Undereating?

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  • fallenmack1989
    fallenmack1989 Posts: 30
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    sorry haven't replied in a while, I've been trying to eat more every day, but I always end up way below my goal. Today I ended up eating 995 calories and burning of 473 so my net was 522, and I feel energetic and really good after my workout so I don't know how to change when I usually don't eat that much to begin with.

    Also, i checked out the Basal Metabolic Rate and does anybody think that is a completely bogus thing? I put my height and weight and age in and it says i burn like 1300 calories a day just being sedentary or laying in bed. Am i missing something with this or is it not really accurate?
  • kittyinaz
    kittyinaz Posts: 300 Member
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    sorry haven't replied in a while, I've been trying to eat more every day, but I always end up way below my goal. Today I ended up eating 995 calories and burning of 473 so my net was 522, and I feel energetic and really good after my workout so I don't know how to change when I usually don't eat that much to begin with.

    Also, i checked out the Basal Metabolic Rate and does anybody think that is a completely bogus thing? I put my height and weight and age in and it says i burn like 1300 calories a day just being sedentary or laying in bed. Am i missing something with this or is it not really accurate?

    Are you saying it's bogus because it's not enough, or bogus because it's too much? Your body uses energy just to be alive, regenerating new cells, fighting off germs, etc etc etc. TONS of energy. And that energy = burning calories whether your exercising or not. So, yeah, 1300 is definitely reasonable, even without exercising.
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
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    I had that problem. I never want to under my 1200 cuz it's not good for me. I usually just add a little walk and go slightly over 1200.
  • raven1114
    raven1114 Posts: 115 Member
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    not eating enough is one of my biggest problems. i just don't have a big appetite and can't eat a lot at once. i usually try to eat more smaller frequent meals throughout the day.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    sorry haven't replied in a while, I've been trying to eat more every day, but I always end up way below my goal. Today I ended up eating 995 calories and burning of 473 so my net was 522, and I feel energetic and really good after my workout so I don't know how to change when I usually don't eat that much to begin with.

    Also, i checked out the Basal Metabolic Rate and does anybody think that is a completely bogus thing? I put my height and weight and age in and it says i burn like 1300 calories a day just being sedentary or laying in bed. Am i missing something with this or is it not really accurate?

    They are all estimates but they generally are fairly accurate. If you have been eating at a very reduced rate for a long time though, you will have slowed this rate down, so it may be high for you, but generally 1300 is pretty standard (I'm 1360 and that's about what I set my calorie goal at).

    And just to clarify, BMR is only what your body burns being alive. Being sedentary is actually different (as you do move and talk and such) so BMR is if you just lay still and did literally NOTHING, sedentary is a level of activity, so it would be higher. At 5'3", at my goal weight of 130, and with an activity level of sedentary I would burn 1600 calories just living my life, but my BMR would be about 1250.
  • fallenmack1989
    fallenmack1989 Posts: 30
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    It just seems weird that I eat under 1200 calories a day but supposedly i work off 1300 just by being alive, so if that were true then wouldn't be lathargic or anything if im burning off more than im eating? or is that good? i dunno. that just seemed weird.

    haha i finally ate over my alotted calories today. what did the trick...CHINESE FOOD!! lol. I definitely wouldn't want to eat that everyday but it seems like thats the only thing that really has calories that I eat.
  • Crystal817
    Crystal817 Posts: 2,021 Member
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    haha i finally ate over my alotted calories today. what did the trick...CHINESE FOOD!! lol. I definitely wouldn't want to eat that everyday but it seems like thats the only thing that really has calories that I eat.

    I'm sure you can find enough calories without adding in all the fat and sodium from Chinese food! >.<

    What do you usually eat everyday?
  • TAWoody
    TAWoody Posts: 261 Member
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    My daily goal is around 1800 but using these diet pills I've not been hungry some days and had to force myself to eat something to go above 1200 a day a few times.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    It just seems weird that I eat under 1200 calories a day but supposedly i work off 1300 just by being alive, so if that were true then wouldn't be lathargic or anything if im burning off more than im eating? or is that good? i dunno. that just seemed weird.

    haha i finally ate over my alotted calories today. what did the trick...CHINESE FOOD!! lol. I definitely wouldn't want to eat that everyday but it seems like thats the only thing that really has calories that I eat.

    Well what happens when you consistently undereat is that your body slows your metabolism, it's what is generally referred to as "starvation mode" or "famine response", your body gets a consistently low number of calories, so it slows the metabolism so as to make those calories you do get cover all of the functions that it needs to cover. So right now, that BMR is probably high for you. You have 2 options to continue losing from here- 1) You can keep your calories lower than suggested understanding that MFP's estimates really don't apply to you because your metabolism has been slowed. The disadvantage to this is that you may be risking problems with your health as your body is "short cutting" or giving each of it's functions less calories than it would prefer to to complete it's normal activities/duties.

    2) (and the one I'm generally in favor of) You can increase your calories - I would say 50 calories every 3-4 days- until you are back at the range of estimates that MFP would project for you and even a little higher, up to 1400 or 1500 or even to your maintenence calories. The disadvantage to this one is that you may gain a little in the process of increasing your calories, but it will re-set your metabolism and speed it back up so that online estimators like MFP are more accurate for you. By going OVER your BMR, you will give yourself some room to drop your calories back down (your body will adjust to the higher calories, so cutting your calories will have a greater effect). This way requires more patience, but is healthier and better for your body.
  • eveunderground
    eveunderground Posts: 236 Member
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    Undereating is completely unnecessary, if you want the weight loss to be permanent then I'd suggest you start eating a reasonable amount daily. You wont be able to maintain a net intake below 1000 forever so you're likely to gain the weight back whenever you do decide to eat a more reasonable amount. If 1200 is your target then eat 1200 or very close to it (a little above or below is fine, but don't drop below consistently). Force yourself to eat the extra calories if you have to. You can do it.
  • KTNemo
    KTNemo Posts: 100
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    It just seems weird that I eat under 1200 calories a day but supposedly i work off 1300 just by being alive, so if that were true then wouldn't be lathargic or anything if im burning off more than im eating? or is that good? i dunno. that just seemed weird.

    haha i finally ate over my alotted calories today. what did the trick...CHINESE FOOD!! lol. I definitely wouldn't want to eat that everyday but it seems like thats the only thing that really has calories that I eat.

    The lethargy will catch up to you. You will start to feel the effects of not eating enough in short order. The thing that seems to be hitting me, after reading this entire thread, is that your BMR is 1300 only if you stay in bed all day. Think coma. Once you get out of bed, you start burning way more calories. 1300 isn't that high. It's only 100 calories over what you are supposed to be eating after the MFP deficit has been calculated in!

    My BMR is 1540. I work out 5 days a week pretty heavily. My base calorie consumption is set to 1500. Now, if I never got out of bed, I would still be burning 40 calories/day extra in my "coma" state. Once I get out of bed, I burn a lot more. I have my weightloss setting at 1.5 lbs per week. that means that I am buring an additional 750. So if I wanted to stay the weight I am right now, I would have to eat 2290 and not workout!

    I have a really hard time eating back my exercise calories lately, but I try and force myself to! When I wasn't, I couldn't workout at the level that I was used to. I felt tired, sore, and just out of sorts! Once I started adding in lean protein, complex carbs, and of all things gatorade (I know it has a lot of sugar, but it helps give me that extra push and helps get me to my goal), I felt a lot better. I also started shedding weight a lot faster. Don't go below 1200 net, you will start to feel the difference first, and after your body gets used to it's new fuel allotment, you will start to see it faster!

    Right now, unfortunately, you are starving yourself if you are only netting 500-900/day. It will catch up to you.

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