Do you force yourself to finish meals to meet calorie goals?

Baxie23

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I don't force myself to finish, but I don't have a regular problem eating enough. If I did, or was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of food in 1400 calories -- which is what OP is apparently dealing with -- then yes, I'd try more smaller meals or including smaller amounts of more calorie-dense foods (like fats).

If that doesn't work, see a doctor or dietitian.

I'm a little concerned that you think eating more meals might cause bingeing -- is there an ED history? (I don't like the lots of meals thing myself, eat more if I eat that way, since I don't feel satisfied as easily, so that you might prefer fewer larger meals doesn't set off warning bells. It was the combination of concern about bingeing plus the difficulty in eating 1400 and the feeling that a 500 calorie or so meal (1400/3 plus a bit) is overwhelming in how large it is.)

There is a history of ED ( not to get too detailed but I was diagnosed/hospitalized for Anorexia and then developed a binge eating disorder while in recovery). I'm being supervised by my doctor while I do this. While my daily goal is 1400 I often find myself hovering around 1200 and that's only if I eat everything I plan for the day. So when I'm full and don't want to finish I find myself quite low calorie-wise. So it sounds like switching to 6 meals (if I can manage that) might be a good idea of stopping when full and having a high calorie snack later might be the way to go. What sorts of high-calorie but not filling snacks do people have?

kshama2001

Baxie23 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I don't force myself to finish, but I don't have a regular problem eating enough. If I did, or was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of food in 1400 calories -- which is what OP is apparently dealing with -- then yes, I'd try more smaller meals or including smaller amounts of more calorie-dense foods (like fats).

If that doesn't work, see a doctor or dietitian.

I'm a little concerned that you think eating more meals might cause bingeing -- is there an ED history? (I don't like the lots of meals thing myself, eat more if I eat that way, since I don't feel satisfied as easily, so that you might prefer fewer larger meals doesn't set off warning bells. It was the combination of concern about bingeing plus the difficulty in eating 1400 and the feeling that a 500 calorie or so meal (1400/3 plus a bit) is overwhelming in how large it is.)

There is a history of ED ( not to get too detailed but I was diagnosed/hospitalized for Anorexia and then developed a binge eating disorder while in recovery). I'm being supervised by my doctor while I do this. While my daily goal is 1400 I often find myself hovering around 1200 and that's only if I eat everything I plan for the day. So when I'm full and don't want to finish I find myself quite low calorie-wise. So it sounds like switching to 6 meals (if I can manage that) might be a good idea of stopping when full and having a high calorie snack later might be the way to go. What sorts of high-calorie but not filling snacks do people have?

• Peanut butter - 1 T, or more accurately, 16 g = 100 calories.
• Full fat ice cream like Ben & Jerry's or Haagendazs.

KANGOOJUMPS

never. ever.

janekana

If you feel full, then you are full. Don't force yourself because it's only going to make yourself feel sick. 6 smaller meals throughout the day may work for you though, a friend of mine did that and she did pretty well. It's not for everyone, but try it out and see if it does help you.

However, if you aren't meeting calorie goals, then I suggest eating snacks. Like ice cream that has been suggested. So far, it sounds like you aren't too far from your calorie goal (only 200 left) so it should be easy to find a non-filling snack that helps you. I like eating muesli bars as snacks, does are 113 calories. They're healthy and sweet, so eating two of those (or something similar) would help you and hopefully make you feel better

RoxieDawn

I never ever give up a calorie.. if I am out and about, and not able to eat, I will get home and determine the time frame needed to get in x calories, and most times it does not make sense to eat all my calories in 1 sitting so that day might transfer to the next one.. this happens rarely as I am one that counts my calories and "writes checks against my balance till its zero"..

Aaron_K123

Not typically a problem I have. I can think of maybe a few times where I was under my calorie goal by a good amount but felt full. To answer, yeah I ate more. Its a goal, I try to reach my goal. Sometimes its hard because I need to stop eating when I want to eat more. Sometimes its hard because I need to eat more when I feel done.

Helloitsdan

Baxie23 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I don't force myself to finish, but I don't have a regular problem eating enough. If I did, or was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of food in 1400 calories -- which is what OP is apparently dealing with -- then yes, I'd try more smaller meals or including smaller amounts of more calorie-dense foods (like fats).

If that doesn't work, see a doctor or dietitian.

I'm a little concerned that you think eating more meals might cause bingeing -- is there an ED history? (I don't like the lots of meals thing myself, eat more if I eat that way, since I don't feel satisfied as easily, so that you might prefer fewer larger meals doesn't set off warning bells. It was the combination of concern about bingeing plus the difficulty in eating 1400 and the feeling that a 500 calorie or so meal (1400/3 plus a bit) is overwhelming in how large it is.)

There is a history of ED ( not to get too detailed but I was diagnosed/hospitalized for Anorexia and then developed a binge eating disorder while in recovery). I'm being supervised by my doctor while I do this. While my daily goal is 1400 I often find myself hovering around 1200 and that's only if I eat everything I plan for the day. So when I'm full and don't want to finish I find myself quite low calorie-wise. So it sounds like switching to 6 meals (if I can manage that) might be a good idea of stopping when full and having a high calorie snack later might be the way to go. What sorts of high-calorie but not filling snacks do people have?

Beyond my scope of practice.
Last thing you need is advice about food.

CattOfTheGarage

Milk is a good one, or milk-based drinks. Nuts. Cheese, with or without crackers. A lump of cheese with some grapes or apple is a nice snack, not very filling but quite calorie dense.

Or add some calorie bombs to your meals, the kind of thing your barely notice but adds a lot of calories. Mayo is a winner; melted butter on vegetables, grated cheese on anything. You can fairly easily up main meal calories by a couple of hundred by adding things like this, and it doesn't make it much more filling.

Lounmoun

Baxie23 wrote: »

So I've been at this for almost two months now. Things are going really well - I've had steady weight loss, I'm getting so much fitter, and I bought a scale so I'm tracking way more accurately. Lately though, I've noticed that I get half way through a meal and I'm overwhelmed by how much food I still have left to eat. My calorie goal is 1400 a day. I'm thinking about switching to 6 smaller meals throughout the day but I am worried about that leading to binges. Has smaller more frequent meals helped other people or do you find that it's better to eat more than you feel like at each meal?

I have very rarely had this issue.
I spread my calories out like so-> 100-300 calories for breakfast, 300-500 for lunch, 500-600 for dinner and 100-300 for snacks. I have 1-2 snacks in the afternoon or night.
I have never had a binge eating issue.

If you are being supervised by your doctor for an eating disorder it would probably be best to take your questions and concerns about your diet to them.

MelanieCN77

I am starting to listen to my stomach and stop when I feel that full pressure. I like to eat so saving the calories to eat something else later is how I think of it. Like I got full and am under goal, means I can have buttered toast later.

Cbestinme

Thanks for the explanations why the bare minimum should be 1200 calories it does make plenty of sense. As I am losing weight for the first time ever my body is changing in new ways (even understanding hunger which seems to change. I am now able to eat all my calories again &have never felt a need to force feed).

I hope OP will follow the advice (example: smaller frequent meals) and also consult her doctors to make sure she is well taken care of medically (especially with eating disorder history - to avoid relapse or just to be safer)

lilac_bunny

I had this when i started and I had cut out sugary foods and buying fat free versions of things. I have now mostly gone back to full fat and eating calorie dense foods. I needed to try and keep my calories up because of struggling to have enough energy for exercise. I think from the forums here it is quite a common problem.

DisruptedMatrix

I'd say that eating smaller but more often meals prevents binging.

lorrpb

If it does lead to binging, then change back before damage is done.