For the last two days I've been recording my calories meticulously using the calorie counter ipad ap, and the count has been 791 and 630 respectively. And that was with a LOT of food, but mostly whole food - salads with a hard boiled egg, lots of tomatoes and feta and low fat/carb/cal dressings, lettuce wraps with oven roasted chicken, grilled lean pork chops and garlic mushrooms, and a glass of skim milk each night.
It's a lot of food and I feel full after every meal, every meal is only about 250-300 calories though...
I know it's unsafe to continue at this low calorie, but if I feel full, what am I to do? I've cut out most processed carbs in favour of leafy greens or low carb veggies and upped my protein intake, so I'm guessing that's where the fullness comes in.
Should I add a snack of cheese cubes in there to bolster out my fat/calorie intake? I could get cheese strings I guess. I've also snacked on a tablespoon of peanut butter for dessert before...
Are you weighing and measuring all of that anal-retentively? Cooking with any oils or sprays? Even a lot of whole food adds up when you include meats and cheese and eggs. Which might not be a bad thing, since you're right, < 1000 calories a day isn't something to live by.
I measure the dressing and the cooking oils, the feta cheese I eyeball it but it's 60 calories per 3cm cube and I doubt I put in more than double of that if even. The lettuce is eye-balled, but it's lettuce!
I often find the same thing with my eating. It's because we're eating a lot of fresh vegetables and they are making us feel full when really it's bloating. Obviously it's not good to eat so little, so I try to add snacks in throughout the day when I'm not really that hungry like bits of cheese, fruit, cereal that I can count out, etc. My calories are supposed to be 1200 with the plan I'm on right now and I find it difficult some days to get that high. Plus I don't like eating after 8:00pm.
Maybe try making your breakfasts with more foods? Full Eggs instead of egg whites, whole wheat bread, etc?
On days like this, I will throw in some almonds and or some peanut butter just to get the calories up. If this turns into a trend, I would start using whole dressings (none of the low cal/fat/carbs) just to help increase the calories.
However, it could just be your hormones. I go through days like this once or twice a month (lasts about 1-2 days) where I am not hungry. However, after that my appetite kicks back in and I have to be careful to not go over my calories as my stomach turns into a black hole! I think it just balances it out.
i agree..you can boost your caloric intake easily through avocados, nut butters and other oils that you can add more of to your salads and other foods.
If your body requires more calories or a specific nutrient, you'll feel hunger or cravings, at the very least. Humans naturally have variable hunger and if you're satisfied on that, continue on! Your hunger will ramp up as needed and it will all average out. If you're truly concerned then add in some energy dense foods - a little coconut oil, some pistachios, butter to fry your eggs in, etc. But hunger is a very good guide and if you are comfortable at that level right now, just persist and then respond to your hunger when it kicks up.
There are ways of eating, like JUDDD, that alternate high and low calorie days for just this reason. Hunger is variable and some folks do very well with low calorie days interspersed into their diet. That may be something to look into for you.
Bottom line, the calories are low. But as long as you're responding to your hunger and not killing yourself and straining to remain below 1000, it's just not a big deal to eat lightly as your body demands. Hunger is the best cue, energy level is another good one, too. If you're feeling hungry or lethargic that's a clue you might want to add more fat into the fare you're consuming. But beyond that, just enjoy the light days and scale movement they tend to cause. You're not doing harm by eating less for a spread of time.
I agree wit Candeka that switching to whole dressing would be a simple way. And they're usually lower carb, as that seems to be the way you're going. I'd do that and then maybe toss in a yogurt parfait (greek yogurt, nuts, and berries) for dessert. Or protein cookies or make your own whey ice cream or something. (lol, I'm not usually so dessert focused!)
Or you could just wait it out. It's only been two days. Your appetite may well bounce back.
Why is it "unsafe" to eat 600-700 calories a day? Assuming you're eating a variety of foods you're most likely meeting the micronutrient needs of your body.
Over the long term - eating this few calories would be a way for your body to go into true starvation mode but that would take months.
My opinion is it's not worth worrying about. Unless something is really wrong with you your're going to get hungry and you won't have to worry about it because you won't be able to eat so few calories. You'll start thinking about food all the time and nature will take care of itself.
I would say that making any assumptions based on two days of calorie counts is a bit premature... That being said, if your calorie counts remained below 800k/cal a day for an extended and lengthy period of time then that might be cause for concern... since VLCD's, even ones that are medically supervised run the risk for potential serious side effects and complications e.g. vitamin and mineral deficiencies... Do you take a multi vitamin? That could help to off set the issue on those low calorie days... How about your activity level? Any changes there? Increasing it could increase your appetite and your caloric intake... Although this could have the opposite effect on you... but that's all part of finding out what works best for you...
I would say that if you can answer the following questions honestly and affirmatively... the first being, Am I getting the results that I want? and the second... Is what I'm doing healthy and sustainable for me? If you can answer yes to those questions then I think you're well on your way to achieving your goals...
Very low calorie intake....and I'm not hungry!
