struggling to eat my 1800 calories a day

JGainingHealth

Full-fat yogurt, avocados, add some olive or coconut oil to your food, nuts... the common denominator is more fats. I used to have a hard time meeting my calorie goals too before I became more liberal with my fats. For example, I hadn't eaten enough throughout the day yesterday and knew I needed to get some quick cals in while I was out, so I picked up a larabar... took me about 1 minute to down an extra 200+ cals, and it was delicious.

squatsandlipgloss

Like I stated in my previous post: people that are obese have not been overeating on healthy stuff As much as they might try to fool themselves, no one ever got fat from over eating on broccoli or chicken breast - it is empty calories like fries, burgers, chicken nuggets and candy.

So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging

That's my point.

I've lost 110 pounds one other time in my life. Ate perfect, no "bad" food, etc...

I gained it back within a decade. Of course I did! Hardly anyone can life a full life depriving themselves of food they enjoy. Look, if we didn't enjoy it we wouldn't have eaten it in the first place, we're not insane.

You can try to fill yourself up on skinless chicken and broccoli but it's almost impossible, as you stated. I'm just trying to stress that unless you're committed to a lifetime of deprivation (which some are, but the honest will realize is impossible to maintain for life), you might as well incorporate "evil" food and figure out how to eat it in moderation.

It will lead to a lifetime of OVERALL healthy eating, and you won't pull your hair out when someone offers you a piece of decadent cheesecake (or whatever you love)

I love your way of thinking, that is exactly where I am trying to go also. It is just really hard to get away from that damn "food is bad" mentality that has been all around me for 10 years. That mentality is what got me fat in the first place, so that is why I am doing it differently now.

SGSmallman

Like I stated in my previous post: people that are obese have not been overeating on healthy stuff As much as they might try to fool themselves, no one ever got fat from over eating on broccoli or chicken breast - it is empty calories like fries, burgers, chicken nuggets and candy.

So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging

That's my point.

I've lost 110 pounds one other time in my life. Ate perfect, no "bad" food, etc...

I gained it back within a decade. Of course I did! Hardly anyone can life a full life depriving themselves of food they enjoy. Look, if we didn't enjoy it we wouldn't have eaten it in the first place, we're not insane.

You can try to fill yourself up on skinless chicken and broccoli but it's almost impossible, as you stated. I'm just trying to stress that unless you're committed to a lifetime of deprivation (which some are, but the honest will realize is impossible to maintain for life), you might as well incorporate "evil" food and figure out how to eat it in moderation.

It will lead to a lifetime of OVERALL healthy eating, and you won't pull your hair out when someone offers you a piece of decadent cheesecake (or whatever you love)

Edit: I just saw your edit and we seem to agree!

As i said im only 2 weeks into properly being accountable for what im eating, could it have anything to do with the amount of water and green tea im drinking?

i have 8 glasses a day of water and 2-3 cups of green tea

I did have a problem with soda, drinking 1-2 pints a day of 'diet' coke but now have one every so often like one a week if that.

It's great information like what you're all offering that will hopefully help me to get on the right track so i don't make mistakes and gain it back..

"I want to remove the excess fat not lose it just to find and gain it again"

graciepecie

So i'm trying to base my weight loss on my BMR & TDEE ratings.

Trying to eat about 1800 calories a day split into about 4-5 meals throughout the day, but am finding it hard when i eat clean throughout the day after a big workout in the morning where i burn about 800 calories a day

Should i be forcing myself to eat these calories to repair and recover from the session or only eat when im hungry even if im lower than what is recommended intake?

So confusing lol

Just eat a hamburger you'll reach your goal of 1800 LOL

No really, eat stuff with more calories like bananas, walnut, grapes, raisins, dates, almonds, etc. Good source of calories.

Good luck!

missy_1975

I'll eat your leftovers cals.

You're welcome.

^^^ LOL!!! :laugh:

Yup, what the others have said, avocados, cheese, peanut butter, Whole milk smoothies... drool. Now excuse me while I go fantasise about all these healthy high cal treats!

Rgl2112

With those numbers are you sure your TDEE - 20% is 1800?

I'm a little heavier and older than you and my BMR is around 2100, and my TDEE - 20% is 2300 give or take of course. I'm also doing various workouts for an hour every work day. Our company was forward thinking enough to install a gym and bring a personal trainer onboard for everyone's use so now there's no excuse for me not to go to the gym every day. My 5 workouts usually consist of Strength, Aerobics, Core, TRX, and Circuit and now with coaching baseball on the weekends, I get plenty of burn.

Yes, it's hard to hit those numbers, but I've been using nuts, as plenty of people have mentioned, protein bars of course, and I actually like drinking Muscle Milk right after my workout. I sometimes think I can feel those 20g of protein going straight into my core with a fruit kicker as well.

Like someone mentioned before, it's a lifestyle change, but I have to stay sane, so I get ice cream every now and then as well as chocolate and even the rare and prized donut or soda. Overdoing those things without working out are what got me to 242 lbs, but I can't totally cut them out for life, so moderation, and plenty of exercise which will continue even when I hit my goal. The scale isn't my goal, it's all about BF% and MM% for me right now.

Good luck in your journey, believe in yourself!

SGSmallman

With those numbers are you sure your TDEE - 20% is 1800?

I'm a little heavier and older than you and my BMR is around 2100, and my TDEE - 20% is 2300 give or take of course. I'm also doing various workouts for an hour every work day. Our company was forward thinking enough to install a gym and bring a personal trainer onboard for everyone's use so now there's no excuse for me not to go to the gym every day. My 5 workouts usually consist of Strength, Aerobics, Core, TRX, and Circuit and now with coaching baseball on the weekends, I get plenty of burn.

Yes, it's hard to hit those numbers, but I've been using nuts, as plenty of people have mentioned, protein bars of course, and I actually like drinking Muscle Milk right after my workout. I sometimes think I can feel those 20g of protein going straight into my core with a fruit kicker as well.

Like someone mentioned before, it's a lifestyle change, but I have to stay sane, so I get ice cream every now and then as well as chocolate and even the rare and prized donut or soda. Overdoing those things without working out are what got me to 242 lbs, but I can't totally cut them out for life, so moderation, and plenty of exercise which will continue even when I hit my goal. The scale isn't my goal, it's all about BF% and MM% for me right now.

Good luck in your journey, believe in yourself!

i think i may have gotten it slightly wrong and confused myself my katch BMR is 1887.45 my TDEE is 2990 and i think i wrote 1800 done somewhere in my notes and stuck to that number?

I'm currently 11.6% over my body fat % (29.6%) if its true that 12-18% is ideal

I've been told that my lean mass is bang in the middle of the ideal range if that equals 69-74 KG

Rgl2112

That puts your daily intake at about 2390, which sounds about right with your current workouts. If those change, you have to change that number up and down, but you cannot go below your BMR on your intake...that's the big NoNo.

I currently am not eating back any of my workout calories unless I put up a big number over 800. My current TDEE calc is taking into account that I work out 5 days/week for about 500 calories. I debated using Sedentary and eating back my workout, but I've found that my eating log is more likely to be accurate with barcode scanning than my exercise log due to MFP calculations (I don't own a HRM or Fitbit or anything) so I feel like I take that out of the fluctuations and just eat every day like I worked out for a week at 2500 calories burned.

JesterMFP

Problem with a lot of people that screwed up their metabolism over the years (me included), we cannot eat 2,000 calories worth of healthy foods because they are so dang filling. We are not used to it. People usually get overweight by over eating on empty calories, therefore aren't able to fit that much food in their stomachs. I can easily eat 2,000 calories of **** (white bread, pralines, fries) but healthy stuff fills me up fast!!

So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging

Why do people think that "healthy" has to mean low calorie? I think this is the problem with a lot of people who struggle to meet their calorie goals - the mindset of "I'm trying to lose weight so I must only eat low calorie foods". That, and the polarisation of foods into "good" and "bad".

lisamarie2181

I have to eat 2500 cals WITHOUT eating back exercise cals, and I eat clean whole foods in the majority of my day and have found healthy fats are definitely your friend. I also wasn't eating meat, only fish and not everyday, so I had to find the cals in other ways, I used coconut oil, flax seed, regular oil when cooking, nut butters, just to name a few. And healthy grains will definitely give you a boost in the cals too. When I have salad I put a ton of veggies, cheese, egg and regular fat salad dressing, very easily got my salads up to about 700 cals. Eating clean to me means eating whole foods, and if you do that when it comes to dairy and picking calorie dense foods you should have no problem getting up there

Good luck!

rabblerabble

Old fashioned oatmeal. I have a cup (measured dry before cooking) as part of my breakfast almost every morning. 300 calories, Good healthy start to the day.

TavistockToad

I see this kind of post a lot on MFP, but I don't get it.

I mean, other than those who are just trying to maintain or actually trying to gain weight, the majority are trying to lose weight, right?

That means we've ALL eaten more than 1800 calories a day. Hell, some of us a lot more than that. So how is it that when you're trying to lose weight, you all of a sudden can't get to your calorie goals?

My guess is artificial constraints. Trying to not eat any sugar, or refined products, or protein after 8, or carbs, etc, etc, etc... It gets really hard to get to your calorie goals if you only allow yourself tofu after dark and leafy greens with no dressing as your only snack option watching TV at night.

When I get to the end of the day and I've done my exercise and I have 4-500 calories left in my budget, I treat myself. Sometimes it's a sandwich, sometimes it's a bowl of chips (gasp). I'm down 40 pounds in 3 months just being honest and telling myself as long as I'm on my goals and exercising daily and the weight's coming off, I'm 10 times healthier than I was.

And the bonus part is I can do this for the rest of my life. The constraints diets are the ones that you get to your goal and then eat "normally" and gain it all back; or worse you hit a plateau and say screw it and eat whatever. If you teach yourself moderated and thought out snacking now, even on "evil" foods, you can build a lifetime of good habits.

My two cents.

agreed!

squatsandlipgloss

Problem with a lot of people that screwed up their metabolism over the years (me included), we cannot eat 2,000 calories worth of healthy foods because they are so dang filling. We are not used to it. People usually get overweight by over eating on empty calories, therefore aren't able to fit that much food in their stomachs. I can easily eat 2,000 calories of **** (white bread, pralines, fries) but healthy stuff fills me up fast!!

So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging

Why do people think that "healthy" has to mean low calorie? I think this is the problem with a lot of people who struggle to meet their calorie goals - the mindset of "I'm trying to lose weight so I must only eat low calorie foods". That, and the polarisation of foods into "good" and "bad".

Nobody said that. All I said that the healthy foods are more filling than the less healthy foods. I didn't say low calorie foods are filling. Think of the healthy foods higher in calories, they usually contain a lot of fat and/or protein - which fills you up, or at least, fills ME up. Avocado, Greek yogurt, eggs, nuts - I love it but I can't eat 2,000 calories worth of that!

ninerbuff

Lol, so how the heck are you going to even eat more once you reach goal?

Just eat higher calorie dense "clean" food. Problem solved.

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