Not Eating Enough

There are a lot of gimmicks, and programs trying to make money, and you might have fallen victim by reading some bad information.

Weight loss is calories in vs calories out. Period. Anyone who frets about counting carbs/sugar/etc is just doing extra work or has a medical issue. Unless you have something like diabetes, then all you need to do is simply count calories and the weight WILL come off.

Weight loss is NOT linear, so just because you changed your diet for one week/month and saw better weight loss with more/less carbs - it means nothing. Even sticking to the exact same diet you will see drastic weight loss differences from week to week. (From 0 pounds to 5 pounds in my case). All that matters is you see an average of 1-2 pounds/week over a long period.

For the record, high protein diets make me eat about 800-1000 calories a day as well. I have to eat extra at night even though I am not hungry, but I'd rather eat when i'm full than starve throughout the day. I'm still losing at a "unhealthy" rate of 3.2-3.5 pounds/week so apparently I need to eat even more.

Stop worry about where the calories come from, and just count them.

kayleedaoust91 wrote: »

I will try to keep it brief haha.
Basically, I am trying to lose weight. About 40lbs. And, after a lot of research, I have decided carbs are the culprit to half of my weight problems haha (First problem, I have no self control with carbs. Second, eating high carbs kills my weight loss I am finding).
So, I’ve been really trying to eat a higher protein amount and lessen my carbs. I went through a week of withdrawal but I’ve been doing a lot better in keeping my carbs to not be over half of caloric intake like it normally is.

Issue is, I’m finding I cannot for the life of me eat enough calories now. I’m finding I am way too full eating higher protein sources and not eating carbs. That might be weird. But even today, I’m eating less than half of the daily calories and am far too full to consider eating more.

How the crap do I continue to keep eating a low carb diet and actually eat the 1,200 calories a day? Because eating under 1000 a day cannot be healthy even if it would lead to faster weight loss haha.

Agreed that eating under 1000 is not healthy. Typically, if you are lowering your carbs, you could either up your protein or up your fats. Those are the three main macros. If you lower one, raise one or both of the others.. If you need to get more calories in, up your fat. They're 9 calories per gram of fat where it's 4 calories per gram of carbs and protein.

Nope get a scale you would be very surprised at servings sizes when actually weighed out.

If your gonna go higher protein then why not look into KETO which is higher protein/fats and limits carbs and no sugars. Most carbs I believe comes from veggies on KETO.

Question is, is this something you can maintain long term?

pogiguy05 wrote: »

Nope get a scale you would be very surprised at servings sizes when actually weighed out.

If your gonna go higher protein then why not look into KETO which is higher protein/fats and limits carbs and no sugars. Most carbs I believe comes from veggies on KETO.

Question is, is this something you can maintain long term?

FYI. KETO is not higher protein. In fact, it's much lower than you would think. Atkins I believe was the one with higher protein. But that's neither here nor there.
OP. Get a food scale and weigh out your food. You're probably eating more than you think. There's really no point for you to go low carb unless 1. You want to try it out and think it will fit your lifestyle and will help you lose weight by eating less calories than you're burning (i.e. the main way to lose weight). or 2. you're diabetic.

It's only been a little bit over a week? (Am I reading that correctly?)

Wait another week...see if that hunger doesn't come back.

In the meantime, if you're feeling fine, aren't dizzy, are in general good health, etc...I can't see worrying just yet. That's just my take (and my experience with VLC and initial appetite suppression).

kayleedaoust91 wrote: »

I will try to keep it brief haha.
Basically, I am trying to lose weight. About 40lbs. And, after a lot of research, I have decided carbs are the culprit to half of my weight problems haha (First problem, I have no self control with carbs. Second, eating high carbs kills my weight loss I am finding).
So, I’ve been really trying to eat a higher protein amount and lessen my carbs. I went through a week of withdrawal but I’ve been doing a lot better in keeping my carbs to not be over half of caloric intake like it normally is.

Issue is, I’m finding I cannot for the life of me eat enough calories now. I’m finding I am way too full eating higher protein sources and not eating carbs. That might be weird. But even today, I’m eating less than half of the daily calories and am far too full to consider eating more. Today I am at like 500 calories so a bit too too low, usually I can force myself to eat 800-900 though.

How the crap do I continue to keep eating a low carb diet and actually eat the 1,200 calories a day? Because eating under 1000 a day cannot be healthy even if it would lead to faster weight loss haha.

The point of eating more protein is because protein is more satiating (filling) than carbohydrates. One eats more protein in order to stave off hunger so one can eat fewer overall calories while feeling satiated. So not surprising if you went to a diet that was mostly protein that it would be very difficult to eat enough. It seems to me like you just took this too far. Solution is pretty simple, just eat less protein so you are a bit hungry then load up with more carbs to get more calories to hit your calorie target. Problem solved, just find that balance point.

need2belean wrote: »

pogiguy05 wrote: »

Nope get a scale you would be very surprised at servings sizes when actually weighed out.

If your gonna go higher protein then why not look into KETO which is higher protein/fats and limits carbs and no sugars. Most carbs I believe comes from veggies on KETO.

Question is, is this something you can maintain long term?

FYI. KETO is not higher protein. In fact, it's much lower than you would think. Atkins I believe was the one with higher protein. But that's neither here nor there.

As written by the person who created the plan, Atkins is not higher protein. It has always been moderate protein beyond the initial two weeks, if you actually take the time to complete the entire process. You know...something only the very minority of people ever do.

"Keto" is nothing but the Induction Phase of Atkins repackaged for a new generation of dieters.

OP, can't you swap out some protein for carbs? You ought to be able to find a balance where you aren't filling up so much on protein that you can't eat an adequate amount of calories.

Doctors who have little to zero training in nutrition in medical school and no post-medical school education or training in nutrition should be required by law to tell patients that they aren't qualified to advise them on their diet and refer them to a registered dietician or other medical profession who does have the appropriate education. I've lost count of the number of posters whose doctors have told them (for no apparent medical reason) that they need to go low carb to lose weight. It's sad that there would need to be a law, that doctors who should know they don't have any more knowledge or training in this area than the average person on the street should feel comfortable sitting in their office in their white coats with diplomas on the wall and all the implied professional expertise that conveys, and tell their patients what to do to lose weight. GPs don't sit there and say, "the pathology results indicate the tumor is malignant; I'm not an oncologist but let's try this drug anyway." At least, I sure hope they don't.

Over the past ten months, I have lost 106 pounds. This was done with very close attention from nutritionists helping me prepare for gastric sleeve bariatric surgery. Over the years I have read what seems like every known "diet" fact there is to know, and yet in January of 2017, I weighed my highest ever in my 63 years of life--375. I realize bariatric surgery may seem to some people an " easy", undisciplined way to lose weight. Let me tell, it is no different than any other weight loss change of lifestyle. It is hard work. I have always had an "everything in moderation" kind of attitude towards food---at least in thought process, just not practice. So this carb vs. protein thought process about one being better than the other, or "healthier" seemed silly to me. Now that I have lost a significant amount of weight, I realize that, at least for me, I have to focus more on not eating foods that I eat which were created in a laboratory vs. simple, natural foods. For instance, I used to buy bread products, every time I went to the grocery store. Yesterday, I threw out bread I bought a month ago, which had become moldy. One of the restrictions for not reversing the results of bariatric surgery weight loss is to avoid foods that swell up in the stomach and take up space for nutritious foods. Many grains , pastas, bread, are notorious for helping to re-expand the size of the stomach, which defeats the purpose of the surgery. That is one big reason I lost fifty pounds pre-surgery--I gave up those foods. Since the surgery, I have reintroduced some, but I simply cannot eat large quantities and feel miserable when I do. I have to eat twice the amount of protein the average person does, and when I work to that goal, it means, any protein must be eaten first. If not, and carbs are eaten first, there is simply no room for protein. I do not know if that kind of thinking helps someone who has a carbs vs. protein issue, but it is working for me. And I am learning, that is something I can do the rest of my life, which is an important part of reaching my goals.

Add in some cheese, nuts, avocados etc for healthy fats.

All chicken breasts are not created equal. Buy a $20 kitchen scale and weigh your food.

Once you have a scale and are sure of your input calories play around with your macros until you are happy and eating at least 1200 plus some exercise calories. You'll be surprised at how difficult it is to be accurate without actually weighing especially with meats. Not to be a party pooper, but for me the first two weeks are the easiest for weight loss and the pounds, mostly water they say, fly off and calories seem plenty. After that I've had ups and downs and still trying to find what macros work best for me. I like to have a small portion of starch at dinner, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and occasionally some bread or cereal so keep my carbs at 40% which for me is 100-120 grams, fats 35%, and protein 25%. I'm still trying to eat more protein, but fat is where most of the remainder of calories tend to land. I must admit I feel pretty good and weight is coming off so my biggest concern is the fact that I already have high lipids and probably don't need to add more with a high fat diet.