UGH. I'm not hungry. Any suggestions?

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tpfoodie
tpfoodie Posts: 148 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I posted earlier about BMR and how much I should eat, etc. Got a lot of great responses - thanks if you commented! :)

BUT from that post I figured out that I needed to be eating 150 more calories per day than I had been. Fine. The problem? I'm not hungry for that many calories. As an example, today I had lunch at 12:30p and ate 750 cals of really great good. Now, around dinner time, I'm still not hungry. I don't even want to think about food. I tried looking up dinner (I'm at work, so it will have to either be delivery or I'll have to wait til 10 to eat which I hate doing), but nothing has sparked my appetite or even sounds good.

When I first did MFP, I tried to stick to 1200 for quite a few months, and I'm sure that's had an impact. Does anyone have any recommendations for eating or ways to make myself want more food? I DON'T want to starve myself. If I do this, I'm going to do it right.

Replies

  • GoTeamMeaghan
    GoTeamMeaghan Posts: 347 Member
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    try eating 5 or 6 smaller meals so you don't feel so stuffed
  • lelaspeaks
    lelaspeaks Posts: 163 Member
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    Eat higher calorie, but less filling foods... peanut butter and/or nuts is a great start!
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Fat sources are the most dense macronutrient per gram in terms of energy. 32 grams of the peanut butter I use is 190 calories. If you weigh out 32 grams of peanut butter, it's not that much.

    Try working working in other fat sources into your meals. Maybe some cheese, sour cream, various nuts, etc.
  • tpfoodie
    tpfoodie Posts: 148 Member
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    try eating 5 or 6 smaller meals so you don't feel so stuffed

    I know that this is the ideal, but I don't have the time. I don't even get a lunch break at work, so I chow down in front of my computer while I work. Tonight I didn't even have time to run home between jobs to grab things to cook for dinner. It's probably silly of me to try and lose weight while juggling grad school and four jobs, but I'm trying to be a more well-rounded individual.
  • tpfoodie
    tpfoodie Posts: 148 Member
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    Fat sources are the most dense macronutrient per gram in terms of energy. 32 grams of the peanut butter I use is 190 calories. If you weigh out 32 grams of peanut butter, it's not that much.

    Try working working in other fat sources into your meals. Maybe some cheese, sour cream, various nuts, etc.

    Does Nutella count? :0)
  • EvanKeel
    EvanKeel Posts: 1,904 Member
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    Fat sources are the most dense macronutrient per gram in terms of energy. 32 grams of the peanut butter I use is 190 calories. If you weigh out 32 grams of peanut butter, it's not that much.

    Try working working in other fat sources into your meals. Maybe some cheese, sour cream, various nuts, etc.

    Does Nutella count? :0)

    Of course it does!
  • amberlynnsinspired
    amberlynnsinspired Posts: 438 Member
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    Peanut butter.
  • Cp731
    Cp731 Posts: 3,195 Member
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    start with preparing your meals ahead of time and pack it up the night before and same with snack.
  • holly3585
    holly3585 Posts: 282 Member
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    [/quote]

    I know that this is the ideal, but I don't have the time. I don't even get a lunch break at work, so I chow down in front of my computer while I work.
    [/quote]

    If you are allowed to eat at your desk...do it! I snack at my desk ALL day. The more you eat, the more you will be hungry. Try getting up a half hour early and get a little cardio in. Do anything that gets your heart rate up for a half an hour. This ALWAYS makes my appetite ravenous!
  • GoTeamMeaghan
    GoTeamMeaghan Posts: 347 Member
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    start with preparing your meals ahead of time and pack it up the night before and same with snack.

    ^^ this!!!! on saturday & sunday i spend about a hour each day making food and putting it in the fridge or freezer for the week-then you don't need to run home to eat-2 minutes in front of the microwave & a healthy meal is ready! i make things like egg white muffins or homemade protein bars for breakfast, homemade soup for lunch, homemade trail mix or hardboiled eggs & veggies for snack-stuff like that. i think meal prep is one of the biggest keys to a healthy lifestyle.

    They're kinda spendy, but you may want to check out 6 pack bags. They make the coolest bags that are designed for people that have to eat multiple meals away from home.
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
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    I guess adding calorie dense food like nuts and cheese, and adding good fats like extra virgin olive oil as a dressing or cooking with an extra big splash of olive oil should help. I usually average my week so some week days I may be under but weekdays I'm usually over, I wouldn't worry too much as long as you're not struggling to eat over 1200 consistently. X.
  • tpfoodie
    tpfoodie Posts: 148 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I suppose I should get more into the habit of meal prep. I DO make my meals for work, but often do so the night before; I'll make a big meal, then split it for dinner that night and lunch the next day.

    I think coffee has also had a big impact on this. When I was trying to stay under 1200 cals, I would suck down coffee to suppress my appetite. Now whenever I drink it, I'm not hungry all day. I love the caffeine boost... but should I try switching to tea

    I also have oatmeal for breakfast. It's really heavy and don't feel like eating for a LOT of the day. I know these are silly problems to have, but I want to make sure I do this right.
  • jemhologram
    jemhologram Posts: 34
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    I often find that i'm just not hungry either. I TRY to eat more but end up just feeling too full by the end of the day. Gunna try eating smaller more regular meals tho and see how that works. Its wired how eating more makes you lose more!
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    Yes try and ease up on the caffine because it can supress appetite in some people.
  • dangerxbadger
    dangerxbadger Posts: 396 Member
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    Same here. I struggle to get to a net 1200, and that is even WITH working out. Working out actually makes me LESS hungry! I eat higher fat meat, use olive oil and mayo, and eat tons of peanut butter. There are days when I just can't make it, and I try to go easy on myself about it. Your body won't go into starvation mode over one day. :)
    Lots of luck!
  • Flowers4Julia
    Flowers4Julia Posts: 521 Member
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    I drink coffee (decaf actually) and I add 1 Tablespoon cream = 50 cals AND 1 Tablespoon coconut oi (YUM) 130 cals.

    If you still want to keep coffee in your meal plan, add some fat to it! It is filling and satisfying not to mention both coconut oil and real cream are great sources of dietary fats.

    :drinker: <~~~~~ me with my coffee!
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    It's o.k. to build on it slowly. If you're using reduced fat or nonfat products, you might buy the full-fat version next time, for example. You'll get there.
  • MelSimba
    MelSimba Posts: 21
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    Part of losing weight is listening to your body. If you end the day with 750 and you feel good, stop there! Additionally, if you have many days like this out of the week, then if you are feeling hungrier other days, it won't be a big deal if you end up going over by a hundred or so. One thing to remember is that your daily goals are more of an average - if you've stayed within your weekly calorie goal at the end of 7 days, even if you went over or under during the week, this is usually more important than what happens daily.
  • glitteredgrave
    glitteredgrave Posts: 194 Member
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    Spoon full of peanut butter... yum

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