Why do so many people say they can't reach their calorie goal?
KWlosingit
Posts: 122 Member
Every time someone posts another thread about how they are on 1200 per day and can't reach that much I just scratch my head. How did you become over weight if you can't eat over 1200 calories. I know me personally I never have trouble eating my calorie goal, and it is much higher than 1200. What is the deal?
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Replies
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They aren't being honest generally.
Or
Hiding an eating disorder.34 -
Typically I think it's a combination of a couple of things:
1) most people are not actually eating 1200 cal, it's typically higher than this but please note that I'm not suggesting people are lying, it's just that people tend to eat more than they think they do and that difference tends to be larger when the target intake is lower.
2) usually when people begin a diet, motivation is high and they've eliminated all kinds of junk food, and so they're experiencing greater fullness21 -
Thanks for that!! I am struggling to stay within my cal goal and I am higher than 1200 too!! I too wondered about that!8
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I have no idea either. I'm set to 1550 now (and was 1575 for a while) and I can reach that goal EASY!
Sometimes I wonder if those people are really counting their calories correctly.
Or maybe they're eating back exercise calories too and over estimated those- sorry but you do not burn 500 calories from half an hour of walking- so they mean it's hard to eat the 1200 calories plus the 500 they think they burned? I can see it being hard to eat 1700 calories...
Or possibly humble bragging.8 -
I assume you're on about the post I just created. Before I came on here I wasn't very conscious about working out, and just ate what I wanted.
I assume my weight gain came from the fizzy drinks and simply junk food or take away, and the swap from walking loads daily to living 1 minute away from a uni and city so no walking was required.
When you come on this app you start to think about what you eat, I've cut out half the bad foods I've had and taken to healthier options that fill you up, and if you do that then it is increasingly hard to reach a 1200 goal.
So share your tips. How do you manage to reach your goal? Obviously if your aim is anything but weight loss then it's going to be different for you as the foods that are good for you may not be for others.9 -
I honestly think some people replace one kind of obsessive behavior (overeating) with another (dieting).
I say this as a person who had struggled with disordered eating and with obesity. I don't believe I am alone in having difficulties establishing healthy habits and attitudes.25 -
I think when starting out, people underestimate their intake. Especially the ones who do not use a scale.
So their less than 1200 calorie intake may actually be more than that.
Those are the people who generally come back a few weeks later, complaining that they haven't lost anything but they're under their goal.10 -
I'd also like to add - why didn't you just comment asking, instead of making a rather rude post one minute later ?6
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I assume you're on about the post I just created. Before I came on here I wasn't very conscious about working out, and just ate what I wanted.
I assume my weight gain came from the fizzy drinks and simply junk food or take away, and the swap from walking loads daily to living 1 minute away from a uni and city so no walking was required.
When you come on this app you start to think about what you eat, I've cut out half the bad foods I've had and taken to healthier options that fill you up, and if you do that then it is increasingly hard to reach a 1200 goal.
So share your tips. How do you manage to reach your goal? Obviously if your aim is anything but weight loss then it's going to be different for you as the foods that are good for you may not be for others.
I suppose if you cut out soda and take out food but did not add back in regular meals and snacks it might be hard to hit 1200... but with a normal eating schedule (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) it shouldn't be hard to eat 1200 calories at all.13 -
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- Lack of honesty (choosing entries that are too low in calories, not logging everything).
- Not using a food scale ( being inaccurate)
- Being far too restrictive (cutting out all fats and carbs or entire food groups, for example. Even unnecessarily cutting foods out believing it is the root of their weight gain when it was juut excess calories that caused the weight gain...boils down to lack of knowledge of the science of weight loss...we all learn!).
- Possible bragging
- Just started working out and lacking appetite
- Eating far too many fibrous vegetables
- Eating disorder
- Too much fiber
- Too much water
15 -
From my experience, I gained weight eating one large very calorie dense meal a day aka dinner so many heavy calorie foods at that time. When I got on my diet I chose waayyy healthier foods which I have to eat more of to reach my goal of 1250. Going from eating once a day to a bunch of times a day is very difficult and that's why it's hard for some people to reach that goal. Feeling full all day and still having calories to eat is something us low calorie eaters have to adjust to.5
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singingflutelady wrote: »
This. Read this forum for 2 weeks and you'll see a half dozen threads by people saying they cannot eat all their calories.29 -
I don't know, but I have no problem eating all the calories that I'm allowed in a day! No problem at all, and I usually want more. But then, I have a sweet tooth!
8 -
I'm on 1250 and when I first started I was eating a ton of salads/veggies protein bars in-between meals and by my afternoon snack I couldn't stomach 300 more calories for dinner, I was stuffed!
I've lost 2 lbs a week for almost 4 months now so I'm pretty sure I'm fairly accurate with my logging which is what I've set mfp to lose. 5'4" so on the shorter side plus old as the hills.
I have since stopped eating a protein bar for snacks and now I can eat my calories no problem. This is why I also recommend to folks that are so hungry to eat protein and fiber when they first start out.
ETA - quest protein bars plus water felt like a ballon expanded in my stomach no lie.10 -
Misinformed, perhaps out of ignorance, they are doing it on purpose, some do admit to ED/recovering from ED (sometimes it comes out later in their thread), edited to add: stubborn and picky.
For some they thing think that carbs are evil, fats make them fat and will not fill in their calories for the day regardless..
Honestly I have seen it all ..there is really more than 1 way to answer this question as each case is different.
eta: good news is that some of these are normally eating more than they think, but not always.4 -
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singingflutelady wrote: »
Replying to a thread being 'I don't know how you don't reach your goals' - try this' would have been useful, posting another entry getting annoyed that people are after advice on an advice forums is the worse option
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singingflutelady wrote: »
Replying to a thread being 'I don't know how you don't reach your goals' - try this' would have been useful, posting another entry getting annoyed that people are after advice on an advice forums is the worse option
He's not just taking about you though and the conversation would get lost in your thread. It's a general observation18 -
@edena001 don't take it personal - there are a lot of folks that say this and it does seem strange that over weight folks trying to loose weight can't eat 1200 calories otherwise how did they become overweight.
I totally changed the way I was eating when I first started and I was eating a ton of protein bars that gave me a heavy feeling in my stomach. Since I stopped eating those I've returned to having no problem eating 1250 calories.
I think there are legitimate reasons but they don't usually last.
9 -
I have always wondered that as well. Mine is set at 1850. I have gone over like every single day. It's frustrating.10
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I can easily understand because I've been there.
For me, a 400 calorie meal with a Lean Cuisine plus a bag of veggies and 32 fl oz of water is more volume and much more filling than a 1000 calorie DQ chicken strip basket with 300 calories worth of Pepsi.
Before I started MFP, I would have the chicken strip basket and then be ready to eat again in a few hours. After I started MFP, I would eat the 400 calorie meal and not be hungry for 4-5 hours. Until I got the hang of things, I also had trouble hitting 1200 some days.
My hunger cues have always been terrible and I think this is just an extension of that. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't some hormonal response to the new calorie restriction that adds to the problem.10 -
@edena001 don't take it personal - there are a lot of folks that say this and it does seem strange that over weight folks trying to loose weight can't eat 1200 calories otherwise how did they become overweight.
I totally changed the way I was eating when I first started and I was eating a ton of protein bars that gave me a heavy feeling in my stomach. Since I stopped eating those I've returned to having no problem eating 1250 calories.
I think there are legitimate reasons but they don't usually last.
The problem isn't necessarily over weight people eating too much, it's that they're not exercising. There would be some days I would only take 60 steps? And eating the wrong type of foods. During the last year because of the flat I was in I was eating stuff like snacks for dinner and pot noodles, shop brought sandwiches etc, take aways. If you go from that to cooking all your meals from scratch then there's a huge change in how many calories you consume.
You don't come on here and keep your exact eating pattern. You change and adapt it it's the whole point of this app4 -
I haven't had a problem hitting my calorie target, but I ate a lot less food when I was putting on weight than I do now I'm losing weight. The difference is, my previous intake was much much much more calorie dense than my current intake, so it didn't take a lot in terms of volume for my CI to be more than my CO. I can see why some people struggle to meet their target if they've switched all their foods to a less calorie-dense diet. It's a matter of finding balance, which can be difficult when someone first changes their eating plans.10
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@edena001 don't take it personal - there are a lot of folks that say this and it does seem strange that over weight folks trying to loose weight can't eat 1200 calories otherwise how did they become overweight.
I totally changed the way I was eating when I first started and I was eating a ton of protein bars that gave me a heavy feeling in my stomach. Since I stopped eating those I've returned to having no problem eating 1250 calories.
I think there are legitimate reasons but they don't usually last.
The problem isn't necessarily over weight people eating too much, it's that they're not exercising. There would be some days I would only take 60 steps? And eating the wrong type of foods. During the last year because of the flat I was in I was eating stuff like snacks for dinner and pot noodles, shop brought sandwiches etc, take aways. If you go from that to cooking all your meals from scratch then there's a huge change in how many calories you consume.
You don't come on here and keep your exact eating pattern. You change and adapt it it's the whole point of this app
I eat all of the same food I ate before, I just fit it into my calorie goal, so no, not everyone changes everything. Completely changing would not have been sustainable for me.14 -
@edena001 don't take it personal - there are a lot of folks that say this and it does seem strange that over weight folks trying to loose weight can't eat 1200 calories otherwise how did they become overweight.
I totally changed the way I was eating when I first started and I was eating a ton of protein bars that gave me a heavy feeling in my stomach. Since I stopped eating those I've returned to having no problem eating 1250 calories.
I think there are legitimate reasons but they don't usually last.
The problem isn't necessarily over weight people eating too much, it's that they're not exercising. There would be some days I would only take 60 steps? And eating the wrong type of foods. During the last year because of the flat I was in I was eating stuff like snacks for dinner and pot noodles, shop brought sandwiches etc, take aways. If you go from that to cooking all your meals from scratch then there's a huge change in how many calories you consume.
You don't come on here and keep your exact eating pattern. You change and adapt it it's the whole point of this app
I eat all of the same food I ate before, I just fit it into my calorie goal, so no, not everyone changes everything. Completely changing would not have been sustainable for me.
I also have returned to eating same foods I ate before with the exception of making them a little smaller portion or making a lower calorie version.
protein bars are in my purse for emergency snack but its pretty flat since I haven't needed it in several months:)3 -
@edena001 don't take it personal - there are a lot of folks that say this and it does seem strange that over weight folks trying to loose weight can't eat 1200 calories otherwise how did they become overweight.
I totally changed the way I was eating when I first started and I was eating a ton of protein bars that gave me a heavy feeling in my stomach. Since I stopped eating those I've returned to having no problem eating 1250 calories.
I think there are legitimate reasons but they don't usually last.
The problem isn't necessarily over weight people eating too much, it's that they're not exercising. There would be some days I would only take 60 steps? And eating the wrong type of foods. During the last year because of the flat I was in I was eating stuff like snacks for dinner and pot noodles, shop brought sandwiches etc, take aways. If you go from that to cooking all your meals from scratch then there's a huge change in how many calories you consume.
You don't come on here and keep your exact eating pattern. You change and adapt it it's the whole point of this app
Exercise is actually a hard way to create your deficit for weight loss. Most people can't lose weight just by exercising more.
I eat what I ate before, mostly, just in smaller amounts. Some people do make drastic changes. I was one of the people who are generally healthy foods, just waaaay too much of them.10 -
I wonder this as well every time I see one of those posts. I struggled to adjust to eating less and have had maybe 2 days in the last year where I was significantly under goal...when I was sick. Usually I worry about not going over.
I suspect the people creating those posts are not 100% accurate in their logging. None of us came to this forum because we ate too little.11 -
When we're talking about measuring food for logging purposes, volume doesn't matter if we use scales. Volume absolutely does when it comes to how much is on our plates or that we can eat at one sitting though, and high volume/low calorie foods can leave people feeling full without reaching their targets.
I'm living proof that people have come to this forum because they ate too little. I also got malnourished and folate-deficiency anaemia whilst gaining weight because of the poor choices I made. It happens.6 -
@edena001 don't take it personal - there are a lot of folks that say this and it does seem strange that over weight folks trying to loose weight can't eat 1200 calories otherwise how did they become overweight.
I totally changed the way I was eating when I first started and I was eating a ton of protein bars that gave me a heavy feeling in my stomach. Since I stopped eating those I've returned to having no problem eating 1250 calories.
I think there are legitimate reasons but they don't usually last.
The problem isn't necessarily over weight people eating too much, it's that they're not exercising. There would be some days I would only take 60 steps? And eating the wrong type of foods. During the last year because of the flat I was in I was eating stuff like snacks for dinner and pot noodles, shop brought sandwiches etc, take aways. If you go from that to cooking all your meals from scratch then there's a huge change in how many calories you consume.
You don't come on here and keep your exact eating pattern. You change and adapt it it's the whole point of this app
Barring medical complications, we became overweight due to eating too much for our activity levels.10
This discussion has been closed.
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