Under cals but SO full

bb_tiu

I was aiming for 12-1400 calories a day and realized when joining MFP I should be eating at least 1450/ day plus my exercise which is typically 350-500 calories 5-6 days a week. Today it's telling me to eat 1750 but I'm SO full. Should I force down a small snack? I'm also trying to eat 1 g protein for each lb body weight do that could be contributing to it.

beachlover317

It's one gram of protein for each pound of lean body mass - not your weight now. Check out this site and see if you can get better handle on how you should be eating to fuel your body correctly. Good luck!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

bb_tiu

No I am trying to gain muscle so I should be eating 1 g/ pound. But thank you.

Should I make a snack if I still have calories but am not still hungry?

saraann4

My opinion...hungry? eat. Not hungry? don't.

GaidenJade

So drink your calories. Seriously there are tons of thing you can do. Eat calorie dense foods like nuts..... drink orange juice. Or have a smoothie with lots of yummy veggies and fruits.

If you have one or two days under it won't kill you. But if it's a struggle to get the volume of food into you, then make sure the food you do consume is healthy and add something high in calories. I've avocados are wonderful and high in cals.

NoAdditives

My opinion...hungry? eat. Not hungry? don't.

This only works if your body is used to eating the proper amount of food.

saraann4

My opinion...hungry? eat. Not hungry? don't.

This only works if your body is used to eating the proper amount of food.

Explain.

Doberdawn

Fruit juice can be a real savior on days like that. A small minute maid juice box of OJ is 110 calories. Grape juice is crazy high in calories.

KS_4691

If you're trying to gain: YES you need to eat, and you shouldn't be eating at a deficit in the first place (which I imagine 1450 is for you). Good luck!

NoAdditives

My opinion...hungry? eat. Not hungry? don't.

This only works if your body is used to eating the proper amount of food.

Explain.

Our bodies can adjust our hunger signals based on our eating patterns. If a person over eats for an extended period of time, they will be hungry for more food than their body actually needs. If a person under eats for an extended period of time, they will be hungry for less food than their body needs. Hunger signals are adaptive as a survival mechanism. If we don't have access to enough food, our body learns to stop sending hunger signals all the time so that we can actually function and live and hopefully find more food. Otherwise, we'd go crazy feeling hungry all the time.

dsjohndrow

You can do something like nuts or olive oil with lemon. Both will give you a fair amount of calories without stuffing you.

Bonny619

Absolutely this. If I were to follow when my body told me I was hungry I would be 500 pounds.

My opinion...hungry? eat. Not hungry? don't.

This only works if your body is used to eating the proper amount of food.

saraann4

My opinion...hungry? eat. Not hungry? don't.

This only works if your body is used to eating the proper amount of food.

Explain.

Our bodies can adjust our hunger signals based on our eating patterns. If a person over eats for an extended period of time, they will be hungry for more food than their body actually needs. If a person under eats for an extended period of time, they will be hungry for less food than their body needs. Hunger signals are adaptive as a survival mechanism. If we don't have access to enough food, our body learns to stop sending hunger signals all the time so that we can actually function and live and hopefully find more food. Otherwise, we'd go crazy feeling hungry all the time.

Agree to a certain point.

What I don't understand is the OP said he/she was "so full". Why force feed yourself? Ultimately, it's one day. If you are under/over calories for one day. It's OK, just get back to it tomorrow and find better food choices. Maybe not load up on one meal, but spread calories out.

HurricaneElaine

Right now I'm under my daily calorie count by 450, my carbs are under by 106, and I still have 8g of protein to go. But I'm not hungry, so scr*w it, I'm not eating anything else until my stomach starts growling at me!!

lwagnitz

I recommend trying to eat a calorie dense food. I used to think this too; the whole "don't eat if you're not hungry". I'm a totally veggies girl so I eat a lot of veggies, but very low in calories, so I have a lot of surplus at the end of the day. What I found out is that I usually was okay for 2-3 weeks, but then I would feel like I needed to eat everything in sight (I don't know if this was the onset of TOM that brought it on, or what, but it happened). Then I totally get off track and gain weight. I'd just try and eat as much of your calories as you can. But, if you're just 50-100 calories under, I wouldn't sweat it that much... as long as it's not an every single day thing.

AVinmill

since you are trying to gain muscle you definitely need to eat and eat lots!

geekyjock76

My opinion...hungry? eat. Not hungry? don't.

This only works if your body is used to eating the proper amount of food.

Explain.

You chronically eat well below maintenance and you will mess with the hormones: specifically leptin, grehlin, and cortisol. With anorexics and others with eating disorders, their leptin values are out of whack so they feel full eating next to nothing. You keep eating like a bird and your Resting Metabolic Rate will progressively get lower and lower affecting your TDEE. Being full on 1200 calories suggests someone's TDEE is 1200 - not likely unless they've been undereating for many years or they are 12 years old.

bb_tiu

I am trying to loose weight but maintain muscle I guess. Only looking to lose 10-15 lbs. that's the protein confusion. I definitely no longer have. Natural hunger cues for years of eating lower cal so maybe I should get used to fueling myself the right amount? Hopefully not gaining weight in the process of eating more!!

cessalvan

I agree with what some have already said -- eat healthful, calorie dense choices. Juices and smoothies -- using avocadoes, watermelon, mangoes -- are high in calories and bring in a lot of fiber (although they do pack a lot of sugar as well). Nuts are also just as high -- peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and macadamia are good sources and have protein to boot -- but you only need to consume a bit to rack up the calories. Eating beef as opposed to chicken or fish would also be a surefire way to ramp up your caloric intake.

My personal favorite is eating dark chocolate with nuts -- Lindt's Intense Dark 70% with nuts, for example, gives you 190 cals for every four squares. That surely is easy to finish, especially if you like chocolate, like me! :-) Good luck!

Lady_Bane

My opinion...hungry? eat. Not hungry? don't.

^^^^

Your body knows what it wants

geekyjock76

bb_tiu

Mind posting your stats? or PMing me? If you have been under-eating for a long time and are underweight, you should focus on eating at a surplus and increase lean muscle mass first. After that, you can shift your focus to leaning down.

To build muscle, you will add body fat - it's just how things go. There is a general cap to how much actual muscle we can gain in one month - for women it's 1 lb. However, there isn't a cap to how much fat you can gain in 1 month. Thus, you do not want to eat too large of a surplus. If you can maintain a ratio of 1:1 in terms of 1 lb of muscle gained for each 1lb of fat, that would be an acceptable partitioning.

I recommend figuring out what your current body fat percentage is and establish an upper limit. For instance, if you are currently 20% body fat, select an upper limit of 24% or so. Once you reach that upper limit, stop the gaining cycle and shift slowly back to maintenance before initiating a cutting cycle.

Regarding your confusion about protein intake, it is indeed 1g per lb of lean body mass, not body weight. If you are underweight, and do not know your body fat percentage to estimate lean body mass, then you may base intake on body weight.