Too few calories

MayGetsHealthy

Hey, guys. I'm May, 15 years old and recently I've lost a lot of weight over the summer but my problem is I struggle with my calorie intake constantly. Most of the time its too low and I worry about messing up my metabolism but when I do have a large meal for lunch (I usually snack under 200 cal) I get cravings the rest of the day and go completely overboard. Any advice?

jwil1231

Hello. Maybe this will help--when I get cravings I eat a Cliff Bar or a Balance Bar. You can find them at Walmart over by the diet stuff. They have protein and are low glycemic and about 250 to 200 calories each. They take the craving away generally and it's good for you and they don't taste all that bad.

Sometimes I set my food out for the day, calories are noted and then that is it for the day.

My weakness is ice cream. For right now and the next two weeks solid I stay away from it completely.

Wow! you did great losing weight over the summer! You go Girl!

Jolenebib

Try eating more low calorie meals throughout the day. Every 2-3 hours have a 200-300 calorie "snack". Also, make sure your meals have lots of nutrients, if you're eating something that's mostly fat and carbs, your body will go into "craving" mode because it wants (and needs) more nutrients. You could also try adding a few more calories to breakfast. Foods with higher fat contents, tend to have more calories, so you could include some healthy fats like nuts, yogurt, milk, hummus into your diet - these are all good for you and pack a few extra calories than carrots or salad. I haven't seen your food diary, so I'm just giving suggestions. Sorry if you already do this.

jhaynie722

Of course I'm just getting back into the game of working out and eating better (just had a baby 2 months ago), but when I was seriously working out and eating right before, what I found to work the best for keeping the weight down and kept me from constantly being hungry was to eat a good breakfast (whole grains and good protein), but make breakfast your biggest meal. Lunch, I would concentrate more on protein and vegatables, and allow myself one food item that had carbs. Dinner would be my smallest meal and absolutely no carbs...all protein and vegatables. Give your self 2 small snacks during the day (between B&L and then one between L&D)...eating the 5 meals a day is what keeps your metabolism up and cravings down so that you don't go overboard once you do eat. But for sure you've got to eat a good breakfast and do the snacks, once your body gets used to it, you will actually not need to eat as much at lunch and dinner (you won't be as hungry). And another trick for cravings is to drink lots of water. Always get at least 1200 calories, it does your body absolutely NO good to eat less than that.
Good Plan:
Breakfast 500
Snack 100-200 cal
Lunch 400 cal
Snack 100-200
Dinner 300 cal

themusicalcat

Of course I'm just getting back into the game of working out and eating better (just had a baby 2 months ago), but when I was seriously working out and eating right before, what I found to work the best for keeping the weight down and kept me from constantly being hungry was to eat a good breakfast (whole grains and good protein), but make breakfast your biggest meal. Lunch, I would concentrate more on protein and vegatables, and allow myself one food item that had carbs. Dinner would be my smallest meal and absolutely no carbs...all protein and vegatables. Give your self 2 small snacks during the day (between B&L and then one between L&D)...eating the 5 meals a day is what keeps your metabolism up and cravings down so that you don't go overboard once you do eat. But for sure you've got to eat a good breakfast and do the snacks, once your body gets used to it, you will actually not need to eat as much at lunch and dinner (you won't be as hungry). And another trick for cravings is to drink lots of water. Always get at least 1200 calories, it does your body absolutely NO good to eat less than that.
Good Plan:
Breakfast 500
Snack 100-200 cal
Lunch 400 cal
Snack 100-200
Dinner 300 cal

That is great advice. I may follow this plan myself.

MayGetsHealthy

Thanks so much for your help, I bought myself some protein bars today but I think I'm only going to have them at the end of the day when I know my count it wayyy too low.
I snacked a lot over the summer but I can't really now, seeing as I'm in school for +8 hours a day but I'll try to get something in between periods.
Thanks again, guys!

gainess

jhaynie722,

Great suggestion!!! This helped me a lot!!