Cannot eat big meals

Options
NeymarMessiFCB
NeymarMessiFCB Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
And by big, I mean normal sized meals, that average people eat. I just can’t, never have, even as a small child. Finishing a plate of food has always been a challenge for me. Just the other day, I couldn’t finish a small salmon fillet and had to give the rest to my boyfriend so it didn’t go to waste. I get full quickly to the point of nausea if I continue.

Because of this, I’m finding myself snacking a lot. I eat small portions of things throughout the day to keep myself going.

Anyone have any tips/ideas for a healthy way to get all my nutrients in through small meals/snacks? I want to eat healthier & not grab a bag of potato chips or a candy bar. My parents didn’t raise me healthy, so it’s definitely a struggle knowing what’s good for me & what isn’t.

Thanks!
«13

Replies

  • NeymarMessiFCB
    NeymarMessiFCB Posts: 27 Member
    Options
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    What did you eat when you were gaining weight?

    Crap food. I’ve always been a big junk food eater, mostly salty stuff. I admit, I used to eat an entire giant bag of chips to myself with a jar of ranch dip in two days. Oh, and a medium pizza at least once a week to myself.

    Always just, junk.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Options
    NeymarMessiFCB wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    What did you eat when you were gaining weight?

    Crap food. I’ve always been a big junk food eater, mostly salty stuff. I admit, I used to eat an entire giant bag of chips to myself with a jar of ranch dip in two days. Oh, and a medium pizza at least once a week to myself.

    Always just, junk.

    That particular question is kind of meant to get your mind looking at the possibilities. You never ate anything at all except what you'd call junk? You want to chuck out everything you've ever eaten, every recipe you know, and replace them all with new ones? That sounds like a lot of work. Is there any wriggle room here where there might be a few things you're willing to start with and make small changes a little at a time?
  • motivatedmartha
    motivatedmartha Posts: 1,108 Member
    Options
    You don't have to eat big meals. Plan and eat more frequently. You can use boiled eggs, nuts, raw vegetables, mini salads withh small quantities of protein in, e.g. cheese, chopped chicken, prawns etc, small sandwiches, crispbreads etc etc. Divide 'normal' sized meals in two and pop one in the fridge. Just because you are a grazer doesn't mean you have to graze unhealthily. Just make sure the total calories you eat each day come in under target.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Options
    NeymarMessiFCB wrote: »
    And by big, I mean normal sized meals, that average people eat. I just can’t, never have, even as a small child. Finishing a plate of food has always been a challenge for me. Just the other day, I couldn’t finish a small salmon fillet and had to give the rest to my boyfriend so it didn’t go to waste. I get full quickly to the point of nausea if I continue.

    Because of this, I’m finding myself snacking a lot. I eat small portions of things throughout the day to keep myself going.

    Anyone have any tips/ideas for a healthy way to get all my nutrients in through small meals/snacks? I want to eat healthier & not grab a bag of potato chips or a candy bar. My parents didn’t raise me healthy, so it’s definitely a struggle knowing what’s good for me & what isn’t.

    Thanks!

    Start by looking at foods you do like already. There's nothing wrong with pizza now and again especially if you have the calories for it.

    I could not finish a whole portion of salmon or a whole chicken breast or a 5 egg white omelette simply because I don't like those things that much. But I can polish off some sushi or tacos like no one's business. Start identifying foods you like that fit into your goals.

    Obligatory calorie dense foods list: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1

  • RaeBeeBaby
    RaeBeeBaby Posts: 4,245 Member
    Options
    Lots of healthy options for eating this way. While I usually CAN eat a normal sized meal, I always feel ill if I gorge. Holidays like Thanksgiving are always a challenge because I really hate feeling overstuffed, but it's almost inevitable. This is also why I avoid all-you-can-eat buffets. I never feel like I'm getting my money's worth unless I overeat and then I regret it. :confounded:

    The whole idea of 3 meals a day didn't even come into vogue until the industrial revolution. Prior to that people usually only ate once or twice a day. There's no "right" way to eat as long as you are eating within your caloric requirements whatever those are (losing, maintaining, gaining).

    I'm slightly hypoglycemic, so I don't feel well if I don't eat every hour to two hours. I can tell that my blood sugar is low, so I eat something and I feel immediately better. I consider this a "grazing" way of eating and there's nothing unhealthy about it as long as you are making the right choices. Some of my go-to's for small meals that are also healthy and relatively low calorie:

    1/2 cup of cottage cheese with fruit or tomatoes
    Half an apple with tsp of peanut butter or PB2
    Celery with laughing cow cheese or PB
    Hardboiled egg (or sometimes 2 egg whites - my furbabies get the yolks)
    String cheese
    Baby carrots and a couple tsps of hummus
    Air popped popcorn with 1 tsp melted butter
    1/2 yogurt cup with small amount of granola
    Mini larabar

    Most of the above come in under 100 calories so you can eat several of these snacks and still have smallish regular meals. I shoot for meals of about 300-350, plus a few 100 calorie snacks. With exercise I can still lose at around 1400-1500 cals per day.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited August 2018
    Options
    NeymarMessiFCB wrote: »
    And by big, I mean normal sized meals, that average people eat. I just can’t, never have, even as a small child. Finishing a plate of food has always been a challenge for me. Just the other day, I couldn’t finish a small salmon fillet and had to give the rest to my boyfriend so it didn’t go to waste. I get full quickly to the point of nausea if I continue.

    Because of this, I’m finding myself snacking a lot. I eat small portions of things throughout the day to keep myself going.

    Anyone have any tips/ideas for a healthy way to get all my nutrients in through small meals/snacks? I want to eat healthier & not grab a bag of potato chips or a candy bar. My parents didn’t raise me healthy, so it’s definitely a struggle knowing what’s good for me & what isn’t.

    Thanks!

    If it's possible based on what you're doing all day, try to think of snacks as "mini-meals" instead of snacks. I'll often bring leftovers to work for lunch and eat half of it on my lunch break and half later. You can snack on fruit or raw veggies with a string cheese or hummus or peanut butter. Half a sandwich. A hard boiled egg. Nuts (a weighed out portion!). Yogurt fruit and oats. At night sometimes I'll grab some shredded rotisserie chicken out of the fridge and eat it with some cucumber slices. Or a bowl of Cheerios and milk.

    Have you ever been to a doctor to see why you can't eat a regular sized meal? There is certainly no requirement to eat a certain amount of food at one time, but I would be concerned there is some kind of blockage or medical issue at play.

    Edited to add after your PP: So you used to be able to eat a full sized meal and now you can't? Again I would be concerned that there is something physical you need to get corrected, or perhaps this is a psychological issue and talking to a professional about it might help
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Options
    One option might be to make or pack calorie-dense meals and then eat them in courses throughout the day. Things like nuts, hard-boiled eggs, apples & peanut butter, protein bars, cheese, avocado, pizza, ice cream, etc. So you'd be getting the same calories and nutrition as you'd get from the meal, just spread out over time.

    I'd also agree that a doctor's visit might be good if this is affecting your life.
  • NeymarMessiFCB
    NeymarMessiFCB Posts: 27 Member
    Options
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    One option might be to make or pack calorie-dense meals and then eat them in courses throughout the day. Things like nuts, hard-boiled eggs, apples & peanut butter, protein bars, cheese, avocado, pizza, ice cream, etc. So you'd be getting the same calories and nutrition as you'd get from the meal, just spread out over time.

    I'd also agree that a doctor's visit might be good if this is affecting your life.

    Yeah, I’ll bring it up with my doctor tomorrow & schedule an appointment with a nutritionist.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    NeymarMessiFCB wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    What did you eat when you were gaining weight?

    Crap food. I’ve always been a big junk food eater, mostly salty stuff. I admit, I used to eat an entire giant bag of chips to myself with a jar of ranch dip in two days. Oh, and a medium pizza at least once a week to myself.

    Always just, junk.

    But you dont class a whole pizza as a big meal?
  • NeymarMessiFCB
    NeymarMessiFCB Posts: 27 Member
    Options
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    NeymarMessiFCB wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    What did you eat when you were gaining weight?

    Crap food. I’ve always been a big junk food eater, mostly salty stuff. I admit, I used to eat an entire giant bag of chips to myself with a jar of ranch dip in two days. Oh, and a medium pizza at least once a week to myself.

    Always just, junk.

    But you dont class a whole pizza as a big meal?

    No, I don’t, because I don’t eat it all in one sitting. As I said before, especially in the main post. A meal is considered eating in one sitting. I didn’t eat it all at once. Anyway, I said once a week. So it would last me like two days.

Categories