No it really isn't easy eating daily calories
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SimonLondon
Posts: 350
Ok so this is highly controversial and I will receive a lot of criticism but it’s something that I face almost every day and so do many more people on here so here I go; “I simply cannot eat all of my calories each day unless I eat junk or eat just for the sake of eating even though I’m full”. There, I’ve said it…phew! I will stand in front of the firing squad awaiting your replies 
This site is full of people who believe that it isn’t possible to not be able to eat all your calories but there are enough of us on this site who have this problem so it is more common than many of you think. I actually WORRY about this. I would like to be able to hit the mark every day but for the majority of the time I’m way off.
Some people may post this problem as some kind of brag or troll post and I genuinely can see it would annoy people who really struggle to keep UNDER their limit. I’m asking YOU, the people who struggle to stay UNDER, to remember that there really are people like us who have just a bigger struggle with your opposite. It isn’t a brag for a lot of people and I bet I worry about my calorie intake just as much as you do!
I see posts a lot from people say it is easy to eat 2500 calories a day but I really beg to differ. I have changed my lifestyle completely and for a number of months now I can visualise what junk food is doing to my body so I try to stay well clear. Eating healthily means good you for which for the most part means low in calories, high in good stuff.
This then leaves me with a dilemma;
With my walk to work, exercise and general day-to-day movements I’m meant to find around 2,900 calories a day. I won’t eat junk and I won’t eat sugary snacks. I eat 3 main meals a day and 3 smaller meals/snacks in between. I can fairly easily eat 400 calories per main meal and a couple of hundred per snack which brings me nicely up to 1,800 calories but with the exercise etc I still have around 1,000 to eat. I would have to pretty much eat my three main meals all over again to get there or eat three 800 calorie meals a day plus snacks. You try and eat 800 calories in one sitting and do it healthily...bet you can't keep that up 7 days a week!
I’m at my goal weight which means my stomach is the smallest it has been for many years and I am increasingly being very careful about what I put inside it. If I am “genuinely” full from 6 meals/snacks a day I really don’t see the point in forcing a load of nuts or junk down my throat just to make up the numbers? I equally don’t want to stop exercising just because I can’t make up the numbers. I love running, I love the gym and I love my new lifestyle, I really don’t want to change any of it.
The calorie balancing act can be just hard down here as it is up there and I hope this posts helps those people who think it’s easy to eat the calories to think a little.
This site is full of people who believe that it isn’t possible to not be able to eat all your calories but there are enough of us on this site who have this problem so it is more common than many of you think. I actually WORRY about this. I would like to be able to hit the mark every day but for the majority of the time I’m way off.
Some people may post this problem as some kind of brag or troll post and I genuinely can see it would annoy people who really struggle to keep UNDER their limit. I’m asking YOU, the people who struggle to stay UNDER, to remember that there really are people like us who have just a bigger struggle with your opposite. It isn’t a brag for a lot of people and I bet I worry about my calorie intake just as much as you do!
I see posts a lot from people say it is easy to eat 2500 calories a day but I really beg to differ. I have changed my lifestyle completely and for a number of months now I can visualise what junk food is doing to my body so I try to stay well clear. Eating healthily means good you for which for the most part means low in calories, high in good stuff.
This then leaves me with a dilemma;
With my walk to work, exercise and general day-to-day movements I’m meant to find around 2,900 calories a day. I won’t eat junk and I won’t eat sugary snacks. I eat 3 main meals a day and 3 smaller meals/snacks in between. I can fairly easily eat 400 calories per main meal and a couple of hundred per snack which brings me nicely up to 1,800 calories but with the exercise etc I still have around 1,000 to eat. I would have to pretty much eat my three main meals all over again to get there or eat three 800 calorie meals a day plus snacks. You try and eat 800 calories in one sitting and do it healthily...bet you can't keep that up 7 days a week!
I’m at my goal weight which means my stomach is the smallest it has been for many years and I am increasingly being very careful about what I put inside it. If I am “genuinely” full from 6 meals/snacks a day I really don’t see the point in forcing a load of nuts or junk down my throat just to make up the numbers? I equally don’t want to stop exercising just because I can’t make up the numbers. I love running, I love the gym and I love my new lifestyle, I really don’t want to change any of it.
The calorie balancing act can be just hard down here as it is up there and I hope this posts helps those people who think it’s easy to eat the calories to think a little.
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Replies
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I don't generally have the problem of not being able to consume enough calories. BUT, my goal calories are much lower - less than 1600 - AND I do cheat and have cookies or a beer or something if it's within my daily allotment. I can definitely see how it is difficult, at your activity level, to consume all your recommended calories. Your body will send you signals when it wants to eat - there are numerous neurotransmitters and other things which control your level of hunger/fullness. I applaud you for bringing up the subject in such a way
I think it's more concerning when people only consume 500 or 700 or even 1000 calories on a regular basis - those people must be starving themselves. I don't think I could eat that few calories if I really tried AND ate 100% clean! I would still be hungry
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I have the same problem. Although, my goal is 1200 right now, because I don't work out. And by the end of the day, I am usually only at 800 or 900 calories. And I'm also eating 3 meal meals, and 3 snacks. I find it hard to increase calories. Veggies don't have a lot of calories and I'm already eating a cup or two cups each plate, I can't eat ALL this meat (usually 8oz at dinner, chew, chew, chew, chew... I dunno), I don't want to add bread or sugars.
I think I'm going to add more oil and butter to things, but then that skyrockets my fats (good fats). They are easy calories. lol
Edit: And yes, I am constantly FULL.0 -
As long as you are maintaining your weight and not still losing and getting extremely thin, then do what feels best for you. We are all different. I know some days I feel hungrier than others so I make up for deficits on those days. I just do what my body is telling me, otherwise I will get back into the habit of eating just because. It's weird, but I try to eat healthier, and when I am with a friend or family member I feel guilty for not eating the bad stuff along with them. Like eating my carrots over their doritos is a bad thing?!! Good luck maintaining, I can't wait to get to that point.0
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I love this OP, and the replies from everyone. It certainly describes very well the way I feel about trying to eat MORE and as I'm learning on this site, the CORRECT balance of foods. It's really hard especially when your body is telling you you are full up (feeling bloated, lethargic, sleepy etc) but to make progress you have to carry on.
My approach is to try and get a balance with my daily meals, and eat more of them (finishing the plate is always my target) - but to enjoy and fill up on snacks which I guess you'd class as junk food.
Just wanted to say I think it's best to do whatever works for you - but the people on here also seem very helpful and well-informed, so also keep your eyes open to new approaches.
D0 -
Hi Simon,
I've been wondering about this recently. I've still got a way to go before reaching my goal weight but it occurred to me the other day that I'm happily eating around 1200 calories each day, enjoying the meals that I eat, not missing the junk and often feel full. I'm really starting to wonder what foods I can add to my diet to make up the extra calories when I get to maintenance. I don't really want to eat processed sugar or high fat foods just for the sake of it. I was hoping that some of the people here on MFP who have reached their goal would have the answer.
I think this is why sports people spend a lot of their time eating - they need to eat constantly to refuel. I work in education and the students in the sports department always seem to be quaffing full fat milk by the pint and eating bananas by the bunch!0 -
Ok here is what went through my mind, from personal experience, reading articles and reading what has happened to others.
If you eat 1800 healthy calories. Feel HEALTHY and happy. Are HEALTHY and satisfied and your HEALTH is not jeopordized, then keep on keeping on!
From what I have read and experienced when you lower your intake your body adjusts.............just as it adjusted to eating way too much for way too long. So now your body is proficient (sp) at utilizing 1800 calories.
The real question comes in when you ask: Can you sustain this for the rest of your life?
If so, then what is the big deal? Maybe your system only needs this much to survive in a healthy manner.
From your pic and your name I assume you are male? I find it hard to believe your maint. cals are almost the same as mine at 135 lbs and 5/2"tall. my maint cals are around 1700......but if I eat that much I gain weight. I have a slow metabolism from menapause, genetics, prior diets that screwed with my furnace and I believe having a 5 yr span in childhood where I did not get the proper nutrition.
Banks always says to increase your cals a bit at a time 50 or so a day for a week....to maint cals, to give your body a chance to adjust.
But maybe, just maybe, you are doing everything right and should change nothing! My friend who eats super duper clean has a hard time getting in 1200 cals a day. She has been my healthiest friend for life and eats tofu, greens, veggies, water, no processed foods at all. She is 46 with rock hard abs and arms. I counted her cals for the day and she was lucky to get in 1200.......when she added proc foods after moving north she only gained 5 pounds but it looked like 20!
Dang...........I went on and on didnt I?? :laugh: Sorry :blushing:0 -
Oh and CONGRATULATIONS!!! on hitting your goal weight!! Good job!! :flowerforyou:0
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I also have problems meeting my daily calorie goal. According to my doctor, eating too few calories is why I've been gaining weight; my body is storing up in starvation mode. I always figured that less calories equated to weight loss, but apparently that is not always the case.
My calorie goal before exercise is 1600. I am having a hard to meeting that. On an average day, I maybe hit right under 1000. Add in exercise calories and I'm no where near close. I really try to get somewhere close to my pre-exercise goal, but it's difficult unless I eat all day. I have eliminated most (I say most because occassionally I will have some chips or cookies) junk food from my diet. I'm not a big fan of huge amounts of meat or oils, and veggies are very low in calories. I also do not want to eat if I'm not hungry.
Thank you for posting this. Sometimes I feel like I am alone in the battle to actually make my calorie goals. It's nice to know there are others in the same predicament as myself.0 -
Ok so this is highly controversial and I will receive a lot of criticism but it’s something that I face almost every day and so do many more people on here so here I go; “I simply cannot eat all of my calories each day unless I eat junk or eat just for the sake of eating even though I’m full”. There, I’ve said it…phew! I will stand in front of the firing squad awaiting your replies
This site is full of people who believe that it isn’t possible to not be able to eat all your calories but there are enough of us on this site who have this problem so it is more common than many of you think. I actually WORRY about this. I would like to be able to hit the mark every day but for the majority of the time I’m way off.
Some people may post this problem as some kind of brag or troll post and I genuinely can see it would annoy people who really struggle to keep UNDER their limit. I’m asking YOU, the people who struggle to stay UNDER, to remember that there really are people like us who have just a bigger struggle with your opposite. It isn’t a brag for a lot of people and I bet I worry about my calorie intake just as much as you do!
I see posts a lot from people say it is easy to eat 2500 calories a day but I really beg to differ. I have changed my lifestyle completely and for a number of months now I can visualise what junk food is doing to my body so I try to stay well clear. Eating healthily means good you for which for the most part means low in calories, high in good stuff.
This then leaves me with a dilemma;
With my walk to work, exercise and general day-to-day movements I’m meant to find around 2,900 calories a day. I won’t eat junk and I won’t eat sugary snacks. I eat 3 main meals a day and 3 smaller meals/snacks in between. I can fairly easily eat 400 calories per main meal and a couple of hundred per snack which brings me nicely up to 1,800 calories but with the exercise etc I still have around 1,000 to eat. I would have to pretty much eat my three main meals all over again to get there or eat three 800 calorie meals a day plus snacks. You try and eat 800 calories in one sitting and do it healthily...bet you can't keep that up 7 days a week!
I’m at my goal weight which means my stomach is the smallest it has been for many years and I am increasingly being very careful about what I put inside it. If I am “genuinely” full from 6 meals/snacks a day I really don’t see the point in forcing a load of nuts or junk down my throat just to make up the numbers? I equally don’t want to stop exercising just because I can’t make up the numbers. I love running, I love the gym and I love my new lifestyle, I really don’t want to change any of it.
The calorie balancing act can be just hard down here as it is up there and I hope this posts helps those people who think it’s easy to eat the calories to think a little.
no. i INSIST you include a 600-800 calorie brownie or giant cookie laden with transfats in your diet EVERY DAY to get to your calorie goal!!!!! :mad:
hahahahahaaaa :laugh: :laugh:
I'm with ya. I'm not at maintenance yet, still trying to lose, but I'm also in training for races and there are days when I run a lot of miles and I'm SUPPOSED to take in close to 3000 calories and it just doesnt calculate in my head. I mean, Could I? Maybe. But if I'm putting together a combo of fresh, healthy foods it just doesn't add up. And I just thought that was the point of creating a good lifestyle. Healthy foods. Whodathunk? For me, your post is definitely not controversial. You're not harming yourself. I see your pic, you're not rail thin...you're healthy. If you looked closer to Christian Bale in "The Machinist" we'd be having some words. :frown:0 -
READY! AIM! FIRE!
There got that whole firing squad thing out of the way. Simon I know what you are talking about, me and my wife are both on this site and I have a much harder time hitting my daily calorie requirement. With my job type (I am a power plant mechanic) I have a very physically demanding job and now I exercise which really puts my cals up there and I have a hard time hitting the mark without eating junk(which by the way I like to do). My wife dose not seem to mind eating a lot of food and has a lot less of a problem with the counter. Anyway the long and the short is, don't obsess about it too much, look at what you have accomplished (45 lbs lost) and how you feel daily and I would say you are doing just fine. Also I have found that drinking some of the calories ie juice or protein mixes helps reach the goal in a healthy way. Good luck and keep up the great work.0 -
So glad you said it, thanks! I am having the same problem as you...Sunday is my day "off" from the gym and that's when I get closest to eating all of my calories. I am maintaining and eating 6x a day but I am not going to eat just to be eating. I still continue to eat with a purpose and am not going to eat if I'm not hungry. There I said it!0
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I think if you are at goal and are healthy not to worry about it. Those that have stalled really need to work hard to put the extra calories in with healthy foods like avocados. I am actually worred about this when I start cutting the sugar out of my diet because you can only eat so many veggies but I've got a while to worry about that.0
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I think if you are at goal and are healthy not to worry about it. Those that have stalled really need to work hard to put the extra calories in with healthy foods like avocados. I am actually worred about this when I start cutting the sugar out of my diet because you can only eat so many veggies but I've got a while to worry about that.
exactly! those who are struggling should add and those that are healthy should continue. Amazing you said it in a few words, what took me a book! :laugh:0 -
I am stil trying to figure this out as well. I know some people believe strongly about eating the additional goal calories that you have gained from exercise...and refer to Michael Phelps all of the time (with his 8-11,000 calories/day). Well, my work outs are no where near the level of his, clearly!
I have decided that I am not going to stuff myself for the sake of eating those calories. I just cannot do it, I don't like that feeling. I eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks/mini meals a day. As another poster mentioned vegetables are high in volume, but lower on the caloric end and that's a lot of what I eat.
However, this is all about health. I learning as I go and think whatever gets you healthy-do it! We all have different bodies that react differently to food and exercise...but it doesn't hurt to hear that I am not alone in this boat!0 -
I'm not quite a week into MFP although I've been trying to eat healthy since the first of the year. I'm really pleased with the nutritional info provided so I can better understand what I'm getting with each food and what I need to work on. I'm also coming in under my daily goal every day and have been concerned about it. Yesterday I tried to increase my intake and did but ended up going over in the Fat catagory. For me, it's a learning process. I know I need to consumue more so I can get closer to my daily goal ... and as I learn more about the foods I'm consuming, I'm sure I will. My preference will still be to stay a bit under ... but I do need to get closer. Thanks for raising this topic. I'm finding the replies very interesting and informative.
Congrats for your weight loss!! WTG0 -
I've been having a similar conversation on another post. I too struggle to eat my calories every day, and don't eat my exercise calories, especially as I eat mainly veg everyday.0
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I agree - if you feel well, energized, etc. you're probably just fine. That goes for you Simon as well as anyone. Our bodies are pretty cool machines ~ and they tell you what's up, if you're lacking or overdoing ~ when you teach yourself to listen.
As for a higher calorie snack if you feel you want one, I am a peanut butter hound. A simple multigrain wrap with a couple spoonfuls of low sugar peanut butter on it and rolled up is an awesome +/- 300 calorie snack for me.
Congrats on your accomplishments, friend!0 -
With as much as I work out I STILL struggle to eat 1800 calories a day, which is my goal to feed my muscles and keep me at a loss. When I first started changing my lifestyle it was hard for me to stay under my calorie goal because I was so used to eating so much food! Once I started to measure and weigh my food out and be able to visually see the amount of food as well as feel satisfied on that amount of food my calories started to come down. It is totally something that I had to learn. If I would have kept eating the amounts of food that I was eating and the types of food in the beginning I don't think that I would have lost weight.
I will say that I usually hit between 1700-1800 calories on days that I workout, but I'm finding on my days off that I want to eat the same amount of calories that I eat when I do workout, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...I'm working on that. I got accustomed to eating that much food and when I don't have the workout calories to back up that much food I gotta be really intuned with what I'm eating, or I'll have an 1800 calorie day, when I should only have had a 1350 calorie day. And that is why I like to work out...more good, healthy food!
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Wow thanks for all your kinds words. I must admit I see people posting these kind of things and some do get taken down a peg or two. Most of those are because the people are eating below the 1200 and I fully support anyone who says don't do it. I just wanted to try and explain it a clearly as I could and it looks like I have
If I sat at my desk all day and drove home this wouldn't be much of an issue for me. It is all the extra calories from working out, walking etc that really push it up beyond what I'm comfortable eating.
For those asking wondering what it is like once you hit your goal weight it is hard to answer. My mind has spent many months being fine tuned into a healthy lifestyle and now I can't look at chips with running away screaming :laugh: The thought of having to eat high calorie foods just to boost my intake just seems so wrong to me now. I have nuts etc at home and will eat some but every day would just be too much for me to bare.
I had lost zero weight (seriously not even 1/4 pound) over the last few weeks so my body does seem very content...saying that though my gym has sprung a leak so no gym last night and only part of a workout the night before...I've lost 1 1/2lb since not going to the gym... go figure :noway:
Anyway there have been some really nice replies so thank you all very much for your feedback so far :drinker:0 -
Simon, I agree, if you are staying the same weight and feel good, don't change a thing!
I have been hovering around my goal weight, and some days I wish I had more calories to eat, like if I go out to dinner, but generally I have a few hundred left over each day. I have been afraid to change my goals to maintenance though because if I did, it would ask me to add 450 additional calories. I'm sort of hanging around the same weight now with a loss here and there while my "goals" state 1 lb a week loss. Kind of weird--I think this website does a great job but there are so many variations in each person, numbers are not always so cut and dry. I sort of feel I'm maintaining now, or at least losing at a snails pace, so if I add 450, I don't think I would stay the same, I'm pretty sure I'd gain again. I think the best we can all do is make educated guesses and test different strategies to find the one that works.
Good luck!0
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