Issues meeting the 1200 goal.

wardances

So, I understand that I need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories but I am having a very difficult time doing so. As in, I'll eat 900 - 1000 a day then burn off enough to where I usually still have 300 to almost 600 that I STILL need to eat to bring myself back up to my goal of 1200.
But I just feel so FULL. As in, I'll eat a healthy breakfast (usually yoghurt or fruit with green tea and sometimes oatmeal) around 8am and then I just will feel full until 12 - 1. Around that time I know I should eat more so I'll make something light such as yoghurt/berries or a mini pizza or maybe a can of plain tuna with crackers and once again I'll feel as I ate a three course meal all to myself. Then around 6pm I'll eat again but it's such a struggle because my stomach is just not giving me hunger cues. I'll eat something healthy though and then that's it until the next morning. (I go to bed at 10 and usually fall asleep around 12am.) I do try to remember to snack and when I do it's usually on nuts and fruit. But when I finish my food log at the end of the day it usually says I'm not eating enough calories.
Also, I don't actively make it a point to work out at all. Just... a lot of my work-out stems from walking around town to pay my bills, walking to do a bit of grocery shopping, putting my 20 pound son on my shoulder and pacing quickly back and forth until he sleeps, and just rushing about the house getting things done. I'm up and active for 16 hours a day and maybe four hours of that is spent sitting down.

I know that this is probably not healthy but how can I eat enough without feeling so full that I'm going vomit?

ladynocturne

A lot of people are going to ask you to make your diary public to better help you.

Basic advice for people who can't seem to meet their calorie goal are as follows:

Get rid of "low fat" versions of what you eat, especially dairy, start buying full fat.

Drink your calories if you are too full to eat them, add a glass of milk or juice (or smoothies) with every meal instead of black coffee or unsweetened tea.

As you've mentioned already, you try to snack on nuts in favor of the other lower calorie choices. (you can also use nut butters on bread).

Add a slice/shredded cheese to every meal if applicable. Add avocado to salads, soups, and sandwiches/wraps.

Don't over complicate it.

diannethegeek

Okay, a few things to keep in mind.

-- edited out ... because I can't read tickers accurately apparently --

Eating more often won't do anything to help you lose weight or boost your metabolism. Some people do really well skipping meals and find their hunger cues work better this way. You might experiment with your meal times and see what happens for you. If skipping breakfast or lunch lets you eat more at your other meals then go for it. If you work better on six small meals, that's okay too.

Your diary is closed, so it's hard to give specific advice. If you're eating anything low-fat or reduced calorie then drop it and go for the regular version. Look for calorie dense foods that will give you a calorie boost without taking up room in your stomach. Nuts, nut butter, full fat dairy, cheese, Greek yogurt, granola, ice cream, dark chocolate, avocado, olive oil, etc. You can also look into adding a protein shake or smoothies to your diet. Sometimes drinking your calories (shakes, smoothies, juice) lets you add calories without filling up your stomach.

Hornsby

How did you get overweight in the first place? It wasn't hard to go over then was it? Add some of the food you were eating into the mix and have a healthy balanced diet.

QuietBloom

Do you weigh everything and log consistently?

justal313

Okay, a few things to keep in mind.

If your ticker is accurate and you have over 100 pounds to lose, you can sustain less than 1200 calories for a little while. It's still a good idea to learn how to eat more in a healthy manner, but with the fat stores your body has right now you can get away with it.

Eating more often won't do anything to help you lose weight or boost your metabolism. Some people do really well skipping meals and find their hunger cues work better this way. You might experiment with your meal times and see what happens for you. If skipping breakfast or lunch lets you eat more at your other meals then go for it. If you work better on six small meals, that's okay too.

Your diary is closed, so it's hard to give specific advice. If you're eating anything low-fat or reduced calorie then drop it and go for the regular version. Look for calorie dense foods that will give you a calorie boost without taking up room in your stomach. Nuts, nut butter, full fat dairy, cheese, Greek yogurt, granola, ice cream, dark chocolate, avocado, olive oil, etc. You can also look into adding a protein shake or smoothies to your diet. Sometimes drinking your calories (shakes, smoothies, juice) lets you add calories without filling up your stomach.

Actually her ticker says she's trying to get to 128 lbs from 148 lbs. Thats only 20 lbs. But yes, open your diary and we can all give advice.

diannethegeek

Okay, a few things to keep in mind.

If your ticker is accurate and you have over 100 pounds to lose, you can sustain less than 1200 calories for a little while. It's still a good idea to learn how to eat more in a healthy manner, but with the fat stores your body has right now you can get away with it.

Eating more often won't do anything to help you lose weight or boost your metabolism. Some people do really well skipping meals and find their hunger cues work better this way. You might experiment with your meal times and see what happens for you. If skipping breakfast or lunch lets you eat more at your other meals then go for it. If you work better on six small meals, that's okay too.

Your diary is closed, so it's hard to give specific advice. If you're eating anything low-fat or reduced calorie then drop it and go for the regular version. Look for calorie dense foods that will give you a calorie boost without taking up room in your stomach. Nuts, nut butter, full fat dairy, cheese, Greek yogurt, granola, ice cream, dark chocolate, avocado, olive oil, etc. You can also look into adding a protein shake or smoothies to your diet. Sometimes drinking your calories (shakes, smoothies, juice) lets you add calories without filling up your stomach.

Actually her ticker says she's trying to get to 128 lbs from 148 lbs. Thats only 20 lbs. But yes, open your diary and we can all give advice.

Yeah, I had just edited that out. Too slow apparently. This is why I shouldn't be on the forums at work.

AlongCame_Molly

How did you get overweight in the first place? It wasn't hard to go over then was it? Add some of the food you were eating into the mix and have a healthy balanced diet.

All this ^^

almostplenty

Don't force yourself to eat if you're not hungry. Listen to your hunger cues. If you're eating a variety of nutritious foods and not just junk then it's NBD if you fall short of your calorie goal.

erickirb

drink more cals then, or eat full fat foods, add oil to food you already eat.

Hunger is not a very good indication of nutritional requirements. I could drink 4000 cals worth of liquid and be starving yet eating 800 cals with of faw veggies would have me stuffed.

taiyola

How did you get overweight in the first place? It wasn't hard to go over then was it? Add some of the food you were eating into the mix and have a healthy balanced diet.

All this ^^

THIS all over again.

I go through phases where I don't have much of an appetite, but it never lasts long!

misschoppo

How did you get overweight in the first place? It wasn't hard to go over then was it? Add some of the food you were eating into the mix and have a healthy balanced diet.

This^

meshashesha2012

How did you get overweight in the first place? It wasn't hard to go over then was it? Add some of the food you were eating into the mix and have a healthy balanced diet.

this.

eat some of the food you were eating before. stop eating so much diet and low calorie options. eat food that's actually filling with protein and fats and not food that tricks your body for a short while to think you are full.

this isn't rocket science. just eat some food :laugh:

Taterpoof

2 big spoonfuls of peanut butter should do the trick.

Francl27

How did you get overweight in the first place? It wasn't hard to go over then was it? Add some of the food you were eating into the mix and have a healthy balanced diet.

Yep. Either that or you're not weighing your food and eating more than you think, and that's why you feel so full.

But frankly I was there at first too... Not eating enough, but eating 'clean' so I wasn't very hungry on 1200 calories. Didn't last, lol.