low carb. not eating enough calories ?

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das0nz
das0nz Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
:\ ive been doing low carb since july. I found myself not making much ground so I refined everything and came back to MFP beginning of october. it's been 15 days and about 5 kgs lost. Ive really stuck to the low carb/atkins lifestyle and im not finding it hard at all, infact i love it. the biggest difference is that i am eating much much less than I usually would during a day. i have an atkins shake for breakfast and a protein bar for lunch. i am not starving myself at all, i am full just on those. i have dinner around 5pm and i make me a healthy stirfry of some sort. the flavours change each time so I am not tired of a bit of protein with veges. It's also bbq season here (yeaahhh) but i load all of this on to MFP and i am below my carb count or bang on 20g of carbs (probably less because i have not subtracted the fiber from veges). But its my calories. Im well below that the last two entries I got that MFP warning about not consuming enough calories. Now I am happy with how i am going but I dont want to put my body in shock or anything. Im not purposefully starving myself, im just not hungry or should I say im FULL. has anyone else ever had this issue? i have read somewhere you should stay under your calorie max still but does it matter if you are well under? (my recommended intake is around 1900 and im consuming about 700). what can i consume that is carb friendly but will up my calorie intake? most of my carb intake is veges. i dont want to lose those.

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    If you want to add calories eat more fats and oils: full fat dairy, nuts, butter, bacon,
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Instead of eating a bar for breakfast and a protein shake for lunch, why don't you try real food?
  • olong
    olong Posts: 255 Member
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    If you are eating low carb and you are not meeting your calories, as the above two posters mentioned, you must be low on your fats and proteins. It is simple math. If you wish more of your calories to come from carbs rather than fats and proteins, you can also use the custom feature in the Goals menu to redefine the percentage of calories from carbs -- this still means you will need to eat more calories. If you are happy with the percentages of calories as they are automatically set by MFP, that's fine, but as you are eating fairly significantly under your calorie goal, you simply need to eat more. Nuts pack a lot of protein and fat in them and are a quick fix and can be tasty in stir fry. When you make your stir-fry, add a pat of butter. That will add calories in the form of fat (not going against the Atkins plan) and add flavor. You can also cook with almond oil, coconut oil or other oils with you stir fry to add differing flavors and bring up your calorie count with healthful oils.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    I don't understand why anyone would eat a processed bar and a drink supplement for 2 meals a day

    real food
  • OldSportOldsport
    OldSportOldsport Posts: 275 Member
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    Eat more meat, cook with oil, eat egg-whites, fish. There are tons of delicious tasty options out there - google low-carb recipes for ingredient ideas!
  • NewMeowLean
    NewMeowLean Posts: 58
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    How can anyone be full eating 700 kcal a day?
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,970 Member
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    Yeah, loss of hunger from eating pretty much nothing is normal.....and I like your view of low carb (candy bars and shakes) Get use to failure going forward.
  • IvyLuci
    IvyLuci Posts: 117 Member
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    I would suggest not eating the shakes and bars as well.
    Boiled eggs are portable, can be made in advance, and don't have carbs.
    Nuts are good snacks, in small quantities.
    Add butter to everything.
  • das0nz
    das0nz Posts: 8
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    wow.. I came in here to get some advice, not be critisized. Im really trying here and trying to do things right for me. I respect that some of you dont agree with the shakes and protein bar and understand i should be eating real food thanks for the advice, will be taking it on board. But what i didnt expect was to be belittled the way some of you have indirectly done. failure moving forward is with people with attitudes like some of you. stuffed if im coming in here for advice again if some of you can't control your holier than thou attitudes. Im just a fat girl trying and yes im going to be making mistakes along the way. anyway i may have written the post but your comments tell me a whole lot more about what's wrong with you than whats wrong with me. thanks to those who were able to just provide advice.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    failure comes from within not external forces

    protein shakes, protein bars and a 700 calorie a day diet is not a sustainable weight loss programme and will keep you the 'fat girl' you claim to be in the long term - you will most probably crash and burn - we've all seen it, most of us have been there

    if you want sympathy and approval for a weird diet you're looking in the wrong place unfortunately

    as my mother would say to me - toughen up buttercup

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    das0nz wrote: »
    But its my calories. Im well below that the last two entries I got that MFP warning about not consuming enough calories. Now I am happy with how i am going but I dont want to put my body in shock or anything. Im not purposefully starving myself, im just not hungry or should I say im FULL. has anyone else ever had this issue? i have read somewhere you should stay under your calorie max still but does it matter if you are well under?

    Your diary is closed so I can't form a view about your intake. "Ad lib" low carb eaters often consume around 1200 calories voluntarily without trying to restrict so if you have no hunger (I'm the same) and you have a low calorie breakfast then you'll have a lower intake for sure.

    From your ticker it looks like you have 100 kg to lose ? If so I wouldn't stress about the calories for 6 months, it would be medically sanctioned to use a VLC diet at your weight which would have a similar or lower number of calories.

    Don't be put off by people who reject anything other than their way of doing it.
  • philwrightfitness
    philwrightfitness Posts: 122
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    I understand your problem I don't get hungry on low carb, my stand byes are peanut butter and creme fraiche, they pack a lot of fat calories for little effort,
  • lesleycleaton
    lesleycleaton Posts: 1
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    try eating some avocado pears whenever you can. chock full of good fats and calories, but also very low carb. Also very quick and easy to prepare, all you need to do is cut in half, sprinkle with a little salt/pepper if you want, some vinegar or lemon juice in the handy hold left by the pip, and scoop it out with a spoon. Also highly portable.

    15 days in is not a long time, and you may well get bored with the stir frys in the not too distant future, so playing around with your evening meals now will help you out when the boredom starts to set in.

    Bacon is also brilliant when you're low carbing ... not a lot of protein compared to the amount of tasty fat.
  • MelRC117
    MelRC117 Posts: 911 Member
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    It would probably be good to up your calories.

    I eat the Atkins bars and shakes myself, but they are for one meal every now and then or in addition to something else. I would recommend using them more as "supplements" to your food rather then all you have but thats me. If you continue to eat this way, yes you will lose weight, but at some point you may tire off of living off the shakes and bars.

    Make a large batch of eggs, cheese, and veggies and eat off of that for breakfasts a couple of days. Boil a batch of eggs for snacks or an addition to meals. String cheese is also a quick snack.

    You probably need to be eating more fats. Not only is it important to get higher fat if you're cutting carbs, it'll also to you to a higher calorie intake, which is probably going to be more sustainable than your 700 calories. Add sour cream, cream cheese, butter, oil, etc. to whatever you are preparing. Add cream to your morning coffee (I'm talking like full fat heavy cream). Use full fat dressings.

    You are correct in that your carbs SHOULD be coming from your veggies at this point.

    Eating low carb keeps your hunger in check, which helps you get to a calorie deficit, which is great! But maybe switching some things up will help this be a sustainable WOE for you, while you continue to lose weight. Plus, those bars and shakes can get expensive. If you like shakes, you can get your own container of protein powder, add some low carb ingredients for different flavors like unsweetened cocoa or PB2, and then unsweetened almond milk and some heavy cream for added fat.
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
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    2 weeks of VLC when you have that much weight to lose isn't going to do any permanent harm. If/when it stops working for you, change things up.
  • Kmhornak
    Kmhornak Posts: 42 Member
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    I hear ya and posted something similar as well! I am also on a LC plan, per a medical expert that I saw at a hospital. There are days when I am done logging my food and I barely ate 1,200 calories. So, I will often grab some peanut butter and celery and have a snack. I agree with doing away with the bar at lunch. Try a turkey burger with cheese or lettuce wraps with turkey or ham lunch meat.
    Also, I would eat more meals per day. Really try to get in 6 meals, if possible. You can have your bar then, but consider it a meal or snack out of the 6 for the total day.
    I agree that when you are in this phase of eating that the cravings go away and you don't feel nearly as hungry. That means it is working! It's the carbs and sugars that make me hungry.
    Good luck!!!
  • caminoslo
    caminoslo Posts: 239 Member
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    das0nz wrote: »
    :\ ive been doing low carb since july. I found myself not making much ground so I refined everything and came back to MFP beginning of october. it's been 15 days and about 5 kgs lost. Ive really stuck to the low carb/atkins lifestyle and im not finding it hard at all, infact i love it. the biggest difference is that i am eating much much less than I usually would during a day. i have an atkins shake for breakfast and a protein bar for lunch. i am not starving myself at all, i am full just on those. i have dinner around 5pm and i make me a healthy stirfry of some sort. the flavours change each time so I am not tired of a bit of protein with veges. It's also bbq season here (yeaahhh) but i load all of this on to MFP and i am below my carb count or bang on 20g of carbs (probably less because i have not subtracted the fiber from veges). But its my calories. Im well below that the last two entries I got that MFP warning about not consuming enough calories. Now I am happy with how i am going but I dont want to put my body in shock or anything. Im not purposefully starving myself, im just not hungry or should I say im FULL. has anyone else ever had this issue? i have read somewhere you should stay under your calorie max still but does it matter if you are well under? (my recommended intake is around 1900 and im consuming about 700). what can i consume that is carb friendly but will up my calorie intake? most of my carb intake is veges. i dont want to lose those.

    Yes i am on low carbs and noticed that my calories are way off. I get confused about it sometimes but i have to remember the SAME COMPANIES and FDA screwed up the food pyramid and they are also dictating the Calories.
  • forkeeps251
    forkeeps251 Posts: 22 Member
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    I love adding some sesame seed oil and butter to my stir fry. That is also something I eat all the time. It adds fat and calories so you might want to try that. I also always have eggs for breakfast, with a little bit of cheese and cooked in butter.

    Often times, for me at least, high protein foods keep me from being hungry throughout the day. This is probably what you are experiencing. Just keep eating, and I agree with adding some nuts maybe to your diet, just don't go overboard.

    Sorry you are getting some really negative feedback here. You came asking for help, and all some people did was criticize.

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