What to do with extra calories?

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Hi.

I know this isn't a problem that most people deal with.. but my current calories a day for 2lb weight loss a week is 2100 calories.

Oddly, I can't eat 2100 calories of healthy food. By the meals I eat I avg 1700-1800 calories a day and I haven't really felt hungry at all.

Thoughts? I know you really should eat your allocated amount but I don't feel like I can without eating junk.
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Replies

  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    What are your stats? 2100 to lose 2 pounds a week seems high.
    Also, do you weigh everything you consume?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    First, make sure your logging is accurate, as you could easily be eating more than you think.

    Second: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods. Try to incorporate some foods (even the "junk") from this list into your day.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    daterxies wrote: »
    Hi.

    I know this isn't a problem that most people deal with.. but my current calories a day for 2lb weight loss a week is 2100 calories.

    Oddly, I can't eat 2100 calories of healthy food. By the meals I eat I avg 1700-1800 calories a day and I haven't really felt hungry at all.

    Thoughts? I know you really should eat your allocated amount but I don't feel like I can without eating junk.

    You do not have to eat all "healthy" foods in order to lose weight. I'm not saying that you should eat an entire cake each day but if you get to the end of the day and have 300 or 400 calories left, there's not anything wrong with eating "junk" food to fill those calories. I am using quotation marks, by the way, because it's good to look at foods not as healthy or unhealthy or junk foods. Moderation in everything is a good way to balance your diet as a whole.
  • daterxies
    daterxies Posts: 17 Member
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    Yea I have a food scale I use. I am 5.11 @ 279.

    I'll check out that link, thanks
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    daterxies wrote: »
    Yea I have a food scale I use. I am 5.11 @ 279.

    I'll check out that link, thanks

    define healthy?

    I eat burgers, french fries, chocolate, beer etc.

    Nothing wrong with those foods.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    daterxies wrote: »
    Hi.

    I know this isn't a problem that most people deal with.. but my current calories a day for 2lb weight loss a week is 2100 calories.

    Oddly, I can't eat 2100 calories of healthy food. By the meals I eat I avg 1700-1800 calories a day and I haven't really felt hungry at all.

    Thoughts? I know you really should eat your allocated amount but I don't feel like I can without eating junk.

    If you're not losing more that 2 #/wk, no need to adjust. If you are, check out the list of calorie dense foods. My vote would be for peanut butter.
  • DaniCanadian
    DaniCanadian Posts: 261 Member
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    If you have that much room then I'd say indulge in something you love (without going over of course). I wish I had that much room at the end of the day, I'd love me some cupcakes
  • shaunte92
    shaunte92 Posts: 127 Member
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    If I was in your situation (assuming that you have correctly calculated the amount you should be eating) I'd throw in whatever I felt like. Like a poster said above, everything you consume doesn't have to be "healthy". You can eat what you would like in moderation. However, if you feel you must try to eat as healthy as possible all the time (which is the quickest way for me to fail): cook with olive oil (or whatever oil you prefer), throw some nuts into your diet (almonds, cashews, etc), whole wheat pastas or grains.

    ... Basically just look for high calorie things to go in your diet.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
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    Ben and Jerry’s is my go to. Most are 250-340 calories for 105 grams. Pretty good.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    daterxies wrote: »
    Hi.

    I know this isn't a problem that most people deal with.. but my current calories a day for 2lb weight loss a week is 2100 calories.

    Oddly, I can't eat 2100 calories of healthy food. By the meals I eat I avg 1700-1800 calories a day and I haven't really felt hungry at all.

    Thoughts? I know you really should eat your allocated amount but I don't feel like I can without eating junk.

    If you're not losing more that 2 #/wk, no need to adjust. If you are, check out the list of calorie dense foods. My vote would be for peanut butter.

    My vote is always ice cream! If I have calories left at the end of the day, you know I'm weighing out that exact amount of ice cream!
  • DisneyDude85
    DisneyDude85 Posts: 428 Member
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    You can also save calories during the week to be able to eat more on the weekends :) Just a thought!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    If I'm not hungry and don't particularly crave anything, I just leave the extra calories. Otherwise, it's ice cream or chocolate.
  • daterxies
    daterxies Posts: 17 Member
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    You can also save calories during the week to be able to eat more on the weekends :) Just a thought!

    So I could save the 1500 calories during the week and indulge in a burger and fries from my favorite restaurant or a fish fry etc? This really works consuming 3500 calories in one day won't lead to weight gain?
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
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    daterxies wrote: »
    You can also save calories during the week to be able to eat more on the weekends :) Just a thought!

    So I could save the 1500 calories during the week and indulge in a burger and fries from my favorite restaurant or a fish fry etc? This really works consuming 3500 calories in one day won't lead to weight gain?

    It's all about net calories. If you are accurate in your logging and you've banked up those calories, you have nothing to lose. Granted, the fries may cause you to retain water for a day or so but that's no problem.
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
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    If you're not hungry don't eat them. If you're hungry, eat them!
  • daterxies
    daterxies Posts: 17 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies. I really just started cataloging again a 2 days ago.

    My diary is public

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/daterxies

    Does this seem right by the amounts? All the weights of food and measurements are correct. This really doesnt seem like to little to me.

    I think i do eat fine most of the time.. but my biggest issue is late night snacking and at work there tends to be a lot of free junk food laying around. Pretty much at least once a week, if not more it would be kick back, grab a bag of chips or whatever and relax and indulge.. and when i do go out to eat i tend to have little self control (as in i dont really look for the healthier options..)

    Over the past year i had my ups and downs.. i stopped going out to eat everyday and got down to 265.. then i started drinking regular soda (DUMB!) and i shot way up to almost 300 lbs. Now i have quit soda, still hardly go out to eat and ive dropped 20 lbs so far in the past month and a half maybe but i kinda stopped at 279.. so this is when i decided now i need to make my life style change (Dont want to call it a diet) and drop down more and start lifting.
  • ElJefePerron
    ElJefePerron Posts: 88 Member
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    Not a lot of fruits and veggies in the days I looked at. Kill the monster drink: have an espresso and a banana. If you want the snack my thing, have a protein bar low in sugar.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited May 2016
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    daterxies wrote: »
    Thanks for all the replies. I really just started cataloging again a 2 days ago.

    My diary is public

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/daterxies

    Does this seem right by the amounts? All the weights of food and measurements are correct. This really doesnt seem like to little to me.

    I think i do eat fine most of the time.. but my biggest issue is late night snacking and at work there tends to be a lot of free junk food laying around. Pretty much at least once a week, if not more it would be kick back, grab a bag of chips or whatever and relax and indulge.. and when i do go out to eat i tend to have little self control (as in i dont really look for the healthier options..)

    Over the past year i had my ups and downs.. i stopped going out to eat everyday and got down to 265.. then i started drinking regular soda (DUMB!) and i shot way up to almost 300 lbs. Now i have quit soda, still hardly go out to eat and ive dropped 20 lbs so far in the past month and a half maybe but i kinda stopped at 279.. so this is when i decided now i need to make my life style change (Dont want to call it a diet) and drop down more and start lifting.

    Your fat and protein are too low. .4 grams of fat per pound of bodyweight and .8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight are good minimums . Since you are very overweight, use your goal weight or if you don't have a specific goal use the top healthy weight for your height.

    You need protein to help retain muscle mass. You need fat for proper hormone functioning. Cut your fat super low and you'll start losing hair, feel lethargic, lose your libido, etc. Dietary fat is not something to avoid.
  • ElviraMarieCerri
    ElviraMarieCerri Posts: 31 Member
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    Just don't eat more than you want. Sounds simple, huh? Unless MFP gives you a warning (and it will, for me, at less than 1000 calories), just let it be. Then when you get the urge to splurge, you'll have some built in wiggle room. You might be experiencing the dreaded weight-loss plateau. It gets very frustrating when you are doing your best and the scale doesn't reflect it. That is where I am right now. I am trying to trust in the program and figure when my body decides to cooperate the scale will cooperate. You've lost a lot in a very short time. Give your body a chance to catch up. Keep logging honestly, and make sure you enter that bag of chips every time. Good luck.
  • daterxies
    daterxies Posts: 17 Member
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    Thanks. Im not a big veggie person.. veggies as far as ill go is Spinach Lettuce and Asparagus. Ive tried all the others steamed, grilled etc and they just make me gag.

    As far as Protein and Fat goals.. those are something you want to try to be as close as possible as what MFP suggests i take it. Ill start introducing myself to stuff high in fat and protein like nuts. I dont know if i can live without Monster... i have 8 more cans left - I can certainly try expresso in lieu of.

    Thanks again for any feedback - This is all new to me. I never paid attention to what i ate and what specific goals for each thing should be.