I am always super low on calories
veraviva2018
Posts: 8 Member
I’m never getting enough calories. Almost every day the app says I’m not eating enough... but I honestly try! I snack, I have healthy meals, sometimes even treats. But I’m almost always 150-200 short of my calorie goal, which is like 1,250. This is even on the days I work out.
But I don’t feel hungry, I don’t feel the desire to eat. I’m about 190, 5’2, and I do cardio workouts and I walk 5-6 times a week for 30+ minutes each.
Am I hurting myself? How do I get myself to eat more? I don’t WANT food. 900 calories is on average what I consume, and eating doesn’t interest me.
But I don’t feel hungry, I don’t feel the desire to eat. I’m about 190, 5’2, and I do cardio workouts and I walk 5-6 times a week for 30+ minutes each.
Am I hurting myself? How do I get myself to eat more? I don’t WANT food. 900 calories is on average what I consume, and eating doesn’t interest me.
7
Replies
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How long have you been doing this and how much weight have you lost?
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nutmegoreo wrote: »How long have you been doing this and how much weight have you lost?
With the app, 16 days. Before getting the app, I had cut way back on calories / portions (just wasn’t tracking it) for about 2 extra weeks. So maybe a month or so?
I haven’t weighed myself yet, but I’ve definitely seen a difference in the mirror. I’m planning on weighing myself at the end of the week.0 -
Maybe try adding an Ensure or a shake or two to get you over the hump. 220 cals in an Ensure and they are pretty tasty.4
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900 calories is really low for an adult, even if you are not hungry it can bring you symptoms that you just don’t assiciate with food or hunger. Like headache, fatigue or difficulty sleeping, low iron level, irritability, muscle problem especially if you work out as much as you do.
If bulking up your food is something you are not interested because you feel full, add calorie dense food to your diet. Avocado, dairy products, nuts or nut butter, dried fruits, rice... Those type of food have great nutrional values yet are also dense in calories and will help you meet your goals easily without you having to chew much more food.6 -
Are you using a food scale? 900 calories is hardly any food. Unless you're eating nothing but veggies, I can't imagine how one would eat 3 meals plus snacks and be under 1000 cals.17
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Are you using a food scale? 900 calories is hardly any food. Unless you're eating nothing but veggies, I can't imagine how one would eat 3 meals plus snacks and be under 1000 cals.
Her diary is open, and it doesn't look like things are being weighed, so I expect some inaccuracies.veraviva2018 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »How long have you been doing this and how much weight have you lost?
With the app, 16 days. Before getting the app, I had cut way back on calories / portions (just wasn’t tracking it) for about 2 extra weeks. So maybe a month or so?
I haven’t weighed myself yet, but I’ve definitely seen a difference in the mirror. I’m planning on weighing myself at the end of the week.
Without your weight it's hard to say if you are losing too rapidly, which would certainly signal food intake (specifically calories) that is too low. If you are noticing a visible difference in 4 weeks, I suspect that you are losing fairly quickly.
The biggest concerns are for health. Proteins and fats are essential nutrients for maintaining muscle mass, hormone balance, healthy organs, healthy hair, nails, and skin (you have some days where these aren't too bad, and some where they are woefully low). It's also highly unlikely (I haven't looked) that you are getting enough vitamins and minerals. Nutritional deficiencies can take a while to show up, and when they do, they can take a long time to fix.
Another concern is that once you get to your goal weight, how are you planning to maintain? Taking a bit longer to lose will give you a better idea of how to transition towards your maintenance plan.
Edited to clarify7 -
You're 5'2" and 190, or you were when you weighed last. With all due respect, you obviously know how to eat. I have done the extreme diets before and one of the tricks to them is getting yourself to believe you just can't eat more. You need to let go of the extreme mindset and eat more.24
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Here's an informative thread on the subject:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p13 -
Yeah, I have a scale and I weigh anything that isn’t prepackaged. Like if I make a salad, I weigh my spinach, my shrimp, etc. I weigh all my drinks too (almond milk) and my whey proteins. I just never really feel hungry.Are you using a food scale? 900 calories is hardly any food. Unless you're eating nothing but veggies, I can't imagine how one would eat 3 meals plus snacks and be under 1000 cals.
I used to have a binge eating problem, and now I just don’t WANT to eat. I’m trying to, but I’ll try out shakes now. Thanks for the advice and the tips everyone
EDIT: I take multi-vitamins and additional vitamin D, B, and iron supplements0 -
Eating more isn't difficult. You like to eat. Eat real food, enough, but not too much. I suggest you take feeding yourself properly, seriously. A healthy relationship with food is so important. Consider it your most important job right now.8
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Firstly I'd start weighing everything, including prepackaged food which can be 20% more than indicated on the packaging. This can easily add an extra 100 - 200 calories a day to your diet without you even realising. From here I'd look at adding in an extra meal or snack somewhere and include some calorie dense foods. My go-to for this is things like nuts and seeds, avocado and cheese.3
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Lillymoo01 wrote: »Firstly I'd start weighing everything, including prepackaged food which can be 20% more than indicated on the packaging
Truth. I weigh everything, and there are often more grams in there than stated on the packet.
having said that, there have been days I've been hunting around for something I can have to increase my calorie intake (not so much recently, I've had a few meals out in the last few weeks) My go-to snacks on these days are nuts or cheese.
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200 calories is a small handful of pecans. Surely you can make yourself eat that? If that's too hard, it's not hard to add a few pieces of nuts or cheese to whatever meal you're already eating, or replacing low fat items with full fat ones without feeling like you're adding extra food. If you're trying to eat healthily, then skipping a major part of eating healthily (fueling your body properly) makes to sense. Take your health seriously.4
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I wasn't hungry when I first started as well, I was frequently under. Eventually it kicked in.
Others have said start weighing the pre-packaged foods as well and drink water! I had an old analog spring scale, it was hard to measure foods so I purchased a new digital scale. That is when I started weighing everything and noticed differences between what was stated on the package and what it actually weighed.
Because the Nutritional guidelines use grams I always try to use it when I enter foods.3 -
peanut butter
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Macadamia nuts are high in (good) fat and calories. As others have said, cheese is good, Or dark chocolate.1
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Eat more calorie dense foods.3
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sytchequeen wrote: »Lillymoo01 wrote: »Firstly I'd start weighing everything, including prepackaged food which can be 20% more than indicated on the packaging
Truth. I weigh everything, and there are often more grams in there than stated on the packet.
having said that, there have been days I've been hunting around for something I can have to increase my calorie intake (not so much recently, I've had a few meals out in the last few weeks) My go-to snacks on these days are nuts or cheese.
This!
With things like cereal, ice cream, pasta, rice, & chips it's easy to overestimate what a true portion could be. The most shocking for me was what an actual serving of cereal looked like. You mean to tell me a Jethro bowl of cereal isn't one serving? Another big thing to weigh is dressings, peanut butters, & basically any sauces that could pack a huge calorie punch & have someone eating more than they intended.
You also have to be careful of not checking labels accurately. Take Lenny & Larry for example. One of their larger cookies is two servings & I would assume a lot of people won't look at the label & assume they consumed only 180-200+ calories (depending on flavor) rather than two servings!
I am assuming you're not accurately measuring somewhere, but if you truly are then this is a helpful thread
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods3 -
I completely understand your struggle. I weigh every little thing and I’m always still under my calories by 200-300. I drink a ton of water, which I think contributes to not feeling hungry. I just recently started seriously logging my food on here. I have always kept a written journal. I don’t complete my day until I’m laying in bed hoping I will get the urge for a last minute snack...doesn’t happen to often.4
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First, confirm you're logging accurately. Second, evaluate what you're eating and why. Are you eating what you eat because you enjoy it and can see yourself continuing to eat this way into maintenance, or are you eating with the mindset of 'lose the weight and then eat like a normal human again'? 1 oz of turkey and 1 oz of brisket is not lunch. That's barely even a snack.5
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If you are correctly weighting and logging food and are really still under the goal, then as mentioned above find foods that are more calorie dense so you eat "less" but still hit your goals. See link above.
Nuts are a great one. eat foods that are not as lean like say chicken thighs VS breast or turkey. Use full fat milk/yogurt VS almond milk/skim. With some brainstorming there is no reason to not hit the minimum recommended calorie intake.1 -
veraviva2018 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »How long have you been doing this and how much weight have you lost?
With the app, 16 days. Before getting the app, I had cut way back on calories / portions (just wasn’t tracking it) for about 2 extra weeks. So maybe a month or so?
I haven’t weighed myself yet, but I’ve definitely seen a difference in the mirror. I’m planning on weighing myself at the end of the week.
While I'm reluctant to base a conclusion on just two data points, getting that weight could be very helpful in letting us know if you are truly undereating or doing the very common thing of eating more than you think.5 -
veraviva2018 wrote: »I’m never getting enough calories. Almost every day the app says I’m not eating enough... but I honestly try! I snack, I have healthy meals, sometimes even treats. But I’m almost always 150-200 short of my calorie goal, which is like 1,250. This is even on the days I work out.
But I don’t feel hungry, I don’t feel the desire to eat. I’m about 190, 5’2, and I do cardio workouts and I walk 5-6 times a week for 30+ minutes each.
Am I hurting myself? How do I get myself to eat more? I don’t WANT food. 900 calories is on average what I consume, and eating doesn’t interest me.
What you need to do is share your meals, because I'm looking for 200-350 calorie meals that are satisfying. I know this doesn't address your question, but you can help yourself by helping others.
Since I have the opposite problem as you, I can tell you how I easily go over my calories: calorie dense dinners and after dinner snacks. I think if you change whatever you are having to the higher calorie version, you'll do fine.0 -
IHaveMyActTogether wrote: »veraviva2018 wrote: »I’m never getting enough calories. Almost every day the app says I’m not eating enough... but I honestly try! I snack, I have healthy meals, sometimes even treats. But I’m almost always 150-200 short of my calorie goal, which is like 1,250. This is even on the days I work out.
But I don’t feel hungry, I don’t feel the desire to eat. I’m about 190, 5’2, and I do cardio workouts and I walk 5-6 times a week for 30+ minutes each.
Am I hurting myself? How do I get myself to eat more? I don’t WANT food. 900 calories is on average what I consume, and eating doesn’t interest me.
What you need to do is share your meals, because I'm looking for 200-350 calorie meals that are satisfying. I know this doesn't address your question, but you can help yourself by helping others.
Since I have the opposite problem as you, I can tell you how I easily go over my calories: calorie dense dinners and after dinner snacks. I think if you change whatever you are having to the higher calorie version, you'll do fine.
Her diary is open, you can go look at what she's eating. Very small portions.3 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »IHaveMyActTogether wrote: »veraviva2018 wrote: »I’m never getting enough calories. Almost every day the app says I’m not eating enough... but I honestly try! I snack, I have healthy meals, sometimes even treats. But I’m almost always 150-200 short of my calorie goal, which is like 1,250. This is even on the days I work out.
But I don’t feel hungry, I don’t feel the desire to eat. I’m about 190, 5’2, and I do cardio workouts and I walk 5-6 times a week for 30+ minutes each.
Am I hurting myself? How do I get myself to eat more? I don’t WANT food. 900 calories is on average what I consume, and eating doesn’t interest me.
What you need to do is share your meals, because I'm looking for 200-350 calorie meals that are satisfying. I know this doesn't address your question, but you can help yourself by helping others.
Since I have the opposite problem as you, I can tell you how I easily go over my calories: calorie dense dinners and after dinner snacks. I think if you change whatever you are having to the higher calorie version, you'll do fine.
Her diary is open, you can go look at what she's eating. Very small portions.
Yeah, if skipped breakfast and ate 2 oz of meat and called it lunch, I would wonder if I was body snatched by aliens or something.
ETA:
OP, are you intermittent fasting or is this just the way you eat? If you're deliberately intermittent fasting then maybe it's not for you since it's driving you to undereat.2 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »IHaveMyActTogether wrote: »veraviva2018 wrote: »I’m never getting enough calories. Almost every day the app says I’m not eating enough... but I honestly try! I snack, I have healthy meals, sometimes even treats. But I’m almost always 150-200 short of my calorie goal, which is like 1,250. This is even on the days I work out.
But I don’t feel hungry, I don’t feel the desire to eat. I’m about 190, 5’2, and I do cardio workouts and I walk 5-6 times a week for 30+ minutes each.
Am I hurting myself? How do I get myself to eat more? I don’t WANT food. 900 calories is on average what I consume, and eating doesn’t interest me.
What you need to do is share your meals, because I'm looking for 200-350 calorie meals that are satisfying. I know this doesn't address your question, but you can help yourself by helping others.
Since I have the opposite problem as you, I can tell you how I easily go over my calories: calorie dense dinners and after dinner snacks. I think if you change whatever you are having to the higher calorie version, you'll do fine.
Her diary is open, you can go look at what she's eating. Very small portions.
Sigh. I thought she was just a wiz in the kitchen...
1 -
I never used to eat real “meals”, even when I ate junk entirely. It was snacks here and there, a few fries, some chicken, pretzels, candy, etc.
I’m not used to sitting down for meals or eating a lot at once, so I try to have little snacks throughout the day that are healthy and I don’t hate. But since I am drinking so much water and snacking every few hours, I’m just not hungry. Plus I work 2 jobs and all they have is junk junk junk. I have to go hours without eating during a shift
It’s just really hard! I’m not sure why. Plus since I really don’t feel hungry, it feels “wrong” to eat. I’m only ever hungry after a workout.
EDIT: I got up and made myself eat a decent breakfast today. I think the main problem is I skip breakfast daily and lunch often. I won’t start eating until 3-5pm. So hopefully this helps, except it’s 3pm and I STILL don’t feel hungry.
I’m 22, a single mom, so I don’t have a lot of time to cook or meal prep or buy many healthy snacks since those are expensive.4 -
veraviva2018 wrote: »I never used to eat real “meals”, even when I ate junk entirely. It was snacks here and there, a few fries, some chicken, pretzels, candy, etc.
I’m not used to sitting down for meals or eating a lot at once, so I try to have little snacks throughout the day that are healthy and I don’t hate. But since I am drinking so much water and snacking every few hours, I’m just not hungry. Plus I work 2 jobs and all they have is junk junk junk. I have to go hours without eating during a shift
It’s just really hard! I’m not sure why. Plus since I really don’t feel hungry, it feels “wrong” to eat. I’m only ever hungry after a workout.
Drink less water if it's stopping you from eating... snack on more calorie dense foods.3 -
Drink less water, keep nuts around for snacks, or... eat some junk every now and then. Junk that fuels your body is better than non-junk that can lead to your organs eventually shutting down if you keep at it this way for the years to come.4
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veraviva2018 wrote: »Plus I work 2 jobs and all they have is junk junk junk. I have to go hours without eating during a shift
While I don't see what precludes you from bringing a PB&J or an apple to work, if you clearly have the room for it, eat some of the junk. There's no extra credit for more broccoli when a person is getting adequate nutrition. Fueling our bodies properly is not just about quality, it's about quantity too, even if you consider some of those calories less than healthy.7
This discussion has been closed.
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