Reaching calorie goals

Mileysoot · January 2020

I’ve been using mfp for a week now and am struggling reaching my minimum calorie intake. I’ve recently cut out breads and (most

)sweets. But I feel like I am never hungry. Help! Should I eat just to reach the calorie minimum, or just eat when I’m hungry? I’m afraid will start stalling my weight loss?

Danp · January 2020

If you have weight to lose this means that you've been eating not only above of your current calorie target but in greater quantities than your maintenance calories. And that you've been able to consume this excess calorie level regularly and for an extended period of time. So barring some medical issue which you haven't mentioned you are (and have been) able to get sufficient calories.

So the question is, why all of a sudden do you feel incapable of eating? In my experience this has been because of 2 reasons.
1. I was on a starve/binge cycle. Where I would severely under eat and convincingly tell myself "I'm not even hungry" and I wasn't, until I was, and when I was I would go nuts and utterly demolish enough food to make up three fold for the under eating I had done.
2. I was determined to "eat healthy" and "cut out the junk". I would deprive myself of all the foods I like, and force myself to "eat healthy" even though I didn't find the stereotypical "health foods" particularly appetising. So, again, I would constantly be "not hungry" purely because the food I was restricting myself too didn't appeal to me and I'd under eat. That was fine, until, you guessed it. I would get ravenous, toss all the health food out the window and go back to eating mounds of food, more than making up for lost time.

Maybe one of those two situations applies to you, maybe it's something else. But one thing is for sure, the fact that you have weight to lose proves that you're capable of eating calories so it's definitely not a case of being unable.

AnnPT77 · January 2020

It's a bad plan to under-eat. It creates unnecessary health risks, and the common scenario is that you feel fine on too few calories until suddenly, you don't. (That's what happened to me.)

If you're under your calorie goal routinely by more than a small amount (say, 25-50 calories), and that's not getting balanced out over the course of time (maybe a week) by some days over your goal, you're risking under-eating . . . especially if you set a weight loss goal of 2 pounds a week, which is aggressive to start with.

Once you hit your nutritional goals, especially enough protein and healthy fats, if you still have calories left, then eat something that's less filling, like some nuts or peanut butter, some extra salad dressing on your salad, olive oil or butter on your veggies, or even a small treat food that sounds appealing.

A calorie deficit is how we lose weight, nutrition is important for health, . . . and adequate calories are necessary for health and energy level, too.

CarleyMarie83 · January 2020

AnnPT77 wrote: »

It's a bad plan to under-eat. It creates unnecessary health risks, and the common scenario is that you feel fine on too few calories until suddenly, you don't. (That's what happened to me.)

If you're under your calorie goal routinely by more than a small amount (say, 25-50 calories), and that's not getting balanced out over the course of time (maybe a week) by some days over your goal, you're risking under-eating . . . especially if you set a weight loss goal of 2 pounds a week, which is aggressive to start with.

Once you hit your nutritional goals, especially enough protein and healthy fats, if you still have calories left, then eat something that's less filling, like some nuts or peanut butter, some extra salad dressing on your salad, olive oil or butter on your veggies, or even a small treat food that sounds appealing.

A calorie deficit is how we lose weight, nutrition is important for health, . . . and adequate calories are necessary for health and energy level, too.

Completely agree.

Reaching calorie goals

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