Having Trouble Reaching My Calorie Goal Each Day

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GeauxL
GeauxL Posts: 57 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've got about 50lbs to lose. I'm following a 1200 calorie diet watching carbs, fats, & sugars-trying to stay within the recommended amounts given on the My Fitness App. I exercise 4-5 days a week, cardio & some weight training.
I find it hard to get my 1200 calories in a day & without adding high fat/carb items to eat up the extra calories. I can generally get to about 1000 calories a day & that's before looking at the calories lost with exercise. I'm not starving myself & dont find myself hungry. I usually eat a high protien breakfast with eggs/eggbeaters or a carb heavy diet of cereal & yogurt or grits, fruit, milk. Lunch is usually a low fat turkey sandwich sandwich on whole grain bread & lettuce, peppers with a fruit, or a salad with turkey meat, morning snack of yogurt or a cheese stick, pre workout snack of almonds, & supper is usually 4-6oz of lean protein with a lot of veggies. Again, I'm not hungry eating this but it's hard to reach 1200 calories & im afraid I won't be losing weight like I should if I'm not taking in enough calories.
Any suggestions of heathy food I can consume to up my caloric intake? Again, I'm not hungry & I eat a lot of veggies to fill me up so I don't feel like I'm starving myself. Thanks in advance for hints & help

Replies

  • JLively1020
    JLively1020 Posts: 12 Member
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    My go to food when needing to add a little extra calories is unsalted cashews or walnuts. Both are low carb and require very little to increase calorie intake.

    I do question the 1200 calorie/day though. based on your age, height, and weight are sure its that low?
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
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    Add a little oil/dressing to your foods or add a snack or two.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
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    Are you weighing and measuring everything. With the food you listed I would guess is more than a 1000 calories.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    On the one hand, typical diet (low calorie density) food is much volume for little calories, so it's filling, and hard to overeat. On the other hand, there are so many ways to eat more than you think. On the third hand(?), you can undereat or otherwise deprive yourself for a while, but then you just can't, and then you binge.

    You don't stop losing weight by eating too little. You stop being able to eat little enough to lose weight.

    If you're overweight, you know how to eat. And tighten up your logging.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    How much weight are you trying to lose? What rate of loss did you select?

    I know you're already having trouble eating above 1000 cals, but you should also be eating back exercise calories, so actually 1200 is the minimum you should be eating.

    So, what sorts of foods did you eat before deciding to lose weight? You mentioned watching carbs, fat and sugar - is there a medical reason you are restricting those things?

    Many people have similar situations at first, going to extremes with cutting out foods and thinking that everything has to be "healthy" and no "junk". But the fact is that there's nothing wrong with incorporating more calorie dense foods, in an otherwise healthy diet, especially if you're currently under eating. Start with the foods you're already eating. Use whole eggs instead of the egg beaters and add some cheese, vegetables or protein to make it an omelet instead of just plain eggs. Eat some hummus and crackers or a bowl of soup with your typical lunch. Add a starch at dinner, cook the protein and veggies in oil or butter.

    Then, look at things you cut out that aren't in there already. Have some chocolate or ice cream after dinner, or use some of your extra calories for pizza on the weekend. Restricting calories too low won't prevent you from losing weight but it can have negative effects including fatigue, hair loss, sallow skin, brittle nails, etc.

    Good luck.

  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
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    How are you measuring the foods you are eating now?
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
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    You need to eat 1200 plus intentional exercise calories
  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
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    How are you measuring what you consume? From your post I would expect that to be more than 1000 calories.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    First question: are you losing weight at the level that is suggested? Like, if you have it set to 2 lbs/week are you losing 2 lbs per week or more? Ignore week 1 because that's mostly water weight.

    Second question: are you using a food scale? If you aren't, your 1000 cals is probably more like 1300 cals, and that's ok.

    Finally, "without adding high fat/carb items." There is nothing wrong with high fat/carb food. The issue is balance. If you need something to hit your calorie goals, eat it. Esp. if you're just losing weight, don't stress about fat/carb/protein balance. A lot of people get their protein for the day as their first goal, then snack on whatever to get to their calorie goal.
  • Nixi3Knox
    Nixi3Knox Posts: 182 Member
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    Stop cutting out fat. You NEED IT. You body uses fat to aid in things like vitamin and mineral absorption. Add some fat.
  • GeauxL
    GeauxL Posts: 57 Member
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    To answer some of the questions in the responses:
    I am measuring all my foods using measuring spoons, measuring cups, & a food scale. I said I've got about 50 more lbs to lose, that is on top of some weight I've lost already. Before dieting, I ate a lot of carbs, ate out often, & really didn't watch portion control. I also didn't exercise much, if at all. I also allow myself to be more laxed on the weekends & sometimes have a full blown cheat day but I am very strict Sunday-Friday.
    I am probably restricting myself way too much as far as fats & carbs go. Outside of the carbs found in fruits, nuts & vegetables, the only other carbs I consume are white grits, low fat/sugar cereal, & whole grain bread-I've basically cut out all pasta & potatoes (except the occasional sweet potato). I should probably be more lenient with that. Same thing with fats, I drink skim milk, use fat free cooking spray, a little olive oil, mayo is kraft avocado oil mayo, & the fats from lean protein (mainly 4-6 oz of boneless skinless chicken breast, skinless turkey cutlets, fish, 93/7 ground beef, pouches of white tuna & lean turkey breast lunch meat) I also eat 1-2 avocados a week.
    I guess, as with most people who are/were overweight, once we decide to eat healthy & cut out the bad stuff, we almost have a fear of trying to incorporate typical "non-diet" food in our meals for fear that it will have a negative effect.
    One time, successfully, I followed WW with the points, I also found it hard to consume all my points, so I basically had to add a lot of "condiments" to whatever I ate to help up my points.
    Also, with cardio (elliptical, jogging, walking hills, & power walking) along with about 40 minutes (that's how long it takes me to finish my routine) of weight/weight machines; how much protein should I be eating?
    Thanks for all your comments & help!
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    It's looks like you're really trying to work smart on your weight loss and I applaud you for that. There are some great questions here. It is pretty common to overcompensate when you start trying to lose weight. Don't beat yourself up about that. It takes time and practice to figure this stuff out and it looks like you're doing well.

    Would you be willing to open your diary so we can help you find some wise places to tweak your plan? Otherwise, all we can do is guess based on a bunch of assumptions we'd have to make.

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