Can't reach calorie goal

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  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    You can get a scale for $10-15. Less if you check Goodwill or a thrift sture.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
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    This one is awesome and $12. It even has an 11lb weight limit for making recipes.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004164SRA/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493515377&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=kitchen+scale&dpPl=1&dpID=51yB+qUsIOL&ref=plSrch
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
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    Kuzofruit wrote: »
    I just started my first week and I'm having a hard time reaching my calorie goal of 2200. I can barely reach the minimum 1500. Any suggestions?

    Please don't take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you're making big changes instead of little changes. Perhaps too big. I'm going under the assumption that your goal is to lose weight. If your goal is to lose weight, and MFP is telling you 2200 calories, this means you have been eating much more than this for a long time.

    Losing weight is the art of eating less. It's easy to fall into the trap of "clean eating" and instantly change your diet from pizza and french fries to broccoli and chicken breasts, but it does not need to be that way. If you're having trouble reaching your calorie goals, have a *portion controlled* snack of foods you used to eat. Believe me, I could eat an extra 700 calories in a blink of an eye. I just ate a protein cookie that clocked in at 380 calories.

    There's also some much darker advice. You can continue eating under your allotted calories, only I promise over time your body will "revolt" in a sense and you will get hungry enough to eat 2200 calories or more again.

    This is all me just assuming I know what you're doing: Making huge and drastic diet changes. My recommendation is to start a little slower and reincorporate some of the higher calorie foods you used to eat. There will come a time for 1500 calories, but you don't want to rush it. It's not something to look forward to IMO.

    You're doing the right thing though. You will lose weight being under your calories. If you're happy and content eating 1500 calories there are worse things you could be doing. So keep your chin up and keep rocking it, use those extra calories to incorporate something you really like eating, in a controlled and portioned manner. It's not about what you eat so much as how much you eat of it.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited April 2017
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    Please take this in the spirit in which it is intended - as someone who has been there, not someone who is judging.

    With that, I'll say this: did you really get to the point of needing to count calories in order to lose weight, by having trouble eating enough?

    If this is new to you, you may be in the honeymoon phase - the "I can't believe I can eat this much but still lose weight, I thought I'd only get a lettuce leaf a day" phase.

    I my OPINION (this is JUST an opinion - I am not saying this in any sort of authoritative way) you could just as well ride this for now, "under"eat for this week or so, and see what happens by next week...I'll bet it will be a different story. I really, truly don't think that (at least barring some specific medical issue) not eating as much as MFP says you should eat in order to lose weight, for a few days or a week or a little more, will kill you or even harm your efforts, long-term. I've "under"eaten about a bajillion times for all different reasons - not ED reasons, mind you, I mean there can be reasons. Non-hungry days, illness, anything. I've lost 60 lbs. so far anyway and my "metabolism didn't shut down" (which would mean death, actually) or any of the dire stuff diet gurus will warn you against in horror. I've had not-hungry days and I've had VERY VERY hungry days and I've had everything in between. None of these extremes have killed me yet.

    I'm just trying to be real with you. As I said, I've been there. If I'm wrong about this assessment then I am, and please feel free to throw it right out. :) But just in case any of what I say may be applicable to you...why not say "I'm not going to force calories into myself if I'm legitimately not hungry, that's stupid" and see what happens next week? Or even tomorrow?

    I mean if it lasts for two months and you're fainting and losing hair but still can't fathom sticking food into your mouth, then you have a problem.

    JMO.

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