MFP tells me I am not eating enough

lorikamp64

Okay so here is my problem. I have been tracking for a couple of weeks on MFP. I am following a low carb diet (20gm carb daily). I eat vegetables, meat, eggs, cheese, berries etc. and eat until I am full, but I keep coming in under my calorie goal. Yesterday, for example I only consumed 893 calories (but was never hunger) and MFP basically yelled at me over not eating enough. I am trying to lose weight and have only dropped about 1 pound, but I really am laying off the carbs because they were causing me to get nightly heartburn. So I am looking at advice to tweek my eating to help me start losing. I have about 20lbs lose but my scale isn't budging. Suggestions?

quiksylver296

Do you use a food scale, weighing everything that you eat/drink?

sschauer513

seems very odd you wouldn't be hungry that low your body starts to cannibalize muscle for energy. I'd look into protein shakes to up your calories and probably your macros in general. Carbs I would say are not the enemy giving you heartburn it's probably the food with the carbs so find other food to get some carbs. But measure and weigh and log everything make sure you really are that low in calories.

malibu927

You shouldn't be under your calorie goal, you should be hitting it. Make sure your logging is as accurate as possible (if you've only lost a pound eating 900 calories you're eating more than you think) and aim for the number given to you.

kimny72

A couple of weeks is really too soon to tell anything. But generally, if you are logging 900 cals every day, not feeling hungry, and not losing weight, you are eating more than you think.

1. Get a food scale and weigh out your portions. This will be eye-opening, I know it was for me.
2. Double check that the entries you are using in the database are correct. Most were entered by users and many are flat out wrong.
3. Make sure you are logging everything: whole foods, packaged foods, snacks, nibbles, condiments, cooking oil, beverages, etc.

Having said that, if you are really eating 900 cals a day, you need to eat more. Food is fuel and your body has lots of important stuff to do every day. Under-eating is a great way to quietly screw up your health and eventually hit the proverbial wall.

AliceDark

The two most likely explanations are:

1. You're not calculating your intake correctly and are not actually eating that few calories. (This is the most likely explanation). To be sure, get a food scale and use it to measure all solid and semi-solid foods. Use measuring cups or spoons for liquids. We know that people, across the board, are really bad at estimating intake. We all tend to under-report our intake, even when we're trying to be as accurate as possible.

2. It's also possible that this can be new-diet excitement that is overriding your hunger signals in the short term. This is not a good thing -- even if you don't feel hungry, you still need to intake more calories to make sure you're supplying enough fuel for your body. If, after getting a food scale, you find that you're actually under-eating that drastically, you'll need to find a way to up your calories to an appropriate level.