Eating Enough?

Nwebe1

I absolutely love that I can track my calories on here just by entering in what I've eaten. I never did it before because it was a pain to read the labels and try and figure it all out myself. Plus I like being able to plan my meals ahead of time and enter different varietes of meals in to see what will help me stay on track.

However, I'm finding that I'm usually 400+ calories under my daily goal. This is after MFP adds in the calories I worked off during my workouts though (Usually 500-600 calories). I'm definetely eating better than I was before, no more eating garbage all week, but I'm worried I'm not eating enough if I'm so far under my goal. I find it hard to get my calorie goal without going over my protein goal though.

So should I be eating more and not worry as much about the carb/fat/protein goals MFP set for me? I'm not starving myself by any means, if I get hungry I eat, I just choose to eat healthier, like some fruit or a few wheat crackers with low fat cheese. I just don't want to harm my body by not getting enough calories. So stick with what I'm doing or eat mroe calories and forget about going over the other goals.....Any suggestions?

jasonweinberg

those other goals should be going up as a percentage of your calories as you exercise so as long as you are eating the same kinds of foods the ratios should be the same. as to whether to eat your exercise calories that is a source of endless debate on mfp...although the site officially recommends it.

nparsons369

i am with you on this one. not starving myself at all. eating about 6 times a day. but not hitting the recommendation. kinda new to all the diet stuff. i dont know if you noticed the part at the bottom of the food diary that says by not eating the recommended cal. you may hit starvation mode. totally not wanting that.
this is me scratching my head, right along with you

darmel97

I go over alot on my protein but I think that's ok because higher protein and less carbs does work. I think keeping the fat count under or where it should be is more important. Any other thoughts on this?

DeeDawn

I work at a gym and from what I have been told, you have to eat your recommended calories per day in order to be able to lose the weight you want. You do not have to eat the calories that you burn working out but you really should be eating your recommended daily intake.

chickybabe05

hehehe i can't help you at all as i am in ta similar boat!!! i eat what i want but its not enough according to the calorie counter. Argh its so frustrating, i can't force myself to eat when im not hungry as it just makes me feel ill. need to up my calories without increasing the amount of food im eating....so i have have to find high calorie foods...but im new to this and frankly have no idea what to do...
good luck to you though, im sure you will find the answers somewhere here

Nwebe1

Thanks for everyone's help I think I'll start eating more to reach my daily calories (not including my workout calories), but keep the carbs and fat as close to the goal as I can, and not worry if my protein goes over a little bit.

becalee26

I also eat 6x a day and have trouble eating my excercise cals. I eat all the things I have in my houes for healthy options and don't want to grab the junk just for the cals. I have been drinking 2-3 cups of milk to get back some of the cals when I go under 1200 after excercising. I also was thinking about taking a protein drink on the days that I work out,

loupammac

I guess I take a rather offhand approach to this issue. I just complete my logs and make sure my net calories is at least 1200. I drink some more water and make sure I'm not hungry. Tracking individual nutrients is handy, if you're into that kind of thing.

kacka68

I eat small and often.... you'll be surprised how quickly 6 little meals can add up. If you're still stuck...try 24 raw almonds = 160 calories or half an avocado (145) on toast (yum, 120) = 264. Then there's always milk......

I didn't start to lose weight regularly until ate more food (eating back ALL the exercise calories)!!! I know it seems weird, but put good, clean fuel into your body (not just "food") and it will reward you.

good luck.