Calories add up too fast !

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  • cheripugh1
    cheripugh1 Posts: 357 Member
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    Increase your calories. I increased mine and I'm doing better, inches are coming off... in part because when I have it at 1200 I eat under that, I panic when it gets near... at 1400 you can stay at the 1200 - 1250 mark and feel full and not under eat and not feel like you aren't doing things right.
  • mollybuck
    mollybuck Posts: 64 Member
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    One of the dangers of very low calorie intake is that you will actually stop losing weight. Your body goes into survival mode and your metabolism will actually slow down. To counteract this, keep your goals to about a pound a week , and add some exercise.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    1 - you can eat more and still lose weight...your calorie goal is very aggressive

    2 - i highly recommend planning and pre-logging days at least until you start to get into a rhythm...you always know exactly where you stand when you pre-log.

    3 - getting in regular exercise is going to further increase your calorie allotment...I train for beer
  • AlyRuth94
    AlyRuth94 Posts: 11
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    Me and you are similar. I am eating the minimum at 1200/day, though sometimes it goes as low as 800. I do not see any negative side effects from eating only 800 calories in a day every once in a while so long as I am full. Most days I eat between 1000 and 1200 calories.

    I have narrowed down my meals to two meals daily instead of three. It took my body getting used to, but I rarely feel hungry anymore. I eat a light brunch whenever I get hungry, typically around 10:30am to noon. My typical breakfast is either of these two:

    -Eggs Benedict @ a mere 280 calories W/ 1 slice of bacon, 1 poached egg, 1/2 an english muffin, and 1/5th a package of hollandaise sauce. And it's REALLY filling.
    -Southern Breakfast @ 302 calories W/ 2 slices of bacon, 2 scrambled eggs, 1 slice toast. No butter on anything unless I can compensate later.

    Dinner is typically somewhere around 6:30 in the afternoon, and after eating a light brunch, you don't have to eat like a bird for dinner so long as you didn't do a whole lot of snacking throughout the day. I found it really keeps my diet going to have at least 1 really filling meal every day, and with almost 900 calories left, you can eat a TON of stuff. Some of my dinners:

    -Tonight's Chili @ 550 calories W/ 1 serving of chili, 1/8 cup of shredded cheese, 1 dollop of sour cream, and 1/2 a small package of lays potato chips.
    -Memorial Day's feast @ 758 calories W/ 1/4 rack of ribs, 3 tbsp of BBQ sauce, 1 slice garlic toast, 1 serving baked beans, and 1 clove broccoli
    -Spaghetti and Meatballs @ 609 calories W/ 1 1/4 cup of spaghetti and meatballs and 1 slice garlic toast

    And notice none of those actually get to be 900 calories, so you still have room to snack AND have a really filling meal. So you don't burn through all those calories on something not filling. Stay away from BUTTER, OILS, and NUTS because all of those things will burn through your calories like nothing! Cheese can be pretty bad too if you don't watch it. Don't drink any liquid calories either.
  • sadiebea25
    sadiebea25 Posts: 72
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    Get a food scale and weigh your food! Then you will know exactly how much you're eating and don't have to worry about "mistakes".
  • jjplato
    jjplato Posts: 155 Member
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    Protein generally rates higher in satiety (the feeling of fullness after a meal) than carbohydrates or fat, so you may want to try incorporating more protein into your diet and see if that helps. I also agree with the poster that suggested you do some cardio and then eat the calories back.

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/87/5/1558S.full

    Good luck!
  • AlyRuth94
    AlyRuth94 Posts: 11
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    One of the dangers of very low calorie intake is that you will actually stop losing weight. Your body goes into survival mode and your metabolism will actually slow down. To counteract this, keep your goals to about a pound a week , and add some exercise.

    I wouldn't call 1100 calories a "very low calorie intake" for someone like me at 5'4" @ 139 pounds. My BMR is only 350 calories more than that. And no, starvation mode doesn't cause you to "stop losing weight." It slows your metabolism by 10% after your body fat % gets very, very low. Never has there ever been a study that says starvation mode will cause you to STOP losing weight. MFP really needs to stop perpetuating this misconception.
  • GreatDepression
    GreatDepression Posts: 347 Member
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    Yes, I have this problem too. A couple hundred here and there and you've already eaten more than half your daily allowance. It sucks but keeping track of it as you eat is probably the best thing you can do to adjust in real time. Imagine just trying to wing it and unintentionally overeating so many calories.

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