Apparently Not eating enough

robinparker223

I am having a problem...I started using this app to count calories.. Good right?! OK well since Monday I have had 2 instances where it tells me I'm not eating enough...I eat...but I'm more active than anything...problem 2: I don't feel hungry...I don't want to force myself and end up not losing but I also don't want to make myself sick!!!! HELP!!!

myweightloss2016

Below (I believe) 1000 calories, it doesn't give you a prediction on your weightloss. 1000 calories is very unhealthy.

robinparker223

So make sure I eat no less than 1000 calories regardless.... Right?

jemhh

Could you open your diary? How many calories are you eating? Are you logging exercise?

robinparker223

It allows me 1870 a day...I am eating anywhere from 1000-1500 calories a day but I am exercising around 300-500 off...

myweightloss2016

Yes, I had the same problem for a while.
If I would eat 900 calories and no exercise = 900 calories net it wouldn't work.
If I ate 1300 and exercised 400 off, no problem.
Food is really important and 1000 is very little. Try eating 1200 at least!

kgracesch

I don't believe anything below 1500 would be recommended by a nutritionist. For steady weight loss that can be maintained healthily, at least. My nutritionist has me between 1700-2100 a day plus specific macro #s to hit.

robinparker223

Thank you...

myweightloss2016

Well, you know when I didn't diet I ate like 2500 calories (young girl haha) and I didn't gain weight.. I never ate fruit or anything.. only (white) bread with all unhealthy stuff.
Now I eat around 1200 but I try to eat fruits, vegetables , whole grain stuff..
I do feed my body right now, even if the calories are low.. So.. yeah.. what's better.

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Arliah

Actually, the diary will tell you that "you are most likely not eating enough" if you go below 1200 calories. Under 1000 it won't let you close out the diary at all. OP, what are your stats?

robinparker223

What do you mean MrM27 ?

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strong_curves

Opening your food diary may help the forum posters give you better insight into your issue. Also, I found that these threads very helpful on my weight loss journey. I eat 1800 calories a day and am losing about .5 a week. I suggest reading these stickies to help you better understand why MFP gave you 1870 calories.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

robinparker223

Monday I ate- 975
Exercise- 459

Tuesday ate- 1406
Exercise- 515

Wednesday ate- 1059
Exercise- 124

Thursday ate- 1023
Exercise- 690

robinparker223

I eat my main meals ( breakfast, lunch, dinner). I was told to be at snacks, but most of the time I'm busy and not hungry... Like I said if I need to eat more...I can make a way....I don't want to be sick.

robinparker223

How do I open my diary for everyone??

robinparker223

I made it pubic...maybe now I can get some more good advice on how to fix this problem.

kristen6350

According to your calculations - I haven't even looked at your diary - you NETTED 333 calories yesterday? I lost 20lbs in 4 months by netting no less than 1300/daily. Honestly, if you keep this up, you'll have no muscles, no hair and no energy in about a month. Your body needs to NET 1200 calories daily to get enough to run on (unless you are under 5'0 and/or over 50) which I'm assuming by your profile you are not. And 1200 calories can be too little for some women.

How are you measuring calories burned? Are you weighing all solid food/measuring liquids? Somehow I don't think your calculations are accurate.

And if you are allowed 1870 calories daily to lose weight, why would you do your body such an disservice to eat WAY less than that?

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robinparker223

Honestly all of this is new to me...I never realized I was doing that....I measure out my food, yes...as far as my exercise I go by what the app says...by minutes I work...OK so now more than ever I'm going to be eating as much HEALTHY FOOD as I can!!! Thank you so much for your honesty and help..like I said this is the first week that I have ever done this and didn't know which way to go...now I have a better understanding of how to calculate and do better!

robinparker223

I chose lightly active on my activity level...will this reflect differently on my calorie intake and measurements?

I_Will_End_You

Having you been losing weight rapidly?

Also, when you have an entry for something like tuna salad, do you just type tuna salad into the database and pick one that comes up, or are you entering the recipe you used to make it? You have an entry for barbeque ribs one day, a cheese quesidilla another....did you just pick something from the database? I'm just trying to figure out how accurate your logging is. If you're picking random entries, you could be eating much more than you think.

kristen6350

OP, it doesn't HAVE to be healthy food. You can eat whatever you want. I know if I was told to only eat 10 kinds of food, by day 3 I'd throw myself into a pint of Ben and Jerrys...

Btw, I lost the weight by eating a serving of ice cream most days. And wine. And beer.

You can also eat some of your exercise calories. MFP calculates a deficient without factoring in exercise.

robinparker223

I_Will_End_You wrote: »

Having you been losing weight rapidly?

Also, when you have an entry for something like tuna salad, do you just type tuna salad into the database and pick one that comes up, or are you entering the recipe you used to make it? You have an entry for barbeque ribs one day, a cheese quesidilla another....did you just pick something from the database? I'm just trying to figure out how accurate your logging is. If you're picking random entries, you could be eating much more than you think.

I made those recipes... Um some of the other logs I looked up what I was eating based on what I had on my plate...

TeaBea

With so few net calories, you can't be meeting your protein or fat goals. It's not just about "feeling full." Your body is using calories 24/7....heart lungs, kidneys, etc. These bodily functions need fuel. Unfortunately fat stores don't support every function, your body may use existing muscle as fuel also.

You want to eat enough, so that you lose mostly fat. If you are feeling full....try adding back some calorie dense foods. Eggs, lean meat, nuts, nut butters, avocado, olive oil, full fat dairy.

Healthy weight loss is about reducing your body fat percentage.....not just a number on the scale.

sweetdixie92

robinparker223 wrote: »

I eat my main meals ( breakfast, lunch, dinner). I was told to be at snacks, but most of the time I'm busy and not hungry... Like I said if I need to eat more...I can make a way....I don't want to be sick.

There's absolutely no need to snack. Simply make your main meals bigger, or more calorie dense.

justcat206

Do you rely on MFP for your exercise calorie calculations? I've found it grossly overestimates my burn most of the time. And do you measure with a food scale or just cups? There can be discrepancies of over 100+ calories between the weight of food on a scale vs a measuring cup or serving sizes listed on a box. It's possible you're eating more and burning less than you think. If not, please be careful. I ate 900 cal or less most days for a few years and not only did I lose tons of muscle, I also started to lose chunks of hair, was constantly fatigued, threw off my monthly cycle, and activated a dormant autoimmune condition. If you truly find that you're 'under-eating' on a consistent basis you may want to have a chat with your doctor or a nutritionist.

Ang108

myweightloss2016 wrote: »

Below (I believe) 1000 calories, it doesn't give you a prediction on your weightloss. 1000 calories is very unhealthy.

Not only that, it does not let you post at all.
After two heart attacks ( one silent and the other on March 27th ) I was put on a 1000 calorie diet ( at close to 70 and being under 5 feet tall, that is ok for medical reasons for a while ) and if I only eat 999 calories I cannot log and must add the one calorie through quick calories to be able to log.

robinparker223

kristen6350 wrote: »

OP, it doesn't HAVE to be healthy food. You can eat whatever you want. I know if I was told to only eat 10 kinds of food, by day 3 I'd throw myself into a pint of Ben and Jerrys...

Btw, I lost the weight by eating a serving of ice cream most days. And wine. And beer.

You can also eat some of your exercise calories. MFP calculates a deficient without factoring in exercise.

I am soooooo glad to hear you say that...I am looking forward to having a nice scoop of ice cream now myself... Where I am always moving I opted to select the "Active" option to increase my calories also! Just as a reminder.

Siege_Tank

justcat206 wrote: »

Do you rely on MFP for your exercise calorie calculations? I've found it grossly overestimates my burn most of the time. And do you measure with a food scale or just cups? There can be discrepancies of over 100+ calories between the weight of food on a scale vs a measuring cup or serving sizes listed on a box.

It's possible you're eating more and burning less than you think.

THIS THIS THIS THIS

It overestimates burn. There is an incredible amount of room for error on this site, between not logging handfuls, or times that it "doesn't count", and eating back XX amount of blah blah.

Logging is great, and it can show us huge pitfalls in our behavior. But logging can also be used as another excuse when we aren't honest with it.