Advice please folks.

KatieHPhoto

MFP has set a daily goal of 1200 calories according to my weight, height etc.

I eat well throughout the day with healthy and nutritious meals. I walk 3 miles every evening average speed 3.5mph, followed by a light fruit mix then an 8-10 mile cycle.

My next at the end of the day is between 500-700 calories with a few hundred in the green on the diary page.


Am I eating enough/ doing it well?


I've seen lots of comments saying that this is classed as under eating and I won't lose any weight in result.


Can anybody explain the case?


Thanks very much.

HotrodsGirl0107

MFP already has a healthy deficit figured into the 1200calories the site gives you to lose x amount per week. This number ( if you set your goals correctly) does not include exercise. This means you could eat 1200 and not lose exercise and still lose weight. You are meant to log your calories from exercise and eat those back so your original deficit stays consistent.

Not eating them back increases you deficit sometimes to dangerous levels. Things you might see from undereating could be decreased energy, slowed metabolism, and loss of LBM. Of course under eating for long period of time for me weakened my heart, slowed my metabolism, my hair thinned and I was malnourished (of course not everyone will get as sick as I did).

So no you are not eating enough to sustain your activity level. MFP intends for you to NET 1200 calories.

ironanimal

MFP already has a healthy deficit figured into the 1200calories the site gives you to lose x amount per week. This number ( if you set your goals correctly) does not include exercise. This means you could eat 1200 and not lose exercise and still lose weight. You are meant to log your calories from exercise and eat those back so your original deficit stays consistent.

Not eating them back increases you deficit sometimes to dangerous levels. Things you might see from undereating could be decreased energy, slowed metabolism, and loss of LBM. Of course under eating for long period of time for me weakened my heart, slowed my metabolism, my hair thinned and I was malnourished (of course not everyone will get as sick as I did).

So no you are not eating enough to sustain your activity level. MFP intends for you to NET 1200 calories.

KatieHPhoto

Thanks for the reply.

I've been talking with MFP friends and they're all saying the same thing. I'll have to rethink my meals and add more to each to reach 1200.

Not quote sure how I would go about doing that as I eat a lot of food already. Again, any tips appreciated.

Thanks for sharing your story HotrodsGirl01. To by "eating the calories back" would that mean eating what I've burnt after I've exercised or before I work out?

thank you

skparker2

Oh my word, dear. You work out a heck of a lot more than me on a daily basis. You definitely need more food! Everybody always starts at 1200, but I never lost anything until 2 months later, when I bumped up to 1400 cals.

About 3-4 times a week, I go to the gym and do an hour of cardio & about an hour of weights & have lost weight finally.

Your body will hold onto your fat for dear life, like a car running out of gas. Your body will eventually let go of the weight & you'll see some results! Take measurements if the scale discourages you! I've been at a bit of a plateau as of recently but I'm still slowly losing inches.

MFP member since the end of February 2013

ironanimal

Eat higher calorie foods - ie. whole milk instead of skim milk, fruits, nuts, ditch fatfree / sugarfree crap for the normal versions.

Lesa_Sass

Eating back your calories means the ones you burn while working out.

Some good foods to eat to get more calories are: Nuts, nut butters, avocado, sweet potato and quinoa.

My favorite snack of the day is an apple with 1/4 cup of nuts. That gets me close to 300 calories right there.

jacksonpt

Taken purely at face value, no you're not eating enough to be healthy.

NaomiJFoster

It doesn't matter when you eat, before or after exercise, just that you do it. You want your Net to be 1200. 1200 is already 500 calories a day lower than what your body needs to maintain this weight. Netting lower than that would mean that you're taking in a larger deficit, maybe a deficit of 800 calories and that's just too much. If you eat most of your calories before exercise, just think of it as burning away those extra calories. If you exercise first, then think of it as eating back the extra calories that you burned in order to bring yourself up to a healthy level. You'll feel better, you'll have more energy, and the weight loss will become a bit more steady.

BonnieFife

MFP already has a healthy deficit figured into the 1200calories the site gives you to lose x amount per week. This number ( if you set your goals correctly) does not include exercise. This means you could eat 1200 and not lose exercise and still lose weight. You are meant to log your calories from exercise and eat those back so your original deficit stays consistent.

Not eating them back increases you deficit sometimes to dangerous levels. Things you might see from undereating could be decreased energy, slowed metabolism, and loss of LBM. Of course under eating for long period of time for me weakened my heart, slowed my metabolism, my hair thinned and I was malnourished (of course not everyone will get as sick as I did).

So no you are not eating enough to sustain your activity level. MFP intends for you to NET 1200 calories.

Thanks for the enlightenment, i must have been mega blonde since January, i wasn't aware that i had to eat back my cals :laugh: i did so well for a while & then for the past month i've kinda maintained now i know why thanks for this however i've upped my cals to 1400 now as i was starting to also feel very very hungry will see how it goes

meredith1123

Thanks for the reply.

I've been talking with MFP friends and they're all saying the same thing. I'll have to rethink my meals and add more to each to reach 1200.

Not quote sure how I would go about doing that as I eat a lot of food already. Again, any tips appreciated.

Thanks for sharing your story HotrodsGirl01. To by "eating the calories back" would that mean eating what I've burnt after I've exercised or before I work out?

thank you

Add in some healthy proteins like lean meats, beans, peanut butter, almond butter, almonds, etc. You definitely need to eat more.

KatieHPhoto

This is all so clear to me now, thank you so much everyone for the guidance. From now I'll be upping my calorie intake to get to 1200.

Can thank you all enough, fingers crossed the result will show in a month or two.