Hard time eating my calories?

Amoravy

I love to burn about 500 calories at the gym, but I cant seem to eat all my calories! Whether I am just not hungry, or when I am at work for ten hours and they only give me a thirty minute break (and no eating on the floor waitressing).

Sometimes I only net several hundered calories the day I go to the gym. My protein is always high though.

I need some tips?! Besides telling my boss to eff off when I try to drink water OR have a tiny snack during a long shift.

My weight loss is VERY slow. I been exercising for about 2 months and have only lost 5 or 6 pounds. I went to 1 pound a week, someone told me to up my calories but it doesnt help when I couldnt even net at 1200 at 2 pounds weight loss a week!

sleepytexan

you must start eating more or you will have serious long term problems. you're not hungry bc you've been underfeeding and you're used to it.

start by adding in a mandatory morning snack and afternoon snack. bring a protein bar to the gym and EAT it as soon as you are done working out.

Here's one of my old posts from a similar topic:

OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

Are you getting the picture?

EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
--

There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

blessings.

Amoravy

you must start eating more or you will have serious long term problems. you're not hungry bc you've been underfeeding and you're used to it.

start by adding in a mandatory morning snack and afternoon snack. bring a protein bar to the gym and EAT it as soon as you are done working out.

Here's one of my old posts from a similar topic:

OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

Are you getting the picture?

EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
--

There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

blessings.

WOW! The whole pizza and beer thing then restricting myself is the exact thing I have done my whole life. I have a cheeseburger and wouldnt eat the rest of the day because it was "fattening" then binge the next day on something worse. It really makes sense what you said, it's just so hard.

I even went to a weight loss clinic, and the coach said my problem was not eating enough.

Besides a protein bar, what else can I eat that's clean, natural and high calories. I try to eat almond butter, but it is so darn expensive!!

superstrawberry2

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ajt917

I've kinda had the same problems lately. I work 7pm-7am so my meals are always kinda messed up. I only end up eating twice a day on night I work, but I still burn 300-600 cals during my workouts those days. I have found that I am get short on time and end up not eating enough to give my body what it needs to work properly. To solve this, I have started to bring a high cal snack to eat on the way to work in my car! Since I started doing this, I have seen a more consistent weight loss per week. I hope this helps!

Amoravy

I've kinda had the same problems lately. I work 7pm-7am so my meals are always kinda messed up. I only end up eating twice a day on night I work, but I still burn 300-600 cals during my workouts those days. I have found that I am get short on time and end up not eating enough to give my body what it needs to work properly. To solve this, I have started to bring a high cal snack to eat on the way to work in my car! Since I started doing this, I have seen a more consistent weight loss per week. I hope this helps!

What have you been eating?

DopeItUp

you must start eating more or you will have serious long term problems. you're not hungry bc you've been underfeeding and you're used to it.

start by adding in a mandatory morning snack and afternoon snack. bring a protein bar to the gym and EAT it as soon as you are done working out.

Here's one of my old posts from a similar topic:

OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

Are you getting the picture?

EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
--

There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

blessings.

WOW! The whole pizza and beer thing then restricting myself is the exact thing I have done my whole life. I have a cheeseburger and wouldnt eat the rest of the day because it was "fattening" then binge the next day on something worse. It really makes sense what you said, it's just so hard.

I even went to a weight loss clinic, and the coach said my problem was not eating enough.

Besides a protein bar, what else can I eat that's clean, natural and high calories. I try to eat almond butter, but it is so darn expensive!!

Look for foods rich in fat. Any kind of nuts, oils, eggs, avocados, etc... A small serving of peanuts (like 1/4 cup, or 2TBSP of peanut butter) can be 200 calories easily, for example. Grab some celery or apples and peanut butter. Or make a PB&J with some no-sugar added jelly. Hell if I'm looking for something quick and high in calories, I make a sandwich with natural PB and nutella (which is a hazelnut spread with cocoa and sugar) on some wheat bread. 2TBSP of each adds up to almost 400 calories (plus the bread, 70+ calories) and is a delicious peanut butter and chocolate treat. Takes a minute to make and eat and you can pack in 500 mostly-healthy calories.

Amoravy

you must start eating more or you will have serious long term problems. you're not hungry bc you've been underfeeding and you're used to it.

start by adding in a mandatory morning snack and afternoon snack. bring a protein bar to the gym and EAT it as soon as you are done working out.

Here's one of my old posts from a similar topic:

OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

Are you getting the picture?

EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
--

There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

blessings.

WOW! The whole pizza and beer thing then restricting myself is the exact thing I have done my whole life. I have a cheeseburger and wouldnt eat the rest of the day because it was "fattening" then binge the next day on something worse. It really makes sense what you said, it's just so hard.

I even went to a weight loss clinic, and the coach said my problem was not eating enough.

Besides a protein bar, what else can I eat that's clean, natural and high calories. I try to eat almond butter, but it is so darn expensive!!

Look for foods rich in fat. Any kind of nuts, oils, eggs, avocados, etc... A small serving of peanuts (like 1/4 cup, or 2TBSP of peanut butter) can be 200 calories easily, for example. Grab some celery or apples and peanut butter. Or make a PB&J with some no-sugar added jelly. Hell if I'm looking for something quick and high in calories, I make a sandwich with natural PB and nutella (which is a hazelnut spread with cocoa and sugar) on some wheat bread. 2TBSP of each adds up to almost 400 calories (plus the bread, 70+ calories) and is a delicious peanut butter and chocolate treat. Takes a minute to make and eat and you can pack in 500 mostly-healthy calories.

Wow...I have stayed away from nutella because it is "fattening". I need to not be so scared to eat more. It's a mental and physical struggle.

However, I DO LOVE NUTELLA! Maybe I should stash some in my kitchen afterall

ajt917

I've been trying to eat a banana and nuts. Or honestly if I'm really in a pinch and worked my a** off and need some cals, I will have a pb sandwhich!!!! depends on what im hungery for. string cheese, or baked chips are a good option. I really dont know how nutritional baked chips are, but one serving is more than enough to satisfy my craving and gets my cals up a bit if I've eaten more healthy all day! this is coming from somebody who could really easily down an entire bag of chips (with dip) if no one was looking...

ajt917

i tried to reply just to your question on what ive been eating. dont know how to do that? I'm new to really posting on mfp, i mostly just read stuff and get ideas!

DopeItUp

Wow...I have stayed away from nutella because it is "fattening". I need to not be so scared to eat more. It's a mental and physical struggle.

However, I DO LOVE NUTELLA! Maybe I should stash some in my kitchen afterall

There is no such thing as a fattening food, the only thing that is actually fattening is eating more overall calories than you expend. Nutella does have some sugar in it, but it's less than any jelly I've seen. It's also packed with healthy fats and a bit of protein versus being just pure sugar.

Amoravy

Wow...I have stayed away from nutella because it is "fattening". I need to not be so scared to eat more. It's a mental and physical struggle.

However, I DO LOVE NUTELLA! Maybe I should stash some in my kitchen afterall

There is no such thing as a fattening food, the only thing that is actually fattening is eating more overall calories than you expend. Nutella does have some sugar in it, but it's less than any jelly I've seen. It's also packed with healthy fats and a bit of protein versus being just pure sugar.

I actually just bought myself a jar of nutella! MMmmm!! Put in on whole grain bread. Hopefully that and peanut butter will help me eat the calories I need when I am out and about all day.

gigieatss

Slow & Steady WINS the race!
http://www.youtu.be/5d4W4szaFwY

trinoc

You can also spend about an hour to make a HUGE batch of homemade granola. Then you can just grab some in a baggie when you're headed to the gym and snack on it when you get a chance. Hard boiled eggs are also easy to transport. The vacuum packed pouches of tuna are low fat high protein and easy to transport.