Eating enough calories, paleo diet

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So I recently started the paleo diet, love it! I feel full and fulfilled, however when I track my food I am only eating 800 calories and I literally can't eat anymore I am so full. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, because I know I need a minimum of 1200 calories. For instance today for breakfast I had one egg and egg whites, snack apple and almond butter, lunch tilapia, green beans, and sweet potato, snack 2 clementine oranges and .5 cup ground turkey with Marinara sauce for dinner. I ran 3 miles and I am really not hungry and it is 9pm but I am only at 800 calories. How do I stick to the paleo diet, eat enough calories, without stuffing myself? Thanks.

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  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Add some fat and oil: Coconut oil, Butter. Eat the whole egg. Yolks are good.
  • jddnw
    jddnw Posts: 319 Member
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    You had one half cup of ground turkey with Marinara sauce for dinner, and that gets you stuffed? To me that would be an appetizer. I don't get people who eat tiny portions and say they are stuffed. Have you always been this way.
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
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    nuts, avocados, bananas, and why not? some high percentage chocolate as a treat
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
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  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
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    Not to be rude, but how did you put on weight? You must have been eating bigger portions. Up the portions eat calorie dense foods like advocado, nuts and oils
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    So I recently started the paleo diet, love it! I feel full and fulfilled, however when I track my food I am only eating 800 calories and I literally can't eat anymore I am so full. I am not sure what I am doing wrong, because I know I need a minimum of 1200 calories. For instance today for breakfast I had one egg and egg whites, snack apple and almond butter, lunch tilapia, green beans, and sweet potato, snack 2 clementine oranges and .5 cup ground turkey with Marinara sauce for dinner. I ran 3 miles and I am really not hungry and it is 9pm but I am only at 800 calories. How do I stick to the paleo diet, eat enough calories, without stuffing myself? Thanks.

    Use whole eggs cooked fat, banana instead of Apple. Salmon instead of white fish. Drizzled with olive oil or butter or homemade mayo. Thigh meat instead of lean/breast. Carb dense vegies instead of beans. Snack on nuts with your fruit. Or make chocolate with raw cacao, coconut oil or cacao butter, sweetener.

    I also struggle to fathom how you became overweight but think you're stuffed with that amount of food.
  • Hollywood_Porky
    Hollywood_Porky Posts: 491 Member
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    Person could be if they were eating more junk food, candy bars and the like, because junk food is more calorie dense and less filling (fiber).
  • Curtez
    Curtez Posts: 62 Member
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    Not logging correctly? Portion size accuracy etc? Just a thought
  • yarushajimenez411
    yarushajimenez411 Posts: 13 Member
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    No it's none of that. The reason why your appetite has decreased is bc you have eliminated or cut down your carbs and sugar. It happened to me. I did the high protein low carb diet and boom my appetite was gone. Start to eat the way, you ate before paleo and your appetite will return. Dr. Atkins writes about this in his book.
  • jrosto
    jrosto Posts: 95 Member
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    I would add half an avocado and maybe a slice of uncured bacon to your breakfast.

    Lunch sounds good. Maybe add healthy fat like coconut or avocado oil.

    I would exchange a serving of macadamia nuts or maybe a tin of sardines for the clementines.

    Dinner should be a quality protein, nutrient dense veggie and healthy fat.

    A small serving (1/8th of a bar) of dark chocolate (>80%) is a nice treat if you want a couple more cals.

    Note that 900 nutrient dense cals provide much more for your bod than 1200 empty ones. Use you satiation and energy levels as a guide to help you determine if you really do need more cals.
  • Stacey765
    Stacey765 Posts: 86 Member
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    It's sounds like based on your post this only happened the one day so far?? Maybe it's just one of those days.... once your body gets used to paleo you may start needing more calories
  • taentea
    taentea Posts: 91 Member
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    isulo_kura wrote: »
    Not to be rude, but how did you put on weight? You must have been eating bigger portions. Up the portions eat calorie dense foods like advocado, nuts and oils
    People don't get overweight from eating bigger portions necessarily. I was never the one with the fullest plate personally but I would often snack on a lot of sweets during the day hence the gain. Once I went Paleo for the first few weeks of my WL, I actually faced the same problem that OP has. Sweets were gone, bread was gone, pasta and rice were gone and I just couldn't fit enough veggies and meet in me to get to my calorie goal. I have since then changed my approach and found a way to eat that gets me where I want to be. I'm just posting this to point out OP's struggle is most likely genuine. It will take her some time to work out the meal plan that works for her.