daily calorie allowance is too high

petrinasupler
petrinasupler Posts: 50 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I would love to see how many calories are suggested per meal/snack, but I think my calorie intake suggestion is wayyy too high. Mine is nearly 1400/day. If I eat anything close to that I gain weight. I do better in the 700-800 range. What do you all think?
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Replies

  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
    Way too low - I eat 1450 a day and am losing.

    Calculate your TDEE and -15% or -20%... that should give you a good start

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
  • ilmb87
    ilmb87 Posts: 216 Member
    700 calories is too low, even if you are on the shorter side.

    What is your height? Activity level? Are you weighing/measuring your foods?

    EDIT: Just to add, I'm 5'9", sedentary, and eating at about 1600 (plus eating back exercise calories). And losing weight is actually easier for me now than when I was eating 1200-1400 calories.
  • A_Warrior_Princess
    A_Warrior_Princess Posts: 344 Member
    I eat between 1800-2100 and I am losing too!:smile:
  • AmIhealthyyet
    AmIhealthyyet Posts: 361 Member
    700 hundred is very low! Try 1400 for a couple weeks, if you need to adjust it then drop it slightly a little at a time. You really shouldn't be below 1000 on a daily basis!
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Goal is 1825 and I lose pretty steadily. I had about...1000 calories yesterday. For dinner.
  • STrooper
    STrooper Posts: 659 Member
    In a word, no.

    Unless you've actually taken a real medically based metabolic test that specifically measures you at that rate for maintenance, you are advocating a starvation diet. There are clinics for that, but MFP isn't one of them.
  • xeno8604
    xeno8604 Posts: 193 Member
    Wow......I would have to say that 700-800 is too low. The site bases its calculations on your height, weight, and activity level. I eat at about 1700-2000 cal a day and when I was really trying to loose weight went down as far as 1500.
  • KristysLosing
    KristysLosing Posts: 683
    Wow...you gain at 1400? You must be tiny! Or very very active. I would think 700-800 is too low. You shouldn't gain at 1400...unless you are miscalculating calories by a lot.
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    Unless you have some kind of medical condition (say, dwarfism), you should probably be eating at least 1200 calories per day to get enough nutrition to survive long term.
  • maybeazure
    maybeazure Posts: 301 Member
    How much do you weigh now? What is your height?

    Unless you are morbidly obese and on a doctor supervised diet...like after gastric bypass surgery, 700-800 is too low.
  • toddlikesdesign
    toddlikesdesign Posts: 51
    Phew! I believe I ate a 700 calorie breakfast the other day.

    Unless you are sub-5' or have a medical condition we're not aware of, the consensus among posters is that is clearly too low.
  • sunshyncatra
    sunshyncatra Posts: 598 Member
    700-800 is starving yourself. Don't do that.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I would love to see how many calories are suggested per meal/snack, but I think my calorie intake suggestion is wayyy too high. Mine is nearly 1400/day. If I eat anything close to that I gain weight. I do better in the 700-800 range. What do you all think?

    I think you're seriously undereating. That's a VLCD. Very low calorie diets aren't welcome here.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    The reason you gain at 1400 is because you've destroyed your metabolism by eating 700 calories a day.

    Read this thread, follow it, and give it a chance to work. You'll need to give it at least a couple of months for your body to adjust. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I would love to see how many calories are suggested per meal/snack, but I think my calorie intake suggestion is wayyy too high. Mine is nearly 1400/day. If I eat anything close to that I gain weight. I do better in the 700-800 range. What do you all think?

    I think LOL....

    You have to be seriously on the small side....old....and virtually completely inactive for you to come remotely close to gaining on 1400 calories. Most likely you substantially underestimate your intake or you are in serious need of a doctors visit because if you truly do gain at 1400 calories your metabolism is likely jacked due to some kind of medical condition or you're jacked it yourself with all kinds of yo-yo dieting.
  • RockinTerri
    RockinTerri Posts: 499 Member
    Much too low in my opinion. My MFP calorie goal is 1240 pre-exercise (I have mine set as sedentary, but am always moving my seat at work, plus on my feet outside of here a lot). So I can comfortably eat to 1400 calories and lose weight (again, not including exercise calories).

    Edit - I'm 5'2.5", 39 years old, and currently weigh 210.8 pounds.
  • frenchfacey
    frenchfacey Posts: 237 Member
    It's just not a good day without a good "starvation mode" post
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    When you've tried eating more, how long have you waited before panicking and dropping back down below 800 calories? Along with the possibility that you've destroyed your metabolism (and risk doing lasting damage to your heart and body), I'm going to hazard a guess that the weight gain you've seen in the past is your body retaining water and glycogen to replenish itself after a long deprivation. Sometimes it takes the body months to normalize after a diet, especially a VLCD.
  • petrinasupler
    petrinasupler Posts: 50 Member
    I'm not advocating anything. I'm asking. I sit for 10 hours a day with my job. When I eat more than like 300 calories/ meal I feel miserable. Especially if it's a dinner meal. I don't even want to clean up after dinner, just sit around and be lazier. The lower calorie days I definitely have more energy and I tend to work out since I can.
  • RAEQ127
    RAEQ127 Posts: 106 Member
    Go to the Doctor and have your RMR tested. Then work to re-start metabolism. If you eat too few calories you're most likely not eating enough protein then you will be bald...
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I'm not advocating anything. I'm asking. I sit for 10 hours a day with my job. When I eat more than like 300 calories/ meal I feel miserable. Especially if it's a dinner meal. I don't even want to clean up after dinner, just sit around and be lazier. The lower calorie days I definitely have more energy and I tend to work out since I can.
    So hey, you're aware that your body needs calories JUST TO EXIST, right?
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    I eat 1700-1800 and lose an average of a pound a week.
  • mandasalem
    mandasalem Posts: 346 Member
    This is the wrong place to ask for that advice. I recommend talking to your doctor. While every body is different, you should consult a medical professional on your reactions to more calories and your purported ideal range.
  • petrinasupler
    petrinasupler Posts: 50 Member
    well that's a little judgmental isn't it. Starvation mode doesn't occur until after several days of eating next to nothing. 700 calories is far from next to nothing. It's not like I'm sitting around all day with a hungry belly with the intent of eating less than a certain amount. I eat when I'm hungry. Make no mistake. Thanks for your sarcasm it's appreciated. I'm glad there's people like you out there to discourage questions from people like me.
  • doIlhands
    doIlhands Posts: 349 Member
    well that's a little judgmental isn't it. Starvation mode doesn't occur until after several days of eating next to nothing. 700 calories is far from next to nothing. It's not like I'm sitting around all day with a hungry belly with the intent of eating less than a certain amount. I eat when I'm hungry. Make no mistake. Thanks for your sarcasm it's appreciated. I'm glad there's people like you out there to discourage questions from people like me.

    iirc your brain alone needs 500 calories a day to work properly. 700 is not enough
  • JessMahoney1
    JessMahoney1 Posts: 86 Member
    your not eating enough if you don't eat above 1200!! My allowance is 1430, or more if I exercise! I am losing
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    well that's a little judgmental isn't it. Starvation mode doesn't occur until after several days of eating next to nothing. 700 calories is far from next to nothing. It's not like I'm sitting around all day with a hungry belly with the intent of eating less than a certain amount. I eat when I'm hungry. Make no mistake. Thanks for your sarcasm it's appreciated. I'm glad there's people like you out there to discourage questions from people like me.

    you sound hungry.

    seriously. google BMR. take a look at how much your vital organs need to just run adequately.
  • petrinasupler
    petrinasupler Posts: 50 Member
    I'm certainly not tiny. I'm 5'6", 172, size 12. I do sit for 10 hours/day with my job though. I do feel miserable when I eat anything close the 1400.
  • mandasalem
    mandasalem Posts: 346 Member
    well that's a little judgmental isn't it. Starvation mode doesn't occur until after several days of eating next to nothing. 700 calories is far from next to nothing. It's not like I'm sitting around all day with a hungry belly with the intent of eating less than a certain amount. I eat when I'm hungry. Make no mistake. Thanks for your sarcasm it's appreciated. I'm glad there's people like you out there to discourage questions from people like me.

    I'm not trying to be sarcastic, judgmental or discouraging. For things like VLCD, a doctor's supervision is very, very important. The collective wisdom of the internet can be great, but it also can't substitute for a doctor with all the facts. This is from a place of concern, not judgment.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I'm certainly not tiny. I'm 5'6", 172, size 12. I do sit for 10 hours/day with my job though. I do feel miserable when I eat anything close the 1400.
    So why did you start this thread, if you're happy with what you're doing and don't want to listen to anyone who disagrees with you?

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