Maintaining weight and proper nutrition

tauns
tauns Posts: 29
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
I am struggling here. I started my fitness pal to help me maintain my loss of 160 lbs. While I am NOT complaining at all, I am concerned I have lost an additional 10 lbs. My BMI was 22 and is now at 20. I am having a hard time in counting calories and still eating enough food in the day. If I loose 10 more lbs I will be under weight so before that happens I want to get some help here.

I want and NEED To eat the calories assigned but I have always been "trained" to eat just under to help a bit more. Being able to eat a full 1800 calories is HARD on me mentally and getting it in physically is even hard. My body has become accustomed to 1200 calories. I don't have the need or desire for more food when I reach that limit. I am TERRIFIED of going back up to 300 lbs. I am also realizing that loosing weight I don't have to loose is going to be the same problem on the other end.

I am NOT anorexic. I am willing to eat. I guess I need to know how to eat. Where can I add more food in that is HEALTHY. My portions I don't think need to be increased because I am full when I finish eating and I do not want to retrain my body to over-eat. My problem is lately I have been adding things like candy because it's empty calories and I am struggling to get in more than 1200 calories without the candy.

I have trained myself to always watch for the lowest calories and fats in foods and pick what is the healthiest food choice. The problem is now I still only need to eat the same portion sizes but my body needs more calories. It's stupid to suddenly stop making healthy food choices and eat empty, unhealthy calories but I am finding myself doing that. Balance here is hard!!!

What are some suggestions? I don't tolerate milk products well (which I know helps if you can eat some cheese or drink a glass of milk to add in calories but my stomach isn't happy when I do that). Protein powder with water is fine but the calories aren't really high with the shake made with water and it makes me feel so full that I many times don't eat a meal cause I don't feel hungry. I do eat carbs (like ww bread) and I do eat nuts every day. I don't want to gain but I don't want to loose either.

I always thought the hard part was over once you lost the weight. I am just starting to get a inclination of what weight maintenance truly is and it is just as hard!!!

Replies

  • gegardner
    gegardner Posts: 11
    Fruit is a great choice for additional calories and they are loaded with good nutrition. If you can't eat a whole apple, then eat some dried fruit-even more calories per serving!
    I like almond butter, it has a great, smooth taste even eaten plain on a tablespoon, and again, high cals.
    Whatever you do, don't deprive your body of the nutrition-I didn't say calories-nutrition that it needs. Candy has calories, but maybe you're loosing weight because you don't have the vitamins to maintain a healthy weight.
    Take care of yourself and congratulations on overcoming bad habits...now just keep it in moderation :-)
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    I would try adding just 50-100 cals more per day, each week, to slowly work back up to what you need to eat to maintain. Eat 50 more for a week or two, then add another 50, etc. Little things like 12 nuts instead of 6 can add up. Or adding a bit of olive or canola oil in your cooking. Just adding another small snack in the day will help, too. Work on it slowly, until your stomach grows a bit to accommodate. If you go slow, you're unlikely to start overeating again. And, going slow, you will be better able to see when you're actually maintaining, rather than gaining/losing. Keep working at it. And congrats on your great work! :flowerforyou:
  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
    Can you open your diary so we can see what you're eating? Then we can make suggestions to help you. :smile:
  • jo_marnes
    jo_marnes Posts: 1,601 Member
    I am SO the same! I haven't lost as much as you, but I'm now maintaining (or even need to gain a little) and I too am struggling. My BMI is about 19.1 and I could do with gaining a couple of kilos.

    My BMR is now at 1690 cals, which I can just about do. However, I could never eat all the exercise calories I burn... I'd seriously be eating double what I'm used to.

    It's very hard to overcome the mentality of eating less and trying not to feel guilty when you eat high calorie foods. It's a gradual thing I guess.... if you find a quick fix, let me know!!
  • BrookeMclaughlin
    BrookeMclaughlin Posts: 1
    sugar free fruit juice is high in calories. Good luck with your journey!
  • VezNo1
    VezNo1 Posts: 83
    I have just stared making nut and seed snack pots, 10g of pumpkin seeds, 10g of almonds and 10 g of shelled pistachios. If you just graze then through the day thats an extra 179 cals. Cashews are a good choice to.
  • CallejaFairey
    CallejaFairey Posts: 391 Member
    my fav high cal treat that is healthy are avocados, i could eat those suckers with everything!!! ever tried an avocado smoothie? sooo good.

    i only kinda understand the struggle. my cal limit is 1770, as i still have loads of weight to lose, and that is with wanting to lose 2 lbs a week, and usually i don't have much trouble eating fairly close to that, and eating fairly healthy, or so i think...lol. but at the same time, i see how much trouble my mom is having eating all of her cals, and she only has 1200. i think it is harder for people with lower cals to eat, and those who had to go lower to lose, and are now like you, done losing and need to maintain, which usually means upping cals. you are just so used to having to watch every single cal that when you suddenly have an extra meals worth of cals it can be difficult to find the room.

    i think if you split the extra cals between each meal that will help, 100 extra here and 100 extra there are easier to take in than 200 extra at once. try looking up different recipes online that have cals listed, and choose to makes ones that you wouldn't have dreamt making when you only had 1200 cals to go with. as long as the stuff you are using is still healthy, and not empty cals, you will be fine. and def don't ever feel guilty for thos cals...sure before when cooking something with oil you might have only used a tsp, but if the oil is healthy, a tbsp isn't so bad. did i mention that i love avocado oil too :P
  • VezNo1
    VezNo1 Posts: 83
    I have just stared making nut and seed snack pots, 10g of pumpkin seeds, 10g of almonds and 10 g of shelled pistachios. If you just graze then through the day thats an extra 179 cals. Cashews are a good choice to.
  • ChassityGetsFit
    ChassityGetsFit Posts: 173 Member
    First I will say that you really do need to eat the more calories to maintain your body wiehgt (which I'm sure you already know)! Eating 1200 calories was creating a deficit to help you lose weight, so eating 1800 calories means adding those calroies back and is what is required to maintain that body weight. Now, my advice to adding more calories back in is maybe going back to foods that aren't low fat or light or fat free. I know this sounds bad, but it will add the calories back in without having to do or eat anything extra! Now I'm not saying you should eat all sorts of unhealthy things, but a few things could be changed and still have a healthy version. For example, instead of doing fat free cream cheese you could do a regular cream cheese. That's still a healthy option. Maybe instead of doing fat free milk, switch to 1% or 2%. It's still a healthy option. Even once you've met your goal you may need to monitor it my weighing yourself regularly! If you gain 2 lbs then lower your calories again until you get back to your goal! Don't be afraid of gaining it all back because you now know how to lose it and what you should do to keep it off, so it's only a matter of doing it for you! I wish you good luck and hope everything settles for you! :D
  • tauns
    tauns Posts: 29
    Can you open your diary so we can see what you're eating? Then we can make suggestions to help you. :smile:

    Yes I can but please note that I have eaten REALLY crappy for the last 3 weeks. I had major intestinal surgery to fix my intestines and food became what I could eat and keep down rather than healthy choices. I think that is a huge part of why and how I got off track and have started to REALLY struggle. Also, candy got re-introduced (valentines day anyone)?!?

    One more note: I still have to be careful in my cooking because my husband is working on loosing his weight. He has about 35lbs left to loose so healthy choice in cooking foods is important because I can't starve him because he has to eat less if I cook with more fattening things. Also, I already cook with Olive Oils and such. When I started loosing I switched to cooking like that so that when I was done loosing I wouldn't have to change. I wanted to make a lifestyle change not a temporary change.
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