I ate 600 calories today and I was full. Help.
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A great way to up your calorie intake without forcing yourself to eat junk food is to eat things that are rich in healthy fats. Avacado, nuts, even beef. These things are both high in calories and good for you.
Whatever you do, don't think that your calorie intake is more important than what your body is telling you. 0 -
Do you like nuts? You mentioned that you were struggling with what to bring to work. If you are having trouble reaching 1200 calories and need something easy to bring to work, a bag of mixed nuts and seeds will do the trick.
Other ideas – adding some diced bacon in the middle of your veggies. Will add taste and calories to them. Extra slices of cheese. Extra slices of ham. Avocados. Peanut butter. Eggs. Bananas. Pasta. Cheese. Adding a bit more oil to things.
In fact, you could also see it differently – you can stick to your 1200 plan and sneak some treats in there such as chocolate or a beer.
Of course, I don't recommend doing it daily and most definitely not of filling up half your daily calorie intake with chocolate. But there is nothing wrong with making extra space for a treat here and there. 0 -
neanderthin wrote: »Most sandwiches I put together are close to 1000 calories alone, so I really don't have any advice except add more stuff to yours, for starters. Oh, and some veggies is not a dinner, it's a snack, at best. I always wonder why people can't eat enough when they're trying to lose weight.
Hahaha I agree, I am wondering how someone is full off a little palte of veggies, also I would think that so little protien and other nutrients being left off here would leave a person incredibly weak and hungry. But I have never been a small person so maybe that is why i cannot understand the struggle of "feeling full" from a sandwich and a handful of veggies....![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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I understand your challenge... We all can struggle some days just based on the food choices. Try a new grain you've never had before. Incorporate nuts. I try and have a fruit salad with flax seeds or steel cut oats as a filler... It's a sweet treat and if I'm low on fats for the day, grab a spoonful of but butter or coconut oil. Also, planning your day in advance helps ensure that you are planning to eat your calories. Best of luck!0
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I have a hard time believing a ham and cheese sandwich didn't put you over 600...0
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SergeantSausage wrote: »DawnieB1977 wrote: »
You don't know why she gained weight.
Au contraire. I know *exactly* how she gained weight.
The same way everyone does. The same way we all do. The way you and I did. Overconsumption of calories. A caloric surplus.
It can happen no other way. Physics, y'know? It doesn't lie and you can't break it.
Have you been pregnant then?0 -
superfox12082 wrote: »I have a hard time believing a ham and cheese sandwich didn't put you over 600...
She posted her diary and proved it. I make ham and cheese sandiwches all the time < 600 cal...0 -
DawnieB1977 wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »DawnieB1977 wrote: »
You don't know why she gained weight.
Au contraire. I know *exactly* how she gained weight.
The same way everyone does. The same way we all do. The way you and I did. Overconsumption of calories. A caloric surplus.
It can happen no other way. Physics, y'know? It doesn't lie and you can't break it.
Have you been pregnant then?
Um, aside from the baby that you're stowing for 9 months, any weight gain during pregnancy is the result of over consumption of calories.0 -
DawnieB1977 wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »DawnieB1977 wrote: »
You don't know why she gained weight.
Au contraire. I know *exactly* how she gained weight.
The same way everyone does. The same way we all do. The way you and I did. Overconsumption of calories. A caloric surplus.
It can happen no other way. Physics, y'know? It doesn't lie and you can't break it.
Have you been pregnant then?
Um, aside from the baby that you're stowing for 9 months, any weight gain during pregnancy is the result of over consumption of calories.
No. Weight gain during pregnancy is not just baby and just over consumption of calories. It is also placenta, amniotic fluid, water retention, breast milk, and a 50% increase in blood volume.0 -
DawnieB1977 wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »DawnieB1977 wrote: »
You don't know why she gained weight.
Au contraire. I know *exactly* how she gained weight.
The same way everyone does. The same way we all do. The way you and I did. Overconsumption of calories. A caloric surplus.
It can happen no other way. Physics, y'know? It doesn't lie and you can't break it.
Have you been pregnant then?
Um, aside from the baby that you're stowing for 9 months, any weight gain during pregnancy is the result of over consumption of calories.
Pregnant women's bodies store more fat in order to produce breast milk, however this fat does not come out of thin air, you're right, it comes from the calories you eat. If you don't overeat when pregnant, you can not magically gain weight. Don't blame being pregnant for being overweight.0 -
Hunger is a fickle thing. If you ignore it, it goes away. Thirst can be disguised as hunger. It is a hard thing to rely on. I agree with the previous posters who suggested nuts, avacado, etc. I like to do a little cheddar cheese with apple slices for snack from time to time. And planning is so important. Plan for three 500 calorie meals an that will easily get you to 1500.
Increase your cardio... that will rev your appetite!
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I've had this problem before so I can totally relate. The only thing that I can advise is just try to get over that 800 mark. If you drink a lot of ice cold water throughout the day you should find yourself hungrier. Unfortunately you're actually depleting the necessary calories for brain function and it could be very dangerous. I totally understand though if you're not hungry, you're trying to lose some weight, why the heck would you eat when you're not hungry.
Drink water, work out (even if just taking a walk), to try and make yourself hungry enough to eat something. Peanuts are great to fill up and stay full.
Good luck though, we can friend if you like, I totally understand what you're going through though. The problem is you're hurting your body and any weight you're losing will come right back because your body is in starvation mode, even though you may not really feel like you are.
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When you eat a very small amount for an extended period of time, your body adjusts to this amount of food, and ceases to send hunger signals.
Some of us overweight people got this way because we ate so terribly unevenly or did not respond to our initial natural hunger cues that our bodies become resistant to the hunger response. That is, we rarely, if ever, feel hungry.
Me, I hate feeling hungry and rarely experience the sensation. If I only ate when I felt hungry, I would eat only every couple days.
Part of building a healthy lifestyle is retraining one's body to normal levels. Whether that be reducing what you eat, or increasing it, it's important to know a good way to increase and prepare.
I'm not making a diagnosis, but 600 calories is less than the intake of an average anorexic person, and based on that alone, and even moreso when adding activity, you'd be diagnosed as such. Perhaps not psychologically, but physically... Many people don't realize that there is more than one kind of anorexia (anorexia as a term means without appetite).
Refeeding can be difficult, but you can do it. If you know you need to eat more, you should regularly and with metered effort increase your diet 100-200 calories every 1-2 days. Don't just jump all at once, as you may feel very sick because of it. Increase daily until you are at a normalized dietary level. Recognize that if you exercise, you need to increase the amount at least modestly in order to not have a similar problem happen.
Ultimately, what can happen if you maintain these habits over a long span of time, is that your body can go into preservation mode, and eventually become problematic for things like your thyroid. It doesn't happen in a couple weeks though... and without knowing how long the 600/day habit has been going on, it's hard to say if you're at risk of such an issue.
For me, I found the easiest way to increase my food was to eat a very small snack every hour. I know, sounds insane, but it's easy to do with a stash of almonds. Eating 10-15 almonds at the top of each waking hour will easily bulk your calories without making you feel like you're going to explode, or leave much remnants in your mouth. Once you get to a normalized calorie level, you can adjust the calorie intake options to other foods and habits, but it gets you there.
Love this, I wish there were more people like you commenting.0 -
Just throwing it out there... Have you started any medications? I recently restarted my Wellbutrin and had forgotten about some possible side effects. My appetite dropped and I a having to eat snacks in the evenings to reach my calorie goals some nights. it helps me to plan my meals. It's worth planning your meals and scheduling snacks. M-F I eat breakfast at 8:30. Lunch is typically at 1pm. Snack at 3 pm. Dinner is at 6:30. If I still have calories, I have a snack with my evening meds at 8:30.0
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First your diary is yummy...
Second are you drinking any caloric beverages besides Milk that you may not be adding?
Options:
Add a spread to your sandwich?
Pickles with your sandwich
Bagel/cream cheese (I eat half a bagel with my cereal)
peanut butter and graham crackers
peanut butter and celery (not for everyone)
nuts like pistachios, cashews, almonds and even dark chocolate covered peanuts
baked potatoes with a topping like broccoli and cheese
popcorn
baked tortilla chips and salsa
yogurts any kind
lower sugar bars (these will add about 170 to 190 calories)
Nature Valley Roasted Almond Crunch Bar
Cascadian Farm Organic Dark Chocolate Almond Chewy Granola
Clif Mo Jo Mixed Nuts, Trail Mix Bar
Kashi TLC Peanut Peanut Butter Chew Granola Bars
KIND Plus Almond Walnut Macadamia with Peanuts
Special K Protein Meal Bars
Good Luck... 0 -
Okay, I've read most comments, skimmed others, and I have a few thoughts.
1. Surely you're familiar with the food pyramid and that so many servings of grains, veggies, meats, etc. are recommended for a person each day, right? I believe the serving sizes you see on a lot of packages is more to help you accurately assess whether you're meeting those recommendations - not *necessarily* (sometimes, but not always) that you should always have just that item and be full. Like a serving of cheese might just be one slice, but one slice isn't a meal on its own, right? So it makes sense that if you want another slice of cheese or ham or some extra butter or what-have-you, just go right for it. My sandwiches aren't really sandwiches if there aren't at least two slices of cheese on them - maybe three if it's just a cheese sandwich. =P. Similarly, I usually buy the same bag of frozen veggies to go in a lot of my meals - a serving is technically 2/3 cup, but I simply refuse to have so few veggies. This point is dragging on longer than I meant it to, so TL;DR - the fewer ingredients/items in your meal, the more likely it is you should break the single-serving rule you've set for yourself.
2. I know the struggle of sometimes having too small of an appetite to get all my calories. As anyone else has said, nutrient/calorie-dense foods. I like to cut an avocado in thirds, mash one-third of it with salt, pepper, and a bit of mayo, and then add that to my sandwich (which I used to do as a meat substitute when I was vegetarian, but OMG it is SO GOOD with ham, and I don't even like ham). Sliced or diced avocado is also a great addition to boost the calories of your salads. Hell, I sometimes even bake an avocado half filled with diced onion, tomato, and cheese, and then I scoop that onto a baked potato. It sounds sort of strange, but I absolutely love it.
3. Plan your meals as much as you can! Sometimes you can't do this perfectly because you're undecided on what you're doing for dinner or you plan a meal that you later realize you can't have because you're missing an ingredient, so plan the best you can. I've been able to meet my calorie goal, without going too far over, MUCH more frequently since I started planning my meals in the mornings (some people plan the night before). If you had planned all your meals out that day that you came to 600 calories BEFOREHAND, you would have seen how few calories it was and been able to say, "Woah, hey, wait, maybe I'll have some snacks and add some more cheese to my sandwiches." Similarly, if you ever plan too much one day, you can see that ahead of time and fix it, instead of make yourself feel guilty for having 500 too many that evening.
4. I understand feeling that you don't want to get much of your energy from "junk" food, but at the end of the day, a mostly balanced 1100-calorie diet that includes 500 "junk" calories is much, much better than a 600-calorie diet of only clean foods. Food is fuel, and sometimes I'll make myself a 400-calorie milkshake after dinner if I see I'm still 500 calories behind.
5. I'm not going to jump on the Eating Disorder Bandwagon because I think most of the people commenting about that aren't listening to you (if I'm understanding you correctly, you did this for ONE day, and the other days that appear that way were just poorly tracked, right), but in the future if you do see that those low days are becoming a trend and you have a poor appetite, consider a professional. I personally had a span of four weeks a few years ago that I ate nothing (almost literally nothing - two bites of anything made me feel nauseous) because of a depressive spell that killed my appetite. I really think fast food saved my life, because that was the only thing I tried after those weeks that I could actually have a meal of, and then I was eating normally again. So again, I'm only mentioning this just in case you notice these days become a trend in the future.0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »I gotta call shenanigans here.
There is no way someone who eats to near obesity (30-ish BMI) gets "full" at 600 cal and "struggles" to reach 1200.
The Cognitive Dissonance is screaming.
I'm not buying it.
Except it happens ALL the time. Like, have you opened a book or consulted a doctor? This is why most eating disorders in fat/obese people are not addressed, because of the myth that they can't have one.
Of course fat/obese people can have eating disorders
but it ain't one that's associated with eating less than 600 calories a day now is it?
Mine sure is. I'm over 400lbs, and a diagnosed anorexic/bulimic. I gained an exceptional amount of weight when my trainer/dietician told me to eat 1600 calories to lose weight I had existing at the time, when they didn't believe me when I said I ate less than 900 calories a day. I told them this and they refused to believe that I was like that.
Getting very sick from refeeding at an immediate 700+calories increase, multiple months of acid reflux problems due to my deprived body going into overdrive, and a year on thyroid hormones to get me out of clinical starvation response (where my thyroid didn't produce normal amounts of hormones for metabolism if I didn't eat every hour) was sure not fun.
Fat people can be anorexic, bulimic, and EDNOS. I'm so tired of having to make myself a mascot just to try and help people understand.0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »I gotta call shenanigans here.
There is no way someone who eats to near obesity (30-ish BMI) gets "full" at 600 cal and "struggles" to reach 1200.
The Cognitive Dissonance is screaming.
I'm not buying it.
I see comments similar to this whenever someone claims not to be able to eat up to a reasonable calorie limit, but I know first hand how this can easily happen.
When I was getting fat, I would eat as much as 3000 extra calories from donuts or skittles, or some such, in addition to big regular meals. Then, when I decided to lose weight, I cut out all the donuts and changed my meals by substituting vegetables and fruit for everything I thought was fattening. Just like that I was under 1200 calories, but the bulky vegetables made me feel full.
I had to ask how I could get up to 1200 calories while still eating fat free foods. Answer: don't eat fat free food.
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lthames0810 wrote: »SergeantSausage wrote: »I gotta call shenanigans here.
There is no way someone who eats to near obesity (30-ish BMI) gets "full" at 600 cal and "struggles" to reach 1200.
The Cognitive Dissonance is screaming.
I'm not buying it.
I see comments similar to this whenever someone claims not to be able to eat up to a reasonable calorie limit, but I know first hand how this can easily happen.
When I was getting fat, I would eat as much as 3000 extra calories from donuts or skittles, or some such, in addition to big regular meals. Then, when I decided to lose weight, I cut out all the donuts and changed my meals by substituting vegetables and fruit for everything I thought was fattening. Just like that I was under 1200 calories, but the bulky vegetables made me feel full.
I had to ask how I could get up to 1200 calories while still eating fat free foods. Answer: don't eat fat free food.
This. The day I started logging and realizing just how much I was eating was the day before I started struggling to reach 1200... because I'd replace something small and full of calories with something large and filling but with 1/4 or less the calories. I quickly figured out how to fill in the calories (including end of the day ice cream! Hooray for end of the day ice cream!), but it was very much a struggle at first, especially as I got myself out of 'all greasy/sugary/fatty stuff is evil' and into 'everything is fine in moderation' mindset.
I still only eat 1200-1300 calories most days (including ice cream) as I space things out into lots of little but filling meals. I (almost -- holidays and birthdays get a pass!) never have cheat days because I don't need them. My biggest days are ones when I reach what MFP set for me to lose .5-1 lbs/week, and I tend to feel *super* bloated and just 'blah' and heavy after those days (oh, and I get to at least 80% on all my tracked macros, whether I eat 1200 or 1600... though 1600 days tend to go way over the sodium).
So, yes -- it's quite easy to struggle to reach an amount of calories when you're someone who was eating out of boredom and/or picking the rice or chips side instead of veggies every time, several times a day, and it wasn't really a habit/addiction/whatever, just a 'not thinking about it'.
OP: your body will adjust and you'll find yourself getting to the calories you need almost automatically, most likely. If it doesn't, THEN maybe seek help. You seem the type who will recognize and accept if you think you have a problem. Mean time, allow yourself for some 'junk'. Eat that serving of crisps, that 1/2 cup ice cream at the end of the day (or, even a whole cup), whatever!0 -
lilxmissxhavic wrote: »
Ellaskat, I havn't looked into it no, I'd be worried that I'd get in to bad habits to easily again. But I might have to give it a go.
Not suggesting you try this - that's up to you - but I thought it might be an explanation of why you are eating so little and still not hungry.
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