Can't seem to eat enough!

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saadler
saadler Posts: 116
in Food and Nutrition
A lot of days I am eating more than enough, never leaving myself hungry, etc. but am still not meeting my 1480 calorie goal. I'm usually anywhere between 200 and 400 calories under. Or sometimes I'll walk a lot one day (like today I was shopping for five straight hours) and burn off a whole meal or more and leave myself with an even higher deficit. It seems silly to eat just to eat when I don't want to, and my body doesn't seem to be going into starvation mode or anything.

So is this okay? Do I make up for it when I have a day where I do get really close to my goal?

ETA: Also, I've lost 7 lbs. since I started eating better a little over 2 weeks ago, so I seem to be losing just fine eating this way.

Replies

  • Dlibo1013
    Dlibo1013 Posts: 883 Member
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    if it isnt in starvation fine, if your not losing eat. i was in the same boat and had to up mine.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    You should still try to work in more calorie dense foods- nuts, avacados, oils etc- even if you aren't hungry. Many people will tell you you don't need to eat your exercise cals, but what eating them does is provide you with the fuel your body needs, and it conditions your body and metabolism to work at their peak performance. Starvation mode isn't something that happens instantaneously if you are under your cals, it happens over prolonged caloric deficit. But because calorie restriction (ie, the practice MFP is based on) is prolonged calorie deficit, you should try to meet your goal within about 100 cals +/- . When you get to maintanence, you will have to eat nearly 2000 cals a day- so try not to let yourself get in the habit of falling too far below your goal.
  • irtata43
    irtata43 Posts: 37 Member
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    I'm having the same problem. I'm allowed 1200 cals. a day, I'm also tracking carbs and fat. I almost never, if ever use all my cals. I did have a point where my weight loss slowed way down. I uped my cals. by making myself eat extras (still not meeting my total cal. goal)and my loss picked back up. But like you I hate having to eat more than I really want or feel like I need.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    You should still try to work in more calorie dense foods- nuts, avacados, oils etc- even if you aren't hungry. Many people will tell you you don't need to eat your exercise cals, but what eating them does is provide you with the fuel your body needs, and it conditions your body and metabolism to work at their peak performance. Starvation mode isn't something that happens instantaneously if you are under your cals, it happens over prolonged caloric deficit. But because calorie restriction (ie, the practice MFP is based on) is prolonged calorie deficit, you should try to meet your goal within about 100 cals +/- . When you get to maintanence, you will have to eat nearly 2000 cals a day- so try not to let yourself get in the habit of falling too far below your goal.


    This is great advice, exactly what I would say!

    When I first started I was in starvation mode and it was difficult to eat enough food. I just slowly added in more food, not calorie dense stuff or liquid calories. I just kept track of where I was in terms of my calorie goal and tried to eat more often. It took maybe about a week before I was used to eating more.
  • jessimacar
    jessimacar Posts: 291
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    I'm the same way.. I used to be constantly eating, but as soon as I started eating healthy my body seems to want less and less. I don't know if my stomach is shrinking, or what, but I can never get to my goal! I can get close if I eat a lot of junk that day, but it's still a lot of effort.

    I'd also like to point out that I started losing weight pretty quickly when I started eating healthier, but staying close to my goal. When I started consistently eating a lot less than my calorie goal, my weight has been fluctuating between a few pounds. I ate very close to my goal one day, and though I gained a bit by the next morning, I lost that and more the next morning..

    I think I'm going to try and fluctuate how much I eat, I've been getting the suggestion from a few people. I think that might be a good option for you too. I'll try to get closer to my goal, but really push to hit it every other day or so.

    Maybe you should try to eat higher calorie health foods.. Things like nuts and meats.. That way you can eat more calories without stuffing yourself. Also, drinking your calories is another way to get them if you're not hungry! :)

    These are all ideas from other people who have passed them on to me because I have the same problem, except my goal is 1200, so I REALLY need to eat mine. Lol.

    Good Luck!
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    keep in mind too for low cardio activities like shopping - 5 hours, yeah maybe you burned 900 calories... BUT how many would you have burned anyway? Those are already accounted for in your base count. For me, I would have burned about 500 anyway so I only burned 400 EXTRA. So, you might be eating enough just fine - especially if you are logging 900 calories exercise for those 5 hours. You are counting calories twice then.

    You also don't have to eat A LOT to get in your calories. Do you know how many calories a small handful of walnuts has? Like 450! Can't say you're not hungry for that! A glass of milk is another good one. Or add some avocado to your salad.

    Plus, be sure you are totally accurately logging everything. I don't usually log things like ketchup or canola oil cooking spray, but I know how many calories it has (because I used to log it) so I do account for those things when I consider my total count for the day. Maybe I am a little under, but I know I did not log condiments. Also, if you are not weighing all your food, then your cal counter is really little more than an estimate. Was that a large potato or a medium potato? Was it a large apple or a medium one? Did your raw oatmeal settle and 1/2 cup was really 2/3 cup? I don't weigh my food and do estimate some things and use similar entries for something that is not in the diary choices, but I also realize that - so when were talking 200 calories here or there, I don't worry about it. I just watch the big picture and what the scale and inches are doing. Also, some days I am over, and some I am under. It averages itself out and I have been feeling fine and losing.

    PS - do know that anorexics can eat 300 or 500 calories a day and "feel fine" or "not hungry". Just because their bodies are used to it doesn't make it healthy. So consider all angles.

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