Intake seems so ridiculously low!

2

Replies

  • hcs00
    hcs00 Posts: 40 Member
    get rid of the packaged oatmeal and make your own from scratch. you get WAY more that way b/c there is so much less calories and sugar. add whatever berries or spices (cinnamon, honey) to it to make it yummy. that will start your morning off with more food and before.
    I usually eat six small meals a day so I couldn't imagine eating that small of an amount all day long without becoming some kind of monster. maybe you could reserve 600 for dinner and just out a portion of somethin tasty, but set it aside and take it for lunch leftovers???

    I'll definitely go the 'make your own' route for my oatmeal now. God their mixes are just so tasty! Small meals is not my jam, I will overeat every time. No control.
  • Merrysix
    Merrysix Posts: 336 Member
    I just got too hungry on 1300 cals per day, so I upped to 1500, w/ weight loss goal of 1/2 pound per week, and if I exercise more like 1 pound weight loss per week. I eat higher protein/ higher fat and lower carb, as I feel less hungry on this type of eating plan, and it helps me stick to my calorie goal. I encourage my husband to eat healthy at dinner (but of course he eats what he wants). I always make a big salad, and he likes eating this too. I try to make my calories count, and eat foods that "satiate" -- that is foods that make me feel fuller longer (for me that isn't carbs, but some people w/ different genetics, behaviors, exercise patterns, etc. do better with more carbs -- to each their own).
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    You're eating an 800 calorie dinner? That's really high, I'm not surprised you're struggling the rest of the day. Make better dinner choices and cut dinner back to 350-500 calories.
  • hcs00
    hcs00 Posts: 40 Member
    You're eating an 800 calorie dinner? That's really high, I'm not surprised you're struggling the rest of the day. Make better dinner choices and cut dinner back to 350-500 calories.

    That's a small dinner, 350-500. I kind of mentally make it through the rest of the day knowing I can have a decent dinner later.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    hcs00 wrote: »
    Cutting the deficit by 250 meaning make my limit 1550, then exercise 250 calories off and eating them back (so my daily intake could actually be 1800)? I worry my loss would be so minimal I'd give up.
    The point (at least, for me) is to change your eating around so that you are eating in a sustainable way so that you lose your excess weight and then have a plan to maintain that loss.

    If you feel deprived, you are likely to give up. It's important to be comfortable. As for minimal weight loss, any loss is a victory. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.

    Rather than a goal to lose X pounds in Y time, my goal is to track all of my intake in my food diary and adjust things so that I'm satisfied and still at a calorie deficit. If I eat at a deficit I know that the weight will eventually come off.
  • hcs00
    hcs00 Posts: 40 Member
    seska422 wrote: »
    hcs00 wrote: »
    Cutting the deficit by 250 meaning make my limit 1550, then exercise 250 calories off and eating them back (so my daily intake could actually be 1800)? I worry my loss would be so minimal I'd give up.
    The point (at least, for me) is to change your eating around so that you are eating in a sustainable way so that you lose your excess weight and then have a plan to maintain that loss.

    If you feel deprived, you are likely to give up. It's important to be comfortable. As for minimal weight loss, any loss is a victory. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.

    Rather than a goal to lose X pounds in Y time, my goal is to track all of my intake in my food diary and adjust things so that I'm satisfied and still at a calorie deficit. If I eat at a deficit I know that the weight will eventually come off.

    This is a healthy mindset. I guess I just see my body, say "get rid of this fat as fast as possible!" and get stressed and upset at small losses. I'm an impatient person in general. Thank you for the reminder to see the bigger goal.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    hcs00 wrote: »
    You're eating an 800 calorie dinner? That's really high, I'm not surprised you're struggling the rest of the day. Make better dinner choices and cut dinner back to 350-500 calories.

    That's a small dinner, 350-500. I kind of mentally make it through the rest of the day knowing I can have a decent dinner later.

    Just for example, my breakfast is usually @ 300 cals, my lunch @ 400 cals, my dinner @ 500 cals, and that leaves me 300 cals a day for snacks (like a yogurt in the afternoon or some cookies with my tea after dinner). So maybe you can bring the calories on dinner down a little by adding in more low-cal items (like veggies) and having smaller portions of whatever you made your husband for dinner that is making the calories on that one meal so high.

    The only time my dinner is over 500ish calories is when I go to my mom's for pasta (800 cals) or go out to eat. And those meals leave me stuffed.

    Maybe you can friend some folks with similar weight loss goals and calories and get some good ideas from their logs.

    Some people can get away with eating most of their calories in one meal, but those are people who just naturally don't feel hungry the rest of the day. Other people have to eat several small meals to keep from getting to hungry and pigging out. You are probably going to have to play with it a little to find what works best for you.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited September 2015
    hcs00 wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    You have a couple of options:
    1. Adjust your weight loss goal to lose a little more slowly. You'll then get more calories to eat. It's better to lose more slowly and be happy than be miserable and possibly quit.
    2. Exercise and "earn" extra calories to eat. Be a little more careful with this route as exercise can make you more hungry, too.
    3. Make some substitutions in your diet to remove things with lots of calories but little satiety and nutrition. For example, ditch the creamer and sugar in your coffee and substitute with skim milk and sugar free syrups or sweeteners. Use plain oatmeal and sweeten it yourself instead of the packaged stuff with lots of sugar.
    4. Add a lot more non-starchy vegetables to your diet. They are low in calories and will help fill you up.
    5. Take a good look at the dinners you are eating. Can you skip the rice or potatoes and fill up on veggies instead?

    For dinners I always make at least two sides, one that is low calorie and nutritious and another starchy one. I eat a lot of the veggies and hardly any of the more calorie dense starchy one. Sometimes I'll even just do a green salad with a little dressing and broccoli, both of which are good choices.

    Thank you for the input - I train kickboxing and jujitsu generally twice a week, two hours each time (one hour is kickboxing, second is jujitsu). Real fighting and boot camp-like training at a dojo, not like a cardio class at the Y. My husband and I are also going to start taking walks...I actually hate walks because I've had arthritis in my ankles since I was 17 or so but we're going to start it!

    I eat back some calories on days I have training.

    My dinner sides are generally always veggies but sometimes a potato or rice, but not normally. I feel I do really well on choices (I also don't drink pop and my coffee powdered creamer/sugar is only 150 calories total a day but I should start liking black coffee to not lose the calories on it).

    I think I really *kitten* up my body when I was 18 and decided to starve myself to get skinny. It worked for a few years but diet pills and never eating just totaled my insides because it is so hard to lose now.

    More than likely what you did was lose a bunch of muscle which can slow down your metabolism. Have you considered adding some strength training in with your martial arts? My dad teaches Shotokan karate and jiu-jitsu and there were years where I was in the dojo 5 days per week 3+ hours per day so I know it builds strength and you can have a really ripped body doing it because your body fat gets pretty low. However, nothing beats getting into the gym and lifting heavy weights to retain the muscle you already have while losing weight or building new muscle.
  • hcs00
    hcs00 Posts: 40 Member

    More than likely what you did was lose a bunch of muscle which can slow down your metabolism. Have you considered adding some strength training in with your martial arts? My dad teaches Shotokan karate and jiu-jitsu and there were years where I was in the dojo 5 days per week 3+ hours per day so I know it builds strength and you can have a really ripped body doing it because your body fat gets pretty low. However, nothing beats getting into the gym and lifting heavy weights to retain the muscle you already have while losing weight or building new muscle.

    We definitely do weight and strength training along with the cardio of class in general...but I should add in my own weight stuff at home, even if it's light. I am the anomaly - continually fat while training at my dojo for four years now! I'm definitely not comfortable going to a regular gym to use the weights...time plus cost but also the comfort level is not there.

    I think I will ransack my mom's unused basement gym setup for some weights and medicine balls this weekend. Thank you for the input. I need to get very serious and have some type of workout daily, even if at home.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    hcs00 wrote: »
    You're eating an 800 calorie dinner? That's really high, I'm not surprised you're struggling the rest of the day. Make better dinner choices and cut dinner back to 350-500 calories.

    That's a small dinner, 350-500. I kind of mentally make it through the rest of the day knowing I can have a decent dinner later.

    It actually is a decent sized meal. I eat larger portions of protein and veg, smaller portions of starch (pasta, rice, potato).

  • Chasity6
    Chasity6 Posts: 183 Member
    I eat 1390 calories except days I walk a lot then I eat more but net 1390 calories on those days. I don't stay hungry however I try not to eat a lot of processed foods most days of the week. I eat a lot of fat though and it helps keep me full. Coconut oil and grass fed butter mostly. My coffee in the morning has a cup of cashew milk, 1tbsp coconut oil so it kind of feels like creamer to me I don't add sweetener but you could always use splenda or stevia instead of sugar to yours. (I use my nutribullet for my coffee so there isn't oil floating on top it makes a cappuccino like foam on top yum!!) I use olive oil and vinegar for salad dressing and small amounts of butter of vegetables. I have tried multiple diet approaches in the past and starved on this amount of calories. Maybe you should try smaller portions of starches and add extra fat to see if it helps keep you full longer. :)
  • bukowski_shine
    bukowski_shine Posts: 70 Member
    20 minutes walk - 150 more calories
    10 minute jogging - 150 more calories

    So with above exercises you get 250-300 extra calories daily.

  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    I just had a pretty substantial dinner for 610 calories and I generally eat 6-900 calories for dinner every day. My diary is open if you want ideas. The way you get the big dinner for the lower calories is to make your veggie portions huge and enjoy a more modest amount of carbs and protein. I also eat fair sized protein portions but limit things like potatoes pasta and rice which are a lot of calories for not much food. I still enjoy my carbs and sugar and sweets and fat and... all of the yummy foods.

    I do have a higher calorie goal also though since my daily burn is in the highly active range.

    By the way. Nice to meet another female martial artist. :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    I never ate less than 1650 calories. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories too (my 1650 included exercise).

    After that, well, you'll have to adjust to the way your body works. I can't have 800 calorie dinners anymore, and that's with a goal of 1800 now... just not happening. It's a good day when I have more than 500 calories left for dinner, because I just get too hungry during the day - I need a good breakfast and lunch is my biggest meal. I usually have 4 servings of veggies at dinner though... very filling for maybe 150 calories.

    And focus on protein and fat, NOT carbs. Ditch the oatmeal for lunch, seriously... have something with protein and fat instead. Your salad looks good but I'd have more protein in it... And with 1300 calories, I would never waste precious calories on creamer and sugar in coffee... I learned to like it black.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited September 2015
    Francl27 wrote: »
    And with 1300 calories, I would never waste precious calories on creamer and sugar in coffee... I learned to like it black.

    I tried for a month to learn to like it black, with a less calorie dense cream type substitute and artificial sweeteners. Turns out I would rather just cut myself down to 1 cup of coffee a day with my favorite creamer in the amount I like and measure that creamer and log it. I would rather have my coffee perfect in a small amount than have lots of it but not the way I like it.

    I think now that I don't drink it by the bucket and it is my only cup for the day (most days) I tend to enjoy it a lot more too.
  • bukowski_shine
    bukowski_shine Posts: 70 Member
    I just had a pretty substantial dinner for 610 calories and I generally eat 6-900 calories for dinner every day. My diary is open if you want ideas. The way you get the big dinner for the lower calories is to make your veggie portions huge and enjoy a more modest amount of carbs and protein. I also eat fair sized protein portions but limit things like potatoes pasta and rice which are a lot of calories for not much food. I still enjoy my carbs and sugar and sweets and fat and... all of the yummy foods.

    I do have a higher calorie goal also though since my daily burn is in the highly active range.

    By the way. Nice to meet another female martial artist. :)
    What do you eat for dinner that's 6 calories? :neutral:

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,707 Member
    hcs00 wrote: »
    I also don't drink pop and my coffee powdered creamer/sugar is only 150 calories total a day

    But think what else you could eat if you didn't drink that in your coffee. That's approx. 1.5 medium bananas ... a couple mandarin oranges ... a decent sized bowl of low-cal yogurt ... a slice of toast ... 2 hardboiled eggs

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited September 2015
    Machka9 wrote: »
    hcs00 wrote: »
    I also don't drink pop and my coffee powdered creamer/sugar is only 150 calories total a day
    But think what else you could eat if you didn't drink that in your coffee. That's approx. 1.5 medium bananas ... a couple mandarin oranges ... a decent sized bowl of low-cal yogurt ... a slice of toast ... 2 hardboiled eggs
    What's so nice about CICO is that we have the flexibility to decide what's sustainable for ourselves as individuals.

    When I started MFP, I tried to stop drinking any calories. However, I prefer to drink some of my calories. That's one of the things I don't want to give up so I haven't.
  • hcs00
    hcs00 Posts: 40 Member
    I just had a pretty substantial dinner for 610 calories and I generally eat 6-900 calories for dinner every day. My diary is open if you want ideas. The way you get the big dinner for the lower calories is to make your veggie portions huge and enjoy a more modest amount of carbs and protein. I also eat fair sized protein portions but limit things like potatoes pasta and rice which are a lot of calories for not much food. I still enjoy my carbs and sugar and sweets and fat and... all of the yummy foods.

    I do have a higher calorie goal also though since my daily burn is in the highly active range.

    By the way. Nice to meet another female martial artist. :)

    Nice to meet another as well! I requested you since we seem to have similar starting weight/goal weights, and the martial arts classes. How often do you train?
  • hcs00
    hcs00 Posts: 40 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I never ate less than 1650 calories. You're supposed to eat back exercise calories too (my 1650 included exercise).

    After that, well, you'll have to adjust to the way your body works. I can't have 800 calorie dinners anymore, and that's with a goal of 1800 now... just not happening. It's a good day when I have more than 500 calories left for dinner, because I just get too hungry during the day - I need a good breakfast and lunch is my biggest meal. I usually have 4 servings of veggies at dinner though... very filling for maybe 150 calories.

    And focus on protein and fat, NOT carbs. Ditch the oatmeal for lunch, seriously... have something with protein and fat instead. Your salad looks good but I'd have more protein in it... And with 1300 calories, I would never waste precious calories on creamer and sugar in coffee... I learned to like it black.

    I'm going to start trying the coffee black...I'm cutting down the amount of creamer and sugar for now.

    Oatmeal is so filling though! Ha ha. I need to cook up some chicken breasts to use for lunches.