How to get my calorie intake up without eating too many carbs, too much protein and fibre?
Replies
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fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »I'm falling short of my 1300-1400 calories a day and I think it might be why my weight loss has plateaued. The problem is that I end up without enough carbs, protein and fibre to add anything else. In fact, I'm going over my fibre intake every day and often going over on protein. The amounts I have been recommended by My Fitness Pal are as follows:
Carbs 175g
Fat 47g
Protein 70g
Fibre 25g
I'm not so bothered about going over in fibre as a lot of information suggests women should have more than 25g per day. I'm very inactive due to M.E. so my weight loss mostly has to come from my diet as opposed to exercise.
Does anyone have any advice on how to up my calories without going over my carb and protein intake? Healthy snacks like fruit are so high in carbs, and vegetables are good overall but very low in calories.
Are you saying that you are not losing weight because you are not eating enough calories? That will never happen.
Information online says eating too few calories can slow your metabolism, which would hinder weight loss. I think mine is slow enough already. I also have to be careful of side effects that could make me ill, due to chronic health problems; it doesn't take much to throw me off completely and land me in bed for days. 0 -
GirlPanda03 wrote: »amyrebeccah wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »cerise_noir wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »
Nope. Only eating too many calories halts weight loss.
Okay. I'd thought carbs might have affected it as I had a week where I seemed to have gained weight - my calories were fine but I'd started going a bit over on the carbs. Maybe just a coincidence then. Thanks.
That very well could have been glycogen replenishment--but you didn't gain fat that way.
Sorry, not sure what glycogen replenishment means in relation to this? Actually not sure what it means, full stop.
I'm going to attempt to answer this, knowing I may not have it correct and will be happy to be corrected. I'm doing this because I think it might be relevant.
Glycogen is another fuel source you body uses. Like fat or sugar. Reading the wikipedia page on it,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen, I see this "In humans, glycogen is made and stored primarily in the cells of the liver and the muscles, hydrated with three or four parts of water."
Now glycogen increases when you eats more carbs. It decreases if you cut carbs. Along with that increase or decrease is more or less water retention. So 1 part glycogen adds 3-4 parts water. If you increase glycogen by 1 lb, you will gain 3-4 lbs of water. This can mask your fat loss. Say you changed your diet, but still ate at a deficit, you COULD lose 1.5 lbs fat, gain 1 lb glycogen and gain 3-4 lbs overall on the scale. But the real net is a loss of .5 lbs.
And there is no real, short term way of knowing what has happened, except you see the scale go up. Cut back a bit on the carbs, lose the glycogen and lose water. Bingo the scale goes back down. But you can do this while still gaining fat.
The point to take home here is that fat loss is longer term, your weight IS going to fluctuate as you lose, some days being higher, some being lower, but if you stick to what MFP gives you and log accurately, you will lose fat and weight over time.
Hope that helps answer this one small question.1 -
Use metrics beyond the scale:
Perhaps take good "before" photos. Also take "before" measurements and new measurements every so often.
http://www.healthywomen.org/content/article/measuring-success-beyond-scale?sf47026321=10 -
GirlPanda03 wrote: »Information online says eating too few calories can slow your metabolism, which would hinder weight loss. I think mine is slow enough already. I also have to be careful of side effects that could make me ill, due to chronic health problems; it doesn't take much to throw me off completely and land me in bed for days.
You are reading incorrect information. Think about it.
If you have health problems that are that serious, I would consult a Dr. before embarking on a weight loss plan.2 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »amyrebeccah wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »cerise_noir wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »
Nope. Only eating too many calories halts weight loss.
Okay. I'd thought carbs might have affected it as I had a week where I seemed to have gained weight - my calories were fine but I'd started going a bit over on the carbs. Maybe just a coincidence then. Thanks.
That very well could have been glycogen replenishment--but you didn't gain fat that way.
Sorry, not sure what glycogen replenishment means in relation to this? Actually not sure what it means, full stop.
I'm going to attempt to answer this, knowing I may not have it correct and will be happy to be corrected. I'm doing this because I think it might be relevant.
Glycogen is another fuel source you body uses. Like fat or sugar. Reading the wikipedia page on it,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen, I see this "In humans, glycogen is made and stored primarily in the cells of the liver and the muscles, hydrated with three or four parts of water."
Now glycogen increases when you eats more carbs. It decreases if you cut carbs. Along with that increase or decrease is more or less water retention. So 1 part glycogen adds 3-4 parts water. If you increase glycogen by 1 lb, you will gain 3-4 lbs of water. This can mask your fat loss. Say you changed your diet, but still ate at a deficit, you COULD lose 1.5 lbs fat, gain 1 lb glycogen and gain 3-4 lbs overall on the scale. But the real net is a loss of .5 lbs.
And there is no real, short term way of knowing what has happened, except you see the scale go up. Cut back a bit on the carbs, lose the glycogen and lose water. Bingo the scale goes back down. But you can do this while still gaining fat.
The point to take home here is that fat loss is longer term, your weight IS going to fluctuate as you lose, some days being higher, some being lower, but if you stick to what MFP gives you and log accurately, you will lose fat and weight over time.
Hope that helps answer this one small question.
I'm still a bit confused.
I'll see if I can find a 'dummies guide' online. Thanks 
0 -
Use metrics beyond the scale:
Perhaps take good "before" photos. Also take "before" measurements and new measurements every so often.
http://www.healthywomen.org/content/article/measuring-success-beyond-scale?sf47026321=1
Thanks, I'll try that. I can clearly see my backside is getting smaller so that's good. 1 -
fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »Information online says eating too few calories can slow your metabolism, which would hinder weight loss. I think mine is slow enough already. I also have to be careful of side effects that could make me ill, due to chronic health problems; it doesn't take much to throw me off completely and land me in bed for days.
You are reading incorrect information. Think about it.
If you have health problems that are that serious, I would consult a Dr. before embarking on a weight loss plan.
Doesn't it make sense that if you eat too few calories your body would slow your metabolism, to try to prevent any extreme weight loss?
My health problems are very complex and unfortunately I just get sent to one specialist after another. I know my GP would say it's fine to lose weight if I do it sensibly, plus I know my health much better than he does. I know losing weight will also help ease some of my symptoms, particularly as I have damage to my knees and reactive arthritis in my ankles. This is actually the furthest I've come so far and I'm not finding it too difficult, I think because I'm eating a lot of protein and not cutting out chocolate! I'm down 22 pounds so far; a lot still to go but I hope I start to see the effects on my body, exhausted body soon..... 3 -
GirlPanda03 wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »amyrebeccah wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »cerise_noir wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »
Nope. Only eating too many calories halts weight loss.
Okay. I'd thought carbs might have affected it as I had a week where I seemed to have gained weight - my calories were fine but I'd started going a bit over on the carbs. Maybe just a coincidence then. Thanks.
That very well could have been glycogen replenishment--but you didn't gain fat that way.
Sorry, not sure what glycogen replenishment means in relation to this? Actually not sure what it means, full stop.
I'm going to attempt to answer this, knowing I may not have it correct and will be happy to be corrected. I'm doing this because I think it might be relevant.
Glycogen is another fuel source you body uses. Like fat or sugar. Reading the wikipedia page on it,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen, I see this "In humans, glycogen is made and stored primarily in the cells of the liver and the muscles, hydrated with three or four parts of water."
Now glycogen increases when you eats more carbs. It decreases if you cut carbs. Along with that increase or decrease is more or less water retention. So 1 part glycogen adds 3-4 parts water. If you increase glycogen by 1 lb, you will gain 3-4 lbs of water. This can mask your fat loss. Say you changed your diet, but still ate at a deficit, you COULD lose 1.5 lbs fat, gain 1 lb glycogen and gain 3-4 lbs overall on the scale. But the real net is a loss of .5 lbs.
And there is no real, short term way of knowing what has happened, except you see the scale go up. Cut back a bit on the carbs, lose the glycogen and lose water. Bingo the scale goes back down. But you can do this while still gaining fat.
The point to take home here is that fat loss is longer term, your weight IS going to fluctuate as you lose, some days being higher, some being lower, but if you stick to what MFP gives you and log accurately, you will lose fat and weight over time.
Hope that helps answer this one small question.
I'm still a bit confused. I'll see if I can find a 'dummies guide' online. Thanks
What it boils down to is, if you've been limiting carbs and then suddenly eat more than usual, you will see a weight spike on the scale, but this is just water retention from the increased glycogen stores. It's not fat, so it's not a reflection of your weight loss progress.1 -
GirlPanda03 wrote: »fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »GirlPanda03 wrote: »Information online says eating too few calories can slow your metabolism, which would hinder weight loss. I think mine is slow enough already. I also have to be careful of side effects that could make me ill, due to chronic health problems; it doesn't take much to throw me off completely and land me in bed for days.
You are reading incorrect information. Think about it.
If you have health problems that are that serious, I would consult a Dr. before embarking on a weight loss plan.
Doesn't it make sense that if you eat too few calories your body would slow your metabolism, to try to prevent any extreme weight loss?
There is *lots* of info to be found on this in the forums. This one seemed short & sweet, with a few good links to back up the info: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10526425/starvation-mode1 -
Sounds like a job for chocolate!0
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Good luck with your Chronic fatigue symptoms! It sounds like you have already been doing a great job with your weightloss and unless you are focused on a particular diet like low-carb or want to lift heavy (protein) there is no need to focus on your macros. My partnered suffered with ME (he was recovering when we met) and he found that making his general diet and lifestyle more healthy helped him a lot. He's now in a physically active job working as a gardener full time - big difference from being too tired to shower!0
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If you are really wanting to add calories with zero carbs look into making some "fat bombs". I don't do low carb or keto but I was finding that my dietary fat was too low (which caused some issues for me) so I made some chocolate peanut butter ones. I enjoy them and they are pretty much pure fat (mix of different kinds so not like eating a stick of butter) with some protein and minimal carbs.
Put the term in Pinterest and it will pop up about 10,000 recipes. I usually have them as my post-dinner treat.0
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