Trouble reaching my Calorie goal, falling under it.

Options
neesono
neesono Posts: 61
in Health and Weight Loss
Based on my goals MFP has given me 1360 calories a day. The problem is that I can't seem to reach it. I obviously don't want to eat junk but I'm not sure what to do. It's 4pm and I still have 784 calories before I reach my goal. I suppose I can make that up with dinner and a light snack before bed perhaps. But isn't it a bad idea to eat before bedtime?

I'm working out everyday so I'm burning around 500+ calories a day through exercise.

Just kind of at a loss right now.

Replies

  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Options
    Can you post what you are eating? Perhaps by knowing what you are eating on a daily basis, we can offer some suggestions.
  • michellehorvath
    michellehorvath Posts: 57 Member
    Options
    I know it is hard to believe that you should really eat those calories but I just pulled myself out of a 10 day plateau because I was eating UNDER my goal. I couldn't believe it, here I thought I was doing the right thing staying closer but not going over and then I found myself stuck. So last night I begrudgingly ate an extra taco at taco bell in order to fill my calories.......and this morning I woke up 3/4 lbs. lighter!!! I couldn't believe the scale! You can do it! For me it was scary to think of "binging" on calories I don't think I need but body really needed them and yours might too!!! Good luck on your journey!!
  • plm209
    plm209 Posts: 222 Member
    Options
    After viewing your food diary, I can see you're not eating much of a breakfast. This is actually counterintuitive to weight loss! Think of your body as the engine of a coal powered locomotive or a wood burning stove, and food as the fuel. If you put in too much at once, the fire dwindles and takes a long time to burn all of the excess fuel. If you go too long without putting in fuel, it dies down to simmering coals. At night, the fire is not fed, so it needs to be restoked in the morning with a moderate supply of fuel to make it burn hotter and hotter. The key is to keep it stoked throughout the day to keep it going while still consuming the fuel as you put it in. By skipping or skimping on breakfast, your fire almost dies out until lunch, at which point the fuel is burned slowly and may not be consumed completely.

    My advice to you, is to eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner. Have a filling breakfast of fruit, eggs, and whole grains. Snack throughout the morning on fruit or yogurt. Have a decent lunch, similar to your subway meal yesterday. Put in an afternoon/evening workout to get your body fired up, then have a low carb/high protein dinner such as chicken with brown rice or turkey breast with whole wheat pasta. If you're still under your calories by a considerable amount, try fat free cottage cheese on a piece of whole wheat toast with sliced tomatoes or salsa. The key is to keep the carbs in the morning and stick to high protein as the day progresses.

    Good luck and may the Force be with you!
  • neesono
    neesono Posts: 61
    Options
    Ok! Thanks folks for the good advice so far! Today is day one of this so lots of fine tuning ahead.

    Pim, today was a rush day. I don't normally have such a light breakfast. It's not excuse I know. I should have at least grabbed a bagel on my way out the door. Tomorrow will be better.

    King, prince, pauper! Love it!

    I do my workout in the morning but I can try to fit in a walk in the late afternoon. But that won't always be easy. So Carb heavy to start the day and keep the engine running with proteins for the rest of the day. Got it! Still not sure where I'm going to get the last 700+ calories I need for the day but i've got vegies and some turkey and ham in the fridge and some whole wheat wraps in the cupboard that might do the trick.

    Michelle you are so right. The one thing that I have seen so far on the forums here is that under eating will either store fat or cause you to hit a wall. I'm still not sure if 1360 cals a day is enough for me but I'll trust in the science and see what happens. And I'll try not to be afraid to snarf a late night taco just in case ;-)

    Sue I don't have much to report yet other than what's in my food diary. I'm going to be as meticulous with it as possible because if I'm not I'll slack off.

Categories