Eating enough calories

alexadawn08

i eat really healthy food and am very strict about what I eat and how much, I'm eating about 900 calories or less a day and my friends tell me it's not healthy, is this true? I eat 3 times a day. No snacks and only drink water. Of course I feel hungry but I just drink more water which helps a little bit but not much. Tips?

ndj1979

yes, it is not healthy ..

at the absolute minimum you should be NETTING 1200 calories..

please eat more…

how did you end up on a calorie counting site if you could not eat over 900 calories a day?????

rainbowbow

What did mfp recommend to you? And why are you undereating?

As an adult, especially one who is NOT morbidly obese being instructed and monitored by a physician; there is no reason to eat less than MINIMUM 1,200 calories.

honkytonks85

You're clearly fairly overweight because you are trying to lose 50lbs, so at some point you were eating more than 800 calories without issue.

alexadawn08

It's not that I can't eat more than 800 a day, it's that I don't want to eat too much and screw it up and I end up not eating enough I guess

alexadawn08

I was recommended 1200

alexadawn08

I do t25 6 days a week and ride a bike about 3 times a week if weather permits

FunkenWagnel

Your friend is right.

diannethegeek

alexadawn08 wrote: »

I was recommended 1200

Remember that MFP expects you to log your exercise and eat back some of the extra calories it adds, too. If your so active then you'll likely be eating more than 1200 most days.

Nony_Mouse

alexadawn08 wrote: »

i eat really healthy food and am very strict about what I eat and how much, I'm eating about 900 calories or less a day and my friends tell me it's not healthy, is this true? I eat 3 times a day. No snacks and only drink water. Of course I feel hungry but I just drink more water which helps a little bit but not much. Tips?

And therein lies your problem. You are probably cutting out all kinds of things you don't need to. There is no such thing as 'bad' food, just too much. If you eat at a deficit, you will lose weight. I'm assuming you want this weight loss to be for life, so you need to learn how to do that whilst incorporating a range of foods, the foods that you want to be able to eat after you've lost weight. By all means eat really healthy food (most of what goes in my mouth fits that description), but you don't need to deny yourself anything so long as it fits into your daily allowance and you're meeting your nutritional needs (packet of potato chips I ate yesterday).

Eat more, enjoy

sijomial

alexadawn08 wrote: »

I was recommended 1200

You were recommended 1200 plus exercise calories.

Tips:
Make it sustainable.
It's not a race.
Nourish your body.
Make the weight loss phase practice for maintenance.

BMillerDBQ77

I am having the same issue. After having used MFP to help me lose 50 pounds a few years ago, I've been "back on the wagon." My diet is not nearly as restricted as it was back then (carbs were my restriction). I eat three good meals, have snacks and am not terribly active right now with no garden/grasscutting/other outdoor work to do. I am full after every meal and can't imagine eating anymore. I can't see advising anyone just to eat those extra calories just to make it to the "magic number." That's how most of us got into our predicaments: Overeating.
My sister has also been using MFP religiously for over a year and has the same issue. The foods she eats are healthy, protein and vitamin-packed. She exercises 6-7 days per week, but nothing crazy like 4 hours at a gym. She is by no means starving and yet, at the end of the day, she also sees the message at the bottom of her food diary that she isn't eating enough.
If your doctor is OK with what you are eating, you aren't feeling/noticing any ill effects, I don't see why you would be shamed into conforming with a number. Everyone's metabolism is different.
I do agree, though, with the person above- if you want to snack on something because you're still hungry, then by all means have a snack. You don't have to mow down an entire large bag of cheetos. How about an apple with peanut butter? Carrots with ranch dressing? A banana? Granola trail mix? A snack doesn't have to be crappy food- just something to tide you over until your next meal or after a workout.
Good luck!

Nony_Mouse

To get that message you have to be eating under 1000 calories a day. That is not healthy. It's not some 'magic number', it's an amount based on scientific evidence of the minimum requirements of daily calorie needs. If you struggle with eating more in terms of volume, eat things that are more nutritionally dense.

Advising people that it's fine to not eat at least the minimum daily requirement is against MFPs terms of use. Because it's unhealthy. Plenty of anorexics will tell you they feel just fine with their 500 cals a day and are full after every meal.

Edited to add: The minimum MFP will set for women is 1200. Everyone should be aiming for that.