Reaching calorie goal... need advice/help.

kartel99
kartel99 Posts: 14 Member
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I am not sure if this is a "problem" or not, but I cannot seem to reach my suggested calorie intake goal. I start off the day with 1540 and usually add about 500-1000 calories in exercise about 4-5 days a week. My average caloric intake is 1200-1400, I am just not that hungry.

I have been at this MFP thing (watching calories) for about 7 weeks now and have lost 22 pounds; I started at 205 and now 183. I am super excited to be down this much. I havent changed my exercise routine since starting either, it has been the same for quite a while - running twice a week (2-3 miles) and sports 4-5 times a week (football, softball, basketball, etc).

I guess my question is: Do I need to eat more throughout the day, even when I am not hungry? I don't want to force myself to eat, and I don't want to just eat to bring up my numbers, that just seems silly to me. Plus, after I reach my goal weight (175) I am going to start ramping up the weight training exercises, which will add even more calories to my daily goal.

Yeah, I am confused... could you tell? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

- Kris

Replies

  • sallyLunn
    sallyLunn Posts: 381
    I find that drinking beer in the evenings fixes any calorie deficit that I seem to be developing.

    Congratulations on your weight loss. :smile:

    Seriously, if its not broke, don't fix it. You'll eat when you are hungry.
  • amyhollingsworth13
    amyhollingsworth13 Posts: 14
    I can't offer any help but this is the same problem I am having. I am struggling to eat 1200 a day and without adding exercise calories a day my goal is 1900. I feel full, but have been drinking water and eating lots of fruits and veggies. My husband is worried I am trying to restrict myself too much when I honestly am just not hungry.

    Glad to know it isn't just me.

    Amy
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    You may be overestimating how much you're burning. What are you using to calculate calories burned? A heart rate monitor is the most accurate and about $80-100 and you should definitely get one. Also, if you're playing sports 4-5x/week, you may just have to increase your activitiy level. Did you set yourself as lightly active or active? You may need to increase if you're seriously playing 4-5x/week, 'cause that's a lot.

    Along with that, add your exercise before you eat anything and space it out throughout the day. If you have a lot to lose, a higher calorie deficit is okay for now.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    Two possible things:

    are you counting absolutely everything? Sometimes people think they're not reaching their goal, but not counting everything (like skipping the oil they put in the pan when they cook a piece of meat or something similar). I just submit this because I've seen this problem a lot.

    If you are counting accurately, for a guy of your size, 1200-1400 is really not enough. A good baseline is to never go below your body weight times 10 (for example, I weigh about 150, and try to never go below 1500. I lose weight at this rate, and I am a lady person. Here are some easy, breezy ways to add a few more calories to your day:

    Almonds or other nuts (unsalted and raw is best). Nut butters: almond, hazelnut, peanut butter (all natural). Protein shakes, or even a simple glass of milk. Add an avocado to a salad for an instant 300 calorie boost.

    Especially as you progress, you need to keep your nutrition up so that you don't compromise muscle.

    Also FYI: losing your appetite is actually a sign that your body is entering starvation mode. By losing your appetite, I mean getting grossed out by food, not being hungry at all, etc. (this is based on a consult with my doctor after a period of severe over-exercising/undereating).

    HTH.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Assuming it's real burn, yes, you should be attempting to reach your goal.

    One guy to another, I can tell you straight up, the more weight you lose, the more important it is to feed your body. As our percentage of body fat goes down, the body will rely more and more on ingested calories. If you continue to keep a wide gap, the body will adjust it's metabolic rate to account for large gaps between energy intake and energy expenditure. This can result (short term) in fatigue, muscle loss, and reduced functional strength, and long term it can result in systemic failure (as an extreme) and bone loss (even with minimal extended deficits).

    I'm on maintenance now, which means I have to eat between 2700 and 3200 calories a day (depending on exercise), and sometimes more if I put in a long workout, and it's not easy, nor is it cheap to eat that many healthy calories. But it's doable, if you do a little planning ahead. When I was losing weight, I was at about 1800 cals per day plus exercise, and I don't know about you, but it was easy to eat that much, much easier than it is now. It's different for everyone. My suggestion would be to look up "calorie dense foods", you'll find plenty of nuts and grains that are very calorie dense and still healthy, it makes it easier as it doesn't fill you up as much.
  • kartel99
    kartel99 Posts: 14 Member
    I find that drinking beer in the evenings fixes any calorie deficit that I seem to be developing.

    Congratulations on your weight loss. :smile:

    Seriously, if its not broke, don't fix it. You'll eat when you are hungry.

    now, that is some advice that I like! LOL - no beer, but maybe a shot or two?
  • kartel99
    kartel99 Posts: 14 Member
    You may be overestimating how much you're burning. What are you using to calculate calories burned? A heart rate monitor is the most accurate and about $80-100 and you should definitely get one. Also, if you're playing sports 4-5x/week, you may just have to increase your activitiy level. Did you set yourself as lightly active or active? You may need to increase if you're seriously playing 4-5x/week, 'cause that's a lot.

    Along with that, add your exercise before you eat anything and space it out throughout the day. If you have a lot to lose, a higher calorie deficit is okay for now.
    I will look into the heartrate monitor... I do play quite a bit of sports throughout the week. Here is a typical week:

    Monday - Basketball during lunch (60-75 minutes full court) / Flag Football game after work
    Tuesday - 3 mile run in morning
    Wednesday - Basketball during lunch (60-75 minutes full court) / Softball game after work
    Thursday - 2-3 mile run in morning / Flag Football game after work
    Friday - Ultimate Frisbee game in morning (45 minutes) / Softball game at night
    Weekend - playing around with the kids, not much else

    I think I am set to active, but if not, would that give me even more calories that I need to burn?
  • kartel99
    kartel99 Posts: 14 Member
    Two possible things:

    are you counting absolutely everything? Sometimes people think they're not reaching their goal, but not counting everything (like skipping the oil they put in the pan when they cook a piece of meat or something similar). I just submit this because I've seen this problem a lot.

    If you are counting accurately, for a guy of your size, 1200-1400 is really not enough. A good baseline is to never go below your body weight times 10 (for example, I weigh about 150, and try to never go below 1500. I lose weight at this rate, and I am a lady person. Here are some easy, breezy ways to add a few more calories to your day:

    Almonds or other nuts (unsalted and raw is best). Nut butters: almond, hazelnut, peanut butter (all natural). Protein shakes, or even a simple glass of milk. Add an avocado to a salad for an instant 300 calorie boost.

    Especially as you progress, you need to keep your nutrition up so that you don't compromise muscle.

    Also FYI: losing your appetite is actually a sign that your body is entering starvation mode. By losing your appetite, I mean getting grossed out by food, not being hungry at all, etc. (this is based on a consult with my doctor after a period of severe over-exercising/undereating).

    HTH.

    Yeah, I feel that I am counting everything that I am eating. I have seriously cut down my fast food/eating out routine and eating more of homemade wraps with chicken / steak. I have never really been a big eater, I just think that I have been totally eating the wrong foods, too many trips to BK and McDs. Now that I have cut out those types of food, I have been dropping the weight, and feeling better than I have in a long time, and also seeing the results.
    Thanks for the advice and the tips on adding more calories. Instead of eating a 100 calorie pack of something, maybe I could have a serving or two of peanuts or something...
  • kartel99
    kartel99 Posts: 14 Member
    Assuming it's real burn, yes, you should be attempting to reach your goal.

    One guy to another, I can tell you straight up, the more weight you lose, the more important it is to feed your body. As our percentage of body fat goes down, the body will rely more and more on ingested calories. If you continue to keep a wide gap, the body will adjust it's metabolic rate to account for large gaps between energy intake and energy expenditure. This can result (short term) in fatigue, muscle loss, and reduced functional strength, and long term it can result in systemic failure (as an extreme) and bone loss (even with minimal extended deficits).

    I'm on maintenance now, which means I have to eat between 2700 and 3200 calories a day (depending on exercise), and sometimes more if I put in a long workout, and it's not easy, nor is it cheap to eat that many healthy calories. But it's doable, if you do a little planning ahead. When I was losing weight, I was at about 1800 cals per day plus exercise, and I don't know about you, but it was easy to eat that much, much easier than it is now. It's different for everyone. My suggestion would be to look up "calorie dense foods", you'll find plenty of nuts and grains that are very calorie dense and still healthy, it makes it easier as it doesn't fill you up as much.

    Yeah, I have been trying to reach my goal and exercise calories. I am having a hard time because I have cut out most 'bad' foods (fast food, pizza, desserts) and feel that I can eat just as much healthy food, but way less calories, and I am stuffed. My old eating habits had me in sort of a maintenance mode - stuck at around 200-210 consistantly, with the same exercise workload. Now that I have switched, I have been losing the weight and gaining energy to run harder, faster, and for longer duration.

    I find it hard just to reach the 1540 that is by baseline w/o exercise. When I do enter maintenance mode (8 more pounds), I think it is going to be even more difficult reaching the 2000+ minimums. I will definately have to look up some more dense foods, where I can eat the same amount, but have more nutrients and calories that will help me reach my minimums.

    Thanks for the post!
  • kartel99
    kartel99 Posts: 14 Member
    I can't offer any help but this is the same problem I am having. I am struggling to eat 1200 a day and without adding exercise calories a day my goal is 1900. I feel full, but have been drinking water and eating lots of fruits and veggies. My husband is worried I am trying to restrict myself too much when I honestly am just not hungry.

    Glad to know it isn't just me.

    Amy

    Thanks for the reply and the knowledge that it isn't just me either! I know the feeling, I am eating just as much as I ever have, but now I am eating healthier, which means lower calories, so it is even harder to reach higher numbers.
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