Struggling to get enough calories
 

So I've been trying to maintain at least 1200 calories a day but I often find myself just short of this goal. I'm concerned that this could hurt me in the long term. It scares me when I read things about starvation mode and how dangerous it can be to not eat enough.

The problem is that often times I'm not really hungry. Not to say that I've lost my appetite completely. I get hungry at meal times, I eat and then I'm full. Should I be forcing myself to eat even though I'm not hungry?

Nuts have a lot of calories in them, and they're healthy. YOu can probably munch on some to make up for lost calories.

I'm not a fan of encouraging eating while not hungry. (I did way too much of that and it's a big part of what made me so...well, big.)

Have you tried adding in some nutritious extras to your meals? Beautiful days' suggestion of nuts is a great one; they could liven up a salad or oatmeal or just about anything. A little grated parmesan cheese goes great on a lot of foods as well. A glass of milk (if you enjoy drinking it) would add some calories without leaving you feeling over-full. Olives are another nutrient-dense goodie you can add.

It's also possible that your appetite just naturally fluctuates. Do you have days on which you go a little over 1200? If so, it probably balances out.

I have this problem sometimes too. The nutritionist I see suggested switching from some low calorie and fat-free foods back to a little bit higher calorie and fat content to get in more calories, but still eating healthy.

what do you eat in a typical day? If it is hard to make 1200 calories, how many are you eating? Are you perhaps underestimating the calories in the things you eat?

Try adding some healthy but calorie dense foods.. like cooking with more olive oil(1 tbsp = about 120 calories), nuts, nut butters (1 tbsp peanut butter= 100, 1 tbsp almond butter= 101, 1 tbsp cashew butter= 94, and so on), avocado (1/2 of a medium avocado is about 140 calories), dried fruits(make sure to avoid dried fruit with added sugar, though), and so on. Those are all things that you don't have to eat much of to get the calorie and nutrition benefits and can probably sneak in to foods you're already eating on a day-to-day basis.

You could also try to drink some calories. If you don't already have drinks with calories in your plan, you can add some no-sugar-added 100% fruit juice, perhaps try some soya milk, or almond milk, rice milk, maybe put some kind of full-calorie creamer in your tea or coffee if you drink either one, etc.

I wouldn't worry about it right now. Enjoy it, because it won't last much longer. ;) Seriously, if your 1200 calories are clean healthy calories and not a bunch of crap, you'll be fine.

I went through stages where I was just so excited to actually see results that I didn't feel hunger....so some days I fell short of 1200 calories, but I had PLENTY of natures fuel on my butt to keep me going for a long time...and I ate very healthy and took a good multi-vitamin. After a while the greatness wore off though, (sadly).

Eventually I started going the other way...Having to calculate and then recalculate calories so I could get every single one in! I'm to the point that I never fall short now. Darn it!

I was just laughing with my wife about this same thing every day. I was on Weight Watchers and had 42 "points" to spend, and yet I'd only use about 30 in a good day. I mean, I didn't get up to 369 pounds by eating 30 points worth of food. Anyway, I started incorporating some higher calorie foods, so that way I could eat less. Still, I ended up "quitting" Weight Watchers and then eating a lot of food again. For me, it was just the "diet" mindset of not being able to eat as much because I was trying to lose weight.

Anyway, sometimes, the answer is just to switch from fat-free or low-fat dairy products to full-fat dairy, just to add some extra calories, and add an extra piece of food each day.

I completely understand. I usually eat way under what I'm supposed to, but if I try to make up those calories, it turns into a binge. So I'm stuck between binging and going into starvation mode.... very frustrating!

What are you eating? Could you post a sample day's worth of food? I'm wondering if you might need to up your protein a bit which would up your cals a bit too?

Some people decide to add healthier oils and start drinking higher fat yogourts and milks.

Keep in mind that you're also smaller. Considering you have been losing, just make the healthiest decisions you can :)