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.