Having trouble eating enough?

How come your profile says you need to lose more than 100 lbs but at the same time you are concerned you are not eating enough? These two together, they do not make sense. Is the profile wrong?

Quasita wrote: »

If you are 100+ overweight, you likely have been consistently undereating for too long and need to increase your intake slowly with calorie dense foods at 100-200 calories per day until you reach your goal intake. It's completely possibly to be anorexic and very heavy (anorexic here meaning without appetite), particularly if you've trained yourself to be that way. It will eventually kick your losses off to a better rate, and totally worth it.

No. Unless you are an alien and get your energy from sources other than food, no.

If you're fat and I'm assuming not losing weight, then you are not at a calorie deficit, despite thinking you are. Pay more attention to everything you put in your mouth, log everything, weigh everything. I have a feeling you're eating more than you realize.

Plus side note, veggies are great, but make sure you're tracking your macros and getting enough protein and fat. If you reach your macro goals then you'll automatically be reaching your calorie limit as well.

Quasita wrote: »

If you are 100+ overweight, you likely have been consistently undereating for too long and need to increase your intake slowly with calorie dense foods at 100-200 calories per day until you reach your goal intake. It's completely possibly to be anorexic and very heavy (anorexic here meaning without appetite), particularly if you've trained yourself to be that way. It will eventually kick your losses off to a better rate, and totally worth it.

Second that

I lost quite a bit of weight (unintentionally) when I became vegan, because my dietary fat, and calories went way too low. I would enter my food at the end of the day and occasionally even be below 1000 calories. I felt full day to day, and couldn't cram in any more fruits, veggies and beans, but I still felt unsatisfied mentally. I knew I needed to eat more, but couldn't figure out how to do it without stuffing myself silly.

(Edited to add: In case anyone saw that as saying you can lose a lot of weight by severely undereating, I just want to make it clear that this isn't a good idea at all, and it was not intentional. I lost more than a few pounds of lean body mass (including a fair amount of muscle), and I'm still struggling to regain it. I figure it will take me at least a year just to get back to where I was.)

My calories and macros improved when I began to add more fatty foods like avocado and vegetable oils and increased my nut and seed ( and nut and seed butter) consumption. I also track my protein and make sure I'm getting enough; nobody likes to lose muscle.

Check your fat intake; if it's low, make a point of including more nuts and some avocado daily (if you like them, of course). If you want, start using more oil when you cook and on salads. I use roasted nut oils with fruit vinegars on salad and it's delicious.

There are people on MFP who know a lot more about optimal protein intake than me, but I tend to aim for at least .8 grams per pound of lean body mass (weight minus fat mass).

I didn't ask: are you losing weight too quickly? If not, the other posters could be right; you may be eating more than you think. If you can get a digital food scale you will be able to judge your portions more accurately. Fats especially are very calorie dense and a small error in measurement can have a significant effect on your overall calorie intake.

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aggelikik wrote: »

How come your profile says you need to lose more than 100 lbs but at the same time you are concerned you are not eating enough? These two together, they do not make sense. Is the profile wrong?

The more that someone weighs the more that it will take to fuel their body.

I am 200lbs...if I was only eating 1000 calories...that would not be enough. My BMR is over 1500.

I think that she is saying that since going Vegan that she is having a hard time reaching her calorie goals. The days that I eat mostly vegetables I do good to get in 800 calories. I am full but haven't met my calorie goal of 1600.

Quasita wrote: »

If you are 100+ overweight, you likely have been consistently undereating for too long and need to increase your intake slowly with calorie dense foods at 100-200 calories per day until you reach your goal intake. It's completely possibly to be anorexic and very heavy (anorexic here meaning without appetite), particularly if you've trained yourself to be that way. It will eventually kick your losses off to a better rate, and totally worth it.

So someone can get "fat" by undereating?

Let me get this straight...we get fat by over eating AND by under eating?

I might as well give up now...I will never find the magical number to lose and then maintain.

Quasita wrote: »

If you are 100+ overweight, you likely have been consistently undereating for too long and need to increase your intake slowly with calorie dense foods at 100-200 calories per day until you reach your goal intake. It's completely possibly to be anorexic and very heavy (anorexic here meaning without appetite), particularly if you've trained yourself to be that way. It will eventually kick your losses off to a better rate, and totally worth it.

You are joking, right ?

micymarie wrote: »

MakePeasNotWar wrote: »

Weighing can make a pretty big difference, again especially with fats, though you may not need to do that until you get closer to goal. I think people were assuming you weren't losing weight and therefore were underestimating your caloric intake. Honestly, you probably are (like nearly everyone, even registered dieticians in a study on calorie estimation), but if you are losing weight at a safe and reasonable level, it's not a big deal. It's when people start to stall or plateau that accuracy really counts.

Try increasing your fats and protein and see if the weight loss slows down. After the first couple of weeks, 1-2 lbs is considered safe, though with 100 lbs to lose you may be able to lose slightly faster without issues. If you are consistently losing 3-4 lb or even more per week, you need to keep adding calories, because you are right that too much of a calorie deficit can definitely do more harm than good.

Even if I don't need to yet I might as well get in the habit of using a scale and hopefully it helps with the probable accuracy issue. And I can definitely incorporate more avocados and nuts as I like them both especially avocados. In the past two weeks I've already lost 8 pounds. I run for 45 minutes every night and I do resistance stuff three times a week, with saturdays off. I thought that may be contributing to the quick loss but it still seemed pretty steep that's why it seemed worth figuring out maybe getting some suggestions. Much appreciated.

It sounds as if you are doing really well. Just take MakePeasNotWar's advice to get your calorie count up along with using a food scale.

The only other thing that I would look at is your protein levels and if you are getting enough.

Good luck and I commend you on trying to get this right.

I actually am having the same problem. I very rarely go over 1300 calories and usually get 900 or so. I tend to get a little over half of my recommended protein (I get 50g out of 80). I never get certain vitamins from diet alone. I just found this article that hopefully will give u ideas on how to get more calories.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=593

I however eat beef a few times a week and rarely eat chicken. I was a vegetarian for 13 years. I now eat eggs a few times a week. I also eat cheese and ice cream a few times a week. U may consider paying attention to your carb intake and the vitamins provided by the veggies u are eating.

To balance mine lately I have been eating less fruit and more vegetables. Adding peanut butter to my meals and I'm trying to diversify the types of food I eat. I also cook with Sunflower or Canola oil. Nuts and granola (as dessert) also help.