Feeling Full vs. Eating the Calories I Need?

[Eppick]

I tend to struggle with getting the calories I need for the day. I am currently aiming to eat 1300 calories a day, but most days I can't even get that.

My biggest issue is being full. For example, Today I ate 700 calories throughout the day and then ate a 400 calorie meal of chicken breast, brown rice and green beans for dinner. I got 3/4 of the way through it and felt full, and I had to struggle to eat the rest. I feel stuffed right now, and out of curiosity I weighed myself and I am up 4 lbs from this morning (I usually only fluctuate around 2 lbs a day). I hate feeling overly full, and when losing weight that feeling is the worst feeling in the world.

So, what I am asking here is; should I stop eating when I feel comfortable and end up eating <1200 during the day, or finish my food, feel stuffed, but be getting at least 1200 calories?

And yes, I know about eating more calorie-dense foods, but the only two I know of and have in my house is peanut butter and avocado, and when I eat those I will hit my fat requirements for the day, maybe be 1-3g over, but I can be 15-20g under both my carbs and proteins for the day, which screws up my ratios.

[Gxp23]

so ur eating under 1200 cals a day is what ur saying?

[Dannya908]

are you cutting or bulking?? and i wish my cal intake was 1200!!! im eating 3500 and i feel like quittin my bulking diet but i wont! i gotta get to 4200 cal by the end of my 8 week bulk, if your eating less than 1200 a day to bulk, your not bulkin. and if your cuttin just split the 1200 cal between more meals.

[Gxp23]

are you cutting or bulking?? and i wish my cal intake was 1200!!! im eating 3500 and i feel like quittin my bulking diet but i wont! i gotta get to 4200 cal by the end of my 8 week bulk, if your eating less than 1200 a day to bulk, your not bulkin. and if your cuttin just split the 1200 cal between more meals.

You must be new here, because nobody, even the op, should be cutting on 1200 cals, based on his height and weight. He is gonna lose a lot of mass.

[TommyGun1988]

1 eat more. Your a growing teen. Eating 1200 cals a day is doing you more harm than good. You shoukd be eating like a beast and not worrying about calories and macros at your age.

[Eppick]

You must be new here, because nobody, even the op, should be cutting on 1200 cals, based on his height and weight. He is gonna lose a lot of mass.

I'm not worried about "losing mass"....I'm not looking to get huge, you see, with me being a girl and all.

[Eppick]

so ur eating under 1200 cals a day is what ur saying?

Some days, yes, but I really try hard not to. I just cant bring myself to eat until I am completely stuffed, mostly because I don't know if I have to.

[MetilHed]

are you cutting or bulking?? and i wish my cal intake was 1200!!! im eating 3500 and i feel like quittin my bulking diet but i wont! i gotta get to 4200 cal by the end of my 8 week bulk, if your eating less than 1200 a day to bulk, your not bulkin. and if your cuttin just split the 1200 cal between more meals.

would you even ever seriously consider someone eating 1200 cals a day to be bulking ?

FYI: OP is female.

OP: As far as more calorie dense foods go, make sure you're hitting your protein and fat minimums. There is no "required" amount for carbs, outside of personal preference. eat fattier cuts of meat, or as you said more PB or avocado. Dietary fat doesn't make you fat (unless you are eating enough to drive your caloric intake over your maintenance). If you make sure you are hitting protein minimums, and are using fattier more calorie dense foods to help meet your calorie target, you will likely hit your fat minimums as well.

[MetilHed]

I'm not worried about "losing mass"....I'm not looking to get huge, you see, with me being a girl and all.

OP< you will not gain mass in a defecit, the point is to not lose the muscle you have while losing body fat

[Gxp23]

I'm not worried about "losing mass"....I'm not looking to get huge, you see, with me being a girl and all.

Sorry, my mistake, by losing mass i mean a mixture of lean mass and fat etc, but at 1200 you are practically eating way to little, you will lose a lot far too fast, other than that, you are probably missing out on a lot of nutritional benefits too with the lack of food.

[cldillmann1]

brb nver getting full off 4250 cals

[Eppick]

would you even ever seriously consider someone eating 1200 cals a day to be bulking ?

FYI: OP is female.

OP: As far as more calorie dense foods go, make sure you're hitting your protein and fat minimums. There is no "required" amount for carbs, outside of personal preference. eat fattier cuts of meat, or as you said more PB or avocado. Dietary fat doesn't make you fat (unless you are eating enough to drive your caloric intake over your maintenance). If you make sure you are hitting protein minimums, and are using fattier more calorie dense foods to help meet your calorie target, you will likely hit your fat minimums as well.

Just off of what you know, do you think my calorie goal is too low? I haven't lost weight in two weeks, which I know happens with everyone, but I wonder if that can be an issue. I have soccer 5 days/wk and I weight train 3 days/wk, for my activity levels.

[Eppick]

Sorry, my mistake, by losing mass i mean a mixture of lean mass and fat etc, but at 1200 you are practically eating way to little, you will lose a lot far too fast, other than that, you are probably missing out on a lot of nutritional benefits too with the lack of food.

would you consider 1300 to be too little then, as well? Should I aim for something higher, like 1500, and force myself to eat that even if I feel full?

[MetilHed]

Just off of what you know, do you think my calorie goal is too low? I haven't lost weight in two weeks, which I know happens with everyone, but I wonder if that can be an issue. I have soccer 5 days/wk and I weight train 3 days/wk, for my activity levels.

I wish I could give you more input, but I really know nothing about calculating input for growing teens, and would not want to give you harmful advice. That being said, 1200 seems low to me even WITHOUT INCLUDING your activity level which seems pretty high.

How long have you been eating at this level ?

[Gxp23]

would you consider 1300 to be too little then, as well? Should I aim for something higher, like 1500, and force myself to eat that even if I feel full?

Have you read the stickies to help calculate your calorie and macro needs? I cant tell you how much you need because i dont know what your lifestyle is like, it may take you 5-10 mins to read over but its better than waiting in a thread and getting nowhere for an hour lol.

The stickies are located at the top of the forum page, do the math and come back when you have figured out whats best for you.

Good luck!

edit: I also have not got much input on people at 15 year olds or in that age area, try the stickies anyway just to get a rough idea.

[Eppick]

Have you read the stickies to help calculate your calorie and macro needs? I cant tell you how much you need because i dont know what your lifestyle is like, it may take you 5-10 mins to read over but its better than waiting in a thread and getting nowhere for an hour lol.

The stickies are located at the top of the forum page, do the math and come back when you have figured out whats best for you.

Good luck!

edit: I also have not got much input on people at 15 year olds or in that age area, try the stickies anyway just to get a rough idea.

I have read the stickies on caloric needs to get a rough idea, have tried a hundred different online calculators...I have gotten a rough estimate, but it seems harder than I thought it would be to get an accurate amount for someone my age.

[Gxp23]

I have read the stickies on caloric needs to get a rough idea, have tried a hundred different online calculators...I have gotten a rough estimate, but it seems harder than I thought it would be to get an accurate amount for someone my age.

ok, well what numbers were you getting?

[Eppick]

I wish I could give you more input, but I really know nothing about calculating input for growing teens, and would not want to give you harmful advice. That being said, 1200 seems low to me even WITHOUT INCLUDING your activity level which seems pretty high.

How long have you been eating at this level ?

Around 3 months...I have only been as active as I am now for about a month and a half, though. Before then my diet was even worse, eating junk and very infrequently, sometimes skipping a day or two in a row completely. Not to intentionally starve myself, just because I didn't feel like it.

[Eppick]

ok, well what numbers were you getting?

I've gotten anywhere between 2100-2600 to maintain. I always tend to pick the moderate activity level, but I'm a little confused by what I am because I am sitting for most of the day during school, which seems to be considered sedentary, but then I have 1.5-2 hours of soccer practice during the week, plus 3 days of weight training and sometimes, if I am not too worn down, a day where i'll do HIIT on the weekends.

[cumminslifter]

I'm not worried about "losing mass"....I'm not looking to get huge, you see, with me being a girl and all.

you should be worried about your overall health however

[cumminslifter]

I've gotten anywhere between 2100-2600 to maintain. I always tend to pick the moderate activity level, but I'm a little confused by what I am because I am sitting for most of the day during school, which seems to be considered sedentary, but then I have 1.5-2 hours of soccer practice during the week, plus 3 days of weight training and sometimes, if I am not too worn down, a day where i'll do HIIT on the weekends.

then you are AT LEAST moderately active

[Eppick]

you should be worried about your overall health however

I am worried about my health. Thats why I wanted to come and get outsiders' advice on this, so that I know what's harmful or helpful for my body.

[cumminslifter]

I am worried about my health. Thats why I wanted to come and get outsiders' advice on this, so that I know what's harmful or helpful for my body.

at 1300 calories a day, yes you are hurting your body, are you sure you are counting correctly? how long have you been at this intake?

[Gxp23]

I am worried about my health. Thats why I wanted to come and get outsiders' advice on this, so that I know what's harmful or helpful for my body.

2100 calories would be a good start, but first i would work on adding maybe 50-100 cals every week or so, you need to get your appetite up, you are pretty active so it shouldnt be hard.

at 1300 calories a day, yes you are hurting your body, are you sure you are counting correctly? how long have you been at this intake?

this

[Eppick]

2100 calories would be a good start, but first i would work on adding maybe 50-100 cals every week or so, you need to get your appetite up, you are pretty active so it shouldnt be hard.

2100 while losing weight? or for maintenance?

[Eppick]

at 1300 calories a day, yes you are hurting your body, are you sure you are counting correctly? how long have you been at this intake?

I'm sure I count correctly. I might not be 100% and track every morsel of food that goes into my mouth, but I don't do it enough to make a difference (for example, eating 1 blueberry while measuring out the amount I will use)

For about 3 months. Before that my diet was way worse, skipping days and when I did eat I ate a lot of junk, so I have no idea what my daily amount was then.

[cumminslifter]

I'm sure I count correctly. I might not be 100% and track every morsel of food that goes into my mouth, but I don't do it enough to make a difference (for example, eating 1 blueberry while measuring out the amount I will use)

For about 3 months. Before that my diet was way worse, skipping days and when I did eat I ate a lot of junk, so I have no idea what my daily amount was then.

how much weight are you losing a week at 1300 cals?

[Eppick]

how much weight are you losing a week at 1300 cals?

I was losing around 2-2.5 a week, until about 2 weeks ago where since then I have gained 4 lbs...I know your weight isn't linear, but my weight seems to be fluctuating in a consistently upward direction now, which is why i'm here.

[Gxp23]

2100 while losing weight? or for maintenance?

as a stand point to maintain, you will gain weight getting to there, mostly water though because you will need to increase your carbs, but from their you can then adjust calories to suit your needs.

[foodandfitness]

How do you estimate your caloric intake? Do you weigh and measure foods and keep a food log?