Am I eating too little?

jessdb19
jessdb19 Posts: 31
edited November 10 in Food and Nutrition
My fiance and I have been on our diet now for 2 weeks.

We have it set up as a 1300 calorie/day (him being around 1400 cal/day) meal plan.

However, we are eating constantly (small breakfast/2 snacks during the day/lunch and dinner/6-9 8 Oz servings of water per day)

I'm having difficulty hitting my 1300 calorie goal. The problem is I'm not hungry (I was for the first few days, but that's passed.)

Our biggest problem is that we are eating A LOT of veggies/fruits (instead of rice/pastas we are adding in more vegetables with our meals).

If we do a larger breakfast (right now it's usually milk and fruit-we can't do breads, since he's allergic to yeasts) then by the time lunch rolls around we've skipped a morning snack and we're down even further in caloric intake....and then are full when we get home and skip an afternoon snack.

We've talked about adding in a hard boiled egg to the morning routine-but we don't want our cholesterol shooting through the roof...

We work out 5 times a week-20 min cardio and 15 min of weight training (we've been raising the amount of both each time we go in...)

Replies

  • mirgss
    mirgss Posts: 275 Member
    Post stats...weight, height, and open your food diary.

    My gut feeling: probably. Eat more protein and fat.

    Also I've heard that genetic factors contribute more to high cholesterol than foods. So, I've been enjoying my egg monster in the morning.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
    You need to try and reach that minimum calorie level each day. Try yogurt or cottage cheese in the morning to up your calories and to give you a good dose of protein without the cholesterol fears. I can't do yeast either, just learned that one recently!

    Try adding a few nuts to your salads for extra calorie punch, if you can eat them. Or seeds, they're pretty good too.

    Sounds like you're doing everything right otherwise! Good luck!
  • withervein
    withervein Posts: 224 Member
    I wouldn't be too concerned about an egg a day. If you are exercising and not consuming other major sources of cholesterol, eggs are actually quite a healthy option.
  • mydeloo78
    mydeloo78 Posts: 328 Member
    Okay, firstly eggs won't raise your cholesterol.. especially not just one or two. If you're really worried about it just have the egg whites but that won't help you with calories. If you're struggling to eat enough add in some full fat items... chocolate milk, full fat dairy, add in some nuts or some string cheese or avocado. You need to eat!
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    start your day with a larger breakfast than you're currently eating. a smoothie w/ 1 banana, 2 tbsp pb, and a cup of milk = 370 calories

    have healthy fats with each meal.
    --1 tbsp olive oil is 120 calories.
    --2 tbsp hummus is 100-140 calories
    --1 oz avocado is ~50 calories
    --1 oz nuts is 160 calories

    these foods won't make you overly full but they will get the calories in. it's necessary to eat--the least amount possible is not better when it comes to fueling your body appropriately.
  • Gioooo
    Gioooo Posts: 301 Member
    Heres a site that will tell you how many cals to consume.

    http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

    Theres so breakfast options, you might want to switch it up so you dont get bored. Theres nothing wrong with eating eggs. I eat like 5 egg whites and one whole egg in the morning. Eat your protein too ! :)

    For some healthy recipes check out the forums or eatingwell.com
  • jessdb19
    jessdb19 Posts: 31
    This is a pretty typical day for me before adding in any excercise. We tend to eat a lot of fish/shellfish (salmon 2-3 times a week).
    Most of our fat does come from fattier fish/olive oil/etc. I DO have to watch my intake (per dr's orders) since heart disease runs rampant in my family. She doesn't want me really going about 30 g a day of healthy fats.

    Calories Carbs Fat Protein
    Totals 933 112 20 67
    Your Daily Goal 1,300 179 43 49
    Remaining 367 67 23 -18

    I'll try adding in more to our breakfast or our mid morning snacks

    Thanks!
  • cydonian
    cydonian Posts: 361 Member
    I'm doing a lot of assuming from a few things that go unsaid in your post. First, 136 lbs. to lose. So I'm guessing you're 200 lbs. plus? Generally your calorie goal would be much higher at that weight. Did MFP give you 1,300 or did you set that for yourself? I would urge you to let MFP calculate your BMR and not just use 1,300 as a number. Your calorie limit will be higher depending on your start weight and height, and how much you want to lose. I want to lose about 7 lbs. and I'm on 1,200, so 1,300 just seems ultra low for you.

    Second, with whatever it gives you, bear in mind that you need to eat that much AFTER you've exercised. So if you've eaten your calories for the day and then you burn 300, you need to eat an additional 300 to keep your calorie limit up. If you start not eating back your exercise calories, you're putting yourself at too high of a deficit and you'll either plateau after a week or two or you'll starve yourself and begin losing lean muscle mass.

    Third, 1,400 calories is absurdly low for a male. Most males should be eating AT LEAST 1,600 calories, and that is someone who is not on a diet and exercising, and overweight for that matter. I would really urge both of you to calculate your BMR through MFP instead.

    As for eating, I don't know what to suggest but you have to get your calories for the day. If you're not feeling hungry and you're eating so little, it's because your body has starved itself to get used to surviving on so few calories.
  • LauRoxx
    LauRoxx Posts: 115 Member
    I'm completely in the same boat!! I'm going over on protein and such but still having trouble getting enough calories...
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,337 Member
    I'm doing a lot of assuming from a few things that go unsaid in your post. First, 136 lbs. to lose. So I'm guessing you're 200 lbs. plus? Generally your calorie goal would be much higher at that weight. Did MFP give you 1,300 or did you set that for yourself? I would urge you to let MFP calculate your BMR and not just use 1,300 as a number. Your calorie limit will be higher depending on your start weight and height, and how much you want to lose. I want to lose about 7 lbs. and I'm on 1,200, so 1,300 just seems ultra low for you.

    Second, with whatever it gives you, bear in mind that you need to eat that much AFTER you've exercised. So if you've eaten your calories for the day and then you burn 300, you need to eat an additional 300 to keep your calorie limit up. If you start not eating back your exercise calories, you're putting yourself at too high of a deficit and you'll either plateau after a week or two or you'll starve yourself and begin losing lean muscle mass.

    Third, 1,400 calories is absurdly low for a male. Most males should be eating AT LEAST 1,600 calories, and that is someone who is not on a diet and exercising, and overweight for that matter. I would really urge both of you to calculate your BMR through MFP instead.

    As for eating, I don't know what to suggest but you have to get your calories for the day. If you're not feeling hungry and you're eating so little, it's because your body has starved itself to get used to surviving on so few calories.

    ^^^^^^
    THIS

    Read this post several times especially if you have as much to lose as you say. Just remember rapid weigh loss will usually mean rapidly gaining it back. 1 pound per week is an excellent speed although you could go as high as 2. More than that is too much unless you have a major health issue or are on a TV show.

    Without seeing your food diary it is difficult to comment beyond this.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    I'm doing a lot of assuming from a few things that go unsaid in your post. First, 136 lbs. to lose. So I'm guessing you're 200 lbs. plus? Generally your calorie goal would be much higher at that weight. Did MFP give you 1,300 or did you set that for yourself? I would urge you to let MFP calculate your BMR and not just use 1,300 as a number. Your calorie limit will be higher depending on your start weight and height, and how much you want to lose. I want to lose about 7 lbs. and I'm on 1,200, so 1,300 just seems ultra low for you.

    Second, with whatever it gives you, bear in mind that you need to eat that much AFTER you've exercised. So if you've eaten your calories for the day and then you burn 300, you need to eat an additional 300 to keep your calorie limit up. If you start not eating back your exercise calories, you're putting yourself at too high of a deficit and you'll either plateau after a week or two or you'll starve yourself and begin losing lean muscle mass.

    Third, 1,400 calories is absurdly low for a male. Most males should be eating AT LEAST 1,600 calories, and that is someone who is not on a diet and exercising, and overweight for that matter. I would really urge both of you to calculate your BMR through MFP instead.

    As for eating, I don't know what to suggest but you have to get your calories for the day. If you're not feeling hungry and you're eating so little, it's because your body has starved itself to get used to surviving on so few calories.

    I'm agreeing with this! I'm 5'3 and 110lb and my BMR is 1280 so yours will be much higher and you and your boyfriend should be eating more. :flowerforyou:

    BTW - On an average day factoring my total calorie allowance, plus exercise I eat around 2000 cals a day.
  • Anisima
    Anisima Posts: 16
    My cousin with similar problems told me that he found on http://cholesterol-lower.info/ the help for his problems.I heard the tips from here are very goo to combat cholesterol problems.
    I hope this helps.
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