Eating like a horse?

Have you guys noticed on the eating posts on the main message board that everyone eats very little? I mean...I guess I better star****ching myself before I turn back into " Big Mama".... Usually in the morning I have a protien coffee that I make myself. It is 56 of protein..but I drink it over a few hours..over ice with some whip cream. It still makes me feel like a Starbucks girl and that I am not missing out on anything. It works. I never feel like I am on a special diet. BUT...it is 260 cals and then the bit of whipped cream. Lets just say it is about 280ish. Then between the bit of lunch and dinner..maybe 600 more cals. Then the dreaded midnight snacks. Usually I will have a piece or two of whole wheat toast with butter and a little apple butter on it. I have always worked night shifts and my circadian rhythms are still that way..So I will pass up my day snacks for a midnight one !!! Usually I dont go to bed until 2am or so. Just kind of curious is everyone here also eats so little.. I am very active with jogging and distance bike riding but maybe I need to adjust my intake. Hugs, Dana

Beng active, as you are, requires MORE calories, not less. If you are in the 1200 range you are just fine and dandy and shouldn't worry. The big questions-- are you feeling good? Are you still losing weight or maintaining it. Are you happy with where you are now? Are you getting your vitamins and protein and water? Are you making sure you get your calcium? You could actually hurt yourself by lowering your calories. Please don't!

2 .5 Years post up here ... and well .. barely get in 1000 cal a day . I eat all day , cuz I am diabetic .. but my choices are all protein laden ... and I do 3 protien suppliments a day .. I still can not get in my protein by food choices . I log in everything that goes in my pie hole on fitday.com I have to. I am scared to regain .. and so far .. almost 2.5 years out .. I am maintaining . I do find when I work out I do require an up gear of the protein . And I am never hungry .. never even this far out . I think it is due to the protein shakes .. they keep me full . Here is a daily account of how I do it . Breakfast - Protein Shake 36 grams Snack - Cheese and Crackers or Yogurt 9 grams Before Lunch - Another Shake 36 grams Lunch - Tuna or Chicken on a salad .. lots of dressing to dip in . Snack - Another Yogurt or Nuts or Cheese Dinner - Fish or Seafood of some sorts or Turkey .. 3 or 4 bites of a baked potatoe Salad Snack - Oatmeal - or Pop Corn - or Dark Pretzels with more cheese . Lots of fluids too .. flavored water .. decaf coffee etc.. I keep my carbs way low .. Never over 50 .. Fats @ 30 and my protein .. I shoot for atleast 100 or 120 if I am working out . Try upping your protein ... and see if that curbs any of your wanting to eat . Hugs, Tink

I intake 3 protein shakes a day (4 if I workout extra hard) plus 3 meals and sometimes a snack. Example: Pre-gym: Protein shake made w/ chilled coffee (scoop and a half) Post-gym: Protein shake made w/ water (scoop) B: Two hard boiled eggs or some deli meat and cheese L: Tuna salad or chicken salad or leftovers S: 1 slice of cheese, protein shake made w/ water (scoop and a half) D: Meat w/ some non-starchy vegies on the side S: Protein shake (scoop) and sometimes a piece of cheese or a Blue Bunny SF ice cream pop So, I DEFINITELY eat. My BMR is just over 1300 cals without moving so I need 1300 cals to fuel my body and brain. I burn up to 2000 cals a day without my gym workouts. Basically on workout days assuming I burn 300 cals during my workout I should eat at least 1600 cals to fuel my body and will maintain my weight if I eat 2300. Somewhere in between, I'll lose. I seem to be maintaining so I assume between a drib here and a drab there (also known as licks, bites and tastes)... I'm intaking about the 2300 cals? Kathy

I eat much more than that, but my resting metabolic rate has gone up to 1600cal/day and I burn off between 200-800 cal/day when I get exercise in--like walking the cross country course today, with a a VERY steep up mt side climb. I usually eat around 1000 cal, if I am having only mod. exercise. If I have been really active I seem to eat almost constantly in the afternoon and evening. I do what my body tells me to. If I feel the slightest bit weak or shaky or faint I hit the protein and water. Early on I rarely ate over 800 cal/day, but now I eat much more. I ran this by the nut. and she said up to 1500 when I am exercising (read hiking) heavily is great. Conversely, when I don't get exercise in, I listen to my body and eat less. It is an odd feeling to be "compelled" to eat. That is what it feels like to me--not hunger, but rather a drive to eat to sustain myself. Lois