Having trouble eating all my calories: Just not hungry

skierue

Mind boggling: Before I started tracking my calories I could go to the Cheesecake factory and eat 1200 calories or more in one sitting for one meal. And still be hungry enough to eat twice more later on in the day.
Now that I'm watching the type of food I eat and eating smaller but more frequent meals, I can't seem to eat all of my calories. :huh: Or I may eat all of my base calories but can't seem to eat all the ones I gain back from exercising. And it's not because I'm trying to starve myself. I just truly am not hungry enough to eat another 600 calories.

What is going on? Is anyone else like this?

I know my body needs more fuel if I am exercising but do I really need to eat the extra exercise calories if I'm not hungry especially if I'm having a hard enough time eating just my base amount??

Oan: Please feel free to add me as a friend

uconnwinsnc

Add olive oil to foods. Eat more butter. You should be able to make up another 600 calories in butter alone. But before you do, really make sure you're tracking correctly or else you might start gaining weight.

zeal26

I don't have any advice, sorry, but I am experiencing this myself a little, too. Over the weekend I had to actually force myself to reach my goal of 1200 (which is hilarious, when I think of how I used to be). My body seems to really have adjusted to eating less. I don't always manage to eat my exercises calories back but I do try to eat some of them. I figure my calories burned are only estimates anyway (especially since I don't have a heart rate monitor) so not eating them all back is okay. I do think it's important to reach 1200 before exercise though, since it's a low enough amount!

skierue

I don't eat anything that requires loads of butter...lol... but thanks for the advice. And I'm trying to be as accurate as I can so I do measure every single thing now.

AliceDark

Lack of appetite can be a side effect of drastically cutting your calories. Once in awhile, it's fine to not eat all of your calories. But...if you're consistently going under your (already really low, if it's 1200) calorie goal, you're probably not getting adequate nutrition to keep your body functioning at its best.

skierue

Oh now nuts, bananas, and rice I can definitely do! Thanks a bunch

raileneperkins

Same thing happened to me when I started. Think it could be a mental thing, when I started to be conscious of how and what I ate, those things changed. I had a hard time eating 1200 cals per day while working out. I added protein powder shakes with fruit and that really helped in meeting my goal.

skierue

Thanks AliceDark. I really do strive to meet that 1200 base goal but it's really rough sometimes. My main problem is those exercise calories. I usually burn like 600 calories at the gym (more I'm sure if you include strength training) but eating all of those calories back is a challenge.

HeyNikkita

Listen to your body. If you're a relatively healthy human being, it will let you know when to eat more... or less...

serindipte

You mentioned that you are measuring everything. Are you using cups/spoons or a scale?

If you aren't using a scale, take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

Then get a scale. :flowerforyou:

geekyjock76

Leptin is the key hormone which drives energy balance and our bodies are very quick at assessing changes in energy needs. As referenced above, chronic calorie restriction will cause a decline in serum leptin concentration levels which affect hunger. Along with possible decline in energy usage, people can feel full on significantly less calories than before. Thus, it's always a good idea to aim to meet weekly calorie goals rather than rely on hunger cues.

Serah87

Thanks AliceDark. I really do strive to meet that 1200 base goal but it's really rough sometimes. My main problem is those exercise calories. I usually burn like 600 calories at the gym (more I'm sure if you include strength training) but eating all of those calories back is a challenge.

You should be eating way more than 1200 calories, if you are actually burning 600 calories, that means your only netting 600 calories. If your burns are correct you should be eating 1800 calories.

ETA: Which means your netting 1200 calories, if you eat 1800 calories.

skierue

You mentioned that you are measuring everything. Are you using cups/spoons or a scale?

If you aren't using a scale, take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

Then get a scale. :flowerforyou:

I currently use measuring cups and spoons. Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

skierue

Same thing happened to me when I started. Think it could be a mental thing, when I started to be conscious of how and what I ate, those things changed. I had a hard time eating 1200 cals per day while working out. I added protein powder shakes with fruit and that really helped in meeting my goal.

Thanks for the advice. I actually just guzzled a protein shake with milk trying to boost my calorie intake. Now I'm headed off to the store to get some apples and whatever other fruit I can munch on to get those calories up.

Serah87

You mentioned that you are measuring everything. Are you using cups/spoons or a scale?

If you aren't using a scale, take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

Then get a scale. :flowerforyou:

I currently use measuring cups and spoons. Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

Yes get a scale!!! ASAP!!!

Serah87

Listen to your body. If you're a relatively healthy human being, it will let you know when to eat more... or less...

WRONG!!!!

skierue

Leptin is the key hormone which drives energy balance and our bodies are very quick at assessing changes in energy needs. As referenced above, chronic calorie restriction will cause a decline in serum leptin concentration levels which affect hunger. Along with possible decline in energy usage, people can feel full on significantly less calories than before. Thus, it's always a good idea to aim to meet weekly calorie goals rather than rely on hunger cues.

Thanks for the great info!

Serah87

Lack of appetite can be a side effect of drastically cutting your calories. Once in awhile, it's fine to not eat all of your calories. But...if you're consistently going under your (already really low, if it's 1200) calorie goal, you're probably not getting adequate nutrition to keep your body functioning at its best.

+1

janicelo1971

whow,,,yea add butter, oil, nuts, peanut butter..etc....Cant offer much advice..i have NEVER had this problem:sad:

BostonStrong617

IIFYM. Go to Mcdonald's. Problem solved.

Seriously tho, eat whatever you want. It doesn't just have to be "diet foods"

My guess is once you get out of that mind set you won't have any issue eating all your calories.

But fruit and yogurt probably aren't going to cut it.

Peanut butter, trail mix, any kind of nut, bread and pasta are all your friends here. Cheese and milk as well if you can have dairy.

AliceDark

Keep in mind that you don't have to wait until after you've exercised to eat those calories back. If you have a good idea of your average burn and you're good at following through with exercise (that is, you don't say that you're going to exercise later and then don't do it), you can spread out those calories throughout the day. It should be fairly easy to add in a few 200-calorie snacks, or an extra 200 calories to breakfast and lunch, or whatever. Getting to the end of the day and realizing you need to eat an extra 600 calories is no fun!