(rant) "Help, I can't eat enough calories!"
Replies
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OP must be new around here. If he or she is shocked that overweight people can't manage to eat 1200 calories, wait till he finds out that grown adults haven't learned how to say the word "no" when offered unwanted food.0
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The whole idea is that we are having difficultly eating the kind of calories that fit our macros. Sure I can eat peanut butter by the spoonful and get my calories but then I will go over in fat or I can have an extra sandwich and go over in carbs. It's the right combo of healthy calories we rant about. Also, I thought that was the whole purpose of this site, to share ideas and frustrations and encourage each other. We aren't just whining, we are voicing our opinion, in hopes someone that has been there and done that will give us an idea of how to be successful by sharing their knowledge with us based on their first hand experiences.
^^this^^ :flowerforyou:0 -
I struggle to get my cals in, I really do. I didn't get fat from over eating.... I got it from not doing any exercise at all. We are talking 37 years of not doing a damn thing.
I've never been a big eater. I am still not a big eater. What would you like me to do? Force my body to be over flowing just to satisfy you? Would you rather I eat like a pig in order to get to a goal my body tells me it does not need..... I eat till full, any further & it's called being a pig.0 -
It's not really that surprising.
Greater volume of nutrient rather than calorie dense food.
Higher protein / possibly fat / possibly fibre / possibly fruit helps with satiety.
Exercise can curb appetite (although it can do just the opposite.)
Hunger cues can get distorted if calories are slashed too sharply.
Psychological issues such as feelings of virtue from under eating.0 -
May I give you something to think about? Please.....ok either way - here it goes.....
How about you think for a moment that people aren't as knowledgable as you on fitness and nutrition? (btw you look awesome) Do you think it may be possible for people mayyyyybe not to know all of the different ways/possiblities to get enough calories in? Especially because they have mayyyyyybe been unhealthy most of their lives? (kind of makes sense)
Heres another thing to ponder- How about that these people simply want advice or HELP??? IMAGINE THAT!!!???! :laugh: Coming on MFP ASKING FOR HELP!!?? Who would've thought!? The audacity of some.
And my opinion (wanted or not)- people who try to belittle people who are learning and trying to make life style changes for the better- SUCK (insert anything gross here) as well.
Lastly I would further argue at how sucky this rant is but I am so full from my ounce of almonds-baggie of carrots and cup of applesauce and 8 ounces of water! IMAGINE THAT AS WELL..... that I just can't possibly type anymore either.
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You can rant all you want....But I am having a hell of a time consuming 2100 calories a day and I have 16 lbs. to lose.....If you don't get it...I do.....ITS CALLED QUALITY FOOD....So instead of have a bowl of Fruit Loops (or whatever) for breakfast I now eat 6 egg whites with a piece of swiss cheese, a slice of dry toast, 1 tbls of salsa and a fruit smoothie totalling 429 calories in all. I burn damn near 3000 calories a day according to my fitbit. So...yes...its the quality of food that makes it difficult to adjust. We are here to help one another....not rant and complain that you see to many posts with people trying to help one another.
Amen Brother. :glasses:
Agreed; quality is the thing. I had no trouble eating enough calories when I was eating whatever I wanted. Now that I only have healthy food in the house, I have to eat quite a bit to reach an adequate amount for the day (especially if I have exercised).
Now you see, I don't get that. I eat pretty clean most days, fruit, greek yoghurt, high protein (chicken, turkey, fish), rice, veg etc and I certainly wouldn't say I have 'to eat quite a bit' to reach an adequate for the day. I have moderate sized meals with few snacks in between. My rice portions are smaller than my 11 year old sons and I'm on 1740 cals a day, not 1200!! 1200 Is not a lot of food, no matter how healthy you think it is.
^^^^ this
Seriously though. I find many people who defend the 1200 calorie catch all to those of us who say its low tend to assume those eating more than 1200 or find 1200 low are simply filling up on "bad" food (like the fruit loops comment). I also eat predominantly whole foods that are generally consider "good" or "quality" food like lean protein, veggies, etc and rarely have an issue reaching goal.
It really agitates me when I see someone suggest that if you find 1200 difficult to maintain you must be eating all "junk".
I often find in diaries of people who post saying reaching 1200 difficult are the ones eating "light" "low fat" versions of food and often avoid nutrient dense food that is also calorie dense - like nuts, whole eggs, etc.0 -
Christ on a bike.
You try waking up with no appetite and eating 1400 calories a day! It's not so simple when you're trying to lose weight and one half of you thinks it's good to have no appetite and the other knows it's physically wrong. Also not everyone here is overweight. I'm 132lbs and 5'5, my appetite disappeared for 3 or so weeks and I'm only just getting it back. Please do not judge people who find it hard to reach their calorie goal because it's so easy to judge until you've been there and felt that split in your mind and everything. It's so horrible to just say EAT. Because if you don't realise it's physically wrong you could head down the ED path, and that's never good.
Why would Christ be on a Bike?0 -
Ohh he's burning off the whopper he had after a few too many beers last night0
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The whole idea is that we are having difficultly eating the kind of calories that fit our macros. Sure I can eat peanut butter by the spoonful and get my calories but then I will go over in fat or I can have an extra sandwich and go over in carbs. It's the right combo of healthy calories we rant about. Also, I thought that was the whole purpose of this site, to share ideas and frustrations and encourage each other. We aren't just whining, we are voicing our opinion, in hopes someone that has been there and done that will give us an idea of how to be successful by sharing their knowledge with us based on their first hand experiences.
What helped me when starting to watch the macros was logging the night before.
You can plan the main meals and then tweak them, add snacks etc to get to your targets. That saves the situation where you are short at the end of the day and realise, damn, I could have eaten the whole egg for breakfast, I could have put extra grated cheese on my salad etc.
Planning and pre-logging really help.0 -
Ohh he's burning off the whopper he had after a few too many beers last night
LOL!!!!!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: (made my day)0 -
Christ on a bike.
Why would Christ be on a Bike?
More resistance on a bike than walking on water0 -
Christ on a bike.
Why would Christ be on a Bike?
More resistance on a bike than walking on water
LOL, I guess. Personally I would go with walking on water, Christ does not need to watch his calories.0 -
YES! I think the same thing ALL THE TIME. like "hey, i dont have a prolem eating mine..... you gonna eat the rest of that sammich?"0
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You can rant all you want....But I am having a hell of a time consuming 2100 calories a day and I have 16 lbs. to lose.....If you don't get it...I do.....ITS CALLED QUALITY FOOD....So instead of have a bowl of Fruit Loops (or whatever) for breakfast I now eat 6 egg whites with a piece of swiss cheese, a slice of dry toast, 1 tbls of salsa and a fruit smoothie totalling 429 calories in all. I burn damn near 3000 calories a day according to my fitbit. So...yes...its the quality of food that makes it difficult to adjust. We are here to help one another....not rant and complain that you see to many posts with people trying to help one another.
Amen Brother. :glasses:
Eat the whole egg. 342 more calories, there ya go.
this.
AMEN0 -
I had no problem hitting 1200+ calories when eating 2 cookies with every meal. It's a lot harder now that I'm not.0
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I think it's all BS, too.
I'm 5'4, 54KG and can down about 2KG (4 pounds) of food in one meal - 1500kcal+, which is some people's daily intake. Then I can eat dessert.
Oh yeah, and my food is "quality", too.
If I can do it with a fairly weedy frame, I don't see why anyone trying to lose weight couldn't. IMO, it's a subconscious "this will help me in some way" thing, to which I say: fine, if you find it so hard to meet your calories, then stop tracking - you've obviously learned "healthy" eating habits and will lose weight in no time.0 -
Stop eating diet foods, low fat, too low carb, only egg whites etc.. and it's not so hard to reach your target.0
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For quite a lot of people using MFP is a means of learning healthier choices to use up your calories with. Some people take it to the extreme and eat LOADS of veggies and come in way low. Some people have cut out certain junk foods that made them fat from their diet. I used to eat oreos by the columns. No joke. That and soda and chocolate bars by the lbs (no joke.) Thats how *I* got fat. Cut that crap out of my diet and then eating portions correctly and BAM look at where my calories are now. I actually eat *more* food through the day now than I did before, and worry about the eventuality of hitting maintenance calories, but even there I know I will be fine.
Im a HUGE fan of eating. I loved learning that I could eat so much and lose weight. Love knowing a vigorous walk means more food :P Wish I had all this insight years ago..
Hope that clears up your rant peeve some ;-)
Ohhhhh OREOS!! My favorite store bought cookie of all time! Double Stufs even. My DH came home yesterday and said "I'm not trying tempt you, but I saw Mega Stuf Oreos today". My reaction? "Don't you DARE bring them into this house!" I'm slowly learning to not give in to temptation, but it's definitely slow! I don't need to be tempted by my favorite cookie just yet!
MEGA STUFFED OREOS. MEGA STUFFED OREOS. MEGA ^&)^&#)_#%^*#$%^ STUFFED OREOS.
::falls to knees::
No no no - that is just WRONG.
::Looks for a way to unring the bell::0 -
[/quote]
Seriously though. I find many people who defend the 1200 calorie catch all to those of us who say its low tend to assume those eating more than 1200 or find 1200 low are simply filling up on "bad" food (like the fruit loops comment). I also eat predominantly whole foods that are generally consider "good" or "quality" food like lean protein, veggies, etc and rarely have an issue reaching goal.
It really agitates me when I see someone suggest that if you find 1200 difficult to maintain you must be eating all "junk".
I often find in diaries of people who post saying reaching 1200 difficult are the ones eating "light" "low fat" versions of food and often avoid nutrient dense food that is also calorie dense - like nuts, whole eggs, etc.
[/quote]
Completely agree with this. Why are people so afraid of eating fat? If you are low on calories eat full fat dairy, some cheese, peanut butter, the whole egg (yolks too), avocado and quit with the low fat salad dressing. It just has added sugar and sodium. I eat all of these things regularly and have no problem eating at least 2000 calories per day.0 -
This happens to me every so often so I have an explanation.
When I wasn't counting calories, I may have been under 1200 a day some days. But that's the thing, I wasn't calories so I had no way of knowing. At the same time, this could be why I was eating healthy but not losing weight.
The other part of it is I go to the gym 5 days a week. I wasn't eating enough to build energy and in some way I thought this was okay since I wasn't adding calories to my day. But I really was just hurting myself because burning those calories kept my intake too low.
Now that I can see the calories that go in and come out, it's easier to lose weight the healthy way. However, as long as I'm eating healthy and exercising, it's more difficult to get to 1200 with healthy food. As opposed to when I wasn't watching my weight and filled 1200+ with high-caloric foods.0 -
I had no problem hitting 1200+ calories when eating 2 cookies with every meal. It's a lot harder now that I'm not.
Then go back to eating the 2 cookies. Cookie calories won't stall your progress. Eating too few calories will0 -
What about people who are set a 2100 calories net goal? Exercise 800-900 calories a day. Not me btw. That's almost 3000 calories. Should he exercise less?0
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I had no problem hitting 1200+ calories when eating 2 cookies with every meal. It's a lot harder now that I'm not.
Then go back to eating the 2 cookies. Cookie calories won't stall your progress. Eating too few calories will
This seems extremely counterproductive and not a helpful thing to say at all. I am trying to have a healthy diet and add extra calories through fruits and vegetables. Eating sugar from chocolate and candy makes me feel awful. (Also that's not 2 cookies per day, that's way, way more than that and I was eating way above any rational deficit.) I'd rather slowly figure out how to have a diet that is nutritious than just eat cookies to get up to some arbitrary number.0 -
May I give you something to think about? Please.....ok either way - here it goes.....
How about you think for a moment that people aren't as knowledgable as you on fitness and nutrition? (btw you look awesome) Do you think it may be possible for people mayyyyybe not to know all of the different ways/possiblities to get enough calories in? Especially because they have mayyyyyybe been unhealthy most of their lives? (kind of makes sense)
Heres another thing to ponder- How about that these people simply want advice or HELP??? IMAGINE THAT!!!???! :laugh: Coming on MFP ASKING FOR HELP!!?? Who would've thought!? The audacity of some.
And my opinion (wanted or not)- people who try to belittle people who are learning and trying to make life style changes for the better- SUCK (insert anything gross here) as well.
Lastly I would further argue at how sucky this rant is but I am so full from my ounce of almonds-baggie of carrots and cup of applesauce and 8 ounces of water! IMAGINE THAT AS WELL..... that I just can't possibly type anymore either.
^^^yup totally agree.0 -
For me it's just not knowing what to eat. Usually when I undereat a day it's because I honestly can't think of what else would be yummy to eat and still healthy at the same time. There are only so many spoonfuls of peanut butter a girl can eat. As I get more used to the *system* of eating healthy, it will be easier to have a wide variety of foods to choose from. I've also poured through some of the recipe forums and am saving ideas for later. Years and years of eating processed foods like Lean Cuisines (I only ever allowed myself to eat traditional fast food like burgers once a month) and getting by on my relatively high metabolism made me never really think about what I was putting into my body very much. Now that my metabolism has seem to have slowed down and I *can't* seem to lose any weight, I'm at a loss of options.
Things I've learned in just the past three weeks of making a concerted effort to be healthy: olive oil has calories (you laugh, but I figured so long as I wasn't pouring on ranch dressing, olive oil and balsamic was a "safe" calorie free choice), and that I shockingly feel like I have more energy without daily calorie "bombs" that I relied on in the past to curb my appetite. Also, I love portabello mushroom pizzas. They are basically bagel bites.
Today I had no problem meeting that and I'm totally tempted to go over...but I won't because will power!0 -
I see both sides to this- mostly because on days where I exercise (read: most days) I'm usually way under what MFP says I should be eating. That said, on days when I do eat more (like yesterday's EAT ALL THE FOOD evening) I don't worry about it. It also helps not to take what an online calculator says as gospel.
It's not that I *can't* eat an extra 700 calories- it's not like I'm wearing a Bane mask or something. It's just that many of the foods I eat- fruits, veggies, lean meats, eggs (yes, with the yolk) and other Primal-friendly choices tend to be lower in calories. I also have a severe nut allergy, so it's not like I can just scarf some peanut butter on celery.
Like I said, though, it's not some great mystery. If I start feeling ill effects, I'll eat more.
Best imagery ever!!!0 -
I guess I am one of the people this rant is about. A few days ago, I posted a similar question, I did scroll for several pages worth of entries and could not find anything I was specifically looking for. I was not whining and moaning about things just asking questions from a message board entitled General Diet and Weight Loss Help. Pardon me, i thought this would be the appropriate place for the support and a great place to get guidance from that have done so well. I do have a grip on reality and know that my eating habits got me here, however, it was not from over eating, as you obviously assume is the issue for every overweight person. But by eating only once a day and when I did eat I would devouring 800-1000 calories of absolute junk in one setting, then the rest of the day, my body went into starvation mode. I am trying to learn more and become a healthier person with healthier habits and avoid the processed foods that got me here to begin with. One piece of advice I do offer, if threads of this type bother you so, scroll past them.0
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It's typically done by attention hoe's.0
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Wow what a post! I can relate to a lot of the comments. Yes I used to over eat and eat things that had little nutritional value. It was very easy to eat 3,000 calories a day. I'm currently at 1475 calories and all I can say that I have learned is that it really depends on what I eat for the day if I can get my calories in. I alternate between carb days and protein days. Yesterday was a carb day, no problem eating my calories. Today was a protein day and I'm stuffed, couldn't eat all my calories. I'm still losing weight...so I don't know. I have realized though not matter what I need to track what I eat because I could very easily on carb days go back to my old habits, but I've decided to change my lifestyle of eating.0
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I had no problem hitting 1200+ calories when eating 2 cookies with every meal. It's a lot harder now that I'm not.
Then go back to eating the 2 cookies. Cookie calories won't stall your progress. Eating too few calories will
This seems extremely counterproductive and not a helpful thing to say at all. I am trying to have a healthy diet and add extra calories through fruits and vegetables. Eating sugar from chocolate and candy makes me feel awful. (Also that's not 2 cookies per day, that's way, way more than that and I was eating way above any rational deficit.) I'd rather slowly figure out how to have a diet that is nutritious than just eat cookies to get up to some arbitrary number.
That "arbitrary number" is no more arbitrary than the perceived need to eat only 100% "healthy/clean" foods. And for many people, that "awful" feeling is as much psychological as it is physical. Consider that X amount of calories each day, some "healthy", some "not healthy" will ultimately result in your being overall healthier than if you eat X-500 calories of just "healthy" foods.
And many have been here long enough to see far more people fail from trying too strictly to adhere to an arbitrary eating regimen than from trying to adhere to an "arbitrary", yet reasonable calorie total.0
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