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I have a hard time telling myself to eat more......

So.... I am at 730 cals for the day... I am not hungry and I cant even considering eating more. I am reading about eating all the cal's ect... But I have 40lbs to lose and thinking of eating more just seem werid. Maybe thats why I lose the weight but it always comes back. I am 168 5"2 and I just gosh grrr lol It seems so insane to eat more. I mean every day isnt like this.... not long ago my couldnt stop myself from eating... At night I would nibble all night. So anyone have any advice. I dont know just wish it was easier lol and didnt have to put to much thought into it, which I know its not.... Blah

Thanks

I can totally relate. When I first started this at the beginning of July, I was hungry all the time. Now I sometimes find it hard to get to 1200 cals. When I don't eat...I also don't lose. Starvation mode seems to be a real thing. Usually I can eat cereal as a snack. Cereals really high in fiber, like Fiber One are good choices.

I'm also 5'2, but 213 so even more to lose than you.

Good luck.

So what do you do..... I mean is it just a head thing?  lol seems like that to me grrr lol I love food but sure dont love what comes with it!!

not eating enough will seriously mess up your metabolism and soon you might start binging, which is not fun at all. Try to get up to 1200!

I had the same problem!  For the past year or so I've been desperately trying to lose weight.  I never "felt hungry" and would consume about 800 cal/day.  Where friends would eat a huge greasy plate of food and be tiny... I would be picking at a side salad without dressing, a good 20-30 pounds overweight. It was soooo very frustrating!  Long story aside, I have recently increased my calorie intake to about 1300-1400 cal/day.  I have to push myself to eat breakfast and snack throughout the day.  In this past week alone I've already lost three pounds! It is so true that you need to eat to lose!  I have been aiming to have a 700-1000 cal defecit each day for the past two weeks.  Where before I would feel full and not at all interested in eating, I now start to feel hunger pains when I haven't eaten for a few hours.  I'm not saying that I have it all down... I'm still having to push to get my calories where they should be.  Maybe just set a goal... Two weeks of calorie counting with a minimum of 1200 calories... See what happens...

Oh, I think the best piece of advice I got on CC regarding this was that if I still don't feel hungry, but I have a huge defecit, try eating a (good) high calorie food... I've used Avocado, Almonds, etc...  Hope this helped!  Good luck!

My suggestions:

Switch to whole milk if you drink lower fat milk now, eat more "good" fats (peanut butter, cook with olive oil, any kind of nuts), eat full fat yogurt instead of "light", and add meat and cheese to salads if they are not in them already.

I often have entirely the opposite problem, so I have tried to develop the opposite strategy of giving up all of these things and finding high volume, low calorie foods.

Good luck!

Thank you everyone.... I have just been eating weight watchers or healthy choice twice a day and apples and a snack. From my past and losing weight thats a lot. I will try to bump it up and eat more Its just telling my mind to eat more  so yeah baiscially a head game. But maybe once I just do it my body will be like ohhh food and like everyone says I will start dropping more.   I just worry it will be like lol "give me more"

Thanks

Wow I have this same problem!  I changed my eating habits over the past 4 years and managed to lose 50 lbs and then for the past year I have maintained.  I was always exhausted and started exercising this summer.  I walk 3 miles a day.  I started this program a week ago and discovered I too was only eating about 800 cal a day which would explain my exhaustion so I have forced myself to consume more healthy calories...snacks through out the day BUT I HAVE GAINED 3LBS!!!!!!!!  This is very frustrating and I will continue this for awhile longer in hopes that my metabolism will change!  Does this make any sense at all???  How long before I start losing?  I do realize that I am gaining muscle because even though the weight increased I have lost 3 inches in my butt!!!  WE NEED MORE ON THIS SUBJECT PLEASE!!!  I am almost 47 and according to this program I have 53lbs more to go!

Hey Laura2721,

  Well today I actually made 1040 cals and I feel ok lol.... I wasnt hungry some of the time but ate some veggie snacks and stuff. I hope for you it works.... Its so hard to understand that you have to eat more when you have been trying to eat less. I think its two diffrent extreams with me. Either I eat to much or not enough..... no happy middle.   So I guess lol try and eat more lol man grr just sound werid too...   Thanks for the post!!

Sometimes depression can take away your appetite, and to be honest, your post sounds a little down. Have you thought about checking with your doctor? Also, put some real food in place of those boxed meals you've been eating. You probably do feel cra&&y if you have been living on frozen dinners.

I totally understand how it seems counterintuitive at first to eat more. I was that way when I started on Calorie Count. However, pretty quickly I realized I needed to eat more to keep my metabolism up and also to make the diet easier. That way, no "binging" leading to yo-yo dieting or not being able to sustain.

I found that if I ate 1200 cals a day for 3-4 days a week then bigger meals on weekends (averaging out to 1500 cals a day) I lost weight and was able to keep it off. I am 5'2" and lost 30 lbs in 8-9 months eating average 1500 calories a day (I lost 5lbs in one month alone!). I didn't always cycle between 1200 and 1800-2000 but I did sometimes and found it helped me.

Bottom line is that you need to eat no less than 1200 calories per day as an adult female (it is 1500 for males and add 300 to that for teens).

Please know that Calorie Count cannot and will not support you eating less than 1200 calories a day (if you are a female, it is 1500 for males and add 300 to that for teens). We consider anything less than this unhealthy and CC is all about HEALTHY weight loss or weight maintenance.

Have you use the Tools here on Calorie Count to calculate what amount of daily calories you should be consuming?

Here is some information on why 1200 is a minimum and why it is not good to undereat:

From Mary Hartley, Calorie Count's Director of Nutrition: "By eating only 800 calories, you will not get enough energy, protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other components of food. In time, you could become malnourished, which can cause severe health risks such as respiratory infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and even death."

Here is a brief reason why never less than 1200 from the Advice section of Calorie Count Plus, under the Q&A tab:

Why must I eat at least 1,200 calories a day when I want to eat less?

In order to get the daily food servings you need for a balanced diet, it takes about 1200 calories a day. With careful planning, you could have a balanced diet on 1000 calories, but the restrictiveness of a very low calorie level can lead to binging and weight cycling, which will take you further from your weight loss goal. What's more, very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight

Your body needs at least 1200 calories per day to survive.

Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a 5' 2" female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing:

-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

I guess for your statement  NYCGIRL its not a problem to eat..... I love food..... Its just an extream for me either way to to much  or not enough.... This morning I am going to have a bowl of cereal which in the past I dont eat breakfast..... so adding more cal's on   and then eat an apple earlier in the day rather for a mid afternoon snack.  And maybe something else that chatches my eye.   Its not that I dont want to eat, But since my body is not demanding so much more to eat I am not eating like i use to. I thought at first this is awesome I mean who wouldnt... Considering I couldnt stop the urges 3 weeks ago.  So its just training your self to a diffrent outlook thats hard.....

This comment actually works for "Gridder" to. But yeah part of it could be depression lol my husband has been gone sec OCT 07 in Iraq, and wont be home until Jan 09..... So yeah that gets to me at times.... lol it use to make me eat a ton thats why I have gained so much since he left.......

OMG those clusters are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

You know I am not a big nut fan unless they are the rosted ones in sugar and cinnimmon lol....

Today I hit 940 calories .... And I mean I did eat. But lol I did pass up ice cream for cereal!!! lol   Which has fiber so better for me. I am trying to eat more its just hard to actually do it. Tomorrow I have to go to sams so I have a feeling I will get more than enough calories going some place for lunch.... lol But yeah so what about everyone else how are ya doing?

Im having this same problem, and Im doing my best to fix it. Today I wanted to "make sure" I will have my calories and eat them too, and went to eat at Subway with my mom. When I was holding the sub in my hands I heard a voice inside my head saying "you can still turn back" but heck! I ate it and yum! :D

Still, Im at 680 now. Oh well, I will go and make myself an egg sandwich right after this post is written.

But I still dont think it's good to MAKE yourself eat late if you're not hungry... (?)

Ieevee...

Hey I have that problem, I am just basically trying to push myself to eat more like at night if i am really low on Cals I like to eat cereal... Its about 200-300 cal's and well I eat fiber one so helps with my fiber intake.

But I still have a hard time getting through my head to eat more. Yesterday was my daughters birthday so I had cake and ice-cream lol I was looking forward to that all week. So no problems yesterday with cal's I didnt have time to log it so I only have a feeling i was over lol!!! 

Wish you luck!!

Ok, so I have upped my calories... I am eating about 1200 a day where my suggested amount is 1350 so not much under. I am starting to walk and ride a bike (wow felt like a big person riding midget bike.... Its my bike from when I was younger lol)  I eat breakfast, of usually creal or boiled eggs and fruit, lunch varys either a weight watcher meal or lean pocket, dinner varys too lol a meal or I cook something and measure it out, and a snack or something pudding or more creal lol.    I have lost 5 lbs to cc but I started on my own before the site so a total of 10 lbs.. so seems to be going well...

Does anyone else have this kind of habit, I am really trying to eat more and what not so seems like I am on the right path . Just wondering about everyone else I guess lol...

I've only been doing this for a week... and before this I was probably eating 3000 calories or more a day. I never actually counted because I rather just not know! lol. But after a few days my stomach shrunk and I was finding it very hard to eat even though I felt full and wasn't hungry. It's hard to stuff food in your mouth when it makes you sick because your full! But yet I hadn't met my calories for the day. It makes my want to puke to think back to the moment when i forced peanuts down thinking... I can't eat this.... Im gonna be sick. It's horrible! So now I try and find less dense foods with a bit higher calories so I can fill my daily needs.

Chris,

 Scares me U will soon be my brother in law.......  lol