Question about too few calories.....

garbanzalo

Hello,

Ever since discovering MFP a week or so ago, I have changed my mix of foods to eat from whatever I could lay my hands on to more fruits and vegetables. That has led to a strange problem. Nowadays, I feel very full before reaching my allotted calories of 1200 per day. In fact ,MFP has been warning me to eat more calories. I have also lost 4 lbs. in one week, going from about 182 to 178 lbs. My overall intake of carbs, proteins etc has been trending nicely, only the calories have been at issue.

Is it normal for this to happen? Should I be concerned?

Regards,
garbanzalo

Caitie1986

That depends on a lot of factors. Fruits and veggies can be fibrous and fill you up fast (depending on what you eat). Also depends on your body type. If you are not very tall, your body may be "throwing fat overboard" at the moment. It will slow down as you lost more and get closer to your goal weight.

stormieweather

You should try to meet the goal. Consider it as a floor and not a ceiling, as far as intake is concerned. Food is fuel for our bodies and without it, we don't function very well and our nutritional needs cannot easily be met. The more energy you have, the more calories you burn.

A suggestion to increase calories without increasing quantity is to eat higher fat items (not so much low or fat free) and use olive oil to cook with.

ladyhawk00

Might help to read these threads:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/231636-the-eating-when-you-re-not-hungry-dilemma

As for how to increase cals:

Planning is key. Focus on balanced macros (protein/fat/carbs) in each meal/snack. Start with making sure to eat at least 3 meals a day. Breakfast is important when you're trying to overcome a habit of irregular eating or underfeeding. Once you've adjusted to that, add in snacks. Then, gradually increase the amount of cals in each meal/snack. Just 50-100 cals more for each meal/snack adds up. If you know you'll be working out, increase cals throughout the day.

If you're not feeling hungry, a good way to increase cals without much volume is healthy fats from natural oils (olive/canola), nuts and nut butters (almonds, pistachios, walnuts), and avocados. Also, I would stay away from "low cal" or "low fat" options. Partly because you want to increase cals, and partly because those foods are usually processed and not nutrient dense, and the cals or fat they take out is replaced by sugar (real or substitute) and sodium - not a good trade off. A fruit smoothie, protein shake or chocolate milk are good cal boosters, because drinking cals can be easier than eating when you aren't feeling hungry.

Typically, it may be hard for a few days or a week, but your body will adjust to the increased intake and you'll find it isn't an issue for long. Eating more (healthy foods) will truly help your metabolism, and your appetite will increase with it.

MarsMum

I'm in the same boat, I've lost 5lbs and I have not been eating the recommended amout for the same reason as you, just not hungy. I have switched from pop to flavoured water, from chips to 100 calorie Dorito packages and some other healther choices. I know this doesnt answer your question, but you are not alone, and sometimes just knowing that helps! It would be nice to know if its normal or anything to be concerned about though!

garbanzalo

I have been a been a binge eater and my metabolism has finally slowed down where the food really sticks around.

My experience since I started tracking my food is on the same line as Marsmum. Just not feeling hungry. Lady Hawk's links were very useful for that topic. I will just continue my current regime and see where it takes me.

Thank you everyone for the replies. This was really helpful.

- g

PS - I need to figure out how to enable that ticker everyone sports. Once I do, will publish it.