Should I Eat More?

hartk001

I'd appreciate some guidance.
To loose weight I set myself a target of 1450 calories, which I'm raising to 1500 on Monday. I'm tracking the food through MyFitnessPal, my exercise in Fitbit . However, I'm finding that on many days, because of the type of food I'm eating, I'm not using up the calories I've allocated myself. Add to that the number of calories. I've burned and there is a large deficit!
As an example writing this MFP shows 1450 goal 971 food 671 exercise with 1155 remaining
On the face of it this seems good: less calories more weight loss. But is that the case? Having set the goal of 2 lb week weight should I be trying to eat nearer the 1450 mark?

JaydedMiss

....with those stats you should be aiming for the 1700-2000 mark not 1450 lol. 1450 is your minimum. Add exercise and eat atleast half back...eating under 1000 isnt healthy even if you sat on your butt all day long in bed.

Edit: totally didnt even see the male part lol. Aim for 1800-2100 at those stats. Minimum

cwolfman13

hartk001 wrote: »

I'd appreciate some guidance.
To loose weight I set myself a target of 1450 calories, which I'm raising to 1500 on Monday. I'm tracking the food through MyFitnessPal, my exercise in Fitbit . However, I'm finding that on many days, because of the type of food I'm eating, I'm not using up the calories I've allocated myself. Add to that the number of calories. I've burned and there is a large deficit!
As an example writing this MFP shows 1450 goal 971 food 671 exercise with 1155 remaining
On the face of it this seems good: less calories more weight loss. But is that the case? Having set the goal of 2 lb week weight should I be trying to eat nearer the 1450 mark?

So that would be the same as just eating 300 calories...sound healthy? Your body requires energy to function...calories are the unit of that energy...getting an appropriate amount of calories is and important part of nutrition.

Eat more calorie dense foods...my guess is that you've cut way back on dietary fat which is also no bueno....

Also, you're a dude...the minimum calorie intake for a sedentary male is 1500 calories. All you're doing is torching muscle mass...

malibu927

Yes, you should eat more. 1500 net calories (after exercise) is the minimum for males (you're netting a fifth of right now!), and if that's the goal it gave you for 2 pounds a week it's likely too aggressive. And more weight loss isn't necessarily a good thing, as you'll lose a lot of muscle mass and risk major health concerns.

TeaBea

hartk001 wrote: »

I'd appreciate some guidance.
To loose weight I set myself a target of 1450 calories, which I'm raising to 1500 on Monday. I'm tracking the food through MyFitnessPal, my exercise in Fitbit . However, I'm finding that on many days, because of the type of food I'm eating, I'm not using up the calories I've allocated myself. Add to that the number of calories. I've burned and there is a large deficit!
As an example writing this MFP shows 1450 goal 971 food 671 exercise with 1155 remaining
On the face of it this seems good: less calories more weight loss. But is that the case? Having set the goal of 2 lb week weight should I be trying to eat nearer the 1450 mark?

More isn't better. More deficit can mean your body has to use "other" fuel sources AND those sources won't always be fat stores.

That means a larger % of lean muscle loss. Most people set out to lower their body fat % and burning thru existing lean muscle doesn't help you do that. That's why healthy weight loss and fast weight loss are often 2 different things. "Often" 2 different things because morbidly obese people won't lose lean muscle (at first).....this is why not everyone can expect 2 pounds a week.

Of course you should eat more. Eat 1500 + at least 50% of exercise calories. 50% because calorie burns are guesstimates (and often times generous).