Calorie deficit?

stoneagedays

I just started using this app but I've been trying to lose weight on my own for quite a while now! I've lost maybe 10 pounds but am looking to lose at least 20 more, so I'm hoping this community and an app that tracks everything I do will help! But I noticed when I've been tracking my foods, every day it says that I'm not getting enough calories! I can barely hit 1,000 calories a day! I feel like I'm eating plenty, with three meals a day plus a couple snacks. Is eating very low amounts of calories a good thing? Should I be taking more in? If so, does anyone have any good low carb/zero carb high calorie snacks they can share?

quiksylver296

I would get a food scale and make sure that you are actually eating 1000 calories first. Most humans are terrible at eyeballing portions. If, after using a food scale, you determine you are actually eating only 1000 calories, then yes, it's a bad thing.

Too little calories will cause many issues including hair loss, fatigue, muscle loss (your heart is a muscle), etc, etc.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

kami3006

Your goal is to eat the amount of calories the app gives you plus added exercise calories as your deficit is already built in. If you're not hitting the minimum, then you need to change some of the foods your eating. This is common when folks start out as they start eating a lot of diet foods (low fat, low calorie). Swap them out for some with higher calories or add a snack in order to get enough nutrition to fuel your body well.

And use a food scale as Quiksylver mentioned. It is usually an eye opener.

Panini911

yes you should be taking in more than 1000 calories a day unless on a medically supervised diet.

but how solid is your logging? do you use a food scale for everything and log all calories (Food and liquid)?

we don't put on a ton of weight by under eating. but if your appetite IS really that low and you really ARE only eating 1000 calories and feel full then pick foods with higher caloric density so you don't need to eat "more" to hit your minimum calorie goal. But more likely it's a logging issue.

Seffell

3 meals a day and snaks is very unlikely less than 1000 cals. Do you use a digital kitchen scale for everything?

Unless your meals are 250cal each which is not much of a meal to speak of you're probably eating more.

Salixiana

stoneagedays wrote: »

I feel like I'm eating plenty, with three meals a day plus a couple snacks.

My food diary is public -- Maybe it will be helpful to you take a look at it, to see what 1200 calories looks like (200 more than you feel you are eating!). It definitely doesn't look like three "meals" a day. More like a couple of very small meals and a couple of snacks. Sometimes a snack is half an ounce of almonds and half an ounce of cheese... I think you might not be measuring your calories accurately. Are you weighing everything, and double-checking the MFP calorie database? Tons of entries in there are wrong, so you have to search for the ones that seem most accurate.

I'm 63 years old and 1200 calories works OK for me, as long as they are really nutrient-dense. I eat more if I get a bunch of exercise.

My diary skipped a few days last week because I was traveling. And it's not that longstanding. But it will give you a general idea.