I can't eat enough!

ginger_gnome

For the past week I've struggled to eat enough ... it's getting to be an obsession ... I've been trying to lose weight for about ten days but I'm honestly not hungry! I've lost 2lb which is fine ... I'd rather lose weight slowly and keep it off but this is crazy! I'm walking a lot more and trying to do a lot more exercise and can feel a difference already.

If I'm not eating enough am I just burning muscle rather than losing weight? I've no idea ;-)

SezxyStef

no offense but you manage to get the calories in to have to lose weight...

Your diary isn't open so can't really comment other then just generic stuff such as

full fat milk instead of skim
high calorie foods such as peanut butter
pizza
ice cream

This list goes on and on...

kgeyser

If you're not eating enough, yes, you are losing muscle in addition to fat. And let's be honest, not of us got to be overweight because we weren't able to eat. I suspect the issue you are having is psychological- you've started a new eating plan and want to succeed, so you've convinced yourself you're not hungry because it's hard to reconcile that you can eat quite a bit of food and still lose weight. It happens to a lot of people, and then consuming too few calories begins to take its toll and they realize that it has impacted their metabolism.

So eat up. Choose nutrient-dense and calorie dense foods if you are having a problem with the quantity of food. Get lots of protein and start doing some resistance training to retain lean body mass. And read this and all the links within it, it's a wealth of information: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Ashes_To_Beast

If your biggest worry is just getting more calories, I would recommend drinking your cals with some fruit or veggie juice, V8 V-Fusion.

KateK8LoseW8

What did you eat that made you fat in the first place? Eat some of that stuff, just less of it than you did before.

Siobhan108

I am sorry you are getting discouraged but be patient.

When I first came to MFP I posted a similar problem and a guy said to me that., " I was being stupid, I gained the weight to be 100 lbs overweight so I obviously knew how to eat ". I almost quit that day, but instead I got mad and fought back. He didn't know that my problem ... I was addicted to Pepsi and my weight had all come not from food but Pepsi. I was never a big eater, I was a junky. I would drink 6-8 cans a day ...all empty calories. Sure I ate 3-4 meals a day, but nothing more then most, but adding on all the calories from Pepsi I was probably eating an additional 1100 to the 1400 in food.

I told you this so you can examine what you put in your mouth everyday, make sure you are eating the right calories. I eat 5 meals a day and it works for me. I try to keep sodium low ( no health problems with blood pressure ) and my protein and fiber high. Give this program 110% everyday, it works !

Good Luck on you journey.

AmyRhubarb

Add some calorie dense foods to your day - nuts & seeds, nut butters, avocados, use olive and coconut oils, full fat dairy, cheese, etc. Small portions of these foods pack some good cals, so you get closer to goal without having to eat heaps of food.

ginger_gnome

Thanks folks ... I used to eat a lot of junk ... really stock up on chocolate, crisps, biscuits and cola. For meals I'm eating the same as always but I'm cutting out most of the junk! I'm trying to eat just over 1200 calories a day and it seems a lot!

I'm not discouraged because I'm happy to be doing more exercise (and I'm enjoying it!), it just seemed crazy to be eating extra to try and make my calorie intake for each day. I'm not falling miles below it, just around 100-200 but it seems a lot!

I'm not particularly denying myself any foods as I think that'd make me crave them more, I'm just trying to be sensible ... maybe a little too sensible!

Anyways, I'm off to have a wee chocolate fix before going to pick up the children from school.

Thanks again for your comments :-)

Athijade

If you open up your diary, people may be able to give you specific examples of where you could add calories into the meals you are having.

twixlepennie

Thanks folks ... I used to eat a lot of junk ... really stock up on chocolate, crisps, biscuits and cola. For meals I'm eating the same as always but I'm cutting out most of the junk! I'm trying to eat just over 1200 calories a day and it seems a lot!

I'm not discouraged because I'm happy to be doing more exercise (and I'm enjoying it!), it just seemed crazy to be eating extra to try and make my calorie intake for each day. I'm not falling miles below it, just around 100-200 but it seems a lot!

I'm not particularly denying myself any foods as I think that'd make me crave them more, I'm just trying to be sensible ... maybe a little too sensible!

Anyways, I'm off to have a wee chocolate fix before going to pick up the children from school.

Thanks again for your comments :-)

1,200 is not a lot and is actually probably too low. Many people can lose weight at a steady pace on higher calories. Be careful that you're not eating too few calories-it will end up biting you in the bum big time If you're not eating the minimum amount of calories that you need to be eating, then go eat a candy bar or something else you like, to get those calories up. There is no bad or good food-just calories.

ginger_gnome

Thanks twixlepennie ... 1210 calories was the recommended daily allowance when I put all my info into mfp ... I started off 167lb and want to lose 28lb but, as I mentioned in my first post, I want to do it slowly rather than too quickly and end up putting more on. Before I had children I was 128lb but struggled to lose weight after each pregnancy.

ell_v131

For the past week I've struggled to eat enough ... it's getting to be an obsession ... I've been trying to lose weight for about ten days but I'm honestly not hungry! I've lost 2lb which is fine ... I'd rather lose weight slowly and keep it off but this is crazy! I'm walking a lot more and trying to do a lot more exercise and can feel a difference already.

If I'm not eating enough am I just burning muscle rather than losing weight? I've no idea ;-)

yes, especially if you're not getting enough protein (at least 0.8g/lb of lean body mass).

28lb is not a lot to lose. Set your goal to 1lb per week and eat more. The goal calories are net, meaning you're supposed to eat back your exercise calories.

You didn't put on weight by not eating enough, so just get a little closer to what you were eating before, just in reduced amounts. That should help. Over-restriction is not sustainable and you'd be more likely to yo-yo afterwards

twixlepennie

Thanks twixlepennie ... 1210 calories was the recommended daily allowance when I put all my info into mfp ... I started off 167lb and want to lose 28lb but, as I mentioned in my first post, I want to do it slowly rather than too quickly and end up putting more on. Before I had children I was 128lb but struggled to lose weight after each pregnancy.

If you don't mind telling me how tall you are and if/how much you exercise, I can run your numbers through a couple other calculators-your number seems pretty low at 1,210.