Confused at food diary saying I am not eating enough!

shelleysykeskeene

Just a little confused here...

I am on a 1200 calorie per day goal. Whenever I am under my calories and I exercise and try to close my diary for the day MFP tells me I am not eating enough and won't let me log it!

Does it want me to 'eat back' my workout calories?

I am quite short (5 foot 4) so don't need a ton of calories per day. At 1500 I was maintaining weight instead of losing, now at 1200 I am losing at a rate of 0.5kg to 1kg per week.

tiptoethruthetulips

Yes MFP wants you to eat a little more to sustain your incidental activities as well as your exercise. What exercise are you doing and to what intensity?

I am quite short (5 foot 4) so don't need a ton of calories per day. At 1500 I was maintaining weight instead of losing, now at 1200 I am losing at a rate of 0.5kg to 1kg per week.

You don't have a lot of weight to lose and if you are losing more than 1% of your current weight (which obviously changes as you lose weight) you are probably losing more than is sustainable for the long term. Obviously people with a lot of weight to lose are likely to lose more than 1% of their current weight.

earlnabby

Yes, you should be netting 1200, not aiming for a total of 1200. Too few calories and you can easily lose lean body mass, which leaves you looking "skinny fat" at your goal. What is your loss per week set at?

patsyacs

MFP wants you to NET 1200 calories per day. That's food - Exercise = 1200. If you eat 1300 and your exercise is more than 100 you get a net less than 1200.
If you feel good and are losing at a slow rate I wouldn't worry about it.

shelleysykeskeene

tiptoethruthetulips wrote: »

Yes, that's the way MFP works, you need to eat back some of your exercise calories...what exercise are you doing? And for how long? I am shorter than you and can eat about 1400cals and still lose weight.

I am doing cardio interval training on the treadmill. Walk at 6km/hr for 1 minute and run at 8km/hr for one minute - I do this for 30 - 45 minutes and do a basic weight lifting routine 3 times per week (I know, I know, I wont build muscle in a deficit but my strength is increasing as I can lift heavier weights now).

It is quite difficult staying on the 1200 cals, I do find myself going over some days and feeling hungry on most. Maybe I should up it to 1350 cals?

3dogsrunning

5'4 is not quite short. I am 5'5 and I maintain without exercise on over 2000. I lose at 1800 or more with exericse.

tiptoethruthetulips

Yes, it looks like you need to be eating more...up your calories and see how you go...if you average out to at least 500gms per week you are doing well.

shelleysykeskeene

patsyacs wrote: »

MFP wants you to NET 1200 calories per day. That's food - Exercise = 1200. If you eat 1300 and your exercise is more than 100 you get a net less than 1200.
If you feel good and are losing at a slow rate I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks I am a doofus - now I understand! I thought you had to consume 1200 cals regardless of exercise!

3dogsrunning

shelleysykeskeene wrote: »

patsyacs wrote: »

MFP wants you to NET 1200 calories per day. That's food - Exercise = 1200. If you eat 1300 and your exercise is more than 100 you get a net less than 1200.
If you feel good and are losing at a slow rate I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks I am a doofus - now I understand! I thought you had to consume 1200 cals regardless of exercise!

Sorry, i missed that part of the question. But yes, MFP expects you to add exercise and eat those.

earlnabby

shelleysykeskeene wrote: »

patsyacs wrote: »

MFP wants you to NET 1200 calories per day. That's food - Exercise = 1200. If you eat 1300 and your exercise is more than 100 you get a net less than 1200.
If you feel good and are losing at a slow rate I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks I am a doofus - now I understand! I thought you had to consume 1200 cals regardless of exercise!

We all had those moments How are you calculating your calorie burn? If you are using machines or MFP's database, you might want to start out by eating back about 2/3 of the calories given because the database is notoriously generous. I do that by entering less time ie: walking for an hour but only entering 40 minutes. Watch your loss rate over a few weeks. If you are losing faster than your goal, eat more back.

JustMissTracy

shelleysykeskeene wrote: »

patsyacs wrote: »

MFP wants you to NET 1200 calories per day. That's food - Exercise = 1200. If you eat 1300 and your exercise is more than 100 you get a net less than 1200.
If you feel good and are losing at a slow rate I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks I am a doofus - now I understand! I thought you had to consume 1200 cals regardless of exercise!

You are not a doofus...You should consume 1200 regardless of exercise, and if you workout, you should then eat a wee bit more. But if you are losing the way you are doing it, keep doing that. YOU know your body better than MFP or anyone else, right? Ignore the warning, unless you are eating under more than not. It sounds like you've got this thing, don't make it harder for yourself than it needs to be. Good luck! xo

shelleysykeskeene

@earlnabby I am using the MFP database as my calorie burn baseline - it is usually slightly less than what the treadmill says and I try to eat back just less than half of the extra calories 'earned'.

A big thank you to everyone for taking time to read my post and assist me! You guys are so great, the support here is amazing!

rileysowner

shelleysykeskeene wrote: »

Just a little confused here...

I am on a 1200 calorie per day goal. Whenever I am under my calories and I exercise and try to close my diary for the day MFP tells me I am not eating enough and won't let me log it!

Does it want me to 'eat back' my workout calories?

I am quite short (5 foot 4) so don't need a ton of calories per day. At 1500 I was maintaining weight instead of losing, now at 1200 I am losing at a rate of 0.5kg to 1kg per week.

So you are losing between 1 and 2 pounds a week. That is not slow by any means. Depending on how much you have to lose 2 pounds a week (1Kg=2.2 pounds) may be too aggressive and result in losing more muscle mass than fat. Yes, you are supposed to eat back your exercise calories.

Just a note 1200 calories is the generally accepted minimum for an adult female to get the nutrition she needs for a day. BTW, 5'4" is not that short for a woman. It is quite close although a little below the average for American women.

allyphoe

If you're losing 0.5-1kg a week at 1,200, that implies maintenance for you is between 1,750 and 2,300. The 300 calories between 1200 and 1500 is not the difference between maintenance and losing more than 2 pounds a week.

FWIW, I'm 5'4 and maintenance for me if I'm any more active than "sitting on the couch under a blanket all day" is close to 2,150.

rileyes

OP --My first couple months were similar. I did cardio and bodyweight circuits (no more than 10kg resistance). All that cardio seemed to curb my appetite. How heavy are you lifting? Weightlifting. Makes. Me. Hungry.