struggling to eat my 1800 calories a day
SGSmallman
Posts: 193 Member
So i'm trying to base my weight loss on my BMR & TDEE ratings.
Trying to eat about 1800 calories a day split into about 4-5 meals throughout the day, but am finding it hard when i eat clean throughout the day after a big workout in the morning where i burn about 800 calories a day
Should i be forcing myself to eat these calories to repair and recover from the session or only eat when im hungry even if im lower than what is recommended intake?
So confusing lol
Trying to eat about 1800 calories a day split into about 4-5 meals throughout the day, but am finding it hard when i eat clean throughout the day after a big workout in the morning where i burn about 800 calories a day
Should i be forcing myself to eat these calories to repair and recover from the session or only eat when im hungry even if im lower than what is recommended intake?
So confusing lol
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Replies
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If you don't feel hungry, then don't eat. Maybe add a few higher calorie items to your meals to help get the calories up without stuffing yourself.0
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It all depends on what you want to stick to I guess. If you want to go by per your TDEE-something%, you should probably force some food down your throat :P
I also upped my cals from 1,500 to about 2,000 and I am finding it extremely hard, especially if you eat only healthy foods, getting to 1,800 is a challenge. I try to keep all my healthy habits in there but use calorie fillers such as bread or chocolate to get to my calories. I don't know if that would be an option for you, using a small portion of your calories for some less healthy foods, but they keep me sane.0 -
It's easy to hit recommended calories by adding healthy fats like nuts and avocados. I don't know if you consider cheese "clean," but adding a bit here and there adds up also!0
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Try adding certain things to your meals that will increase the calories. For example, have some juice with your breakfast to add 110 calories, drink whole milk instead of skim milk, increase your veggie portion or add an extra ounce to your chicken/meat/fish etc.... Little things will bulk up your calories.
Have a bigger portion snack or instead of snacking on fruit or veggies have something sweet.
Since I increased my calorie level by 230 calories a day the only way I meet that is by doing some of the above. My meal portions or always filling to me so I had to add in some of the things I took away when I first started losing weight.0 -
Nuts0
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I also upped my cals from 1,500 to about 2,000 and I am finding it extremely hard, especially if you eat only healthy foods, getting to 1,800 is a challenge.
Damn...I find it a challenge to eat only 2000 cals a day and 99% of what I eat is completely "clean."0 -
What are you eating? My guess is it is all low fat foods, yes? Try bringing in some whole foods such as whole milk, using olive oil to cook with. Nuts are a great calorie filler!
I eat 3 full meals and 2-3 snacks every day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are the big ones obviously with 300-400 for breakfast and 500-600 for lunch and dinner. The snacks I average about 150-200 each depending on what I had at the main meals. Remember, with BMR/TDEE you can go over and under and still be fine. I generally fluctuate between 1600-1900 calories (my TDEE is 2300).0 -
Nuts
I agree, it is nuts!
Oh, you mean eat them...I agree with that too.0 -
I'll eat your leftovers cals.
You're welcome.0 -
Find some salty nuts and put them in your mouth. If you aren't hungry and don't feel tired then don't force feed yourself. I eat anywhere from 10% to 100% of my workout depending on how I feel or need to satisfy my hunger.0
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Nom nom nom
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This. I eat at least 80% clean every day (well, except when I was on vacation last week), and I have a hard time eating less than 2200. My TDEE is 2250 and I'm in maintenance.I also upped my cals from 1,500 to about 2,000 and I am finding it extremely hard, especially if you eat only healthy foods, getting to 1,800 is a challenge.
Damn...I find it a challenge to eat only 2000 cals a day and 99% of what I eat is completely "clean."
That said, are you sure you are burning that many calories in your workout? That's incredibly high. I'm small and old (5'3", 110, 48 and in menopause), so my burn is low, but I rarely burn over 300 in a workout, even from running. And I don't get my burn numbers from MFP.0 -
LOL ...99.9% of the people using this site would like to be able to get 'down' to 1,800 calories a day. Sorry I cannot help you.
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This. I eat at least 80% clean every day (well, except when I was on vacation last week), and I have a hard time eating less than 2200. My TDEE is 2250 and I'm in maintenance.I also upped my cals from 1,500 to about 2,000 and I am finding it extremely hard, especially if you eat only healthy foods, getting to 1,800 is a challenge.
Damn...I find it a challenge to eat only 2000 cals a day and 99% of what I eat is completely "clean."
That said, are you sure you are burning that many calories in your workout? That's incredibly high. I'm small and old (5'3", 110, 48 and in menopause), so my burn is low, but I rarely burn over 300 in a workout, even from running. And I don't get my burn numbers from MFP.
Problem with a lot of people that screwed up their metabolism over the years (me included), we cannot eat 2,000 calories worth of healthy foods because they are so dang filling. We are not used to it. People usually get overweight by over eating on empty calories, therefore aren't able to fit that much food in their stomachs. I can easily eat 2,000 calories of **** (white bread, pralines, fries) but healthy stuff fills me up fast!!
I would also love to know what and how much you eat!0 -
I see this kind of post a lot on MFP, but I don't get it.
I mean, other than those who are just trying to maintain or actually trying to gain weight, the majority are trying to lose weight, right?
That means we've ALL eaten more than 1800 calories a day. Hell, some of us a lot more than that. So how is it that when you're trying to lose weight, you all of a sudden can't get to your calorie goals?
My guess is artificial constraints. Trying to not eat any sugar, or refined products, or protein after 8, or carbs, etc, etc, etc... It gets really hard to get to your calorie goals if you only allow yourself tofu after dark and leafy greens with no dressing as your only snack option watching TV at night.
When I get to the end of the day and I've done my exercise and I have 4-500 calories left in my budget, I treat myself. Sometimes it's a sandwich, sometimes it's a bowl of chips (gasp). I'm down 40 pounds in 3 months just being honest and telling myself as long as I'm on my goals and exercising daily and the weight's coming off, I'm 10 times healthier than I was.
And the bonus part is I can do this for the rest of my life. The constraints diets are the ones that you get to your goal and then eat "normally" and gain it all back; or worse you hit a plateau and say screw it and eat whatever. If you teach yourself moderated and thought out snacking now, even on "evil" foods, you can build a lifetime of good habits.
My two cents.0 -
This. I eat at least 80% clean every day (well, except when I was on vacation last week), and I have a hard time eating less than 2200. My TDEE is 2250 and I'm in maintenance.I also upped my cals from 1,500 to about 2,000 and I am finding it extremely hard, especially if you eat only healthy foods, getting to 1,800 is a challenge.
Damn...I find it a challenge to eat only 2000 cals a day and 99% of what I eat is completely "clean."
That said, are you sure you are burning that many calories in your workout? That's incredibly high. I'm small and old (5'3", 110, 48 and in menopause), so my burn is low, but I rarely burn over 300 in a workout, even from running. And I don't get my burn numbers from MFP.
Age: 24
Height: 5'11
Weight: 220 lbs
lean mass: 72.7 kg
fat %: 29.6
I use to be really fit before i tore my acl 3 years ago and have only now got the confidence back to train again.
This morning i did 20 mins on a cross trainer as the warm up before doing 50 min circuit training, 40 min walk fairly fast raised heart rate and breathing.
I am currently training 4 days a week but am only in week 2 of tracking my intake and if i'm being good i can eat all my protein and and good fats while trying to cut down on carbs. I LOVE CARBS so its a bloody pain to stop them0 -
So i'm trying to base my weight loss on my BMR & TDEE ratings.
Trying to eat about 1800 calories a day split into about 4-5 meals throughout the day, but am finding it hard when i eat clean throughout the day after a big workout in the morning where i burn about 800 calories a day
Should i be forcing myself to eat these calories to repair and recover from the session or only eat when im hungry even if im lower than what is recommended intake?
So confusing lol
Eat a giant man meal all at once!!! Some meat, fats, dont't forget your veggies and icecream :bigsmile:0 -
I see this kind of post a lot on MFP, but I don't get it.
I mean, other than those who are just trying to maintain or actually trying to gain weight, the majority are trying to lose weight, right?
That means we've ALL eaten more than 1800 calories a day. Hell, some of us a lot more than that. So how is it that when you're trying to lose weight, you all of a sudden can't get to your calorie goals?
My guess is artificial constraints. Trying to not eat any sugar, or refined products, or protein after 8, or carbs, etc, etc, etc... It gets really hard to get to your calorie goals if you only allow yourself tofu after dark and leafy greens with no dressing as your only snack option watching TV at night.
When I get to the end of the day and I've done my exercise and I have 4-500 calories left in my budget, I treat myself. Sometimes it's a sandwich, sometimes it's a bowl of chips (gasp). I'm down 40 pounds in 3 months just being honest and telling myself as long as I'm on my goals and exercising daily and the weight's coming off, I'm 10 times healthier than I was.
And the bonus part is I can do this for the rest of my life. The constraints diets are the ones that you get to your goal and then eat "normally" and gain it all back; or worse you hit a plateau and say screw it and eat whatever. If you teach yourself moderated and thought out snacking now, even on "evil" foods, you can build a lifetime of good habits.
My two cents.
Like I stated in my previous post: people that are obese have not been overeating on healthy stuff
As much as they might try to fool themselves, no one ever got fat from over eating on broccoli or chicken breast - it is empty calories like fries, burgers, chicken nuggets and candy.
So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging
But this is why I also said what you are basically saying: I will do my thing, get my nutrients and vitamins, and when I have some calories left, I will treat myself to whatever goodness I feel like 0 -
This. I eat at least 80% clean every day (well, except when I was on vacation last week), and I have a hard time eating less than 2200. My TDEE is 2250 and I'm in maintenance.I also upped my cals from 1,500 to about 2,000 and I am finding it extremely hard, especially if you eat only healthy foods, getting to 1,800 is a challenge.
Damn...I find it a challenge to eat only 2000 cals a day and 99% of what I eat is completely "clean."
That said, are you sure you are burning that many calories in your workout? That's incredibly high. I'm small and old (5'3", 110, 48 and in menopause), so my burn is low, but I rarely burn over 300 in a workout, even from running. And I don't get my burn numbers from MFP.
Problem with a lot of people that screwed up their metabolism over the years (me included), we cannot eat 2,000 calories worth of healthy foods because they are so dang filling. We are not used to it. People usually get overweight by over eating on empty calories, therefore aren't able to fit that much food in their stomachs. I can easily eat 2,000 calories of **** (white bread, pralines, fries) but healthy stuff fills me up fast!!
I would also love to know what and how much you eat!
This is exactly what the issue is i use to be very un healthy eat takeaway 3 times a week, drink alot of alochol (i was a student after all) and i use to play american football so was training almost every day
but now im older in full time work i train 4 times a week but 3 years of bad eating has given me a belly, i'm fairly fit jsut trying to drop my body fat down0 -
Like I stated in my previous post: people that are obese have not been overeating on healthy stuff As much as they might try to fool themselves, no one ever got fat from over eating on broccoli or chicken breast - it is empty calories like fries, burgers, chicken nuggets and candy.
So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging
That's my point.
I've lost 110 pounds one other time in my life. Ate perfect, no "bad" food, etc...
I gained it back within a decade. Of course I did! Hardly anyone can life a full life depriving themselves of food they enjoy. Look, if we didn't enjoy it we wouldn't have eaten it in the first place, we're not insane.
You can try to fill yourself up on skinless chicken and broccoli but it's almost impossible, as you stated. I'm just trying to stress that unless you're committed to a lifetime of deprivation (which some are, but the honest will realize is impossible to maintain for life), you might as well incorporate "evil" food and figure out how to eat it in moderation.
It will lead to a lifetime of OVERALL healthy eating, and you won't pull your hair out when someone offers you a piece of decadent cheesecake (or whatever you love)
Edit: I just saw your edit and we seem to agree! 0 -
Full-fat yogurt, avocados, add some olive or coconut oil to your food, nuts... the common denominator is more fats. I used to have a hard time meeting my calorie goals too before I became more liberal with my fats. For example, I hadn't eaten enough throughout the day yesterday and knew I needed to get some quick cals in while I was out, so I picked up a larabar... took me about 1 minute to down an extra 200+ cals, and it was delicious.0
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Like I stated in my previous post: people that are obese have not been overeating on healthy stuff As much as they might try to fool themselves, no one ever got fat from over eating on broccoli or chicken breast - it is empty calories like fries, burgers, chicken nuggets and candy.
So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging
That's my point.
I've lost 110 pounds one other time in my life. Ate perfect, no "bad" food, etc...
I gained it back within a decade. Of course I did! Hardly anyone can life a full life depriving themselves of food they enjoy. Look, if we didn't enjoy it we wouldn't have eaten it in the first place, we're not insane.
You can try to fill yourself up on skinless chicken and broccoli but it's almost impossible, as you stated. I'm just trying to stress that unless you're committed to a lifetime of deprivation (which some are, but the honest will realize is impossible to maintain for life), you might as well incorporate "evil" food and figure out how to eat it in moderation.
It will lead to a lifetime of OVERALL healthy eating, and you won't pull your hair out when someone offers you a piece of decadent cheesecake (or whatever you love)
I love your way of thinking, that is exactly where I am trying to go also. It is just really hard to get away from that damn "food is bad" mentality that has been all around me for 10 years. That mentality is what got me fat in the first place, so that is why I am doing it differently now.0 -
Like I stated in my previous post: people that are obese have not been overeating on healthy stuff As much as they might try to fool themselves, no one ever got fat from over eating on broccoli or chicken breast - it is empty calories like fries, burgers, chicken nuggets and candy.
So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging
That's my point.
I've lost 110 pounds one other time in my life. Ate perfect, no "bad" food, etc...
I gained it back within a decade. Of course I did! Hardly anyone can life a full life depriving themselves of food they enjoy. Look, if we didn't enjoy it we wouldn't have eaten it in the first place, we're not insane.
You can try to fill yourself up on skinless chicken and broccoli but it's almost impossible, as you stated. I'm just trying to stress that unless you're committed to a lifetime of deprivation (which some are, but the honest will realize is impossible to maintain for life), you might as well incorporate "evil" food and figure out how to eat it in moderation.
It will lead to a lifetime of OVERALL healthy eating, and you won't pull your hair out when someone offers you a piece of decadent cheesecake (or whatever you love)
Edit: I just saw your edit and we seem to agree!
As i said im only 2 weeks into properly being accountable for what im eating, could it have anything to do with the amount of water and green tea im drinking?
i have 8 glasses a day of water and 2-3 cups of green tea
I did have a problem with soda, drinking 1-2 pints a day of 'diet' coke but now have one every so often like one a week if that.
It's great information like what you're all offering that will hopefully help me to get on the right track so i don't make mistakes and gain it back..
"I want to remove the excess fat not lose it just to find and gain it again"0 -
So i'm trying to base my weight loss on my BMR & TDEE ratings.
Trying to eat about 1800 calories a day split into about 4-5 meals throughout the day, but am finding it hard when i eat clean throughout the day after a big workout in the morning where i burn about 800 calories a day
Should i be forcing myself to eat these calories to repair and recover from the session or only eat when im hungry even if im lower than what is recommended intake?
So confusing lol
Just eat a hamburger you'll reach your goal of 1800 LOL
No really, eat stuff with more calories like bananas, walnut, grapes, raisins, dates, almonds, etc. Good source of calories.
Good luck!0 -
I'll eat your leftovers cals.
You're welcome.
^^^ LOL!!! :laugh:
Yup, what the others have said, avocados, cheese, peanut butter, Whole milk smoothies... drool. Now excuse me while I go fantasise about all these healthy high cal treats!0 -
With those numbers are you sure your TDEE - 20% is 1800?
I'm a little heavier and older than you and my BMR is around 2100, and my TDEE - 20% is 2300 give or take of course. I'm also doing various workouts for an hour every work day. Our company was forward thinking enough to install a gym and bring a personal trainer onboard for everyone's use so now there's no excuse for me not to go to the gym every day. My 5 workouts usually consist of Strength, Aerobics, Core, TRX, and Circuit and now with coaching baseball on the weekends, I get plenty of burn.
Yes, it's hard to hit those numbers, but I've been using nuts, as plenty of people have mentioned, protein bars of course, and I actually like drinking Muscle Milk right after my workout. I sometimes think I can feel those 20g of protein going straight into my core with a fruit kicker as well.
Like someone mentioned before, it's a lifestyle change, but I have to stay sane, so I get ice cream every now and then as well as chocolate and even the rare and prized donut or soda. Overdoing those things without working out are what got me to 242 lbs, but I can't totally cut them out for life, so moderation, and plenty of exercise which will continue even when I hit my goal. The scale isn't my goal, it's all about BF% and MM% for me right now.
Good luck in your journey, believe in yourself!0 -
With those numbers are you sure your TDEE - 20% is 1800?
I'm a little heavier and older than you and my BMR is around 2100, and my TDEE - 20% is 2300 give or take of course. I'm also doing various workouts for an hour every work day. Our company was forward thinking enough to install a gym and bring a personal trainer onboard for everyone's use so now there's no excuse for me not to go to the gym every day. My 5 workouts usually consist of Strength, Aerobics, Core, TRX, and Circuit and now with coaching baseball on the weekends, I get plenty of burn.
Yes, it's hard to hit those numbers, but I've been using nuts, as plenty of people have mentioned, protein bars of course, and I actually like drinking Muscle Milk right after my workout. I sometimes think I can feel those 20g of protein going straight into my core with a fruit kicker as well.
Like someone mentioned before, it's a lifestyle change, but I have to stay sane, so I get ice cream every now and then as well as chocolate and even the rare and prized donut or soda. Overdoing those things without working out are what got me to 242 lbs, but I can't totally cut them out for life, so moderation, and plenty of exercise which will continue even when I hit my goal. The scale isn't my goal, it's all about BF% and MM% for me right now.
Good luck in your journey, believe in yourself!
i think i may have gotten it slightly wrong and confused myself my katch BMR is 1887.45 my TDEE is 2990 and i think i wrote 1800 done somewhere in my notes and stuck to that number?
I'm currently 11.6% over my body fat % (29.6%) if its true that 12-18% is ideal
I've been told that my lean mass is bang in the middle of the ideal range if that equals 69-74 KG0 -
That puts your daily intake at about 2390, which sounds about right with your current workouts. If those change, you have to change that number up and down, but you cannot go below your BMR on your intake...that's the big NoNo.
I currently am not eating back any of my workout calories unless I put up a big number over 800. My current TDEE calc is taking into account that I work out 5 days/week for about 500 calories. I debated using Sedentary and eating back my workout, but I've found that my eating log is more likely to be accurate with barcode scanning than my exercise log due to MFP calculations (I don't own a HRM or Fitbit or anything) so I feel like I take that out of the fluctuations and just eat every day like I worked out for a week at 2500 calories burned.0 -
Problem with a lot of people that screwed up their metabolism over the years (me included), we cannot eat 2,000 calories worth of healthy foods because they are so dang filling. We are not used to it. People usually get overweight by over eating on empty calories, therefore aren't able to fit that much food in their stomachs. I can easily eat 2,000 calories of **** (white bread, pralines, fries) but healthy stuff fills me up fast!!
So yes, ask me to eat all that **** up to 2,000 calories, NO problem. But we want to do it the healthy way - and that is where it is challenging
Why do people think that "healthy" has to mean low calorie? I think this is the problem with a lot of people who struggle to meet their calorie goals - the mindset of "I'm trying to lose weight so I must only eat low calorie foods". That, and the polarisation of foods into "good" and "bad".0 -
I have to eat 2500 cals WITHOUT eating back exercise cals, and I eat clean whole foods in the majority of my day and have found healthy fats are definitely your friend. I also wasn't eating meat, only fish and not everyday, so I had to find the cals in other ways, I used coconut oil, flax seed, regular oil when cooking, nut butters, just to name a few. And healthy grains will definitely give you a boost in the cals too. When I have salad I put a ton of veggies, cheese, egg and regular fat salad dressing, very easily got my salads up to about 700 cals. Eating clean to me means eating whole foods, and if you do that when it comes to dairy and picking calorie dense foods you should have no problem getting up there
Good luck!0
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