Struggling to hit calories
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Drink some calories, have more snacks, don't eat "diet foods" (avoid low fat/low sugar/"lite" labelled items,), load up on fruit, decent portion of starchy carbs with your main meals, nuts....
For perspective I'm a 5'9 old fart maintaining on about 3000 cals.4 -
Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy versus unhealthy?
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
I got fat off of healthy food. I was living way out in the country with no fast food around. All I ate was my own from-scratch cooking. Unfortunately, I'm a pretty good cook.
OP, I would definitely double check your logging. I'm a 5'3" over 40 female and I can easily tuck away 2700-3000 calories a day if I don't restrain myself!9 -
TavistockToad wrote: »nowmartin2001 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »nowmartin2001 wrote: »Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand that I have obviously eaten more than 1790 calories to have gained weight in the first place. All my meals were very bad and since I've started eating better quality foods and higher levels of protein I feel a lot more full all of the time. I guess I will just eat more even if I don't feel too hungry.
Stop thinking food is good or bad, that'll help...
Would you not consider takeaways and pre made foods etc as bad? Or is that still approaching things from the wrong direction?
No. Takeaways are high in fat (generally) and so are more calorie dense, so I have to take more care to fit them in my week calorie and macro goal, but that doesn't make them bad, it makes them yummy.
The majority of food is pre made these days unless you farm your own livestock etc. So of course it's not bad.
When I said pre made I meant microwave meals and ready meals. I think instead of bad foods I should have used the term unhealthy. I feel like it was easier for me to eat say 800 kcal worth of unhealthy takeaway/McDonald's type food. Than to eat 800 kcal worth of healthy nutritional food. I'm very confident that I will get to my goals sooner rather than later1 -
nowmartin2001 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »nowmartin2001 wrote: »Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand that I have obviously eaten more than 1790 calories to have gained weight in the first place. All my meals were very bad and since I've started eating better quality foods and higher levels of protein I feel a lot more full all of the time. I guess I will just eat more even if I don't feel too hungry.
Stop thinking food is good or bad, that'll help...
Would you not consider takeaways and pre made foods etc as bad? Or is that still approaching things from the wrong direction?
Not at all. No food is ever inherently good or bad. It's just the overfeeding and relationship with food that gives it that appearance, especially when so many online resources pander to that idea by claiming "superfoods" and magical health benefits.
At the same time, you don't need to be robotic about it. Sure there are tasty and enjoyable foods that provide satiety and satisfaction. And there are foods that we personally don't like or tolerate well. For your question specifically, eat food that you like. There are still ways to compromise the thought of it being a positive contribution to hitting increased calories without it being viewed as bad. Example: cook a steak in some butter and garlic, roast some potatoes and asparagus drizzled with some olive oil.. drink a glass of whole milk... these are easily identified as natural, whole foods that are both calorie and nutrient dense6 -
Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
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nowmartin2001 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »nowmartin2001 wrote: »Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand that I have obviously eaten more than 1790 calories to have gained weight in the first place. All my meals were very bad and since I've started eating better quality foods and higher levels of protein I feel a lot more full all of the time. I guess I will just eat more even if I don't feel too hungry.
Stop thinking food is good or bad, that'll help...
Would you not consider takeaways and pre made foods etc as bad? Or is that still approaching things from the wrong direction?
Look at it this way. Losing weight is step #1. After you are done losing weight you can't just go back to normal eating habits. Do you intend for all of your new eating habits to be permanent? If you can't meet calories now, how are you going to meet maintenance calories?
Some things need to change permanently, but not all things. Less takeaway, less pre-made food, etc. Learning real portion sizes for those foods will help you keep your weight in check. I can't imagine giving up pizza for forever, but I do need to eat smaller portions.....forever.4 -
nowmartin2001 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »nowmartin2001 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »nowmartin2001 wrote: »Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand that I have obviously eaten more than 1790 calories to have gained weight in the first place. All my meals were very bad and since I've started eating better quality foods and higher levels of protein I feel a lot more full all of the time. I guess I will just eat more even if I don't feel too hungry.
Stop thinking food is good or bad, that'll help...
Would you not consider takeaways and pre made foods etc as bad? Or is that still approaching things from the wrong direction?
No. Takeaways are high in fat (generally) and so are more calorie dense, so I have to take more care to fit them in my week calorie and macro goal, but that doesn't make them bad, it makes them yummy.
The majority of food is pre made these days unless you farm your own livestock etc. So of course it's not bad.
When I said pre made I meant microwave meals and ready meals. I think instead of bad foods I should have used the term unhealthy. I feel like it was easier for me to eat say 800 kcal worth of unhealthy takeaway/McDonald's type food. Than to eat 800 kcal worth of healthy nutritional food. I'm very confident that I will get to my goals sooner rather than later
I don't like to think of single foods as healthy or unhealhty (with the exception of man made trans fats). A diet is healthy or unhealthy as a whole and some foods contribute to that more easily than others, but a single food on its own is neutral. It's just a food. It has macros and nutrients and whether it helps or hurts your diet depends on how it fits into the diet as a whole. Sometimes takeaway and McDonald's fit into my diet just fine. Egg McMuffins fit into my macros pretty easily. Two McDoubles probably wouldn't. That's not because they're ready made or from a fast food place, they just don't happen to fit into my goals.
When you remove entire categories of food, such as all fast food, anything ready made, any takeaway, anything packaged, etc, you'll find it harder to hit your goals because you're wiping out a ton of choices. Look at how each food fits into your goals rather than what kind of labels you've decided to put on it and you may have an easier time finding a balance.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
My success has always been to remove ALL and ANY dense calorie meals from my life entirely. I can't control myself around it. This makes it hard to even eat 1500 calories a day because I am always full on fresh veggies, fruits, chicken, etc.1 -
It's still demonizing and creating a black/white conflict that only sets you up for binges later. Of course a diet needs to be balanced to be healthy, and of course foods low in vitamins, fibre, water and protein and high in sugar and salt is easy to eat (and overeat). But a takeaway here and there is NOT unhealthy if you do balance your eating. DO eat your fruit and chicken and broccoli, but ALSO allow yourself indulgences. If you don't allow yourself indulgences, you'll indulge uncontrollably when "something" happens, and "something" happens all the time, that's what "life" is.nowmartin2001 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »nowmartin2001 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »nowmartin2001 wrote: »Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand that I have obviously eaten more than 1790 calories to have gained weight in the first place. All my meals were very bad and since I've started eating better quality foods and higher levels of protein I feel a lot more full all of the time. I guess I will just eat more even if I don't feel too hungry.
Stop thinking food is good or bad, that'll help...
Would you not consider takeaways and pre made foods etc as bad? Or is that still approaching things from the wrong direction?
No. Takeaways are high in fat (generally) and so are more calorie dense, so I have to take more care to fit them in my week calorie and macro goal, but that doesn't make them bad, it makes them yummy.
The majority of food is pre made these days unless you farm your own livestock etc. So of course it's not bad.
When I said pre made I meant microwave meals and ready meals. I think instead of bad foods I should have used the term unhealthy. I feel like it was easier for me to eat say 800 kcal worth of unhealthy takeaway/McDonald's type food. Than to eat 800 kcal worth of healthy nutritional food. I'm very confident that I will get to my goals sooner rather than later
Do you think you'll somehow lose faster depending on food choices, calories being the same, if so, that is wrong. A calorie is a calorie. You can't speed up the process, but you can make it torture or fun.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
What does some people having difficulty practicing portion control with almonds have to do with your statement about eating healthy foods only? It actually undercuts your position -- almonds are, by almost any perspective, a "healthy food." Yet someone who includes almonds in their diet may find it very easy to meet or even exceed a calorie goal, especially if they aren't monitoring their portions.
Yes, what works for me might throw someone else off their plan. That's a completely different thing than what you claimed earlier.
(Also, almonds being "non-filling" isn't a universal thing. Some people find the combination of fat and protein in nuts to be quite satisfying).
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Which option is healthier for you?
1/ Eating just so called healthy foods but consistently under eating. Losing weight too fast and possibly missing out on nutrition and definitely being under-fuelled.
2/ Eat all those so called healthy foods then top up with "less healthy food" to meet your energy and nutrition needs. Lose weight at an appropriate rate, have more energy, get more macro and micro nutrients.
As a fellow endurance athlete - what is your view on sports drinks? (Typically glucose plus electrolytes.)
Healthy or unhealthy?
Bad for you because they are processed or just what your body needs to meet the huge energy demands imposed by endurance cardio?5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
What does some people having difficulty practicing portion control with almonds have to do with your statement about eating healthy foods only? It actually undercuts your position -- almonds are, by almost any perspective, a "healthy food." Yet someone who includes almonds in their diet may find it very easy to meet or even exceed a calorie goal, especially if they aren't monitoring their portions.
Yes, what works for me might throw someone else off their plan. That's a completely different thing than what you claimed earlier.
(Also, almonds being "non-filling" isn't a universal thing. Some people find the combination of fat and protein in nuts to be quite satisfying).
Because in my opinion, calorie dense foods are not healthy for me. They are only healthy if ate in extremely small proportions, which I am unable to do because it doesn't fill me and only gives me more "hand to mouth" addiction movement that got me fat in the first place. Snacking is an absolutely no for me.
Someone can claim any food is healthy, and they wouldn't be wrong. Almost everything is healthy in moderation. Doesn't mean that someone wants it in their diet.
It's like telling an alcoholic to take a sip of beer every few days because it's OK as long as they don't get drunk. I am a food addict, if I get a taste of calorie dense stacks, I lose control. Not everyone can have that stuff in their life, and I assume that's why OP is struggling to reach his calorie goal. It's super hard to eat 1500+ calories a day when eating filling low calorie, high protein food.4 -
Which option is healthier for you?
1/ Eating just so called healthy foods but consistently under eating. Losing weight too fast and possibly missing out on nutrition and definitely being under-fuelled.
2/ Eat all those so called healthy foods then top up with "less healthy food" to meet your energy and nutrition needs. Lose weight at an appropriate rate, have more energy, get more macro and micro nutrients.
As a fellow endurance athlete - what is your view on sports drinks? (Typically glucose plus electrolytes.)
Healthy or unhealthy?
Bad for you because they are processed or just what your body needs to meet the huge energy demands imposed by endurance cardio?
Very valid points. I feel I need to look at foods a lot differently than I currently do. I don't drink sports drinks unless I'm mid run usually and me saying that has just made your point about them being just what your body needs even more valid.4 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
My success has always been to remove ALL and ANY dense calorie meals from my life entirely. I can't control myself around it. This makes it hard to even eat 1500 calories a day because I am always full on fresh veggies, fruits, chicken, etc.
unless the OP is one of those "some people" it's not really a problem, ykwim? sure, you may have trouble regulating almonds, but OP may be totally cool weighing out a portion and eating that and moving on. eliminating foods may be helpful for you. moderation may be helpful for me. what's helpful to most is limit advice given to the questions asked.4 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
What does some people having difficulty practicing portion control with almonds have to do with your statement about eating healthy foods only? It actually undercuts your position -- almonds are, by almost any perspective, a "healthy food." Yet someone who includes almonds in their diet may find it very easy to meet or even exceed a calorie goal, especially if they aren't monitoring their portions.
Yes, what works for me might throw someone else off their plan. That's a completely different thing than what you claimed earlier.
(Also, almonds being "non-filling" isn't a universal thing. Some people find the combination of fat and protein in nuts to be quite satisfying).
Because in my opinion, calorie dense foods are not healthy for me. They are only healthy if ate in extremely small proportions, which I am unable to do because it doesn't fill me and only gives me more "hand to mouth" addiction movement that got me fat in the first place. Snacking is an absolutely no for me.
Someone can claim any food is healthy, and they wouldn't be wrong. Almost everything is healthy in moderation. Doesn't mean that someone wants it in their diet.
So you're using a personal definition of healthy that excludes all foods that are calorie-dense?
This may work for you, but it's not a workable solution for everyone. In fact, it can lead to cases like the one OP is having, where someone is unable to meet their caloric needs because they're practicing so much food restriction.
You don't have to want something in your diet to accept that for some people it is a healthy food. I have reasons I would never eat Greek yogurt or salmon, but that doesn't meet they don't help other people meet their nutritional needs.
So when you say something to a group of people like "Ever heard of eating healthy foods only" and you're using a idiosyncratic definition of "healthy" that eliminates perfectly healthful foods like almonds or avocados or coconut or olives or dark chocolate or bananas, it might be helpful to make that clear.8 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
What does some people having difficulty practicing portion control with almonds have to do with your statement about eating healthy foods only? It actually undercuts your position -- almonds are, by almost any perspective, a "healthy food." Yet someone who includes almonds in their diet may find it very easy to meet or even exceed a calorie goal, especially if they aren't monitoring their portions.
Yes, what works for me might throw someone else off their plan. That's a completely different thing than what you claimed earlier.
(Also, almonds being "non-filling" isn't a universal thing. Some people find the combination of fat and protein in nuts to be quite satisfying).
Because in my opinion, calorie dense foods are not healthy for me. They are only healthy if ate in extremely small proportions, which I am unable to do because it doesn't fill me and only gives me more "hand to mouth" addiction movement that got me fat in the first place. Snacking is an absolutely no for me.
Someone can claim any food is healthy, and they wouldn't be wrong. Almost everything is healthy in moderation. Doesn't mean that someone wants it in their diet.
So you're using a personal definition of healthy that excludes all foods that are calorie-dense?
This may work for you, but it's not a workable solution for everyone. In fact, it can lead to cases like the one OP is having, where someone is unable to meet their caloric needs because they're practicing so much food restriction.
You don't have to want something in your diet to accept that for some people it is a healthy food. I have reasons I would never eat Greek yogurt or salmon, but that doesn't meet they don't help other people meet their nutritional needs.
So when you say something to a group of people like "Ever heard of eating healthy foods only" and you're using a idiosyncratic definition of "healthy" that eliminates perfectly healthful foods like almonds or avocados or coconut or olives or dark chocolate or bananas, it might be helpful to make that clear.
I am just giving my take on what could be OPs problem. He didn't exactly give us a lot of information and the people telling him "how'd you get in fat in the first place then" are not helpful. I'm am explaining WHY cases like this happen, because I had the same problem as OP.jessiferrrb wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
My success has always been to remove ALL and ANY dense calorie meals from my life entirely. I can't control myself around it. This makes it hard to even eat 1500 calories a day because I am always full on fresh veggies, fruits, chicken, etc.
unless the OP is one of those "some people" it's not really a problem, ykwim? sure, you may have trouble regulating almonds, but OP may be totally cool weighing out a portion and eating that and moving on. eliminating foods may be helpful for you. moderation may be helpful for me. what's helpful to most is limit advice given to the questions asked.
I answered the question asked. How about the people who simply stated "How'd you get fat in the first place then?". Stuff like that is rude, so I had to address it because stuff like that is constantly posted on here. I stated how it's possible to be in OPs situation, and then I told him what I would do.
Take it or leave it. OP situations may not be the same as mine, but I can relate to him because I had the same problems. I was also given the same "how'd you get fat in the first place" BS when I posted about it.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
What does some people having difficulty practicing portion control with almonds have to do with your statement about eating healthy foods only? It actually undercuts your position -- almonds are, by almost any perspective, a "healthy food." Yet someone who includes almonds in their diet may find it very easy to meet or even exceed a calorie goal, especially if they aren't monitoring their portions.
Yes, what works for me might throw someone else off their plan. That's a completely different thing than what you claimed earlier.
(Also, almonds being "non-filling" isn't a universal thing. Some people find the combination of fat and protein in nuts to be quite satisfying).
Because in my opinion, calorie dense foods are not healthy for me. They are only healthy if ate in extremely small proportions, which I am unable to do because it doesn't fill me and only gives me more "hand to mouth" addiction movement that got me fat in the first place. Snacking is an absolutely no for me.
Someone can claim any food is healthy, and they wouldn't be wrong. Almost everything is healthy in moderation. Doesn't mean that someone wants it in their diet.
So you're using a personal definition of healthy that excludes all foods that are calorie-dense?
This may work for you, but it's not a workable solution for everyone. In fact, it can lead to cases like the one OP is having, where someone is unable to meet their caloric needs because they're practicing so much food restriction.
You don't have to want something in your diet to accept that for some people it is a healthy food. I have reasons I would never eat Greek yogurt or salmon, but that doesn't meet they don't help other people meet their nutritional needs.
So when you say something to a group of people like "Ever heard of eating healthy foods only" and you're using a idiosyncratic definition of "healthy" that eliminates perfectly healthful foods like almonds or avocados or coconut or olives or dark chocolate or bananas, it might be helpful to make that clear.
I am just giving my take on what could be OPs problem. He didn't exactly give us a lot of information and the people telling him "how'd you get in fat in the first place then" are not helpful. I'm am explaining WHY cases like this happen, because I had the same problem as OP.
I guess I got fat in the first place as I found it much much easier to eat high fat high calorie takeaway/fast food more often. I'm finding it a bit harder to eat up to my recommended calorie amount now that I feel that I'm eating healthier and more nutritional food. I just done seem as hungry as I used too. I maybe didn't make my opening post as imformative as i could have.1 -
but there is nothing unnutritional about many of the calorie dense foods you are avoiding...almonds are a great source of good fats2
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I answered the question asked. How about the people who simply stated "How'd you get fat in the first place then?". Stuff like that is rude, so I had to address it because stuff like that is constantly posted on here. I stated how it's possible to be in OPs situation, and then I told him what I would do.
Take it or leave it. OP situations may not be the same as mine, but I can relate to him because I had the same problems. I was also given the same "how'd you get fat in the first place" BS when I posted about it.
i guess, but OP's question was about not getting enough calories and your first answer was don't worry about it. which isn't great advice considering the effects of under-eating are well known and not fun.
OP: Just do what works. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems. If you are concerned about not getting enough of a certain vitamin, take a multi-vitamin.
and your second answer was to cut out all calorie dense foods. which seems like the opposite of what was asked. i'm not trying to call you out really, and i agree about that some posters are rude. i just don't get the logical jump from the original question to the answers.
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janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
What does some people having difficulty practicing portion control with almonds have to do with your statement about eating healthy foods only? It actually undercuts your position -- almonds are, by almost any perspective, a "healthy food." Yet someone who includes almonds in their diet may find it very easy to meet or even exceed a calorie goal, especially if they aren't monitoring their portions.
Yes, what works for me might throw someone else off their plan. That's a completely different thing than what you claimed earlier.
(Also, almonds being "non-filling" isn't a universal thing. Some people find the combination of fat and protein in nuts to be quite satisfying).
Because in my opinion, calorie dense foods are not healthy for me. They are only healthy if ate in extremely small proportions, which I am unable to do because it doesn't fill me and only gives me more "hand to mouth" addiction movement that got me fat in the first place. Snacking is an absolutely no for me.
Someone can claim any food is healthy, and they wouldn't be wrong. Almost everything is healthy in moderation. Doesn't mean that someone wants it in their diet.
So you're using a personal definition of healthy that excludes all foods that are calorie-dense?
This may work for you, but it's not a workable solution for everyone. In fact, it can lead to cases like the one OP is having, where someone is unable to meet their caloric needs because they're practicing so much food restriction.
You don't have to want something in your diet to accept that for some people it is a healthy food. I have reasons I would never eat Greek yogurt or salmon, but that doesn't meet they don't help other people meet their nutritional needs.
So when you say something to a group of people like "Ever heard of eating healthy foods only" and you're using a idiosyncratic definition of "healthy" that eliminates perfectly healthful foods like almonds or avocados or coconut or olives or dark chocolate or bananas, it might be helpful to make that clear.
I am just giving my take on what could be OPs problem. He didn't exactly give us a lot of information and the people telling him "how'd you get in fat in the first place then" are not helpful. I'm am explaining WHY cases like this happen, because I had the same problem as OP.jessiferrrb wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Love the "how'd you get fat in the first place if you can't reach a calorie intake" people. I'm so tired of reading that line on here. Ever heard of eating healthy foods only? Eat processed foods for a week, then switch to eating fresh foods for the next week. Even if eat the same amount of calories, the difference in energy is incredible with high nutrient fresh foods. v
OP: Just do what works, ignore the "always eat at least X amount of calories" stuff. If you aren't feeling constantly hungry, you aren't under eating enough to cause problems.
"Healthy foods" have calories too. Some of them, in fact, are quite calorie dense. And there are plenty of processed foods that are pretty reasonable calorie-wise. This distinction makes no sense to me.
The problem is some people can't control proportions when it comes to non-filling high calorie snacks like Almonds. What works for you, may throw another person completely off their diet.
My success has always been to remove ALL and ANY dense calorie meals from my life entirely. I can't control myself around it. This makes it hard to even eat 1500 calories a day because I am always full on fresh veggies, fruits, chicken, etc.
unless the OP is one of those "some people" it's not really a problem, ykwim? sure, you may have trouble regulating almonds, but OP may be totally cool weighing out a portion and eating that and moving on. eliminating foods may be helpful for you. moderation may be helpful for me. what's helpful to most is limit advice given to the questions asked.
I answered the question asked. How about the people who simply stated "How'd you get fat in the first place then?". Stuff like that is rude, so I had to address it because stuff like that is constantly posted on here. I stated how it's possible to be in OPs situation, and then I told him what I would do.
Take it or leave it. OP situations may not be the same as mine, but I can relate to him because I had the same problems. I was also given the same "how'd you get fat in the first place" BS when I posted about it.
OP's problem is likely that they've got a window for "healthy food" that is too narrow and excludes many foods that could help them get sufficient calories. Adding fuel to that fire by recommending a diet that excludes calorie-dense foods isn't helpful. Maybe OP doesn't have your problem with eating almonds. To assume they do isn't exactly helpful.4
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