Help with calorie count?

katiusha

Hi All,

I've started on MFP and trying to lose weight about 1 week ago, and I am slightly confused.

The Food Tracking section suggests the net number of calories I should consume each day. When I follow that exact number, the next day I feel fine. When I am under (but still above the magic net 1200 kcal), I feel absolutely ravenous the next day. I don't know if it's my body trying to adjust to the new diet or I'm simply not giving it enough base calories for living.

So, should I aim for the number of calories prescribed in the Food Diary or can I be under (and still above net 1200 kcal) and lose a bit more ?

Thank you for your help!!

Jassper

As long as you stay above the 1200 you should be fine. I know I feel starved at times as well.
One thing that helps is to eat more proteins, eggs, nuts, meats, are just a few. Sugars help also, maybe some dark chocolate to boost your HDL as well!

Purple_Orchid_87

make sure you drink lots of water - i honestly think i ate because i mistook thirst for hunger
also, i add a little squash dilute to my water to give it flavour - makes me more inclined to drink it
and because it tastes of fruit, i think my brain thinks its food, or at least partly food
if after 1 x 250ml glass, after 10 minutes, i;m still hungry, i eat something good and small

its important to remember that everyone is different though - what works for me may not work for you )

momma3sweetgirls

Your BMR might in fact be higher than what MFP calculated. Really, each person is different. Try increasing your calories by 200 a day and see if that makes a difference. I upped mine from 1300 to 1500 and I'm still losing weight.

nurse_carolyn

when I first started I was also hungry so you may be right that this is an adjustment for you. A friend on MFP suggested to have more snacks to keep my metabolism going and to help me make it to the next meal. Obviously I had to be careful with the kind of snacks I chose but I found that it really helped. I looked at other friends food diary's to see some snack options such as celery with peanut butter, a handful of nuts, blueberries, etc....

good luck with your journey:)

adjones_21

Eat smaller more frequent meals. Add healthy snacks like yugart and nuts. Eat more protien and fiber. Drink plenty of water. When I first started I had no problem hiting my calorie goals...I started out right on target, after about 1-2 weeks I was able to eat less and not feel hungry. Now I usually have 200-500 calories remaining for the day and I am full.

katiusha

Thank you all very much!

:flowerforyou: