Calorie goal

chandlerchick45 wrote: »

It's frustrating that some days it feels like I eat wayyy too much and I still can't reach my calorie goal for the day 😒 I'm really trying to get them in but I feel like I'm going to gain the weight back if I eat when not hungry. I try to do exercises at least 3 days a week but this calorie issue is really getting to me.
Any thoughts appreciated.

IME, hunger and calorie needs are somewhat related, but not tightly linked. In other words, I can feel hungry when I'm well over or well under goal calories: The main variable at play is how filling my particular food choices are for me. I can be full on calorie-efficient foods that are filling to me, but still under calories. Or, I can eat many, many calories of non-filling calorie-dense foods (candy, say) and still feel hungry.

From that perspective, I feel like the bolded can be a misperception.

We're all individuals, and individuals differ. Personally, I do best - did best during weight loss - when I strove to stay fairly close to my estimated calorie goal.** A single day here or there when I was not hungry, ate a little less, was not a big deal. But if that started to be a pattern, it would usually come back to bit me eventually, in a compensatory over-goal eat-fest.

** I did even better when I had enough eating/weight loss logging data to adjust my starting-estimate calorie goal based on my individual data, rather than just default believing the original starting estimate.

Overall, I think what might help you is to pay thoughtful attention to what foods you find filling, and what circumstances may trigger you to feel hungry or full (separate from food choice or food timing). For example, some common things are to feel more hungry on a day when the previous night's sleep quality/quantity has been sub-par, or when stress levels are high. Some people feel more hungry or full after certain types of exercise (same day, or next day). If you pay attention to how you feel, and think about the situation, you may be able to see personal patterns that help you adjust.

Certainly food choices or food timing can affect feeling full (or hungry), too. Again, noticing personal patterns can be useful. The specific solutions will differ for everyone, but this kind of self-monitoring is how I learned that I need a solid breakfast with plenty of protein, or things got difficult later in the day. (In contrast, some other people do better if they skip breakfast altogether! It's quite individual!)

As the poster above suggested, being well short of your calorie goal but feeling full, if it happens more than rarely, would be a good time to include some calorie-dense but less-filling food, such as nuts, seeds, peanut butter, a little more olive oil or butter on veggies or whatever (of used in cooking), some avocado, or something like that.

I think you can figure out some good strategies, if you're willing to do some self-monitoring and self-examination of patterns. The food diary can be a really good tool, in noticing those patterns!

Since you are working out 3 times a week I suggest adding a Protein Shake for any day you are short on your calorie goal.

I'd like to have te same problem, too . I'm usually dying of hunger...