Eating too few calories?????

hautetheory · June 2013

I am curious to know if anybody out there who is trying to lose weight having trouble eating all of the calories in their budget? I am on a 1350 calorie diet (previously 1500) but I can't even do that most days. I eat a high protein, low carb diet with lots of veggies, not so much fruit and I have to actually work to eat the calories that I am supposed to. I am not hungry and not really craving food if I stay on my eating schedule (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner). This wouldn't be a problem normally but I notice that when I don't eat enough, even if I am not hungry, my body holds onto the weight which tells me that I need to eat more. During my lunch I can usually only eat half of it. I ate a cupcake yesterday and still was under by 150 cals I think. I am going to add more rice and beans to up the calorie count any more suggestions? Maybe I can add more fruit but honestly organic fruit is too damn expensive. At first I thought that my metabolism was too slow but when I miss one of my meals I am starving and grouchy but still can't finish all my food once I get it. Let me know what you folks think.

jwdieter · June 2013

I think there are only a couple posts per hour from people suddenly having difficulty eating half what they were eating prior to logging.

shaleyn · June 2013

peanut butter? avocados?

ndj1979 · June 2013

in ...for the dead horse thread, eat more comments, and the general *kitten* storm that is to come

I had 1200 calories for dinner last night..so I can't relate to any of this...

hautetheory · June 2013

Well, I am pretty new to MFP and haven't seen them. Thanks for your helpful suggestions.

Serah87 · June 2013

Well you had no trouble before. Just eat more dense food, nuts, peanut butter sandwich, glass of milk, avocado, couple of cookies, couple scoops of ice cream, etc!!

diannethegeek · June 2013

Nuts, nut butter, seeds, olive oil or coconut oil, dark chocolate, avocado, protein shakes and smoothies, fruit juices, full fat dairy, Greek yogurt, cheese, butter, whole eggs. Plenty of calorie dense foods out there that are healthy and won't fill you up quickly. It's easy to add a few hundred calories to each meal with some quick planning.

etoiles_argentees · June 2013

Not trying to lose weight and not in the "eat more to lose" group, but I really think you could eat a few more calories. I would up it slowly, and as a woman, eat the dietary fats you need.

hautetheory · June 2013

Nuts, nut butter, seeds, olive oil or coconut oil, dark chocolate, avocado, protein shakes and smoothies, fruit juices, full fat dairy, Greek yogurt, cheese, butter, whole eggs. Plenty of calorie dense foods out there that are healthy and won't fill you up quickly. It's easy to add a few hundred calories to each meal with some quick planning.

I eat about everything you said already except dark chocolate, full fat dairy and butter so I will try those.

CoderGal · June 2013

I know a lot of people who were in that predicament and then they started losing their hair and nails etc. Personally I started losing both. If you're stuffing yourself on vegetables like I was and you're hardly eating anything (I eat about 2100 now) I'd suggest taking up more protein and fat instead. Most of the nutrients in vegetables are fat soluble so if you're hardly eating anything you're likely not getting enough fat and you're not absorbing all the nutrients in those veggies anyhow. This is suppose to be about health and nutrition and fitness, not how to get skinny. Trust me, if you do it the healthy way it well come.

Everyone can eat less and less and feel less hungry. That's how many with eating disorders are able to go so long without food (because they don't feel hungry and feel stuffed on barely anything at all). I suggest not putting yourself in that situation. I felt absolutely fine and the hair loss started pretty quickly. My feet and hands were always cold too. Everything got better with more fuel. And if I can manage to lose weight on 2100 without needing to someone who is looking to lose weight can definitely do better then more then what you're getting, even if they're incredibly short and older then me.

PepperWorm · June 2013

in ...for the dead horse thread, eat more comments, and the general *kitten* storm that is to come

I had 1200 calories for dinner last night..so I can't relate to any of this...

Rofl! :drinker:

geekette411 · June 2013

I think there are only a couple posts per hour from people suddenly having difficulty eating half what they were eating prior to logging.

^^Meow!
It's difficult to find healthy choices it you are trying to accomodate your macros. A big bowl of ice cream may up your cals, but would send your sugar through the roof.

hautetheory · June 2013

in ...for the dead horse thread, eat more comments, and the general *kitten* storm that is to come

I had 1200 calories for dinner last night..so I can't relate to any of this...

Thanks, I guess?

zyxst · June 2013

No, I've never had a problem eating my caloric allotment. I apologize that I have no help for you.

ndj1979 · June 2013

seriously - eat eggs, steak, chicken, brown rice, Greek yogurt, pork, etc...

I had three eggs, egg white, two whole grain waffles, and some olive oil in the pan that cooked eggs in = 530 calories..

Lunch - 7 ounces chicken, half avocado, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt = 492 calories..

So I am sorry if I find it hard to believe that you have a hard time hitting 1350 in a day, when I have almost hit that number by noon time...

hautetheory · June 2013

I think there are only a couple posts per hour from people suddenly having difficulty eating half what they were eating prior to logging.

^^Meow!
It's difficult to find healthy choices it you are trying to accomodate your macros. A big bowl of ice cream may up your cals, but would send your sugar through the roof.

Yeah people are catty on here. Anyway, that's what I thought referring to the ice cream. Some people made some good suggestions that I am going to try. I actually eat healthy fats already like coconut oil and olive oil but I guess I will eat more and I love avocado. I know that most veggies need fat and I eat those foods together.

CoderGal · June 2013

in ...for the dead horse thread, eat more comments, and the general *kitten* storm that is to come

I had 1200 calories for dinner last night..so I can't relate to any of this...

Thanks, I guess?

nadiawilder · June 2013

Protein shakes are a good alternative - and trying to space your caloric intake over the day, eating every 3 hours or so helps, too!

elyelyse · June 2013

It's difficult to find healthy choices it you are trying to accomodate your macros. A big bowl of ice cream may up your cals, but would send your sugar through the roof.

no. it's not.

it's just that people who are just starting out think that this whole lifestyle change means eating only low fat, low carb, low calorie foods. there are tons of calorie dense, nutritious healthy foods. as others have said: nuts, avocado, full fat dairy, using oil in cooking, etc.

diannethegeek · June 2013

I think there are only a couple posts per hour from people suddenly having difficulty eating half what they were eating prior to logging.

^^Meow!
It's difficult to find healthy choices it you are trying to accomodate your macros. A big bowl of ice cream may up your cals, but would send your sugar through the roof.

Yeah people are catty on here. Anyway, that's what I thought referring to the ice cream. Some people made some good suggestions that I am going to try. I actually eat healthy fats already like coconut oil and olive oil but I guess I will eat more and I love avocado. I know that most veggies need fat and I eat those foods together.

Since you have your diary closed no one can give you more specific advice. All we're able to give you are the generalities.

RoseTears143 · June 2013

Any opportunity I have to add butter to a meal I LOVE it! Or avocado, those 2 things make everything better, and add a decent amount of calories. I am currently working on getting my calorie intake up again too after a very stressful week that killed my appetite. You need to make yourself eat sometimes. Your body can be hungry without you feeling the ravaging grumbling in your stomach.

hautetheory · June 2013

seriously - eat eggs, steak, chicken, brown rice, Greek yogurt, pork, etc...

I had three eggs, egg white, two whole grain waffles, and some olive oil in the pan that cooked eggs in = 530 calories..

Lunch - 7 ounces chicken, half avocado, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt = 492 calories..

So I am sorry if I find it hard to believe that you have a hard time hitting 1350 in a day, when I have almost hit that number by noon time...

So the problem is you don't believe me? Okay... Maybe I wasn't clear. I make prepare my food which is at my calorie goal but the problem is I am not hungry when eating the food. I will have a meal that is 400 cals and can only finish half of it because if I keep eating I feel like I am forcing myself to eat it. I eat all of the above things except the carbs so I said I would try adding more carbs.

Boogage · June 2013

I had this problem for a while and found myself cooking food late every night to try and get all my cals (I was getting poorly eating so little so had to try and do something). It was a slow process but eventually I got used to eating more again and feel so much better now. I think I was so focused on eating low cal foods to lose weight that I forgot what it was like to eat properly and enjoy food. Drop the low cal/low fat foods and eat smaller portions of normal foods.

hautetheory · June 2013

Any opportunity I have to add butter to a meal I LOVE it! Or avocado, those 2 things make everything better, and add a decent amount of calories. I am currently working on getting my calorie intake up again too after a very stressful week that killed my appetite. You need to make yourself eat sometimes. Your body can be hungry without you feeling the ravaging grumbling in your stomach.

Yeah, I guess I will have to make myself eat sometimes until I get used to eating this way. One of my friends just told me that I sip on water all day and that is probably filling me up. I didn't even think of that. I have a job where I can be running around all day and I don't have to pee a lot because I am sweating so I didn't realize I was drinking maybe too much water before my meals. I love to eat and before I started on my weight loss journey I would eat a lot so I thought it was weird that I wasn't able to eat all my food. Thanks.

jwdieter · June 2013

So the problem is you don't believe me? Okay... Maybe I wasn't clear. I make prepare my food which is at my calorie goal but the problem is I am not hungry when eating the food. I will have a meal that is 400 cals and can only finish half of it because if I keep eating I feel like I am forcing myself to eat it. I eat all of the above things except the carbs so I said I would try adding more carbs.

It's very common for people starting out (on any diet plan / lifestyle change / food tracking) to convince themselves they aren't hungry, and eat even less than the plan. Also, some people make bland food they don't want to eat in a quest for "healthy". That's why there are so many posts about it.

You'll be better off eating to the plan, and finding foods you like, especially at low calorie levels. If you don't, you'll be uncomfortable and irritable and probably less likely to continue. Good luck.

ndj1979 · June 2013

seriously - eat eggs, steak, chicken, brown rice, Greek yogurt, pork, etc...

I had three eggs, egg white, two whole grain waffles, and some olive oil in the pan that cooked eggs in = 530 calories..

Lunch - 7 ounces chicken, half avocado, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt = 492 calories..

So I am sorry if I find it hard to believe that you have a hard time hitting 1350 in a day, when I have almost hit that number by noon time...

So the problem is you don't believe me? Okay... Maybe I wasn't clear. I make prepare my food which is at my calorie goal but the problem is I am not hungry when eating the food. I will have a meal that is 400 cals and can only finish half of it because if I keep eating I feel like I am forcing myself to eat it. I eat all of the above things except the carbs so I said I would try adding more carbs.

ok - you more than likely have a eating disorder/problem and I would suggest that you seek help for a DR/Psychologist as an MFP thread is going to provide zero help.

CoderGal · June 2013

recipe:
Put coconut oil in pan and put on low heat
Cut avocado into rings and put in pan
mix 1 egg with chocolate protein powder for a pancake like mix
pour mix into avocado rings
flip and top with natural crunchy peanutbutter.
down with a cup of milk

Basically 1 egg, 1 avocado and a drink...which anyone should be able to eat...puts this breakfast over 800 cals.

You'll have no probs absorbing veggies after that

hautetheory · June 2013

So the problem is you don't believe me? Okay... Maybe I wasn't clear. I make prepare my food which is at my calorie goal but the problem is I am not hungry when eating the food. I will have a meal that is 400 cals and can only finish half of it because if I keep eating I feel like I am forcing myself to eat it. I eat all of the above things except the carbs so I said I would try adding more carbs.

It's very common for people starting out (on any diet plan / lifestyle change / food tracking) to convince themselves they aren't hungry, and eat even less than the plan. Also, some people make bland food they don't want to eat in a quest for "healthy". That's why there are so many posts about it.

You'll be better off eating to the plan, and finding foods you like, especially at low calorie levels. If you don't, you'll be uncomfortable and irritable and probably less likely to continue. Good luck.

Thanks

luckydays27 · June 2013

I did not realize that my hair loss that I was dealing with was because I was not eating enough. I realized that I was not eating enough after coming to MFP and reading about how low calorie intake causes plateaus etc.

After 7-8 weeks and I have lost 10 lbs, I am a believer.

How did I jump from 1200 to 1800 (or more some days):
I added real butter to my veggies. That was 100 cals to eat plate of green beans, corn etc
I ate real salad dressing to my salads. That was 150 cal or more depending on the dressing and I eliminated the sugar that was in the diet or fake dressings I was using before.
I eat real ice cream sometimes. Not everyday but enough to remember what it taste like.
I added avocado to just about every meal. 30 grams = 50 cals of yummy deliciousness
I eat tortillas
I eat tarter sauce on my fish
I drink a beer when I feel like it.
I eat pizza.
I eat sushi (just try to watch the soy sauce)
I enjoy a meal out with my fiancee, even if its fast food.

I found that this works for me. In the seven weeks since i have been here, my hair is no longer falling out at alarming rates and may be thickening back up (to early to tell). My nails are not as brittle as they were. Honestly I never realized that these were signs of under nutrition until I joined MFP and read it online.

Its a learning process and thanks to MFP and all the members here who post, I have learned much.

Good luck to you. Hopefully you can come to the same realization that I came to as well by figuring out what works for you.

hautetheory · June 2013

recipe:
Put coconut oil in pan and put on low heat
Cut avocado into rings and put in pan
mix 1 egg with chocolate protein powder for a pancake like mix
pour mix into avocado rings
flip and top with natural crunchy peanutbutter.
down with a cup of milk

Basically 1 egg, 1 avocado and a drink...which anyone should be able to eat...puts this breakfast over 800 cals.

You'll have no probs absorbing veggies after that

Great recipe! Thanks.

AlliBarlik · June 2013

in ...for the dead horse thread, eat more comments, and the general *kitten* storm that is to come

I had 1200 calories for dinner last night..so I can't relate to any of this...

I understand what you are saying, but if you can't relate, why post? SMH.....

For the OP, I am having some issues as well. I can't (don't) eat all of my calories. I wonder if I just need to stop logging my exercise. I KNOW that MFP over estimates and adjusts my caloric intake on that. Just pondering...not looking for answers.... Good luck! :happy:

Eating too few calories?????

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