Trouble reaching minimum # of calories

KDianand

Ohhhh this is my first post on MFP! Loving this so far

Does anyone else have a hard time reaching their minimum daily calorie alotment? I'm currently averaging about 1000 to 1100 calories per day. I know this may be too few calories which can hinder weight loss. I'm not finding that I'm super hungry throughout the day, and I eat until I'm satisfied but not stuffed I've been using MFP for 25 days and as of the beginning of this week I'm down 6 pounds (yay!). Should I be eating things simply to reach my minimum daily calorie alottment even though I may not be hungry? Any help would be super appreciated!

75barbie

Making your diary open to others to view would help. I go over my 1290 calorie goal every day and I eat back my exercise calories. Are you logging everthing?

KDianand

I'm logging absolutely everything Oh, I didn't realize I could make my diary public. Great idea! I never realized how terribly I was eating before I started this. What did we do before smartphones??

MBrothers22

How did you get 40 pounds overweight if you can barely eat 1100 calories?

Eat. That's all.

yungibear

A lot of calorie-dense foods, such as peanut butter, nuts, seeds, cheese, and fatty fishes, also have some important nutrients that you may be missing out on if you only eat "light" or "clean" foods. Try to find a balance between the calorie-dense foods and lighter foods.

lemurcat12

Lots of people have that problem at first. I think it will fix itself, as you will get bored or start wanting more food. However, it's probably good to address sooner by trying to get up to your goal.

What's probably happening is that you are going overboard on what you cut. For example, I know from experience that it's pretty easy to eat below 1200 and feel satisfied, at least for a while, on a mostly veggies and protein meal plan, but there's no need for that and if you do that you cut out other good for you foods, especially healthy fats and carbs. What worked for me was pre-logging what I planned to eat and adding in other items (nuts, more olive oil, avocado, potato/sweet potato, whole grain bread, more fruit, dairy, etc.) that fit and that I happen to like. It had the added benefit of making my overall diet more like something I could see eating forever and did not negatively impact my losses. This was especially important as I began increasing my exercise and needed more energy.

I think it's really hard to be at the end of the day and be satisfied and feel like you are eating just to eat, which is why pre-logging helps.

KDianand

Thanks so much everyone! Before I started MFP my eating habits were atrocious. Fast food, junk food, soda, etc...they were all a part of my daily diet. So all the high calorie and high fat foods caught up with me as I got older. I wasn't necessarily eating too much food, just all the wrong stuff.

I love that MFP has members who support each other!

sue_ham3

My suggestion is to add good proteins (grass-fed/pastured meats...New Zealand lamb, bison).

And add good fats to your diet. Drink raw (if you can get it) milk or cream, or go for dairy that hasn't been ULTRA-pasturized. Ditto for organic low heat pasturized cheeses (brand I buy is Rumiano or a raw cheese).

Kerry Gold cultured butter in silver package, have it unheated. What I'm suggesting is really nutrient-dense. Sprouted nuts are a good way to go too...if you can get or make your own (buy raw walnuts, soak overnight in salt water, rinse, dry in lowest temp oven for several hours until crispy).

Good luck! I'm on new program where I was having problems getting enough protein and fiber in -- so I've been pre-mixing my supplements and have them as my in-between meals snacks (levels out blood sugar and keeps me from crashing). Also eating lots of Once Again organic cashew butter with shredded unsweetened coconut (which is soooo good).

sadrithmora

You're mentioned that you're logging everything and I would like to suggest a possible reason why you might not be reaching your goal, which happened to me. It's a great feeling to see those green numbers saying you're under your limit. Part of you will think for sure that it's great and will make you lose weight faster. So that green number is really evil. In fact, it's just as bad as it going red, even if it's like 10 cals or something insignificant. Seeing that red number makes me feel absolutely terrible and like a failure, so I always try to stay 'in the green'. So to help that I just increased my goal by about 200 cals, that way I can still be in the green yet eat my 'real' goal worth of food.

JesterMFP

Thanks so much everyone! Before I started MFP my eating habits were atrocious. Fast food, junk food, soda, etc...they were all a part of my daily diet. So all the high calorie and high fat foods caught up with me as I got older. I wasn't necessarily eating too much food, just all the wrong stuff.

I love that MFP has members who support each other!

Fat and calories are not bad. This often happens when people start dieting and change their diets to include only foods they think they "should" be eating when "on a diet". Eat the foods you like to eat. When you struggle to keep within your calorie limit, then look at what to change to cut down on calories. By all means focus on improving the nutrition of your overall diet, but suddenly viewing all the foods you used to like to eat as "bad", "junk" etc isn't really that helpful long term. Your body needs fat, and if you're not meeting your calorie goal, aiming to eat more foods that are higher in fat will help. Cheese, eggs, nuts, nut butters, seeds (eg sesame, pumpkin, sunflower), chocolate, olive oil, full fat dairy, avocadoes, etc. All nutritious, and higher in calories.

PJPrimrose

If all else fails there is always things like Boost to up your calories. I'd try to just eat more calorie dense foods however.

PayneAS

I bet you aren't weighing your food. Go get a food scale and make sure you are logging accurately. You'd be surprised

Serah87

I lost my weight eating all that "junk" food. I am at maintenance right now, but when I was losing weight I ate between 1600-1800 calories.

_HeartsOnFire_

Nope and I eat like 1900 calories a day.

Don't eat the fat free/low cal stuff, use the full/regular versions. Or a peanut butter and a spoon.

I was also going to ask are you weighing your food? If not then you probably are eating more than you think.

gypsy_spirit

Since you're new to the sight, this link is FULL of great information and will help answer some of the questions we all have starting out. Good luck!


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

SezxyStef

Thanks so much everyone! Before I started MFP my eating habits were atrocious. Fast food, junk food, soda, etc...they were all a part of my daily diet. So all the high calorie and high fat foods caught up with me as I got older. I wasn't necessarily eating too much food, just all the wrong stuff.

I love that MFP has members who support each other!

Nope sorry it was that you were eating too much...

I ate Fast food this weekend, drank 6 drinks, has chicken strips and pancakes, chocolate and soda...I am still losing weight.

As for how to reach 1200 start weighing I suspect you are already there...

swbabe33

I have to exercise and right now I'm having trouble doing that regularly. If I exercise, I don't usually reach the 1200 calories a day. I wanted to lose 2 lbs a week and I think I was wrong in deciding to do that because I haven't been able to exercise regularly. The other thing is that I lost weight very fast when I started, then I got sloppy with logging and erratic when I ate. I don't lose weight when I do that. I like the idea of making your diary public, and reaching out to others will help to see where you are. I've gotten great advice from people on this program. I like the idea of eating foods that have "good" calories, which might put you over your goal, but help you overall.

jstout365

Like others have said, this is usually a common problem to start with because people switch to low calorie foods that have more volume. Start looking at healthy calorie dense foods. Many of them have been mentioned. If you need ideas, feel free to look at my diary. I eat significantly higher than 1200 calories a day, but do keep it to mostly foods I prepare except for some snack bars and bread and cheese.