Am I not eating enough?

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I'm new to Paleo and have been successful at logging in MFP for a whole 11 days! For many that's not exciting but for me you would have thought Id won an Olympic metal. In the past I've been successful at anything I put my mind to...except my health and eating right. Before now my most successful streak would have been MAYBE 2 days...with cheating probably.

I also hit rock bottom so...that helps with my drive.

I need some newbie advice. For the first time in my LIFE I am satisfied (not hungry) and do not have overwhelming cravings. But it doesn't seem like I am eating enough by calorie standards. (View my diary, I set it to public.) Do I need to push myself to eat more when I feel sufficiently satisfied and my body isn't craving more?

Also I need any advice I can get on macronutrients etc! Or good books to read? Really...very new and very eager to learn.

Ps...my sister has lost 60 pounds and my mom 40 doing paleo diets.

Replies

  • SteamClutch
    SteamClutch Posts: 433 Member
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    Welcome Lyndsey, I looked over a few days of your diary and you really should be eating more veggies is all I see. you seem to get the ideas correctly but most of us when we start out tend to under eat (I do not know why, silly brains or something) but you need to eat closer to the recommended daily caloric intake if not more that that to fuel your body and supply the right nutrients to keep your body from eating your own muscle tissue, which it will if we starve ourselves. It is okay to under eat if we are simply not hungry which happens from time to time but not everyday. there are a ton of books out there to read and you can review the book recommendation listed in the sticky posts, but since I am answering your post I will say Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint is a good start, I also recommend Jonathan Bailor's Calorie Myth it is not strictly Paleo but it really focuses in on our tendency to under eat to loose weight (if that is a goal) and how terribly it can affect us if we are not careful. Feel free to add me as a friend if you need more.
  • camtosh
    camtosh Posts: 898 Member
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    Hi, just take a look here for an extensive reading list, these are all good. And good luck with your journey :) It is worth it.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/995689-recommended-reading
  • Nutmeg76
    Nutmeg76 Posts: 258 Member
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    I definitely think you need to eat more too. I see most days you eat just two eggs for breakfast, add some extra stuff in there.
  • justaspoonfulofsugar
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    Eat more food!!!
    Eat more fat,veggies and protein..there is no reason to be eating only 1250 calories.
    It might be an idea to switch out your great value olive oil for a better one(great value is a known GMO)and chances are,the oil has been cut with lots of other nasty oils.
    Invest in some good quality coconut oil,some good butter(or ghee)and some quality oils(nut and olive).
    Eat more veggies,loads more veggies.
    It's an idea to use an online calculator that will help you understand how much your body needs just to function.
    Under eating will only do more damage in the long run by slowing down your metabolism
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
  • LyndseyGarber
    LyndseyGarber Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks all for the answers. I want to do this right and I knew I wasn't eating enough. More veggies. I can do that. I was raised with the eat when your hungry stop when you are full mentality and I've been FULL so haven't pushed more in my mouth but only 700 calories of food? I am not trying to starve myself!

    Two eggs in the morning is a victory. I HATE eating in the morning. Even as a toddler my mom said I didn't want breakfast. Maybe someday (soon) I can choke more down but for this week...yay for two eggs!

    Olive oil, ok ok. I did invest in better oils but we are on a limited budget and I was trying to finish the last little bit of the great value brand...didn't even think to check the back. I'm learning quickly but still have my moments.

    I keep hearing about the Blueprint book! I will look it up!

    Thanks all!
  • justaspoonfulofsugar
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    If you don't like eating the morning,don't!
    There are many people here who eat their food in one or 2 meals per day as it works better for them.
    Listen to your body and don't make it do something it doesn't want to.
    If you head over here http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/ it's free and will give you loads of information.The book is worth buying but everything in the book is on his site :)
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    If you don't like eating the morning,don't!
    There are many people here who eat their food in one or 2 meals per day as it works better for them.
    Listen to your body and don't make it do something it doesn't want to.
    If you head over here http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/ it's free and will give you loads of information.The book is worth buying but everything in the book is on his site :)

    This and what everyone else said! End the calorie obsession. A year and a half of eating too little sure backfired for me, even though I was Primal/Paleo for the entire time. I'm dealing with a slowed metabolism and loss of lean body mass and my body is hanging on to excess fat in any way it can.

    Btw. I do not eat breakfast. Breakfast has never been my thing. But I will eat breakfast-type meals at lunch or dinner. Eggs and meat are great anytime. However, I do need to eat earlier than noon if I get strenuous exercise early in the morning, but still don't get hungry until 10am on those days.
  • LyndseyGarber
    LyndseyGarber Posts: 9 Member
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    I think my issue is less obsessing WITH calories and more I wasn't paying attention to them at ALL! My goal with MFP was to help me be more aware of nutrition and to have a log to show my natural doctor. I was just basically eating until I was satisfied, which apparently means eating like a bird. In fact no one in my family is a big eater! We've always been that way. I have been married 4 years and I still can't believe how much food my husband eats and I've been told he's normal. My mom gained weight from thyroid issues and my sister from eating junk, the rest of the family are tall and trim. (Six kids.)

    I understand eating more helps metabolism etc. I just wish I didn't feel as stuffed as THANKSGIVING day every day trying to eat a reasonable amount of food like a "normal" person.

    I'm also trying to regulate pre-diabetes and eating breakfast helps my glucose levels for obvious reasons. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I don't already notice a difference in how I feel when I buckle down and do it. I managed to add half an avocado to my egg menu this morning and I had to work hard make a conscious effort to finish it but I did. Whewhoo.

    Thanks everyone for the input. I very much appriciated all who have taken the time.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    I don't think you should force yourself to eat when full but I also know lots of people have calories in the back of their minds and avoid eating what they need hoping to lose weight faster.

    I too am dealing with severe metabolic disorders (prediabetes-but cured now, depression, and many others) and extended fasting doesn't cause any problems with blood sugar for me, but WHAT I eat does at any time. I do have Bulletproof coffee in the mornings though which I doubt affects blood sugar at all. I would suggest that you may not need to eat until you actually feel hungry, as long as you feel well while fasted and not dizzy or fatigued.