I Can't Seem To Eat Enough!!

Emancipated_Tai

Good morning everyone!

Well here is my dilemma. My caloric intake is set to 1300 (I recently raised it from 1200). However, I find it hard to meet that goal on most days. I exercise 5-6 times a week for at least an hour and burn about 900-1200 calories per session. This gives me more to eat back, but how can I do that when I can hardly get to 1300!

I've been reading a lot of the forums and see that people are losing weight by eating more, especially on days where they burn a lot of calories. Does anyone have suggestions on what I can do?

Keep in mind, I am never hungry. I eat small meals every 3 hours. My first meal is at 6am and I usually have my last meal around 7pm. Basically, I'm eating all day! I'm employed full time and a full time college student, so I keep busy, but in a sedentary setting outside of my exercise sessions.

Should I add more protein shakes/bars? Should I add another meal altogether? Or should I not worry too much about eating my surplus back since I keep my body fueled every 3 hours and never get an opportunity to become hungry.

I am still losing weight. It is not as much when I first started, but it is still at a steady pace.

Feel free to check out my diary. (yesterday I had a snacking session! It was a bad day, but that is not normal!)

Thanks for any help!

rc630

Are you sure that you are burning that many calories? Machine calculators and MFP often overestimate how many calories you burn from exercise, and also don't subtract what you'd burn just from sitting on the couch (meaning if you would burn 50 calories an hour from doing nothing, and you exercise for one hour and burn 200 calories, you should only be eating 150 additional calories). Make sure you use a heart rate monitor or calculate your burn from multiple sources to get the best estimate possible to make sure you aren't going to eat back too much.

bcattoes

I don't understand. If you have trouble eating 1300 calories how in the world did you ever get to the point where you need to lose weight?

Adding healthy fats to your diet will up your calories quickly in a healthy way. Try adding nuts, nut butters avacado, or olive oil.

gemiwing

You might want to cut back a bit on your cardio- have you tried adding some weight lifting in? It'll resculpt your body and it's a lot easier to eat back those cals than 800+ cal burns.

Your diary looks fine- not a lot of 'diet' foods to cut. Can you add 2tbsp of peanut butter instead of one? Perhaps have an avocado in your salad- or a hardboiled egg. Some cheese will go far too- 100 cals per ounce.

I have trouble eating solid food so recently added more shakes- I don't see as you're there yet because there's still some easy tweaks. I'd hate to see you pay 80 bucks for the stuff I drink when you could meet these goals with some easy things first.

Emancipated_Tai

LOL, obviously, I was overweight prior to having a 1300 calorie diet.

I don't like nuts or avocado so I really can't do that as an option. I don't like the word "diet". The root of that word is DIE! I always eat what I like, and for the most part that is healthy stuff. This makes it easier to keep in line with my regiment vs. eating something just because it is healthy for me. I know a lot of people hate cottage cheese, but I love it! I eat it almost every day. I'm not going to suggest to someone that doesn't like it to eat it just for health benefits. To me that's silly.

@Gemiwing & RC630 I use a HRM, so I get a more accurate calculation on my burn. Also, it is very close to what the machines tell me I am burning. I work out pretty intense doing Zumba, running, Arc-trainer, HITT, etc. I am starting a strength training DVD and lifting sessions next week, so from what I gather that will help with more loss as I will be building muscle. Is this going to make me more hungry too? This again goes back to the problem I'm having. Burning a lot of calories, and not eating them back.

Shakes and eggs seem like an option I can defiantly add as I already consume them. I can just up the amount. Nut butter seems like another option I can try.. haven't had it but I will look into it, so thanks for that!

gemiwing

LOL, obviously, I was overweight prior to having a 1300 calorie diet.

I don't like nuts or avocado so I really can't do that as an option. I don't like the word "diet". The root of that word is DIE! I always eat what I like, and for the most part that is healthy stuff. This makes it easier to keep in line with my regiment vs. eating something just because it is healthy for me. I know a lot of people hate cottage cheese, but I love it! I eat it almost every day. I'm not going to suggest to someone that doesn't like it to eat it just for health benefits. To me that's silly.

@Gemiwing & RC630 I use a HRM, so I get a more accurate calculation on my burn. Also, it is very close to what the machines tell me I am burning. I work out pretty intense doing Zumba, running, Arc-trainer, HITT, etc. I am starting a strength training DVD and lifting sessions next week, so from what I gather that will help with more loss as I will be building muscle. Is this going to make me more hungry too? This again goes back to the problem I'm having. Burning a lot of calories, and not eating them back.

Shakes and eggs seem like an option I can defiantly add as I already consume them. I can just up the amount. Nut butter seems like another option I can try.. haven't had it but I will look into it, so thanks for that!

You're after my own heart lol I hate diet food with a passion

I get hungry when lifting- but it's a different hunger. My body wants protein and FAST but I don't have to make up those huge burns like with cardio. It's a hunger that's easily satisfied with a small protein shake. With cardio I have hundreds of cals to make up and my body doesn't really care what they come from. With lifting- I have maybe 200 cals to make up and my body *absolutely* knows what it wants (protein and a little bit o' carb).

I would still look at cutting back your cardio if you find you still can't make your cal goals- unless you really really enjoy it, like it's your favorite hobby as I fully believe the numbers you've been posting. I'm so excited for you - starting lifting is amazing. It's an amazing and unique experience- perhaps it will eclipse the cal-sucking cardio

I see you use the Body Fortress shake- a great option to up cals there is to make it with milk (I use coconut unsweetened) and double up on the scoops. That changes it from 180 to closer to 300 cals + milk/mixer.

Emancipated_Tai

Great advice! Thanks so much. I've been trying to keep my protein high as I will be starting strength training & I figured I will need it.

UponThisRock

As usual, the answer to this question is to get your fat intake up.

thatsnumberwang

I'm working on building muscle right now and my goal is around 2300 calories a day, so I hear you! If you eat more frequently, even when you're not necessarily in the mood for something, your body will get used to it over time. Protein shakes are also a good idea - find one that tastes good to you (I like optimum nutrition, but there are some good threads with different recommendations) and use it as an evening top-off when you haven't hit your goal for the day. I mix mine with milk for extra protein+cals. You could also add in some healthy-ish treats - chocolate covered almonds, things like that. Hitting your calorie goal is important, so stick with it!