I don't eat enough calories
Azra124
Posts: 39
According to MFP, I need to eat more calories per day. I find that it's really hard to do that. I'm not hungry, so I don't eat. Is it okay that I don't eat as much as they tell me to or no? And if it's bad, does anyone have any ideas on foods for me to eat when I'm under my required amount?
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Replies
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Bump up your calories with foods that are dense, like peanut butter, butter, oils, nuts, and cheeses.0
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Depends. If your BMR is say 1200 and TDEE 1800, and you just can't fit the 1800 and manage 1400, that's alright. However if with the same stats you're subsisting on 900 a day, no. You should never net below your BMR unless you're extremely obese and might otherwise die from health complications.
Peanut butter is a great idea, nuts as well. Dairy products also are great and any kind of good beef roast or sausages.0 -
Your diary isn't open and you haven't really given us enough info to go on.
That said, milk is a good option, provided you aren't lactose intolerant.0 -
whole eggs, avocadoes, peanut butter, cashew butter, nuts, cheese, donuts, tuna salad, pizza, ice cream, jerk chicken, etc
basically anything that's food. just eat more of it.
it's not really rocket science
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The answer is that it might be bad, depending on how much you're actually eating and how you set up your goal on MFP.
Some good advice on foods to eat up above. Don't forget that it's okay to drink your calories too, as long as you account for them. Fruit juices, lattes, protein shakes & smoothies. There are lots of ways to increase your calories without adding a lot of extra food into your stomach.0 -
I was told the same thing. It said I was putting myself in starvation mode. I plan to "trick" my body. My dad and I used the Rotation Diet after I had a baby and he needed to lose some weight. It claimed that if you eat too few calories for too long - your body will adjust to the lower calories - The rotation diet has you vary your calorie intake - so when I don't feel like eating - I eat 600 calories - then I might eat 1200 the next day. So far I am losing at a healthy rate - about 2.5 pounds/week. Just remember when you add calories - add GOOD calories. - I am using avocado and nuts and low fat cheese. Good Luck0
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I have this problem every now and then. I try to keep calorie dense food out of my house so I'm not tempted. If you're having this problem on a daily basis, maybe stock up a little on calorie dense food.0
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According to MFP, I need to eat more calories per day. I find that it's really hard to do that. I'm not hungry, so I don't eat. Is it okay that I don't eat as much as they tell me to or no? And if it's bad, does anyone have any ideas on foods for me to eat when I'm under my required amount?
First off, how old are you? How tall are you and what is your current weight if you feel comfortable sharing?
How many calories are you eating per day? How many calories does MFP recommend you eat per day?
You should load up on higher calorie foods… Nuts, peanut butter, avocado, cheeses, olive oils, and anything else you like. Smoothies and protein shakes are another great choice.0 -
Sorry, how do you open your diary? I'm really new on here...
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Okay I've set my diary to public.
A few more bits of info on me:
I'm lactose intolerant. There's lactose free stuff, but it's more expensive than regular diary.
I've been taking the Women's Ultra Mega Active vitapak from GNC
I've hated peanut butter since childhood. We were poor, so when I wanted a sweet snack, my mom used to give me a heaping spoonful of peanut butter to eat. That - and mayo on bread.
I like avocados, though. Guacamole is good?0 -
You only have two completed days, but are they accurate? Because no, no, no, 400 calories per day is not okay! Not if you're an adult human being who wants to keep being alive. Neither is 930. Please go see a doctor.0
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Depends. If your BMR is say 1200 and TDEE 1800, and you just can't fit the 1800 and manage 1400, that's alright. However if with the same stats you're subsisting on 900 a day, no. You should never net below your BMR unless you're extremely obese and might otherwise die from health complications.
Peanut butter is a great idea, nuts as well. Dairy products also are great and any kind of good beef roast or sausages.
Wow. The myth has now evolved into DEATH from eating under your BMR. Absolutely amazing.0 -
Depends. If your BMR is say 1200 and TDEE 1800, and you just can't fit the 1800 and manage 1400, that's alright. However if with the same stats you're subsisting on 900 a day, no. You should never net below your BMR unless you're extremely obese and might otherwise die from health complications.
Peanut butter is a great idea, nuts as well. Dairy products also are great and any kind of good beef roast or sausages.
Wow. The myth has now evolved into DEATH from eating under your BMR. Absolutely amazing.
I think you misread. If you are obese and may die of health complications, eating under your BMR isn't recommended. Not that you will DIE eating under your BMR. If you are so obese and have health complications that may kill you in the near future unless you have an immediate drop in weight, then under a physician, eating a VLCD may be warranted according to some practitioners.0 -
If you logged everything for those 2 days, you are really low. Do you tolerate cheese at all? That's a great add. Hard boiled eggs or an omelet loaded with veggies, oatmeal with berries and/or nuts all make a nice breakfast while adding protein and some fiber. I like tortilla wraps too.. fill with eggs and veggies for an easy, out the door meal.
Add some kind of protein for lunch as well, like extra chicken in your soup. Have you tried Nutella or some of the nut butters other than peanut butter? Nutella has a chocolatey nut flavor.
If you like to cook, I was just turned on to the website Ripped Recipes. You put in your requirements, such as low carb, high protein etc and it'll pull up recipe options that fit.0 -
As a general rule, it's OK to eat when you are hungry and not eat when you're not hungry. The issue is that if you are eating too few calories on a regular basis, then your body adjusts it's metabolism to account for not getting enough energy. This will affect your appetite and you won't be hungry even when you are not eating enough food.
If you haven't already you should calculate your BMR and TDEE (you can find many sites that will calculate these for you).
Here's one that uses a few different ways of calculating TDEE
http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
I usually always just set my activity level to sedentary even though I work out multiple times a week. I think it's easier to do the math if you know what your TDEE is when not 'active' and then that way when you work out...all those calories are ones you are burning and it doesn't matter if you miss working out (ie. if you say that your activity level is high and you don't work out for a week or something, your calories will be off)
So, once you know your TDEE, then you want to set your calorie goal to ~10% less than that. That should be the number of calories you shoot for in a day. When you log your workout (calories burned) MFP will automatically add those calories to your daily goal. You should eat them, or most of them at least. Now, if there are a couple days here and there when you really just aren't hungry then it's not the end of the world to be under your goal, but it should not be a regular thing. You may gain a little weight at first while your body adjusts it's metabolism rate.
As for what you can eat, for the time being since you aren't 'hungry', what others have said are good suggestions. Calorie dense foods that don't 'fill you up' but have lots of calories for a small amount. Others have made you a good list of foods....I'd add dried fruit. If you can get it with no sugar added, that'd be great. But dried fruit is calorie dense....Dried cherries are my favorite.
Good luck!0 -
I have the same problem. I don't like to eat for the sake of eating, generally I can hit about 1200 a day but because I'm exercising my net is crazy low. My average this week was 366 net I've managed to up it to avg net 506 by having slightly bigger portions today, but I'm finding it really hard to keep up there... I honestly don't think I can reach my BMF without almost doubling what I eat, and I don't want to be doing that when I don't feel hungry for it.
Suggestions welcome for me too please!
S.0 -
I have the same problem. I don't like to eat for the sake of eating, generally I can hit about 1200 a day but because I'm exercising my net is crazy low. My average this week was 366 net I've managed to up it to avg net 506 by having slightly bigger portions today, but I'm finding it really hard to keep up there... I honestly don't think I can reach my BMF without almost doubling what I eat, and I don't want to be doing that when I don't feel hungry for it.
Suggestions welcome for me too please!
S.
If your net calories are crazy low then maybe eat some of the foods that you ate before you decided to lose weight. Failing that there are many calorie dense foods to add in to your diet such as olive oil, nuts and nut butters, avocado etc The calories do add up pretty quickly0 -
Depends. If your BMR is say 1200 and TDEE 1800, and you just can't fit the 1800 and manage 1400, that's alright. However if with the same stats you're subsisting on 900 a day, no. You should never net below your BMR unless you're extremely obese and might otherwise die from health complications.
Peanut butter is a great idea, nuts as well. Dairy products also are great and any kind of good beef roast or sausages.
Wow. The myth has now evolved into DEATH from eating under your BMR. Absolutely amazing.
Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder.0 -
In because if the OP's diary is for real.... things are gonna get real.0
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It won't kill you. I didn't say that. I said eating under your BMR is alright and sometimes necessary if you're excessively obese and likely to die. Very soon. From a heart attack or something.Depends. If your BMR is say 1200 and TDEE 1800, and you just can't fit the 1800 and manage 1400, that's alright. However if with the same stats you're subsisting on 900 a day, no. You should never net below your BMR unless you're extremely obese and might otherwise die from health complications.
Peanut butter is a great idea, nuts as well. Dairy products also are great and any kind of good beef roast or sausages.
Wow. The myth has now evolved into DEATH from eating under your BMR. Absolutely amazing.0 -
If you're trying to lose weight, that means you gained it by overeating calories. Pick some foods that you like that are high calorie and eat them.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
I've seriously been attempting to lose weight since the 16th of January. I only started to log my foods two days ago...
I wasn't eating much already, so what you see in my diary is pretty much the same amount of calories I've been eating before.
I don't think I'm anorexic and I don't feel bad or anything. Do I really need to see a doctor?0 -
I have the same problem. I don't like to eat for the sake of eating, generally I can hit about 1200 a day but because I'm exercising my net is crazy low. My average this week was 366 net I've managed to up it to avg net 506 by having slightly bigger portions today, but I'm finding it really hard to keep up there... I honestly don't think I can reach my BMF without almost doubling what I eat, and I don't want to be doing that when I don't feel hungry for it.
Suggestions welcome for me too please!
S.
If your net calories are crazy low then maybe eat some of the foods that you ate before you decided to lose weight. Failing that there are many calorie dense foods to add in to your diet such as olive oil, nuts and nut butters, avocado etc The calories do add up pretty quickly
I think nuts might be a winner for me to up the calories a bit. I hadn't really been looking at my 'net' calories until today to be honest. I had been focusing on what I was eating and making sure I had exercised , but looking now it's far too low... One day this week week my net was 150! My peak net is today which is 847. At least it's an improvement I guess.0 -
I used to eat a lot of junk and fast food.0
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I seem to run into the same. I max on the carbs (low anyway) fats, sugar and proteins as I watch them but at the end of the day I am still 500-600 calories to short . LOL,
I used this http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm to calculate it.0 -
According to your diary, you are eating almost nothing.0
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I have the same problem. I don't like to eat for the sake of eating, generally I can hit about 1200 a day but because I'm exercising my net is crazy low. My average this week was 366 net I've managed to up it to avg net 506 by having slightly bigger portions today, but I'm finding it really hard to keep up there... I honestly don't think I can reach my BMF without almost doubling what I eat, and I don't want to be doing that when I don't feel hungry for it.
Suggestions welcome for me too please!
S.
If your net calories are crazy low then maybe eat some of the foods that you ate before you decided to lose weight. Failing that there are many calorie dense foods to add in to your diet such as olive oil, nuts and nut butters, avocado etc The calories do add up pretty quickly
I think nuts might be a winner for me to up the calories a bit. I hadn't really been looking at my 'net' calories until today to be honest. I had been focusing on what I was eating and making sure I had exercised , but looking now it's far too low... One day this week week my net was 150! My peak net is today which is 847. At least it's an improvement I guess.
You do also need to be careful that your calorie burn figures are accurate, it is easy to over estimate by some way using the MFP figures, either due to their inaccuracy or picking the wrong intensity level0 -
According to your diary, you are eating almost nothing.
Yeeaahhh, well...like I said, I've been eating like that for a while now. I only just started adding exercise on 1/16/2014. When I started putting my food into my diary on MFP, I was kind of alarmed at how many calories I really needed...0 -
Pretty easy to make high calorie shakes and bars.0
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To be honest if you've eaten that low calorie for a long time your maintenance is going to be much lower than what it should be. Your body is used to running off little calorie so even though lets say your maintenance is 1600, but you've only eaten 1,000 calories a day typically... you will gain weight even at let's say 1300.
I don't want to scare you with this, but you're going to have to reverse diet back up and the exercise you've recently added will help keep the fat gain minimal, but you should also be gaining muscle at the same time (if you're weight training) This happens to anyone who consistently eats low calorie for extended periods of time.
You want to gradually walk your calories up. If you're confused on what I'm referring look up "Reverse dieting" and you might be linked to figure / bodybuilders sites and videos because when they're getting ready for shows they eat pretty low calories for a long time and need to reverse diet to get back to normal.0
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