Struggling to eat enough

shesthetype · July 2016

Hi there, hoping someone might have some advice for me because I'm really not sure what to do. I've lost a lot of weight (70kgs in total) and I now weigh about 60kgs, which is the lowest I'd like to go. I used to eat massive amounts of food easily (really bad stuff too!), but after months of sticking to 1200 per day in order to lose weight, both my appetite and stomach have shrunk considerably. Now that I'm onto maintenance, I'm supposed to eat around 1800 calories per day to stay stable, yet I'm struggling to eat even just 1500 calories and as a result, my weight loss has slowed down but hasn't stopped. I'm starting to look a bit gaunt in the face and I'm worried. I eat a very healthy balanced diet but I don't really eat any junk food because not only do I just not crave it, but when the few times I've tried it, I've wound up with horrible indigestion and a very unhappy tummy. I don't want to have to eat high fat high sugar junk food type stuff to up my calories because of how gross it makes me feel. I also fill up quite fast now that my stimach has shrunk so eating large amounts of food is difficult - one cup of oats and 1/2 cup of blueberries will keep me full for about 4 hours. I listen to my natural cues and eat only when I'm hungry (which is about every 3 - 4 hours) so at the end of the day when I see I still have another 300 or sometimes more calories to eat and I'm still full from dessert, I'm not sure what to do. The other factor is that I love endurance cardio (I used to run a lot) so every second morning I do 30 minutes on the cross trainer and at least 1 to 2 times a week when hubby can watch the kids, I go for a 6km walk taking a route with lots of big hills. I'm hoping to get back into running but I can't do that until my weight is stable or I'll turn into a skeleton. I've also just started doing some weights at home on the days I don't do cardio. Just so you understand what a day of eating is like for me, here's a sample of my day:

Breakfast: Large trim latte from McCafe, 2 x energy balls (dates, nuts, seeds etc)
Lunch: Tank salad or blueberry smoothie (blueberries, banana, coconut almond milk, sugar free chocolate powder) with 1/4 cup nuts and seeds.
Snack: Stevia dark chocolate squares x 2
Dinner: Chicken or fish with a carb (rice, potatoes, wrap, pita bread etc) with some form of vegies.
Snack: Chocolate mousse with stevia choc bits or stevia chocolate chip cookies, cup of peppermint tea

That all usually adds up to around 1400 to 1600 calories and I feel satisfied with these foods. Obviously something has to give, either I need to somehow find a way to up my calories or I need to cut back on cardio and do more weight training, but I'd love to get the input of others who likely know a lot more than I do

Thanks so much for any ideas.

sijomial · July 2016

If you are losing unwanted weight would question why you are still eating "diet foods" (trim latte, sugar free chocolate powder, dark chocolate with stevia).

Really the first thing to do if you are struggling to eat enough volume would to swap them for their regular counterparts.

Eating more, or having more snacks, certainly doesn't mean you have to eat junk food - fruit for example or veggies with houmous - the options are huge.

You also shouldn't conflate high fat with unhealthy, there's loads of extremely healthy but high fat foods - avocado, nuts, oily fish as examples.

I hope you realise that sugar is your friend when doing endurance cardio?

shesthetype · July 2016

I had no idea sugar was important for endurance, thanks for sharing that. I'm guessing that means fruit sugars and the sugars in full cream milk as opposed to snickers bars? I think the reason I've stuck with trim milk, stevia etc is because a) I assumed swapping back to the higher fat versions like I had when I was overweight would lead me to gaining as opposed to being stable, and b) I've been (likely ignorantly) assuming full fat versions of food were full of stuff that's not good for your heart. I assumed stevia was natural and normal chocolate is full of white sugar so stevia was the healthier option? See this is why I needed educated advice so thank you

I admit that part of the reason I don't really have cheat meals, ie, I'd be very unlikely to eat a Big Mac, is because I've noticed that when I eat that kind of stuff, it triggers mad intense cravings for more and because I used to binge eat, I find it easier to avoid high sugar stuff altogether.

JamiesMummyxx · July 2016

You just need to eat higher calories as opposed to eating more. Swap your chicken for beef or pork. Nuts instead of your chocolate. Add extra things to your salads or maybe another 1/4 tub of nuts to your smoothie.

To be honest 300 calories isn't really alot to make up so something as simple as peanut butter in your energy bites will suffice. Do you like a glass of wine?

shesthetype · July 2016

Thanks for those ideas, I'm starting to get a better picture now of things and I can see more clearly what needs tweaking. The whole sugar free thing is fine but I definitely need to throw some peanut butter into my day and some extra banana in the smoothie doesn't hurt etc. I don't really drink so wine isn't something I have very often.

sijomial · July 2016

Your body doesn't know or recognise what source sugar comes from. The fructose in fruit obviously comes packaged with good stuff like fibre and vitamins but the fructose itself is processed exactly the same as the fructose from any other source.
Apples for example contain some sucrose - chemically the same as the sucrose in refined white table sugar.

I don't have a sweet tooth at all (savoury foods are my very enjoyable but dangerous trigger!) but when I'm doing long distance cycles rides I'm a sugar monster, but burning it off quicker than I can ingest it.

Read the labels carefully of "diet foods" as often the marketing is misleading. Low fat can mean the fat is replaced by nutritionally inferior substitutes for example. Fat is actually an essential nutrient for health but being calorie dense it's often implicated in weight gain. But you need some extra calories to hit maintenance....

Really looking at your diet, lifestyle and exercise as a whole including, but not solely, your calorie goal is important.

Vegplotter · July 2016

Don't attempt to go straight from a diet to full calories. Your metabolism will go mad. You've been eating for someone of about 40lbs. Your metabolism will have slowed right down to cope with that. Keep eating at the lower level you find comfortable and hold off the strength training for a few weeks/months. Continue walking, or whatever cardio turns you on. This will gradually bring your metabolism back up.
Add portions of nutritious food - carbs like wholemeal bread/toast, proteins, fresh fruits and veg. Also cheese and full fat milk.
I personally don't give house room to any slimming foods, so I'd ditch the skimmed milk, stevia and sugar free powder.
If you overshoot the target a bit, and get a bit thinner, don't worry. Your problem is going to be bingeing when you get low or stressed. Make sure you are getting fats(from protein/dairy) and real sugars(fruit/complex carbs and veg) otherwise your body will persuade you to grab the chocolate or the ice cream when you don't want to.
Continue to weigh yourself every day. Continue to calorie count (or switch to portion control - much easier)
Good luck.

CharlieBeansmomTracey · July 2016

Vegplotter wrote: »

Don't attempt to go straight from a diet to full calories. Your metabolism will go mad. You've been eating for someone of about 40lbs. Your metabolism will have slowed right down to cope with that. Keep eating at the lower level you find comfortable and hold off the strength training for a few weeks/months. Continue walking, or whatever cardio turns you on. This will gradually bring your metabolism back up.
Add portions of nutritious food - carbs like wholemeal bread/toast, proteins, fresh fruits and veg. Also cheese and full fat milk.
I personally don't give house room to any slimming foods, so I'd ditch the skimmed milk, stevia and sugar free powder.
If you overshoot the target a bit, and get a bit thinner, don't worry. Your problem is going to be bingeing when you get low or stressed. Make sure you are getting fats(from protein/dairy) and real sugars(fruit/complex carbs and veg) otherwise your body will persuade you to grab the chocolate or the ice cream when you don't want to.
Continue to weigh yourself every day. Continue to calorie count (or switch to portion control - much easier)
Good luck.

why should she hold off the weight training? and why change to cardio? as for her metabolism going mad? no,it wont. when you switch from a "diet" to full calories yes its possible to gain a few lbs but thats normal. she can add 100 calories per day until she finds the right maintenance calories but her metabolism isnt going to go mad.

CharlieBeansmomTracey · July 2016

op you can add in some healthy oils and fats to cook your foods in. that will add in calories and you wont notice as much,or maybe some nut butters,I agree with sijomial,cut out the fat free and diet foods and swap them out for full fat and so on.also are you weighing your food? if not you may be eating more calories than you think and that may be why you dont seem to be as hungry? which wouldnt be a bad thing for maintenance.if you have issues with eating full fat foods or things like that then I would probably see a dr for that.

shesthetype · July 2016

Thanks for the replies everyone, there's a few really good points in there for me to go over and make some adjustments. Sounds like you guys understand pretty well how it all works so I feel better armed with a bit more knowledge now

Struggling to eat enough

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