Calorie intake (Newbie question)

CommandaPanda

One question that I really just thought of (hadn't come to mind at any point before now) is this:

Can I consume significantly less than my daily calorie goal? I do a lot of exercise and that takes my daily goals up by almost or around 500 calories extra everyday.

Example: yesterday my daily goal was 2200, I consumed 1500. Is this a problem?

fbmandy55

1500 NET? No that is fine. If your net is anything less than 1100=1200 you should probably be eating more. Sometimes that means lots of exercise calories to eat bad, just eat healthy, high calorie foods such as PB, nuts, avocado, etc..

erickirb

1500 NET? No that is fine. If your net is anything less than 1100=1200 you should probably be eating more. Sometimes that means lots of exercise calories to eat bad, just eat healthy, high calorie foods such as PB, nuts, avocado, etc..

Actually as a man you should not eat less than 1500 Net calories, the 1200 is for women. What this means is eat 1500 plus whatever you burn from exercise as a minimum amount. Eating less over time (days or weeks, one day here or there is fine) can cause you to burn a higher % of muscle instead of fat, reduce your energy levels, cause a plateau, affect the way your body functions, essentially shut down non life sustaining functions if it goes to far.

Roadie2000

If you are exercising a lot you will probably need to fuel your body more. It could work for you for a while, but it could also cause you to plateau or hurt your body so be careful.

CommandaPanda

Actually as a man you should not eat less than 1500 Net calories, the 1200 is for women. What this means is eat 1500 plus whatever you burn from exercise as a minimum amount. Eating less over time (days or weeks, one day here or there is fine) can cause you to burn a higher % of muscle instead of fat, reduce your energy levels, cause a plateau, affect the way your body functions, essentially shut down non life sustaining functions if it goes to far.

Alright so, my daily goal is 1500 today, with exercise that jumped up to 1900. So I should be aiming to consume around 1900 calories today (as MFP listed)?

erickirb

Actually as a man you should not eat less than 1500 Net calories, the 1200 is for women. What this means is eat 1500 plus whatever you burn from exercise as a minimum amount. Eating less over time (days or weeks, one day here or there is fine) can cause you to burn a higher % of muscle instead of fat, reduce your energy levels, cause a plateau, affect the way your body functions, essentially shut down non life sustaining functions if it goes to far.

Alright so, my daily goal is 1500 today, with exercise that jumped up to 1900. So I should be aiming to consume around 1900 calories today (as MFP listed)?

Yes you are correct, You should aim for the MFP goal and be no less than 1500 plus the amount you burn from exercise.