Too few calories....who knew it was possible

mbk830
mbk830 Posts: 164 Member
edited December 16 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all. I just started MFP this week so I might be a bit paranoid. Now that I'm writing everything down, eating enough veggies, and drinking enough water I'm no where near my calorie targets. I've been running about 600 under target and I'm not really hungry, but I'm also constantly worried about eating too much. Any thoughts? Do I really need to start eating more? How do I pick more, healthy options?

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Welcome! You sound like I did when I started logging all my foods and realizing what I was (and wasn't) eating on a regular basis. Very eye-opening, isn't it?

    I can't see your diary, so not sure what sort of things you are eating other than the veggies you mentioned in your post. You can make your diary public in your settings if you don't mind people peeking at what you're logging.

    You definitely want to be hitting your calorie goals - eating too little may help you drop a few pounds at first, but your metabolism will slow down and will cause you more problems in the long run. Healthy meats, nuts, oils & fats (like olive or coconut oil & avocados) will help add healthy calories to your daily count. Greek yogurt is high in protein. Dip apples in almond butter to add more nutrition to a snack.
  • mbk830
    mbk830 Posts: 164 Member
    Thanks for your suggestions! I've just been eating so much junk. I changed my settings so you (and anyone else) can take a peek and offer up thoughts.
  • jennkess
    jennkess Posts: 86
    First welcome to the family, you will find we around here Love to help :flowerforyou:

    your calorie goal settings look pretty good. I would suggest:

    since you are exercising adding a little more protein- perhaps add one more egg in the morning, a larger portion of chicken/meat with dinner- the calories will add up and you will be eating healthier items, than thinking i have extra calories lets open the bag of chips! and on Exercise day's if you are hungry EAT- it's a hard thing to do-especially since eating is what got most of us her in the first place- but it's your body asking for fuel to repair and build the muscles you are using.

    Monitoring your Sodium intake as well- ( go to Goals you can customize what you monitor.) you will find there is a high amount of sodium in food you wouldn't have guessed, which if you don't off set with water you body will hold.

    good luck and make sure you give it a few weeks for your body to realize whats going on... as always, read message boards, search for particular subjects most likely your question has been brought up previously... and you can gain knowledge without being the one in the forefront.

    Good luck and feel free to add any of us as a friend.. it is helpful especially on frustrating days to have a smaller group you can complain to.
  • frankiesats
    frankiesats Posts: 114 Member
    Are you weighing your foods? I tend to always under estimate how much of stuff i'm eating - a 30g bowl of cereal for example is a tiny amount in comparison to what I was eating. Make sure you weigh stuff to avoid this :)
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