2 Questions....

tigerlilly24

Hi MFP'rs I have 2 questions I'm curious about, First I found myself not all that hungry today and found my calorie intake for the day at only 500. I really do not feel hungry at all and my average daily intake is usually 1400-1750. I should also say that I am on a low carb clean (mostly) food diet, Lots of meat, veggies, cheese & dairy with the occasional fruits and nuts. So I'm wondering if having a really low calorie day is helpful or harmful for us dieters. Next question is that I'm having a hard time getting in a good amount of potassium since I'm not eating bananas or potato's currently and it seems like I'd have to eat a TON of leafy dark greens daily to meet the min. requirement so I'm open for suggestions for high potassium low carb foods that pack a lot of K into a serving size, Thanks!

GertrudeHorse

Hunger isn't an accurate indication of how much food your body needs.

yarwell

people do IF diets with 500 cals for 2 days a week or every other day so that isn't going to harm you.

Lo-salt or other reduced sodium salts are high potassium so that's one option. Food items in the MFP database seldom have Na or K accurately.

Other potassium ideas :-

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php

https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/potassium.cfm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/potassium-foods-banana_n_1898078.html

tigerlilly24

Hunger isn't an accurate indicator of when to eat? Um I thought that was the whole function of hunger. Seems a little counterintuitive to say something like that...

diannethegeek

Hunger isn't an accurate indicator of when to eat? Um I thought that was the whole function of hunger. Seems a little counterintuitive to say something like that...

Unfortunately, the hormones that control hunger can be suppressed by a variety of factors, including exercise and undereating. Which is why so many very underweight people report not feeling hungry, and why so many overweight people always feel hungry.

By all means, take hunger into account. But you also need to be mindful of other cues like energy levels, mood, skin & nails, etc.

A day or two at 500 calories probably won't hurt you, but if it becomes a pattern you might want to plan your days better and include some more calorie dense foods.

TeaBea

Hunger isn't an accurate indicator of when to eat? Um I thought that was the whole function of hunger. Seems a little counterintuitive to say something like that...

Hunger is not a good indicator of adequate nutrition.......................

Some people can eat high volume / low calorie / low nutritional value foods & "feel full"............BUT a 400 calorie lunch of "greens" does not adequately FUEL lean muscle tissue and everything else your body does. Food = fuel.

If you are getting adequate protein.....if you are getting adequate fat......and if you are supplementing the rest of your calories with carbs (or maybe you have medical issues & need low carb)......BUT if you are not hitting protein & fat (minimums)...........then you should be eating more.

Very low calorie over long periods = fat + muscle loss. Moderate calorie deficits + exercise + protein = mostly fat loss. Keep in mind this is why MFP adds exercise calories back......to get back to your original deficit.