Not eating enough?

Onesnap

Thanks I will give it a try

Here's what I've always done and it helps me to stay a healthy weight:

(using a workday as an example)

9am- oatmeal
11am- healthy snack (usually 100-200 calories)
12pm- lunch
3pm- another snack (yogurt typically 150-200 calories)
6pm- pre gym snack (nuts, cheese or fruit)
8:30pm- dinner post gym (homemade)
10pm- small snack like a cookie if there's calories left in the day

Total calories taken in 1700-1800, workout logged to NET 1300-1400.

Obviously as you can see I eat every few hours and I'm never hungry. I always log my workouts and eat back my exercise cals.

Nice!

As an example to the OP, here was my day yesterday. I netted about 1200. Honestly, I wish I had a little more because my workout today sucked.

Breakfast
Banana Nut Quest Bar
2 Hard boiled eggs

Lunch
Kale, cabbage and carrot salad with thai peanut dressing and roast chicken

Dinner
Half acorn squash with (half tbsp) butter and brown sugar
Steamed cod with a butter and lemon (half tbsp)

Snacks
1.5 servings of non fat greek yogurt with 2 1/2 tbsp of chocolate chips
Apple

Goal: 1300 Food: 1910 Exercise: 713 Net: 1197

Thank you!

Fantastic example that you provided as well.

iechick

My goal is 2130. I haven't been able to get anywhere near this. I have been averaging around 1200-1500 a day. After exercise I net around 700-1000 calories. I am finding it very difficult to maintain that high of a calorie intake without eating junk. Sometimes I wonder if I should even bother trying to reach 2130 or if the 1200-1500 is sufficient. I have a lot of weight to lose and I want to do it as healthy as possible.

Beef, cheese, potatoes, ice cream, chicken, full fat dairy, butter, fish, almonds (170 calories or so for 1/4 cup)... etc.

Again, if you stop eating "diet" foods, you'll be able to hit your goal.

I'm telling ya, you need those calories. You're not netting enough.

This-get away from the 'diet' food mentality and eat foods that are nutrient dense but also higher in calories. I just ate a bowl of oat with almonds, flax seed and raisins mixed in- healthy and around 360 calories I cook my oats in water but if you add milk you would come in at around 500 calories. Get creative!

PRMinx

Thank you!

Fantastic example that you provided as well.

Thanks! It was a yummy day. I think fall foods are my favorite. And the apples this year are SO good.

Onesnap

Okay, I have a similar question. What if you aren't hungry, I am struggling to eat all this food. I used to be a heavy eater now I drink protien and eat mostly meat protiens and veggies along with fruit. I feel great and the scale is moving downward??

Cut out the protein shakes (I assume that's what you mean) and eat real whole foods to take the place of those calories. Not some shake/mix that's made in a lab and manufactured in a factory. Real food is key.

I would say you need to get into a better eating pattern and eat small (150-200 calories) every few hours.

Unless you're doing a major amount of weight lifting I would not say there's a need to do those shakes. They are expensive and not necessary. They are designed to fill you up and be meal replacements or to add protein to someone doing extensive weight training (or even someone doing long distance running training). For an every day active person that's trying to lose weight...just do real food. You'll find yourself being a normal level of hungry if you cut those out of your diet. You'll get the vitamins and minerals from regular food if you make good swaps in for those shakes.

BradGarner85

Thank you guys so much it has really helped my outlook on things I will definatley be changing up the way I do things. I am not trying to do this as a temporary fix I am changing my life. I really really appreciate the help,

Onesnap

Thank you!

Fantastic example that you provided as well.

Thanks! It was a yummy day. I think fall foods are my favorite. And the apples this year are SO good.

I agree! We went apple picking in Maine and the apples are really great this year!

Onesnap

Thank you guys so much it has really helped my outlook on things I will definatley be changing up the way I do things. I am not trying to do this as a temporary fix I am changing my life. I really really appreciate the help,

You're welcome! I'm happy to see that people in this post are giving you SOLID advice because the forums have a way of getting way out of control and not helping the OP at all in the end.

missdibs1

My goal is 2130. I haven't been able to get anywhere near this. I have been averaging around 1200-1500 a day. After exercise I net around 700-1000 calories. I am finding it very difficult to maintain that high of a calorie intake without eating junk. Sometimes I wonder if I should even bother trying to reach 2130 or if the 1200-1500 is sufficient. I have a lot of weight to lose and I want to do it as healthy as possible.

I do not know what your macros are set at...but an easy way to up clories is to add olive oil to your veggies. BAm!

SoDamnHungry

Why are you avoiding carbs?

BradGarner85

To control my blood sugar better. I am a type 2 insulin dependent diabetic and the low carbs have really really lowered my glucose numbers.

Onesnap

Why are you avoiding carbs?

Edited...I see that he answered right above.

SkinnyFatAlbert

Cheese, especially cottage cheese which has a ton of protein, is a good calorie padding snack in between meals. Also, the more fat you have to lose the more calories you can get away with cutting without worrying about slowing your weight loss. With 160lbs left until your goal not hitting your calorie goal isn't the biggest deal as long as you're not flat out starving yourself.

jfournierdc

This topic has been very helpful.. I too am a Type II Diabetic using MFP after a stroke left me paralyzed on my left side for over a week in July.

My setting in MFP is 1540 daily but I too am below that even before the net of exercising daily for almost 2 hours walking jogging bike paths and I am now seeing that I have to bump this up. The good news is in doing this MFP now for 2 months, my Dr. office visit yesterday showed I have lost 14lbs ( he said try to loose 15 lbs to help control sugars better). My A1C was 5.7 and cholesterol is now normal at 76. Weight is 176 from 190 in August. Strange enough , I exercise daily but don't feel the dizziness but the stroke has residuals that keep my mind on alert anyways.

Thanks Guys.

BradGarner85

A big congratulations on the A1C. I dream on a 5.7 lol. My averages have in the last two months have come down from 350 fasting to 150 fasting so I am on the right track.

jfournierdc

I was at a 12.1 a few years back and ignoring the meds and doctors.. But I actually turned it around at that point slowly and went to 190 lbs from 230 on my own with no meds.

But the stroke was a big wake up call. I'm like the energizer bunny now for some reason, always thinking on the positive effect this is for everyone I know. Being immobile in a hospital bed for a week can change one's outlook on life.

BradGarner85

I was at a 12.1 a few years back and ignoring the meds and doctors.. But I actually turned it around at that point slowly and went to 190 lbs from 230 on my own with no meds.

But the stroke was a big wake up call. I'm like the energizer bunny now for some reason, always thinking on the positive effect this is for everyone I know. Being immobile in a hospital bed for a week can change one's outlook on life.

My mother turned 60 last month. She has been a horrible diabetic for years. She had struggled for years and about 5 years ago she suffered a back injury and then a stroke. After the stroke things went downhill fast with the stroke it caused the inability to recover from the back injury. After that it seemed as if the cards were against her, one ministroke after another. We discovered last summer that she was stage 4 kidney disease and is now on dialysis three times a week. She was in an assisted living facility until the decided she was too much of a risk and asked her to leave. Thanks to our wonderful health care system she was ineligible to stay in a nursing home and was forced to go home to my 70 year old father, who can barely take of himself.

Needless to say I have seen firsthand the devastation of diabetes, therefore that is the main reason I am taking on this weightloss journey full force. I do not want to put my children in the same situation someday.

AquabearGO

bump

Confuzzled4ever

I eat more then you and I don't eat junk. 1200 isn't enough for a grown man.



How about smaller meals more often? I eat all damn day.

If you're worried about sugar then first cut out all the foods with added sugar (check labels you'll be surprised what has added sugar in it.) If you're still not better then eat lower sugar fruits. (apples, oranges, grapefruits, plums, red grapes, prickly pears). You can eat more calories without the carbs if you eat tuna with your salads and double up on the fish, chicken, steak for dinner. It'll get you to a healthy calorie level and help control the diabetes. My grandmother had diabetes for years. When she moved in with us, we started cooking her healthy well balanced meals and guess what.. no more insulin. She doesn't have an issue anymore. Sometimes it really is just our food choices.


Q: what is considered low carb for you?

sunshyncatra

Eat higher calorie healthy food:

-Whole eggs prepared with olive oil
-avocados
-nuts
-dried fruit
-string cheese
-oatmeal
-higher calorie fruit
-nut butters
-added olive oil to prepared foods

Increase slowly to give your body time to get used to the increase.

cwolfman13

Dude...you're a dude...you need to eat way more than 800 net calories...you're just asking for trouble there man.

I lost 40 Lbs easily eating around 2100-2200 gross calories per day and netting around 1850. You need dietary fat...saute your veg in some heart healthy olive oil. Eat an apple and dip it in some nutritionally awesome peanut butter. Eat some avocado...put some full fat olive oil dressings on your salad. Basically, add fat to your diet...it is an essential macro-nutrient...it is essential to proper nutrition...and fat doesn't make you fat.

If you look at studies of low fat/no fat diets, you will overwhelmingly find higher levels of heart disease and other medical issues. This is because when people cut "bad" fat, they also cut the "good" fat...those monunsaturated and polyunsaturated fats raise your HDL levels and protect you from heart disease and other junk.

Saturated fats aren't necessarily "bad" either though I do keep mine generally below 25 g...but I don't go out of my way to avoid it. It helps regulate testosterone and is actually pretty important if you're working out, and particularly lifting.

Edit: also, congrats on getting your glucose numbers down...I brought mine to normal through diet and exercise. I wasn't full blown diabetic yet, but pre-diabetic when I started...now everything is completely normal.