Struggling to eat enough..
3wdl
Posts: 45
So I get 1,800 calories a day but because of exercising I am finding it a struggle to eat them all.
Today:
314 breakfast
313 lunch
543 dinner
86 snacks
849 calories burnt
So I've got 1,423 calories left to eat. it's almost midnight and I'm not hungry! Perhaps this is a good thing - but worried it may have a negative effect on my body. Any suggestions here?
Today:
314 breakfast
313 lunch
543 dinner
86 snacks
849 calories burnt
So I've got 1,423 calories left to eat. it's almost midnight and I'm not hungry! Perhaps this is a good thing - but worried it may have a negative effect on my body. Any suggestions here?
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Replies
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There is a point where you don't have to eat all the calories back. If you are getting all your macros in and you are not getting dizzy. I'm sure you are fine. Just make sure you get your basic calories before exercise. If your body needs the extra calories you are burning by exercise you will know it.0
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^ agree
I also wouldnt binge at night to make up for your days calories either.0 -
have a piece of pizza some ice cream or a beer. problem solved.0
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I cannot emphasize this enough, but NEVER rely on hunger cues to determine whether or not you are actually meeting energy needs when chronically restricting calories - especially when assuming larger deficits.
Anorexics will have depressed levels of leptin with elevated levels of ghrelin. This results in days where they will feel satisfied, despite eating very little, whereas other days one will experience extreme hunger.
Similarly, morbidly obese persons gain their weight partly because of elevated ghrelin levels which tell the person to eat more despite consuming calories well above maintenance.
If chronic restriction/overeating persists long enough, even the receptors themselves can mutate in a manner which impacts their ability to accurately assess changes in hormone levels. This further leads to a false sense of satiety/hunger.0 -
Eat higher calorie foods.0
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The way it was explained to me while the bodies food intake is being cut it doesn't like huge extra energy demands being made upon it!
So it starts holding on to what it can so eat some more or exercise less.0 -
I've had the same problem lately. The only fix I've found is making my own smoothies... +protein powder + milk and either frozenfruit or a chocolate/peanut butter/banana combo, having a larger breakfast, or eating higher calorie snacks. But sometimes my breakfast is big, and I'm not hungry until dinner.
I always thought people were silly when they said they couldn't reach their goals but now that I'm exercising regularly, it's an issue. I only net 950 calories yesterday and my goal is net 1800..... yipes!
Good luck, I think it takes a few adjustments at a time. ... Good excuse to have pizza or pasta for dinner though0 -
Eat higher calorie foods.
yep thats pretty much what I do as I was struggling too. I snack on nuts, peanut butter, add avocado to my wraps at lunch etc. You donl't ahev to eat 'more', just eat higher calorie foods.0 -
I would suggest to not let the calorie counter get to ya. I think this calorie thing is blown way out of proportion.
Everyone bodies are different and if your fine eating less calories then your ok. Im eating just a normal breakfast, lunch and a dinner and at the end of the day thats about 1100-1300 calories. Its the ones who say that is too low that need to look at their own eating habits and wonder if its them, thats eating too much..0 -
curious - how did you become overweight if you struggle to eat 1800 calories a day..??? I would assume, correct me if wrong, that you ate way more than that before joining this site...yes?0
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Thanks all! Really useful advice.
Any suggestions for higher calorie foods that don't have much fat in them / are the "right" kind of calories?0 -
ndj1979 - I've been overweight all my life - so yes, was eating more, or rather eating the wrong stuff! Plus I don't have a job that involves moving so definite lack of exercise. I don't think I have a problem eating the 1,800 calories on their own, but throwing exercise in every day and trying to eat less is where I am struggling a little!0
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manda1978 has the right idea- the higher calories of highly nutritious foods, even if they're higher in fat, are the way to go- nuts, avocados, olive oil come to mind. We eat a lot of those in our house.0
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Thanks all! Really useful advice.
Any suggestions for higher calorie foods that don't have much fat in them / are the "right" kind of calories?
Don't be scared of fat... it fills you up, it has more calories per gram than protein or carbs, and healthy fats help your hair, skin, nails, and circulatory system.
Some good, calorically heavy foods which contain healthy fats:
Avocado, nuts, etc etc... you can google and find lists of higher calorie foods you can try to sneak into your diet, or you can try using the forum's search function, I'm sure someone has posted something similar in the past.0 -
never eat your burn calories0
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never eat your burn calories
MFP is designed for you TO eat your burned calories, that's why they're added back. You already have a deficit built in, when you exercise you create more of a deficit.0 -
ndj1979 - I've been overweight all my life - so yes, was eating more, or rather eating the wrong stuff! Plus I don't have a job that involves moving so definite lack of exercise. I don't think I have a problem eating the 1,800 calories on their own, but throwing exercise in every day and trying to eat less is where I am struggling a little!
Ahhh ok that makes sense...
i would recommend eating things like steak, eggs, greek yogurt cottage cheese, bacon (yes you can have this),etc..
right now I am at about 1900 for the day ..here is my menu..
two eggs and two egg whites
two slices bacon
half serving of shredded mexican cheese = 355 calories
lunch - 7 oz chicken breast, half cup cottage cheese, 1 6oz container greek yogurt - 413 cals
dinner - 4.5 whole wheat linguine, 1 cup tomato sauce, 9 oz beef (made them into meatballs) - 1050 cals
late night snack - one scoop GNC protein powder - 95 cals...
total 1912 ....
good luck ....0 -
Oh and if you are using MFP for your "burned calories" you might want to be careful as MFP tends to overestimate...
you might want to bump the MFP burn estimate down by about 15-20% so you are not over eating on accident...0 -
Thanks all! Really useful advice.
Any suggestions for higher calorie foods that don't have much fat in them / are the "right" kind of calories?
Any particular reason you want to avoid high-fat foods? I only ask because I have had greater success and gotten much leaner eating full-fat foods than I ever had eating low-fat. I am so much happier and less hungry on a high(er) fat diet, too. I'm just curious if there's a medical reason you need to go low-fat?0 -
Thanks all! Really useful advice.
Any suggestions for higher calorie foods that don't have much fat in them / are the "right" kind of calories?
Any particular reason you want to avoid high-fat foods? I only ask because I have had greater success and gotten much leaner eating full-fat foods than I ever had eating low-fat. I am so much happier and less hungry on a high(er) fat diet, too. I'm just curious if there's a medical reason you need to go low-fat?
This..... I'm curious too...... Nothing wrong with calorie dense foods..... Lots of good fats in peanut butter and I have lost a few pounds eating it pretty much everyday... and to add to ndj1979 that is pretty much spot on with my percentage of calories that I eat back.. I eat back 85% of my calories burned....0 -
Eat higher calorie foods.
This is what I do as well. Things like peanut butter, full fat cream cheese, bacon cheeseburgers without the bun etc. It doesn't mean I don't occasionally end up with a larger than planned deficit, occasionally it happens. Sometimes I don't finish my food either, if I'm full, I'm full.
I'm a dog walker so there are days when I spend the better part of the day on my feet walking neighborhood dogs. Coupled with my weight training, it's only a problem if I let it be.
I eat a plenty of fat because I don't handle carbs well & so that keeps me satiated for quite a while. So far, I've never lost more than 3 #'s in a week (it's only actually happened once) and 1-2#'s is more the norm for me, on weeks I lose that is (sometimes, nothing happens). I'm still adding to my lifts, so that's not suffering either. Meh. I've only got 15 or 20#'s left to go (gw is about 112#)
I don't sweat it. :drinker:0
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