A little confused

angryguy77
angryguy77 Posts: 836 Member
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
My calorie goal is 1650, I rarely reach that each day though. I know to lose weight we are supposed to eat as close to that as we can or at least 1200 per day. What if you are not hungry enough to eat that much though? I see people saying that if you eat, your appetite will increase. But are you supposed to eat when you are not hungry? I don't skip meals, but I don't snack much because I'm not hungry so I'm finishing the days with a good amount of calories left over.

Replies

  • Shed4Wed
    Shed4Wed Posts: 25
    I have the same problem. I struggle sometimes to get to 1200. My trainer recommended protein shakes as snacks, which gets me to the perfect amount of calories. I don't have to be hungry to drink them, and they are pretty good.

    If you don't want to deal with the protein shakes, are there other choices you could be making with the foods you eat so that you get more calories for each meal?
  • james3302
    james3302 Posts: 119
    I made it a habit while at work to have snacks between my meals. So I have breakfast, then at work I have snack, lunch, snack, then at home dinner. I am always hungry when it comes time for a snack. But strangely rnough on the weekends I only eat three times a day and I am not hungry at my normal snack time.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Eat a little more at each meal and try calorie dense foods like nuts oils and avacados. You need to teach your body healthy eating habits and make sure its fueling for the amount you are burning. If it knew healthy habits, you likely wouldnt be overweight in the first place.

    Also the min for guys is closer to 1500.
  • thefreemans28
    thefreemans28 Posts: 267 Member
    Try eating foods that are healthy, but have more calories.... almonds, avacados, milk, etc. This will help you reach your calorie goal but keep you healthy too.
  • Girlypeekaboo
    Girlypeekaboo Posts: 85
    i say if some days ur not hungry then dont force urself to eat hun...listen to ur body...for example im on 1200 a day and some days i dont eat all that, but then others i go over like 200 so it pretty much balances itself out.....I think protein shakes r a good idea if you really worried abt it have them as an afternoon snack :) wish u the best of luck hun

    P.S. I love the Halo pic :)-
  • angryguy77
    angryguy77 Posts: 836 Member
    Thanks all.
    I'll give some of these ideas a shot.
    I started this site about 3 weeks ago at 179. I lost 2.5 pounds the first week and a about a half since then. I just want to get down to about 165.

    Thanks again
  • Sesilje
    Sesilje Posts: 16 Member
    I'd say you're safe as long as your average doesn't fall below 1200 per day. If you stay within 1650 and 1200 on average you will just lose the weight a bit quicker than you planned. :-)

    At least, that's how it's working out for me. I set my daily goal to 1750, but try to finish somewhere between 1750 and 1250. If I had stuck to my goal plan MFP expected me to lose about ½ lb per week. Now I've lost 12 lbs in 8 weeks. :-)
    For me it would not have worked to set a harder goal to begin with. I need to feel I have some freedom in deciding what and how much to eat.
  • DeBiKin
    DeBiKin Posts: 107 Member
    The minimum calorie count is to keep your body from going into "starvation mode". The metabolism slows down to preserve the fat stores (no matter how much fat there is). It's nature's life preserving mode. Your metabolism may (or may not) already be in this state since you are not hungry.
    If you entered your correct height, age and gender when signing on, the caloric needs estimate it gave you is going to be pretty close to what you actually need in order to keep your metabolism up and still lose the amount you want to lose per week. The other variable is the activity level. Is it possible that you over estimated your level of activity?
    The different areas of your diet that the calories come from are part of the factor. If you are eating bunches of fruits and vegies (and getting full) then your calories from carbs will be met but not the calories from proteins or fats. Your muscles NEED protein and your brain, skin, nerves (and other vital organs) NEED fat, (good fats like omega 3s).
    Try eating what the estimates indicate.
    When you exercise you can eat ("earn") more calories but it doesn't seem to change the original minimum/starvation mode if you don't eat those extra calories; it only indicates starvation mode if you don't eat the minimum (pre-exercise) calories.
    Hope that helps.
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