Not hungry for dinner but not hitting my calorie goal

  • For the past few weeks my hunger at dinner time has become almost non existent. I'm on a 1350 calories a day. I recently upped it from 1200 calories because my weight loss stalled for a month on 1200 calories. I eat a decent sized breakfast, and a really big lunch. A snack in the morning and a snack an hour before my workout in the evenings. I usually hit about 1000-1100 calories with just that. But after my evening workouts my hunger is shot. I feel great and sweaty from the workout but the hunger just isn't there. I tried eating salads after my workout, because it was light and full of good veggies. But most the time I was throwing half or more away. The past week I've just been drinking a glass of 2% milk and doing just fine. But I am worried I'm not eating enough (echoed by my boyfriend bugging me to eat more).

    Any ideas of light dinners or shakes I can do in the evenings that would up my calories but not force me to eat when I'm not hungry?
  • I'm usually not very hungry in the evenings, like you.

    Can you add more calories to the earlier part of your day? Like add butter, oil, and full fat dairy into your breakfast and lunch? Maybe add in nuts or some avocado or a hard boiled egg somewhere?
  • I have slowly been adding more calories in earlier. My lunches have gotten a bit bigger. I added almonds to my morning snack. I used to not eat afternoon snacks. I could probably use whole eggs instead of egg whites at breakfast. I know there are lots of little things I can do to add more calories throughout the day. I just was worried about the not being hungry in the evenings because dinner used to be my biggest meal until probably 4 months ago. Then to go from biggest meal to not being hungry in the evenings at all seemed worrisome.
  • If you're not hungry, you're not hungry. It's pretty normal to not have a big appetite after a workout (though it is smart to eat at least a small snack like you've been doing.) I really wouldn't worry about it. Add some calories at the beginning of the day as you've been doing.

    Just because society says to eat three meals a day and that dinner should be the biggest meal, doesn't mean you have to abide by it.
  • nonameslob Love your name by the way (assuming it is a reference to Breakfast at Tiffany's)

    I definitely don't agree with societies rules of dinner needing to be the biggest meal anymore. It was how I was raised so I was used to it and it may just take some time breaking it. I switched to it being the smallest meal a few months ago because it just makes more sense that way. You have all day to use up the energy from breakfast and lunch but dinner is usually only a few hours before bed. I've read in a lot a places that post workout snacks are important, so I may just stick to the milk or maybe just some raw veggies or fruit.
  • Quote: For the past few weeks my hunger at dinner time has become almost non existent. I'm on a 1350 calories a day. I recently upped it from 1200 calories because my weight loss stalled for a month on 1200 calories. I eat a decent sized breakfast, and a really big lunch. A snack in the morning and a snack an hour before my workout in the evenings. I usually hit about 1000-1100 calories with just that. But after my evening workouts my hunger is shot. I feel great and sweaty from the workout but the hunger just isn't there. I tried eating salads after my workout, because it was light and full of good veggies. But most the time I was throwing half or more away. The past week I've just been drinking a glass of 2% milk and doing just fine. But I am worried I'm not eating enough (echoed by my boyfriend bugging me to eat more).

    Any ideas of light dinners or shakes I can do in the evenings that would up my calories but not force me to eat when I'm not hungry?
    you are not hungry but i am always hungry ! it is so unfair
  • Quote: If you're not hungry, you're not hungry. It's pretty normal to not have a big appetite after a workout (though it is smart to eat at least a small snack like you've been doing.) I really wouldn't worry about it. Add some calories at the beginning of the day as you've been doing.

    Just because society says to eat three meals a day and that dinner should be the biggest meal, doesn't mean you have to abide by it.
    This.

    I actually think the "dinner as the largest meal" thinking is waning, as it should.
  • Just fit your calories in where you can. Add a handful of almonds earlier in the day, have a blended shake, or add some avocado to your meals. Small additions of calorically dense foods won't take up much real estate in your stomach and will get your calories up to par.

    As an aside, at your current height and weight (if your ticker is accurate) I actually think that you should be eating more. Your aim when dieting should be to eat as many calories as possible while still losing weight.

    Loss of appetite over time can be a sign of over
    training or metabolic adaptation, both of which can be a recipe for muscle loss and fat loss plateaus in the future.
  • I already eat avocado with breakfast and almonds as a snack. But I've upped calories in a small way and have been doing pretty good about getting up to the 1300 now.

    It may be a mixture of both. I have been on 1340 calories since November. When I started on that I only worked out 20 minutes to 30 minutes a day (HIIT). I dropped to 1200 in March but I felt it was too low and moved back up to 1350 in May. But I've also increased my workouts over time to about an hour to an hour and a half a day. I'm not stringent on the calories, some days I go up to 1500 if I'm hungry. It is mainly a lack of hunger in the evenings. I get hungry quite a lot earlier in the day, but also get full very fast.

    This week I've been doing hummus and veggies after my workout which has been working out pretty well.
  • a nice fruit smoothie or shake at night?
  • Eat. Food is fuel. Scramble one egg, wrap some turkey around a cheese stick-eat an apple. Something. You'll plateau, trust me. Good luck.
  • Quote: For the past few weeks my hunger at dinner time has become almost non existent. I'm on a 1350 calories a day. I recently upped it from 1200 calories because my weight loss stalled for a month on 1200 calories. I eat a decent sized breakfast, and a really big lunch. A snack in the morning and a snack an hour before my workout in the evenings. I usually hit about 1000-1100 calories with just that. But after my evening workouts my hunger is shot. I feel great and sweaty from the workout but the hunger just isn't there. I tried eating salads after my workout, because it was light and full of good veggies. But most the time I was throwing half or more away. The past week I've just been drinking a glass of 2% milk and doing just fine. But I am worried I'm not eating enough (echoed by my boyfriend bugging me to eat more).

    Any ideas of light dinners or shakes I can do in the evenings that would up my calories but not force me to eat when I'm not hungry?
    If you are not hungry, don't eat. I you are hungry, eat. If you can listen to your body and do this making smart choices along the way, then you will maintain your weight.

    (I you are not losing at 1200, going to 1350 won't help)
  • JossFit so glad u are on this thread love it advice to bc I love food but mostly bc as a Registered Nurse I know that the body needs fuel to work and it just makes sense to me especially with the amount of working out the op does. Thanks for chiming in from a medical pov. This advice is good for all
  • if you're not hungry, don't eat. One day last month I hit 650 calories during a heat wave. I wasn't forcing myself to starve or thinking bad thoughts. Just wasn't hungry. Your body will tell you what to do. Only maxing out at 1000 calories or whatever isn't bad at all for women under 5'5''.
  • JenFZ- you speak logic. I like that