Concerned about calories on the MFP calculator.

Birlioz

Hello all,

Whenever I enter an exercise for the day, it will say on the Food page that I've "earned" calories from my workout.

What does this mean?

I thought the point was to burn whatever calories I eat?

Unless I am terribly mistaken. I asked a friend, and he mentioned that the body requires calories to survive, so burning them all off is terrible news.

Also, it seems that I'm having a really hard time getting my calories - there's always a warning on the bottom of the page after I submit my daily stuff that I'm "eating too few calories," even if I'm eating things all day long. I never ever count my calories, someone suggested that if I eat more boxed stuff, I'll bring in a few more calories rather than eating fresh stuff.

Can someone explain this whole calorie thing to me?

Because I'm having a hard time getting my calorie count to be over 700. I have to literally gorge myself on food to get it higher than that, but apparently, according to the little Warning/Suggestion, eating such few calories will make me malnutritioned and hold more weight because it's in "Starvation mode,"

all I know is that it might explain why I am ALWAYS sick, and anemic, and always so tired, do you think that has anything to do with it?

Looking for info / suggestions on how to eat more calories but not more fat/sugar/etc.

unicornpoop

This sounds like a serious trolling.

ndj1979

the MFP setting is designed so that you "net" X amount of calories per day....

so if your goal is 1500 and you burn 300 with exercise you have 'earned' 300 calories because you can now eat 1800 calories for the day, so that you net 1500 (1800 consumed - 300 earned = 1500 net)

I will say that if you are having a hard time eating 700 a day, you probably need to seek help as that is a sign of some kind of eating disorder...

I crush 700 in one meal ...easily

Birlioz

Trolling?

How so?

I'm not trying to troll, I am seriously trying to get some info on calories, and ask what foods are rich in calories but not in fat/sugar. I've done some reading online, but it doesn't match up with why everyone says to "work off more than you take in," and there's not a lot of food info.

conniemaxwell5

Nuts, avocados, chicken breast, whole grain breads and cereals and yogurt are good choices. Some of them contain fat but it's healthy fat, which is essential to your overall health.

Your friend is right, you need more calories. You should never "net" less than 1200, which means the calories left AFTER you subtract (or eat back) your exercise calories. Example: if your calorie goal is 1400 and you worked out and burned 300 calories you would need to actually consume 1700 total calories.

SRB8710

I added you on here so if your diary is open I can view it daily and help ya!

Tiffa0909

MFP has already calculated the amount of calories you need to eat for the weigh loss , so if you are truly burning those calories in most cased you will still lose the weight you want even after eating the calories burned.

If you are feeling sick and don't have any health condition , you probably are not eating enough

SRB8710

the MFP setting is designed so that you "net" X amount of calories per day....

so if your goal is 1500 and you burn 300 with exercise you have 'earned' 300 calories because you can now eat 1800 calories for the day, so that you net 1500 (1800 consumed - 300 earned = 1500 net)

I will say that if you are having a hard time eating 700 a day, you probably need to seek help as that is a sign of some kind of eating disorder...

I crush 700 in one meal ...easily

He explains it pretty easy to understand. But Yes you want to "net" at LEAST 1200 a day.

chandanista

There are TONS of threads on this topic.

ndj1979

This sounds like a serious trolling.

disagree, trolling is usually way more obvious..unless one is an expert.

Birlioz

I'm just wondering if it's the type of food I eat that causes this. I get sick if I eat greasy things, so I'm always cooking fresh, and I can't eat pasta because it gives me a stomach ache, so my normal food is like

boiled chicken
lemon fish
anything I can do with a tomato
too much garlic on everything i eat
and potatos

For example.

On some Saturday a few weeks ago, I had some chicken and eggs for breakfast. Went out to eat, got a smoothie, a burger, some fries, and onion rings. Came home, had some soda because I was upset, and had a piece of pie.

All amounted to a pitiful 740 calories, and I just don't understand how. That night before I went to bed, I ate some oatmeal, a couple bananas, and some coconut cake just to get my calories up, but I don't want to have to keep doing that, so I'd like to just incorporate more calorie-rich food into my normal diet.

susannamarie

First: Yes, your body burns a lot of calories just existing, depending on your height and weight. You absolutely don't want to be trying to burn off everything you eat with exercise alone -- that would give you an enormous calorie deficit that may well lead to health problems.

Second: If you don't count your calories, how do you know the MFP counts are accurate? It's very common for people to underestimate, so I would make sure that your calculations are accurate, by weighing if possible and measuring if not.

Assuming that they are -- really, you need to eat more than 700 for health, to give your body energy to repair itself after exercising and fight off infections, to avoid loss of muscles (btw, muscle loss doesn't just mean your biceps, it means your heart). If you are having trouble reaching this, you are probably eating a lot of fibrous vegetables/low-cal diet foods. Switching to more calorie-dense foods will enable you to reach your calorie goal.

LAW_714

You are not 'literally gorging' yourself on 700 calories a day.

Seriously.

I ran a calculation for a 4'-6" tall 84lb sedentary woman and still came out with a minimum of 1300 calories to maintain weight.

(And now I've read your list of food with hamburger, French fries, etc. Either you ate significantly more than 700 calories that day or you didn't eat (or perhaps properly log) the food.)

herblackwings39

I'm just wondering if it's the type of food I eat that causes this. I get sick if I eat greasy things, so I'm always cooking fresh, and I can't eat pasta because it gives me a stomach ache, so my normal food is like

boiled chicken
lemon fish
anything I can do with a tomato
too much garlic on everything i eat
and potatos

For example.

On some Saturday a few weeks ago, I had some chicken and eggs for breakfast. Went out to eat, got a smoothie, a burger, some fries, and onion rings. Came home, had some soda because I was upset, and had a piece of pie.

All amounted to a pitiful 740 calories, and I just don't understand how. That night before I went to bed, I ate some oatmeal, a couple bananas, and some coconut cake just to get my calories up, but I don't want to have to keep doing that, so I'd like to just incorporate more calorie-rich food into my normal diet.

Are you sure of your calorie counts? When I have a burger, fries, and onion rings it's usually at least 800 calories. Add a smoothie and pie and it's over 1000. Sometimes the MFP entries by people aren't always accurate.

moondawg14

I'm just wondering if it's the type of food I eat that causes this. I get sick if I eat greasy things, so I'm always cooking fresh, and I can't eat pasta because it gives me a stomach ache, so my normal food is like

boiled chicken
lemon fish
anything I can do with a tomato
too much garlic on everything i eat
and potatos

For example.

On some Saturday a few weeks ago, I had some chicken and eggs for breakfast. Went out to eat, got a smoothie, a burger, some fries, and onion rings. Came home, had some soda because I was upset, and had a piece of pie.

All amounted to a pitiful 740 calories, and I just don't understand how. That night before I went to bed, I ate some oatmeal, a couple bananas, and some coconut cake just to get my calories up, but I don't want to have to keep doing that, so I'd like to just incorporate more calorie-rich food into my normal diet.

You're not setting your quantities correctly.

If you had a burger, fries, onion rings, soda and a piece of pie, it should be WAY over 740 calories.

You can't just select "fries" from the list. You also need to tell MFP how MANY fries you had. The best way to do this is by weight.

Same for the pie.

Same for the burger.

Also: make your diary public.

ndj1979

I'm just wondering if it's the type of food I eat that causes this. I get sick if I eat greasy things, so I'm always cooking fresh, and I can't eat pasta because it gives me a stomach ache, so my normal food is like

boiled chicken
lemon fish
anything I can do with a tomato
too much garlic on everything i eat
and potatos

For example.

On some Saturday a few weeks ago, I had some chicken and eggs for breakfast. Went out to eat, got a smoothie, a burger, some fries, and onion rings. Came home, had some soda because I was upset, and had a piece of pie.

All amounted to a pitiful 740 calories, and I just don't understand how. That night before I went to bed, I ate some oatmeal, a couple bananas, and some coconut cake just to get my calories up, but I don't want to have to keep doing that, so I'd like to just incorporate more calorie-rich food into my normal diet.

LOL now this is trolling...you had a burger, onion rings, smoothies, and onion rings AND you came home and had cake, oatmeal and bananas and were only 740 calories???? pleeeassse ....that would at least get you to 1500 probably more...LOL

Cadori

You mentioned avoiding fats. Your body needs fat and fat grams are more calorie rich (9 calories) than protein or carbs grams (4 calories). Avocado, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, oils, eggs...are all great ways to get calories in.

But are you calculating your calories correctly? Do you have a food scale? I don't see how some chicken and eggs, a smoothie, a burger, some fries, onion rings, soda and pie can add up to 740 calories.

Birlioz

Okay, I think I'm beginning to understand. Basically, I have to have 1200 calories in me regardless. Gosh! That's really just, like, strange. xD It's just the opposite of everything I've ever heard about calories, so it's just kinda surprising to me.

Thanks for the food suggestions, I've been looking to eat nuts and such since they're so good for the body, I basically never eat them but it's good to know it'll help me with the calorie thing. I try to eat yogurt every day, and chicken I have a few times a week, so at least
I'm good on that note.

Also,

I can see why you think I'm trolling, parading on here talking about how few calories I'm taking in on a weight loss board - I'm sorry, but I'm not trying to troll or make anyone uncomfortable or anything of that nature. I still have a weight issue too, that's why I'm here, and I'm just trying to learn a little. I'm sorry if it doesn't seem that way. I am just very surprised at what I heard recently about calories, and I'm simply curious if it has something to do with my health issues.

susannamarie

For example.

On some Saturday a few weeks ago, I had some chicken and eggs for breakfast. Went out to eat, got a smoothie, a burger, some fries, and onion rings. Came home, had some soda because I was upset, and had a piece of pie.

All amounted to a pitiful 740 calories, and I just don't understand how. That night before I went to bed, I ate some oatmeal, a couple bananas, and some coconut cake just to get my calories up, but I don't want to have to keep doing that, so I'd like to just incorporate more calorie-rich food into my normal diet.

I really don't see how this could amount to only 740 calories, unless all the portion sizes are really tiny. Did you get the calorie count from the place that you ate?

djc315

MFP is set up with a calorie deficit already. So, say you have it set to lose half a pound a week and they set you to eat 1500 calories a day, they already put in a deficit from your maintenance (the amount you'd need to eat to maintain your current weight) calories. If you burn 300 calories, your deficit is now larger and you need to close the gap to lose 1/2 pound a week. You don't HAVE to close the gap, but most find it helpful because their body needs a certain amount of NET calories to function. For me, I am pretty good at 1500 calories. Others are better at 2000. Others are better at 1300. But MFP doesn't like you going below 1200 (net), and you really should consider eating more than that UNLESS you are being monitored by a doctor.

You might not know right away if you are eating too low calories, which is also why 1200 seems to be a good number to not go below. But, I was eating 1300-1400 calories and I was getting light headed, mood swings, dizzy, hungry all the time and once I raised it to 1500, those went away. Yes, only 100-200 calories did it for me.


Fat isn't the devil. If you are looking for higher dense calorie foods, lean towards things with healthy fats. Nuts and avocado, trail mixes (personally I'd stay away from the trail mixes with dried fruit or candy) are a great snack. Eggs, lean meats, beans are excellent too.


Also, measure your food. You might be eating more calories than you think. I agree on what the others said that a burger, fries, shake and onion rings would be way more than 700 calories. The shake alone could be 700 calories.

sammichlady

Burger,fries,cake,chicken, etc....sounds like more than 740. You can't always trust what other people put in the food database. If it doesn't look right or I'm entering a food for the first time, I always double check on google for nutritional information for food that doesn't come with a nutritional label.

kelag297

Well, I know from experience that eating 700 calories a day for an extended period of time is a terrible idea. (I passed out in a restaurant from doing this). You should figure out your BMR which is your Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the amount of calories you need to eat just to survive. Mine is around 1400. Just type in bmr calculator on Google and you'll be able to figure yours out. Now your bmr is the minimum number of calories you should be eating in a day. If you exercise, I believe in eating back my exercise calories even though some people don't. So for example, my bmr is 1400 and let's say I burn 300 calories exercising, that means I should be eating 1700 calories that day. In my fitness pal, your bmr should be you net calorie intake for the day. I understand how hard it is to up your calories because i used to have a hard time with it. You could incorporate some high calorie but healthy things like natural peanut butter or almonds. If you're not a vegetarian or vegan, eat chicken, salmon, eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese,etc. Sometimes I have trouble reaching my calorie goal and I feel like I'm stuffing myself, but I've lost 25 pounds by eating my recommended calorie intake everyday so even though you feel like your stuffing yourself, it works! And also, when I was eating 700 calories a day, I eventually stopped losing weight and I ended up gaining it all back. I had to start all over and now I feel like I have a lifestyle where I can keep the weight off and can live with this for the rest of my life. So, make sure to at least eat at your bmr and good luck with your weight loss!

PepperWorm

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

changergirl

1200 calories is not a lot or difficult to get to. In fact your one meal of a smoothie, a burger, some fries, and onion rings was probably pretty close to that.

Make sure you are weighing everything you eat. It'll help you see how easy it is to get to that number and make losing weight that much easier.

jofjltncb6

In...

...to better understand how all of that food is only ~750 calories.

ndj1979

In...

...to better understand how all of that food is only ~750 calories.

bahahahahahahahaha...

you rock jof!

chandanista

In...

...to better understand how all of that food is only ~750 calories.

Yeah I'm curious too.

Lilliputian portions?

jcorsiglia

this seems like maybe you aren't entering the foods correctly maybe or that maybe the servings are off when you enter. Double check your entries and make sure you are getting the "whole" burger...like make sure your not just entering a hamburger patty, make sure all the condiments and "extras" are counted. Plus you may need to rember to snack..add some nuts, fruit and even cheese in there. It takes me at least two meals and a snack to reach 1000 calories.

jcorsiglia

if you truely are consuming so few calories it is most likely a MAJOR contributer to all your health issues

Birlioz

For all of the people who are actually taking the time to help me, thank you. I appreciate the info.

As I said, it was just a "Wow moment" to realize that I'm not supposed to work off everything I eat. As I've already said, this explains a lot to me and opens up a new page for me in my personal health.

By "not counting calories" I only meant that I don't look at the food I eat and wonder if it's good or bad for me, I just eat it and try not to eat too much of it. I don't really believe in limiting what I eat, just how much. At the end of the day, I log onto MFP and put "Burger, onion, ketchup, fries, pepper, salt, etc" in.

I'm not very techy, but I'll see if I can figure out how to make my diary public.

Also, it makes sense that things aren't being entered correctly. I can see now that relying on the foods that other users have put in can be very, very wrong. I doubled checked the information for an Arizona Tea that I drank today, and it was triple the amount that was actually in the can, so I guess that was pretty relieving. Looks like I need to take a closer look at the quanities when I enter the food, I just now found the "oz" dropdown menu, I had to scroll my page to the right to find it.

In any case, I appreciate the feedback. Thank you, everyone!

moondawg14

For all of the people who are actually taking the time to help me, thank you. I appreciate the info.

As I said, it was just a "Wow moment" to realize that I'm not supposed to work off everything I eat. As I've already said, this explains a lot to me and opens up a new page for me in my personal health.

By "not counting calories" I only meant that I don't look at the food I eat and wonder if it's good or bad for me, I just eat it and try not to eat too much of it. I don't really believe in limiting what I eat, just how much. At the end of the day, I log onto MFP and put "Burger, onion, ketchup, fries, pepper, salt, etc" in.

I'm not very techy, but I'll see if I can figure out how to make my diary public.

Also, it makes sense that things aren't being entered correctly. I can see now that relying on the foods that other users have put in can be very, very wrong. I doubled checked the information for an Arizona Tea that I drank today, and it was triple the amount that was actually in the can, so I guess that was pretty relieving. Looks like I need to take a closer look at the quanities when I enter the food, I just now found the "oz" dropdown menu, I had to scroll my page to the right to find it.

In any case, I appreciate the feedback. Thank you, everyone!

BOOM! there's a big part of the problem.

Glad you got it figured out. See if things don't go a little more smoothly for you now.