I don't get it... "hard to make calories"?

dls06

I think they mean they are over in everything else but have calories left. If all you have is calories and all your other goals are met or exceeded, then you can't eat anything without going over.
If they mean they have everything left and are just not hungry then why are they overweight and on here?

FearAnLoathing

I think they mean they are over in everything else but have calories left. If all you have is calories and all your other goals are met or exceeded, then you can't eat anything without going over.
If they mean they have everything left and are just not hungry then why are they overweight and on here?

Because not everyone gains weight from overeating some days I have everything left

mvanwey

you need to exercise and then you can eat your calories back. but you cant eat junk all day and wonder why your hungry.....eat lots of fruits and veggies, they have lower cals and fill you up better than a bag of chips or icecream and candybars. its all about determination..........

sunyg

I didn't gain by over eating either. I gained due to pregnancy. My body is great at maintaining what ever weight I am. This is wonderful when I'm at the size I should be but hell when I'm trying to lose it. My thyroid goes wacky when I'm pregnant and even eating right I'm so exhausted I can barely get to work get home and feed my kids before I'm asleep. So I gain at least 40 pounds.

I'm here because it helps me stay motivated to get my pre-pregnancy body back. My 3rd child I didn't even try until he was 2 then I got pregnant again. My hope by being here is that it keeps me motivated and gives me support to do it now. I lost 35 pounds before coming to FP but hit a plateau and hoped it would help keep me motivated to break through it. I'm sure people are here for a lot of reasons.

imnotyourpal

LMFAO! I have been saying that all along! I eat only healthy foods, too. I want an extra 3000 calories a week to play with!

imnotyourpal

It drives me crazy when people post something like "I can't eat my 1200 calories" because obviously, none of us got to this point by not being able to eat enough food

It drives me crazy when people say crap like this,because not EVERYONE gained weight from overeating

Ok. Overeating or not moving around enough.

No one gains weight from undereating. You may make yourself ill, but you won't gain weight.

So then what about starvation mode,isnt everyone always saying if you eat low calorie you will gain weight and more when you go back to eating a normal amount? Please do not act like you know everything about everyone because i most definatly did not gain weight from over eating and not moving enough.That might be how it happened for you but not me

Um, no. Starvation mode doesn't make you gain weight, it makes your body RETAIN fat stores. Not ALL of it, though. Not sure how you gained it (thyroid problems gone unmedicated?) but 3500 is a pound of fat, whether you're taking them in or leaving them out of your diet.

c2sky

I eat a lot of the things you mentioned in your first paragraph, and I find many of those things to be high in calories, i.e. nuts, hummus, oatmeal, bean soup....maybe not high in sugars or fats like lasagne or chocolate cake, but they're still pretty high. So are you just eating super small portions or ????????????

Yes, I tend to eat recommended portion sizes (easier to track that way!). For example, I'll eat about 2 tablespoons of hummus, at most a quarter cup of nuts, etc. The largest part of my diet is made up of fresh fruits, vegetables, and, to a lesser extent, complex carbohydrates.

ETA: I should say that even with small portions, I did find it difficult to stay under in calories (and meet my nutritional requirements) when I was on 1200 calories a day (on days when I didn't exercise). Now I'm on 1500, and that is sometimes tough on my rest days, but on exercise days, I'm usually up to about 2000 or more calories per day that I'm "supposed" to eat. I'm usually under in calories on those days.

oh, o.k. Thanks

FearAnLoathing

It drives me crazy when people post something like "I can't eat my 1200 calories" because obviously, none of us got to this point by not being able to eat enough food

It drives me crazy when people say crap like this,because not EVERYONE gained weight from overeating

Ok. Overeating or not moving around enough.

No one gains weight from undereating. You may make yourself ill, but you won't gain weight.

So then what about starvation mode,isnt everyone always saying if you eat low calorie you will gain weight and more when you go back to eating a normal amount? Please do not act like you know everything about everyone because i most definatly did not gain weight from over eating and not moving enough.That might be how it happened for you but not me

Um, no. Starvation mode doesn't make you gain weight, it makes your body RETAIN fat stores. Not ALL of it, though. Not sure how you gained it (thyroid problems gone unmedicated?) but 3500 is a pound of fat, whether you're taking them in or leaving them out of your diet.

I gained weight after being a 17 year drug user,I was very heavy into meth and would eat maybe every couple of days at the most.If I wasnt high I was asleep.When I quit drugs I started eating about 1600 to 1700 calories a day all while walking 6 miles everyday to and from work and gained 100 pounds in a year.I had no thyroid problems and the 5 doctors I saw during this time all said it was due to my drug use and years of barley eating

ChristineM1953

I find that hard to believe too. I mean, if they are on a weight loss program, then obviously they had no problem eating those calories before! Maybe they have a harder time eating the same amount of calories with healthy food, don't know...I have read a few diaries on some posts and what they eat is absolutely horrible! I never have trouble eating my calories and I am losing on a regular basis as long as I exercise.

FearAnLoathing

I find that hard to believe too. I mean, if they are on a weight loss program, then obviously they had no problem eating those calories before! Maybe they have a harder time eating the same amount of calories with healthy food, don't know...I have read a few diaries on some posts and what they eat is absolutely horrible! I never have trouble eating my calories and I am losing on a regular basis as long as I exercise.

:explode:

LimeyTart

I find that hard to believe too. I mean, if they are on a weight loss program, then obviously they had no problem eating those calories before! Maybe they have a harder time eating the same amount of calories with healthy food, don't know...I have read a few diaries on some posts and what they eat is absolutely horrible! I never have trouble eating my calories and I am losing on a regular basis as long as I exercise.

:explode:

I getcha, Fear. I getcha.

I put 20 pounds on AFTER each of my last three babies. I've never been an overeater or particularly inactive. My body just saw breastfeeding as the time to pack on the weight instead of drop it.

FearAnLoathing

I find that hard to believe too. I mean, if they are on a weight loss program, then obviously they had no problem eating those calories before! Maybe they have a harder time eating the same amount of calories with healthy food, don't know...I have read a few diaries on some posts and what they eat is absolutely horrible! I never have trouble eating my calories and I am losing on a regular basis as long as I exercise.

:explode:

I getcha, Fear. I getcha.

I put 20 pounds on AFTER each of my last three babies. I've never been an overeater or particularly inactive. My body just saw breastfeeding as the time to pack on the weight instead of drop it.

At least someone gets me hahah

RhonndaJ

Okay, I wasn't going to post on this topic, then I decided what the heck.

Because of the amount I weigh and have to lose I have quite a high calorie allowance and BMR (2441) and only once in the last five weeks I've been on MFP have I gone over. It wasn't by much, it was planned and in the end I suffered for it. Since then the majority of my days fluctuate between 1200 and 1800, and some days are a struggle to make the 1200. I can see that becoming a more and more frequent occurrence.

Now, given how many years I've over eaten, and I mean really over eaten to get to this size, I have no idea why all of a sudden I'm having trouble, even occasionally, getting to 1200. And without being hungry in the slightest. I've thought that I might be underestimating on some things, but I do my best to actually over estimate.

Whatever the reason, I'm going to make the best of it for as long as it lasts.

_Sally_

Some days we're just not that hungry... however, if folks are consistently not able to eat their net calorie goal, I would look into whether the calories burned are being overestimated (get a HR Monitor to be more accurate), or the food and/or serving sizes are being underestimated (need to weigh and measure everything... and even then it's only an approximation, especially if you eat out alot).

If you're under your net calorie goal and feeling fine, and you are happy with your progress, I wouldn't worry about it.

_Sally_

One more thought.... look at your fiber intake. Fiber will definitely fill you up.....

milaxx

I think it may have something to do with how much you have to lose. Now that I am eating better there have been days when it was hard to make 1,200 and if it's a workout day then it really becomes difficult. I may hit my calorie goal, but my net calorie goal is almost always off and I am usually pretty stuffed by bedtime. I just try ti make sure I get some protein before and after a workout.

milaxx

It drives me crazy when people post something like "I can't eat my 1200 calories" because obviously, none of us got to this point by not being able to eat enough food

It drives me crazy when people say crap like this,because not EVERYONE gained weight from overeating

Ok. Overeating or not moving around enough.

No one gains weight from undereating. You may make yourself ill, but you won't gain weight.

Yes you can if you undereat and then eat the wrong thing you gain weight. I used to have a bad habit of not eating all day and then eating dinner. Pizza fires and a big salad was one of my favorite things to eat. Pizza fries aren't that good for you, but that and a salad might equal 1,000 cals top. The thing that diesn;t take into account is the amount of sodium, fat and sugar in that meal or the fact that my poor body was so happy to see some food it would hold onto every calorie.

milaxx

I think it depends on what you're eating. In general, I haven't found it "hard" to meet my calories, but if I wasn't tracking I think I would be consistently under. This is just because I've been really focusing on eating healthy, unprocessed foods lately. For example, oatmeal for breakfast, white bean soup with carrots and hummus, lenitl curry, garden salads with nuts and seeds etc, a lot of these things are not high in calories. Also, I try to eat most of my exercise calories, so i do sometimes have to find other things to snack on in order to get enough calories.

That being said, when I get hungry when I'm at the mall, and get some french fries, or when I have something like a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast, I have to plan the rest of my day out better, otherwise I'll go over in calories.

I eat a lot of the things you mentioned in your first paragraph, and I find many of those things to be high in calories, i.e. nuts, hummus, oatmeal, bean soup....maybe not high in sugars or fats like lasagne or chocolate cake, but they're still pretty high. So are you just eating super small portions or ????????????

the thing is you have to weigh not only the calories intake but also the other benefits. Hummus, steel cut oats? yeah they are high in calories, but also full of good stuff. So go ahead and have it. I occasionally use 2 tbsp of hummus instead of salad dressing. Worth every calorie.

imnotyourpal

It drives me crazy when people post something like "I can't eat my 1200 calories" because obviously, none of us got to this point by not being able to eat enough food

It drives me crazy when people say crap like this,because not EVERYONE gained weight from overeating

Ok. Overeating or not moving around enough.

No one gains weight from undereating. You may make yourself ill, but you won't gain weight.

So then what about starvation mode,isnt everyone always saying if you eat low calorie you will gain weight and more when you go back to eating a normal amount? Please do not act like you know everything about everyone because i most definatly did not gain weight from over eating and not moving enough.That might be how it happened for you but not me

Um, no. Starvation mode doesn't make you gain weight, it makes your body RETAIN fat stores. Not ALL of it, though. Not sure how you gained it (thyroid problems gone unmedicated?) but 3500 is a pound of fat, whether you're taking them in or leaving them out of your diet.

I gained weight after being a 17 year drug user,I was very heavy into meth and would eat maybe every couple of days at the most.If I wasnt high I was asleep.When I quit drugs I started eating about 1600 to 1700 calories a day all while walking 6 miles everyday to and from work and gained 100 pounds in a year.I had no thyroid problems and the 5 doctors I saw during this time all said it was due to my drug use and years of barley eating

Interesting. I was a methhead for years, too, but it took me 14 years to gain about 120 pounds and my doctors said no such thing. In fact, when I inquired about diet pills after gaining 35 pounds, they asked me if I had an eating disorder (because I thought I was heavy and they thought I was thin). I would get full very quickly for years and attributed it to not eating for years (lol) until I gave an HONEST look at what I was eating. Calorie dense foods. Delicious, fatty, calorie dense foods. Mmmmmmm. Beverages with an F-ton of calories.

UpEarly

Sheesh... my calorie goal is 1770 (before I exercise). I always eat that, and usually about half my exercise calories. I usually finish my day right between 1900-2000 calories. I would be unpleasantly hungry if I had to eat less.