No matter how much I read, I still don't understand
angelxsss
Posts: 2,402 Member
Alright kiddies. So after a few times of trying to use mfp and not losing anything, I did another round of research. I decided to use other bmr calculators instead of blindly following the mfp recommendation, and across 8 different calculators, they all recommended eating 500-600 more calories than mfp said. So I ate that much for the month of march, lost 5 lbs. In april I stopped logging because I thought I was good at eating about what I needed, but I didn't lose anything. So I recently started logging again, but I find it hard to get up to that calorie goal only eating healthy food, and lately I've been having a mini shake or something to fill out my calories (I know it's not good macro-wise, but for right now, I'm focusing on CICO).
Today, I was telling a friend about my troubles, and they said I shouldn't worry so much about trying to fill in those extra calories. I didn't really understand his reasoning, and I opposed the idea, but my confidence in my knowledge of this realm is pretty low, so it made me start questioning things. What do you guys think?
Tldr; having trouble eating enough calories healthily, do I need to worry about hitting my calorie goal?
Thanks in advance for any helpful, non-judgmental advice!
Today, I was telling a friend about my troubles, and they said I shouldn't worry so much about trying to fill in those extra calories. I didn't really understand his reasoning, and I opposed the idea, but my confidence in my knowledge of this realm is pretty low, so it made me start questioning things. What do you guys think?
Tldr; having trouble eating enough calories healthily, do I need to worry about hitting my calorie goal?
Thanks in advance for any helpful, non-judgmental advice!
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Replies
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How many calories are you eating before you find it hard to fill the rest?0
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about 1000-11000
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Do you measure everything with a food scale? Quickly looking at your diary I see a lot of round numbers, like are you actually weighing and measuring out 1.5oz of raspberries or just guesstimating. If so you're probably eating more than you think.
Now as for hitting your calorie goal, as long as you're not consistently under eating you'll be fine. Somedays I'll eat 1,500 calories, other days I'll eat 2,500, it all depends on how I feel that day. While most people like a bit more structure to their diet, I personally just eat intuitively and dependent on how my body feels. Even though the amount of calories I eat greatly varies day to day, at the end of the week I still average the same amount.3 -
Here is some perspective on 1000 cal intake, from an MFP on my newsfeed today: "I can't believe two weeks ago I was in full-on health crisis, deeply fatigued, unable to exercise,doing a short steroid taper, and talking to my doctor about other hormone replacements...and after increasing my daily calories from 1000-ish to 1500, I'm just fine. Lesson learned: Just because low carb suppresses appetite and makes severe calorie restriction "easy", doesn't mean I should do it. ;-) *Moderate* weight loss, here I come. :-)"12
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MichelleLei1 wrote: »Do you measure everything with a food scale? Quickly looking at your diary I see a lot of round numbers, like are you actually weighing and measuring out 1.5oz of raspberries or just guesstimating. If so you're probably eating more than you think.
Now as for hitting your calorie goal, as long as you're not consistently under eating you'll be fine. Somedays I'll eat 1,500 calories, other days I'll eat 2,500, it all depends on how I feel that day. While most people like a bit more structure to their diet, I personally just eat intuitively and dependent on how my body feels. Even though the amount of calories I eat greatly varies day to day, at the end of the week I still average the same amount.
I do weigh and measure, I just try to hit round numbers for the sake of ease of logging. And this same situation basically happens every day.0 -
I have the same problem with not getting enough calories. I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, and have trouble getting to 1200.0
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RandiNoelle wrote: »I have the same problem with not getting enough calories. I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, and have trouble getting to 1200.
What do you do to help?0 -
Are you eating from all the food groups?0
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RandiNoelle wrote: »I have the same problem with not getting enough calories. I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, and have trouble getting to 1200.
What do you do to help?
I've been eating 30 grams of sunflower seeds in the evening, about an hour or two before bed.0 -
janetthoms7 wrote: »Are you eating from all the food groups?
I'm doing my best. Some veggies, some whole grains, some good sources of protein, some healthy fats and oils0 -
You didn't start logging until April 23rd and every day except today you were somewhere between 1580 to 2000ish calories.1
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If I have to round out calorie intake, which is rare, I will use protein dense black beans, chili beans, navy beans, chickpeas, split peas, lentils or quinoa. I might also go with rice, sparingly or whole wheat noodles. I also can make up a lot of calories with avocado, which is high fat, but it's good fat and they are very healthy for you.2
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sunnybeaches105 wrote: »You didn't start logging until April 23rd and every day except today you were somewhere between 1580 to 2000ish calories.
because I ate cookies or shakes or junk food to boost it0 -
If you can't hit your goal "healthily", then eat something, which you did today. If I am low I eat a combined protein/fat snack in the evening like nuts, sunflower seeds, or a small cube of cheese.2
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sunnybeaches105 wrote: »You didn't start logging until April 23rd and every day except today you were somewhere between 1580 to 2000ish calories.
because I ate cookies or shakes or junk food to boost it
So what's the problem again? Your view of healthy or something?0 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »You didn't start logging until April 23rd and every day except today you were somewhere between 1580 to 2000ish calories.
because I ate cookies or shakes or junk food to boost it
So what's the problem again? Your view of healthy or something?
that I can't eat enough calories healthily and I'm wondering if that matters too too much and I shouldn't eat the junk food or if using the junk food to even it out is alright0 -
if you're not hungry and aren't losing more than 1/2 pound to 2 pounds per week (depending on how much you have to lose), chances are you're eating enough.
TDEE, BMR, all those things - they're all approximate depending on your percentage of body fat and activity level, which if you'll look through thread here on MFP most people don't really know. my BMR and TDEE are supposedly more than i eat, but i'm only losing a half pound to a pound a week, so i don't worry about them. at scooby, it says my TDEE is 1971 and BMR is 1433, but if i eat over1500 calories per day i put weight on.1 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »You didn't start logging until April 23rd and every day except today you were somewhere between 1580 to 2000ish calories.
because I ate cookies or shakes or junk food to boost it
So what's the problem again? Your view of healthy or something?
that I can't eat enough calories healthily and I'm wondering if that matters too too much and I shouldn't eat the junk food or if using the junk food to even it out is alright
I'm eating popcorn and m&ms for my snack tonight with my leftover calories. I do it almost every night. 85 lbs lost.
My only goals are eating enough protein and staying below my calories. That means there's always room for m&ms.
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Honestly, I sometimes fill in my calories at the end of the night with dark chocolate. Last night I had like 200 calories worth. And I've lost almost 60 pounds.
So all in all, as long as you're getting your nutrients in, some of them calories really don't matter where they come from. Especially if they stop you from binging later on.
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No shade to the OP "scouts honor". But I'm extremely intrigued by this mfp phenomenon of those whom previously ate too much and got fat and now can't finish all of their allotted daily calories cuz soooo full
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I'm not "so full" I'm just not hungry. And I got fat from eating *kitten* food, and now that I eat my fill in not-*kitten* food that has less calories, I eat less calories. It's not that hard of a concept.1
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ummijaaz560 wrote: »No shade to the OP "scouts honor". But I'm extremely intrigued by this mfp phenomenon of those whom previously ate too much and got fat and now can't finish all of their allotted daily calories cuz soooo full
I think it's to do with healthy foods generally being low calorie per volume.
So 100 calories of broccoli is more volume than 100 calories of sugar/chocolate.
Is peanut butter considered healthy, small amount of peanut butter, or I assume just nuts in general seem to be high in calories for their size, maybe you can squeeze some in?2 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »You didn't start logging until April 23rd and every day except today you were somewhere between 1580 to 2000ish calories.
because I ate cookies or shakes or junk food to boost it
You locked your profile. I went back to check for fat intake. Olive oil, full fat milk, eggs, avocado, nuts, ribeyes, pork chops, cheese?0 -
Try to be consistent for a while and see what your real calorie goal should be. Mfp and other calculators will just give you a rough guide. I definitely don't think filling in extra calories with a shake/cookies is a good idea, especially if you're not hungry. You could bank those calories for the weekend, or for when you really want those things. Some days I hardly eat many calories (though tons of food), and some days I eat everything.
What's your calorie goal? How much are you trying to lose?
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Calorie goal is around 1700 and I want to lose 15 more lbs0
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I think that people have an unreasonable notion of what "healthy food" really is. If your overall diet is complete with plenty of veggies, fruit, lean protein and whole grains, a cookie or a serving of ice cream is a perfectly healthy complement. To me, an "unhealthy diet" is composed of way too many fast foods and processed foods and not enough plants. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying delicious treats. They are not "unhealthy."
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SherryTeach wrote: »I think that people have an unreasonable notion of what "healthy food" really is. If your overall diet is complete with plenty of veggies, fruit, lean protein and whole grains, a cookie or a serving of ice cream is a perfectly healthy complement. To me, an "unhealthy diet" is composed of way too many fast foods and processed foods and not enough plants. There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying delicious treats. They are not "unhealthy."
Agreed.
Also agree with a previous response regarding peanut butter or nuts in general. If you are struggling to hit your calorie goal then incorporating these 2 foods into your diet will help tremendously. Plus they are yummy!!3 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »You didn't start logging until April 23rd and every day except today you were somewhere between 1580 to 2000ish calories.
because I ate cookies or shakes or junk food to boost it
So what's the problem again? Your view of healthy or something?
that I can't eat enough calories healthily and I'm wondering if that matters too too much and I shouldn't eat the junk food or if using the junk food to even it out is alright
Eating enough calories with treats is healthier than severely undereating on "healthy" foods.2 -
I wouldn't try to boost with cookies and shakes. I, unfortunately, don't have a problem not being hungry....however I think it I were unable to make my goal somewhat consistently, I would add peanut butter to an apple or banana snack or hummus with fresh veggies and a small cheese stick to get close. Just small tweaks will help a lot. Good luck!0
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itsbasschick wrote: »if you're not hungry and aren't losing more than 1/2 pound to 2 pounds per week (depending on how much you have to lose), chances are you're eating enough.
TDEE, BMR, all those things - they're all approximate depending on your percentage of body fat and activity level, which if you'll look through thread here on MFP most people don't really know. my BMR and TDEE are supposedly more than i eat, but i'm only losing a half pound to a pound a week, so i don't worry about them. at scooby, it says my TDEE is 1971 and BMR is 1433, but if i eat over1500 calories per day i put weight on.
I was going to say something along those lines, we're on the same page. basically, we suck at measuring our food, estimating how much we eat, and estimating how much we need to eat. For me, I've had the most success when I either stop counting entirely and listen really well to my body ( sometimes I don't really want the junk, even, it's just habit or boredom) OR do what I'm doing now which is, yes, try and be anal throughout the day and measure really accurately, etc, but I'll have anywhere from 200-500 calories "left" at the end of the day sometimes and if I'm not hungry, I don't eat my little protein dessert. Your body is the best calorie counter.
Figuring out your macros vs. just counting calories is also pretty life changing (and body-changing!)1
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