trying to lose weight really fast and set MFP at 2 lbs a week) then eat all those calories. And it back ALL your exercise calories. And see what happens over the next month. Calm down and just eat. You will likely lose weight just fine.

CattOfTheGarage

900 calories? I'd be laughing all the way to the fish and chip shop. Forget the salad. Big Mac meal for me, please. And a toffee sundae.

No need to be a monk.

peleroja

You can eat anything you want and still lose if you stay under your goal and weigh (solids) and measure (liquids) and log everything accurately.

Just quickly tallying in my head, it sounds like you should be around 700-800 calories eaten today if you counted accurately (unless your portions were tiny), so if you added that salad (and included dressing, which the 290 calorie figure doesn't), you'll be closer to 1200 already, but you still have room in your day for a McDonald's cheeseburger or some chocolate or a piece of toast with peanut butter or whatever it is you like to eat. Just count it.

diannethegeek

A day here and there very low on calories probably won't hurt you, but it sounds like this is an ongoing problem. If you're so full after only eating a few hundred calories that you can't eat more, have you checked in with a doctor to be sure there's nothing wrong?

900 calories would let you have quite a meal for dinner! I'd probably go out and enjoy myself and get a burger or pizza. Or maybe a small dinner and a couple of servings of ice cream afterward.

You might also want to look into including some more calorie dense foods into your day if this is a continuing problem. Calorie dense foods can be your best friend when you're trying to eat more. These are foods that pack a lot of calories into just a small amount, so they boost your calories quickly without putting a lot of extra food in your stomach. This is a generic list and it's definitely not comprehensive, but anything here can be included in a balanced diet (as long as there are no allergies, medical conditions, obviously):

avocado
cheese
full fat dairy
Greek yogurt
ice cream
peanut butter (or other nut butters)
dark chocolate
less lean cuts of meat (including beef, pork, sausage, etc.)
seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, etc.)
nuts
olive oil
coconut oil
butter
beans and lentils
protein shakes, bars, and smoothies
hummus
beef jerky
cornbread
tuna
full calorie condiments
full calorie sauces & dressings
sour cream
guacamole
whole grain pasta
rice
bacon
whole eggs
quinoa
fruit juices
bananas
scones
muffins (bran, blueberry, banana nut, etc.)
potatoes (sweet, red, gold, purple, white, etc.)
dried fruit (raisins, apricots, plums, dates, etc.)
granola
coconut
salmon
honey
molasses

CattOfTheGarage

Seriously, get some more carbs and fat in your diet and you will not be struggling to hit your calorie goals. It sounds like you're trying to avoid everything you've ever heard was "unhealthy", but all you need to lose weight is to eat less than you burn. There are no "bad foods".

And I'm dead serious about the Big Mac and the toffee sundae. Cut yourself some slack.

leslienicole318

They are rather small portions. I only ate half my oatmeal and the whole pack is 160 calories. So 80. And my lean cuisine was portabella mushroom which is 160 calories. And I ate a half cup of cantaloupe twice, plus my boiled egg and 2 slices of tomato. I wasnt going to do dressing on my salad, just a bit of salsa and I only can ever eat little more than half before I'm full.

diannethegeek

leslienicole318 wrote: »

They are rather small portions. I only ate half my oatmeal and the whole pack is 160 calories. So 80. And my lean cuisine was portabella mushroom which is 160 calories. And I ate a half cup of cantaloupe twice, plus my boiled egg and 2 slices of tomato. I wasnt going to do dressing on my salad, just a bit of salsa and I only can ever eat little more than half before I'm full.

Why no dressing on the salad? I understand if you just don't like it that way, but it would be a great way to get more calories in without feeling so full. Plus most dressings are a good way to get some healthy fat into your diet. You could also add croutons, avocado, cheese, egg, bacon, and dozens of other higher calorie, healthy foods to your salad to help boost it.

If you can't eat the whole salad anyway, and you aren't going to reach your minimum calorie levels for general health, then it sounds to me like the salad isn't the best choice.

leslienicole318

I'm going to try a progresso light soup with crackers and a green tea for dinner! I guess I'm just really scared about those calories being up and the scale not going down and I just get full quicker!

godlikepoetyes

I have a friend who had lap band surgery and was very used to eating small amounts of food....EXCEPT that she could easily eat two pieces of pizza, or more, and some cake. My conclusion was that she was eating WAY more than she thought she was. In any case, just eat all your calories. You've gotten some good suggestions here as to how to do this. My advice--ditch the "lean" cuisine and any other "diet" junk. Eat real food. You'll be happier and you'll eat your 1,200 calories easily.

leslienicole318

Thank you to everyone who replied!

diannethegeek

leslienicole318 wrote: »

I'm going to try a progresso light soup with crackers and a green tea for dinner! I guess I'm just really scared about those calories being up and the scale not going down and I just get full quicker!

Here's a crazy idea: don't use a light soup to fill up your calories. Get a full-calorie version. You'll get more healthy calories, more healthy fats, probably a little more protein and other nutrients, and you won't have to consume anymore food than you were already planning to!

leslienicole318

And no dressing because the southwest salad tastes amazing with salsa! It's like black beans and corn in it so salsa goes perfectly

CattOfTheGarage

Why are you eating a light soup and crackers if you're trying to take in more calories? A substantial soup with a couple of slices of bread and butter would be more like it. White bread if you're filling up too quickly, you'll be able to fit more of that in. And grated cheese on top. And dessert. You have 900 calories to eat, girl, get on it!

You are getting full quicker because you are eating a lot of protein and veg and whole grains and light options and hardly any carbs or fat. I understand you want to eat healthy and lose weight, but you are going to extremes. Try and find a way back to the middle or you will not sustain this for the long term. Your body needs food, and what you are doing is starving yourself. That is not a healthy way to lose weight.

leslienicole318

Okay y'all, I got a Campbell's chicken quesadilla soup!! Nothing light about it lol

CattOfTheGarage

That's better.