Confused about perhaps eating too little.

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XdanielX

New member
OK so basically I am worried I am eating too little (some things I have read have concerned me) I will tell you the details of myself an what I eat and all that and maybe some people can help. Please read it all :)

I am male, 21 years old, 6.0", 300 lbs (yes I know..:cry:)

OK, The reason I got like this isn't because I used to eat a lot, it's because I ate badly when I did.

For example my old diet consisted of pretty much only coke for liquids, 1 over sized junk food meal for dinner then an unhealthy something around midnight.. that's it.

Now, I have started eating right (I think) and exercising, I am not seeing many results just yet as I am only 4 weeks in, can maybe see a slight reduction of my weight but I am concerned I am perhaps not eating enough according to some things I have read about weight loss.

I will list my daily eating habits:

Liquids: I have cut out all juices, cordials, soft drinks etc and I ONLY drink water now, minimum of 1 litre a day.

Breakfast: 1 bowl of oatmeal with skim milk and cut up banana and/or sprinkled sultanas.
or
1 bowl of muesli with skim milk and cut up banana and/sprinkled sultanas.
or
2 pieces of light rye bread toast with a tiny bit of natural honey or peanut butter.


Lunch: 1 egg white scrambled eggs with a handful of spinach leaves, 1 slice of ham off the bone or chicken, 3-4 sliced button mushrooms mixed in and occasionally a slice or 2 of cheese and 2 slices of toast with it.
or
2 egg white scrambled eggs with a handful of spinach leaves, 1 slice of ham off the bone or chicken, 3-4 sliced button mushrooms mixed in and occasionally a slice or 2 of cheese with 1 slice of toast with it.
or
Ham or chicken or tuna and salad sandwich (Lettuce, cucumber, rocket, beetroot, sun dried tomatoes etc) on rye bread.
or
Tuna or Chicken with green salad.
(I try to only have 2 pieces of bread a day so if I have toast for breakfast I will have something not involving bread for lunch.)


Dinner: I have Lite n' Easy dinners which range from 380 - 450 calories


Late Night Snack: If I am feeling peckish at night time I often have a piece of fruit or 2 and/or maybe a handful of unsalted nuts/dried fruits.


I also allow my self a cheat dinner once a fortnight.


Exercise
I do about 30 mins of cardio 3-4 times a week (jogging/walking) and basic resistance training 4-5 days a week (curls, lunges, squats, etc)

Also I don't currently have a job so I sit around quite a bit. Will be starting a course soon though.


Now, at the end of the night I AM generally satisfied hunger wise, I am not really hungry or craving food and I am not dehydrated as I have also drunk a lot of water.

So basically I am just curious whether people think I should be eating more, but I have never really ate A LOT of food, just unhealthy food, so I honestly don't think I could eat TOO MUCH more. So if people think I should eat more could you also maybe give me a few tips and maybe a few suggestions of things I could add in to my diet that won't just ruin my plan to lose weight?

( I'm a beginner/amateur at this stuff, so be nice :) )

Thanks, Daniel.
 
I think you might need to drink more water (even more when you are working out or when it is hot out) a liter isn't very much. (I do 2 liters per day min)
I would also do your cardio 4-5 times a week and work up to about 45 minutes to 1 hour, then do weight training 2-3 times per week (check out the stickies for guidelines).
If you could keep a food journal on here for a while it would be easier to give advice, it would also be helpful to include more specific amounts (rather than a bowl of cereal with milk) then we can have a better guess at how much you are consuming.

Welcome to the forum!! Congratulations for making this decision to live a healthy life now! Your body will thank you!! :)
 
Well the oatmeal is packaged into little 90 gram serving sachets and I add around half a cup of milk.

Lunch is like I said 2 egg whites, 3-4 mushrooms, 1 slice of ham and a handfull of spinach leaves, same with the salad but replace the egg with a couple of other veggies, and the sandwich is well, a sandwich lol.

The dinners are usually around 320-350 grams and usually 380-450 calories.

And as to a food diary, I don't know if there is THAT much point for it as I pretty much have the things I listed every day, as this is what works for me.

And I also do drink more than 1 litre It was just 1 litre minimum.
 
Do not take this the wrong way to but when I Was younger and trying to lose weight I would self-sabtaoge myself for whatever reason. I was eating healthy and smaller portions but I was addicted to fast food. I would tell myself ok few nuggets here is ok..so while I toned it down I still ate the fast food.

Now that I have 100% competely taken out ALL fast food, cokes, sugars, white flour, etc....I have, even in the 2 weeks I have been doing this seen a shocking amount of progress. My size 50 pants are about to fall right offa me.

Your food looks great and if your really eating that (maybe a little more calories too also((2500cals/day))) plus your carido you should be losing. I am not saying your liying but I know I was, the second you come clean...is the second you start to really lose. Esp. for us bigger guys (I am 26, 375, 6'3") we NEED to stay focused in the beginning and develope those good habits.

Also you might have a food allergy with something your eating. I am sorry your having a hard time so far. But I personally would increase your intake and see where that takes you. Sometimes it's trial and error big guy. JUST DONT GIVE UP! Take it meal by meal.
 
RadioActive said:
Your food looks great and if your really eating that (maybe a little more calories too also((2500cals/day))) plus your carido you should be losing. I am not saying your liying but I know I was, the second you come clean...is the second you start to really lose. Esp. for us bigger guys (I am 26, 375, 6'3") we NEED to stay focused in the beginning and develope those good habits.

Also you might have a food allergy with something your eating. I am sorry your having a hard time so far. But I personally would increase your intake and see where that takes you. Sometimes it's trial and error big guy. JUST DONT GIVE UP! Take it meal by meal.
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I don't get the first part, what did you say that I might be lying about?

And 2, I'm not having problems or a hard time I was just asking whether people thought I was eating too little each day.

Thanks for your reply though mate
 
Hey dude we are in about the same situation here, I am 5"8 at 265pounds.

I am very interested in this as well. I am making an appointment with someone like a dietitian or something so I can get some help with what a healthy amount of calories is a day, how much iron i need, how much potassium and carbs etc.

I found a free iphone app that lets me record manually or scan barcodes(cereal for example) and it will pop up with what I ate and give me a nutrition value etc. It's pretty nifty for finding out how many calories I am eating on a day to day basis. It doesn't have everything, but I haven't had anything so far i couldn't find.

I haven't been looking THAT hard online for an answer to the question about how many calories our bodies need per day etc for weight loss when mixed with exercise.

I do agree with an above poster, cardio needs to go up over time. Right now I am only doing 30 minutes of cycling(getting an indoor machine to for more workout) and I want to build it up to an hour of cardio when I can handle it.

If you find an answer feel free to leave a reply because I am in the same boat, I worry I am eating to little and starving myself or eating to much and causing problems that way.
 
Yeah I agree Taras, It's just hard because I don't feel like I'm starving myself, I feel satisfied at the end of the day yet according to some things I'm reading I am eating too little and just doing damage, it confuses me.
 
Daniel,

I think you could add a little more protein to your diet and spread your meals out. Trying eating 5-7 times a day instead of 3-4. You're going to need that protein for muscle growth.


Also I would try to make your cardio workouts 45min - 1hour a day even if it's just walking or hiking (I'm incredibly jealous that you live in Australia btw). Throw some books in a backpack and just walk around town for an hour or so. Swimming is also great cardio.

If you bump up your cardio to about an hour, and continue your weightlifting routine. You could easily intake 2500 calories a day and still see results.
 
XdanielX said:
I don't get the first part, what did you say that I might be lying about?

And 2, I'm not having problems or a hard time I was just asking whether people thought I was eating too little each day.

Thanks for your reply though mate
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From the beginning part of your post saying you were concerned I got the impression you were having a hard time. Hence not losing much weight. thus being concerned about your intake.

As far as what I said in the beginning, it's probably not even worth repeating.

As for how much your eating, the only way to know is if you know roughly (within) 200 calories, what your taking in everyday. If it's below 2000, for your size I would bet money it's not near enough. I am 375 and I can lose a pound a week and still eat 3100 cals. although I have to force feed myself just to get to 2500. Which is where I think you should be. There are many calculator on the site which can help you with this. Take your BMR reduce by 30% and that's most likely what you'll need to lose weight.

At least that the advice I have been given on this site. The best thing you can do is go see a RD. They can really help educate you on this process.
 
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