I tend to eat more calories when I eat healthily? Why? :(

Eating only fruits and veggies with a bit of dairy leaves you hungry because there's very little fat and protein - two things that are necessary and very satiating, keeping you feeling full much longer. Glancing through your diary, most days you are well below your daily calorie goal and below your protein and fat goals as well (and MFP's protein goal is notoriously low anyway).

Don't forget that goal means GOAL - something you aim for, attain, achieve, not a number you want to fall well short of.

Fruits spike blood sugar and when the blood sugar drops back down, it causes hunger pains.

Fat and protein satiate hunger longer.

Cut back on fruits a lot.

Increase healthy fat and protein by adding oil, avocado, eggs, nuts, cheese.

Good luck!

You know, you're thinking at two opposite ends of the spectrum.

Choice 1: (salad, NO dressing, just veggies and a little bit of beans and fruit) ... well, I would feel hungry too if I ate that!
Choice 2: Yes, I'd feel full, but you're right that there's not a lot of nutritional value in there.

So what's making you feel full with the gyoza is probably the fat. If you try eating healthy foods that still contain some fat and some protein, I bet you will feel fuller longer and still get nutrients.

For example: My lunch is often a chicken leg and some veggies. The chicken leg is about 250 cals and the veggies 100-200 depending on the veggie, and I'm full for a long time after this.

Personally, I think you need to re-evalute your idea of "healthy"...yes, vitamins and minerals from fruits and veg are great and you need them...but you need a lot of other things to actually get proper nutrition...like proteins and fats...both essential macro-nutrients.

I find that whenever I eat lots of fruit and vegetables; only fruit and vegetables with a bit of dairy in a day, I tend to eat more calories than if I were to eat slightly less healthily.

For example, when I eat less healthily(meaning instead of a salad for lunch - home made, no dressing, lots of spinach and 1/4 cup beans and fruit, etc, I have maybe 5 pieces of gyoza), I tend to feel full for HOURS. Like, I would eat at 1pm, and if I eat the fruit and veg, I would feel hungry an hour or two later and I would eat more fruit.

If I ate the gyoza, I would feel full from 1pm all the way to 10pm at night. I think because of that I'll eat less calories. However, because I'm taking a nutrition course, I want to fill my body with vitamins and minerals and not just on the calories alone. I'm really conflicted about this whole thing because am I supposed to eat healthy foods but eat more in total or eat less healthy foods and have less calories in total?

You guys can check out my food journal if you wish! I've logged in my intake. Do advise me on what to do! I'm really confused?

Hey friend,

I'd suggest adding around 300 or 400 more calories to your daily average (around 1,100 usually it looks like). Use that to have protein be it nuts, meat, garbanzo beans, proein bar whatever...just EAT MORE calories than you are currently eating. The human body needs a good deal of calories just to be alive. Most adults burn more than 1,200 calories just by living (not exercising) every day.

Here is something you can think about:
BMR (basal metabolic rate) is the number of calories a person generally needs to stay alive without damaging their body. Here is a link so you can learn more about this. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide
(it's dependent on height, weight, activity etc...) DO NOT EAT LESS THAN YOUR BMR NUMBER. This is the number of calories you need to stay ALIVE.

I'd suggest eating your BMR at LEAST. A lot of people on My fitness pal have had success with the TDEE - (0.2*TDEE) = calories per day, method. The link explains a little about that too.

Good luck!

I find that whenever I eat lots of fruit and vegetables; only fruit and vegetables with a bit of dairy in a day, I tend to eat more calories than if I were to eat slightly less healthily.

For example, when I eat less healthily(meaning instead of a salad for lunch - home made, no dressing, lots of spinach and 1/4 cup beans and fruit, etc, I have maybe 5 pieces of gyoza), I tend to feel full for HOURS. Like, I would eat at 1pm, and if I eat the fruit and veg, I would feel hungry an hour or two later and I would eat more fruit.

If I ate the gyoza, I would feel full from 1pm all the way to 10pm at night. I think because of that I'll eat less calories. However, because I'm taking a nutrition course, I want to fill my body with vitamins and minerals and not just on the calories alone. I'm really conflicted about this whole thing because am I supposed to eat healthy foods but eat more in total or eat less healthy foods and have less calories in total?

You guys can check out my food journal if you wish! I've logged in my intake. Do advise me on what to do! I'm really confused?

I eat a mostly whole foods, plant based diet and never go over on calories eating this way and I never go hungry (I eat intuitively-eat when hungry, stop when full and not until then).

An example of a typical day over here-

break my fast at 11am or noon with a whole grain and large serving of veggies, like two servings of brown rice with a carrot, green onion and mushrooms mixed in . Afternoon snack could be a large green smoothie with spinach, kale, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and a seed like hemp or chia. Evening meal is usually a dinner plate size salad like a vegetarian taco salad with lettuce, a whole roma tomato, onion, ground flax seed, black olives, refried beans and a few splashes on hot sauce. And then a night time snack of something like almonds and dark chocolate.

Calories for this kind of day is around 1,300 and includes a lot of healthy food that's filling and tastes good as well And since I'm aiming for around 1,800 calories (give or take a few), I also may throw in a homemade raw apple muffin or some apple crisp, which are still healthy foods but are more calorie dense.

Took a peek of your diary and like others mentioned I'm also not seeing all these vegetables you're talking about, but your fruit consumption is high. Fruit is good for you, but moderation isn't a bad thing for this food category. I chose a random day in your diary and it looks like the only veggie you ate that day was a carrot? Up the veggies, whole grains and calorie dense things like nuts and seeds, and with just a bit of tweaking you'll be able to get your calories up and have a more balanced day

It doesn't matter, you like never go over in your calories.