Hitting your calorie goals

fatcity66
fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I started cutting back on simple carbs and most starchy foods, and I am having a lot of trouble hitting my calorie goal, especially if I work out, which I try to 6 days a week. Yesterday I ate 3 lbs of crab legs and was still 300 cal under my goal. Today I was 700 under. I just am not hungry and can't seem to eat more protein. I haven't cut out carbs completely, but set my macro goal for 30%, which I am pretty close to. I eat fruits and veggies every day. Should I worry about this, or just go with the flow, accepting that my body will tell me if it needs more food? I was plateaued for a while and just started losing again, so that makes me happy...

Replies

  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    Your calorie goal is just that: a goal. It's not an upper limit which you should stay under, it's an actual goal which you should reach, if not daily, then at least averaged over the course of a week. 700 calories is much too large a deficit. You need to eat more. Try some nutrient dense foods like nut butters or nuts, starchy veggies, foods with lots of good oils...maybe some potatoes roasted with lots of EVOO.

    ETA: if you want to stick with mainly protein, why not fry some? Steak, fried chicken (without breading, or with a light dusting of cornstarch) that sort of thing.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I get the sentiment, but should I really force myself to eat more if I'm not hungry? Eating all those crab legs last night made my stomach hurt. I don't think that's a good thing either.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    There is no need to cut carbs. It would be much easier to reach your goal if you include more starchy foods.

    Looking at your diary, you netted above 1200 cals on the days I scrolled through so you probably don't need to worry too much, but when you have a large deficit, like 700 cals, you should try to eat back more of your exercise calories.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    As I said, you can shoot for hitting your goal weekly rather than daily...it works for a lot of people. So if you're under one day, you can eat more calorie-heavy things the next day to make up for it. Maybe go have a cheeseburger or some pizza tomorrow to even it out, and you'll be fine.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    There may be no "need" to cut carbs for you, but that's what I'm doing, and it's what works for me.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    Your calorie goal is just that: a goal. It's not an upper limit which you should stay under, it's an actual goal which you should reach, if not daily, then at least averaged over the course of a week. 700 calories is much too large a deficit. You need to eat more. Try some nutrient dense foods like nut butters or nuts, starchy veggies, foods with lots of good oils...maybe some potatoes roasted with lots of EVOO.

    ETA: if you want to stick with mainly protein, why not fry some? Steak, fried chicken (without breading, or with a light dusting of cornstarch) that sort of thing.

    Thanks for the suggestions. I did have some potatoes with dinner tonight. I was planning on an avocado too but got short on time and had to get ready for work. The reason I like cutting back on carbs is I don't feel hungry. I tried going back to "normal" eating for a month, but I was hungry all the time, and didn't lose weight, even though I was eating within my calorie goals and exercising. I used to be able to lose weight much more easily, but I guess time is finally catching up to me. :ohwell:
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    There may be no "need" to cut carbs for you, but that's what I'm doing, and it's what works for me.
    It doesn't sound like it's really "working" for you if it means you can't reach your calorie goal. It's called a goal because you're supposed to hit it - or at least get very close to it. Consistently undereating will have a detrimental effect on your body. Obviously, you need to undereat a little in order to lose the fat, but going beyond the reasonable calorie deficit that is recommended is not a good idea.

    Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean your body doesn't need more food. Hunger is not actually a very good gauge of how much you should eat. It's very common for people who aren't eating enough to lose their appetite. Appetite is controlled to a large extent by hormones, and your hormones start getting messed up when you drastically cut calories. When you don't give your body enough energy to work with, it starts slowing down some of its non-essential processes. You say you find it harder to lose weight these days, well eating very low calories over any period of time is only going to make it so much harder in the long run. You're also risking losing muscle mass and bone density, both of which are really important to your health.

    I'm not trying to be harsh, but it honestly doesn't make sense to me cutting carbs so you don't feel hungry and then complaining that you're not hungry enough to eat the calories that your body needs. And then you don't feel like eating more protein to make up the difference, and you don't have time to eat an avocado? There are lots of calorie dense foods out there that you could add, that don't take any more time to eat than low calorie ones (cheese, nuts, eggs, full fat milk, olive oil, chocolate, peanut butter, sunflower seeds etc). Maybe you don't really want to meet your calorie goal and are just happy never to feel hungry, but are just annoyed that the weight isn't dropping off quickly? Again, honestly not trying to be mean. Maybe it might be more helpful to learn to cope with feelings of hunger (which are completely normal) and eat foods moderately, and accept that sustainable weight loss is supposed to be slow.
  • JDhooah
    JDhooah Posts: 3
    Hey, I need help as well. I really need to lose this extra weight more so in the mid-section area. I am 5'8 and weigh 193. My body fat percentage is around 22% but I want to get down to like 10%. I am not good at dieting at all. I am a college student and on a budget. Right now I am not meeting my required calorie intake. It's suppose to be at around 2200 and i'm only getting about 1100. Any good diet plans out there? Does calorie intake really matter? I've never been much of a eater. Use to eat only about one big meal a day and be ok. Right now i have 1% milk, go lean cereal, protein powder, carrots, yogurt, cup of fruit, salad mix, tilapia, and chicken wings.
  • JDhooah
    JDhooah Posts: 3
    Hey, I need help as well. I really need to lose this extra weight more so in the mid-section area. I am 5'8 and weigh 193. My body fat percentage is around 22% but I want to get down to like 10%. I am not good at dieting at all. I am a college student and on a budget. Right now I am not meeting my required calorie intake. It's suppose to be at around 2200 and i'm only getting about 1100. Any good diet plans out there? Does calorie intake really matter? I've never been much of a eater. Use to eat only about one big meal a day and be ok. Right now i have 1% milk, go lean cereal, protein powder, carrots, yogurt, cup of fruit, salad mix, tilapia, and chicken wings.
  • ReallyBigJAWS
    ReallyBigJAWS Posts: 26
    I've been having the same issue lately. I've noticed a good way to avoid easily reaching/surpassing my goal is to keep myself busy. Now I'm not so sure if that's a good thing.

    Some days I'll go 200 over and my exercises more than cover it. Other days I'll be around 300 under, I'll finish my exercises (200 - 300 cals) and it'll already be around 10:30 at night so I have to go on some crazy midnight snacking binge, unless I want to cover that deficit by just stuffing a large piece of cake of half a dozen cookies into my mouth, which obviously I don't.
    I'll usually have to do something like making my self a large sandwich and eating a bunch of baked chips with it.

    One night I had such a large deficit (not intentionally) I had to eat a whole meal then follow up with a 200 calorie protein bar.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    nuts
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    If too stuffed to eat just do a few scoops of protein powder, few cups of milk, fruit, ice, blend, then drink...aka smoothie....add peanut butter...eat nuts....
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
    Are you using a heart rate monitor to track calories burned? Because MFP really, really overestimates exercise calories for a lot of exercises . . . so that could be making you look further under your goal than you are.

    And someone already said it, but I have also found that looking at weekly calories as opposed to daily is really helpful.

    Best of luck!
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    If too stuffed to eat just do a few scoops of protein powder, few cups of milk, fruit, ice, blend, then drink...aka smoothie....add peanut butter...eat nuts....

    I do eat smoothies often...and I love bananas and peanut butter, so I might start making a smoothie with that and protein powder. Part of my problem is I work nights and sleep during the day...ALOT...so I don't have much time to eat. I do try to bring healthy snacks to work when I have time, but I would often just rather not eat than eat the crap out of the vending machine. Like I said, it just makes me feel hungry again in a hour. And I don't believe in "just dealing" with feeling hungry all the time. That sucks and that's not how I want to live the rest of my life.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    Are you using a heart rate monitor to track calories burned? Because MFP really, really overestimates exercise calories for a lot of exercises . . . so that could be making you look further under your goal than you are.

    And someone already said it, but I have also found that looking at weekly calories as opposed to daily is really helpful.

    Best of luck!

    This could be...I go by MFP and what the machine says I am burning, I don't know how accurate it really is.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I've been having the same issue lately. I've noticed a good way to avoid easily reaching/surpassing my goal is to keep myself busy. Now I'm not so sure if that's a good thing.

    Some days I'll go 200 over and my exercises more than cover it. Other days I'll be around 300 under, I'll finish my exercises (200 - 300 cals) and it'll already be around 10:30 at night so I have to go on some crazy midnight snacking binge, unless I want to cover that deficit by just stuffing a large piece of cake of half a dozen cookies into my mouth, which obviously I don't.
    I'll usually have to do something like making my self a large sandwich and eating a bunch of baked chips with it.

    One night I had such a large deficit (not intentionally) I had to eat a whole meal then follow up with a 200 calorie protein bar.

    I have a weird schedule (I work nights) so I have trouble meeting my calorie goals on some days, but make up for it on others. Some days I am really active, others I sleep all day and then just go to work. So I probably don't need as many calories on my less active days. But it's not usual for me to have a meal after 10pm due to my schedule. Sometimes I like sleeping longer because I know I can't overeat then...LOL
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    There may be no "need" to cut carbs for you, but that's what I'm doing, and it's what works for me.
    It doesn't sound like it's really "working" for you if it means you can't reach your calorie goal. It's called a goal because you're supposed to hit it - or at least get very close to it. Consistently undereating will have a detrimental effect on your body. Obviously, you need to undereat a little in order to lose the fat, but going beyond the reasonable calorie deficit that is recommended is not a good idea.

    Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean your body doesn't need more food. Hunger is not actually a very good gauge of how much you should eat. It's very common for people who aren't eating enough to lose their appetite. Appetite is controlled to a large extent by hormones, and your hormones start getting messed up when you drastically cut calories. When you don't give your body enough energy to work with, it starts slowing down some of its non-essential processes. You say you find it harder to lose weight these days, well eating very low calories over any period of time is only going to make it so much harder in the long run. You're also risking losing muscle mass and bone density, both of which are really important to your health.

    I'm not trying to be harsh, but it honestly doesn't make sense to me cutting carbs so you don't feel hungry and then complaining that you're not hungry enough to eat the calories that your body needs. And then you don't feel like eating more protein to make up the difference, and you don't have time to eat an avocado? There are lots of calorie dense foods out there that you could add, that don't take any more time to eat than low calorie ones (cheese, nuts, eggs, full fat milk, olive oil, chocolate, peanut butter, sunflower seeds etc). Maybe you don't really want to meet your calorie goal and are just happy never to feel hungry, but are just annoyed that the weight isn't dropping off quickly? Again, honestly not trying to be mean. Maybe it might be more helpful to learn to cope with feelings of hunger (which are completely normal) and eat foods moderately, and accept that sustainable weight loss is supposed to be slow.

    What I mean by "working" is that I am losing weight and seeing more definition in my muscles. I understand weight loss takes time, and I am committed for the long haul. But it really de-motivates me when I do everything I'm supposed to for a month or more and see no results. No weight loss, no change in my body, nothing...
  • gem192
    gem192 Posts: 39 Member
    It seems to me like there are a good few people on these forums who want support for eating way less than they are supposed to.
  • bunnypanther
    bunnypanther Posts: 110
    I have recently started tracking averages as believe that gives a better indication of long term in vs out. I have a spreadsheet which I enter daily calories in and out onto and it gives me an average for the week. I also have an on going average of the weekly averages.

    Have you checked your reports on here?

    I'm in the club of if it ain't broke, don't fix it! But if you're worried add more nuts n calorie dense nibbles?
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I have recently started tracking averages as believe that gives a better indication of long term in vs out. I have a spreadsheet which I enter daily calories in and out onto and it gives me an average for the week. I also have an on going average of the weekly averages.

    Have you checked your reports on here?

    I'm in the club of if it ain't broke, don't fix it! But if you're worried add more nuts n calorie dense nibbles?

    I like that club, I'd like to join!
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I guess I should also clarify, I AM losing doing this....so if I can just continue, that works for me...

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