Having trouble reaching my daily calories
youcandothis2024
Posts: 7 Member
I'm supposed to be eating 1200 calories a day, but most days I come in anywhere from 50 to 400 under that! I know I need to eat a little more so my body doesn't go into starvation mode and hold onto all the fat, but I have a hard time eating more, especially at night. I guess I'm afraid that if I eat the wrong thing right before bed it will stop the weight loss. What are some good options when I need to eat hundreds more calores, and quickly?
6
Replies
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I should add that even on the super low intake days, I'm not hungry for more. In general I try to eat foods that have a lower calorie density, so they fill me up without adding too many calories. This works really well for me to stay full during the day, so it makes it hard to want to eat even more!0
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1200 a day sounds awfully low if you’re an active person and are working out.2
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I should add that even on the super low intake days, I'm not hungry for more. In general I try to eat foods that have a lower calorie density, so they fill me up without adding too many calories. This works really well for me to stay full during the day, so it makes it hard to want to eat even more!
Eat a little less high volume low calorie food and add more calorie dense food.
There's no "wrong thing to eat right before bed", and as long as you stay in a deficit the weight loss will continue.0 -
You’ve got a couple of myths here. First off starvation mode does not exist. Also, eating meals before bedtime will not impact your weight loss. Only being in a calorie deficit will. What are your stats (height, weight, age)? How are you measuring your 1200 calories (food scale or cups/spoons)? Peanut butter, a tablespoon of olive oil, ice cream, all high calorie stuff.4
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Sounds like you’ve gotten a lot of misinformation from your first post. Good news - starvation mode isn’t real, there are no “wrong things” and meal timing doesn’t matter.
Enter your stats, activity level and a reasonable rate of loss into MFP. If you have less than 50 lbs to lose, 1 lb/week is appropriate. If you have less than 20 to lose, 0.5 lbs/week.
MFP will give you a calorie target that excludes exercise, with your deficit built in. Meaning you should try to hit that calorie target and if you exercise, you should log and eat back some of those calories as well.
Eat a variety of foods you like that provide nutrition, satiety and enjoyment.
Log everything you eat as accurately and honestly as possible, ideally using a food scale.
Be patient.
Read the stickied most helpful forum posts.
Stop reading whatever site told you about starvation mode and meal timing.7 -
Wow, thanks everyone. I can stop being afraid of "starvation mode" now, lol. I've heard about it my whole life...Anyway, I'm only 5 ft tall and I have 80 more lbs to lose before I reach a healthy BMI and I'm not very active because of chronic pain, although I do try to walk a little more these days. The 1200 is calculated based on all that. And I do weigh and measure what I eat with a food acale and measuring spoons/cups0
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You need to hit your calories. Fatty liver disease is scary and while it doesn't happen overnight, keeping up this way is a risk. Why do you have no appetite? I have gerd and nafld. I lost fast for lack of appetite and it hurt the liver. Dr said to get 1200 calories down. I am on keto with 2 Dr approval and recommendation. I get my calories from avacado and pure vegetable oil. Also add in a small amount of almonds and flax seeds. Starvation mode may not exist but health pro lems unforseen can occur. Try to get in your base calories.0
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I'm supposed to be eating 1200 calories a day, but most days I come in anywhere from 50 to 400 under that! I know I need to eat a little more so my body doesn't go into starvation mode and hold onto all the fat, but I have a hard time eating more, especially at night. I guess I'm afraid that if I eat the wrong thing right before bed it will stop the weight loss. What are some good options when I need to eat hundreds more calores, and quickly?
peanut butter3 -
Well... to be quite blunt, you didn't end up where you are by being full on less than 1200 calories. Think of some of the foods you used to eat that caused your weight gain and add them in if you can't hit your calorie goals with the foods you're eating now.6
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It should be fairly easy to get more calories in daily. Even several hundred more. As others said, a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter. A small handful of walnuts, almonds or any nut.0
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Read this thread, @30by30th. It's got a lot of great info.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p12 -
I'm supposed to be eating 1200 calories a day, but most days I come in anywhere from 50 to 400 under that! I know I need to eat a little more so my body doesn't go into starvation mode and hold onto all the fat, but I have a hard time eating more, especially at night. I guess I'm afraid that if I eat the wrong thing right before bed it will stop the weight loss. What are some good options when I need to eat hundreds more calores, and quickly?
First I'd suggest evaluating your logging to be certain you really do need to eat hundreds more calories a day. Simple things like underestimating portions or inadvertently choosing erroneous entries from the database (there are thousands!) can add up quickly.
And yeah, when all else fails, peanut butter
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OP, also check out this thread and make sure your logging is accurate. If you just started, there is sometimes a honeymoon period where some people can eat very little and not feel hungry, but if it's been more than a couple of weeks that shouldn't be an issue anymore
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p10 -
I'm supposed to be eating 1200 calories a day, but most days I come in anywhere from 50 to 400 under that! I know I need to eat a little more so my body doesn't go into starvation mode and hold onto all the fat, but I have a hard time eating more, especially at night. I guess I'm afraid that if I eat the wrong thing right before bed it will stop the weight loss. What are some good options when I need to eat hundreds more calores, and quickly?
You may be in the "honeymoon" period where your appetite is decreased. If so, peanut butter or nuts can easily help you reach your calorie goal.
If after a month or so, you have not lost around what you set your weekly weight loss goal to, then you are likely eating more than you think, and should open your diary so we can look for common logging errors.1 -
I should add that even on the super low intake days, I'm not hungry for more. In general I try to eat foods that have a lower calorie density, so they fill me up without adding too many calories. This works really well for me to stay full during the day, so it makes it hard to want to eat even more!
If you are having a hard time meeting your required minimum calorie intake, and find it hard to eat MORE, why are you opting for foods LOW IN CALORIE DENSITY? pick foods high in calorie density to meet you minimum needs.
do the opposite, pick foods higher in calorie density.3
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