Can't eat this much, but not enough calories? :o

I made meal plans for one week using recipes from this site (I used ones all graded B and above). It took me a while to add everything up to make sure my calories were at the right place.

I assumed that, like everything else you can actually buy (rather than make), serving sizes would be miniscule, so I planned for 2-4 servings of dinners.

Problem is that when it comes to dinners, I just CAN'T finish the last serving - the serving sizes are a LOT bigger than I thought and I'm too full! Yesterday I had about 300 calories less than I'm supposed to (and also less than 1200), and this is what I had yesterday: (links to actual recipes are there, too.)

Breakfast
2 servings berry smoothie
Lunch
1 serving turkey wrap
1 serving potato salad
Snack
1 serving sweet potato fries (I planned for two, but I couldn't eat that much.)
Dinner
2 servings Mexican Pita Pizzas (I planned for 3 servings, but I couldn't eat it.)

That was for a grand total of 1,149 calories. I need 1,505. :(

Is it even possible that, despite how drastically full I was, I still wasn't getting enough calories? It doesn't make sense to my boyfriend or I. I understand that calories are all that matters, but it feels like with how much I ate, I couldn't possibly have gotten less than I needed.

I know a lot of people say to have mini-meals instead, but that's not really possible for me. It would be more like a lot of snacks between meals, since I will have a fulltime job soon.

I'm not really asking what to do about it (obviously I just have to up my calories elsewhere and make dinners smaller). I didn't budget for drinks, I only planned to have water, so I'm sure I could add quite a bit of calories just with orange juice, etc.

What I want to know is if the recipes are just way wrong and the calories per serving are a lot higher? Is it possible to be this full and still have less than the calories I need??

I don't believe you. You're trying to lose weight right? I'm not sure of your stats, but assuming you actually need to lose weight, you didn't get to that point by eating less than 1200 cals a day.

There are a ton of high calorie food items that you can encorporate to get your calories where they need to be: wholegrain carbohydrates, avacados, bananas, olive oil, nuts etc. etc. The list goes on and on, and if you regularily visit these forums I'm sure you're aware.

No, I didn't get to this point by eating less than 1,200 per day. I was eating less than I am now if you go by physical amounts, but it was all very unhealthy. (i.e. chips, ice cream, bologna, etc) and I had also been on a few medications that made me gain weight.

Why would I bother posting this if it weren't true? That's such a waste of time.

If you don't believe me, fine. Don't be anal about it. I wanted help for something that I'm honestly confused about, and if you can't help me, then you shouldn't bother replying.

nbrugger was probably being a bit short with you because a similar topic comes up again and again - people swearing that there is no way they can reach some bare minimum number of calories, even though they were obviously eating far more to become overweight in the first place. However, the advice about incorporating more calorie-dense food is right on.

If you are afraid that calorie count on the recipes is off, try entering each ingredient into your food log separately. It will take a bit of time, but may reveal some discrepencies. The recipe analyzer can be a bit wonky sometimes, and also keep in mind that different brands of the same item can have widely different calorie counts. Lastly, if you aren't already, make sure you are measuring everything accurately, with either measuring cups/spoons or a kitchen scale. If you are just eyeballing, it is very easy to overestimate, especially when you are already used to overeating!

Yeah, I always measure everything as accurately as I can. I use spoons, cups, a scale, etc. If I'm not sure I actually have my boyfriend measure it for me.

Thanks :)

dizzysmile, I'm sorry people were so rude to you earlier. Sometimes people don't realize that low cal foods like veggies are actually really bulky and fill you up fast. It's unfortunate that some people call other people liars instead of offering support and help.

I have the same problem reaching my minimum. I tend to eat large salads for lunch, which really doesn't add up to much, unfortunately.

I use nuts, peanut butter, low fat frozen yogurt, avacado, olive oil, reduced fat crackers, bananas, etc to get my calories up. You could also try drinking milk or some other healthy but calorie laden beverage to get your calories up without making you full.

Good luck, you can PM me if you have anymore questions. :)

Thank you! :D Yeah, most of my meals consist of a LOT of fruit and veggies, so that makes sense.

Mind if I add you? :)

Just 3 meals and a snack? Actually, try to do 6 meals spaced out at every 3 hours....you will be able to eat more mini meals.  Trying to lose, use 40% protien, 30% carbs & 30% fats of your total caloric intake. Whatever your exercise regime consists of, no matter what tools you employ in workout, should be 75% cardio and 25% strength training.

Don't know if it will help, but I know where you're coming from.  I have no idea how I ate enough to put on all my padding over the years, except that I was eating unhealthy.  Now that I'm focusing on eating healthy meals, I have issues getting as many calories as I think I should.  This is coming from a 6' guy who's dropped from 207 pounds down to 175.

I have to work at getting the 1650 calories I'm trying to take in every day.  The thought of eating more than that doesn't appeal to me.  I mean, sure, I could scarf down a bowl of ice cream with chocolate sauce after supper or something... But that's not really the extra calories I think I should be taking in.

One thing I do know is that I don't have second helpings anymore, which obviously cuts out a lot of calories.  And I often take 2/3 of the protein source that I used to (i.e. cut a chunk off of a steak, rather than taking the whole plate sized steak).  But eating more than that no longer appeals to me.  I've also cut way back on my beer consumption, as well as virtually all junk food.  No more chips and dip, or a whole bag of popcorn for myself.

As far as your issue goes, try to sneak in an extra snack in the morning.  Add some yogurt to your smoothie, and maybe don't worry about making it low fat.  Drink some milk with your meals (125 calories per glass).  Add some chicken to your pizzas, and maybe don't use low-fat sour cream (use either full fat, or something in between).

Just some thoughts...

Clint

Hi I'm glad you posted this post.  I too have just added up my calories for the day and I am at about half my 1500 for the day.

I am probley going to sound really silly, (I have never been a 'dieter' as such) but if I am only burning off about 250 calories biking each day, why would I try to eat 1500 calories a day?  If I am not really active, why eat so much?

Ps, I am following the 'Fit for Life' concepts (Harvey Diamond) fruit till noon on an empty stomach, so this does cut out snacking other than fruit for half the day.  I do have to add, before I am bombarded with "Fad Dieting" comments, lol, I havn't had so much energy in a lonnng time since starting this.  Proof in the pudding so to speak lol

Also, I just don't fell like eating more than I am.  I eat when I am hungry, filling up on salad, vegies, fruit, nuts, and am trying to be careful to listen to my body when it is full and when it is hungry, seems to be against the grain to eat more than I am hungry for?  Sorry this reply sounds a bit negative, but honestly I am just confused by conflicting advice out there?

Original Post by helenlyn:

Hi I'm glad you posted this post. I too have just added up my calories for the day and I am at about half my 1500 for the day.

I am probley going to sound really silly, (I have never been a 'dieter' as such) but if I am only burning off about 250 calories biking each day, why would I try to eat 1500 calories a day? If I am not really active, why eat so much?

Ps, I am following the 'Fit for Life' concepts (Harvey Diamond) fruit till noon on an empty stomach, so this does cut out snacking other than fruit for half the day. I do have to add, before I am bombarded with "Fad Dieting" comments, lol, I havn't had so much energy in a lonnng time since starting this. Proof in the pudding so to speak lol

Also, I just don't fell like eating more than I am. I eat when I am hungry, filling up on salad, vegies, fruit, nuts, and am trying to be careful to listen to my body when it is full and when it is hungry, seems to be against the grain to eat more than I am hungry for? Sorry this reply sounds a bit negative, but honestly I am just confused by conflicting advice out there?

breathing, pumping blood, digestive system. like 25 % of your calories are burned by your brain etc....

the 1,500 is what you need just to do those things.

Thank-you, I see now.