2nd day! Newbie, How am I suppossed to eat all these calorie

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Hi there, I am Gerald, a Graphic Artist in Houston, Texas. My goal is to lose 150 pounds! and I am really taking it seriously!!! I get up at 5 am goto the gym and get my heart rate up to 135 for 30 minutes every morning... then I start tracking my calories, and watching my nutrients. fitnesspal says I need to eat 2200 calories a day, but I havent been able to break 1200 in a day, and i ate alot more than usual!!! so what are you guys eating? and is it hurting me that I am not eating a complete 2200 calories???

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  • hamiltonba
    hamiltonba Posts: 474 Member
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    Can you share your food diary?
  • crystal10584
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    Try eating calorie dense foods. whole eggs instead of just whites, avocado is great for healthy fats and calorie dense. Nuts are as well
  • janalayn
    janalayn Posts: 510 Member
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    Go for healthy, high-calorie items ... I like avocado and almonds for calories and healthy fats. I also eat Clif bars before my workouts for protein and energy.
  • ambie35
    ambie35 Posts: 853 Member
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    it wont hurt you to eat less then 2200 ,but you being a male try to get close to 1500 and make sure you get lots of protein.
    healthy things to up your calorie intake are almonds,milk,cheese,or avocado.
  • misrical
    misrical Posts: 66 Member
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    Please share your diary so we can see what you are eating and we can make suggestions based from that.
  • blueeyedtraveler
    blueeyedtraveler Posts: 209 Member
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    When I originally joined MFP, it told me that I should be netting 2100 a day. I said absolutely no way and talked with my personal trainer friend. After that conversation, I came home and changed it to 1400. Currently, I'm debating changing it again to 1200 to see if it helps me lose more.

    Good luck on your journey.
  • meganashx3
    meganashx3 Posts: 1 Member
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    Take it slow! If you feel full I wouldn't force yourself to eat more then you'll just continue the same weight. 1,200 calories is healthy for people on a diet as long as you are eating all 1,200. I tend to workout every day for 30 minutes too but i do not eat back the calories that I burn just to keep the pounds down :) Just make sure you don't feel like your starving yourself- eating healthy foods means you can ate more and be full quicker so it may surprise you to be eating less quantities but to be full. If you eat less then that it will slow your metabolism.

    Good luck!
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    Do you know how many calories you were roughly eating before you joined MFP... I know for me I was eating over my maintainence calories, of 1800 which was what was making me gain weight....


    your maintainence calories are not 1200 so my bet is that you were eating a lot more before that made you gain weight,... that how it works for everyone...


    you need to look at calorie dense foods, (good foods that are high in calorie) I have a hard time keeping my calories under 1400 calories a day,. I am sure you can do the same...

    As far as calorie dense food, look at the following

    Whole eggs not just egg whites
    Avacados
    Protein powder
    bananas
    Peanut butter
    Dark chocolate (in moderation of course)
    2% milk
    Cook with olive oil
    eat whole grain pasta
    Find fiberous cereal that is higher in calorie (I recommend kashi)
    9 grain bread
    Cheese (not low fat or low calorie)
    Bump up your servings of protein
    All natural Fruit Juice
    yogurt


    These are just a few... You can definately eat more calories.
  • marthack
    marthack Posts: 9
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    Are you sure that you are entering your calorie intake correctly? I only had 20lbs to loose and 1200 was my daily calorie intake. When I reached my goal I re-adjusted my goals and my calorie in take went up by 100 calories. My suggestion is to eat the 2200 calories and what you have exercised. It also depends on what you set your goals to be. Good luck!
  • wackattack80
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    Gerald,
    First, congrats on taking a huge step and making a commitment to be healthy. Your body will thank you for it. You are already probably sleeping better, now that you are working out. Wow, I wish my caloric intake given to me was 2,200! I would be happy! LOL, mine is around 1400. One thing to look at is what you are eating and the time of day you are eating. Sometime people who don't each many calories for an entire day, are consuming most of them at night. Try not to eat about 2-3 hours before you go bed, this way your body has time to process the food before it shuts down while you sleep. Drink a lot of water! A good meal to start with in the morning is protein and whole grains. Try a whole wheat english muffin with almond butter (like peanut butter, but better) and three scrambled eggs; either with or without the yolk, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese.

    Also, another way to get good protein and calories is add a scoop or two of protein powder to your glass of milk or water. Costco carries an okay brand of protein powder and some of the ones at GNC are okay too.
  • gumby101ca
    gumby101ca Posts: 539 Member
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    protien and lots of it ... i have been eating lots of eggs, tuna and almonds, seems to be working for me !!!
  • angiebaby1977
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    Hello newbie:) Sounds like your on your way and thats awesome! However I seemed to have the same problem at first and my girlfriend is a personal trainer and put it to me like this. "You do not want to deprive yourself of calories initially-do what is "prescribed" ie your 2200) because then you can get used to that and ramp it up to even less as your weight goes down and your are accustomed to eating less and less. You only do that many now and u will probably fail, you do not want to starve feeling yourself. I eat 1875 daiyl(most days) but that was after 2 months almost of 2200. And yes eating the right things allow you to eat soo much more so you kinda feel like you eat all the time right? thats a far cry from a 4000+ day when all u had was a big mac,fries, soda and coffee for the whole day. You can do, but do it the right way. It will not come off overnight. I have lost just shy of 30 lbs and thats been since january. I didnt even incorperate exercise until 7 weeks ago. I wanted to be sure i had this eating thing down. If your a veggie person like me i eat tons of roasted veggies, all kinds roasted together in the oven on high heat with a grilled chicken breast for dinner. I eat my most food at lunch. Good luck to you, just rememeber its all mental-mind over matter.!!!
    Oh and anything with tons of fiber and protein!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • keebers1
    keebers1 Posts: 10 Member
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    My husband also has/had 150 lbs to lose and he eats from about 1200-1700 calories a day. It says he should eat about 2000, but he gets full so he doesn't always eat his calories. Since the end of January he has lost 50 lbs so it seems to be working fine for him. If you have any questions or want meal ideas, feel free to message me! Good luck and just take it one day at a time.
  • nehushtan
    nehushtan Posts: 566 Member
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    It can hurt you not to eat enough protein and fat. I agree with MFP's recommendation, it's based on sound dietary science. If you only eat 1200 calories a day and are burning almost 400 each morning you will be way way under what your body needs to function. Wish we could see your diary, though. I'm guessing from the amount you want to lose and from your photo that you weigh about 350. This means you will probably lose a LOT of weight quickly at first even at 2200 calories a day -- more than 2 lbs a week. For most people that's too much to lose per week but starting as high as you are it will probably be dropping off much faster than that and based on your situation that's probably OK. But if you don't eat enough protein and fat you will hurt yourself and your muscle support can be compromised.

    Check out this guy's blog: http://www.344pounds.com/
  • slapshotgolf
    slapshotgolf Posts: 163 Member
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    Stay to your target, especially in the early days. The calorie target is based on your metabollic base rate, which is a calculation of how many calories you burn just breathing and maintaining basic bodily functions. Any activity you do, including just getting out of bed, burns stored fat. MFP recommends a max of 2lbs/wk loss, which is equivalent to a 7000 calorie weekly deficit. If you lose more it should be attributed to extra exercise, not reduced intake. There are several more detailed and informed posts on the message boards which address the need to eat back the extra exercise calories, but also be guided by your body. As a general rule if I'm not hungry, I don't eat, provided I've eaten my initial calorie target for that day.

    In the early days you are mentally motivated, and feel that you can get by on less calories. That is not sustainable. It is better to never feel hungry and just monitor your food and exercise. The weight will come off. If you start to feel hungry you run the risk that you will eat more, make poor choices, and quit prematurely. I suggest opening your diary for others to view. It will also hold you accountable to what you eat. If suggest making friends on the site - they will encourage you, support you and also keep you accountable. Feel free to send me a request. Congratulations on making the first step. SSG.
  • geraldwaynemartin
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    Thanks alot for all of the replies, I just truned on the share to my food diary!!! sorry ima newb.... LOL not much on it yet just two days so far...
  • geraldwaynemartin
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    oh and as far as what I was eating before I started mfp... I would goto work drink a couple of pots of coffee... smoke thru lunch, have a couple of cokes, and some candy (mostly chocolate) get home late and gorge myself with food (cause I hadnt eaten all day) and go straight to bed...
  • nehushtan
    nehushtan Posts: 566 Member
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    Thanks alot for all of the replies, I just truned on the share to my food diary!!! sorry ima newb.... LOL not much on it yet just two days so far...

    oh and as far as what I was eating before I started mfp... I would goto work drink a couple of pots of coffee... smoke thru lunch, have a couple of cokes, and some candy (mostly chocolate) get home late and gorge myself with food (cause I hadnt eaten all day) and go straight to bed...

    Hey Gerald! We're all rooting for you, man! I live in H-town also. I think we are also similar in wanting to eat lighter in the early part of the day, saving calories for supper and snacks at the end of the day.

    Looking over your two days of diary I have a couple of suggestions.

    1) Try to eat more honest-to-goodness real food throughout the day, but especially for breakfast.

    For breakfast, try some eggs and bacon, or oatmeal with a slice of toast and peanut butter, or a turkey sausage potato and egg scramble, or some healthy cereal with skim milk (I like almond milk which is even fewer calories). If you are pressed for time in the mornings, eat a microwave breakfast like one of the Jimmy Dean's D-Lights or Smart Ones.

    If you are hungry between breakfast and lunch, eat some fruit. I find that this keeps me full.

    For lunch try a salad with chicken or fish, or a can of light soup or chili, or a microwave entree with a "single side" serving of vegetables (look in the freezer section), or a turkey burger at Mooyah's.

    For supper, I don't know what your schedule is like -- but if you like food do some cooking. Grill some chicken or fish, stir fry some veggies, go nuts. Otherwise check your remaining calories and pick some supper and snacks to fill it up.

    Build up your pantry and freezer with the good stuff and you'll be eating real food all the time.

    2) I would suggest trying to wean yourself off the meal replacement drinks and bars. In my opinion they are not a long-term path to success.

    3) Learning is the most important part of the early phase of the diet. Learn about the calorie content of everything, learn about yourself and what you like to eat, and be open to new foods and recipes.