Do I need more calories

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2

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  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 8,023 Member
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    oh my average meals are like this:

    Breakfast
    1 serving oatmeal made with water
    1 bananna
    1/2 cup skim milk
    coffee and creamer
    350 calories

    lunch
    1 multigrain sandwhich thin
    4 oz ham or turkey
    mustard
    apple

    Sometimes add shredded cabage

    325 calories

    dinner

    4 oz chicken, fish or pork
    serving veg - spinach, calaflower, broccoli, squash, Asparagus
    serving sweet potato, rice

    try to be around 400 cal.

    On weekends I may add a non-fat greek yoghurt or an extra apple.

    No snacks and lots of water. Oh...Once a blue moon I have a Non fat swiss fudge bar.


    Normally this would be plenty for me.

    Reading your average day makes me hungry. It's less than this little ol' lady eats.
  • tangiesharp
    tangiesharp Posts: 315 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I've eat more and am up to 1300 calories now but I've burn an extra 1000 calories in exercise today so I've net 300. I am going to have 8 oz of non fat Greek yogurt form140 calories and 1 cup frozen fruit at 90 calories.

    Any other ideas?

    Spend more time lifting heavy weights than doing cardio. It will help shape your body and you won't have major calorie deficits every day. I just recently did the same thing and it's starting to pay off.

    Have you tried adding protein shakes? After I work out, I drink Almond Milk with Optimum Nutrition protein. A 210 calorie snack with 33 g of protein that helps my muscles heal.

    But I agree with everyone else. You probably need to increase your calories significantly.

    Good luck!
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
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    Dude,

    Go to this website and listen to some of the podcasts and use the calculators (they explain MFP stuff too on there...

    www.fat2fitradio.com - recommended by one of MFPs!

    I too made this CLASSIC mistake... with 2000+ calories spare on some days (despite eating about 1800+ - I workout hard twice a day 5-6days a week plus weights) I was on a negative net... Things I noticed other than no weight shifting? Increased injuries despite nothing unusual/extreme and prolonged healing time? Why? Because my body is trying to get enough energy from my body as fast as it can for my Basal Functions and get enough for my BMR and to workout and just do day to day tasks, so stripped of vital nutrients for repairs and muscle growth... so the fat won't move as the stuff like your muscles is more useful energy and nutrients! Plus hormonally after some time working out you switch from burning fat to muscle which is not good for weight loss as muscle burns you lots of calories and the obvious other part... you're not melting away your fat.

    I've just recalled (looking through my diaries when I successfully lost a lot of weight) what my eating and exercise habits were. I still had relatively big burns but I ate closer to my calorie goal AND I even took a week off logging and hardcore CV when I went to my parents Terraces in Italy to help them do some labouring. I didn't restrict calorie intake but I ate healthily but heartily, had wine, a bit of chocolate every day, biscuits, the odd ice cream, the odd pastry... and I lose 2Kg in 1 weeks without trying! And my body suddenly got sore... probably as a result of it being finally able to repair itself. Take heed, despite the laws of thermodynamics, biology also has a huge part to play and sometimes SEEMS to defy laws of energy. Eat more. I too wasn't hungry because I was eating a normal amount of calories for a normal person and filled up on 3 good sized meals a day and the odd snack...but calorie wise wasn't enough, if you're struggling volume wise, add some good healthy oils like olive oil, and things like nuts and seeds and maybe even a protein bar or two.

    Also I noticed that I needed more protein and when I ate more I lost weight... probably because my body had enough amino acids to replenish and BUILD some lean muscle mass and also the digestion of proper protein from animals (like rare/blue steak) uses a lot of calories too! :)

    Hope that helps... I have hit a massive realisation with this!

    PS your meal plans were almost identical to mine... feels ok and would be OK for a smallish woman on maintenance... it's far too drastic and draining for your body shape and size to be on that little. If your body has the choice of breathing/makingyour heart beat and producing red blood cells over building MORE muscle and repairing, it would choose the essential breathing function / blood cell production first and slowly start patching you up and building muscle.... This is why a less aggressive weight loss plan is recommended.
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Leave the crash dieting and undereating for the 20-something women.
  • fatshady360
    fatshady360 Posts: 23
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    if your finding hard to get the calories in......and your going the low carb route....up your fats and protein.....if your burning between 600-1000 cals per training session take that into account with your food.

    aim for between 2500-3000 cals a day,preferably 3000 if your burning 1000cals every training session,leaves you with 2000 at the end of the day and the fat will still be coming off you due to the exercise.

    all carbs should be slow digesting,your already eating leafy greens which is great,you could throw in sweet potatoes,beans(whichever you prefer) which are a great source of carbs and protein aswell as loads more health benefits.

    if your running low on cals for that day.....peanut butter or nuts are what you want to go for...loads of calories in them.....very healthy fats and great source of protein too.....just to get you up to your cals for the day.

    at the moment....depending on how long youve been doing this,your body will go into starvation mode and fight against you to lose fat,with those few cals your taking in...your body will start to eat at your muscle for fuel instead of your fat
  • bloodbank
    bloodbank Posts: 468 Member
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    Reading your average day makes me hungry. It's less than this little ol' lady eats.

    Agreed. OP, I'm a woman who is half a foot shorter than you and I eat significantly more than you do (and come nowhere near your massive burns) while still losing. Eat! Enjoy food! With the exercise you're doing, you could easily be eating 2x what you currently are and still be losing fat. :flowerforyou:
  • silverbullet07
    silverbullet07 Posts: 100 Member
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    Well I just added some peanut butter on multigrain sandwich thin and a cup of skim milk. I added around 600 calories after my workout including the plain non fat yogurt fruit and almonds I added.

    Now I feel bloated and full.
  • MelKut
    MelKut Posts: 167 Member
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    Nice work :) give your body a few days to a week to adjust....

    I also find eating a bit every 2-3 hours makes it easier for me to get all my calories in. Try spreading out your meals so you never are truly HUNGRY and always have food in your stomach... it might help with the bloated feeling?
  • silverbullet07
    silverbullet07 Posts: 100 Member
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    Hey I added Walnuts and Dried Cranberries to my oatmeal and I made the oat meal out of skim milk instead of water. I increased it over 150 callories. Wahoo. Now time for a snack.
  • 4flamingoz
    4flamingoz Posts: 214 Member
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    I hadn't been losing much at all when at 1200 cals. I upped them to 1500 and lo and behold 3 pounds gone last week! Woo hoo! Play around with the settings to up your calories-I typically don't eat many of my exercise cals, either. Best of luck!
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
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    No way a guy your size should be <2,000 calories.

    I agree, Even men go into metabolic starvation mode.
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Well I just added some peanut butter on multigrain sandwich thin and a cup of skim milk. I added around 600 calories after my workout including the plain non fat yogurt fruit and almonds I added.

    Now I feel bloated and full.

    On the "bloated" comment.... Do you feel that way a lot with breads? Could be a gluten sensitivity.
  • silverbullet07
    silverbullet07 Posts: 100 Member
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    Well I just added some peanut butter on multigrain sandwich thin and a cup of skim milk. I added around 600 calories after my workout including the plain non fat yogurt fruit and almonds I added.

    Now I feel bloated and full.

    On the "bloated" comment.... Do you feel that way a lot with breads? Could be a gluten sensitivity.

    No, I'm not sensitive to any food really. It was just was a lot for my to eat at once.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    No way a guy your size should be <2,000 calories.

    This!

    Check my profile for a good link to what you should be eating.
  • silverbullet07
    silverbullet07 Posts: 100 Member
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    Hello, fellow Virginian! I took a peek at your diary. You have some HUGE calorie deficits in there. I see days where you're coming up 1000 (or more!) calories short of your goal.

    From my personal experience, you don't have to starve yourself (and you are starving yourself - even if you haven't felt hungry recently). You can still have foods like pizza and cheeseburgers and cake, and be successful with your weight loss. In the past, I've followed diets like the one you're currently on. While you may be very successful in the short term, you usually can't sustain it over the long term. You lose the weight you want, you go back to eating 'normally' and then you put it all back on (and usually a little extra).

    When I joined MFP last April, I vowed to not 'diet'. I promised myself I would be patient and take it slow. I focused on eating in a way that I would be happy to follow for the rest of my life. And, it worked!

    I didn't give anything up. I focused on total calories and portion sizes. I got my exercise. I weighed in once a month. Everything else seemed to take care of itself!

    I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think you would be happier, healthier and have a better chance of long-term success if you upped your calories. :-)

    Cheers!

    Hi back fellow Virginian! Where are you located?
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    I agree with two things already said:
    1) You're eating fewer calories than me. I'm 5'7", 140lbs, and losing weight. Yeah, you should be eating at least 2000 calories especially if you are working out.
    2) You probably have a sensitivity to gluten. It's ok, lots of us do (including myself here). Eating gluten doesn't necessarily hinder your weight loss goals, but if you're particularly sensitive, that's what you're getting the bloated/overly full feeling from. I wouldn't say cut it out of your diet entirely (unless you really want to commit to that lifestyle), but if you severely limit your gluten intake, you'll see water weight drop off and the puffiness you feel around your midsection will go away in a matter of days. I can handle gluten sometimes but if I eat a lot of it, even so much as a sandwich sometimes, I get that gross feeling.

    Dairy does this also. I noticed that you consumed two "servings" of dairy in that meal.

    You may think you don't have a sensitivity to anything, but a man who is 6'2" should be able to eat a sandwich thin with peanut butter, a yogurt and some almonds without feeling bloated. If you get the same amount of calories from a meal comprised of vegetable/meat, no dairy or gluten, I bet you will not feel that way.
  • silverbullet07
    silverbullet07 Posts: 100 Member
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    I didn't restrict calorie intake but I ate healthily but heartily, had wine, a bit of chocolate every day, biscuits, the odd ice cream, the odd pastry... and I lose 2Kg in 1 weeks without trying! And my body suddenly got sore... probably as a result of it being finally able to repair itself.

    Thanks for your information. Last night after I ate an extra 600 calories and I went to bed, Every muscle in my body ached. Was this due to the extra calories and my muscles being able to repair. I have been doing the same workout for a couple months and this was the fires I experience something like this. Normally my streanth training cause some large muscle soreness but never experiensed total muscle ache like last night sleeping. I hope it was good for the body.
  • silverbullet07
    silverbullet07 Posts: 100 Member
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    I've cranked up the colies today. How's my dairy looking so far for today?
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    I've cranked up the colies today. How's my dairy looking so far for today?

    Looking very, very good! How do you feel?
  • silverbullet07
    silverbullet07 Posts: 100 Member
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    I've cranked up the colies today. How's my dairy looking so far for today?

    Looking very, very good! How do you feel?

    I feel good. I had lots of energy for my workout. I just completed my diary and it is a lot of extra calories. Probable not perfect but an improvement. I just hope I don't start gaining back. It seems like a lot of calories.

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