Having trouble eating enough

I have the same issue..
I stopped using low fat/ fat free stuff and started adding more sides to dinner.

Also.. pre-logging helps a lot..esp with trying to hit protein goal.

I stopped making a breakfast smoothies and replaced it with real food.

My goal is between 1408-1643. I've been able to hit it more often now with these changes.

I don't eat my calories back.. I used the IFcalculator to get my rest day calories and my exercise day calories, and just make range my goal. I I can't obsess about hitting everything perfectly..that would drive me nuts.

When I started counting calories I only did it to see how much I was eating a day, under the direction of a doctor and dietician. I did this for about 3 weeks, then I cut calories to actually lose weight but also have the calorie counting routine pretty well ingrained. I noticed that after I set my calorie goal I have had trouble hitting it. I have some days like today where the only reason I came close was the cupcakes I had. I won't eat if I'm not hungry (something that I used to do a lot was just eat to eat) and I'm like 800 calories short of my goal today.

Other days I shoot way past my goal. I try to pay more attention to the weekly average than any given day, but I have far more days where I eat way under, than days where I hit or exceed my goal.

I'm a 6'5" man, and I've lost ~30lbs since Jan 1st starting from 350lbs so a few calories here or there isn't as big a deal as it would be for someone much smaller

Maybe I'm low on protein, I'm just so bad with portions on food that tastes good, so don't bring in nuts

Use a measuring cup/spoon as a scoop, (I do, and my skinny son laughs at me as he heaps his plate) put the left-over food away before you start eating. Put extra veggies on your plate and make salad to have with meals. You can make all of these additions high protein, if you pay attention to the ingredients. I eat a lot of veggies with my meals.. I wish I could post pictures on here.. i can never make it work. My plate are usually low calorie, really healthy and over flowing. I'm working on my protein levels now, cause I feel better when I get 100 grams or more. I ate a ton today.. and kept it under 1600 calories and actually did good with the macros.. that's with chocolate whey protein milk, nutella and smashed taters, granola bar a huge omelette, bacon.. .. lol I ate good today I make salsa out of anything these days and (today was pineapple with avocado and squeezed lime over chicken thighs) .. my diary is open.. i did struggle a bit last week though.

get recipes from skinnytaste.com I usually use full fat ingredients, but her recipes are awesome!

Add tuna to salads.. a whole can is 150 calories (if I remember right) and good protein. If you like nuts, buy them in the shell, you'll eat less cause you have to work to get to them.. lol.

Tagging to check back later. I'm also having trouble getting my full calorie needs. Being diabetic means I don't eat many breads, pasta, starchy veggies because of what it does to the numbers. And, sweets are definitely OUT of the picture (even if they DIDN'T taste too sweet for me!)

weighing your foods helps a lot

You just have to keep taking baby steps..

The way we are "conditioned" to eat, by the media and the advice of most well meaning friends in not the proper way to feed our bodies. You can't learn math in a day, why do we expect to join here and on day 2 have it down? We are conditioned to eat added sugar and salt, trained to eat quick microwaved chemical-laden meals, taught the wrong portion sizes. How do we know what 2 oz of beef looks like when the smallest cut anyone ever sees is 6 oz? Who knows the recipe for anything when it comes pre packaged ready to heat up and go? We have to learn. Do you quit school after 1 failed test or try harder? This is the same kind of journey only much more important, since it's your life and your health you are talking about.

I don't eat enough.. I probably still don't eat enough.. and i know if I eat more i'll lose weight quicker and get to my heath goals quicker. I just focus on one day at a time. Yesterday was a pretty good day for me. Today is up in the air. I am trying my hand at juicing (not a juice fast, just making my own juice) so who knows how that will affect my appetite.

Just add healthy whole foods into your diet (preferrably organic) and you'll get there. Experiment. You never know what you'll like. (I like beets roasted, but not boiled and appartenely not so much in juice. LOL) I scour the internet for easy, quick, interesting recipes that use the stuff I have in my pantry. It's not as hard as it sounds. You just have to make up your mind that there is no plan B. Then forgive the slips and move on as if they didn't happen. :~)

God, I have huge problems hitting my daily target, now I've cut out all foods containing sugar, also bread (to try and curb a yeast problem).
Yesterday I had 2 eggs and a full fat latte for breakfast, cold roast lamb and a huge mixed salad for lunch, roast chicken and veg's PLUS a large glass of red for dinner and I was still under 1200 cals.
Plus I was running around all day preparing for house guests this weekend.
I find I have to pre-log, and then add in nuts, cheese and full fat Greek yoghurt to get me over 1200 cals. and getting to my required 1400 cals is a real effort.

I've just finished pre-logging for today and I've had to eat a granola bar with a cup of tea to get me over the total. I'm hoping a little fruit sugar every now and then will be ok!

I can sympathize with the problems of getting calories due to having to cut out most breads for medical reasons. Especially now that my family is shifting more towards our summer-type foods. During the winter, it doesn't seem so hard, but now that we're eating more sandwich-like meals for lunches, the calories plummeted.