Not meeting recommended calories but not hungry

I'm having a hard time, on most days, meeting my calories(under), but I'm definitely eating, I jut cannot imagine eating more than what I'm eating. Is it okay to be under on the calories? I'm on 1250 now and the meals I eat are super filling.

Replies

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    edited February 2015
    Honest question, but if you have a hard time eating 1250 calories, how did you get to where you needed to lose weight to begin with?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Are you meeting your fat goal? Often, when dieting, people fill up on veggies and skip fat because of the calories. Fat is necessary. If you cut it, your body will miss it.

    Not feeling hungry on low calories isn't uncommon, especially when first starting a diet. It's mostly psychological.
  • Hornsby, by not eating my calories, but by drinking them in beer, wine etc.(I have a full bar with a Kegerator in my house, which is very tempting when you have 3 boys under 10) on top of being a lazy *kitten* and not exercising. So yea, that's why I'm a fat *kitten*. But now that I've quit drinking, I'm finding that I'm not able to meet the calories unless I actually make something not so healthy.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    edited February 2015
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    Hornsby, by not eating my calories, but by drinking them in beer, wine etc.(I have a full bar with a Kegerator in my house, which is very tempting when you have 3 boys under 10) on top of being a lazy *kitten* and not exercising. So yea, that's why I'm a fat *kitten*. But now that I've quit drinking, I'm finding that I'm not able to meet the calories unless I actually make something not so healthy.


    Here is a tip then. Not eating enough calories is more unhealthy than eating whatever food you are determining to be "unhealthy". So have a cookie....or a beer :)
  • Hornsby wrote: »
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    Hornsby, by not eating my calories, but by drinking them in beer, wine etc.(I have a full bar with a Kegerator in my house, which is very tempting when you have 3 boys under 10) on top of being a lazy *kitten* and not exercising. So yea, that's why I'm a fat *kitten*. But now that I've quit drinking, I'm finding that I'm not able to meet the calories unless I actually make something not so healthy.


    Thanks for the tip :-)


    Here is a tip then. Not eating enough calories is more unhealthy than eating whatever food you are determining to be "unhealthy". So have a cookie....or a beer :)

  • Are you meeting your fat goal? Often, when dieting, people fill up on veggies and skip fat because of the calories. Fat is necessary. If you cut it, your body will miss it.

    Not feeling hungry on low calories isn't uncommon, especially when first starting a diet. It's mostly psychological.




    I think I do pretty good when it comes to balance. There is no way I could just eat veggies and fruits. I do pretty good at incorporating fats and proteins. I guess I should actually just try snacking. I've never been a snacking person so it would have to be something I really made myself do.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    Are you meeting your fat goal? Often, when dieting, people fill up on veggies and skip fat because of the calories. Fat is necessary. If you cut it, your body will miss it.

    Not feeling hungry on low calories isn't uncommon, especially when first starting a diet. It's mostly psychological.




    I think I do pretty good when it comes to balance. There is no way I could just eat veggies and fruits. I do pretty good at incorporating fats and proteins. I guess I should actually just try snacking. I've never been a snacking person so it would have to be something I really made myself do.

    There isn't a reason to make yourself eat when you don't want to. Instead, try subbing some higher calorie foods for what you already eat - cook your meats and veggies in oil or butter, eat high fat dairy instead of low fat, put avocado and/or cheese on your salads, etc. Hell, I eat peanut butter off a spoon, but then I'm a snacker.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Eat more calorie dense foods. Get rid of anything low-fat, no-fat or "diet" and eat the full fat, full calorie versions. A handful of nuts, peanut butter avocado etc all are easy ways to get a lot of healthy calories without eating a lot of food.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    I'm having a hard time, on most days, meeting my calories(under), but I'm definitely eating, I jut cannot imagine eating more than what I'm eating. Is it okay to be under on the calories? I'm on 1250 now and the meals I eat are super filling.

    Assuming your calories are right, you have gotten good advice. How much under are you?

    Are you weighing/measuring your portions? If not, you could be eating more calories than you think.
  • kimny72 wrote: »
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    I'm having a hard time, on most days, meeting my calories(under), but I'm definitely eating, I jut cannot imagine eating more than what I'm eating. Is it okay to be under on the calories? I'm on 1250 now and the meals I eat are super filling.

    Assuming your calories are right, you have gotten good advice. How much under are you?

    Are you weighing/measuring your portions? If not, you could be eating more calories than you think.


    Yes, I have been weighing them all actually. I just have been eating a lot of non-fat or low-fat things. I do cook with butter or olive oil and do not shy from it. I definitely could probably add some things from above post to complete it. I'm usually like 100-200 shy.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    Are you meeting your fat goal? Often, when dieting, people fill up on veggies and skip fat because of the calories. Fat is necessary. If you cut it, your body will miss it.

    Not feeling hungry on low calories isn't uncommon, especially when first starting a diet. It's mostly psychological.

    I think I do pretty good when it comes to balance. There is no way I could just eat veggies and fruits. I do pretty good at incorporating fats and proteins. I guess I should actually just try snacking. I've never been a snacking person so it would have to be something I really made myself do.

    You think you are doing good with balance. Are you tracking your foods here on MFP? If so, check your log and see what you are short on. If you are short on calories, you must be short on a macronutrient. Fat is the easiest way to add calories without adding bulk to your diet because per gram it has more than twice the calories of protein or carbohydrates.
  • AmandaHugginkiss
    AmandaHugginkiss Posts: 486 Member
    Are you weighing and measuring all of your food. 90+ percent of people underestimate how much they eat if they aren't weighing their foods.

    So you could be getting enough calories in what you're eating and not need to add more (you shouldn't be targeting 1250, but that's a different issue). If you are weighing, eat a cookie.
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Honest question, but if you have a hard time eating 1250 calories, how did you get to where you needed to lose weight to begin with?

    Ding ding ding! We have a winner
  • AmandaHugginkiss
    AmandaHugginkiss Posts: 486 Member
    Are you weighing and measuring all of your food. 90+ percent of people underestimate how much they eat if they aren't weighing their foods.

    So you could be getting enough calories in what you're eating and not need to add more (you shouldn't be targeting 1250, but that's a different issue). If you are weighing, eat a cookie.

    Never mind. I see that you do weigh. Make sure you're really strict with how much butter and olive oil. I could easily consume 400 calories in olive oil alone in a day if not careful.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Most of the things I would have said have already been suggested. I will add this thought, though... with a full bar and a Kegerator (I'll admit, I'm jealous!) are you planning to abstain from drinking once you reach your goal weight? I'm a huge proponent of people eating the same, but less, while trying to lose weight as they plan to eat once they reach maintenance. We can't learn to maintain the weight we want to be if we aren't used to eating that way before we reach it. It's why so many people regain the weight once they stop "dieting". So if beer is a part of your normal life and it'll help you reach your calories, have one.
  • mscheftg
    mscheftg Posts: 485 Member
    Maybe opening your diary to let us see would help?
  • acorsaut89 wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Honest question, but if you have a hard time eating 1250 calories, how did you get to where you needed to lose weight to begin with?

    Ding ding ding! We have a winner


    Maybe try reading the thread before smart comments are made.... k
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    SueInAz wrote: »
    Most of the things I would have said have already been suggested. I will add this thought, though... with a full bar and a Kegerator (I'll admit, I'm jealous!) are you planning to abstain from drinking once you reach your goal weight? I'm a huge proponent of people eating the same, but less, while trying to lose weight as they plan to eat once they reach maintenance. We can't learn to maintain the weight we want to be if we aren't used to eating that way before we reach it. It's why so many people regain the weight once they stop "dieting". So if beer is a part of your normal life and it'll help you reach your calories, have one.

    I agree with this. If you are say 150 cals short, have a beer :drinker:

    And as someone else mentioned, be careful measuring out the fats you are cooking with. I could easily go 100 cals over on those if I'm not being really careful :(
  • SueInAz wrote: »
    Most of the things I would have said have already been suggested. I will add this thought, though... with a full bar and a Kegerator (I'll admit, I'm jealous!) are you planning to abstain from drinking once you reach your goal weight? I'm a huge proponent of people eating the same, but less, while trying to lose weight as they plan to eat once they reach maintenance. We can't learn to maintain the weight we want to be if we aren't used to eating that way before we reach it. It's why so many people regain the weight once they stop "dieting". So if beer is a part of your normal life and it'll help you reach your calories, have one.


    I'm going to have to refrain from drinking like I was. I was drinking every day with my husband, and it's not like it's light beer, it's Miller High Life. The weight I put on is just stupid, for a stupid reason. Not only did it impact my weight, it impacted my skin too. Beer was definitely part of my normal(daily) life... But it wasn't just one, it was 3-5 a night... which is really just stupid and not even necessary. It's easy enough for me to not drink, I just for whatever reason went 5 months with having a bit of a drinking issue. Stupidy on my part.
  • podejko
    podejko Posts: 2 Member
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    Are you meeting your fat goal? Often, when dieting, people fill up on veggies and skip fat because of the calories. Fat is necessary. If you cut it, your body will miss it.

    Not feeling hungry on low calories isn't uncommon, especially when first starting a diet. It's mostly psychological.




    I think I do pretty good when it comes to balance. There is no way I could just eat veggies and fruits. I do pretty good at incorporating fats and proteins. I guess I should actually just try snacking. I've never been a snacking person so it would have to be something I really made myself do.
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    I'm having a hard time, on most days, meeting my calories(under), but I'm definitely eating, I jut cannot imagine eating more than what I'm eating. Is it okay to be under on the calories? I'm on 1250 now and the meals I eat are super filling.

    Assuming your calories are right, you have gotten good advice. How much under are you?

    Are you weighing/measuring your portions? If not, you could be eating more calories than you think.


    Yes, I have been weighing them all actually. I just have been eating a lot of non-fat or low-fat things. I do cook with butter or olive oil and do not shy from it. I definitely could probably add some things from above post to complete it. I'm usually like 100-200 shy.

    I would think a 100 calories less would not hurt that much. But there are other ways to meet your calorie intake. 1oz of almonds is 160cal, 1oz pecans, 196cal, easy to snack on and add to salads. Look for foods that are small in quantity and large in healthy calories, carbs, and fat. I would stay away from too many fat free foods. Your body needs fat and carbs, just not the ones from beer and cookies :-) But, a beer or cookie is also necessary sometimes, for sanity's sake.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    karaboo20 wrote: »
    I'm having a hard time, on most days, meeting my calories(under), but I'm definitely eating, I jut cannot imagine eating more than what I'm eating. Is it okay to be under on the calories? I'm on 1250 now and the meals I eat are super filling.

    Assuming your calories are right, you have gotten good advice. How much under are you?

    Are you weighing/measuring your portions? If not, you could be eating more calories than you think.


    Yes, I have been weighing them all actually. I just have been eating a lot of non-fat or low-fat things. I do cook with butter or olive oil and do not shy from it. I definitely could probably add some things from above post to complete it. I'm usually like 100-200 shy.

    If you're just 100-200 calories short of your goal, then that's easy to make up by adding some calorie dense foods (although it's probably within the margin of error even if you're weighing and logging everything).

    100-200 calories is:
    a handful of nuts
    a dark chocolate bar
    a serving of peanut butter
    a tablespoon of olive oil
    two eggs
    half a store-bought muffin
    a banana
    a protein bar
    a serving of granola
    5.3 oz of Greek yogurt
    3 tablespoons of sour cream
    an ounce of cheese
  • Zedeff
    Zedeff Posts: 651 Member
    edited February 2015
    If you are:

    a) Not eating at a NUTRITIONAL deficit (different than a CALORIE deficit)
    b) Not dieting in an unsustainable way that will lead to anxiety/binging/failure
    c) Not subjectively deprived (either hungry, or just deprived of favourite foods/treats)

    Then there is no reasonable justification to increase you calories. You don't have to eat more just for the sake of meeting a calorie goal. The advice to add calorie-dense foods to your diet just for the sake of eating more calories is silly.
  • Hi,

    I also haven't been meeting my calorie targets (again being under my target) which tends to happen every other day. Ive also been accustumed to just having 3 meals a day.

    To help me achieve my goals, I'm seeing a Nutritionist on a regular basis and have been advised to increase my protein and decrease my carbs. This is because your body first burns proteins then carbs then fats. So if your consuming more protein, the more your body is going to use up, however DON'T stop eating carbs and fats as your body needs them.

    The Nutritionist also advised that because eating more protein is easier for the body to use up, I will need and want to replenish my food intake more regularly. Therefore it will be easier for me to have good snacks in between meals.

    She advised that your body will get used to under eating by slowing the metabolic rate but this won't necessarily lead to weight loss. By eating on a regular basis, for instance every 3 - 3.5hrs, you will avoid spikes and the metabolic system will work harder to use up the energy (food) consumed. If your metabolic system is working harder then you should start seeing results.

    I have been using this site for four weeks and have already lost half a stone. I have an uner active thyroid, so if It's working for me I can't see this not working for anybody else.

    Good luck