First let me apologize for posting so much. This community has been such an invaluable source of real, "people-tested" information for me that I just can't find anywhere else.

Currently, however, I'm having a bit of dilemma. I'm not sure if I should only eat when I'm hungry or "force" myself to eat to fulfill my calorie quota. I've started off at a 1700 calorie limit (FitDay suggestion because of my current weight). Unfortunately I have to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry just to get to 1500.

Should I listen to my body and only eat when hungry or continue eating 1500 calories even when I'm full? Or should I maybe lower my calorie limit to 1200-1500?

Honestly I'd say you need to do a balance of both. Some days I eat way under because I am just not hungry or I'm busy, then I have hungry days and I eat over... but I make sure not to eat over what would be maintenance.

Make sure you are getting enough nutrition, (vitamins, protein, etc.), and if you aren't do eat something. If you are good on your RDAs (without resorting to vitamins) then I'd say skip it. Just don't eat too little on a regular basis or you will screw yourself up.

Listen to your body, but also use your brain.

I kind of have to do half and half. I rarely get hungry, so when I eat based on hunger I am lucky if I get in 1000 calories. However when I do get hungry if I am not eating based on quota I could be up over 3000 without batting an eye. I need to eat a certain amount to stay healthy, and lately I honestly haven't been doing to well at that and I need to do better at that. I am not sure if there is some magic number. FitDay gives me one, GWF another, Free Dieting another one yet.

I have been needing something (someone) to keep more accountable to eating the right amounts, because yesterday was the first time I have been over 1250 in a while, and its hard to keep up my workout schedule on a so little.

Maybe we need a thread of support for people who are having troubles keeping within calories both ways, those who need to be accountable to stay within their minimums, and those who need to be accountable to stay within their maximums.

I used to be very mis-informed about my diet. I thought because I was only eating once or twice a day, it should have been IMPOSSIBLE for me to GAIN weight.

One of two things, or even both were the culprit. First of all, the foods I chose were high calorie. I could easily reach 1000 calories just at dinner alone. Add to that coffee with the sugar and milk, a fast food lunch and yeah, I can see the error of my ways. Also, I would go for DAYS on end without eating until dinner. I usually cook and it is usually chicken, fish or spaghetti, so I am pretty sure I came very under calorie range on days like that. So the extreme restriction and then going way, way, way over were neither the answer. They were both part of the problem.

Once I re-vamped the list of "could have" food against the "could not have" foods, I had a much bigger gap to fill because they were low calorie foods. I thought I would never be able to eat that much. I had to do as you suggested and FORCE myself to eat. That doesn't mean you have to do it every single day. As others suggested, you could juggle it around a bit. Until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't eaten breakfast in years. Now, I want breakfast. My body needs breakfast. I am hungry about every 3 hours or so, but I never let myself go over 4 hours without eating.

Your body will get used to it over time and it will seem more natural to eat more. Mine adjusted a lot quicker than I thought it would.

If you feel you weren't eating enough healthy food or were eating in unhealthy ways (skipping meals), I think it's fine to eat on a schedule for a while to retrain yourself. But I wouldn't eat until you're stuffed, ever. I just think that's a habit and feeling you don't need.

At your starting weight, yes, you should be eating at least 1700 cals a day, especially if you're adding exercise in. I've done the 'not hungry so don't eat' at 1200 calories and I'm going to tell you, you'll lose in the beginning, but then it will stop. And when you're only eating 1200 where do you go from there?

What are you eating that you can't eat 1700 calories? If you need to, add an oil/vinegar salad dressing, an ounce of nuts (almonds - 164, soy nuts - 134), peanut butter (1Tb - 100 cals, but watch what a Tb is!)

When you eat too little, you'll find that you don't move around as much, so you don't burn as many calories. This is often why people lose a lot at the start of a low-calorie diet, but then stop losing. Their body will try and force them to move less. FWIW - I still lose weight on 2000 cals/day (2300 on weight lifting days). Don't be in a rush to drop those calories.

Here's what I do when I'm not close to my calories and not really hungry, I measure out 2 Tbs of peanut butter and lick it off the spoon. It's not much food wise, it's great protein, and it's rich and a very nice treat.

I have the same problem most days. Then there's others when I'm over. Seems like when I have a Salad for lunch...that's when I'm way under because Salads just don't add up when you use a low cal dressing. It is kinda a nice feeling though to KNOW you need to eat more.

I have some difficult because I can not just eat peanut butter. Peanuts are a no-no food for me. I cant eat a lot of oils because they tend to make me sick and I can really only have 2 kinds Olive Oil and Coconut Oil. The only saving grace I have had the last couple days in calories getting higher (still only around 1300 average) is that I am supposed to have at least Tablespoon of Coconut Oil a day. Its a lot harder to come up with extra calories, that are still healthy when you have other food restrictions.

I have the same problem most days. Before I started this I ate twice a day, breakfast (McDonalds) and Dinner (most of the time McDonalds) and drank about 8-10 cans of MtDew a day! So even though I didn't eat often, or much, I had TONS of calories. So eating every 2-3 hours is extremely hard for me. And the healthy food I am eating now just doesn't have that many calories so I find myself scrambling at the end of the night just to get my calories above 1000!

Right now it is 2:30pm, I am only at 600 calories and have no clue how I am going to get at least 600-800 more in today! Drives me nuts.

It helps to plan your meals out ahead of time for each day. Not for the whole week, necessarily, but if you can see what you're going to eat for the day, you can see where your calories can be increased or decreased. A tool like FitDay is really helpful for this.

Most people who are trying to lose weight and who do not plan ahead tend to undereat during the day and then lo and behold, find themselves too low. It's better to increase the earlier meals and snacks than to try to add 600 calories in the evening.

Jay

I definitely do need to start menu planning again. Its always been my way to do things, and for some reason I have really slacked off since I started trying to loose weight.

A balance of the two. I try to eat things that will be nutrient rich and calorie correct so that I hit right at my goal each day and am neither overstuffed or starving. There are little things that you can add in here and there that will bring your calories up. Can you post a sample menu of what one of your low cal days looks like?

Thank you all for some many responses. It's extremely nice to know that I'm not the only one struggling with getting in a minimum amount of calories.

Amy, today is a great example of a day I'm struggling. I'm currently sitting at just over 1k and it's 8 pm. I just finished playing tennis (NSV!) and have absolutely no appetite and no desire to force myself to eat another meals worth of calories this late in the evening. (Suggested calorie range is 1500-1700 for my weight)

My meals for today:

Bacon, cooked
130
Bread, raisin, toasted
86
Margarine
38
Milk, skim or nonfat, 0.5% or less butterfat
83
Publix Roast Beef
320
Sweet potato, frozen, cooked, baked, with salt (a.k.a. Sweet...
132
Turkey, ground
140
Cheese
42
Lettuce, raw
8
Sour cream, fat free
36

Total

1,014

Excuse the editing - I copied directly from FitDay.

Basically I had 3 slices of low fat bacon for breakfast along with a cup of skim milk and a slice of raisin bread with half a tbs of marg. For lunch I had a roast beef sub on wheat, no cheese, with lettuce and banana peppers. I had planned on having a peach with it but it was rotten inside and didn't have another one. For dinner I had a bunless turkey burger with low fat cheese, sweet potato fries and a very small side salad with my own ranch dressing made from FF sour cream.

I feel like I've eaten a lot today but the calories just aren't there.

I don't see any snacks. Adding in two snacks at around 200 cals a piece will bump you up 400 cals. Rather than lettuce on your sub and salad use a greener leafy veggie like baby spinach, better for you and more calories. That would bump you up another 75 cals or more. Add an egg or a few egg whites to your breakfast, protein and more cals. Definitely have some fruit with at least one of your meals.