does anybody feel like the calorie goal is too low

dunjasoldo35

I recorded my breakfast only and it was 1,025 calories... And my goal for the day is 1,240... Does that seem extremely low? I'm a vegetarian and I still find myself eating more than that. Also I did not even binge for breakfast I only had 190 calories worth of something that wasn't really nutritious.

I'm 5'8 and 135.. I'm trying to get down to 125.. I turned vegetarian... Eat about 2000 a day but I'm still losing weight. I just feel like I would die if I ate 1240. Myfitnesspal needs to get a new calorie calculator. Its just seems really low.

Francl27

You mean you have 1025 calories left?

MFP is low because it doesn't take exercise into account. You have to add the exercise you do and eat your calories back from that.

crystalnichle

if your breakfast was 1025 calories then thats your problem right there!

bradXdale

1240 - [Breakfast] 190 Calories = 1,050 calories left.

What did you set your activity level to?

How active are you?

If you exercise you should be eating some of those calories back.

Have you figured out your TDEE / BMR (Total Daily Energy Expenditure & Basic Metabolic Rate)

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

You should be eating at least your BMR number. For weight loss you can cut 15-20% off the TDEE number.

RhineDHP

1240 - [Breakfast] 190 Calories = 1,050 calories left.

What did you set your activity level to?

How active are you?

If you exercise you should be eating some of those calories back.

Have you figured out your TDEE / BMR (Total Daily Energy Expenditure & Basic Metabolic Rate)

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

You should be eating at least your BMR number. For weight loss you can cut 15-20% off the TDEE number.

THIS. This will help give you a more accurate number for how many calories you should be eating a day.

shadriel7

The good news is that vege's are very low cal (so low I don't even record them half the time - 8 calories for a cup of vege's, why bother? lol) - however, cheese and most other dairy is pretty high calorie (especially butter). I actually have a hard time meeting my calorie count most days, unless I go out to eat somewhere. Most days MFP gripes at me and tells me I'm not eating enough. I have my goal set to 1000 calories per day and don't usually get over 900. I'm pretty sedentary tho also, outside of my trips to the gym and running up and down the stairs on my morning break - so I'm just not hungry a lot, and usually eat pretty small portions anyway.

wilsoje74

I recorded my breakfast only and it was 1,025 calories... And my goal for the day is 1,240... Does that seem extremely low? I'm a vegetarian and I still find myself eating more than that. Also I did not even binge for breakfast I only had 190 calories worth of something that wasn't really nutritious.

That's a big breakfast!!

AlongCame_Molly

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight.

LH85DC

OP- I'm having trouble understanding your post- was your breakfast 1025 calories? Or is that what you have left? Because that's a huge breakfast. It's hard to say if 1240 is too low for you without knowing more details, but remember that if you're using the standard MFP setup you should be eating back at least some exercise calories. Most people can lose weight on more than 1200 calories, possibly even far more (I lost on 2000 and I'm a 5'4" female)

ETA: I second the suggestions above to double check your calorie intake via the TDEE threads. Even if you choose to keep using the MFP method, it could help you figure out whether your deficit is too steep.

The good news is that vege's are very low cal (so low I don't even record them half the time - 8 calories for a cup of vege's, why bother? lol) - however, cheese and most other dairy is pretty high calorie (especially butter). I actually have a hard time meeting my calorie count most days, unless I go out to eat somewhere. Most days MFP gripes at me and tells me I'm not eating enough. I have my goal set to 1000 calories per day and don't usually get over 900. I'm pretty sedentary tho also, outside of my trips to the gym and running up and down the stairs on my morning break - so I'm just not hungry a lot, and usually eat pretty small portions anyway.

Just be careful here- while veggies are low calorie, 8 cals a cup doesn't seem like a good generalization. For example, 100 grams of carrots is 45 calories, and comes out to no more than 2 cups of carrots, probably less (I weigh rather than use measuring cups). So it is possible to really underestimate your calories if you simply choose not to measure an entire food group on the assumption that they're all low calorie.

shadriel7

OP- I'm having trouble understanding your post- was your breakfast 1025 calories? Or is that what you have left? Because that's a huge breakfast. It's hard to say if 1240 is too low for you without knowing more details, but remember that if you're using the standard MFP setup you should be eating back at least some exercise calories. Most people can lose weight on more than 1200 calories, possibly even far more (I lost on 2000 and I'm a 5'4" female)

ETA: I second the suggestions above to double check your calorie intake via the TDEE threads. Even if you choose to keep using the MFP method, it could help you figure out whether your deficit is too steep.

The good news is that vege's are very low cal (so low I don't even record them half the time - 8 calories for a cup of vege's, why bother? lol) - however, cheese and most other dairy is pretty high calorie (especially butter). I actually have a hard time meeting my calorie count most days, unless I go out to eat somewhere. Most days MFP gripes at me and tells me I'm not eating enough. I have my goal set to 1000 calories per day and don't usually get over 900. I'm pretty sedentary tho also, outside of my trips to the gym and running up and down the stairs on my morning break - so I'm just not hungry a lot, and usually eat pretty small portions anyway.

Just be careful here- while veggies are low calorie, 8 cals a cup doesn't seem like a good generalization. For example, 100 grams of carrots is 45 calories, and comes out to no more than 2 cups of carrots, probably less (I weigh rather than use measuring cups). So it is possible to really underestimate your calories if you simply choose not to measure an entire food group on the assumption that they're all low calorie.

If I'm not recording it, its generally because I have in the past and it was almost nothing. I always record it if its the first time I've eaten it since starting to use MFP - because I'm curious how much it has. Like yesterday I had half a cup of spinach for part of my dinner - 8 calories. No I won't bother to record that one again. A couple weeks ago I had 2 pickle spears with a sandwich - the spears were also 8 calories - I've had more of the same pickles since, but as I'm not eating the whole jar, I don't bother recording them. I haven't had any carrots yet since I started using MFP a month ago - so I'd record that one if I did - tho technically, carrots are roots, not vege's :P

As a general rule for myself tho, if I already know its almost nothing for calories, I don't always record it - depends on how anal I feel like being that day. I doubt this accounts for more than another 50 calories a day for me, most likely much less.

ladymiseryali

Change your calorie goal. My breakfast can be that much and I eat 1589 a day.

LH85DC

The good news is that vege's are very low cal (so low I don't even record them half the time - 8 calories for a cup of vege's, why bother? lol) - however, cheese and most other dairy is pretty high calorie (especially butter). I actually have a hard time meeting my calorie count most days, unless I go out to eat somewhere. Most days MFP gripes at me and tells me I'm not eating enough. I have my goal set to 1000 calories per day and don't usually get over 900. I'm pretty sedentary tho also, outside of my trips to the gym and running up and down the stairs on my morning break - so I'm just not hungry a lot, and usually eat pretty small portions anyway.

Just be careful here- while veggies are low calorie, 8 cals a cup doesn't seem like a good generalization. For example, 100 grams of carrots is 45 calories, and comes out to no more than 2 cups of carrots, probably less (I weigh rather than use measuring cups). So it is possible to really underestimate your calories if you simply choose not to measure an entire food group on the assumption that they're all low calorie.

If I'm not recording it, its generally because I have in the past and it was almost nothing. I always record it if its the first time I've eaten it since starting to use MFP - because I'm curious how much it has. Like yesterday I had half a cup of spinach for part of my dinner - 8 calories. No I won't bother to record that one again. A couple weeks ago I had 2 pickle spears with a sandwich - the spears were also 8 calories - I've had more of the same pickles since, but as I'm not eating the whole jar, I don't bother recording them. I haven't had any carrots yet since I started using MFP a month ago - so I'd record that one if I did - tho technically, carrots are roots, not vege's :P

As a general rule for myself tho, if I already know its almost nothing for calories, I don't always record it - depends on how anal I feel like being that day. I doubt this accounts for more than another 50 calories a day for me, most likely much less.

That's totally fair- I was just trying to add some context here. Skipping things that you know for sure to be 8 cals, I totally get that. I just wanted to be sure that OP and other users didn't misconstrue what you said to mean that all veggies are only 8 cals/cup- just this morning I was reading a thread where the poster had thought that vegetables were 'free' and hadn't ever logged any. Not sure if that's just a Weight Watchers confusion, or what, but even veggies can add up if you aren't careful!

And as an aside... carrots are a root, yes. But that doesn't mean they aren't a vegetable. Last time I checked taproots are generally considered to be vegetables. A root vegetable...