I'm eating too few calories, but I'm always full

Musically_Blessed

I eat around 900 calories a day, but everyone tells me it's too low.
Breakfast-
Krave Cereal (160ish calories)

Lunch-
Normally skip

Dinner-
Varies every night but normally stays around 400 calories

Snacks-
Around 200. These also vary but normally stay as saltines or yogurt.

Exercise-
I walk around 20 minutes everyday and climb stairs at an average of 4 minutes every day, resulting in about 163 calories being burned

I feel like I'm eating enough, like, I don't feel hungry normally. And it's not like I try to eat this way, I have a very busy schedule. When I'm not at school I eat normally, like I 'pig-out' on Saturday/Sunday, eating around 1,200 calories a day on the weekend.
Is this bad? Should I try to eat more?

Edit-Bad math. Around 760 without factoring in the exercise

Sarah_Wins

Force yourself to eat a full, healthy menu and very soon your body will crave it! Promise!

_granola

Eat more calorie dense foods and get rid of "diet" foods. Nuts, avocados, bananas, full-fat dairy, and nut butters are all foods that are higher in calories and don't fill you up too much. Once you start eating more, you will start being hungry more often.

healthynotthin

Open your diary so we can better see what you could do to help out your nutrition levels?

SomeoneSomeplace

Stop skipping lunch. Plan out your days to fit your cals in and make sure it's at least 1200.

You don't feel hungry probably because you never kick start your metabolism.

Might work in the short term but in the long term it'll bite you in the *kitten* and lead to a plateau with difficulty losing weight and difficulties maintaining when you reach your goal.

If you honestly cant stomach real food try a protein shake or meal replacement shake.

SoDamnHungry

Eating 1200 calories in a single day is not "pigging out". That's roughly how much you should be eating every day.

sleepytexan

Why it might not be a good idea to eat so few calories:

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.