To low?

Jolenetaylor5513

I have been eating way better but on here it has me not meeting a healthy calorie intake, but I'm not hungry. I'm severely obese so I set my calorie goal everyday for 800. Which for me I thought I would and It is helping but am I doing bad to only reach about 680 almost 700 for the day? I don't feel hungry helppppp

Rebekkadorn

You might not feel hungry but 700 isn't going to help you in the long run. When I'm being extremely strict I won't eat any less than 1,000 but I find 1,200 is a much better goal to ensure I stay on target without depriving myself. I stared at obese and found 1,200 more manageable and realistic

kommodevaran

I think you are either 1) logging incorrectly or 2) not familiar with hunger and satiety signals. Eat the amount MFP tells you to, and log correctly. You don't have to eat just steamed broccoli and chicken breast. Eat a variety of food you like.

Jolenetaylor5513

OK, so what should I add? Snacks like apples between meals mabye?

tapwaters

Don't eat below 1200, it's not safe.

kommodevaran

Jolenetaylor5513 wrote: »

OK, so what should I add? Snacks like apples between meals mabye?

Eat food you like. Eat in a schedule that suits you.

Jolenetaylor5513

I always thought when your over a certain bmi I thought you need to make drastic changes

tapwaters

1200 is very drastic, and it's drastic changes to your habit. Changing how one thinks about food and how they perceive themselves around food. Eat the amount of calories MFP tells you to, eat back 50% or so of your exercise calories, and you'll lose weight. Change your habits to ones you can stick to when you're fit and at your goal weight so you can stick there.

A lot of people have set themselves up for failure by eating too little or not understanding how much they're actually eating.

TeaBea

Jolenetaylor5513 wrote: »

I have been eating way better but on here it has me not meeting a healthy calorie intake, but I'm not hungry. I'm severely obese so I set my calorie goal everyday for 800. Which for me I thought I would and It is helping but am I doing bad to only reach about 680 almost 700 for the day? I don't feel hungry helppppp

Are you under medical supervision? Yes, it's okay for severely obese people to eat very low calorie BUT these special diets are under medical supervision. Patients often eat special food (fortified shakes) and may get vitamin injections......as well a monitoring blood pressure, etc.

MFP gives women a 1200 (net) calorie goal so we can get adequate nutrition. Novices can't perfectly coordinate daily menus to reach dietary minimums on very low calories.

A handful of nuts, a spoonful of nut butter, full fat dairy, full fat salad dressing, avocado.....just a few calorie dense foods that bump up your calories for small portion sizes.

Jolenetaylor5513

OK, thank you. I'm gonna try setting up mabye like a meal plan then.

tapwaters

Also, with your mentioning not feeling hungry after only eating 680-700 calories a day, how are you measuring your portion sizes to come to that number?

Jolenetaylor5513

A handful of nuts, a spoonful of nut butter, full fat dairy, full fat salad dressing, avocado.....just a few calorie dense foods that bump up your calories for small portion sizes.[/quote]

This is what I was going to ask next. What to add to my diet

kommodevaran

Jolenetaylor5513 wrote: »

I always thought when your over a certain bmi I thought you need to make drastic changes

It is correct that you will need to make drastic changes, but the diet you will be following, should not be drastic. You are not doing yourself any good by exchanging one set of extreme behavior with another set of extreme behavior. Good health is based on balance and all things in moderation.

diannethegeek

Jolenetaylor5513 wrote: »

A handful of nuts, a spoonful of nut butter, full fat dairy, full fat salad dressing, avocado.....just a few calorie dense foods that bump up your calories for small portion sizes.

This is what I was going to ask next. What to add to my diet
[/quote]

You might find some ideas here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1

Jolenetaylor5513

Oh yes thanks

TeaBea

Jolenetaylor5513 wrote: »

I always thought when your over a certain bmi I thought you need to make drastic changes

1200 is pretty drastic. You could be eating much more & still lose weight. The idea is to find a happy medium, find a rate of weight loss that keeps you motivated AND helps you stay consistent. If drastic changes make you unhappy (tired, stressed, fill in the blank) it's not going to last. You want to stay the course for a long time.

Make moderate changes to your daily habits, and hopefully you will retain some of those habits for the rest of your life.

RelevantGains

tapwaters wrote: »

Don't eat below 1200, it's not safe.

This is just plain false. I know that's what "they" say, but it's an arbitrary number that came from thin air. What is important is that people get an adequate amount of essential nutrients, mainly protein and fat. For some people, yes, that may be 1200, for some people, it may be 1700, for others, it may be 700.

In the case of the OP though, you're right. Under 1200 is a terrible idea. Not just because it's "unhealthy", but because it's likely not sustainable. Even if it were, there'd be so much metabolic adaptation, that you'd be pretty screwed when trying to come off the diet.

She didn't mention her activity, but if she is working out, that low of calories would severely impact her exercise performance, as well as overall NEAT.

Obese dieters can do larger deficits without as much harm, but it still needs to be reasonable. Depending on her starting weight, somewhere closer to 2000 might be a better starting point.

sharts11

My friend had this same situation. She cut calories, and wasn't hungry, but didn't get the results she was hoping to achieve. According to my friend's dietitian, if you don't get enough calories your body goes into protection mode and stores fat. Your metabolism will also slow down, making weight loss more difficult. It is also better to begin with higher calories and gradually reduce as you will hit plateaus during your weight loss journey. Being able to lower your caloric intake is one method to keep weight loss momentum. If you begin with too few calories, there is nowhere else to go. In order to add some calories, try including more protein. My friend began adding protein shakes, and smoothies at first because she just wasn't hungry. Eventually her calorie intake improved by eating healthier overall, and not skipping meals. She has lost 90lbs so far, and still going strong. Now I find myself fighting the same battle.

cwolfman13

You're likely not hungry because your very low calorie intake is jacking your hormones up...hunger and satiety ques are hormone driven...this is why anorexics can claim to not be hungry when they're eating 500 calories.

Nobody should really be eating 800 calories without being under the supervision of a doctor. If you are obese, you can lose weight on far more. When you tank your diet like this, you leave yourself no room for when weight loss will inevitably slow down and stall out. You don't have to make drastic changes overnight...if you want good habits to hold onto into perpetuity you have to develop them and nurture them over time...crashing your diet doesn't fit the bill.