Not reaching your calorie goal?? More common than you think!

chasetwins

Every time someone posts "I can't eat 1200 calories..how can I eat more?" They usually get the response "well how the "bleep" did you get fat to begin with?!?!

Here are the reasons for this:

We (because I was there too!) may not necessarily eat every second of the day, however the food we chose previously was very high in calories therefore even eating twice a day can result in gaining weight. Switching to a healthy well balanced diet results in eating more often but...lower calorie choices. This in turn fills us up faster with less calorie consumption.

Sometimes we also tend to be too careful at the beginning..avoiding the healthy higher calorie options for a lower calorie option. ie; Peanut Butter ( I avoided at all cost at first!) Almonds (oh why did I shun you ) We become so afraid to go over our calories that by the end of the day we have excess!! I can not tell you how guilty I was of this!!

Buying everything low calorie / low fat! Again..guilty as charged. The years previous..this was considered dieting. I have learned this is not true! I can have the full fat (less processed & chemically added) version and still lose weight!! There are still some things I use that are "low fat" such as greek yogurt, peanut butter (same calories as non) but I think i like them better than the full fat or maybe it is just habit !?!?!

Working out usually kills my appetite (you would think it would be opposite). I have to wait over an hour to eat anything!

If you find yourself constantly under your already low calorie goal: (tips for newbies to get as close as possible to their goal. Mind you ~ this advice was given to me via MFP members and they deserve 100% credit for the ideas!! )

re-evaluate your menus. Are you eating just a salad for lunch or dinner> Add some protein..chicken,eggs, bacon,sandwich meats and cheese (if you are generally high with sodium, be careful sandwich meats & cheeses tend to have ridiculous amounts there)

Eating only eggs whites - eat the whole egg! ( I dislike the yolk fried but am ok when hard boiled - find your way)

Peanut butter spread on an apple topped with almonds is amazing!! It is a light snack anytime of day - but packed with some healthy calories! (I also started using cocoa almonds as a late snack by themselves)

If you are like me and sometimes the thought of another bite of food makes you ill sometimes - grab a good protein shake. These you may have to test out a few. I love EAS strawberry - but there have been a few I tried that my immediate thought was they grind ed up chalk and added water to it

Whole grain cereals - small amounts have over 100 calories...take more than a serving with or without milk

Yogurt - add nuts, cereal or fruit

Plan your day ahead of time - and stick to it. Figure out your dinner first as this is usually the highest calorie meal - then your lunch - breakfast and finally snacks. Or in any manner that you find useful...order of planning doesn't matter..hitting your target does. Try to spread your calories out over the course of the day. (I found at the beginning I was eating most of mine at night trying to play catch up)

Do not cut out everything. Removing all your favorite foods from a diet sometimes leads to binging / failure. Have a small portion of your no-no food once in awhile.

If you are like me and some workouts kills your appetite - from what i hear..this would be a great time for a protein shake or even a home made smoothie.

Think of your favorite meals before you started the diet - try to find ways to make them with less calories and healthier!

Little steps go a long way! Try not to over think too much..it will drive you crazy LOL

If anyone else has any great ideas / tips to help - please feel free to add