shocked to discover I am not eating enough

dutchjacky

Hi am new here, discovered reading the forums I am not eating enough, the problem is I dont feel hungry and dont know how to change that. I eat when I am hungry. I started to exercise 3 weeks ago and have discovered I love going to the gym. But now this is it I have lost no weight in this time. I only joined today and filled out the charts and had an intake of minus 730 calories today. My carbs were way low ( have only eaten breakfast for the last three days). I do not know how to up those carbs without making me gain more weight. Had an operation 6 months ago and before that I could not even stand up for 5 minutes to fold the wash because of the pain so it feels great to be able to move around now without pain, I have already lost around 8 kilos but still need to lose 24 but am scared to eat more. Any advice would be welcomed

Toxictwist

I was eating 1200 calories per day. I just up'd mine to 1380 per day.
I still work out daily. But in the long run, eating more will help you out.

curiositycat

How about eating more calorie-dense foods? Peanut butter, nuts, and protein bars should fit the bill.

rochey1098

How about eating more calorie-dense foods? Peanut butter, nuts, and protein bars should fit the bill.

Mmmmmm peanut butter

gumigal82

I can never tell if I'm eating too much or not enough-It says on here that I have a deficit,(esp. today, after Jillian/Chalene kicked my turkey day butt!) I am never sure if my count for food or esp workout is correct--plus isn't all right to have a small deficit? Also, I am not sure if 1200 is a good calorie amount for me (5'2 123) or if I should shoot a little higher?

drog2323

How about eating more calorie-dense foods? Peanut butter, nuts, and protein bars should fit the bill.

yep, avacado's, cheese etc.

you can eat healthier versions of the "dreaded carbs" too. carbs aren't going to make you fat. eating crappy food, junk food will.

brown rice
oatmeal
pasta (whole grain or rice pasta)
yams
quinoa
fruits
etc...

3dogsrunning

One thing to be aware of - the calories burned for workouts are estimates. It is much better to have a heart rate monitor and figure out your calories that way.

Are you logging all your food? If so, more calorie dense foods like nuts, seeds, avocado, even a little cheese can add up quickly.

Carbs will not make you fat, too many calories will. Ways to up your carbs is to eat whole grains. Brown rice, quinoa, etc as side dishes. Another easy way is to add oatmeal to a shake. It adds calories, fiber and carbs. It took me a little bit to get used to the texture, but I did eventually.

dutchjacky

The problem is I dont have a particfularly sweet tooth, Even peanut butter I have to fancy befor I can eat it, the same with nuts, I love my cheese but have to watch the fat content of it. 'think most of it it is in my head, still cant believe that if I eat MORE I will lose weight. I am now working out 5 times a week so hope that is why I havent lost anything yet

Elisirmon

Avacados yum!

3dogsrunning

I can never tell if I'm eating too much or not enough-It says on here that I have a deficit,(esp. today, after Jillian/Chalene kicked my turkey day butt!) I am never sure if my count for food or esp workout is correct--plus isn't all right to have a small deficit? Also, I am not sure if 1200 is a good calorie amount for me (5'2 123) or if I should shoot a little higher?

The way the site works is the calorie goal you see already has a deficit before you work out. It is set up so you lose weight without needing to exercise, so when you do, it suggests you eat them back so you don't create too large of a calorie deficit which can cause problems.

drog2323

The problem is I dont have a particfularly sweet tooth, Even peanut butter I have to fancy befor I can eat it, the same with nuts, I love my cheese but have to watch the fat content of it. 'think most of it it is in my head, still cant believe that if I eat MORE I will lose weight. I am now working out 5 times a week so hope that is why I havent lost anything yet

you gotta eat more! what are your total cals like per day? from what I can tell, most women on here are 1200-1400 cals a day, and seems like lots eat half or all their exercise cals back.

yeah, nuts and cheese etc, the cals add up quick. so don't go overboard, those were just suggestions to easily bump up some cals if you need them.

for meals, try a lean protein (fish, chicken breast, turkey etc) + a healthy carb + some good fat (maybe a few nuts, olive oil etc). that might be a good basic start for yourself. these will/should help keep you full as well.

3dogsrunning

The problem is I dont have a particfularly sweet tooth, Even peanut butter I have to fancy befor I can eat it, the same with nuts, I love my cheese but have to watch the fat content of it. 'think most of it it is in my head, still cant believe that if I eat MORE I will lose weight. I am now working out 5 times a week so hope that is why I havent lost anything yet

I understand the feeling. I recently started training for a fitness competition. My trainer has me eating between 1800-2000 calories a day. It was hard to wrap my head around at first, but it is working.

Also keep in mind, when you first start working out, your muscles tend to retain some water while healing. It will go away and you will start to see a change on the scale. My trainer warned me not to get on the scale for a couple of weeks because of that and the increase in food. The scale hasn't changed but I can actually see and measure a difference already.

dutchjacky

For a short history have also just been through a rough period where I only ate a small amount in the evenings and that was mostly vegetables and chicken. so had already put my body into starvation mode. Now I have to fight that and it feels like I have to make myself eat more

dutchjacky

Thank you 3dogsrunning that seems to be what has happened, I see the fat melting just nothing registering on the scales,