I'm undereating 800 kcal every day.
ErikaAurelia
Posts: 127 Member
I feel soooo annoying for creating another thread, but I encountered a dilemma that I wasn't expecting (sincerely sorry).
I counted calories today, first time I have ever done that. I ate what I normally eat. I did know that maybe I did eat a bit too little, but I wasn't expecting myself to be 800 kcal below what I should eat.
I am at loss. I eat, imo, good size portions. Breakfast is a 2 egg omelette with some veggies (and sometimes meatballs in the omelette). Lunch and supper is usually meat + veggies (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower). But it looks like I'm not getting enough, mainly carbs and protein that I need more of.
I guess I could eat an apple and a banana between the meals, I do like eggnoodles, so I suppose I could add that, but then I would have to take out a lot of the veggies because it is just too much food at once for me.
I have peanutbutter (+ usual nuts) that i suppose I could take some of every day, but nuts have a lot of fat as well and that I don't need much more of.
When I look at it I guess it is mainly protein that I am not sure how to get more of, with nuts...it comes with fat. So I can't eat them endlessly. I eat things with protein in it every main meal (eggs, fish, other meat), so it feels a bit hard to add more there. Where do I get 40 g extra protein? Should I drink protein shakes? Feels so weird that it should be this hard to get protein..maybe people usually eat twice as much meat every meal compared to me? I would not be able to do that, I'm full when I've completed my portions.
Should I start eating dried meat as snacks? Gosh, I don't know.
All help is appreciated.
I counted calories today, first time I have ever done that. I ate what I normally eat. I did know that maybe I did eat a bit too little, but I wasn't expecting myself to be 800 kcal below what I should eat.
I am at loss. I eat, imo, good size portions. Breakfast is a 2 egg omelette with some veggies (and sometimes meatballs in the omelette). Lunch and supper is usually meat + veggies (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower). But it looks like I'm not getting enough, mainly carbs and protein that I need more of.
I guess I could eat an apple and a banana between the meals, I do like eggnoodles, so I suppose I could add that, but then I would have to take out a lot of the veggies because it is just too much food at once for me.
I have peanutbutter (+ usual nuts) that i suppose I could take some of every day, but nuts have a lot of fat as well and that I don't need much more of.
When I look at it I guess it is mainly protein that I am not sure how to get more of, with nuts...it comes with fat. So I can't eat them endlessly. I eat things with protein in it every main meal (eggs, fish, other meat), so it feels a bit hard to add more there. Where do I get 40 g extra protein? Should I drink protein shakes? Feels so weird that it should be this hard to get protein..maybe people usually eat twice as much meat every meal compared to me? I would not be able to do that, I'm full when I've completed my portions.
Should I start eating dried meat as snacks? Gosh, I don't know.
All help is appreciated.
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Replies
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You might have a look through these threads for some ideas:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10232335/list-of-higher-protein-foods
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also0 -
How much meat do you have for lunch? I usually have about 150g of cooked chicken for lunch with veggies and a piece of fruit.
What about adding some turkey or chicken sausage to your omelet?
I also will have greek yogurt as a snack, sometimes jerky. Dinner is also usually a meat, veggies, and a carb.0 -
Healthy fats aren't bad, so don't be scared to snack on nuts.
Avocado with your breakfast, an extra egg in your omelette.
Smoothies are another good way to get your calories up, make a huge smoothie and have it between meals.
If you're not getting enough protein in your diet then a good protein powder might do the trick.
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Thank you for the links, I looked at them all but will go through them a bit better later, so much information
Seems like I would have to add a fourth main meal with only protein to make this work atm.
I eat around 80-100g of meat when I have meat, I get completely full when I eat so I don't think I could add more to the existing meals just like that.
I do not have much cooking space here, no oven, one hob plate... I don't eat chicken at home, I rely on easy things, such as meatballs or meat that is ready to eat right away (ex: cold smoked salmon).
I am avoiding dairy since my skin dislikes it (I love dairy, so it is sad).
But is it really okay to eat way over the % of fat that you should eat? I could add avocado, but an extra egg I'm not sure, it's almost killing me as it is. I have no blender and nowhere to store a lot of new food (tiny fridge, tiny freezer).
Looks like the easiest way atm would be to eat one can of tuna every day as a separate meal (along with eating nuts till I add up the fat %)... not sure how I like that, sounds really boring. Maybe tuna would taste more fun with sweet chili sauce?0 -
No, you never need more carbs (keep below 100/day), but you almost always need more healthy fats.0
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Yes, as long as not contra-indicated by a medical condition, it's fine to go over on fat. Enjoy!0
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Are you sure you're undereating 800 calories every day? If so, you'd be losing 5-6 pounds every month.
I'd be careful about packing in an extra 800 calories into your daily consumption based on (presumably) a TDEE calculator. Maybe continue eating as you are and track your weight for a week or two. If things are stable, you're fine. If not, add a few hundred calories a day.0 -
A 2-egg omelet made with 2 large eggs is only 140 calories. Even with adding in some veggies you would struggle to get 200 calories from that breakfast. That is a very low calorie way to start your day. Maybe add some avocado to your omelet to get some dense calories, or try adding oatmeal or yogurt to your breakfast? A parfait-style side (yogurt, granola, fruit)?
If your daily calories are below 1,200, try to add some calories or healthy snacks in between meals if you just can't seem to eat more at meal time. You need to add fuel to the fire to get it to burn, you know?
Good luck!0 -
Are you counting all your cooking oils? Most people don't make an omelette in a dry pan, for example.
Beyond that, though, what is your weight doing? Are you gaining, losing or maintaining? Calorie counting is never 100% accurate, but your body tracks those calories no matter what. If you're currently maintaining, and start adding an additional 800 calories per day, you're going to gain.0 -
How accurate is your logging? Do you use a food scale? Use the recipe builder? Use usda entries? If the weight isn't flying off, I'd work on making my logging more accurate before upping calories too much.0
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How many grams of protein are you eating?0
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Nuts, lots of fresh fruit, avocado and more veggies.0
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You don't need to add more meat, beans are also good, add more of these plant based foods.
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Thank you all for your answers! For some reason it looks like I've gotten more replies on notification than I can actually see in the thread, which is slightly confusing, anyone know why it is like that? some members have a noob-nope? (prevent noobs like me from seeing their replies?)
I use a scale.
The eggs were 60g each in the omelette. In the national food agency (or whatever to call it, swedish) it says that eco egg fried is 197 kcal per 100 g. I found one in the database here that is one 60g egg fried in oil/butter = 120 kcal. I did not dare to trust the omelette in the database, all of them showed different calories and it did not add protein/carbs/fat/anything to the food diary, only calories.
I was using the food diary on this site, I'm still very new to this system. I guess it is possible that I am off, especially with the eggs since I am unsure if eggs in omelette are similar to fried eggs, the other things were easy to weigh and get the total of. But well, according to this food diary I am supposed to eat 1850 kcal a day. Yesterday, with normal eating (for me), I got up to 1024 kcal. I did not exercise. The food diary says I should eat 97g of protein, I got up to 49g.
I have not been losing a lot of weight prior to this because I ate a lot of chips, a lot (5 300g bags/week). And recently I did have a "chips-attack", which I am not proud of. I am losing weight as soon as I stop with the chips, that I know and saw already last time I stopped with it. I dropped to 51 kg when I did over a few weeks. I guess that the chips got me up to a good total calorie/week, haha. But I still kinda want to stop eating that much chips. Other than that "attack" I haven't eaten chips this month (new year promise thing), I've dropped 2 kg this month, at least last time I checked. Due to that I recently ate 600g of chips (+ pringles and chocolate, almost forgot about those) I don't think I've dropped more.
Beans torture my stomach, else I like them, Broccoli and cauliflower I already eat quite a lot and I use to have some spinach as sallad beside my food. I'm not sure if I trust in that chart though, the % sounds way too high. Doesn't broccoli have 3,5g protein per 100g? Sounds more like 3,5 % to me. Maybe you take away the water they contain? Would still have to eat quite a lot of broccoli, haha. That did make me think though, the broccoli I ate didn't add any protein to the food diary! I ate more slightly more than 100g so it should be 3.5g more protein there, or does boiling them destroy it all? Odd, either way. I had a hard time finding broccoli that was both measured in 100 g and boiled in the database, maybe I picked a bad one?
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Boiling does not take the protein out of food. You also don't have to find an item in the database with matching cooking method (boiling/fried). You can just input the raw amount and then account for any added oil, etc. Easy ways to increase protein would be deli style lean meats, can or pouch tuna or chicken, protein bars, Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (if you can handle the dairy), protein powder(added in smoothies, coffee, yogurt, oatmeal), eggs or egg substitute, tofu...
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Oh, I see. But eggs differ so much depending on if it is raw or fried, I'm not sure why that is. I'm not sure what I should put that the omelette contain, I mean, I really don't. Two eggs ~60g, 2 tablespoons of water and some salt and pepper... Seems so simple but why are all the omelettes showing different things? And why is it not adding protein/fat when I pick omelette instead of eggs?
Ah, I wish this was a bit easier!
I really dislike greek yogurt, maybe I could try cottage cheese and see if my skin is alright with it, would probably work fine to add to my normal meals, doesn't sound too bad to eat with veggies and meat either, weird maybe, but yeah.
About protein powder, I don't drink coffee, can't make smoothies and I don't eat yogurt, but oatmeal...I guess? Could try that if I can't get protein up any other way or if adding all these extra things just makes too much things to eat.0 -
ErikaAurelia wrote: »Oh, I see. But eggs differ so much depending on if it is raw or fried, I'm not sure why that is. I'm not sure what I should put that the omelette contain, I mean, I really don't. Two eggs ~60g, 2 tablespoons of water and some salt and pepper... Seems so simple but why are all the omelettes showing different things? And why is it not adding protein/fat when I pick omelette instead of eggs?
Ah, I wish this was a bit easier!
I really dislike greek yogurt, maybe I could try cottage cheese and see if my skin is alright with it, would probably work fine to add to my normal meals, doesn't sound too bad to eat with veggies and meat either, weird maybe, but yeah.
About protein powder, I don't drink coffee, can't make smoothies and I don't eat yogurt, but oatmeal...I guess? Could try that if I can't get protein up any other way or if adding all these extra things just makes too much things to eat.
Different entries are showing different things because different people cook them different ways. That's why you should enter your own recipe for accuracy.0 -
ErikaAurelia wrote: »Oh, I see. But eggs differ so much depending on if it is raw or fried, I'm not sure why that is. I'm not sure what I should put that the omelette contain, I mean, I really don't. Two eggs ~60g, 2 tablespoons of water and some salt and pepper... Seems so simple but why are all the omelettes showing different things? And why is it not adding protein/fat when I pick omelette instead of eggs?
Ah, I wish this was a bit easier!
I really dislike greek yogurt, maybe I could try cottage cheese and see if my skin is alright with it, would probably work fine to add to my normal meals, doesn't sound too bad to eat with veggies and meat either, weird maybe, but yeah.
About protein powder, I don't drink coffee, can't make smoothies and I don't eat yogurt, but oatmeal...I guess? Could try that if I can't get protein up any other way or if adding all these extra things just makes too much things to eat.
Different entries are showing different things because different people cook them different ways. That's why you should enter your own recipe for accuracy.
Alright, I did look at that in the beginning, but does it add the proteins etc on its own? I'm still not sure about it since when I added other peoples omelettes it didn't add anything other than calories. And then about the calories the eggs got, how to go with that? Should I go with what one egg (60g) =120 when fried in butter? Or can I not choose that?
I'm confused.0 -
ErikaAurelia wrote: »Oh, I see. But eggs differ so much depending on if it is raw or fried, I'm not sure why that is. I'm not sure what I should put that the omelette contain, I mean, I really don't. Two eggs ~60g, 2 tablespoons of water and some salt and pepper... Seems so simple but why are all the omelettes showing different things? And why is it not adding protein/fat when I pick omelette instead of eggs?
Ah, I wish this was a bit easier!
I really dislike greek yogurt, maybe I could try cottage cheese and see if my skin is alright with it, would probably work fine to add to my normal meals, doesn't sound too bad to eat with veggies and meat either, weird maybe, but yeah.
About protein powder, I don't drink coffee, can't make smoothies and I don't eat yogurt, but oatmeal...I guess? Could try that if I can't get protein up any other way or if adding all these extra things just makes too much things to eat.
You're picking bad entries - pick ones that are verified, and use the separate ingredients where possible. So, for an omelette, add everything individually. Add vegies/meat/grains as their raw weight. Fried egg entries may have different amounts of fat included, omelette entries may include milk, cream, vegies, cheese for example.
Add extra eggs (or egg whites) to your omelette, choose more carb dense vegetables, eat more meals....0 -
ErikaAurelia wrote: »ErikaAurelia wrote: »Oh, I see. But eggs differ so much depending on if it is raw or fried, I'm not sure why that is. I'm not sure what I should put that the omelette contain, I mean, I really don't. Two eggs ~60g, 2 tablespoons of water and some salt and pepper... Seems so simple but why are all the omelettes showing different things? And why is it not adding protein/fat when I pick omelette instead of eggs?
Ah, I wish this was a bit easier!
I really dislike greek yogurt, maybe I could try cottage cheese and see if my skin is alright with it, would probably work fine to add to my normal meals, doesn't sound too bad to eat with veggies and meat either, weird maybe, but yeah.
About protein powder, I don't drink coffee, can't make smoothies and I don't eat yogurt, but oatmeal...I guess? Could try that if I can't get protein up any other way or if adding all these extra things just makes too much things to eat.
Different entries are showing different things because different people cook them different ways. That's why you should enter your own recipe for accuracy.
Alright, I did look at that in the beginning, but does it add the proteins etc on its own? I'm still not sure about it since when I added other peoples omelettes it didn't add anything other than calories. And then about the calories the eggs got, how to go with that? Should I go with what one egg (60g) =120 when fried in butter? Or can I not choose that?
I'm confused.
No. Anyone can add a food into the database. Some just care only about the calories or a macro or whatever so don't fill in the rest of the info.
You can choose whatever entry you want. It just won't be as accurate as either adding a recipe or the individual components that YOU'RE eating 0 -
Use a whole egg entry. Ex: 1 large egg should = 70 cal and about 7g protein. IF you cook it in 1tbs butter, add 1 tbs butter to your recipe. If not, don't pick an entry that says fried or fried in butter. Do not pick an entry that is part of a recipe, like "omelet". Everyone makes omelets differently. I find it very easy to add protein by using sliced lunch meat.0
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ErikaAurelia wrote: »Oh, I see. But eggs differ so much depending on if it is raw or fried, I'm not sure why that is. I'm not sure what I should put that the omelette contain, I mean, I really don't. Two eggs ~60g, 2 tablespoons of water and some salt and pepper... Seems so simple but why are all the omelettes showing different things? And why is it not adding protein/fat when I pick omelette instead of eggs?
Ah, I wish this was a bit easier!
I really dislike greek yogurt, maybe I could try cottage cheese and see if my skin is alright with it, would probably work fine to add to my normal meals, doesn't sound too bad to eat with veggies and meat either, weird maybe, but yeah.
About protein powder, I don't drink coffee, can't make smoothies and I don't eat yogurt, but oatmeal...I guess? Could try that if I can't get protein up any other way or if adding all these extra things just makes too much things to eat.
Add protein powder to milk or water, then drink.0 -
Okay, so I should just ignore all entries about food that is not raw? Like boiled/fried etc? I suppose that makes it easier.
Thank you all for the help 0 -
Yes, that's the #1 tip I'd give to people who are new to MFP. It's always, always better to add in the individual components rather than finding an entry for the whole thing. For example, add the bread, peanut butter and jelly individually; don't find an entry that says "1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich." For the omelettes, add the eggs, veg, cheese, cooking oils, whatever, as separate entries.ErikaAurelia wrote: »Okay, so I should just ignore all entries about food that is not raw? Like boiled/fried etc? I suppose that makes it easier.
Anyone can add anything to the MFP database, which is good and bad. If you see any entries that have calories only (no macro information), choose a different entry. Look for the little green check mark; those entries tend to be more accurate. You can also look to see how many people have verified that item (more is better in that case).
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ErikaAurelia wrote: »Okay, so I should just ignore all entries about food that is not raw? Like boiled/fried etc? I suppose that makes it easier.
Thank you all for the help
Yes, I always search for the individual items raw and then add separately the oil or butter or stock or whatever I'm cooking it in. Any entries that mention an already prepared food and you are relying on some random person's ability to measure and enter data accurately.0 -
ErikaAurelia wrote: »Okay, so I should just ignore all entries about food that is not raw? Like boiled/fried etc? I suppose that makes it easier.
Thank you all for the help
Yes, I always search for the individual items raw and then add separately the oil or butter or stock or whatever I'm cooking it in. Any entries that mention an already prepared food and you are relying on some random person's ability to measure and enter data accurately.
Alright. I thought the national food agency (or whatever to call them) was a good place to look, but I will do what you say Sounds easier, and if it is better I guess it is .... better.
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Yes, that's the #1 tip I'd give to people who are new to MFP. It's always, always better to add in the individual components rather than finding an entry for the whole thing. For example, add the bread, peanut butter and jelly individually; don't find an entry that says "1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich." For the omelettes, add the eggs, veg, cheese, cooking oils, whatever, as separate entries.ErikaAurelia wrote: »Okay, so I should just ignore all entries about food that is not raw? Like boiled/fried etc? I suppose that makes it easier.
Anyone can add anything to the MFP database, which is good and bad. If you see any entries that have calories only (no macro information), choose a different entry. Look for the little green check mark; those entries tend to be more accurate. You can also look to see how many people have verified that item (more is better in that case).
Thank you for the advice, I have not even noticed any green check marks, I will look for them next time!0 -
brian_gunther wrote: »A 2-egg omelet made with 2 large eggs is only 140 calories. Even with adding in some veggies you would struggle to get 200 calories from that breakfast. That is a very low calorie way to start your day.
This is true. I have a similar breakfast, but I usually add some feta cheese to the omelet plus some additional source of protein (cottage cheese, greek yogurt, smoked salmon, the other day I had some leftover chicken). In the summer I usually have some fruit too, although that might be too much for OP and the fruit would work better as a snack. Changing it up like this could help add protein and/or carbs.
Maybe cottage cheese or greek yogurt with fruit as a snack?0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »brian_gunther wrote: »A 2-egg omelet made with 2 large eggs is only 140 calories. Even with adding in some veggies you would struggle to get 200 calories from that breakfast. That is a very low calorie way to start your day.
This is true. I have a similar breakfast, but I usually add some feta cheese to the omelet plus some additional source of protein (cottage cheese, greek yogurt, smoked salmon, the other day I had some leftover chicken). In the summer I usually have some fruit too, although that might be too much for OP and the fruit would work better as a snack. Changing it up like this could help add protein and/or carbs.
Maybe cottage cheese or greek yogurt with fruit as a snack?
I think I will try to add cottage cheese and see how my skin tolerates it
Just thinking out loud now:
Adding more eggs to the omelette is not an option, I think I said it earlier, but a normal 2 egg omelette is already a lot for me. I could add one avocado to the breakfast and maybe have a banana as a snack before lunch. Then I could add cottage cheese and remove some of the veggies I normally eat (I can't just add something and expect that I will be able to eat it all)... I'm not sure if I like the idea of cottage cheese with fish, has anybody tried that? Is it edible? Canned tuna was very long ago I ate, but it is quite cheap and is good, a lot of protein. I like mackerel more, that I remember, but tuna contains so much more protein so I should go with that and find a way that I like to eat it.
As snack between lunch and supper I suppose I could have maybe an apple and some nuts (or peanutbutter). And then for supper I will probably go for eggnoodles (one of those blocks is ~90g and that is already a lot for me), meat, and sometype of veggie (won't be much since the eggnoodles are so...much).
Does it sound alright? Guess I won't know before I try it and count all the calories etc. If I am still low on protein after that I will seriously consider buying protein powder.0 -
I guess I could switch up and have oatmeal as breakfast, I have applesauce that I like to have with it... and I guess I could mix chia seeds into it0
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