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Finding it hard to make up calorie count

Llamacano
Llamacano Posts: 4 Member
edited January 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm on a 1200 cal limit and still finding that even if I feel I'm overeating then my calories are too low. Another issue is that I feel easily hungry but eating will make me feel ill so I get full quite easily, so on days I would otherwise make the count up my intake is still low.
Does anyone else have experience with this or have a healthy way of making up the count as I am struggling after so many years of not eating enough nutritionally?

Nark x

Replies

  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    Well, unless you have a condition like diabetes that requires sugar free "diet" items you could substitute the normal full sugar/full fat items which should add a few calories.

    Also weigh and measure your food. It's easy to under or over estimate without realizing. And track everything you eat. Everyday. Good or bad.
  • mixedlollies
    mixedlollies Posts: 58 Member
    Try snacking on calorie-dense foods like nuts (including peanut butter), cheese, and high calorie fruits such as bananas - a large banana contains 100 calories so is a good way to boost your intake.
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
    I think you probably aren't logging correctly.
    Which means weighing your food so you can enter exactly correct measurements and also scanning any foods you can to make sure you are choosing the right brands.
    As for home made foods, you need to weigh/measure all individual ingredients and try to add them by brand if the brand is there, if not choose one similar.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    If eating makes you feel ill, and this has been going on a while, you might need to see a doctor.

    In your diary, I noticed these: "sugar free jelly", "salad cream extra light", "low fat cottage cheese", "low fat coleslaw". If you're trying to make up calories, why are you eating diet foods? It's hard to tell, because your diary is a bit sparse, but the problem for a lot of people is that when they start trying to lose weight, they get into the mentality of "I'm on a diet, so therefore I need to eat diet food", and cut out anything they think might be "fattening". The beauty of calorie counting is that it isn't a diet - you can eat whatever foods you want, just account for them in your diary. When you talk about years of "not eating nutritionally", that implies that you are eating only very nutrient-dense foods now. Looking at your diary, that doesn't look to be the case. It looks like you're aiming for low calorie foods. Good nutrition doesn't mean low calorie.

    The easy way to get more calories in without feeling overfull is to aim for more calorie dense foods, especially those that are high in fat: cheese, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocados, eggs, olive oil, full fat dairy products etc. And that's just keeping to the more nutrient dense foods. There's also nothing wrong with eating things like chocolate or ice cream. Looking at things in terms of "good foods" and "bad foods" is not going to help you have a healthy relationship with food long-term.
  • JDBLY11
    JDBLY11 Posts: 577 Member
    If eating makes you feel ill, and this has been going on a while, you might need to see a doctor.

    In your diary, I noticed these: "sugar free jelly", "salad cream extra light", "low fat cottage cheese", "low fat coleslaw". If you're trying to make up calories, why are you eating diet foods? It's hard to tell, because your diary is a bit sparse, but the problem for a lot of people is that when they start trying to lose weight, they get into the mentality of "I'm on a diet, so therefore I need to eat diet food", and cut out anything they think might be "fattening". The beauty of calorie counting is that it isn't a diet - you can eat whatever foods you want, just account for them in your diary. When you talk about years of "not eating nutritionally", that implies that you are eating only very nutrient-dense foods now. Looking at your diary, that doesn't look to be the case. It looks like you're aiming for low calorie foods. Good nutrition doesn't mean low calorie.

    The easy way to get more calories in without feeling overfull is to aim for more calorie dense foods, especially those that are high in fat: cheese, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, avocados, eggs, olive oil, full fat dairy products etc. And that's just keeping to the more nutrient dense foods. There's also nothing wrong with eating things like chocolate or ice cream. Looking at things in terms of "good foods" and "bad foods" is not going to help you have a healthy relationship with food long-term.

    Agreed.

    I had days this week where I had cake and pizza and they used quite a few calories. I am trying to have some good days now where I keep to my macros as much as possible. Yesterday and today I ate almonds to fill out my calorie count.
  • Llamacano
    Llamacano Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks for the replies!

    Just to clear it up, I am only eating things that are 'low fat' etc because I am living with my parents and it is just what I have available to me. I do understand that low fat, low sugar, etc options don't mean automatically healthy, I have been trying to eat healthy and lose weight all of my life so I do have an understanding of what I should and should not be putting into my body.

    What I mean is I am eating alot less than 1200 calories (not just since being on MFP, I mean I always have generally eaten this amount) and I am worried about not taking in enough for bodily processes etcetera. If I am eating this little, how am I not losing weight, as I do keep myself active and try to exercise when I can, however I don't like logging my exercise on MFP as in the past I found it irritating how it changed my calorie allowance on the log.

    I've seen a doctor and they didn't really help, told me I had acid reflux but this was not the case at the times of nausea (I know what it is like and it's far from that) though I am trying to see them again for a number of issues so it will definitely be something I bring up.

    I do see where you are coming from with the fat-dense foods, however, I am not allowed to eat anything regularly that is full of fat or sugar, as I am mainly losing weight for personal health reasons and have been advised to reduce these factors.
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