feel like calories are to high....

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anwest20
anwest20 Posts: 17 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So i have been trying to eat more calories after i found my tdee but is nearly impossible! Its even hard for me to get away from mfp screaming at me with red letters. I have always been told that you have to burn more calories theb you eat to lose weight. Even when i was in high school and over weight my parents made me do 5 miles a night on a stationary bike and always tild me to eat less then i burned. In my opinion i dont see how eating so much food is going to make me loose weight. I dont feel tired or anythin from eatingless then 1200 and not eating back my exercise calories. I actually feel a lot better. Im also eating wheat breads and more healthy foods and i think that may be why i cant eat enough calories. I had to eat sonic lasy night just to make it to my goal and eat back my calories like mfp tells me to. I just need help i guess with eating more. Any help?

Replies

  • SprinkledWithEmotion
    SprinkledWithEmotion Posts: 67 Member
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    I'm a little confused. I took a peek at your diary and it shows you're only eating 1200-1300 calories a day.

    Why is it hard for you to eat TDEE - 20%? I'm sure you were eating in the upwards of 3000 calories before you started on your weight loss journey, right?!
  • anwest20
    anwest20 Posts: 17 Member
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    Well i was eatting less. When i was off from work i would eat eggs for breakfast then nothing but coke till my husband would come home from work 9 hours later. Then we would share a whole pizza and an order of cheese sticks. When i was at wllork i would eat mcdonalds and candy. So i guess i was getting a lot of calories but not much actual food. Now im eatting healllthy and getting full faster. I went to the scooby site and it said my tdee-20% was like 1900 calories or something. Eatting healthy i would never be able to eat this much food.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    protein at every meal, snacks in between, and eliminate the fat free stuff.. no problem. Not hitting goal, add a few more ounces to your protein.

    Half a pizza and breadsticks were easily 2000 calories.
  • cbgep
    cbgep Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm 58 years old and I gain weight slowly at 1200 calories. It doesn't work for petite, older women like me. I need to keep my calories around 1000 per day if I want to maintain my weight between 115 and 120 lbs.
  • missjeevious
    missjeevious Posts: 83 Member
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    try low fat dairy, eggs, meats like chicken/lean beef, greek yogurt, nuts/seeds/raisins, it is hard to eat healthily and get in a lot of cals when you're not used to eating well, you'll get the hang of it- don't resort to Sonic if you can help it though honey- there are much better choices!
  • georgiehopper
    georgiehopper Posts: 15 Member
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    One thing to remember, you cannot just increase calories from 1200 up to 1900 if you have been undereating for a long time ..you have to condition your metabolism and increase gently...like 200 per week of good, clean food. Otherwise, you set yourself up for weight gain. It should take you about 4 weeks to get up to 1900 calories per day..and doing it that way, you may still gain 1 or 2 pounds. At the same time, make sure you are doing some sort of resistance exercise to build some muscle if you aren't doing that already.
    Stuff like wheat bread isn't always good...it has to say 100% wheat. Better yet, is Ezekiel bread which is very nutritious. Increase your veggies like kale,cabbage,broccoli,cauliflower,etc.
  • anwest20
    anwest20 Posts: 17 Member
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    protein at every meal, snacks in between, and eliminate the fat free stuff.. no problem. Not hitting goal, add a few more ounces to your protein.

    Half a pizza and breadsticks were easily 2000 calories.

    The no fat free will be easy cause i dont eat that. My husband isnt on a diet so he wont let me buy that. I have already took out all drinks but water and dont eat white bread and "try" to cut back on processed foods. I lost 13 pounds before starting the app by working out and eatting low calories im just afraid of gaining back or hitting a plateau i cant get out of if i eat to little.would it be ok if i did a protein shake or something to get good calories i dont have to actually eat?
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
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    You could also try adding foods that are calorie dense, like peanut butter, avocado, and nuts/seeds. You'll get extra calories and protein without having to consume a large quantity of food. I'm 5'6" currently weigh 218, and I recently upped my net calories from 1420 to 1600 (which means I eat 1800-1900 on days that I exercise, about 5 times a week) and I'm still losing.
    You could start by upping your calories to your BMR and see how you feel. As long as your body gets the fuel and nutrients that it needs to function properly, you can tweak the numbers to find what works for you.
  • missjeevious
    missjeevious Posts: 83 Member
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    protein at every meal, snacks in between, and eliminate the fat free stuff.. no problem. Not hitting goal, add a few more ounces to your protein.

    Half a pizza and breadsticks were easily 2000 calories.

    The no fat free will be easy cause i dont eat that. My husband isnt on a diet so he wont let me buy that. I have already took out all drinks but water and dont eat white bread and "try" to cut back on processed foods. I lost 13 pounds before starting the app by working out and eatting low calories im just afraid of gaining back or hitting a plateau i cant get out of if i eat to little.would it be ok if i did a protein shake or something to get good calories i dont have to actually eat?

    my thinking is yes that would be ok. obviously we prefer to get our nutrients from naturally-occuring substances, but I find it very difficult. I use a protein powder- but do be careful when choosing one as many of them are full of the nasty stuff we avoid when trying to clean up our diets- I choose Only Protein, chocolate after doing quite a bit of reading/research.
  • imjenjen00
    imjenjen00 Posts: 75
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    protein at every meal, snacks in between, and eliminate the fat free stuff.. no problem. Not hitting goal, add a few more ounces to your protein.

    Half a pizza and breadsticks were easily 2000 calories.

    The no fat free will be easy cause i dont eat that. My husband isnt on a diet so he wont let me buy that. I have already took out all drinks but water and dont eat white bread and "try" to cut back on processed foods. I lost 13 pounds before starting the app by working out and eatting low calories im just afraid of gaining back or hitting a plateau i cant get out of if i eat to little.would it be ok if i did a protein shake or something to get good calories i dont have to actually eat?

    I have a protein shake every morning for breakfast. It's a quick, easy, delicious way to get some protein, fruits and veggies to start the day. Mine has unsweetened almond milk, spinach, a banana, protein powder and flax. It comes out to around 500 calories.
    I increased my calories about a month ago at the advice of my trainer/nutritionist. It was hard to get used to....you have to eat a lot of healthy foods to reach that amount of calories. After a week or so, I felt SO much better. I hadn't realized that I felt so crappy before, until I genuinely felt good. Stick with it, your body will take some time to adjust, but I think you'll feel better and start seeing the results you want.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I glanced back a few days at your diary and you aren't even coming close to your carbohydrates goal most days. If you want to eat lower carbs, then you should up your fat and protein percentages. One piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter would bring you close to goal most days.
  • erin4455
    erin4455 Posts: 135
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    Well i was eatting less. When i was off from work i would eat eggs for breakfast then nothing but coke till my husband would come home from work 9 hours later. Then we would share a whole pizza and an order of cheese sticks. When i was at wllork i would eat mcdonalds and candy. So i guess i was getting a lot of calories but not much actual food. Now im eatting healllthy and getting full faster. I went to the scooby site and it said my tdee-20% was like 1900 calories or something. Eatting healthy i would never be able to eat this much food.

    You may have considered you were eating less food but nothing but Coke for nine hours? The calorie count in pop with sugar is off the charts! You may have been taking in just as many calories with what you were drinking as what you were eating. Also, I don't believe the key to weight loss is burning more calories than you eat - your body burns many, many calories just by keeping you alive so you need healthy forms of sustenance to live. You don't have to burn more than you eat - you have to follow the scientific principles of weight loss which include your TDEE, BMR and other factors related to you and your health (i.e. medical conditions, sugar levels, etc.). Balance is the key - if I were you, I'd do some further research and possibly even consult with a doctor or nutritionist who can set you up on a personalized diet and exercise program.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Well i was eatting less. When i was off from work i would eat eggs for breakfast then nothing but coke till my husband would come home from work 9 hours later. Then we would share a whole pizza and an order of cheese sticks. When i was at wllork i would eat mcdonalds and candy. So i guess i was getting a lot of calories but not much actual food. Now im eatting healllthy and getting full faster. I went to the scooby site and it said my tdee-20% was like 1900 calories or something. Eatting healthy i would never be able to eat this much food.

    You may have considered you were eating less food but nothing but Coke for nine hours? The calorie count in pop with sugar is off the charts! You may have been taking in just as many calories with what you were drinking as what you were eating. Also, I don't believe the key to weight loss is burning more calories than you eat - your body burns many, many calories just by keeping you alive so you need healthy forms of sustenance to live. You don't have to burn more than you eat - you have to follow the scientific principles of weight loss which include your TDEE, BMR and other factors related to you and your health (i.e. medical conditions, sugar levels, etc.). Balance is the key - if I were you, I'd do some further research and possibly even consult with a doctor or nutritionist who can set you up on a personalized diet and exercise program.

    Also...there are numerous nutritionally dense foods that are also calorie dense. Cook with some olive oil...eat some nuts...avocado...have a couple Tbsps of peanut butter. These are all very nutritious things and very good for you and also very calorie dense. You don't need a lot of them to up your calories. 1 oz of almonds has around 160 calories...same for about 1 Tbsp of olive oil. A couple Tbsp of peanut butter is clocking in at nearly 190 calories

    Lots and lots of nutrient dense, healthy options that are also calorie dense. I see this problem a lot and I really think it has a lot to do with how people think about food. When they think "healthy"...they think they have to just sit there and eat celery sticks all day...when in reality, you need those healthy fats, the protein, and carbs. Get your veg and fruit...your lean proteins and your healthy fats and you'll be all good.

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