I'm not eating enough and its SO FRUSTRATING!

RevolutionaryMindset
RevolutionaryMindset Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
I try to abide by the 'listen to your body - don't eat if you're not hungry' rule. But how am I supposed to do that when by the end of the day I'm 500+ calories below my metabolic need and I'm not at all hungry? I'm aware that I need to balance out the calories I eat and burn, but I feel like I'm stuffing my face all day after I've worked out! I've tried eating high calorie snacks like nuts and whole grains but I still feel so needlessly full after eating them. Sometimes I'll deliberately avoid a pre-planned workout just to increase my net intake for the day, which is not something I want to continue doing. Ugh.

Advice?

Replies

  • Ramberta
    Ramberta Posts: 1,312 Member
    I wish I had that problem!

    If you're getting plenty of protein and other nutrients, then a very easy way to up your calories is to drink them. Try getting some fruit juices and keep them around for days when you feel stuffed but have some cals to make up. I love love love the POM pomegranate juice-- sweet, tart, and great for you too. Also try milk, v8, smoothies... just watch the ingredients and the sugar. Good luck!
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I hate when that happens. I've had a hard time trying to eat almost 4000 calories a day! I keep forgetting to eat and am getting bored trying to eat the same things over and over. Like last night at 10:30 I looked and I still had 1500 calories left for the day, so I had to quick order pizza hut and stuff half a large pepperoni lover's down my pie hole. But today I got ahead of the game and had a 1900 calorie lunch. :)
  • usernameMAMA
    usernameMAMA Posts: 681 Member
    Ugh. I have the opposite problem. I'm on a 300 cal a day diet but I can only eat in 5 calorie increments...I can never decide if I should eat three tic tacs or if I should just splurge and eat a fourth one.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
    Ugh. I have the opposite problem. I'm on a 300 cal a day diet but I can only eat in 5 calorie increments...I can never decide if I should eat three tic tacs or if I should just splurge and eat a fourth one.

    Hahahaha!!

    I have days I don't eat enough and lately I lost a couple of lbs I shouldn't have lost. There are some days I go over, too. The weekends are tough b/c I'm not awake as many hours as during the week so this weekend i"m making a conscious effort to get as close to my cal goal as possible. I did better today than I do on most Saturdays...
  • JessieTangerine
    JessieTangerine Posts: 91 Member
    Fullness is based more on your stomach than your actual metabolic needs. As we restrict our calories, our stomach compensates by making itself smaller and when we consistently eat a lot it stretches out. Back when I was eating low calories (about 1200-1300 per day) I was rarely hungry and if i tried to go over I would feel stuffed and sick. That does not mean I was healthy. My hair was falling out, my running suffered and I am sure I was missing out on many of the vitamins and minerals I needed. When I decided I had enough of killing my body to stay the same weight, I slowly upped my calories. Try increasing your calories by about 50 or so calories every day or two to stretch your stomach back to its normal size. Hopefully you get some great advice and good luck!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    i'd like to suggest that you could start to drink your calories... no, wait HEY, PUT DOWN THAT MARGARITA!!!

    seriously though, a protein shake might be the way to get in a few hundred calories extra. try this: 8 ounces of almond milk (i like vanilla) a 1/4 cup of uncooked oats, two scoops of protein powder (chocolate or vanilla), two tablespoons of peanut butter, and a banana. throw it all in the blender, and enjoy!! i like it post work out, maybe within an hour of working out. it's refreshing and easy on my stomach.
  • pspetralia
    pspetralia Posts: 963 Member
    How exactly did you decide that you are under calories? In the past week you have only filled out your food diary once. You may be getting way more calories then you think.
  • ApexLeader
    ApexLeader Posts: 580 Member
    try eating food higher in calories
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    eat some cookies.

    /thread
  • riveradee
    riveradee Posts: 40 Member
    i started losing weight when pregnant a few years back and a nutritionist told me that there's almost 500 cal in a large banana and a yoghurt so go for it :-)
  • anon189
    anon189 Posts: 42
    I sometimes have that problem too. I think I might start doing shakes or something to get the rest of what I need. Like tonight I had only eaten 750 calories all day and my goal is 1600, so I'm eating pizza. Sighhh... Not that I don't love pizza, I just want to eat healthier and would prefer a salad. But when I notice that I am this far behind at 8pm at night I will just adjust the next day and try to have a fuller, higher calorie breakfast and lunch. I hate to eat a ton at night!
  • arrawyn79
    arrawyn79 Posts: 275 Member
    eat some cookies.

    /thread

    LOL. and throw in some potato chips on top! ;) (not recommended eating them at the same time as the cookies...)
  • RevolutionaryMindset
    RevolutionaryMindset Posts: 4
    Thanks all for the advice! I'm trying to eat only healthy/clean foods, which a lot of the time are low in calories so I guess that's why I'm having trouble keeping up as well. I reckon I'll start drinking more shakes and smoothies because they make me feel less full than solids.
  • Zosimah
    Zosimah Posts: 54 Member
    I feel you. I had been eating so little for so long (and beat hunger down with ill directed willpower) I had grown used to eating very little a day. I feel it turning around and my body is starting to be hungry during the day now, but I still fight it at the emotional/mental level. I'm a mix of good food, bad food, healthy protein supplementing, and bad supplementing. The RD I've met with swears it gets better and my Dr. is working with me on the mental side of things.

    Keep at it: it's a process. As long as we are making progress each day, we are getting better. Each of us comes at this from a different starting place so the journey is different, but the goal is the same and so very worth it!
  • cessnaholly
    cessnaholly Posts: 780 Member
    Protein shakes or adding PB to your oatmeal?
  • WeatherGirl8
    WeatherGirl8 Posts: 91 Member
    I have the same problem at times. Once I have a busy day at my job and end up beneath my cals, I wake up the next morning and feel like I'm going to explode if I'm going to take a bite of anything that day. But what I always try to do is eat more frequently, smaller meals. If I eat a 700 calorie breakfast on a day I'm not too hungry, I know I won't want to eat again until that night! Milk and juice are great, too. :)
  • horseplaypen
    horseplaypen Posts: 442 Member
    My boyfriend has a similar problem - he's supposed to eat 3000 calories a day before exercise, and he CrossFits, so that's a lot of extra calories burned! He follows a primal-ish diet - basically no wheat, and little sugar - so he won't often eat cupcakes or cookies to make up the deficit.

    Some high cal meals we've come up with:

    Breakfast salad (1000 cal) - mix together:
    3 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
    1 avocado, diced
    1 tomato, diced
    1/4 cup shredded cheese
    3 poached eggs
    salt, pepper, fresh basil, etc.

    650-calorie oatmeal:
    Mix 1/2 cup rolled oats and 1 tbsp cocoa powder in a small pot, add 1 cup almond milk (or regular milk) and 1 tbsp sweetener of choice (agave, honey, maple syrup). Bring to a boil and cook until done. Add 1 mashed or sliced banana and 1/2 cup blueberries. Sprinkle 1/4 cup walnuts on top.

    He also snacks on a lot of nuts (especially Brazil nuts and almonds) and dried fruits - unsweetened cranberries, pitted prunes, etc.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    As we restrict our calories, our stomach compensates by making itself smaller and when we consistently eat a lot it stretches out.

    Totally false, your stomach doesn't shrink and expand except as food is added to it.
  • Zosimah
    Zosimah Posts: 54 Member
    Some high cal meals we've come up with:

    Breakfast salad (1000 cal) - mix together:
    3 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
    1 avocado, diced
    1 tomato, diced
    1/4 cup shredded cheese
    3 poached eggs
    salt, pepper, fresh basil, etc.

    650-calorie oatmeal:
    Mix 1/2 cup rolled oats and 1 tbsp cocoa powder in a small pot, add 1 cup almond milk (or regular milk) and 1 tbsp sweetener of choice (agave, honey, maple syrup). Bring to a boil and cook until done. Add 1 mashed or sliced banana and 1/2 cup blueberries. Sprinkle 1/4 cup walnuts on top.

    He also snacks on a lot of nuts (especially Brazil nuts and almonds) and dried fruits - unsweetened cranberries, pitted prunes, etc.

    Those sound great! Thank you.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    As we restrict our calories, our stomach compensates by making itself smaller and when we consistently eat a lot it stretches out.

    Totally false, your stomach doesn't shrink and expand except as food is added to it.

    I did not know that. Neat!
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
    There are so many great foods out there that solve this problem: pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, and beer to name a few.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    There are so many great foods out there that solve this problem: pizza, hamburgers, ice cream, and beer to name a few.

    Your dinner?
  • lunnay
    lunnay Posts: 66 Member
    i started losing weight when pregnant a few years back and a nutritionist told me that there's almost 500 cal in a large banana and a yoghurt so go for it :-)

    Whoever told you this got it very wrong. One of my large bananas is ~120 kcals, my full-fat sweetened-with-real-sugar Greek yoghurt is 189 kcals. That adds up to 309. 309 is not "almost 500".
  • victorvontatts
    victorvontatts Posts: 4
    Thanks all for the advice! I'm trying to eat only healthy/clean foods, which a lot of the time are low in calories so I guess that's why I'm having trouble keeping up as well. I reckon I'll start drinking more shakes and smoothies because they make me feel less full than solids.
    I was only eating healthy low calorie foods and having the same problems. I ended up looking at the foods I was eating and seeing where I could add some calories. For example- I love Silk Almond milk. I was drinking the unsweetened at 30cal a glass. I bumped it up to vanilla at 90 cal a glass and it adds up fast. Hope that helps.

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