Calories - How important is it?
LauraJaneCast
Posts: 5
Question: How important is it up eat the recommended calories per day?
Background Information;
I am a night owl always up at night. I work night shifts at a supermarket. Been gym 9 times since I joined up on 22FEB. I am losing weight, I was about 12.4 stones now I am just under 12 stone. I am not trying to lose weight really fast, I just generally don't have much motivation to eat. I have always been heavy in regards to weight, I have higher bone mass than normal. I have been about 12 stone for a year or so but I don't generally look fat (what people tell me).
Goal: To lose some fat, gain some muscle and kick my IBS's butt.
Reason: Main reason I am posting this is because I've just done my first day of food/exercise, and I only used 672 calories out of recommended 1,408. And today I have eaten more than I have been since I started this eat healthier craze I am on. But to be honest even before I started this, I never ate over the recommended amount.
Anyway sorry for the long winded post. Thank you for taking the time to read if you did.
Background Information;
I am a night owl always up at night. I work night shifts at a supermarket. Been gym 9 times since I joined up on 22FEB. I am losing weight, I was about 12.4 stones now I am just under 12 stone. I am not trying to lose weight really fast, I just generally don't have much motivation to eat. I have always been heavy in regards to weight, I have higher bone mass than normal. I have been about 12 stone for a year or so but I don't generally look fat (what people tell me).
Goal: To lose some fat, gain some muscle and kick my IBS's butt.
Reason: Main reason I am posting this is because I've just done my first day of food/exercise, and I only used 672 calories out of recommended 1,408. And today I have eaten more than I have been since I started this eat healthier craze I am on. But to be honest even before I started this, I never ate over the recommended amount.
Anyway sorry for the long winded post. Thank you for taking the time to read if you did.
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Replies
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If you've only eaten 672 calories and you aren't hungry, it's likely that your logging is wildly inaccurate. Did you actually weigh the portions of everything you ate?0
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Can you open your diary?0
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none of us can give very accurate advice if your diary isnt open.
But my guess is like the other poster.... your logging is *probably* inaccurate.0 -
LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »If you've only eaten 672 calories and you aren't hungry, it's likely that your logging is wildly inaccurate. Did you actually weigh the portions of everything you ate?
This.
And also a common thing I see when people start trying to lose weight is the "dieting" mentality. Most people go from one extreme, eating too many calories, to severly restricting. They cut all foods they consider "bad" which usually means higher calorie foods and eat a lot of low calorie, low fat food. Calorie dense food does not always mean "unhealthy".
A day or two here and there of being under won't hurt you but if you are consistently under you need to take a close look at why. Eating too few calories isn't good. Neither is inaccurate logging.0 -
Yeah I'm going to vote for inaccurate logging.
700 Cals seems mighty low0 -
If you've lost 4-5lbs since 22nd Feb then that's probably a few lbs water weight and around an acceptable lb a week since? If this the case then you probably aren't eating as low as you think and you need a scale to log more accurately. It is important to eat your calories as otherwise your body will use muscle for fuel and this contradicts your aims.0
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Like the others have said, you need to make extra sure you're logging accurately. I also wanted to comment that if you are weighing and measuring everything and find you are only eating that much then you really need to find a way to eat closer to your goal. Building muscle in a small deficit usually doesn't happen but you are able to keep what you've got. Eating that far under you're not even going to be able to do that and I really don't see how you'd even have the energy for heavy lifting sessions!
I have IBS and know that sometimes it can make you not feel like eating but especially if you have IBS-D, you need to eat those calories because you are probably not absorbing the nutrients efficiently since things are moving through the system so fast. If you do have IBS-D, you might want to look into the FODMAPS elimination diet. I've only been on it for about two weeks and it already feels like a miracle!0 -
Made my diary public, sorry didn't know about that before. And no my logging isn't inaccurate, whats the point in lying? Serves no purpose and is pretty stupid. I don't really eat breakfast or lunch. The only main meal I eat everyday is dinner. I wake up like 5pm and eat dinner and then just pick for the rest of the night.
IBS wise it never affected my appetite, though my appetite is pretty weird anyway. I only eat when I get the urge for something, I find it very hard to force myself to eat something if I didn't fancy it before hand. I take multivitamin + iron (I have Endometriosis) and calcium tablets. My eating habit has been like this pretty much since I started getting issues with my IBS, so since I was about 12 years old. I used to eat less = less issues with my stomach. Took many years for people to believe that I even had stomach issues and finally got diagnosed with IBS when I was 18. I used to drink a lot of frizzy pops, had to stop them because my body did not like the caffeine. Been on caffeine/sugar free coke since (Not since I started eating healthier).
Even with this I have always weighted more than I look. Which I have mostly put down to my thick bones and the fact I went on the pill, gain weight, had to go off the pill and didn't lose the weight. Then had to go back onto the pill and off again, due to my weird periods.
Again apologizes for the long winded answer. Don't want you guys to mistake me for attention seeking or talking out of my butt.
Thanks again.0 -
Laura, do you weigh your food with a food scale?0
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No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.0
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Well I can't see your diary, not sure if I'm looking in the wrong spot.
So the issue is you don't eat enough and don't have the ability to frce your self to eat more?
I don't know just sounds like you got to bite the bullet and eat more. Forcing yourself.
Just like someone who ate for 2 has to force themselves to eat for one to lose weight, sounds like you eat for a small child and have to force your self to eat adult sized food.0 -
LauraJaneCast wrote: »No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.
Warning- your about to get replies saying if you don't use a scale it will be inaccurate logging
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LauraJaneCast wrote: »No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.
Warning- your about to get replies saying if you don't use a scale it will be inaccurate logging
Of course she is, are you disagreeing?0 -
LauraJaneCast wrote: »=The only main meal I eat everyday is dinner. I wake up like 5pm and eat dinner and then just pick for the rest of the night. .LauraJaneCast wrote: »No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.
Hi Laura,
Welcome! I viewed one day of your diary and your food are all just generic entries, which indeed shows you don't weigh your food. The only way to know how much you're really eating is to weigh your food because or eyeballs and measuring devices often lie to us about the true calorie content of food.
The other thing you said is you eat dinner only and just pick for the rest of the night. Those calories can add up pretty quickly.
The fact that you don't weigh your food and you pick after dinner, my guess is you are eating more than you think you are (that does not mean you're lying, it just means you are not estimating correctly
). In any event, if you continue in this manner and are losing weight, then obviously everything is working and there is no reason to change anything. However, if you find yourself not losing weight, the first place you need to look is your logging habits.
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blankiefinder wrote: »LauraJaneCast wrote: »No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.
Warning- your about to get replies saying if you don't use a scale it will be inaccurate logging
Of course she is, are you disagreeing?
Nope. Just a warning. Saying you don't use a scale is like a trigger word.
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My $10 food scale was the best investment I ever made 0
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blankiefinder wrote: »LauraJaneCast wrote: »No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.
Warning- your about to get replies saying if you don't use a scale it will be inaccurate logging
Of course she is, are you disagreeing?
Nope. Just a warning. Saying you don't use a scale is like a trigger word.
Because not weighing turns out to be the problem 99% of the time0 -
Never say that your logging isn't inaccurate. Everyone's logging is inaccurate, but some are worse than others. Some people struggle with portion sizes, so they like to weigh everything. But there are other causes of inaccuracies. Incorrect calorie information is another cause. Food dehydration is another. Or just forgetting or not bothering to log something.0
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LauraJaneCast wrote: »No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.
Laura, in order to eat at a calorie deficit the vital part is to know exactly (to the best of your ability) how many calories you are taking in. You said yourself that you eat a big meal then pick. I do understand that working night shifts outs your routine out of whack. Is breakfast dinner or is dinner breakfast? (I work with girls that regularly work night shifts and our company is very supportive with dietary advice as well and general health regarding only working nights. It effects your mental health more than your realise sometimes, always being in the dark) I would suggest for at least 48 hours you weigh and log EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth.
For an example, I just ate 151g of pineapple - not 150g. I ate 151 so I log 151g. If you have a scale it doesn't take any longer to log accurately than it does to log inaccurately. If you're going to do it, you've got to give it 100%.
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TimothyFish wrote: »Never say that your logging isn't inaccurate. Everyone's logging is inaccurate, but some are worse than others. Some people struggle with portion sizes, so they like to weigh everything. But there are other causes of inaccuracies. Incorrect calorie information is another cause. Food dehydration is another. Or just forgetting or not bothering to log something.
Not bothering to log something? That sentence gave me chills! I think I'm addicted to logging!0 -
LauraJaneCast wrote: »And no my logging isn't inaccurate, whats the point in lying? Serves no purpose and is pretty stupid.
When people ask if your logging is accurate, they mean are you weighing everything with a food scale, not do you log everything you eat or just leave things out. And since you don't weigh everything, your logging is inaccurate.0 -
food scales make a world of difference. you can easily over estimate a portion regardless of measuring cups. in some instances i found i was able to actually eat *more* of something because the scale & cup/portion sizes varied too much. once you get comfortable with seeing what a portion looks like on a scale you get pretty good at estimating correct portion sizes and don't have to be all fanatical. also i'm sure you might be underestimating your consumption, not lying. cus if you were undereating you wouldn't need to lose weight in the first place, right? getting a cheap scale would be a good idea, and set little alarms or a schedule out for eating if your appetite is weird. mine goes haywire often and it's hard to eat or i'll just graze. but if you log consistently and as accurately as you can and get enough calories in for healthy weight loss i'm sure you will be fine.
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Firstly, its great that you have lost some weight.. well done
I have looked at your diary and over the last week or so and I can only see you logging for one day. It is very easy to overlook what you are eating if you don't log religiously. Yeah we all maybe have the odd day where we don't log due to being on holiday etc however you need to log everyday so that you can see any patterns forming and correctly track your calories.
I second the scale. I use mine everyday! Oh and a set of measuring spoons. If you are using oil of any sort a tablespoon or teaspoon is much less than you think!!
You could also log in advance and plan what you are eating which might help you stop picking through the night.
Good luck.0 -
How important is it to meet your calorie goal? It's important. It's not the end of the world to be a few calories shy or over here and there, but it is important to get enough food to be healthy. I think it was pointed out already that with IBS it may be even more important for you since your body may not be efficiently using/getting the nutrition you put in it anyway.
I don't think I see your stats anywhere, so I don't know how many calories you should be eating, so for the sake of argument we'll say the 1300 you have set is sufficient. You are losing weight, so you are in some sort of a calorie deficit, however if you were truly eating what your diary says, you'd likely be losing at a much higher rate. The amount you are logging is very unhealthy and you won't make any progress to your goal of getting muscle with that....more likely you'll pass out and crack yourself in the head with a barbell on the calorie amounts you say you are eating. I suspect your count is a bit higher than you estimate given your losses aren't atrociously high so you may be eating a healthier amount than your diary says. To really know you'd have to accurately log....accurately meaning specific weights and correct entries. I slack off and log lazy on occasion, but I know when I do it may affect my bottom line...it happens, but for consistent progress, it is important to be conscientious about it most of the time.
Final thought from looking at your diary if you really are eating as little as you say....try more calorie dense foods. If you are having trouble reaching your calorie goal through amount of food, why eat low calorie options? Go for the high calorie, nutrient dense foods. I admit I don't know much about triggers for IBS, but I suspect there must be some more calorie dense food choices than you have indicated. Eating at the calorie levels you have logged will not result in anything healthy.0 -
LauraJaneCast wrote: »No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.
Warning- your about to get replies saying if you don't use a scale it will be inaccurate logging
There is a reason why so many people recommend using a scale, especially early in the weight loss journey. Looking at her diary, there is an entry of "Chocolate - Chocolate, 1 chocolate" ... no weight, no size, no brand, no identification of a chocolate what .. without weighing that piece of chocolate, how is anyone supposed to log it close to accurately? "Bananas - Raw, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)" ... right of the bat is an almost 12% variance based on the length range ... so, again, how is one supposed to accurately log that?0 -
Not lying but, looking at just your breakfast yesterday - 1 medium banana, 1 ham slice, 6 melba toasts - is not accurate logging. The calories in a 'medium' banana could vary wildly and ham slices and melba toasts vary in size as well, even when they are portioned out by the manufacturer.LauraJaneCast wrote: »And no my logging isn't inaccurate, whats the point in lying? Serves no purpose and is pretty stupid.0 -
Starving yourself, is only going to lead to over eating later. You need to make sure you get the minimum 1200 calories, so your body can get the nutrients it needs. You didn't come to need to lose 15 pounds in a week, so it won't come off that quickly.0
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LiftAllThePizzas wrote: »If you've only eaten 672 calories and you aren't hungry, it's likely that your logging is wildly inaccurate. Did you actually weigh the portions of everything you ate?
That, or she's in denial. Plenty of women (and probably men) manage to convince themselves that they're full on a really low calorie intake. Either way, if it's truly 672 calories, it's not nearly enough no matter how "full" she is.
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blankiefinder wrote: »LauraJaneCast wrote: »No I don't. It may look odd the portion I had today for dinner, because well... it was nasty. Couldn't eat more.
Warning- your about to get replies saying if you don't use a scale it will be inaccurate logging
Of course she is, are you disagreeing?
Nope. Just a warning. Saying you don't use a scale is like a trigger word.
More like a "ding ding ding ding DIIIIIINNNNNGGG!!! There ya go!" word
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This discussion has been closed.
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