Hey Everyone... I have a question...sorta weird, maybe.

I began counting my calories almost 2 months ago now. At first I wasn't all that serious about it. I started by just writing down what I was eating...and putting the calories next to the big things--if I happened to think about it. I gradually began to write down more detailed logs---and now finally I have began to keep track on my computer of pretty much every single thing I eat during the day. Before I get into my little dilemma...I have to say I do not have time to plan my meals. My schedule is so hectic I never know what's going to come up... Nor do I have the desire. I hate knowing what I "have" to eat---and feeling those restrictions. I love the spontaneity of eating what I want (within reason, of course) and the flexibility of eating when I'm hungry or have time.

Anyway... I see my dietitian this Tues. and I'm a little worried. Looking at my past week's logs... I've been struggling to hit 1200 cals even. I don't feel like I'm starving. I eat when I'm hungry.... I have a target cal range of 1200-1500...so I have room to play with in there if I'm extra hungry or something on a day. I find myself FORCING myself to eat when I get home from work...or when I'm watching tv. Tonight as I'm typing this up... I realized I wasn't even close to 1200---so I forced myself to eat a large tangelo---and now my stomach is like sorta angry.

I wonder if it has to do with what I had for supper (it had spinach in it...which tends to really fill me up ---but also bloat me) ...I don't know.

I guess my question is...does anyone else find it hard to hit the 1200 cal mark? Am I crazy here... I'm going to include what I ate today...just so you all can see....

Any suggestions on what I could do?

Thanks! Shari
---------------------------------

(today was sorta a weird day though---had a lot going on and not much time until later in the evening. Usually I like to eat yogurt or cottage cheese in the am with something more substantial, but that wasn't the case today...)

7:00 AM 1 medium banana 115 0.6 5.4 4.70%
7:30 AM Fiber One Bar 140 4 36 25.71%
12:00 PM 6" Subway sub:
wheat bread, turkey, veg. 280 4.5 40.5 14.46%
2 slices american cheese 40 1 9 22.50%
7:00 PM Penne Diavolo, 1- 1 cup serving 320 10.6 95.5 29.81%
Ingredients:
* whole wheat organic penne pasta
* olive oil
* grape tomatoes
* fresh garlic
* baby spinach
* fresh basil
* balsamic vinegar
* red pepper flakes
* KRAFT parmesan/reggiano/asiago
9:00 PM 1 cup caramel corn 100 2 18 18.00%
sugar free chocolate pudding cup 60 1 9 15.00%
11:00 PM 1 large tangelo 80 0.6 5.4 6.75%


Summary
Calories consumed: 1135
Grams of fat in those calories: 24.3
(Fat contains 9 calories per gram) x 9
Calories of fat consumed 218.7
Fat as percentage of calories consumed: 19.27%

Exercise 8am

30 minute elliptical
interval training for 15 min 3/4, 7/10
15 minutes @ 4/6
~45 minute strength training (arms only)
~15 minutes bike on very low resistance

__________________sorry the format doesn't work good on here ________

Wow you are really getting in a LOT of food for under 1200 calories, so I really don't think you are starving. I wish I could get that good of making the best of my calories! My only opinion is that you don't want to stall out at a certain weight, no where close to your goal....and then what...you will have no where to move with the #'s. Maybe you can go with some days being higher, say closer to 2000, and the other days around 1200. That way you will be counting per week, that can work well and give you more flexibility. You can have more pasta and veggies for example.
It is really awesome that you are going to be able to see a nutritionist. Good Luck with that and let us know how it goes.
Lets put it this way, if you were doing every little thing perfect (impossible) you wouldn't need to go see a nutritionist, so think of it as a learning experience. Go with an open mind and open ears.

i dont think your alone it that you have a hard time reaching 1200 calories...it happens to me too...and thats why at the end of the day, i end up eating my dinner meal and having a snack or two..to get to my 1200 mark...i think it depends on what you fill yourself with during the day, perhaps the type of food you ate today...was heavier and or filled with more fiber and therefore you felt less hungry throughout the day...and your level of excercise... i know i have days too where i have to eat something more, bcs i didnt eat enough...just to hit the 1200, but other days im trying to stay under 1500 or atleast not past 1600...so yeah...i think its alright, maybe tomorrow you can provide your body with more...like fruit for snacks or more than one serving of something healthy...i think its all fine as long as you are eating lots throughout the day and its healthy....and you dont feel starved...no? i could be wrong, ofcourse...im no dietician or nutritionist...

I have the same problem as you, I also have to 'force' myself to get up to 1,200. I, too, don't feel starved and I get a lot of food in for the the calories I eat.

Actually, for about three days I even tried to test this. For those three days, I wrote down everything I ate but not the calorie counts and I did not log the food like I usually do in FitDay. I was curious as to whether it was something funky going on with my mind from calorie counting or if the problem really was true. I ate when I was hungry, like usual, to the point that I felt satisfied and then stopped.

Well, after those three days had past, when I went back and found out my calories, I was sure that it was going to be higher than usual. Wrong. One day was 657, the next 857, and the next 703. It was definitely back to forcing food after that...

Perhaps if you could fit in a couple of healthy snacks - one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon, you would find it easier to reach the calorie levels you want. Moving the pudding cup and tangelo to earlier in the day might prevent you from forcing yourself to eat extra in the evening.

I'm an old calorie counter from a waaay back. It's how I learned to deal with diabetics and therapeutic diets in training almost 30 years ago.
I'm not a dietition and I don't know everything. I just have some things I've learned over the years.
I also want to say that none of these is aimed at any one post here. I actually left 3FC and typed this is notepad to make sure I wasn't sounding like I was picking on anyone.

So ... here's what I was thinking (for what that's worth)

1. I never am under calories for many days in a row. Stuff happens, food appears. So I don't worry about 1,2, 3 days.

2. My eyeball is not good. If I don't measure, things grow! I actually ate with measuring cups on the table. Many folks swear by a food scale.

3. I don't trust restaurant calorie counts. I just don't.

4. There's more calories in what you drink, than you think.

5. I had to count every lick, spoon, taste. I'd often eat a half serving of something just tasing as I cooked.

6. Serving sizes! Oi! I had a nutritionist friend show me her plastic foods.

7. Even being this thorough did not preclude errors. Gum, one hard candy. I just grew to know that my counts were probably lowish almost every day.

From my heart now ... If you are not hungry -and- you have the energy to do all the things you need to do and exercise ... I wouldn't worry. As long as your average over 2 or 3 weeks isn't that low .... It's a journey and we all learn as we go.

On some days, it is difficult to hit 1200 cal, but I usually am hugrier the next day, and the next day I will hit it. I would say that your 11xx comes pretty close to 1200, at those numbers I wouldn't sweat it.

Question for you, though, you listed one item as
2 slices american cheese 40 calories
is that right? Is it some kind of reduced calorie cheese, or perhaps a super small slice? I don't know where I can get two slices of cheese for 40 cals! please share...

My initial thought is that you have only been at this two months. Over the long run this will change.

For me personally, 1200 calories is easy but I often find it hard to eat more than 1450 calories.

Based on what you listed as one days meal, you are still very low on fruits and vegetables. You could easily add an mid morning snack and a mid afternoon snack for this purpose.

You also did not mention whether you are exercising. 1200 calories is not that bad if you are sedentary but as you add exercise your body will want more fuel.

In general I don't believe in eating when I am not hungry but I have been known to make myself eat something when my calories are extremely low only because I have learned that I will crash and burn a few days later.

Remember that your goal is to develop eating habits that you can sustain for a lifetime.

Lori

Yes. You are crazy.

Kidding aside, I've seen this problem crop up often here. I wish I had it! Just in case anyone reading this is getting discouraged, I've never had this problem and struggle to keep my calories limited. I could easily eat 2500 a day if I weren't paying attention, and if I ate under 1200 calories for more than one day I'd be in danger of a serious binge.

Ain't it so that we're all different despite our common goal.

Anyway, Shari, I'm glad you're seeing a nutritionist who can answer your questions more definitively. If you're comfortable posting her feedback I'm sure we'd be interested!

BTW, if I ate a citrus fruit on an empty stomach, the acid would give me discomfort. Could that be the tangelo problem?

I'm with 3Beans in that I could eat waaaaaaay over 1200 calories, probably in a single meal--1 cup of food would NEVER be enough to fill me up for dinner. But then, that's why I'm over 300 pounds

For you, my suggestion might be to add some more calorie-dense foods to your meals. That way, you wouldn't be forcing yourself to eat MORE food than you already do, but the foods you eat would have more calories. My old stand-bys for this are avocado and nuts/nut butters. I add avocado to things like sandwiches, wraps, salads, baked chicken (topped with avocado and melted Swiss cheese--YUM!). I have dry roasted or raw nuts as snacks (although I have to very carefully measure them out beforehand or else I will go waaay overboard). I also add things like slivered almonds to stir-fry dishes and salads. I make my own salad dressings using canola oil mayo, canola oil, and macadamia nut oil. All of these things have good fats and pretty high calories for a not-so-big portion.

The cheese was on my subway sandwich. I got the numbers from the restaurant. So, it's not really technically 2 slices of american cheese...it's more like two small triangles of cheese like stuff. haha or something like that.

I did find some weightwatchers cheese slices though at the grocery store. one slice has 45 cals, so if you halfed the slice into two triangles...it'd be about the same as at subway---size wise and cal wise.

Yesterday was sort of a weird day. I had to be at the gym by 7, the bank by 10...then met up with my mom and went shopping for quite awhile...so I wasn't really home much until after 5:30pm. Usually I eat many, many more veg/fruits. another example of a more typical day:

12:00 PM 6 oz tuna 150 2.5 22.5 15.00%
2 cups iceburg lettuce 20 0 0 0.00%
1/2 cup celery, diced 8.5 0.1 0.9 10.59%
1/2 cup green pepper, diced 15 0.15 1.35 9.00%
1 tbsp. Light Miracle whip 20 1.5 13.5 67.50%
1 oz. soy cheese (estimating to full serving) 63 3 27 42.86%
Jello Sugar Free pudding snack 60 1 9 15.00%
2:00 PM M&M cookie 220 10 90 40.91%
5:00 PM 1 Joseph's Pita 60 1.5 13.5 22.50%
2 slices Turkey Breast, 1 serving 45 0.7 6.3 14.00%
1.5 cup fresh spinach 10.5 0.2 1.8 17.14%
LC light garlic and herb cheese wedge 35 2 18 51.43%
1/2 c. light vanilla yogurt 90 1 9 10.00%
1/2 c. Berry Mix, frozen fruit 40 0.6 5.4 13.50%
5:30 PM 2 Hershey Kisses, (2/3 serving) 50 1 9 12.00%
8:00 PM 2 wasa light crackers 60 0 0 0.00%
2 tbsp. PB2 peanut butter 54 2.8 25.2 46.67%
12:00 AM 3/4 Think Thin bar 180 5.25 47.25 26.25%

Summary
Calories consumed: 1181
Grams of fat in those calories: 33.3
(Fat contains 9 calories per gram) x 9
Calories of fat consumed 299.7
Fat as percentage of calories consumed: 24.85%


Again, at 8:00 pm I "forced" the wasa crackers and PB2 when I was at work. ...on my way home from work I also decided I should probably eat something too because I wanted to get to my calorie goal for the day...and didn't want to wake up really overly hungry the next day. All I had was a Think Thin bar, usually I would replace that with an orange, apple, or some other fresh fruit. Hard to do when you're driving though...

About exercise:
I work out pretty regularly. Typically at LEAST 5 days a week. This includes cardio--on the elliptical. I hurt my knee so I'm sort of limited. I do this for about 30 minutes on interval. Sometimes I'll go for over an hour---even though I know it doesn't really affect me so much after the first half hour...I just get bored sometimes or get into the tv show I'm watching as I go. haha

Strength training 3 days a week---I have a circuit training program my trainer set up for me.

At my job...I typically walk 7+ miles in an 8 hour period. So I would assume I burn some calories there too. Especially when I practically run down the halls of the hospital and take the stairs going up!

So far...it's been about 7 weeks since I've been doing all this. I'd say 4 weeks doing this seriously. But so far I've lost about 25lbs. I know that's a lot in a short time period...but I assure you I'm being healthy and have many people there keeping track of me---a trainer, a wellness coach, dietitian, doctor. I work at mayo clinic, so I just took advantage of what they offer.

__________

Also, Thanks for everyone replying...I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem. I thought maybe I was going crazy from calorie counting or something. ...so today, I'm not keeping track of what I eat. besides, it's sunday...and I think I deserve a day to not think about everything I choose to eat.

Susan--- I think I agree about not trusting what the restaurants post for their nutritional data. I mean... I thought a sub would be way more cals than that---with all the bread.

You read my mind!
I've been seriously counting for 2 weeks (including all diet coke, candy or even the 5 cal soda+flavoring I sometimes drink). And just because I stay away from bread, sweets and overly caloric stuff I am consistently under 1200! I thought I would just wait for a couple of weeks to post the question...
Last Wed I even tested myself - I ate healthy but as much as I could, plus my first chocolate in 2 weeks:

BF: 1 cup 1% milk + 1 cup raisin bran (300 cal)
L: a lot of baked turkey (258 cal) plus a WHOLE bunch of asparagus (45 cal)
S: small bar of chocolate - 110 cal
D: a very large bowl of home-made chicken veggie stew (I calculated a max of 350 cal/bowl)
Total - 1070 cal!!! And I swear I had my belly extrafull all day, especially after the asparagus and in the evening

I usually end my evening with some fruit, but a tangerine has 40 cal, a plum 50, and I eat maybe 4... so even then, I eat more than I need (I was full at half bowl stew, but I LOOOOVE mu veggies, I can't stop eating them) and I barely reach my 1200.

So I just eat to not be hungry, some days I only get to 900 cal, but I try to aim for a weekly 1200X7. Just by not eating bread, potatoes, rice, I can live without an extra 400 cal a day, while splurging on veggies. If anyone says this is a problem I don't know what eating healthy means anymore...

mxgirl737-
I was thinking about your post again today, another thing I thought of was orange juice. I often have to skip over juice because of all the calories I eat! But orange juice is super healthy (especially for me because I do smoke). You can add juice to your diet or even fresh juice, OMG, yummy!

I always add an ounce of nuts in the afternoon to bump up my calories. I do have to measure them or else I might eat a half of can. A serving of nuts is 170 calories. I have been known to eat a handful at night to add extra fiber in if Im low on it. Nuts are so good for you..I buy natural almonds..I try to stay away from the extra sodiumm. I tend to have more trouble getting my calories in on the weekend because I sleep later.
good luck
debi