No appetite, eat anyways?

  • I'm kind of a calorie counter, kind of an intuitive eater. I try to keep my calories between 1200-1600. I like to plan my meals for the day, and I do measure portions to an extent, but as long as I have moderate portions in balanced meals of whole food, I don't worry about exact numbers too much. I also make a point to pay attention to my hunger level. If I'm hungry, then yea, I have a snack (fruit, small salad, etc). I eat slow and consciously ask myself if I'm full yet.

    Well for the last two days, I haven't been very hungry at all. Yesterday I ate 1 cup shredded wheat, and 1 cup of skim milk in the morning. Later that night I had a fruit smoothie (1/2 cup fat free yogurt, 1/2 cup orange juice, blueberries and a banana with 1/4 cup oats). And that's it, I seriously just forgot to eat lunch, and I only ate the smoothie because I figured I should eat something. Today, I had the same breakfast, a salad for lunch, and a salad with half a chicken breast for dinner.

    I've had a lot of success with a very balanced diet (certain amount of each food group each day), and I definitely understand the importance of having enough calories each day for healthy weightloss. So on one hand I want to continue listening to my body, but if I have no appetite for two days, I'm not going to just not eat.

    So what do you guys do if you find yourselves NOT wanting food? Still eat your daily calories or no?
  • Usually if Im not hungry and its been a while since I last ate I will eat a banana or yogurt or a bowl of grapes. I usually try not to go more then 3 hours without having a cup of something or else I start shaking, and feel very lightheaded. If I had one of those days where I just wasn't hungry I think I would still aim for 1200 calories minimum. I allow myself up to 1800 calories max. The lowest amount of calories that I have eaten this week has been 1450 calories. I do a hour of cardio before dinner about 5-6 days a week so my appetite is pretty good but I never let myself get to hungry before I eat.

    I would personally try to eat something every 3 hours even if its something small, so that your metabolism wont slow down.
  • I try to listen to my body. There are plenty of days I go over on calories..if I am not hungry it is usually for good reason.
  • I have just gone through about a 3 week period where I didn't have much of an appetite. At first I just enjoyed it, not fighting the urge to eat. But when day after day went by that I wasn't even getting 1000 cals, I started forcing myself to up the calorie count with healthy fats like avocado and nuts. I didn't want to end up with a good number on the scale but my hair falling out!
  • Listen to your body! If you don't have an appetite then don't eat. There will be plenty of times when you will find yourself having too much of an appetite. From what you said, I don't see your eating pattern as starving so I wouldn't worry about it. But once your appetite does return, make sure to stay within the 1200-1500 calorie range and you will be fine. my2cents
  • I dunno the answer but I'm in this atm too, 1200 calories has become a lot. I know I'm like 400 calories short today even but I don't feel like eating at all in fact feels like I already ate a bowl of rocks kind of lol.
    I used to be a carb and sweets nut but after I started drinking water (which was rare before) and working protein in every meal now I'm just not hungry