Am I eating enough calories?

MSlaught

Calories Burned
From Normal Daily Activity 1,770 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1,200 calories/ day
Daily Calorie Deficit 570 calories

This is what my plan shows on myfitnesspal. Is 1200 too few calories when I'm exercising? Thank you.

vxmittyxv

I log my exercise but I don't use the extra calories unless I am hungry. I figure, my body will tell me if it needs more.

michlingle

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

Check out the above threads for commonly asked questions for newbies Welcome!

Dandan26

Yes it is. Make sure that you track your exercise as well as your food. When you exercise, you get to eat the calories that you burned from exercise. For example, you may burn 600 calories from doing a really hard workout. That day, you would need to eat 1800 calories to make up for your workout. Your NET would still equal 1200, and you will still lose weight.

missmilarae0213

If you've eaten a total of 1200 calories, but burned off 570 in work out, you're only really at 630 NET calories for the day. That's how that works. You may show some loss in the beginning with these kind of numbers but you're on a fast track to starvation mode plateau.

SheilaSisco

Since MFP figures a deficit for you, you should eat back the exercise calories... at least to the point where you're hitting a net calorie total of 1200/day...

jerseygirlmaggie

I had my light bulb moment on this very subject today. I think it's all about what works best for you, but here is what I discovered:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/208935-newbie-but-i-think-i-finally-got-the-net-calorie-thing

Barelmy

If I were you, I'd have the loss set to 1lb or even half a pound. 2lbs is a bit much, I think.

kmitzell

I have read in several places that going BELOW 1200 calories is a no-no because you get too few nutrients and it slows down your metabolism, potentially (ironically!). I'm not a doctor but my gut would tell me to consume more than that when you're active, depending on what you're doing for exercise, just so your body doesn't retreat into "starvation mode" and hold on to excess fat because too few calories are coming in! But that's just my opinion based on my own research - ask a health professional or a doctor for better advice - I can't prove any of this, I just have read it over the years in many places. I wouldn't do anything until you've contacted someone who really knows.

rosieg32

I find that if I consume 1200 calories I am all set. My limit is 1270. If I exercise of course I get more calories, but again if I eat at least 1200 it does not tell I have consumed to few......but below 1200 it will say too few and starvation mode.....blahblah! Hope this helps!

hjdykes

Its hard to answer your question without knowing more information. Especially how hard and long you are exercising. Too few calories could mean you are not getting enough recovery fuel in your diet so your body can repair itself. However, that being said, if you are trying to net 1200 calories, and you exercise to burn 1000 that is 2200 calories you can eat that day so you should be able to get enough.

daddyratty

MFP will not set your net calories to fewer than 1200 because that is considered a "starvation" mode ... though not a hard-and-fast, it's a rule of thumb. A 550 calorie deficit works out to about 1 pound per week.

You should generally try to eat your exercise calories ... EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT HUNGRY. No offense to those suggesting that their bodies will tell them what to do, but ISN'T WHAT GOT US HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE THE FACT THAT WE LISTENED TO OUR BODIES TOO MUCH?!

You should do this for at least 2-3 weeks (preferably more) and gauge your success in pounds and inches before really trying to tweak stuff too much. If it's not working you can explore options such as yo-yoing your calories (different quantities of cals each day), or even upping your calories (many have expressed that when they upped their calories they started losing weight). If your body suspects it's not getting enough nutrition, it will hold desperately onto whatever it has. And what it lets go of may not be what you want it to (like muscle).

Best of all, stay accountable to your diary. 100% ... if it passed your lips, it's on the diary. The support network on this site is amazing. You are in the right place, and you CAN do this!

michlingle

MFP will not set your net calories to fewer than 1200 because that is considered a "starvation" mode ... though not a hard-and-fast, it's a rule of thumb. A 550 calorie deficit works out to about 1 pound per week.

You should generally try to eat your exercise calories ... EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT HUNGRY. No offense to those suggesting that their bodies will tell them what to do, but ISN'T WHAT GOT US HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE THE FACT THAT WE LISTENED TO OUR BODIES TOO MUCH?!

You should do this for at least 2-3 weeks (preferably more) and gauge your success in pounds and inches before really trying to tweak stuff too much. If it's not working you can explore options such as yo-yoing your calories (different quantities of cals each day), or even upping your calories (many have expressed that when they upped their calories they started losing weight). If your body suspects it's not getting enough nutrition, it will hold desperately onto whatever it has. And what it lets go of may not be what you want it to (like muscle).

Best of all, stay accountable to your diary. 100% ... if it passed your lips, it's on the diary. The support network on this site is amazing. You are in the right place, and you CAN do this!

Thumbs up daddyratty!

MSlaught

Ok - so if I understand this correctly I've had this calorie thing wrong the whole time. I thought that I had to start with 1200 calories and have a deficit at the end of the day.

So, what I really want to do is to stick to eating at least 1200 calories a day and if I burn 300 calories then I can eat a total of 1500 calories and still be at a 1200 intake for the day and expect to lose a pound a week.

Did I get that right? Thanks so much ladies!

rosieg32

YES!!!!!

missmilarae0213

*high five* YES!

sanura

you can eat the exercise calories if you're hungry or exercising a lot.

daddyratty

Ok - so if I understand this correctly I've had this calorie thing wrong the whole time. I thought that I had to start with 1200 calories and have a deficit at the end of the day.

So, what I really want to do is to stick to eating at least 1200 calories a day and if I burn 300 calories then I can eat a total of 1500 calories and still be at a 1200 intake for the day and expect to lose a pound a week.

Did I get that right? Thanks so much ladies!

Bingo ... and it certainly isn't meant to come across rudely but we cannot assume we know anything about this stuff until we've had some success. Give it a few weeks ... keep talking on the board here ... and you'll figure out ways to work through the harder times.

MSlaught

Totally right - now that I'm eating the full 1200 cal a day I'm seeing those pounds drop down consistently even if I don't exercise.

Thanks everyone!

tryinghard2012

No matter how much exercise I do, it doesn't cause me to be hungry. I worry about that too as I never eat back my calories.

I eat pretty healthy, and clean. So if I do have something extra it's usually a veggie or fruit which isn't a lot of calories.