Calories add up too fast !

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LFA50
LFA50 Posts: 58
in Health and Weight Loss
I don't feel like I've eaten anything, really, today and I'm already over 700 calories - which leaves only 400 + to get through dinner.

The most substantial things I've eaten to day was 1 piece of wheat toast with peanut butter and about 3 chunks of that immitation crab stuff. All else has been fruits, veggies except for 1/2 cup of orzo which was hardly anything ... :(
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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    well with only 1100 calories I could see that happening...

    why are you at 1100 calories...the minimum for here is 1200...

    With about 40lbs to lose changing weekly weight loss goal to 1lb a week should help.

    Barring that ensure you are eating back all your exercise calories.
  • MeganAnne89
    MeganAnne89 Posts: 271 Member
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    Open your diary? I can't really give you help unless I can see what you're eating
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    well with only 1100 calories I could see that happening...

    why are you at 1100 calories...the minimum for here is 1200...

    With about 40lbs to lose changing weekly weight loss goal to 1lb a week should help.

    Barring that ensure you are eating back all your exercise calories.
    This you can eat more food and lose weight
  • LFA50
    LFA50 Posts: 58
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    Diary open.

    I try to eat around 1200 a day - I set it low to give allowances for logging "mistakes" - you know...maybe I ate 7 oz chicken and not 6 oz chicken last night - that kind of thing.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Maybe you need to reassess your goals for a more realistic range. SOME days I seem to only be able to eat 1300-1400. But typical is 1400-1600 and occasionally a little more. When I first tried eating in a reduced range I tried 1200-1550. Which would have been ok except I always tried to do 1200. That didn't work so well for me. At a higher range, life is better.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    weigh your foods, it will give you a better estimate of calories and take some of the guesswork out.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Yep - when you set your calorie goal so low you have to be SUPER tight with the calories and make every single one count. Or you know you could set a more reasonable goal, be less miserable, and still lose weight.
  • asciident
    asciident Posts: 166 Member
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    Peanut butter notoriously has a lot of calories for the portion size. Not that I don't love PB but maybe you weren't conscious of that?

    I agree with others that you almost certainly can eat more calories in a day and still lose weight, but you should pick a more sustainable weekly goal.
  • LFA50
    LFA50 Posts: 58
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    Peanut butter notoriously has a lot of calories for the portion size. Not that I don't love PB but maybe you weren't conscious of that?

    I agree with others that you almost certainly can eat more calories in a day and still lose weight, but you should pick a more sustainable weekly goal.

    oh, I know all about PB and calories...which is why I choose Jiff Whipped. I know I didn't have 2 "full" tablespoons today, but logged it as that anyways. The PB toast is kind of the highlight of the morning, so I don't want to give it up! :)
  • dirtmagnets
    dirtmagnets Posts: 116 Member
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    My thoughts:

    1. Get a food scale, and weigh everything. Everyone always talks here about how it's helped them realize they were eating way more than they thought, but I've had mixed experiences: a lot of foods that I was underestimating sizes of, but many, many more that I overestimated. What I would have guessed to be 4-5 ounces of meat before I started using the scale turns out to only be around 2, but what I thought was 2 tbsp of peanut butter was really more like 3.

    2. I agree with those above saying to reevaluate your goal. With just 40 pounds to lose, aim for a pound a week. I've had better success eating at around TDEE-20% and not worrying about counting/eating back exercise calories than I did with the automatic settings here (which set me around 1400) and eating back those exercise calories. I'm a bit younger than you, but guessing we're similar sizes based on your goals, and I'm losing at a steady clip at around 1600 calories/day.
  • LFA50
    LFA50 Posts: 58
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    I really haven't felt deprived or hungry eating 1200 until today. I'm also guessing the orzo wasn't as calorie laden as what I logged as it had asparagus and some other real tasty leafy veg and definitely was not a full 1/2 cup. But, I'd rather log for too many calories, than too little.
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
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    Exercise! Then there'll be those calories to "eat back".
  • McCluskey1128
    McCluskey1128 Posts: 88 Member
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    Also keep in mind your body and hormonal changes. If you're running on 1200kcal per day for several days, your body is going to notice that deficit and want/need more calories. Listen to your body.

    I couldn't agree more with getting a food scale/measuring cups/tablespoons. I have had the same experience as dirtmagnets. I've been UNDER estimating my calories and have been starving at times also. It's really made a difference.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I really haven't felt deprived or hungry eating 1200 until today. I'm also guessing the orzo wasn't as calorie laden as what I logged as it had asparagus and some other real tasty leafy veg and definitely was not a full 1/2 cup. But, I'd rather log for too many calories, than too little.

    Well you might be eating more - there's no way to know without a food scale. And if you over estimate too much, you're basically starving yourself, because you're not supposed to eat 1200, you're supposed to eat 1200 plus whatever you burn with exercise.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    I know I'm not happy unless I eat 1500-1800 so I workout everyday for health AND extra calories;-)
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    I looked at today's diary. There wasn't really any one thing that was calorific, just everything adds up quickly, doesn't it? :wink: It's good that you haven't really felt deprived yet. And there are definitely filling dinners that will fit in with what you have left - mostly homemade, but let me know if you want a couple of ideas.

    I agree with others that maybe you can eat a bit more calories (especially when you're already trying to overestimate -- I do agree that weighing everything on a kitchen scale can definitely help you on that, though). You realize that you can also exercise to earn more, right? :smile: I'm a small woman and I seriously couldn't get by on just 1200 calories :laugh:
  • laurie04427
    laurie04427 Posts: 421 Member
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    If you want to eat at 1200 I'd agree with the others, you'd do yourself a favor to buy a food scale. If for no other reason than you're probably skimping on vitamins if you're erring on the side of caution and over estimating what the portions are. May start feeling weak I'm thinking. Just my two cents.
  • stevee290
    stevee290 Posts: 85 Member
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    I made game out of portions when I started the goal was to eat with my eyes. 4 pounds of vegetables = 1 pound of extra lean ground turkey = 100 grams of almonds. I like to eat at least 2 pounds of food a day.
  • LFA50
    LFA50 Posts: 58
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    Exercise! Then there'll be those calories to "eat back".

    I do ! I don't always log as I don't want to eat back the calories all the time, ya know ? I guess tonight I will put in a good workout so I can eat a good dinner. :)
  • Fit_Fox88
    Fit_Fox88 Posts: 410 Member
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    I would definitely up your calories and get a food scale. I read that you had a few chunks of imitation crab meat... you could probably stand to have a whole heck of a lot more. When I first weighed that on my scale I was going well over the measuring cup serving size on the package, but I still wasn't hitting the grams. It was way more than I ever thought it would be.

    If you really don't want to raise your calories then you could mix in some exercise as someone else said so you have more to eat by the end of the day. I tried the 1200 limit when I first signed up for MFP and I only stuck with it for about 1 month. 2 years later I'm back and eating a lot more and still losing. It's much more sustainable this time :happy:

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