Late-Day Calorie Crunch: Anyone Else Dealing With This on Maintenance?

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johnny01

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I've been on 2.5mg of monjaro for roughly 4 weeks now.

At work my break falls at 11 am, and right after I finish I head straight to the gym. By 11 o'clock I've usually only managed to get in about 700 - 1000 calories, and I don't eat anything between work and the gym.

Then once it hits 7 or 8 pm, I'm left trying to squeeze in my protein and calorie target for the whole day, which is easily over 1000 calories.
 
johnny01 said:

I've been on 2.5mg of monjaro for roughly 4 weeks now.

At work my break falls at 11 am, and right after I finish I head straight to the gym. By 11 o'clock I've usually only managed to get in about 700 - 1000 calories, and I don't eat anything between work and the gym.

Then once it hits 7 or 8 pm, I'm left trying to squeeze in my protein and calorie target for the whole day, which is easily over 1000 calories.
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During the day, things such as shakes or bars—foods that pack a lot of calories and protein—could be worth a try.

That approach doesn't just make it easier to reach both targets; it also distributes protein across the day, which is when you get the most out of it.
 
Share what a normal day of your meals and eating timing looks like. As a rule (if that isn't already the case) aim for foods with more nutrients and fewer processed ones.
 
This is something I deal with too.

A solid option for adding calories is Ultra Filtered Milk, and it's quite healthy as well. It's lactose free. Carbs are low and it packs twice the protein.

There are even protein shakes made with ultra filtered milk instead of water. In my experience, those usually taste better than the ones mixed with water.

My takeaway is that carbs shouldn't be cut out — they simply need supervision, like teenagers! /lol

What's the reasoning? It boils down to a fundamental metabolic quirk. Among our 3 macros — protein, fat, and carbs — there are multiple pairing possibilities, but 1 combination I steer clear of is pairing fats with carbohydrates.

Consumed in excess of any size, a fat-and-carb combination builds a very efficient setting for storing fat. So I divide my meals into 2 categories:

  1. Protein + Fats
  2. Protein + Carbs
By not mixing fats and carbs, my nutrition stays on course and those fat cells don't get overjoyed!

Happy muscle cells are what I want, not happy fat cells. 😉
 
Just A Cat said:

This is something I deal with too.

A solid option for adding calories is Ultra Filtered Milk, and it's quite healthy as well. It's lactose free. Carbs are low and it packs twice the protein.

There are even protein shakes made with ultra filtered milk instead of water. In my experience, those usually taste better than the ones mixed with water.

My takeaway is that carbs shouldn't be cut out — they simply need supervision, like teenagers! /lol

What's the reasoning? It boils down to a fundamental metabolic quirk. Among our 3 macros — protein, fat, and carbs — there are multiple pairing possibilities, but 1 combination I steer clear of is pairing fats with carbohydrates.

Consumed in excess of any size, a fat-and-carb combination builds a very efficient setting for storing fat. So I divide my meals into 2 categories:

  1. Protein + Fats
  2. Protein + Carbs
By not mixing fats and carbs, my nutrition stays on course and those fat cells don't get overjoyed!

Happy muscle cells are what I want, not happy fat cells. 😉
Click to expand...
Wow, that really lays it all out in a tidy framework. Seems like you've got it completely sorted. I should probably give this more thought.

It's amusing, since all of what you described is stuff I already understand on some level... But adding fats to everything is so normal that separating them out never crossed my mind.

For me at the moment it wouldn't be a good fit, though I'd guess this could be very clever during a bulk or while attempting to reduce GLP or stop the medication entirely!
 
Fat counts as a super food. Each gram gives 9 calories. You could try putting a little more fat into the earlier part of your day, plus some fat later on. Protein and carbs come in at just 4 calories per gram.

I pour half and half into my morning protein shake. She extra butter on broccoli ect.
 
johnny01 said:

I've been on 2.5mg of monjaro for roughly 4 weeks now.

At work my break falls at 11 am, and right after I finish I head straight to the gym. By 11 o'clock I've usually only managed to get in about 700 - 1000 calories, and I don't eat anything between work and the gym.

Then once it hits 7 or 8 pm, I'm left trying to squeeze in my protein and calorie target for the whole day, which is easily over 1000 calories.
Click to expand...
Breakfast has never been something I eat. My hunger has always shown up only once it gets dark. At midday I basically have to make myself swallow a protein shake. Lately I've been falling short on getting enough micros.

I'm aware that eating late is supposedly not good, but that's just how my body operates, and after all these years I've learned that resisting it never works.
 
sheilarae74 said:

johnny01 said:

I've been on 2.5mg of monjaro for roughly 4 weeks now.

At work my break falls at 11 am, and right after I finish I head straight to the gym. By 11 o'clock I've usually only managed to get in about 700 - 1000 calories, and I don't eat anything between work and the gym.

Then once it hits 7 or 8 pm, I'm left trying to squeeze in my protein and calorie target for the whole day, which is easily over 1000 calories.
Click to expand...
Breakfast has never been something I eat. My hunger has always shown up only once it gets dark. At midday I basically have to make myself swallow a protein shake. Lately I've been falling short on getting enough micros.

I'm aware that eating late is supposedly not good, but that's just how my body operates, and after all these years I've learned that resisting it never works.
Click to expand...
Same here. As the year went on, I got into the pattern of only eating once the clock passed 6 pm. Once Glp came into the picture, I cut back to a single meal and stopped the late-night snacking too. So it is basically omad most of the time.

Every 4 to 6 weeks or so, what I attempt to do is take a "little" pause and refeed with a bit more food. Bring in things like bread and pasta...
 
Yeah mate, that's par for the course on tirz - you don't really get an appetite, so hitting maintenance becomes something you schedule instead of something you wait to feel hungry for. I just stay on it and make the evening my big meal, using shakes or calorie-dense stuff on days when another full plate is too much. Better than coming off it and having all the food noise return at full volume.
 
My usual morning routine is 2 protein shakes, which gives me 60g protein and 360 calories. Then I have 2 additional shakes later in the day, and that puts me near my protein minimum.

For another 10-15lb, a calorie deficit is my goal.
 
Calorie tracking is something I've dropped. To me it's pointless.

Protein is what I tally. Fat is what I keep an eye on.

Cottage cheese does the job well.

Yogurt brings density, a high protein content and goes down very easily. Whatever fat level you're after, it's available.

Sugar content stays low when you go unflavored.

My routine: unflavored full fat yogurt with 1 scoop of protein powder stirred through. Flavor problem solved. That's 50 extra grams of protein from roughly 1.5 cups of food.
 
Shittersfull said:

Calorie tracking is something I've dropped. To me it's pointless.

Protein is what I tally. Fat is what I keep an eye on.

Cottage cheese does the job well.

Yogurt brings density, a high protein content and goes down very easily. Whatever fat level you're after, it's available.

Sugar content stays low when you go unflavored.

My routine: unflavored full fat yogurt with 1 scoop of protein powder stirred through. Flavor problem solved. That's 50 extra grams of protein from roughly 1.5 cups of food.
Click to expand...

Looks like you've moved up from padawan level. /Lol

From what I can tell, plenty of folks who track things closely eventually reach a stage where calorie counting isn't necessary anymore, because by then they're paying attention to macros instead.

Glad to have you in the "advanced" phase of food tracking. 😎
 
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