Not Reaching Daily Goals - Good or Bad?

Eli716

I started yesterday and logged all my foods and exercising (Started exercising on Sunday). The Daily Goal of my calories is 1,550 (without exercising), but I don't tend to eat much and ended up only having 660 calories worth of food that day. But since Sunday, I have been getting my elliptical twice and do a mile or two each time. (Exercise caused the calorie intake to 2,032.)

Today, I did my best to reach the 1,550 goal, but wanted to do cardiovascular exercises again and did 45 minutes total on the elliptical, changing 1,550 to 2,416 Calorie intake. And in order to reach just the 1,550 goal, I had to resort to buying fast food.

Therefore, the question is, "Is it truly necessary to reach calorie goals?"

If so, how can I actually reach 1,550 when I honestly don't feel like eating all the food it would require? Average amount of calorie I tend to eat is 650-850. Any help or advice would be more than welcoming!

AmyRhubarb

Over time, over training and under eating can cause you all sorts of problems. If you can't meet your daily calorie goal due to high calorie burns, cut back on the exercise. Proper fueling and nourishment of your body is key!

Great article here: http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercising-too-much.html

s_masters20

I often don't reach the calorie goals that are posted, but I try to at least intake 1,200 calories a day to prevent my body from going into starvation mode. Of course this is not always how things go. Due to dietary restrictions placed on me for medical reasons there is a lot of food I cannot eat, and sometimes I do not feel like eating the foods that I can. Lately I have been trying to experiment with different foods that I can eat. There are lots of food available that would allow you to reach your calorie goals without resorting to fast food. For example cheeses, breads, pasta, lean meats like chicken and fish, and similar things. I would be glad to share with you my daily meal plan to give you some ideas.

jess6742

First welcome to myfitnesspal! Now for your question. That is definitely not enough food. You never want to eat below your BMR. (If your not sure what your BMR is just google BMR calculator). That is the minimum amount of calories your body needs if its in a coma. So you definitely need more than that to function properly throughout your day. You need to be netting 1500 a day so you also need to eat back your exercise calories.

That being said, are you actually only eating 650-800 calories? Are you using a food scale? It is really easy to underestimate how much we are eating.

How are you calculating your calorie burn for the exercise? Machines tend to way overestimate and so does myfitnesspal. A lot of people seem to go by their heart rate monitor. I just try to be really conservative with my numbers.

Look for the thread inplaceofroadmap. Search for it in the forums by hitting the search button next to settings (it took me a while to figure out there even was a search option lol). Don't starve your body it's the only one you will ever have. Be kind to it.

Good luck with your weight loss!

iquiltoo

What Jess said, and there are higher calorie foods that you can eat that are less filling, like peanut butter, nuts, and other things I just can't think of right now...

iheartmy1dog

Over time, over training and under eating can cause you all sorts of problems. If you can't meet your daily calorie goal due to high calorie burns, cut back on the exercise. Proper fueling and nourishment of your body is key!

Great article here: http://www.shapefit.com/overtraining-exercising-too-much.html

^^ I agree. I'm a mess right now from under eating and exercising too much... Some days I feel like my body is falling apart at 28! Don't make my mistake!

AmyRhubarb

Look for the thread inplaceofroadmap. Search for it in the forums by hitting the search button next to settings (it took me a while to figure out there even was a search option lol). Don't starve your body it's the only one you will ever have. Be kind to it.

This is the thread mentioned - worth a read (several in fact - took me reading it several times over to wrap my head around it, but glad I did!): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

gr8xpectationz

I tend to agree with the people who say: If you can't manage to eat your allotted calories, how did you end up with extra weight to lose? I'm not trying to be snide; it's a legitimate question.

If you imagine that you can only eat spinach or something, it'll be hard to get up to your daily goals. If you load up with chips and donuts, it will be hard to stay under your goals. But neither of these is reasonable or practical in the real world.

Your diary is closed, so it's hard to make good targed suggestions.In truth, you need a variety of foods. And pay attention to your macros. If you're low on calories, try eating some nutritious foods that are more calorically dense. The ones that help me (I'm on low carb), include nuts...cheese...coconut oil...cottage cheese. But surely you can find some others that you enjoy and will work well for you.

gr8xpectationz

Lots of people here let MFP set their goals. Others calculate TDEE minus 20%. There are many different methodologies. My weight-loss doctor has me on 1300 calories, and NOT eating back my exercise calories. This is substantially lower than any of the available methodologies recommend for a person of my size.

I mention this only to illustrate that it can be okay to eat a larger deficit, or to not hit 1500 calories.

But a day less than 800 calories is absurd. Unless you're short AND skinny, I can't imagine that anything under 1200 is safe over the long term.

gr8xpectationz

You can, in fact, lose weight on 600-800 calories a day for awhile. But if you choose this route, you are at terrible risk for a) an eating disorder, or b) gaining it all back plus more.

Aim instead for an approach that is sustainable over the long haul, and ways to incorporate healthy habits into your everyday life. It's totally do-able. And there are lots of people her on MFP who can help with questions about food ideas or meal planning.

Best of luck to you!

herblackwings39

I started yesterday and logged all my foods and exercising (Started exercising on Sunday). The Daily Goal of my calories is 1,550 (without exercising), but I don't tend to eat much and ended up only having 660 calories worth of food that day. But since Sunday, I have been getting my elliptical twice and do a mile or two each time. (Exercise caused the calorie intake to 2,032.)

Today, I did my best to reach the 1,550 goal, but wanted to do cardiovascular exercises again and did 45 minutes total on the elliptical, changing 1,550 to 2,416 Calorie intake. And in order to reach just the 1,550 goal, I had to resort to buying fast food.

Therefore, the question is, "Is it truly necessary to reach calorie goals?"

If so, how can I actually reach 1,550 when I honestly don't feel like eating all the food it would require? Average amount of calorie I tend to eat is 650-850. Any help or advice would be more than welcoming!

Do you eat "diet" foods? Use low fat or non fat anything? Unless you have a medical condition that requires it stop using any special diet items. You can get a good amount of calories from small amounts of nuts, nut butters, avocado, cooking oils, etc. Using full fat dairy is another way to increase your calories without eating a ridiculous amount of food.

If you're eating regular food already consider cooking with olive oil or coconut oil.

It's called a goal for a reason, it's supposed to be something you try to reach. If you still can't get close to your goal you might consider slowing down on the exercise until you have your diet in hand.

namelesshere

Planning is the key. With 1500 calories, you can a lot 500 per meal, or use some for snacks.

So, for breakfast you might want to have: A 1 cup serving of quaker oat squares (210 cal) 1 cup of skim milk (100 cal) for 310 cal.

For a mid morning snack, try a banana (105 cal) and a cookie (80 cal). You are now up to 495 cal.

For Lunch a sandwich: Whole grain Bread (can be up to 120 cal per slice so you have to read labels) Slice of turkey breast lunch meat. (50 cal) Slice of cheese or second slice of meat. (50 cal) Miracle whip salad dressing (50 cal). Roma tomato, sliced8 (11 cal) Whole Cucumber sliced (8 cal) Lunch Total is 409 cal

Mid afternoon snack- anything that will total 100 cal.

Supper: You have just under 500 cal left. 3 ounce grilled chicken breast (240 cal) , 1 cup bean corn salsa (100 cal) 1 cup cooked brown rice (216 cal) . Total 556 cal

Your total for the day is 1460. A small apple (80 cal) sliced for a bed time snack would bring it up to 1540 for the day.

Of course, you will be drinking water (best choice) or another 0 cal drink for the day.

Again, planning is the key. The other important key is to measure. Your kitchen scale should be your best friend. Then log. The database here is great to use as a planning tool.

tnsumner

I wouldn't say meeting your calories is the most important thing in the day. I CERTAINLY wouldn't eat fast food to meet that goal. That food is FULL of fat and unhealthy.

I rarely meet my 1200 calories per day, but I'm full and satisfied. Eat when you're hungry. Focus on what you are eating. Let the calories take a backseat until you're comfortable making healthy decisions.