can't eat my daily calories....

IrishSin
IrishSin Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just joined and I find that its hard to eat my allotted calories for the day let alone any of the calories I earn from exercise. Is it bad to not eat the daily calories? Looking at what I had left yesterday and what I usually eat on a daily basis I am looking at not eating at least 800 calories per day. I have lost over 100lbs in 7 months but hit a rut and haven't been able to loose anymore. My friend introduced me to MFP and I just want to make sure that I do this right so that I can reach my weight loss goal! Any thoughts and suggestions will be appreciated!

Replies

  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Opening your diary would help with specifics, but off the top of my head I'd say eat more calorie dense foods. Look for things with good fats like avocado or unsalted nuts. Use full fat milk/cheese, greek yogurt instead of regular. There are tons of ways to up your caloric intake without increasing the volume of food too much.

    edited for spelling
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    In general, you can get to the point where you need more calories to continue losing - especially when you've lost as much as you have.

    You've lost 100 pounds. How many calories are you allocated if you have 800 left? I feel like I'm bad at eating up to my net calorie goals but on bad days I'm never more than 500 down.
  • IrishSin
    IrishSin Posts: 20 Member
    I am allotted 2,221 calories a day, I was bad yesterday and had a bacon cheeseburger and still ended up with 800+ calories that I did not eat. I am having some health problems lately and started new med's and just find that I am not really that hungry.. Then add the additional calories it adds when i do my workout... I just really want to loose the last 50 or so lbs and want to make sure that I do everything correctly for good results!
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    I am allotted 2,221 calories a day, I was bad yesterday and had a bacon cheeseburger and still ended up with 800+ calories that I did not eat. I am having some health problems lately and started new med's and just find that I am not really that hungry.. Then add the additional calories it adds when i do my workout... I just really want to loose the last 50 or so lbs and want to make sure that I do everything correctly for good results!

    It's hard to give any advice without knowing anything about you, but 2,221 seems like a lot of calories. How tall are you? How much are you working out?
  • IrishSin
    IrishSin Posts: 20 Member
    30 years old and I am not very tall but I do have a very active job, I am 5 foot 3 inches. I think that's with today's added calories from my workout, again just started using the site and trying to fig everything out. I did manage to make the food diary public. I seem to remember yesterday I had 1800 or so calories that I was supposed to intake.
  • IrishSin
    IrishSin Posts: 20 Member
    I generally try to do some level of exercise daily, even if its just a walk (not counting all the running I do at work) Average workout consists of push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges jumping jacks... I do not have any equipment so just the basics. I also walk as much as I can.
  • imwithgizmo
    imwithgizmo Posts: 146 Member
    That sounds like a lot of calories. I'm 5'3" and my daily is around 1460. I'm older than you, but that should only make a difference of a couple hundred calories or so. I used Scooby's Workshop, and did my calculation there. It has worked well for me so far! http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • girllovedcupcakes
    girllovedcupcakes Posts: 109 Member
    Looking at the only two days in your diary here are my thoughts. Coffee is not breakfast, it is a beverage. Eat a real breakfast. Cereal is also not something I consider a meal for dinner. If you want to eat more I would start by making actual meals and not eating snack foods or a small portion of food like it shows in your diary. I eat a LOT of food or so it feels like and get around 1500-1800 calories a day. Check out my diary if you need examples.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    Looking at the only two days in your diary here are my thoughts. Coffee is not breakfast, it is a beverage. Eat a real breakfast. Cereal is also not something I consider a meal for dinner. If you want to eat more I would start by making actual meals and not eating snack foods or a small portion of food like it shows in your diary. I eat a LOT of food or so it feels like and get around 1500-1800 calories a day. Check out my diary if you need examples.
    As fatgirlovedc stated, you are relying too much on snacks to provide calories and nutrition rather than meals. Furthermore, the less body fat you have to lose, the less of a deficit you should create. Let the food reduction in calories comprise most of the overall deficit and include exercise just to increase the deficit slightly. Lastly, if you've been at a deficit for over a year, it may be a good idea to take a "diet" break and slowly up calories/lower exercise so that your Resting Metabolic Rate and hormone function (cortisol, leptin, insulin, glucagon, etc.) can return to optimal levels.
  • IrishSin
    IrishSin Posts: 20 Member
    normally i do not eat just snack food. I have been having a lot of blood pressure issues and heart problems and I started new med's yesterday and did not react well, lots of side effects as I get used to them so I was rather lazy in my meals and eating yesterday I went for quick and easy verses well planned. I do have an issue with my coffee. I have always found it hard to eat breakfast first thing. I generally eat a lot of salad and vegetables and fruit. But with my rut in weight loss I have been trying to include other things that I do not eat on a regular basis. thanks so much for all the info that you all have provided I have found it very helpful! I am very grateful for all the input :)!
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    normally i do not eat just snack food. I have been having a lot of blood pressure issues and heart problems and I started new med's yesterday and did not react well, lots of side effects as I get used to them so I was rather lazy in my meals and eating yesterday I went for quick and easy verses well planned. I do have an issue with my coffee. I have always found it hard to eat breakfast first thing. I generally eat a lot of salad and vegetables and fruit. But with my rut in weight loss I have been trying to include other things that I do not eat on a regular basis. thanks so much for all the info that you all have provided I have found it very helpful! I am very grateful for all the input :)!

    Coffee is fine for breakfast. There is no reason to eat if you are not hungry. Don't feel pressured to do so.

    If you can't eat all your calories, that is fine too. I would find your BMR. MFP has a tool that does this. Just make sure you are eating that much each day. If you can't get your exercise calories in, don't worry about it.

    Weight loss ruts usually happen because your body is used to what you are doing. To get out of them, sometimes you have to gain a little weight (sometimes you don't).

    I would mix up your exercise routine. Eat more for a while (using high quality fats, peanut butter, avocados, olive oil)--these foods will increase your calories without filling you up.

    Fruits and veggies are good fillers for a diet. They are healthy, add fiber and keep you full longer without many calories. But, you need to supplement these with plenty of protein and healthy fat and even some complex carbs.

Categories