Calorie Intake

Twibbly

What happens to you when you don't eat enough calories on a regular basis? What about protein?

I'm asking because I seem to feel driven to eat carbs every 4-5 days, and when I look at my food logs, I'm only eating 1000-1200 calories on the days when I don't eat carbs. The Ankerl calculator says that 1200 calories is a 38% deficit for me. 1000 calories is a 48% deficit. I had the calories set to 1684, which was a 15% deficit when I started. Am I eating carbs because my body is going, Feed me, Seymour?

My protein is set to 63g (15%), but I'm normally getting way less on that as well.

wabmester

Lack of protein intake can lead to muscle waste and some really nasty conditions if you do it long term.

Short-term calorie restriction could lead to binge eating, which is one of the reasons MFP yells at you to stop. Long-term, it could slow your metabolism, screw with your thyroid, etc.

Twibbly

I updated my macros to the new Ankerl settings.

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*Generated by [Keto Calculator](http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com) 8.5*

33/F/5'10" | CW 181 | 41% BF | Mostly sedentary

* 1600 kcal Goal, a 17% deficit. (670 min, 1931 max)
* 20g Carbohydrates
* 80g Protein (65g min, 106g max)
* 133g Fat (30g min, 170g max)

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I upped my protein to 20% instead of the 15% I had it set at. I think I need to start making sure that lunch and dinner both have protein, & maybe even adding protein powder to my BPC in the morning, then adding in fat & carbs to get the calories I need.

IamUndrCnstruction

Yes, you need to eat more. All the science that wabmester said. I am now finding this out the hard way as I was eating like that, without any carb binges AND trying to work out and lift weights. Put myself flat up against a,big oke wall. Now I am trying to make some adjustments.