Why can't I reach my calorie goal?!?
Bobsin226
Posts: 12
I have a daily goal of 1200 calories/day and I am having a hard time meeting this! I don't get it either because I am eating breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and then dinner. I can't eat more than this! It's hard enough to eat all the times I am, most the time when I have a snack I am not even hungry but I make myself eat.
Does anybody have any ideas/suggestions to help me meet this? It is bad that I'm not meeting this goal isn't it??
Does anybody have any ideas/suggestions to help me meet this? It is bad that I'm not meeting this goal isn't it??
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Replies
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What are your goals? Lose, maintain, or gain weight?0
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Are you weighing all your food on a food scale? If you were eating well over 1200 calories to gain the weight you're trying to lose, chances are you are under estimating the amount of calories you are eating.0
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I wouldn't worry too much about this then. Make sure you're meeting your micronutrient goals, and make sure to eat whenever you are in fact hungry.
If you aren't seeing any progress then you may need to reexamine how you're logging everything and that you are logging everything correctly.
Good luck with your weight loss!
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I wouldn't worry too much about this then. Make sure you're meeting your micronutrient goals, and make sure to eat whenever you are in fact hungry.
If you aren't seeing any progress then you may need to reexamine how you're logging everything and that you are logging everything correctly.
Good luck with your weight loss!
Thanks! I actually lost 3lbs in the last week so it's working, I just want to make sure that it's ok if I don't meet the full 1200.0 -
I wouldn't worry too much about this then. Make sure you're meeting your micronutrient goals, and make sure to eat whenever you are in fact hungry.
If you aren't seeing any progress then you may need to reexamine how you're logging everything and that you are logging everything correctly.
Good luck with your weight loss!
Thanks! I actually lost 3lbs in the last week so it's working, I just want to make sure that it's ok if I don't meet the full 1200.
Technically, you should always eat AT LEAST 1200 calories. What he is saying is, you may be under estimating and eating more than what you think-which is fine, since you are losing weight. Eventually as you get closer to goal, you will want to be as accurate as possible. If you're not weighing all your food, start as soon as you can.0 -
arditarose wrote: »Are you weighing all your food on a food scale? If you were eating well over 1200 calories to gain the weight you're trying to lose, chances are you are under estimating the amount of calories you are eating.
No, I am measuring it serving size wise but not on a scale. I have been watching carbs, sugars, fats, and sodium, so I just wanted to make sure not meeting the 1200 was ok?? Like I said, I lost 3lbs in a week so something's working, although I've been working out as well.0 -
arditarose wrote: »Are you weighing all your food on a food scale? If you were eating well over 1200 calories to gain the weight you're trying to lose, chances are you are under estimating the amount of calories you are eating.
No, I am measuring it serving size wise but not on a scale. I have been watching carbs, sugars, fats, and sodium, so I just wanted to make sure not meeting the 1200 was ok?? Like I said, I lost 3lbs in a week so something's working, although I've been working out as well.
If you are not weighing your food, you cannot be sure how many calories you are really eating. Meat, vegetables, cheese, etc should all be weighed. Measuring cups are not accurate enough.0 -
Thanks to the both of you! I will watch my nutrients and start weighing my food to make sure my body is getting the proper nutrition it needs.0
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Usually, people here can add more fat and oils: nuts, full fat milk and yogurt and such.
Regular salad dressing.0 -
arditarose wrote: »
I wouldn't worry too much about this then. Make sure you're meeting your micronutrient goals, and make sure to eat whenever you are in fact hungry.
If you aren't seeing any progress then you may need to reexamine how you're logging everything and that you are logging everything correctly.
Good luck with your weight loss!
Thanks! I actually lost 3lbs in the last week so it's working, I just want to make sure that it's ok if I don't meet the full 1200.
Technically, you should always eat AT LEAST 1200 calories. What he is saying is, you may be under estimating and eating more than what you think-which is fine, since you are losing weight. Eventually as you get closer to goal, you will want to be as accurate as possible. If you're not weighing all your food, start as soon as you can.
Precisely.0 -
Thanks to the both of you! I will watch my nutrients and start weighing my food to make sure my body is getting the proper nutrition it needs.
Good! Once you start weighing your food you will have a MUCH better idea of how much you are eating. I think you will see 1200 is less than what you are currently eating. After you start to weigh your food, add in your exercise calories to MFP and eat a portion of them back.0 -
arditarose wrote: »Thanks to the both of you! I will watch my nutrients and start weighing my food to make sure my body is getting the proper nutrition it needs.
Good! Once you start weighing your food you will have a MUCH better idea of how much you are eating. I think you will see 1200 is less than what you are currently eating. After you start to weigh your food, add in your exercise calories to MFP and eat a portion of them back.
Oh! I get what you are saying now! You're right, I probably am eating more than 1200 right now so definitely going to grab a scale!
Thank you again for your advise!0 -
Hi i have the same problem! And after reading your answers I think Im eating more than 1200 too! But i find so hard... Im still hungry
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vanasousasilva wrote: »Hi i have the same problem! And after reading your answers I think Im eating more than 1200 too! But i find so hard... Im still hungry
But if you're hungry, surely you don't have a problem hitting the 1200 mark. Or I mean, surely then it should be easy for you to hit 1200.0 -
If you are always hungry (vs just a day or two) then you probabaly need to look at what you are eating or up your goal. If I tried to do 1200 I would be hungry and mean all the time. At 1500-1600 I am losing and staying pretty satisified.0
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I am not always hungry so I'm pretty certain that I'm hitting past my goal. I am definitely getting a scale this weekend!0
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If you get the scale and it turns out you are still having the same problem it is easy to fix, just eat foods that are more calorie dense than what you are presently eating. For example, you can eat around 15ish nuts (almonds, cashews, etc) and get 100 calories. Surely you can manage to add in 15 nuts at some point during the day without that making you "too full".
Peanut butter is another favorite when needing to add calories with just one tablespoon also having about 100 calories.
(nuts and PB should also always be weighed, measurements here given for approximation only since if you haven't been weighing food I doubt you can visualize 16 grams of nuts, for example).
I think you'll find you enjoy the food scale, WAY easier than messing with stupid annoying cups/spoons and having to guess if it's level.
You'll also hear people say serving sizes tend to be way off when you go by the per slice, or per number of items (say, slice of bread or 15 pretzels or whatever). Which as you start to weigh things, you should notice that too.0 -
hortensehildegarde wrote: »If you get the scale and it turns out you are still having the same problem it is easy to fix, just eat foods that are more calorie dense than what you are presently eating. For example, you can eat around 15ish nuts (almonds, cashews, etc) and get 100 calories. Surely you can manage to add in 15 nuts at some point during the day without that making you "too full".
Peanut butter is another favorite when needing to add calories with just one tablespoon also having about 100 calories.
(nuts and PB should also always be weighed, measurements here given for approximation only since if you haven't been weighing food I doubt you can visualize 16 grams of nuts, for example).
I think you'll find you enjoy the food scale, WAY easier than messing with stupid annoying cups/spoons and having to guess if it's level.
You'll also hear people say serving sizes tend to be way off when you go by the per slice, or per number of items (say, slice of bread or 15 pretzels or whatever). Which as you start to weigh things, you should notice that too.
Great advise! Thank you and I will definitely keep in mind all the tips you've given!
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If you get a scale and find you're still under the 1200 goal, then calorie dense foods are your friends when you're struggling to get enough calories. This is a generic list and doesn't account for your personal definition of healthy, but anything here can be included in a balanced diet (as long as there are no allergies, medical conditions, obviously):
avocado
cheese
full fat dairy
Greek yogurt
ice cream
peanut butter (or other nut butters)
dark chocolate
less lean cuts of meat (including beef, pork, sausage, etc.)
seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, etc.)
nuts
olive oil
coconut oil
butter
beans and lentils
protein shakes, bars, and smoothies
hummus
beef jerky
cornbread
tuna
full calorie condiments
full calorie sauces & dressings
sour cream
guacamole
whole grain pasta
rice
bacon
whole eggs
quinoa
fruit and fruit juices
pretzels
bananas
scones
muffins (bran, blueberry, banana nut, etc.)
potatoes (sweet, red, gold, purple, white, etc.)
dried fruit (raisins, apricots, plums, dates, etc.)
granola
coconut
salmon
edamame
honey
molasses0 -
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If you're hitting all your nutrition goals and are still under, eat a cookie or two. Don't buy a whole bag, but you can go up to a lot of places and just buy one or two cookies. Or eat cashews. I had to stop eating them because they are SO calorie dense I would eat a third of my calories and not realize it!0
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If you are trying to lose, you must have been eating more than 1200 calories before. Nutrient dense, low calorie, high volume foods (which I suspect you are eating; "diet food") give a full feeling in the beginning. After some time, you will miss what you are used to. Eat some of the things you used to eat, too, just in smaller quantities.0
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Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer. IMO, it's *probably* fine if -
- It's not happening with regularity.
- it's not happening over long stretches of time.
- You're not feeling overly restricted.
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Let's assume 1200 is an appropriate calorie target for you; you're eating 5 meals per day which is approximately 240 calories per meal. Take some time to pre-plan each meal and weigh / measure all of your food for each meal so that you know you're getting there. Once you start doing this you'll be able to get there no problem and I think you'll find it's pretty easier to make your calorie targets. The real trick is eating to gain weight in a healthy fashion.0
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Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »Let's assume 1200 is an appropriate calorie target for you; you're eating 5 meals per day which is approximately 240 calories per meal. Take some time to pre-plan each meal and weigh / measure all of your food for each meal so that you know you're getting there. Once you start doing this you'll be able to get there no problem and I think you'll find it's pretty easier to make your calorie targets. The real trick is eating to gain weight in a healthy fashion.
I will definitely keep that in mind! Thanks for the advise. I agree with all that I am probably over my goal if I were to be weighing my portions out. Scale is I my shopping list for this weekend for sure!0 -
Bacon. That is all.0
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kommodevaran wrote: »If you are trying to lose, you must have been eating more than 1200 calories before. Nutrient dense, low calorie, high volume foods (which I suspect you are eating; "diet food") give a full feeling in the beginning. After some time, you will miss what you are used to. Eat some of the things you used to eat, too, just in smaller quantities.
That's what I was thinking. How does someone get overweight to begin when they struggle to eat 1200 calories or thereabouts?
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The reason I am struggling now is because I have changed the way I eat all around. I am no longer eating processed, fried, or very fattening foods and I've also cut a good bit of my carbs out along with my sugars. I'm not really eating 'diet' food, I'm just watching a lot of what I eat. I'm eating healthy foods...a lot more veggies, salads, a lot of chicken (which I'm getting a little burnt out on lol), I don't eat much red meat...I do have the occasional pork and I also eat turkey (ground mostly). I don't eat all the sugary fruits but I do eat almonds and blueberries everyday. I no longer drink sodas or tea, I now drink mainly water and the occasional Bai5 drinks (which are really good if I might add!). I do still drink my coffe, can't live without that! But I no longer use sugar, I've moved to Stevia. I also allow myself 1 cheat day a week to where I eat the foods I enjoy, just in moderation.
All in all, I'm not extremely over weight if that's what your thinking...my goal is to lose 55lbs and I'll be happy. I do agree that I am probably getting to my 1200 calories easily but since I'm not weighing my foods, I'm not getting an accurate calorie count for everything I'm eating. We'll see how it changes once I get a scale but I will say that I am losing weight so whatever I'm doing is working 0 -
The reason I am struggling now is because I have changed the way I eat all around. I am no longer eating processed, fried, or very fattening foods and I've also cut a good bit of my carbs out along with my sugars. I'm not really eating 'diet' food, I'm just watching a lot of what I eat. I'm eating healthy foods...a lot more veggies, salads, a lot of chicken (which I'm getting a little burnt out on lol), I don't eat much red meat...I do have the occasional pork and I also eat turkey (ground mostly). I don't eat all the sugary fruits but I do eat almonds and blueberries everyday. I no longer drink sodas or tea, I now drink mainly water and the occasional Bai5 drinks (which are really good if I might add!). I do still drink my coffe, can't live without that! But I no longer use sugar, I've moved to Stevia. I also allow myself 1 cheat day a week to where I eat the foods I enjoy, just in moderation.
All in all, I'm not extremely over weight if that's what your thinking...my goal is to lose 55lbs and I'll be happy. I do agree that I am probably getting to my 1200 calories easily but since I'm not weighing my foods, I'm not getting an accurate calorie count for everything I'm eating. We'll see how it changes once I get a scale but I will say that I am losing weight so whatever I'm doing is working
Instead of having a 'cheat day' why don't you just eat some of your favorite foods in moderation? That way you still get a taste of whatever foods you enjoy during the week & don't get burnt out as you said on healthier fare like chicken, veggies, & fruits & risk having a huge binge.0
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