Hitting Just under Calorie Goals

Medilia

For the last few days as I have started to eat healthier I keep coming under in calories. Not by much. I hit my protein, fat, sugars pretty well. I am low on carbs and my fiber goes over or under depending on the day.

Is it bad that I am under (Usually by no more than 100 Calories.)?

I do a fair bit of exercise and I don't always log it. I weight lift almost everyday and do intense cardio 2-3 times a week.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

Not unless you are eating a goal ridiculously low to begin with, like 1,200. If it becomes a problem, a tablespoon of peanut butter or a glass of milk or even a fun size candy bar can easily make up the deficit with minimal effort.

Medilia

... I am on 1200. But I work an office job and am only 5" tall.
I am hesitant on using chocolate to make up the numbers But I might start having to because I just can't seem to break the 1200 mark since I stopped eating packaged food.

jmunn1129

I don't think it's a huge issue, but I would try very hard to meet the goal. A cup of milk, bread, or something small like what the other poster suggested would be a good idea. I'd be concerned with not eating enough calories eventually taking a toll on your body. However, ultimately it's up to you. Best of luck with your journey!

Medilia

Thanks.

Yeah. I have gone to low carbs and low sugar (Cutting out pre-packaged food) and I am paranoid about going over in sugar.

I really want to eat more particularly because I am exercising so much but I am just not hungry.

Medilia

If anyone wants my diary is open. Just be aware that I changed the meals around less than a week ago so some things are obscure. Like one banana appearing as dinner when it used to be in snacks

amf0324

I'm 5 feet too! No, it isn't a problem to eat less than 1200 at our height, but I try to average out the week at 1,200 per day.

jmunn1129

If it's natural fruit sugar and you aren't diabetic, I wouldn't worry about going over in sugar. However, if it is processed sugars, then I would be a tad concerned. If you have a desire to eat more, you can always use nuts. High in calorie, high in nutrients, and most have good protein levels.

Medilia

Shorty be my friend?? lol

Medilia

I am not diabetic, but it is in the family so trying to avoid it at all costs.
I do love nuts already have 30grams logged in for an evening snack today

amf0324

Medilia wrote: »

Shorty be my friend?? lol

Haha -- yes!

LindaMc6262

I wouldn't worry about it unless you are losing too fast. Short women can eat a lot less than most safely. I'm 5'2" with a small build. Although I average 1300 calories a day over the course of a week, there are some days I barely make 1000, and other days I hit 1800. I find varying my intake makes dieting easier.

livingleanlivingclean

if you've cut out a lot of packaged/processed food, you wont be having lots of added sugar, so I wouldn't worry too much about the sugar. Getting enough fibre I think would be more important....perhaps less yoghurt (carbs but no fibre) and more vegies, or some oats mixed through etc?

Could you pick more carb dense vegies? or just eat more of them? carbs aren't the enemy, and may help with your weight training

Mr_Knight

Medilia wrote: »

Is it bad that I am under (Usually by no more than 100 Calories.)?

The margin of error for even the most meticulous counters will be more than 100 calories.

You're fine...

Medilia

quote="livingleanlivingclean;30515940"]

Could you pick more carb dense vegies? or just eat more of them? carbs aren't the enemy, and may help with your weight training [/quote]

Yeah, I thought that last night. But freezers at supermarket weren't working so my frozen veg has been off the menu until next shop. But I will try that

lemurcat12

You'll figure it out and probably feel more hungry after a bit, so I wouldn't worry. If you want to try to fix it look at you diary and see how you could maybe make your meals a bit more caloric. I think it's common when you do something like cut carbs to neglect to adjust by increasing the other macros. I was never low carb, but I was doing around 30 percent when I first started and was accidently coming in too low until I added some fat back in and increased the portion size of my meat a bit and switched up the super low fat cuts with more varied ones (nothing wrong with skin on chicken, etc). The main change was adding some feta cheese back to my morning omelet, occasional butter on my fish, some nuts with lunch, 2 percent or whole dairy rather than skim (I assume you do whole already if low carbing, if you do dairy), stuff like that.

I normally wouldn't think being 100 or less low was a big thing, but you probably don't want to be doing that at 1200 plus exercising hard without eating back exercise calories.

Sued0nim

save it for the weekend

700 calories = couple of slices of pizza and a glass of wine

segacs

Coming in just under your calorie goal on a regular basis is just fine. In fact, that's what most people aim for. I call it the blackjack approach: Get as close as possible to your goal without going over. Like others have pointed out, even with meticulous weighing and measuring, you're likely off by a small margin of error anyway, which would compensate for any small amount you're under by.

What concerns me a bit more is that you say you exercise a lot and often don't log it. I assume that means you're not eating back exercise calories? You should account for those somehow, either by eating back a percentage of them when you do exercise (NEAT method), or by increasing your overall calorie goal to build in your average exercise calories from the get-go (TDEE method).

As a fellow shortie (5'1" here) I don't think there's anything wrong with eating around 1200 if you're on the smaller side. Just make sure you're accounting for your exercise burns somehow and you should be good to go.

Medilia

I do a lot of weight lifting which I don't always log. I log my cardio which is do 2-3 times a week.

Ever since I started doing fasting (no food between 8pm and 10pm) I just don't feel as hungry and seem to make smaller meals.

I put more vegies into my lunch today to try and help get me up. Plus I am cooking a Mediterranean dish tonight which should get my calories up.

-fingers crossed-

middlehaitch

Another shorty here on 1200
If I find I am falling short, especially after exercise, and I don't feel like eating any more, I have started having a protein drink.
It covers 100+ cals and adds some protein.
Cheers, h.