force yourself to eat if not hungry to meet caloric goal?

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  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
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    Divadoctor wrote: »
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    i bought a kitchen scale and have been weighing portions, so i feel pretty confident in my numbers. the biggest switch for me is that i went from probably 50 g of protein and heavy carb diet (pasta, bread, etc) to double the amount of protein. it is more satisfying for sure. i have a huge psychological block about full fat dairy--i don't think i've ever purchased full fat. even if it fits with the numbers, there is something that tells me i shouldn't do it until i am at maintenance.
    I was worried about some of the same things as you after having been low fat for so many years.

    I started adding fat a little over a week ago and have found cravings for sugary carbs have naturally decreased. Cooking with a bit of olive and coconut oil and butter sautéed with veggies is awesome. It was hard to stop thinking of fats as "bad". I'm feeling much better and aches and pains are going away, too.

  • ptipton520
    ptipton520 Posts: 83 Member
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    Learning how to once again listen to body cues is difficult and I appreciate your dilemma. From a personal experience, I find I'm much more satisfied if I eat very close to my calorie goal - up or down. I've also found that my body needs at least 1200 to 1300 calories to keep out of what I call the survival mode -- my body becomes less efficient in using stored fat resources (of which I have a lot). So don't "force" yourself to the point you feel ill but I encourage you to eat your full caloric count.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,019 Member
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    Divadoctor wrote: »
    I'm new to MFP. Trying to stay on track with calories. I have a lot of weight to lose and don't want to lose lean body mass. Over the years, I have totally lost track of cues about food (eating when not hungry out of boredom or stress, over-eating repeatedly, and frank binging). I've gone from carb heavy diet to one that has much more lean protein. I find that I am actually full longer and sometimes at end of the day, I have met my protein goals, but am under the calculated goal given to me by MFP.

    Do you all make yourself hit your caloric goal even if you aren't hungry? My initial calories are 1200 (with plans to eat back exercise calories). So for example, today is long work day with no workout, so my goal was 1200. I felt full at dinner and so stopped (trying to listen to those cues), but I'm not sure if I should try to squeeze another high protein snack in. I hit my protein goals (110), but am only at about 1,000 calories. I feel full with no cravings, which is honestly a new sensation for me. I don't want to force myself to eat more, but also don't want to stall weight loss/burn through muscle.

    Thoughts?

    I think it depends. If you are consistently falling under your goal then I would try to work in another snack, or try to work in some more calories throughout the day. Maybe use full fat dairy products if you are using low fat. Or add some avocado to a salad, things like that. If you are only occasionally falling under and you sometimes go over a little or you typically hit your goal then I wouldn't worry as much about forcing yourself to eat a snack because over the course of the week it will probably balance out. It is kind of hard sometimes to find the balance between listening to your hunger cues and making sure you get in all of your nutrients.
  • robingmurphy
    robingmurphy Posts: 349 Member
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    I think sometimes when people start their body has so many calories banked that it doesn't get that hungry when you have a few low calorie days. In my experience, that won't last.
  • Fitnessmom82
    Fitnessmom82 Posts: 376 Member
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    If I fall under my 1200 and feel hungry at the end of the day then I will definitely grab a snack and force myself to hit the goal. I find that when I don't meet my goal I come in around 1000 calories, so a 200 cal snack is not hard to do!
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    I wouldn't force myself to eat if I just wasn't hungry, which was very commonly the case the first year or so of my weight loss. I just figured there was a pretty good margin of error in calories even though I was being meticulous about weighing and measuring. There's no way we can determine the exact number of calories in a food or the exact number of calories we burn throughout the day. Listen to your body (unless it's telling you to eat the whole package of cookies). If you are losing too rapidly you're not eating enough. If your weight loss stalls, eat a little less.

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