The last few days I have not felt very hungry. I am eating 3 good meals and 2 or 3 snacks. My calorie "goal" has been 1500/day, but lately I have been hitting right around 12-1300. After dinner I don't even want anything else. Do you think I should eat something extra to get to 1400 or so? Or just be glad I am not hungry, and let it be?

If I were under 1200 I would definately eat something to get up to 1200.

I would definitely eat at least 1400. I still make 1500 even if I'm not hungry. I'm scared of plateauing. I need room to reduce over time because I need to lose a lot. It's worked for me so far.

Evem drinking a glass of milk can help bump up the caloric intake if you would like to keep around your goal Plus the added calcium would never hurt

Lyn, I personally wouldn't eat more if there were days that my calories were slightly lower than my target and I wasn't hungry (and, in fact, I don't). I think that forcing ourselves to eat when we're not hungry is creating a very bad precedent for those of us with eating issues. Right now your body is telling you that it's satisfied with the fuel that you gave it for the day. I'd listen.

The calories in a day aren't nearly as significant as the calories eaten over the course of a week or month. There will be days that you're just hungry, and you might need to eat a little more. And there will be days that you're not so hungry (I love those!) and you can slide by with a little less. It won't hurt you at all so long as your average calories are around where you want them to be.

My two cents.

I tend to agree with Meg. As long as you're not eating below 1200, be glad for the days when you don't feel hungry enough to eat "all" you have as your target.

Jay

I came back and decided to.

It is a rare gift the days that our bodies and we(our heads and emotions) are in agreement with each other.

I too have those days and sometimes, I hate to admit it, I panic and think OMG I didn't have x-y-z today, something bad is going to happen.....

As a person who is trying so much to make peace with my body and all of this that surrounds my eating (which is almost as instinctual as breathing and we don't get in a snit about that do we?), I too can get worried that I am not getting my nutrients but my guess is that if you have been doing this long enough you probably are and have a few spare nutrients lying in dormant somewhere in your body that can carry you through.

Isn't it funny that when we have one of these days we look around and wonder what is going on? How about acknowledging it as one more sign that you are moving in the right direction and you are one day closer to being a "normal eater"


WOO HOO FOR YOU AND THAT AND ALL THOSE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO US THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF....

I'll jump on the "not forcing yourself to eat if" you're not hungry bandwagon. I would look at it as a bonus and be thankful for it. Let's face it, more then likely it's a rarity and won't happen all that often.

As far as nutrients go, 1200 HEALTHY calories should provide you with plenty of them.

Thank you all for taking the time to give some input. I think I am eating pretty well and getting enough nutrients. I worry a little about the whole "starvation mode" theory where if you don't eat enough you don't lose, but I guess that doesn't really apply if I am eating a good 12-1300 calories. I will just listen to my body and see how it goes for awhile.