Finding it hard to reach calorie goal?
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These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
Food is neither healthy or unhealthy.
Empty calories are not a real thing.
There is absolutely no reason why you can't consume a brownie or cookie (or 2) as part of your diet with no ill effects.4 -
These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
Does anyone else find 4.5 lbs a week rather a too fast loss?2 -
trigden1991 wrote: »These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
Food is neither healthy or unhealthy.
Empty calories are not a real thing.
There is absolutely no reason why you can't consume a brownie or cookie (or 2) as part of your diet with no ill effects.
Because I am a sugar addict I cannot stop at just one or two and who really wants 800 (2 brownies) worth of calories that will leave them still hungry a couple hours later? I'm learning to stay away from sugar island and enjoy staying full longer with my 120 calories of chicken, 80 calories of potatoes, and 20 calories of veggies and leave the 800 calories of sugar for someone else to consume. I'm tired of being 140 pounds over what I'm supposed to be for my height. I'm tired of being fat and being looked at with discust. So this time... I will be successful at losing the excess weight. No. Matter. What. It. Takes.1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »After four pages of this, OP: Why not simply add in a bit of the foods that made you overweight in the first place? Surely you know what they are and you obviously liked them or you wouldn't have eaten them in the first place.
Not certain why this is all so complicated.
From what I have read this has been suggested close to 10 times in this thread and has never been answered.
OP you've dismissed all the suggestions about adding things onto your sandwich... how about things with the sandwich. Bowl of soup, bag of chips, hummus with veggies, string cheese, handful of nuts, yogurt.... or eat something that isn't a sandwich.... couple slices of pizza ought to help get those calories up...
Have you looked at the link to the list of calorie dense foods, or the text list of the same foods posted above?
It has been responded to a couple of times actually. For some people it's not as simple as 'I'll just have this small piece' it ends up in much more, so for what is supposed to be an innocent snack can be dangerous.
I've looked and addressed this yesterday0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
Food is neither healthy or unhealthy.
Empty calories are not a real thing.
There is absolutely no reason why you can't consume a brownie or cookie (or 2) as part of your diet with no ill effects.
Because I am a sugar addict I cannot stop at just one or two and who really wants 800 (2 brownies) worth of calories that will leave them still hungry a couple hours later? I'm learning to stay away from sugar island and enjoy staying full longer with my 120 calories of chicken, 80 calories of potatoes, and 20 calories of veggies and leave the 800 calories of sugar for someone else to consume. I'm tired of being 140 pounds over what I'm supposed to be for my height. I'm tired of being fat and being looked at with discust. So this time... I will be successful at losing the excess weight. No. Matter. What. It. Takes.
Everything you just wrote relates to will power. The points I made are correct. A calorie is always a calorie and fat is lost through consuming less than you burn.
I agree about the satiety effects of food though however I was just using it as an example. As long as you stick to your calorie goal, you will lose weight.0 -
These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
Yeah fizzy drinks make a crazy difference. Used to be all I drink and I'd easily drink two 500ml a day which is 414 calories in itself, and that was a minimum.
the drinks really add up and you realise how many of the calories you're not even eating, just drinking them!0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »singingflutelady wrote: »And you shouldn't be doing strenuous exercise if you are only eating 900 as you will drive your calorie level way too low.
Generally do only 300-500 Cals at the gym then Strength, is that too strenuous ?
OP really whats going on?
You can exercise and perform strength training enough to burn 300-500 calories, what are you doing in strength training that burns that much..
ANd then you eat so little, not hungry, picky eater, etc etc.. something does not add up with all of this.. I promise I am not trying to be snarky, but the truth be told, something does not add up..
I don't count burning calories from strength training as in my mind there's no real way to calculate it? So nothing in strength training it's all in the cardio.
I'm not sure what doesn't add up? As I explained before this I ate junk food constantly and fizzy drinks. I went off that over the summer and now starting a healthier eating I don't wanna just shove down a chocolate bar or brioche as that makes me feel demotivated because it's too much it's lazy food that makes me feel like I want to be lazy?
Okay, so you're highly motivated right now.
You're young.
You're going overboard and you need to stop and do this sensibly and stop acting like you know everything and take some advice.
Put some cheese on your damned sandwich and some olive oil on your dinner vegetables.
You're not full for six hours on a plain ham sandwich. You're just zealous about your new life. It will pass.
You're also not burning what the cardio machines at the gym say. And you need to eat back about half of what they say anyway.
That's me, giving you the last ounce of my patience for teenagers today.
I'm not a teenager for one.
I don't like cheese sandwiches so I won't be adding it to that, I do add it when I have pasta or something.
I am full for four hours on a sandwich(note not everyone has lunch at 12)
And I'm aware the cardio machines only give you a rough example of what your burning. Obviously a machine can't be accurate without knowing anything about you.
Your profile says you're 19. That's a teenager.
The comment about putting cheese on your sandwich was meant in the sense that you are complicating things. Don't like cheese? Use mayo. Have crisps. Have a side of veggies and dip. Add something else to the meal.
Stop expecting other people to walk you through this.
The point also with the cardio machines is that thankfully, you're not netting THAT low an amount of calories. But it's still low.
EAT the yogurt now and go to bed.
Do better tomorrow.
My profile is incorrect - I'm 20, made this a long time ago I guess I didn't check I put in the right details when I started to reuse my account. Sorry for mistaking you.
As I said I wanted to know how I could bulk it up or if it was even a bad thing. Not for you to complain.
I don't think this makes sense. MFP doesn't let you say less than 18 (am I wrong about this? I know you aren't permitted to join if under 18), so if you did this a while ago it would be more likely that you'd have overstated your age, not understated it.
I signed up in a time where you just inputted your age, not your birthday (or at least had the option not to put birthday) so the change doesn't automatically update. Added birthday and it guessed year when I reactiveated0 -
Edena, it seems you have a lot of disordered thoughts about your eating. I'd suggest talking to your PCP.0
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These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
Do you actually find it difficult to eat 500 calories of regular food, though? It seems pretty easy to me, and I think there's something wrong (assuming one has a normal metabolism) if someone really finds that it is not. Either (most commonly) a mental block about eating or an idea that it's better to have an appetite of a bird, that liking to eat is a bad thing, or something physical.
Here's an example of a 625 calorie meal:
about 125 g cooked sockeye salmon
about the same amount of brussels sprouts
a mix of roasted root veg and apple, including (before cooking) about 120 g of sweet potato, 75 g each of celeriac and beets, and a medium apple
For cooking (split over everything) about 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Quite filling meal, but not at all hard for me to eat.1 -
KWlosingit wrote: »These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
Does anyone else find 4.5 lbs a week rather a too fast loss?
For the first 2 weeks if she has lots to lose it's pretty commonplace.
If it continued, yeah.0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
Food is neither healthy or unhealthy.
Empty calories are not a real thing.
There is absolutely no reason why you can't consume a brownie or cookie (or 2) as part of your diet with no ill effects.
Because I am a sugar addict I cannot stop at just one or two and who really wants 800 (2 brownies) worth of calories that will leave them still hungry a couple hours later? I'm learning to stay away from sugar island and enjoy staying full longer with my 120 calories of chicken, 80 calories of potatoes, and 20 calories of veggies and leave the 800 calories of sugar for someone else to consume. I'm tired of being 140 pounds over what I'm supposed to be for my height. I'm tired of being fat and being looked at with disgust. So this time... I will be successful at losing the excess weight. No. Matter. What. It. Takes.
You may be able to lose weight by eliminating your favorite things, but the more important question is will you be able to keep the weight off?
(Added) sugar is not addictive. We like food that tastes good. Some people crave salty things, others (myself included) crave sweets. This is not addiction. I love Reese's peanut butter cups (as in sugar, & fat & protein). But I don't love eating straight out of a bag of granulated sugar. It's the recipe.....not the single ingredient.
That craving does not magically disappear when getting to goal weight. We can learn to eat foods (we love) in moderation or we can eliminate them FOREVER.
Google the Twinkie Diet.......you can lose weight on 1200 calories of crap AS WELL AS lose weight on 1200 calories in wholesome, nutritious foods. Calories in vs. calories out is fundamental. Including a larger % of wholesome, nutritious foods in your daily diet is a good goal. Most Americans don't get enough fiber. But as the previous poster stated....one food (by itself) isn't good or bad. We don't need to eat perfectly to lose weight, but eating better will make us healthier.1 -
Well obviously I don't have any... So instead of will power I'm using discipline. I will not allow myself to waste calories on sugary "treats"... And I will walk my 5 miles every day despite the weather... Despite my ankles hurting and despite my leg hurting from falling Saturday. I am beyond determined to be successful and not allow any excuse get in my way this time. I at one time was a size 14 and was thin enough to see my ribs and hip bones... To look at me now at a size 22 it's hard to believe but I WILL get back down to what I was when I was a 14. Maybe I can even get smaller than that... A size 10? That would be amazing.
But for some people like me who use to eat tons of sugar and have replaced sugar with whole foods... Yes I can see it being difficult to reach minimum calorie range. And for me it's compounded by the fact that I don't really care for greasy fatty foods (unless they are hidden by high sugar content) so you aren't going to find me eating a fatty piece of meat. I prefer chicken or fish or a high grade lean steak which I'm still prone to mutilate if I see any fat I cut it off though lately my choices have been more fatty due to lack of a food budget and eating what's left in the freezer and pickings are quite slim until the 15th. I don't eat skins either (bleck). I do like dairy but have to be careful with it as dairy is very sugary and can trigger cravings. But after all that. I'm weird to so lol.0 -
There are a LOT of different suggestions and opinions floating around here.
Mine? Get yourself to a doctor who also works with nutrition. If you ~can't~ eat more than that many calories something is physically wrong and you need to be checked out. If you're just not wanting to, something is mentally wrong and you need to reevaluate your goals.
There are plenty of foods that are higher calorie, you just have to put more thought into it.
I really really really suggest speaking with a doctor though.1 -
Well obviously I don't have any... So instead of will power I'm using discipline. I will not allow myself to waste calories on sugary "treats"... And I will walk my 5 miles every day despite the weather... Despite my ankles hurting and despite my leg hurting from falling Saturday. I am beyond determined to be successful and not allow any excuse get in my way this time. I at one time was a size 14 and was thin enough to see my ribs and hip bones... To look at me now at a size 22 it's hard to believe but I WILL get back down to what I was when I was a 14. Maybe I can even get smaller than that... A size 10? That would be amazing.
But for some people like me who use to eat tons of sugar and have replaced sugar with whole foods... Yes I can see it being difficult to reach minimum calorie range. And for me it's compounded by the fact that I don't really care for greasy fatty foods (unless they are hidden by high sugar content) so you aren't going to find me eating a fatty piece of meat. I prefer chicken or fish or a high grade lean steak which I'm still prone to mutilate if I see any fat I cut it off though lately my choices have been more fatty due to lack of a food budget and eating what's left in the freezer and pickings are quite slim until the 15th. I don't eat skins either (bleck). I do like dairy but have to be careful with it as dairy is very sugary and can trigger cravings. But after all that. I'm weird to so lol.
Higher cal dairy is less sugary. Some dairy (cottage cheese, cheese) really isn't sugary at all.
If you are telling yourself that everything with any calorie density is yuck or off limits and that you have to choose between eating way over your calories (bingeing) or way under (if you have 140 to lose and are aiming for a 10 yet are eating under 1200), then I think that's not going to be easy to square with eating a normal, sustainable diet. I think taking time away from sugary treats if you feel unable to moderate them is a decent idea (I'm an emotional eater and found it helpful to stop eating go-tos for emotional eating for a while, and mostly just not snacking), but it's sometimes easy to fall into a negative, ultimately unhelpful mindset that calories are inherently bad and that there's something gross or wrong or icky about higher cal foods that I think can be problematic.
If you really are finding yourself unable to choke down meals over 500 cals (as I mentioned above), I'd strongly suggest seeing a dietitian to discuss it.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »snickerscharlie wrote: »After four pages of this, OP: Why not simply add in a bit of the foods that made you overweight in the first place? Surely you know what they are and you obviously liked them or you wouldn't have eaten them in the first place.
Not certain why this is all so complicated.
From what I have read this has been suggested close to 10 times in this thread and has never been answered.
OP you've dismissed all the suggestions about adding things onto your sandwich... how about things with the sandwich. Bowl of soup, bag of chips, hummus with veggies, string cheese, handful of nuts, yogurt.... or eat something that isn't a sandwich.... couple slices of pizza ought to help get those calories up...
Have you looked at the link to the list of calorie dense foods, or the text list of the same foods posted above?
It has been responded to a couple of times actually. For some people it's not as simple as 'I'll just have this small piece' it ends up in much more, so for what is supposed to be an innocent snack can be dangerous.
I've looked and addressed this yesterday
I must be missing the posts where you responded to the question about why not add in a few of the foods you used to eat? Is it because you have some trigger foods? Sure it may be helpful to avoid those for a while but are you interested in learning to moderate all foods? And did you look through those helpful lists of calorie dense foods, many of which are very healthful additions to a balanced diet.
0 -
These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
Even though you removed empty calories, they were still calories, and most people would find it challenging to experience a sudden 1500-2000 calorie drop, regardless of their source. Yes, part of the challenge in weight loss is learning what foods give us greater satiety, so that we can be content with less. It sounds like you are doing that, and that is wonderful. But 1200 is nobody's maintenance calories, and few people would be satisfied on that, or as is being discussed here- find it a chore to reach it- indefinitely (unless you are quite petite and/or inactive).0 -
Lemurcat:
Actually I am eating MORE than I was when I was following Naturally Slim lifestyle plan of eating that my employer put me on. While I do still follow several of the criteria for a NS person I don't follow them all anymore. I don't do the H2OJ or not eat bfast. Or necessarily keep my portions the size of my fist. I do still eat meticulously slow and try to keep my protein intake around 30% of my intake.
As for seeing a dietician... 1. I can't afford to (its 80 to 120 for a consultation) 2. I know them all and the only one of them I can stand only does bariatric consults and I refuse to go through surgery to reduce the amount of food I eat when I can do it without surgery and the complications that can happen in ppl who have it done. Plus they aren't going to tell me anything I don't already know.
As for the doctor... Yes he yells at me when I don't reach 1200 calories but even at my current weight all of my labs are in the good to great ranges of normal. The only thing not in a healthy range is my weight and circumference measurements. Not to mention I carry most of my weight in my hips butt and thighs... With a counterweighted chest0 -
These "can't eat all my calories" posts have always confused me. If you are finding it hard to eat 1200 calories, then how did you get a weight problem?
edit - I just noticed an entire thread dealing with this question.
Because it's easier to eat 500 calories in a single brownie versus 500 calories of salad or chicken or apples or any other healthy food.
I'm a sugar addict I use to drink 1000 calories a day in just Dr Pepper... Add to that the cookies and brownies and other sweets I would eat every day. Remove all those empty calories and my real food calories end up between 900 and 1250 a day. And so far in 14 days I've lost 9 lbs. So yes eating close to 1200 calories of empty calories along with real foods made me fat... So now I've removed those excess empty calories. Yes I miss the sugar but know I'm an addict and can't have it anymore if I want to be healthy.
But 1200 is nobody's maintenance calories, and few people would be satisfied on that, or as is being discussed here- find it a chore to reach it- indefinitely (unless you are quite petite and/or inactive).
And I mean like dead "inactive".0 -
My understanding is that you are having trouble with being hungry enough to meet your caloric needs.
So this is an issue with your satiety being too high.
You may want to take a look at the macronutrient makeup of your foods. Personally I had the opposite problem, I ate too much. I could eat an entire bag of cereal and still be hungry. So I switched to a high protein diet just because of the difference in satiety. If you are eating protein rich meals you may want to try cutting back. Most people eat too much protein anyway (despite popular belief to the contrary).
Some suggestions would be incorporating smoothies or fruit juices into your diet. They are an easy way to quickly add calories.
Here is some reading you can do that I found from a quick search:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/87/5/1558S.long
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S09242244140023861
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