not hungry enough

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Amandawith3kids
Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
edited February 14 in Food and Nutrition
so i calculated my tdee and all that, and my calorie goal is 1490. i can eat this no problem and feel full, problem is when i exercise. i just dont want to eat back those calories. i'm legit not hungry. yesterday i shoveled the never ending snow (i have 3 feet on the ground here, with snowbanks over 6 ft high, some of which need to be moved, i cant see out my driveway) but an hour of shoveling put me at needing to eat another 600 calories after dinner, and i was just plain FULL. i'd eaten at that point just under my goal, and i forced myself to eat a big bowl of granola cereal, and STILL didnt hit my goal. i dont feel like if i exercise and eat more, that i'm eating any less than what i did before i started mfp. i lost 5 pounds right off the bat, and nothing in almost a month. i know my diet could use some cleaning up, but i've made lots of changes already. i have ~70 lbs to lose.

something is wrong, because i'm just not losing. already went to the dr and had my thyroid tested etc.

Replies

  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    Try eating those calories before you exercise, earlier in the day. Might take a few times to get the numbers right, but it should help. Cardio drops my appetite, so that's what I do if I know I'm going to have a big burn later in the day.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    If you calculated TDEE and then subtracted a percent to get your calorie goal, then you would not eat more for exercise, TDEE includes exercise.

    If you are going by MFP settings, this calculation does not include exercise, so you should eat some more (how much is debatable because calorie burn estimates can be high unless you use a heart rate monitor).
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    so i calculated my tdee and all that, and my calorie goal is 1490. i can eat this no problem and feel full, problem is when i exercise. i just dont want to eat back those calories. i'm legit not hungry. yesterday i shoveled the never ending snow (i have 3 feet on the ground here, with snowbanks over 6 ft high, some of which need to be moved, i cant see out my driveway) but an hour of shoveling put me at needing to eat another 600 calories after dinner, and i was just plain FULL. i'd eaten at that point just under my goal, and i forced myself to eat a big bowl of granola cereal, and STILL didnt hit my goal. i dont feel like if i exercise and eat more, that i'm eating any less than what i did before i started mfp. i lost 5 pounds right off the bat, and nothing in almost a month. i know my diet could use some cleaning up, but i've made lots of changes already. i have ~70 lbs to lose.

    something is wrong, because i'm just not losing. already went to the dr and had my thyroid tested etc.

    600 calories for shovelling snow? Are you sure? Running non stop for some people burns around 800.

    I think you are probably going wrong here.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Exercise should be included in your TDEE calculation, in which case you do not need to eat exercise cals.

    Doing so would put you over your TDEE and into a surplus.
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    it was 543 i think, and its from the database. it's pretty intense, my heart is pumping hard, i get all sweaty and out of breath. and thats for 60 minutes. idk if it's "correct" but it sure feels like it.
  • Azchange
    Azchange Posts: 110 Member
    We had to shovel snow in basic training, and in my opinion 45 minutes of that is twice as hard as a session of morning pt. It just plain sucks. So I would assume if you are REALLY going at it for 45-60 mins, it would be close to 500.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Exercise should be included in your TDEE calculation, in which case you do not need to eat exercise cals.

    Doing so would put you over your TDEE and into a surplus.

    ^^ this ^^ - and just for emphasis -
    Exercise should be included in your TDEE calculation, in which case you do not need to eat exercise cals.
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    my bmr was 1700ish, my tdee was 2201. mfp gave me the 1490 goal. really not sure which is the best to use, so i stuck with the mfp goal.

    ftr i am 5'7, 190 lbs, and 33 years old. i am also nursing a 2 year old, but he only nurses 2x a day max.
  • sondon2
    sondon2 Posts: 1
    My nutritionist has said you don't necessarily need to eat those burned calories back...
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    my bmr was 1700ish, my tdee was 2201. mfp gave me the 1490 goal. really not sure which is the best to use, so i stuck with the mfp goal.

    ftr i am 5'7, 190 lbs, and 33 years old. i am also nursing a 2 year old, but he only nurses 2x a day max.

    Shiiiiii.... go with TDEE. I'm 5' 7.5", 36 years old and 195 pounds and losing on 1770 calories a day. Why would you opt for the smaller, less sustainable, more miserable goal? Plus what are you going to do when you ever hit a plateau, when you're already so low and the only option is to adjust your calories even lower? Sure you may initially lose faster on 1490 but you could be so much happier :laugh:
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    my bmr was 1700ish, my tdee was 2201. mfp gave me the 1490 goal. really not sure which is the best to use, so i stuck with the mfp goal.

    ftr i am 5'7, 190 lbs, and 33 years old. i am also nursing a 2 year old, but he only nurses 2x a day max.

    Shiiiiii.... go with TDEE. I'm 5' 7.5", 36 years old and 195 pounds and losing on 1770 calories a day. Why would you opt for the smaller, less sustainable, more miserable goal? Plus what are you going to do when you ever hit a plateau, when you're already so low and the only option is to adjust your calories even lower? Sure you may initially lose faster on 1490 but you could be so much happier :laugh:



    but, i'm not hungry! i made some changes to my diet, quit using so much (real) butter, cut my nearly everyday breakfast sausage in half, and quit eating junk at night, easily got my calories to the 1490. i dont WANT anymore food. just finished breakfast, minus the banana i logged, and i dont even want the banana. i'm comfortably full. i dont get hungry between meals, i have plenty of energy despite the 2 year old waking me at night, and my milk supply is plentiful. and i'm not in any way miserable! this is the problem LOL i figured i wasnt eating enough, but i just dont want it. and i feel that if i eat the 1700, i'm no eating any less than what i was before i started this.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    What style of diet are you eating? and are you doing any resistance based exercises?
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    What style of diet are you eating? and are you doing any resistance based exercises?

    i'm just trying to make healthier choices. not low carb, but maybe carb aware? i have a very strong family history of diabetes, so i tend to shy away from carbs, or try to anyway. i would assume shoveling snow is resistance based lol i was pretty sore there for a few days. otherwise, just cardio. i have so sit and think of the exercises i can do with my bad knees for the strength training. every time i say i'm gonna add that to the mix it snows LOL.
    i have water with every meal except my morning coffee (which you can pry out of my cold dead hands) but i am REALLY bad at logging my water. i drink maybe 40oz a day. could use more maybe, but not horribly low or anything. i do take a basic multivitamin daily along with my asthma meds, and i forget to log that too most of the time. i do measure my foods, but not weigh.

    i sit most of the day working (crochet, online etsy store), unless i have a craft show, which is LOTS of heavy lifting, multiple times. (out of the house and into the van, out of the van to set up, take down and back into the van, and then back into the house whew!)
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    my bmr was 1700ish, my tdee was 2201. mfp gave me the 1490 goal. really not sure which is the best to use, so i stuck with the mfp goal.

    ftr i am 5'7, 190 lbs, and 33 years old. i am also nursing a 2 year old, but he only nurses 2x a day max.

    Here is how it works. MFP will figure out your needed calories just for daily life (not including exercise - or NURSING), then it takes a flat rate off of it depending on how many pounds per week you say you want to lose. It deducts 500 calories for 1 pound per week, 1,000 calories for 2 pounds per week, etc.

    BMR = basal metabolic rate. This is what your body needs just to live if you laid in bed all day for your heart, lungs, brains, all organ function. This is what they would feed you if you were in a coma.

    MFP assumes you will do no exercise, then when you do, you need to eat more calories. You also need more for nursing.

    It doesn't matter if you are not hungry. Hunger is controlled by hormones. When you eat too few calories, your appetite is suppressed. This is a survival mechanism. In times of famine your body conserves. Then in times of plenty those hormones turn on and want you to feed, to store up for times of famine.
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    ok i re-did my tdee and bmr, and i remembered incorrectly the correct bmr for me was 1601 and my tdee was 2202. so put my calorie goal to 1700, and we'll give it a go for a while and see what that does.

    now to think about where i can add some good calories back in without going back to what i was eating before.


    EDIT: do i log my workouts if i'm using the tdee? just not eat the exercise back? make sure i dont net lower than my bmr?
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    What style of diet are you eating? and are you doing any resistance based exercises?

    i'm just trying to make healthier choices. not low carb, but maybe carb aware? i have a very strong family history of diabetes, so i tend to shy away from carbs, or try to anyway. i would assume shoveling snow is resistance based lol i was pretty sore there for a few days. otherwise, just cardio. i have so sit and think of the exercises i can do with my bad knees for the strength training. every time i say i'm gonna add that to the mix it snows LOL.
    i have water with every meal except my morning coffee (which you can pry out of my cold dead hands) but i am REALLY bad at logging my water. i drink maybe 40oz a day. could use more maybe, but not horribly low or anything. i do take a basic multivitamin daily along with my asthma meds, and i forget to log that too most of the time. i do measure my foods, but not weigh.

    i sit most of the day working (crochet, online etsy store), unless i have a craft show, which is LOTS of heavy lifting, multiple times. (out of the house and into the van, out of the van to set up, take down and back into the van, and then back into the house whew!)

    If your eating low carb (with a reasonable protein intake) and you do some resistance training - albeit carting things around and your eating in a calorie deficit - maybe your building some more lean mass.

    I know when I started my weight was static for about 3 - 4 weeks, bit I did notice my belt was getting looser and I felt I had more energy and was getting fitter. If this is the same for you would say don't sweat the scales - it will happen.

    Also I would add with the amount you eat, make sure your getting enough protein and fat in your diet and getting your nutrients. Also I would suggest tracking your food religiously over the next couple of weeks as you may actually be eating more than you think.

    Good luck.
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    other than the initial 5 pounds loss, my jeans still fit the same. i only do craft shows every few months. its a big day, but not often. i do lug around a 28 pound toddler daily though.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    TDEE 2200 x 20% = 440 This is a safe calorie deficit.
    2200 - 440 = 1760

    1760 would be your TDEE - 20% goal and you would not eat any exercise calories back.
  • Amandawith3kids
    Amandawith3kids Posts: 367 Member
    ok, thanks. i'll log it so i can keep track of what i'm doing, but i wont eat them back.

    now i GOTTA eat that banana.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    I just put 1 calorie in for all my exercise so I can keep track for motivation, but then it won't increase my calories on my food diary to something crazy looking.
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