Am I just different????

fitnessmare

I am starting to eat better and exercise more. I only have 16 pounds to lose but I want to tone up and look good, not just be a 'certain weight.' Here is my problem: I am burning 600-900 calories a day but only eating back a tiny portion of those 'lost' calories. My main problem is that I am just not hungry (I know, I'm weird) so then I don't eat much but I am starting to get sluggish and not be able to exercise as well. I get somewhat lethargic and sleepy. I want to eat the calories because I don't want to lose muscle, just fat, but then I just don't feel like eating. Does anyone else have this problem?

i_luv_irs

I am less hungry in the days I do a more intense workout. I wasn't eating my calories back end I was feeling tired. Now I work hard to eat them back. If I'm not that hungry I just eat something calorie dense, like a nut butter or just nuts themselves. Not filling but calorie dense.

freelancejouster

make sure you take a rest day or two where you do eat over what your normal calorie intake is and you should be able to stay more energetic and keep up the muscle gain/fat loss.

3dogsrunning

Hunger is not necessarily an indicator of needing more food. Anorexics often don't feel hungry and they are literally starving. Some overweight people experience hunger when they do not need more food.

While there is no need to eat back all of the calories, if you intake is low and you are doing a lot of exefcise it might be wise to eat more.
Your diary isn't open but many times people post about this problem I see they are eating "diet food" - low fat or low calorie versions of foods. Things like yogurt milk cheese salad dressing etc. they often avoid calorie dense food that is also nutritionally dense - like nuts and nut butters, avocado etc.
You can bump up calories without eating tons of food - a salad dressing made with olive oil, 100 extra cals. A tablespoon of peanut butter with an apple - 100 cals (for the pb), avocado on a salad or just to eat, different cuts of meat, salmon instead of white fish etc.

kdiamond

I am not hungry some days, but I know I need to eat so I do. Not eating is just asking for slow metabolism and eating disorders. Do what's right for your body and feed it. Or don't work out as much.

fitnessmare

Thank you for your input. I was having trouble 'thinking out of the box'. I think in the past i just ate when I was hungry. I'd eat breakfast and then go to work (where I burn off a ton of calories) and then not eat until 2 or 3 when I got hungry. I added cardio and strength training to tone up the areas I am weak at and I think I just figured I'd be hungrier.

I will definitely try to eat more of those calories back. I feel I lost my first 5 pounds a little too fast. I have been trying to eat at least 5 times a day.

Thanks again! I will open my diary to get any other points of view.

tpt1950

Protein Drinks

Energy Bars

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Not a valid excuse. Peanut butter is about 100 calories for a tbsp. Are you really too full to eat a few tbsp of something?

PurpleTina

...and chocolate milk makes a great after-exercise 'snack'.

fitnessmare

I started munching on protein bars and now I'm looking into protein drinks. And I LOVE peanut butter!! I will add that. as a snack. Mmmmm chocolate milk. You people have some pretty yummy. good ideas!! Thanks so much! I'm feeling better already. :bigsmile:

MandySparklePants

Milk is never a good idea because it is made of pure fat. Cow's milk is made to take a little baby calf and turn it into a big fat cow. Not to sound rude, but drinking milk is just asking to add fat. My boyfriend said when he was in the army he drank a lot of chocolate milk because it was one of the few things he liked and he added a lot of fat to his body.

:flowerforyou:

quirkytizzy

Milk is never a good idea because it is made of pure fat. Cow's milk is made to take a little baby calf and turn it into a big fat cow. Not to sound rude, but drinking milk is just asking to add fat. My boyfriend said when he was in the army he drank a lot of chocolate milk because it was one of the few things he liked and he added a lot of fat to his body.

:flowerforyou:

Milk is a perfectly good idea as long as you can fit it into your calorie goal. It's also great for calcium, something the body very much needs. Chocolate milk has more calories than milk on average, it's understandable that he might put on some weight. However, if he was drinking that to the exclusion of other things, it would be more the volume of milk he drank that did the damage than the milk itself.

amnsetie

A glass of full cream milk is 11 carbs 8 fat and 8 protein. not bad really.

10 peanuts are 3 carbs, 9 fat and 5 protein.

I drink milk after every workout

jess1992uga

Now I'm going to come at this from quite a strange angle, but wanted to give you some hope I am a recovering anorexic and right now I have to eat even when I am not hungry, because hunger cues many times have NOTHING to do with if you need more food or not. In fact, they have to do with patterns. So if you start eating 6 times a day around the same time or same time intervals (like every 2-3 hours) then your body will start to get hungry at those times. Think of hunger more like an alarm clock....you can set the alarm on your clock, but if you never turn it on, it's not going off. Same thing with your body. Is it more "normal" for people to get hungry...maybe...because our bodies are "set" to need food. But if we have never eaten at regular times or its been a while (which it seems for you this pattern has been going on for a while) our bodies are like the set alarm clock that has never been turned on. How do we turn on our bodies cues? We start to feed it at normal intervals. Then it starts expecting food at those intervals....and the alarm is awakened.
I have been trying to eat at regular intervals for the past few weeks and already my hunger cues are coming back. And I've had an eating disorder for 14 years. So there is hope for you

But for help with calorie intake definitely say nuts and nut butters are great choices Also, greek yogurt is higher in calories. For things easy to eat on a job I go with bagel with PB or hummus, or Clif Bars (or other energy/protein bar of your choice), or even shakes.

CoachReddy

I am starting to eat better and exercise more. I only have 16 pounds to lose but I want to tone up and look good, not just be a 'certain weight.' Here is my problem: I am burning 600-900 calories a day but only eating back a tiny portion of those 'lost' calories. My main problem is that I am just not hungry (I know, I'm weird) so then I don't eat much but I am starting to get sluggish and not be able to exercise as well. I get somewhat lethargic and sleepy. I want to eat the calories because I don't want to lose muscle, just fat, but then I just don't feel like eating. Does anyone else have this problem?

just start slowly increasing your calorie intake a little bit every day till you reach the level that gives you the energy you're looking for. your stomach may not be used to expanding and working quite so much, thus your lack of appetite, but if you do this slowly it should work for you.

tired and lethargic = you're not eating enough.

10kaday

I have the same problem, I have a hard time eating all my calories, which is why I track on this site. Add me as friend so we can share diaries. I'd be curious to see yours. I have been drinking more fruit juice to help bridge the gap.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Milk is never a good idea because it is made of pure fat. Cow's milk is made to take a little baby calf and turn it into a big fat cow. Not to sound rude, but drinking milk is just asking to add fat. My boyfriend said when he was in the army he drank a lot of chocolate milk because it was one of the few things he liked and he added a lot of fat to his body.

:flowerforyou:

He gained weight from the calories, not the milk.

Milk is also a good source of protein, OP.

EmmaKarney

What you could do is calculate your TDEE based on your activity level and then eat at the same equal deficit (e.g. -20%) every day.

That way you average out eating back your exercise cals over the days of the week, instead of having to eat a lot of cals on big exercise days.

AnvilHead

Milk is never a good idea because it is made of pure fat. Cow's milk is made to take a little baby calf and turn it into a big fat cow. Not to sound rude, but drinking milk is just asking to add fat. My boyfriend said when he was in the army he drank a lot of chocolate milk because it was one of the few things he liked and he added a lot of fat to his body.

:flowerforyou:

^ Ignore this. Completely wrong.

Firstly, dietary fat =!= body fat. Secondly, your body does not store fat when you are in a caloric deficit. Thirdly, milk is not "made of pure fat". It's around 30% carbs, 49% fats, 21% protein.

cmriverside

Milk is never a good idea because it is made of pure fat. Cow's milk is made to take a little baby calf and turn it into a big fat cow. Not to sound rude, but drinking milk is just asking to add fat. My boyfriend said when he was in the army he drank a lot of chocolate milk because it was one of the few things he liked and he added a lot of fat to his body.

:flowerforyou:

Milk is a perfectly good idea as long as you can fit it into your calorie goal. It's also great for calcium, something the body very much needs. Chocolate milk has more calories than milk on average, it's understandable that he might put on some weight. However, if he was drinking that to the exclusion of other things, it would be more the volume of milk he drank that did the damage than the milk itself.

Milk is a nutritonal and pocketbook bargain. For 120 calories per cup ( about 38 cents ) you get protein, calcium, fat, carb, potassium, vitamin D (which you can't get in many foods). Calcium, Potassium, and Vit D are three of the four nutrients most commonly lacking in the American diet. Here's a list of the nutrients from milk:

http://www.healthyeating.org/Milk-Dairy/Nutrients-in-Milk-Cheese-Yogurt/Nutrients-in-Milk.aspx

Milk is good for you. I have three servings of dairy daily. I'm not overweight.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

Milk is never a good idea because it is made of pure fat. Cow's milk is made to take a little baby calf and turn it into a big fat cow. Not to sound rude, but drinking milk is just asking to add fat. My boyfriend said when he was in the army he drank a lot of chocolate milk because it was one of the few things he liked and he added a lot of fat to his body.

:flowerforyou:

Consuming fat does NOT make one fat.

CoachReddy

sigh... nature's perfect food right?

tell me, how do you know you properly digest and assimilate all those vitamins and minerals in that milk you drink? just because it doesn't cause you noticeable discomfort or issues, doesn't mean you're digesting it properly.

for your consideration, do with it as you will:

Lactase persistence is the phenotype associated with various autosomal dominant alleles prolonging the activity of lactase beyond infancy; conversely, lactase non-persistence is the phenotype associated with primary lactase deficiency (see above). Among mammals, lactase persistence is unique to humans — it evolved relatively recently (in the last 10,000 years) among some populations, and the majority of people worldwide remain lactase non-persistent.[11] For this reason lactase persistence is of some interest to the fields of anthropology and human genetics, which typically use the genetically derived persistence/non-persistence terminology.

Genetic analysis shows that lactase persistence has developed multiple times in different places independently. An example of convergent evolution

Recognition of the extent and genetic basis of lactose intolerance is relatively recent. Though its symptoms were described as early as Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.),[49] until the 1960s the prevailing assumption in the medical community was that tolerance was the norm and intolerance either the result of milk allergy, an intestinal pathogen, or else was psychosomatic (it being recognised that some cultures did not practice dairying, and people from those cultures often reacted badly to consuming milk).[50][51] There were two reasons for this perception. Firstly, many Western countries have a predominantly European heritage, and so have low frequencies of lactose intolerance,[52] and have an extensive cultural history of dairying. Therefore, tolerance actually was the norm in most of the societies investigated by medical researchers at that point. Secondly, within even these societies lactose intolerance tends to be under-reported: genetically lactase non-persistent individuals can tolerate varying quantities of lactose before showing symptoms, and their symptoms differ in severity. Most are able to digest a small quantity of milk, for example in tea or coffee, without suffering any adverse effects.[16] Fermented dairy products, such as cheese, also contain dramatically less lactose than plain milk. Therefore, in societies where tolerance is the norm, many people who consume only small amounts of dairy or have only mild symptoms, may be unaware that they cannot digest lactose. Eventually, however, it was recognised that in the United States lactose intolerance is correlated with race.[53][54][55] Subsequent research revealed that intolerance was more common globally than lactase persistence,[56][57][58][59][60] and that the variation was genetic.[51][61] However, as yet there is no comprehensive understanding of either the global distribution of lactase persistence, the number of alleles that cause it, or the reasons for its recent selection.[11]

lacurandera1

Milk is never a good idea because it is made of pure fat. Cow's milk is made to take a little baby calf and turn it into a big fat cow. Not to sound rude, but drinking milk is just asking to add fat. My boyfriend said when he was in the army he drank a lot of chocolate milk because it was one of the few things he liked and he added a lot of fat to his body.

:flowerforyou:

<

---

drinks milk every day. Body fat% steadily decreasing. Overeating is the only thing that will make you fat and dietary fat does not equal body fat.

cmriverside

Coach, a wall of quoted text with no source makes a very poor argument. Didn't you have a debate class in college??? Don't answer that, I refuse to argue with you.

lacurandera1

But to answer the real question...nuts and nut butters and milk are great easy calorie fillers

vanguardfitness

Maybe you're working out too much?

littlebudgie

I definitely had a major problem with undereating. It wasn't even intentional, it was just habit. Protein drinks really help, because they don't feel like food, and nuts are great because you can just nibble at them, so they don't feel as overwhelming as a full meal. Good luck!

CoachReddy

Coach, a wall of quoted text with no source makes a very poor argument. Didn't you have a debate class in college??? Don't answer that, I refuse to argue with you.

don't argue, just read it.

Qskim

Now I'm going to come at this from quite a strange angle, but wanted to give you some hope I am a recovering anorexic and right now I have to eat even when I am not hungry, because hunger cues many times have NOTHING to do with if you need more food or not. In fact, they have to do with patterns. So if you start eating 6 times a day around the same time or same time intervals (like every 2-3 hours) then your body will start to get hungry at those times. Think of hunger more like an alarm clock....you can set the alarm on your clock, but if you never turn it on, it's not going off. Same thing with your body. Is it more "normal" for people to get hungry...maybe...because our bodies are "set" to need food. But if we have never eaten at regular times or its been a while (which it seems for you this pattern has been going on for a while) our bodies are like the set alarm clock that has never been turned on. How do we turn on our bodies cues? We start to feed it at normal intervals. Then it starts expecting food at those intervals....and the alarm is awakened.
I have been trying to eat at regular intervals for the past few weeks and already my hunger cues are coming back. And I've had an eating disorder for 14 years. So there is hope for you

But for help with calorie intake definitely say nuts and nut butters are great choices Also, greek yogurt is higher in calories. For
things easy to eat on a job I go with bagel with PB or hummus, or Clif Bars (or other energy/protein bar of your choice), or even
shakes.

Interesting...and kudos to you...wish u continued success with your recovery.

berthabunny

I am starting to eat better and exercise more. I only have 16 pounds to lose but I want to tone up and look good, not just be a 'certain weight.' Here is my problem: I am burning 600-900 calories a day but only eating back a tiny portion of those 'lost' calories. My main problem is that I am just not hungry (I know, I'm weird) so then I don't eat much but I am starting to get sluggish and not be able to exercise as well. I get somewhat lethargic and sleepy. I want to eat the calories because I don't want to lose muscle, just fat, but then I just don't feel like eating. Does anyone else have this problem?

Check out Eat More to Weigh Less: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

IMPO, you need to force yourself to eat more for a few days, then your metabolism might be jumpstarted.
I was never/rarely hungry eating 1300-1400 calories a day, exercising 14h+ per week, burning 1000's, then I started eating more after reading about EM2WL (I did jumpstart with high-calorie, and not always high-nutrient, foods, probably shouldn't have), and I got hungry realy quickly. Right now I am resetting, eating 2500 ish. In about a week I will start an 18% deficit to lose weight.

Feel free to ask more questions/friend, and look at the link and read the stickies!!

fitnessmare

Now I'm going to come at this from quite a strange angle, but wanted to give you some hope I am a recovering anorexic and right now I have to eat even when I am not hungry, because hunger cues many times have NOTHING to do with if you need more food or not. In fact, they have to do with patterns. So if you start eating 6 times a day around the same time or same time intervals (like every 2-3 hours) then your body will start to get hungry at those times. Think of hunger more like an alarm clock....you can set the alarm on your clock, but if you never turn it on, it's not going off. Same thing with your body. Is it more "normal" for people to get hungry...maybe...because our bodies are "set" to need food. But if we have never eaten at regular times or its been a while (which it seems for you this pattern has been going on for a while) our bodies are like the set alarm clock that has never been turned on. How do we turn on our bodies cues? We start to feed it at normal intervals. Then it starts expecting food at those intervals....and the alarm is awakened.
I have been trying to eat at regular intervals for the past few weeks and already my hunger cues are coming back. And I've had an eating disorder for 14 years. So there is hope for you

But for help with calorie intake definitely say nuts and nut butters are great choices Also, greek yogurt is higher in calories. For things easy to eat on a job I go with bagel with PB or hummus, or Clif Bars (or other energy/protein bar of your choice), or even shakes.

I really appreciate your take on this! You have shed new light on my problem. I can see that I did have a weird schedule as far as eating goes and when I tried to eat 5-6 times a day to get more calories I found it so hard! I will definitely keep at it and see if I can reset my alarms. I might even use an alarm to remind me. I am so glad I asked about this because I was feeling so lost. Thanks!