Struggling to eat enough

Babybearjess · January 2017

Hello!
A big part of my weight issue is that I don't eat enough and my body ends up storing everything as fat. So my goal is to eat 1200 calories of good healthy food, small meals often. Does anyone have any tips to get those extra calories in in a healthy way?

jemhh · January 2017

You do not store fat due to undereating. If that were the case, famine victims wouldn't be emaciated.

What are your height and weight?

kommodevaran · January 2017

The biggest part of most people's weight problems, is listening to half-truths that have become myths. Eatig too little doesn't make you store fat. Eating too little makes you eat too much when you can't eat too little anymore. If you aren't losing weight, and feel "too" full, and think you are eating less than 1200 calories, tighten up your logging.

"Healthy food" is a very vague term. Eat a variety of foods from all the food groups, but not too much. Eat anything you like. Have treats when you can fit them in.

Certain eating schedules may make it easier for you to stick to the right amount of calories, but meal timing in itself is irrelevant to weight loss.

TimothyFish · January 2017

Don't get bogged down by what experts and "experts" say about how the body stores food in various situations. Weight loss occurs when you eat fewer calories than you burn. Weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than you burn. There may be some variation in the details of what your body does with food based on what types of food you eat and how much when, but it doesn't make much difference for the average person.

llbennett74 · January 2017

I agree with what she is asking though. On the days this week when I was eating really clean my calorie count was well below 1200 which is not good. I don't care what anyone says, especially when you are exercising so I'm looking for healthy ways to increase my calorie count too. Babybearjess, I plan on adding in nuts and avocado this week. Maybe give those a try if you like them.

Muscleflex79 · January 2017

llbennett74 wrote: »

I agree with what she is asking though. On the days this week when I was eating really clean my calorie count was well below 1200 which is not good. I don't care what anyone says, especially when you are exercising so I'm looking for healthy ways to increase my calorie count too. Babybearjess, I plan on adding in nuts and avocado this week. Maybe give those a try if you like them.

no one got fat by not eating enough...its just not possible...something is off in your counting/logging/etc.

llbennett74 · January 2017

I didn't say I was getting fat! And nothing is off with my logging.

oSummerRaeo · January 2017

If you struggle to eat so little, how did you get overweight?

Muscleflex79 · January 2017

llbennett74 wrote: »

I didn't say I was getting fat! And nothing is off with my logging.

um, this is directly from your profile - according to your own words you gained by eating too much, not too little:

"I had lost some weight on Weight Watchers and was feeling really great about myself but some of the pounds of crept back on. I love to exercise and I do so consistently and have a great support group there. But I need help with my diet which is why I am here. Sure wish I didn't love food so much. That would makes things easier.

"

CTcutie · January 2017

Tips:
Nuts/nut butters or seed butters. Whole milk. Butter. Cream in your coffee. Real cheese. Meat/proteins. Olives and Olive oil... these will beef up your cals in no time and keep you feeling more satisfied.

quiksylver296 · January 2017

You have to first be sure you are eating the amount of calories you think you are. Do you use a food scale to weigh everything you eat in grams? No skipping, cheating, guesstimating, or using measuring cups? This video explains why I am asking. (BTW, one serving of ice cream? Not at all close to what I thought.

)

https://youtu.be/XpHykP6e_Uk

Unknown · January 2017

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butterfli7o · January 2017

oSummerRaeo wrote: »

If you struggle to eat so little, how did you get overweight?

This...I truly wonder how anyone who is overweight is struggling to eat a minimum of 1,200 calories.

jemhh · January 2017

Noel_57 wrote: »

oSummerRaeo wrote: »

If you struggle to eat so little, how did you get overweight?

I ask this all the time. I just don't understand these threads.

butterfli7o wrote: »

oSummerRaeo wrote: »

If you struggle to eat so little, how did you get overweight?

This...I truly wonder how anyone who is overweight is struggling to eat a minimum of 1,200 calories.

That's why I asked her height/weight. If her avi is recent there is a good chance that she is not overweight. Could very well be disordered thinking/eating, lack of muscle making her too soft for her liking, etc. Sadly common.

jelleigh · January 2017

oSummerRaeo wrote: »

If you struggle to eat so little, how did you get overweight?

I'm gussing that when you aren't working hard to eat healthy you eat total crap food and it's easy to binge. But when you are trying to eat healthy, you feel full faster, and let's face it not many people binge eat salad. Your reasoning implies that people have always had the same habits, the same determination, the same education. That's simply not true. Also, I think a lot of overweight people struggle with the 'slow and steady balanced ' approach. They (I include myself here ) are all or nothing type people. It means that when they try to start being healthy, they go al, out and limit everything and thus have a hard time hitting their calorie goal. Yes it's better to make small sustainable adjustments but if we were good at that we would probably not have gotten to this state in the first place!!

ritzvin · January 2017

What Jelleigh said. When you start being careful to avoid the junk food you would otherwise eat not because you are hungry, but because it is yummy/you're bored/it's there, you can easily have days that go under 1200 without ever actually going hungry (at least for us smaller folks for whom maintenance is only 1500ish - taller or more overweight people would still feel hungry). We got fat eating all the yummy high-calorie-density junk food (much of it consumed when we weren't even hungry) that many of us tend to avoid once we are conscious of calorie count.

ritzvin · January 2017

..And to answer the original question, add in the occasional treat item, perhaps. I often stop in the bodega and grab a candy bar or pick up 2 pieces of sponge candy from the chocolate shop after a run. (unless this will increase later cravings for you).

or add in an extra small meal somewhere, maybe something that will even out the carb-protein-fat balance more.

ritzvin · January 2017

..or add a little mayo to some food item that it would go well with (especially if your fat% of your diet is low). (Note- mayo is best to weigh when counting calories since it is so dense).

lemurcat12 · January 2017

oSummerRaeo wrote: »

If you struggle to eat so little, how did you get overweight?

We don't actually know that this OP is overweight, although she mentions "a weight issue." Agree it's generally a good question.

jemhh wrote: »

You do not store fat due to undereating. If that were the case, famine victims wouldn't be emaciated.

What are your height and weight?

I second this.

Also, what calories do you think you are eating, what are your goals, how long has it been?

Setting aside the starvation mode thing, nuts are usually an easy source of calories, but it really depends on how your diet is lacking, which probably is if you are having trouble reaching 1200.

CasperNaegle · January 2017

I looked a little at your diary and I don't see any sources of good lean protein. Maybe you don't eat meats, but lean beef, chicken, fish, etc. is a huge source of great low fat, high protein that will help you. If you don't eat any meats there is egg whites, legumes, whey protein powder you can mix into things, etc.