1200 calories?

kioga86

Is it wrong that I'm actually finding it difficult to get 1200 calories in a day? I'm eating mostly vegetarian, so my meals are fairly low calorie. Even with eating three solid meals a day, after which I feel full, I'm only getting about 900-1000 calories a day. This makes me feel like I have to snack at night just to keep myself from entering "starvation mode."

My problem is, I'M NOT HUNGRY, at all. I'm literally forcing myself to take in those last calories, and I don't like that feeling. I wander about my kitchen, looking at what we have for food, trying to figure out how I can get the calories without eating a lot of food. Yet no matter how little food I end up eating, I feel overly full when I'm done.

I've lost 25 pounds in the month I've been working on losing weight, which I'm really proud of, but I'm afraid of entering starvation mode and slowing/stopping my weight loss.

So, my question is: should I make myself eat those last 200-300 calories like I have been, or should I eat the 900-1000 calories and not listen to MFP? Is starvation mode really that much of a potential?

CoryIda

Simple answer - you really should eat 1200 calories a day unless you are an extremely petite person because it is difficult to get adequate nutrition on less than 1200 calories. Your diary isn't public so I don't know exactly where you can work on it, but I was having similar problems when I first started eating healthy.

My solution was snacking between meals - adding nuts in particular helped get my calorie intake (and protein) up for the day. Eat an apple with a little peanut butter, a few almonds and an orange, something like that.

My food diary is public so you are welcome to look at it - I am not a vegetarian but I am allergic to milk, which cuts out cottage cheese and yogurt as potential fillers for me (those are two other things you might consider between meals).

kioga86

Sorry about that, just set my diary to public so y'all can take a look.

CoryIda

Here's a few suggestions after looking through your diary (which does look pretty good):

Add a piece of fruit to your breakfast - bananas are high calorie fruit that also have a lot of really great nutrients that will fuel your body for the day. Have an extra string cheese or yogurt (one between breakfast/lunch, one between lunch/dinner) or eat a piece of fruit in addition to the snacks you're already eating.

Also, some unsolicited advide:
This won't add much to your calorie count, but you really should try to eat at least 3 servings of vegetables every day. Some days you go above that, but a lot of days you don't have many veggies at all.

LainMac

You seem to drink a lot of low cal energy drinks. Why not have some quality fruit juice (like oj or pom) with seltzar?

Why not real Peanut Butter since you have the room for it in your diet?

I second the Nuts suggestion. Not that I like avacado's but I have heard they are high in good fats.

Jennili7

The thing that I've heard about starvation mode is that once your body thinks it isn't going to get enough energy (aka calories) for the day it will start hording what it already has. This means that it will be harder for you to lose weight because your body thinks you're in a situation where you can't eat to provide fuel. The poster above has the key to getting to your 1200 calories in a healthy vegetarian way. Any kind of nut (almonds, walnuts..) or seeds (sunflower or pumpkin) have lots of calories for a small amount of food and are full of the "good fats".

Good luck finding that balance and happy calorie counting!!! :drinker:

FlashBang

Great advice from Corylda. It is worse, you exercise and you really need to eat some of those calories. This will get me flamed but the best nutritionist I have read and heard say starvation mode will only happen after about six months! (Flame away I wear a n Ironman fire suit!) I say do not worry about that. What I do worry about is dropping dead from electrolyte imbalance, it is a very real danger for people who are calorie restricted. I work hard to keep my calorie intake above 1000 on a non work out day and around 1500 on workout days. I only eat half my workout calories because I think they may be inflated. That being said I listen to my body if it is not hungry I do not force anything. (I eat when I am hungry because it is serious!) You need to find out why you are not hungry. Is it normal? Is it about something sinister like an eating disorder? Are you taking some sort of appetite suppressant? ( You may be and do not know it ask your pharmacist about any drugs you are taking. I used to take phenopropanalimine (sp?) for allergies, I got real skinny.) If it is normal, eat when your hungry and do not worry about it.

cfregon

I noticed the energy drinks as well, and they seem to be quite frequent. When you flood your system with energy alternates you won't be as hungry because even if they are filled with sugar substitutes, it tricks your body into believing that it's getting a lot more than it actually is.

Also, I spend a majority of the year each year as a full-fledged vegetarian, and after looking at the food you're eating, I'm concerned that you aren't ingesting any complete proteins. You're getting protein yes, but this site doesn't track what kinds you're getting. Talk to your doctor or do some research into alternatives for cp's. The best alternative to meat is substances with tofu in the ingredient list (tofu is the only 100% complete non-meat protein commonly available). The lack of these can have other effects on your body and well being, but especially if it's exacerbated by low caloric intake and minimal other proteins in the diet. Whenever you go to a primarily or full vegetarian diet, you have to be super careful and tedious about tracking nutrients, not just basic intake values like calories, carbs, and fat. An imbalance in the nutrients you aren't tracking could account for the lack of appetite, likewise another condition mental or physical could account for lack of want.

jjsleeper

I would suggest you add some protein shakes to your daily intake. A man should take in 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight. I would suggest a Casein protein before you go to bed especially if you are working out. You need the protein for your muscles to heal overnight and so you body attacks the fat deposits and NOT your muscle mass.