1500 calories a day is too much
SiyaManqele
Posts: 18 Member
My aim is to loose weight and so far I'm moving in the right direction by eating less calories however I'm told here that for a male I must have at least 1500 calories a day. This is too much for me to meet because I get full quickly and before you say I might not be measuring my food correctly trust me I am. 1500 cal is just too much and I end up stuffing my face with food I don't need just for the sake of reaching 1500. I worry that trying to meet this amount of calories a day will end up causing me to gain weight instead.
I weigh 75kg, 167cm tall and 30 years old. I've reset my calorie goal to 1200 a day and I hope I'll be fine. 1500 is honestly a stretch and I don't even have enough meal ideas to eat that much a day.
I weigh 75kg, 167cm tall and 30 years old. I've reset my calorie goal to 1200 a day and I hope I'll be fine. 1500 is honestly a stretch and I don't even have enough meal ideas to eat that much a day.
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Replies
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Are you weighing and logging everything that you eat?2
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You could be causing yourself more problems by consistently eating too little. 1500 calories is the minimum a male should eat to get the amount of nutrition they need for general health. Based on your stats, you could eat 1700 and still lose weight.
Try eating more calorie dense, nutritious foods to up your calorie count. Avocado, nuts, nut butters, full fat dairy, a splash of olive oil on your salad...these are easy ways to add calories and maintain an overall healthy diet.14 -
What types of food are you eating? If you are looking to lose weight then it sounds like you have been over-eating in the past to gain the weight to begin with, so what were you eating then? You don't have a ton of weight to lose to be in the healthy range, so you should probably have your goal set to 0.5lb/wk.
ETA: I just checked your diary and it looks like some things might not be entered correctly. I don't know what "jungle oats" are, but I eat 40g of oats with my breakfast every morning and it's 150 calories, and your oats are showing up as 22 calories for 50g. Also, a lot of your food looks like it's estimated, not weighed. Like the chicken drum stick and corn on the cob. Are you using a food scale?15 -
1500 calories per day is nothing...You didn't get to the point of needing to lose weight by not being able to eat a measly 1500 calories...it's literally nothing.
1200 calories for an adult male will not be fine...my 10 year old eats more than that. The average adult male needs around 1700-1800 calories just for being alive.18 -
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If you can't physically eat 1,500, how did you wind up being in a situation where you have excess weight to lose? Have you made major changes to your diet?20
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quiksylver296 wrote: »
I haven't been using a food scale. I've been loosing more than 0.5km a week which is my goal and I've lost a total of 3kg to date.2 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »1500 calories per day is nothing...You didn't get to the point of needing to lose weight by not being able to eat a measly 1500 calories...it's literally nothing.
1200 calories for an adult male will not be fine...my 10 year old eats more than that. The average adult male needs around 1700-1800 calories just for being alive.
Before joining MFP I've been eating once a day, supper only (I'm embarrassed to say this). I also drank beer almost every night and a couple more beers and junk over the weekend. I'd balance my bad lifestyle by hitting the gym 5 days a week intensive training.2 -
SiyaManqele wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »
I haven't been using a food scale. I've been loosing more than 0.5km a week which is my goal and I've lost a total of 3kg to date.
If you're losing 0.5kg a week, I would think you're fine (probably underestimating your calorie intake).
How long in total did it take to lose the 3kg?
How much weight do you want to lose total?4 -
What are you eating? If you try to eat 1500 worth of vegetable,high fiber grain, lean meat, the volume of food might make you feel stuffed. All the fiber take longer to digest which might make you feeling bloated also. Try eating 1500 but add more fat to see how you feel.2
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janejellyroll wrote: »If you can't physically eat 1,500, how did you wind up being in a situation where you have excess weight to lose? Have you made major changes to your diet?
Please refer to my reply to @cwolfman131 -
SiyaManqele wrote: »I haven't been using a food scale. I've been loosing more than 0.5km a week which is my goal and I've lost a total of 3kg to date.
I am assuming you mean .5 kg a week. Half a kilometer is a lot of centimeters off the waist. You are losing at a perfectly normal rate. If you're not using a scale, you have very likely been eating more calories than you think you were. That's ok - you're losing at a sustainable rate.10 -
I'm the same height and age as you. Im eating 1500 and losing just fine. I'm also a woman with less.muscle mass. Yes you need 1500 a day. Unless you want your body to eat away at your muscles including your heart to lose weight.
Also you are already in a normal BMI meaning you should aim to lose 0.25 kg a week, not over 0.5 kg.6 -
I'm the same height and age as you. Im eating 1500 and losing just fine. I'm also a woman with less.muscle mass. Yes you need 1500 a day. Unless you want your body to eat away at your muscles including your heart to lose weight.
Also you are already in a normal BMI meaning you should aim to lose 0.25 kg a week, not over 0.5 kg.
OH no of course I don't want that. I always thought in order to loose weight I need to eat little. Being new on MFP and being on a plan for the very 1st time is teaching me a lot.4 -
followed by "I haven't been using a food scale."SiyaManqele wrote: »before you say I might not be measuring my food correctly trust me I am.
You're very likely eating more than you think. Buy a food scale that measures down to grams, weigh and log your food (everything) accurately, and get back to us.
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Let's do some math. I think it'll put your mind at ease.
TDEECalculator.net, which is quite accurate for most people, says the maintenance, "break even" caloric level for a sedentary 30 yr old male, 5'6", 165 lbs, is ... 1980 calories per day. If you are losing 1.1 lbs per week, that's a deficit of 550 calories per day. Therefore, you are eating 1430 calories per day on average, not 1200. Which makes sense tbh - most people who aren't drilling down with a to-the-gram food scale underestimate their cals by around that amount.
So what you should get out of this is, you're eating right around the 1,500 cals, and you're losing the weight you want to lose, so ... it's all good. No need to be concerned.8 -
Justin_7272 wrote: »
followed by "I haven't been using a food scale."SiyaManqele wrote: »before you say I might not be measuring my food correctly trust me I am.
You're very likely eating more than you think. Buy a food scale that measures down to grams, weigh and log your food (everything) accurately, and get back to us.
I'm definitely getting a food scale but what puzzles me is how am I loosing weight if I'm eating more than I think. My issue is that I get full very quick. Remember I used to eat once a day now I'm forced to eat 3 times plus 2 snacks which is new to me. The weight I want to loose is from my bad eating when I do eventually eat something and also from drinking too much beers.2 -
Let's do some math. I think it'll put your mind at ease.
TDEECalculator.net, which is quite accurate for most people, says the maintenance, "break even" caloric level for a sedentary 30 yr old male, 5'6", 165 lbs, is ... 1980 calories per day. If you are losing 1.1 lbs per week, that's a deficit of 550 calories per day. Therefore, you are eating 1430 calories per day on average, not 1200. Which makes sense tbh - most people who aren't drilling down with a to-the-gram food scale underestimate their cals by around that amount.
So what you should get out of this is, you're eating right around the 1,500 cals, and you're losing the weight you want to lose, so ... it's all good. No need to be concerned.
Thanks that makes sense.1 -
SiyaManqele wrote: »Justin_7272 wrote: »
followed by "I haven't been using a food scale."SiyaManqele wrote: »before you say I might not be measuring my food correctly trust me I am.
You're very likely eating more than you think. Buy a food scale that measures down to grams, weigh and log your food (everything) accurately, and get back to us.
I'm definitely getting a food scale but what puzzles me is how am I loosing weight if I'm eating more than I think. My issue is that I get full very quick. Remember I used to eat once a day now I'm forced to eat 3 times plus 2 snacks which is new to me. The weight I want to loose is from my bad eating when I do eventually eat something and also from drinking too much beers.
Low active are you now? Activity level outside of exercise (work, chores,....) d end do you still exercise? Do you eat back those exercise calories?
A side note, but you don't have to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. You can eat at whatever frequency you like. The only thing that matters is how many calories you eat and whatever way is easiest for you to reach that goal.
One meal a day is still a possibility, but you would need to eat more calorie dense food (nuts, avocado, oils,...) to reach your calorie goal, since you already have issues feeling too full.5 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »SiyaManqele wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »
I haven't been using a food scale. I've been loosing more than 0.5km a week which is my goal and I've lost a total of 3kg to date.
If you're losing 0.5kg a week, I would think you're fine (probably underestimating your calorie intake).
How long in total did it take to lose the 3kg?
How much weight do you want to lose total?
I want to cut down to 70kg from 75kg then start toning my body. I started 5 weeks ago but have been on MFP for 2 weeks coz I needed a tool to assist me.
I'm one of those guys who look fine in clothes from other people's perspective but only I know what's underneath my t-shirt and I wanna refine that. That's basically my goal, to have a lean body.2 -
SiyaManqele wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »SiyaManqele wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »
I haven't been using a food scale. I've been loosing more than 0.5km a week which is my goal and I've lost a total of 3kg to date.
If you're losing 0.5kg a week, I would think you're fine (probably underestimating your calorie intake).
How long in total did it take to lose the 3kg?
How much weight do you want to lose total?
I want to cut down to 70kg from 75kg then start toning my body. I started 5 weeks ago but have been on MFP for 2 weeks coz I needed a tool to assist me.
I'm one of those guys who look fine in clothes from other people's perspective but only I know what's underneath my t-shirt and I wanna refine that. That's basically my goal, to have a lean body.
I would highly recommend you start lifting weights now if you want to retain your muscle mass as you lose the fat, otherwise you will lose some muscle along with fat which will make it harder to achieve the aesthetic you are after!13 -
SiyaManqele wrote: »Justin_7272 wrote: »
followed by "I haven't been using a food scale."SiyaManqele wrote: »before you say I might not be measuring my food correctly trust me I am.
You're very likely eating more than you think. Buy a food scale that measures down to grams, weigh and log your food (everything) accurately, and get back to us.
I'm definitely getting a food scale but what puzzles me is how am I loosing weight if I'm eating more than I think. My issue is that I get full very quick. Remember I used to eat once a day now I'm forced to eat 3 times plus 2 snacks which is new to me. The weight I want to loose is from my bad eating when I do eventually eat something and also from drinking too much beers.
Two things can be true. You can be eating more than you think you are. You can be in a calorie deficit. These aren't mutually exclusive states.
Right now what you're doing is working. The potential concern for later is if you stop losing weight and need to adjust your calorie intake -- that's harder to do when you're roughly estimating what you're eating.9 -
Have you given up the beers?
One of the reasons that weight loss regimes encourage you to drink more water is that the liquid contributes to the feelings of being full. If you are drinking a lot of beer, then you feel full even though you have consumed fewer & better food calaories. Yes, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie but you have to look at the macros too to see that you are getting protein & fiber.
Your prior bad habit of eating only once per day may have triggered a starvation response in your body. If your system thinks there is no source of food it can hang on to every calorie it gets, thwarting weight loss. Good for you for eating more times per day.
Some of these changes take time to see. The things I'm learning is to let go of the "shoulds"; do what works for you & don't be a slave to some arbitrary #.
Hang in there.
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Have you given up the beers?
One of the reasons that weight loss regimes encourage you to drink more water is that the liquid contributes to the feelings of being full. If you are drinking a lot of beer, then you feel full even though you have consumed fewer & better food calaories. Yes, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie but you have to look at the macros too to see that you are getting protein & fiber.
Your prior bad habit of eating only once per day may have triggered a starvation response in your body. If your system thinks there is no source of food it can hang on to every calorie it gets, thwarting weight loss. Good for you for eating more times per day.
Some of these changes take time to see. The things I'm learning is to let go of the "shoulds"; do what works for you & don't be a slave to some arbitrary #.
Hang in there.
Your body isn't going to think you're starving if you eat just once a day. Our bodies are remarkably adaptable when it comes to eating schedules. There are many people here who have great weight management results eating within a limited window (or even one meal a day) because it fits their lifestyle and preferences better.
Choosing how many times to eat a day can be based on preferences, it doesn't have to hit an arbitrary number for weight loss to happen.13 -
Get enough protein and fat, let the carbohydrates take care of themselves, and use your own particular data to guide your calorie intake - no doubt you have issues with tracking and estimating calories-out because it's not an exact science, so everything is a best-guess. What matters when using your own particular data is that you are consistent with how you do things.3
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I would suggest not futzing with the meal schedule, macros, and other diet administrivia for now. People, in general, not saying you the OP specifically, just people in general, tend to greatly over-complicate what is actually a fairly simple thing. You already know if you eat your 1500 cals you'll lose around a pound a week, and you seem happy with the weight loss. Divide up those cals however you want, 1 meal or 6 meals, 60 % carbs or 10 % carbs, lettuce or a box of processed food, none of it matters as far as losing weight is concerned. Just eat what you like but count those calories like a precise accountant-madman with numbers OCD and eat your 1500 (or count them loosely and continue to eat what you think is 1200 but is actually around 1500 - either way is fine). In X weeks, you'll have lost approximately (X * 1) pounds and then you can take stock of where you're at, savor the win, and fine-tune if you feel like it.
The thing is, you're losing the weight you want to lose. So ... rinse and repeat.7 -
Exactly. @lgfrie makes the key point while keeping it simple. If you want to lose 1 lb/wk for 10 more weeks, just keep doing what you're doing for 10 more weeks. It doesn't matter how accurate your count is if you are achieving your goal. Likewise, there's no point in altering macros or schedule if what you are doing now works for you.
If it stops working for you (feel weak, lose muscle mass, lose too fast or loss stops), that would be the time to reassess. Accurate logging can be a big help in that assessment.1
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