Should you stuff yourself?

Amber82479
Amber82479 Posts: 629 Member
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm wondering... If you're eating very healthfully but your caloric intake is well below your daily goal, should you eat even if you're not hungry to get to your daily goal? For instance, if my goal is 1,200 calories/day and I only take in 900 calories, should I eat those extra calories even if I'm not hungry? I find it difficult to force food into my body when I'm full, but I know that it's important not to put your body in starvation mode either... Not that it's usually an issue, but I've had a day or two where I just can't meet my calorie goal unless I'm sucking down food that I really don't want because I'm either full or at least not hungry.

Replies

  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    Eat more calorie dense foods and that will help you get to your 1200 calorie goal without having to stuff yourself.
  • godroxmysox
    godroxmysox Posts: 1,491 Member
    bump; i deal with this on a fairly regular basis
  • harrisburglpn
    harrisburglpn Posts: 8
    My concern is the amount of protein you may be missing out on. Maybe get those last calories in by drinking a high protein shake?
  • AdrienneKaren
    AdrienneKaren Posts: 168 Member
    If it's once in awhile that you don't eat 1200 calories, that's ok. If it's fairly often then you'll need to make sure you're eating the minimum calories.
  • DannyMussels
    DannyMussels Posts: 1,842 Member
    I'm not a fan of anyone eating under 1000 calories a day. If I feel I'm well below where I should be, a spoonful or two of peanutbutter, or 1/2C mixed nuts till add an additional 100-300 calories .
  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
    I think it's a matter of opinion. If you're not hungry you should eat, but then again it's strongly reccomended that you do not got below 1200. Agreed, you should probably go for higher caloies food or exercise more so you are hungry.
  • CouleeRunner
    CouleeRunner Posts: 256 Member
    I wouldn't eat less than 1200 calories. Eat full fat items...eat some peanut butter. A Tablespoon of peanut butter won't fill you but it's 100 calories added to your day.
  • RissaDean
    RissaDean Posts: 189 Member
    Are you weighing and measuring your food to make sure that you really are only eating that few cals? Are you exercising at all? There are days - few and far between - where I'm really pretty much done at 1200 cals. However, I've never, EVER had to force myself to hit the minimum.

    Also, be sure that you're eating breakfast. In my experience, it wakes up your metabolism and gets you going. A friend had to remind me of that :)
  • rachelleahsmom
    rachelleahsmom Posts: 442 Member
    Since this is a journey, look at your overall patterns, not each day. Sometimes I am under and sometimes I am over but by the end of the week it usually balances out. Don't obsess over one day. If you're hungry, eat, if you're not, don't - assuming you are getting appropriate nutrition and don't have an eating disorder.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    Eat more calorie dense foods and that will help you get to your 1200 calorie goal without having to stuff yourself.

    This.
  • brucedelaney
    brucedelaney Posts: 433 Member
    It's amazing how few calories you can eat and feel full once you're being calorie conscience. I ran into this same issue pretty much every time I've started to lose weight and was counting calories. Honestly, you should be glad you're in this predicament and it's not the other way around.

    That being said you really don't want to eat too few calories. The best thing to do once you have figured out how to lower your intake so that you're full on your allotted calories is to add, low-fat or full-fat items back in that have be replaced by no fat items.

    Fat is the most calorie dense of you macros and it won't take a lot to make the impact that you need to reach your daily intake. Fat is also good for you.
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
    There are lots of ways to get good, healthy calories that will help repair your body and make you stronger that don't feel like stuffing yourself. A handful of walnuts, a scoop of peanut butter or almond butter, extra avocado...
  • writtenINthestars
    writtenINthestars Posts: 1,933 Member
    Eat more calorie dense foods and that will help you get to your 1200 calorie goal without having to stuff yourself.

    This. :)
  • ccmccoy09
    ccmccoy09 Posts: 284 Member
    I talked to a dietician about exactly this issue. She gave me a couple tips to remember which have worked for me so far.

    1. When it comes to under-eating, the weekly calorie total is more important than daily calories, in that it's not likely to send you into starvation mode if you consume >1000 cal on a non-workout day, multiple days like that over the week could be a problem. Consuming >1000 cal is more likely to have an adverse affect on your mood, thinking and overall strength.

    2. She said not to "stuff" myself ever. Even if I'm eating veggie soup with no oil or salt, eating a ton of it will still stretch my stomach out. When this happens, I'm both stretching my stomach, and training my body to continue to eat until I'm stuffed to the gills, rather than learning to be ok with just the amount of food I need as fuel. Not good for someone like me with overeating tendencies. So if I'm at the end of the day and I'm not hungry, I'll have a small high calorie snack; if I'm full, I don't eat.

    3. If I'm under and need calorie dense food, I'm supposed to choose high in fat over high in sugar if those are my options. E.g. natural PB, hummus, & avocado for snacks; chicken thigh or pork shoulder for dinner.
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