Increasing calorie count.

schibs
schibs Posts: 51 Member
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
I have found since using MFP regularly and it saying I could only consume 1300 calories a day I have been starving and my workouts have sucked *kitten*. Plus very little has changed on the scale. I am very active and work out hard 5 days minimum a week. I am gonna try and up the calorie amount so I am not so miserable and have more energy. Hope it works.
I am a fit 5'9", 210lbs.

Replies

  • royaleFork
    royaleFork Posts: 3 Member
    Are you eating your exercise calories back? That might help the workouts not suck as much.
  • CaptainMFP
    CaptainMFP Posts: 440 Member
    Definitely play with your goals to get a better calorie fit. I'm 6' and 210 and my net daily calories is 1800...and that is for a 1.2 lb. per week loss! (I work out six days a week and typically eat about 2200 gross cals a day and have been losing 1.9 lb. per week for four months...your calories are DEFINITELY too low!)
  • AmberLiscous
    AmberLiscous Posts: 644 Member
    MFP only wants me to eat 1200 but i eat closer to 1500....you have to listen to what your body is telling you!
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
    I think you need to check your settings and activity level. You also need to eat more when you work out.

    A man your height should never go below 1500 and that's without exercise.
  • skatw
    skatw Posts: 28
    MFP told me to eat 1200.... so I ate that, plus my exercise calories..... I got stuck, started eating more calories and began losing weight again. Good Luck!
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
    1300 for a man your size seems EXTREMELY low - especially working out hard 5 days/week -
    I like to use the calculator on freedieting.com
    I put in your age as 30 (since you didn't say how old you are)
    and this is what it came up with
    Maintenance: 2786 Calories/day
    Fat Loss: 2229 Calories/day
    Extreme Fat Loss: 1680 Calories/day

    so my guess is you are NOT eating enough
  • microwoman999
    microwoman999 Posts: 545 Member
    Ummmm not 100% sure but men should not eat less than 1500 calories a day it is a woman that should eat no less than 1200 calories a day!!! I would def up your calories. I eat 1400 cals a day and I am loosing just fine. I workout 6 to 7 days a week and I am 5'7 186 pounds!
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
    I don't know if this is the case with you but try watching your sugar...

    BOTH sugar and artificial sweeteners increase your appetite, so cutting back on them makes weight loss easier, because you are not hungry all the time.

    If I have a DIET COKE, no way I can keep at 1200 cal.
    More foods now than ever before have hidden sugars in them and are sold as "real foods"
    If I'm going to eat the sugar I want a cookie, gosh darn it!

    I've really been amazed at how much sugar I've found in "REAL FOOD" Food manufacturers add a lot of sugar under a lot of different unrecognizable names into products, because it's cheap and it increases your appetite, so you eat more.

    (I picked up a lean cuisine one evening forgot to check the sugar went to enter it to find out it had 30g of sugar, now

    A) I only get 25g a day,
    B) my favorite cookies are 9g for 15 cookies. If I'm going to eat sugar I want to enjoy a treat!!!

    Also watch out for yogurts there usually very high in sugar, by plain and add a little hershey syrup or jam or cukes & dill at least YOU will be controlling your intake.

    Oddly enough a lot of prepared tomato sauces have a lot of sugar 9g for 1/2 cup serving.. Trader Joe's has a couple of options for about 3g... or get plain and spice it up yourself for 1g... BIG difference)

    Nutrient Dense foods keep you full longer, while proteins and fats (happy fats... plant based) appear to pack a lot of calories for the quantity you get to eat. A small amount will keep you satisfied longer. So it may be a better balance for you .
  • grouch201
    grouch201 Posts: 404 Member
    1300 for a man your size seems EXTREMELY low - especially working out hard 5 days/week -
    I like to use the calculator on freedieiting.com

    Thanks for sharing this calculator. I love that it has a calorie staggering function. Very nice!
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    The general rule is no lower than 1500 calories a day for a man. Below that is consider entering starvation by WHO. I ate below that for a long time with no problem at 5'10" but I was obese. As I left obese and entered overweight I found it was not enough. Now I am within the normal BMI and eat more again. I suggest changing your goals to no more than 1 pound per week weight loss, and maybe modify your activity level. Eat all the calories you burn off exercising and if you have not already, increase your protein consumption to about 100 grams or even more a day.
  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
    Being a 210lb male 1300 is waaaaaaaaay too low. I'd try more about 1800+exercise and eat most of those back. Many places don't recommend a male ever eating less then 1500 calories.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    1300 for a man your size seems EXTREMELY low - especially working out hard 5 days/week -
    I like to use the calculator on freedieiting.com

    Thanks for sharing this calculator. I love that it has a calorie staggering function. Very nice!

    The numbers from here were not much different than I get here at MFP once I eat my exercise calories. Often that is the difference. When you enter your intended exercise in MFP it is NOT calculated into your daily calories, but instead is used to set your exercise goals for the week. MFP expects people to eat their exercise calories and if they don't they will certainly be in too high of a calorie deficit.

    The thing that may be different if my extreme fat loss amount was still over 1500 while if I set up for 2 pounds per week on MFP it will be set at 1200 which is way to low for a male.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Thumbs up.
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
    I've had to adjust mine as well, i found eating 1200 net calories just isn't enough for me, i started feeling tired and hungry most of the day so i've recently started upping my caloric intake and i'm going to see if that works for me.
  • schibs
    schibs Posts: 51 Member
    Thanks for all the responses. I definitely think I was starving myself, and then because of that on my cheat day I was eating everything in sight.
  • schibs
    schibs Posts: 51 Member
    1300 for a man your size seems EXTREMELY low - especially working out hard 5 days/week -
    I like to use the calculator on freedieting.com
    I put in your age as 30 (since you didn't say how old you are)
    and this is what it came up with
    Maintenance: 2786 Calories/day
    Fat Loss: 2229 Calories/day
    Extreme Fat Loss: 1680 Calories/day

    so my guess is you are NOT eating enough

    Thanks for turning me on to this. I am 37 and ya it says my fat loss amount should be just over 2300 calories. 1000 more than what I have been getting. Thanks for the help.
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
    1300 for a man your size seems EXTREMELY low - especially working out hard 5 days/week -
    I like to use the calculator on freedieting.com
    I put in your age as 30 (since you didn't say how old you are)
    and this is what it came up with
    Maintenance: 2786 Calories/day
    Fat Loss: 2229 Calories/day
    Extreme Fat Loss: 1680 Calories/day

    so my guess is you are NOT eating enough

    after you've done it for a week or so - update your post - would love to see how the calorie adjustment works for you!

    Thanks for turning me on to this. I am 37 and ya it says my fat loss amount should be just over 2300 calories. 1000 more than what I have been getting. Thanks for the help.
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