Do You Force Yourself to Eat if Under Calories

shelled

Never force yourself to eat, its honestly a really ridiculous thing that has come into existance by the multitudes of people who hear about starvation mode, think they understand it, and then go spread their version of starvation mode across forums.

Best of luck and dont let me catch you eating spoonfuls of peantut better just to make up calories

I'm pretty sure something is screwed over in my body because (a) that's what my personal trainers all say, (b) my BMR is a pathetic 1220 instead of a 1500ish for a 30 year old 77kg 1.68m woman. But no, you won't catch me eating spoonfuls of peanut butter because I'd much rather drink my calories in whole milk Starbucks. *giggles*

AbsoluteNG

There's a member on here who forcefully shoved food down his throat that had his stomach ruptured. He didn't listen to his body even though he was full and puking. Listen to your body first, not what people tell you on the forums. He's a nice guy though, always trying to help people.

shelled

There's a member on here who forcefully shoved food down his throat that had his stomach ruptured. He didn't listen to his body even though he was full and puking. Listen to your body first, not what people tell you on the forums. He's a nice guy though, always trying to help people.

That's really sad to hear. I hope he's much better now.

I'm definitely not force-feeding myself, I'm usually not hungry but not full either. (Am doing the many small meals a day thing.) I know how most people tend to feel slightly hungry after a workout, but that hasn't been happening to me. It takes about an hour or two after my workout before I start feeling any need to eat.

skinnytayy

Eating when I'm not hungry is what got me to where I am now so no I don't. I do my best to hit my goals and lately I've had no problem doing that but I won't force myself to eat.

I did have issues with being WAY under like netting 300 calories a day, low. I looked for higher calorie snacks and that helped tremendously. If you're persistently low, try to find higher calorie foods. Things like nuts, avocados, etc. are high calorie. Also you can use things like olive oil, coconut oil, etc. when cooking - those calories count! Lastly, don't use fat-free/low-fat crap. I've always ate full fat dairy and I'm a firm believer in it. I believe the fats in it are good and the low-fat/fat-free crap is just that .. crap. Its gross and chances are its loaded with all kinds of sugar and other stuff to make it taste better. If its only occasionally that you're under, I really wouldn't stress it much. Day to day calorie count doesn't really matter .. Its what you average over a period of time that does.

Noenvynofear

I see no point to eating when you're not hungry, listen to what your body's telling you. Obviously if you are way under every day you might start to feel the effects, but mfp doesn't know everything

vstraughan

I'll eat my daily allowance (1200) without fail. When it comes to my exercise calories (500-1150) , then my not-vast-experience tells me that as long as I eat around half of them then I can keep powered up for the next day and still lose.

Dangerous to eat less than your daily allowance but then it's pretty damn hard to do.

JDBLY11

I eat what i am supposed to for my body to continue at the activity level I am at. I lift 3x a week, I do yoga on Friday and hike on the weekend. I also work two physical jobs 6 days a week. I also have done research into how calorie restriction affects hunger signals. If I were to listen to my body I could eat 500 calories and not feel hungry. I am not dumb enough to think 500 calories a day would support my activity level and fuel my body. I have realised that common sense is lacking in these forums. I mean I have seen people starve themselves on 600 calories a day because they are scared to eat anything unclean. Really? So starving yourself is healthier than eating something "bad". I just don't get some of you. If you want to be active at least give your body the fuel it needs to function properly.

I agree. No one should be netting below 1200 calories on a regular basis like some people have said they do. It is really unhealthy.

FitMrsR

Let me preface this by saying I didn't read all of the responses so if this has already been mentioned, I'm sorry but exercise suppresses me appetite. And the more exercise I do, the less hungry I feel. I would eat something to at least get you above 1200 calories. I know we all have busy days and forget to eat but if you are funding that you're regularly under your goal plan your days ahead and eat small meals often. It could also be your body is trying to adjust to your new exercise and calorie level and isn't sending the same signals you'd get when you were hungry before. I can't trust my body to tell me when I'm hungry because I'm never hungry. I'd end up eating 500 calories for the day and feel fine so I know I can't trust what my body tells me. I need more than that being active and growing a baby

caramellattekiss

I'd say it depends how under you are, and how often. If it's not by much, no, don't force it. But if you're nearly always under by a significant amount, maybe you need to look at what you're eating, rather than how much.
Are you using low fat/low cal versions of things? Things like nuts or avocadoes are a good way to get a high calorie, but still healthy hit of you're low on calories.

If you're not hungry, what about drinking your calories? Make a nice healthy smoothie, or just treat yourself to a cuppa?

onwarddownward

I try to eat readable every meal. I have more days when I'm right on, rather than under.

fitOsaurus_Rex_we_changed

I like the eat when your hungry thinking. It is what I usually follow, but when I'm consistently low I wondered if I should do something about it. I gained weight eating just to eat, even though I wasn't hungry. So I'd rather trust my body and roll with it. If I feel full, energized and my workouts aren't suffering then I must be doing something right. And when I'm not, my body will let me know.

i'd say listen to your body. if you're hungry eat, if you're not then dont. if you can get through your workouts without feeling dizzy or weak then you're eating enough IMO

FitMrsR

Let me preface this by saying I didn't read all of the responses so if this has already been mentioned, I'm sorry but exercise suppresses my appetite. And the more exercise I do, the less hungry I feel. I would eat something to at least get you above 1200 calories. I know we all have busy days and forget to eat but if you are finding that you're regularly under your goal, plan your days ahead and eat small meals often. It could also be your body is trying to adjust to your new exercise and calorie level and isn't sending the same signals you'd get when you were hungry before. I can't trust my body to tell me when I'm hungry because I'm never hungry. I'd end up eating 500 calories for the day and feel fine so I know I can't trust what my body tells me. I need more than that being active and growing a baby


I just noticed how many typos there were and it had been too long since I posted so it wouldn't let me edit it.

cals83

I don't worry about it from day to day as long as it balances out in the long run.

sstan03

from personal experience....so your body is different. If i was too low on my calorie intake, I would not lose weight. I was eating well below my 2000 calorie suggested intake and i could not figure it out. I talked to a nurse and she suggested that i make sure i eat more so i am closer to the calorie goal. Once i up'd my calories (even if it meant a spoonful or two of peanutbutter), I started to loose weight again. I hope this helps....

Ohnoes

idk i get confused about this sometimes, too. usually i try to eat what MFP tells me to, and i am losing weight (yay) but sometimes, for example yesterday, i burn more than i can eat. went on an almost two hour hike yesterday, a good portion of it uphill, and ended up with about a thousand extra calories after dinner after eating all day. there is no way i was going to eat 1000 calories when i was already full. so i had a bowl of cereal before bed, and a cookie, and went to bed with all those extra calories uneaten. it just felt wrong to force myself, and my stomach is not that big!

MyChocolateDiet

I used to, but not lately.

ETA:

[Just saw the stomach rupture comment. NO, I've never eating that forcefully. what I meant is that I used to try to get up to the cals I wanted to reach-- like eat back all my exercise cals, and sometimes it took effort. Not in the way of force feeding, just working extra cals into snacks in the form of oils, nuts, peanut butter, cream cheese, mayo, avocado, high cal stuff that can easily be added in. I would never however try to force myself to eat things.

I think this is an especially hard issue for people who are afraid to eat fat. I can easily add 1-200 cals with any of the above foods. Imagine though trying to eat that much cals worth of broccoli or carrots or anything else if you're already full? Difficult. If not impossible.]

ETA2:

[ aaaaaaaaaaand now I saw the peanut butter comment. Let me clarify. If I were short on cals it would be easy to have a half a bagel with some peanut butter on it and not have to FORCE anything or eat spoonsful of peanut butter. One spoonful, yum. Many? Kind of impossible....too. ]