Can't eat that much

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paganvegan
paganvegan Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started my healthy lifestyle change last week but feel like i can't even eat the required amount of calories per day in a nutritious way. Is there a lot of harm in skipping some stuff? I just don't know if i can eat as much food as is on my meal plan to even make 1000 calories.
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  • SarahPeters3
    SarahPeters3 Posts: 100 Member
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    The minimum women should be eating everyday is 1200 calories to maintain regular body functions. Do you feel full eating less than that? We need more information to help. If you're eating less than 1200 calories a day something is wrong unless you're confined to being in bed all day.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    First, make sure you are eating what you think you are eating. How do you determine the calorie count in your food?

    Second, don't make arbitrary divisions between "healthy" and "unhealthy" foods. Every food can be eaten; the whole idea of calorie counting is to not be bound to any special diets and cutting out food groups so you "don't have to worry about calories". Calorie deficit is what drives weight loss, no matter which method you use.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    1200 is easy when you include calorie dense foods. Nuts, nut butters, avocado, olive oil, full fat dairy....the list goes on.

    Dietary fat does not make you fat, instead it's a necessary macro.
  • paganvegan
    paganvegan Posts: 34 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I work a part time job and am usually full before i can get to my loss limit. Mostly i determine my calorie count by reading the labels for servings of items. I don't want to eat the way i used to. I'm following a weight watchers menu plan. It's just making me full before i get to my daily limit

    Also an fruit and veg are healthier than a slice of pizza or burger I'm sure you can agree
  • lc355
    lc355 Posts: 91 Member
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    When I first started counting for some reason I was full before getting to my limit, no idea why but I think it's quite common because there are always posts about it. For me the hunger soon caught up though.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    paganvegan wrote: »
    I work a part time job and am usually full before i can get to my loss limit. Mostly i determine my calorie count by reading the labels for servings of items. I don't want to eat the way i used to. I'm following a weight watchers menu plan. It's just making me full before i get to my daily limit

    Okay here's the thing. You need a minimum number of calories for nutritional purposes. Yes, you will lose weight faster, but it's going to be a higher % of lean muscle loss. Not meeting nutritional minimums over an extended period of time can lead to all kinds of health issues.....hair loss is one.

    Losing weight AND KEEPING is off requires lifestyle changes. I'm not going to eat just "perfectly healthy" foods (what ever those are) for the rest my life. I do allow for treats here and there.

    A lifestyle change is MANAGING treat consumption (at least for me) forever.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    paganvegan wrote: »
    I work a part time job and am usually full before i can get to my loss limit. Mostly i determine my calorie count by reading the labels for servings of items. I don't want to eat the way i used to. I'm following a weight watchers menu plan. It's just making me full before i get to my daily limit

    Also an fruit and veg are healthier than a slice of pizza or burger I'm sure you can agree

    Pizza and burgers can both be made to fit into a healthy diet. Pizza loaded with veggies, with a nice thin crust, a bit of tomato sauce, easy on the cheese. What's wrong with that (unless you don't eat any of those particular foods, of course)? A nice lean burger on a whole wheat bun with tomato and lettuce? Again, short of having an allergy or avoiding any of those particular ingredients for personal or ethical reason, there's nothing wrong with it.

    And if you're running very short on calories, to the point of nutritional deficiencies, then a pizza or burger can actually be more healthy if it helps to fill in gaps that a diet based entirely on fruits and veg might create (not saying plant based diets always have nutritional gaps, but many do if they're undertaken without a little research first).
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
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    paganvegan wrote: »
    I work a part time job and am usually full before i can get to my loss limit. Mostly i determine my calorie count by reading the labels for servings of items. I don't want to eat the way i used to. I'm following a weight watchers menu plan. It's just making me full before i get to my daily limit

    Also an fruit and veg are healthier than a slice of pizza or burger I'm sure you can agree

    This depends. If all I've had are fruit and veggies and I haven't had any protein or fat in my day, the pizza or burger would be a better choice to help me meet my nutritional requirements.

    Labels can be inaccurate by up to 20% per serving size. It's a good idea to buy a food scale and weigh your food to know how much you're really eating.
  • viajera99
    viajera99 Posts: 252 Member
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    Have a bagel with peanut butter. Problem solved.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    paganvegan wrote: »
    I work a part time job and am usually full before i can get to my loss limit. Mostly i determine my calorie count by reading the labels for servings of items. I don't want to eat the way i used to. I'm following a weight watchers menu plan. It's just making me full before i get to my daily limit

    Also an fruit and veg are healthier than a slice of pizza or burger I'm sure you can agree

    Pizza and burgers can both be made to fit into a healthy diet. Pizza loaded with veggies, with a nice thin crust, a bit of tomato sauce, easy on the cheese. What's wrong with that (unless you don't eat any of those particular foods, of course)? A nice lean burger on a whole wheat bun with tomato and lettuce? Again, short of having an allergy or avoiding any of those particular ingredients for personal or ethical reason, there's nothing wrong with it.

    And if you're running very short on calories, to the point of nutritional deficiencies, then a pizza or burger can actually be more healthy if it helps to fill in gaps that a diet based entirely on fruits and veg might create (not saying plant based diets always have nutritional gaps, but many do if they're undertaken without a little research first).

    Yup I do this quite often. In fact the burger described above is very healthy loaded with protein and fibre and low on fat. And still very yummy. For pizza I buy only a wholemeal base and use all kinds of veggies and sometimes ham and topped with low fat cheese. And again - very healthy/nutritious meal.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited April 2016
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    paganvegan wrote: »
    I work a part time job and am usually full before i can get to my loss limit. Mostly i determine my calorie count by reading the labels for servings of items. I don't want to eat the way i used to. I'm following a weight watchers menu plan. It's just making me full before i get to my daily limit

    Also an fruit and veg are healthier than a slice of pizza or burger I'm sure you can agree

    No, not necessarily. A diet of just fruit and non-starchy veg would be low on protein and healthy fats. A pizza could include all the macros and lots of micros -- I make pizza at home with a whole-wheat crust and lots of veggies and some olive oil, as well as the cheese and black olives. Nutritious AND balanced. A burger (or simply some lean ground beef) gives you protein, which is an important part of a diet.

    Learning to eat in a balanced and healthy way includes learning to have the proper amount of calories. If you can't eat even 1000 calories on the diet you are eating now, how on earth could that transition into a change of lifestyle and maintenance way of eating?

    I think eating healthfully is important, but plenty of calorie dense foods add to the healthfulness of a diet (whole grains, legumes, potatoes and sweet potatoes, healthy fats like those in salmon, olives and olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, sources of protein like meat, eggs, and dairy if you eat them (I'm assuming you may not, given the screenname), many more). And including some foods that just add to overall taste and satisfaction and allow you to enjoy your diet (and I am skeptical that anyone who claims to be unable to eat even 1000 calories is enjoying her diet). For me these extras include cheese (add to a salad or omelet or just on its own), high quality chocolate, and ice cream, among others. I don't eat lots of them, but some, especially if it's a day when I'm low on calories.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    lc355 wrote: »
    When I first started counting for some reason I was full before getting to my limit, no idea why but I think it's quite common because there are always posts about it. For me the hunger soon caught up though.

    I wasn't full as in "couldn't possibly eat more, I've eaten so much," but I was satisfied and thought I shouldn't eat more if that was the case. Then I started logging on MFP and saw I was undereating by a lot (900-1000 calories). I adjusted and started adding in more foods (mostly some additional fats and starchy carbs). I think this was important in that while how I'd been eating was fine at the beginning of a diet when I was highly motivated, I would have gotten tired of it as too restrictive and dull. Letting myself include foods that were higher cal helped make the deficit sustainable for the length it took me to lose the weight and as a lifestyle. IMO, being super restrictive can result in crashing and giving up later.
  • jandsstevenson887
    jandsstevenson887 Posts: 296 Member
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    So are you trying to lose weight? Because I'm pretty sure you were eating over 1200cal/day if you are currently overweight.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
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    I'm a little confused ... It just seems contradictory to me that you aren't hungry enough to eat 1000 calories yet you are on a weight loss site, which seems to indicate you were able to eat much more than that.

    Is your goal to lose weight or are you here for another purpose?
  • paganvegan
    paganvegan Posts: 34 Member
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    I am looking to lose weight yes but not in an unhealthy way. I have been learning a lot. I just find that i don't have the appetite i used too. I just feel full sooner. Portion control was an issue for me. I will likely have to count for the rest of my life. I'm ok with that. I'm not intentionally eating below the recommended intake i just feel full.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    paganvegan wrote: »
    I work a part time job and am usually full before i can get to my loss limit. Mostly i determine my calorie count by reading the labels for servings of items. I don't want to eat the way i used to. I'm following a weight watchers menu plan. It's just making me full before i get to my daily limit

    Also an fruit and veg are healthier than a slice of pizza or burger I'm sure you can agree

    No, I don't agree that fruit and vegetables are healthier than pizza or burgers.

    Diets are healthy or unhealthy, not foods, and if you're too low on calories, the higher calorie foods are healthier for you. There are other reasons, too, why you might be healthier eating the burger - a hamburger is packed with protein, heme iron, and vitamin B12, none of which you'll get much of (or in the B12 case, any of) in fruits or veggies.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    paganvegan wrote: »
    I work a part time job and am usually full before i can get to my loss limit. Mostly i determine my calorie count by reading the labels for servings of items. I don't want to eat the way i used to. I'm following a weight watchers menu plan. It's just making me full before i get to my daily limit

    Also an fruit and veg are healthier than a slice of pizza or burger I'm sure you can agree

    Undereating to the point of malnutrition is not healthier than eating a slice of pizza as I'm sure you can agree.

    No one is making you eat pizza and burgers or cookies or whatever other foods you have unreasonably demonized. It is easy to get to 1200 calories even if you're uptight about only eating "healthy" foods. Avocados, nuts, and olive oil are all good ways to get your calories up to a sensible level. Salmon. Peanut butter. Eggs.
  • paganvegan
    paganvegan Posts: 34 Member
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    Ok to clarify not just eating fruits and veggies. I have whole grain foods and meat as well. I'm also not a vegan i just use that screen name for everything.
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    Can you tell us what you're eating or open your diary so we can have a look? It's pretty easy to add extra calories if you eat more calorie dense foods (they can be foods that we traditionally think of as "healthy" like nuts, avocado, seeds, olive and coconut oil, full fat dairy, dark chocolate - yum!).
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Agreed with all of the above. Fit in the foods that you love, along with calorie dense foods that have been mentioned. Personally, I've lost over 85lbs eating nutritious foods along with my favourite foods and snacks. I love chocolate, pizza, candy, cookies, etc and I'd be miserable if I gave my favourite foods up. The key to my success was portion control and eating less calories than my body needs to maintain my current weight. Losing weight in a healthy way is not about cutting out foods or food groups or fads, it's about managing your intake of all foods sensibly by weighing all your food (solids and semi solids), measuring all liquids consumed. Logging accurately is one of the keys to success.

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