My daily calorie goal seems pretty high, but maybe I don't k

dreambig_gohome

Hey all. When I signed up for the Web site and put in my information, initially I put that I was pretty active but thought the listed caloric goal for the day was way too high. The only way I could seriously eat that many calories would be to eat Taco Bell and McDonald's every day, and we all know how THAT would end up. So I changed the amount of activity I do at work to drop the caloric goal but still rarely make it unless I have a junky food day, and I know that throws all of my goals off course. I enjoy keeping my diet very raw with simple salads, a lot of veggies, chicken/fish and fruits and I make sure that I'm full, but when I do I find my calorie totals tend to always end up under 1200. Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks for reading my post.

brandimacleod

I think when I started mine were really high too, because the default goal was 1 lb a week. So I adjusted it to 2 lbs loss goal per week and that dropped it quite a bit.

Rae6503

I checked out your profile. You're an athlete right? Athletes NEED fuel to support their activities. Additionally, you admit to not always losing weight in a healthy manor. You are probably carrying over these unhealthy habits from your last diets where all you ate were "diet" foods like salad. There are a lot of healthy higher calorie options out there. Salmon, red meat, cheese, eggs, oil, nuts, whole wheat breads and pasta, fruit. If you don't eat enough your sports WILL suffer. You shouldn't be cutting activity because you don't want to eat more. Your should be eating more to fuel your activity.

xraychick77

my t.e.e. is 1800..i eat 2000 calories each day..

LuckyLeaf2

i find that most diet plans give me way too many calories to consume everyday. while i admit i didnt get chubby by eating 1500 calories a day it was more like 800 then 3500 then 1000 then an entire pizza...i find that 1500 usually works well for me. sometimes i find it hard to even hit that goal when im really paying attention to what im eating. and im pretty active, i play a sport and i have 2 jobs one of which requires me to be on my feet for at least 5 hours straight and constantly doing something. its all most likely because its not good for your body especially your heart to loose too much weight too quickly...but thats what we want right?

Pepper2185

When I'm eating really clean, I do find it harder to keep the calories up.

BUT

I lose more weight when I eat more calories. Especially being an active person. When I was eating 1200 per day, the weight was slowly creeping off. Now I eat about 1600 and I'm losing much faster.

Try adding calorie-dense healthy foods. Nuts, avocadoes, peanut butter, cheese, etc.

Pebble321

I checked out your profile. You're an athlete right? Athletes NEED fuel to support their activities. Additionally, you admit to not always losing weight in a healthy manor. You are probably carrying over these unhealthy habits from your last diets where all you ate were "diet" foods like salad. There are a lot of healthy higher calorie options out there. Salmon, red meat, cheese, eggs, oil, nuts, whole wheat breads and pasta, fruit. If you don't eat enough your sports WILL suffer. You shouldn't be cutting activity because you don't want to eat more. Your should be eating more to fuel your activity.

This is great advice - eat more to fuel your activity!
I've lost weight eating around 1500 - 1600 net cals right from the beginning, that means some days I'm eating up to 2000 - 2400 cals - and still losing/getting smaller!

I think a really important part of this process is to use it as a learning experience to work out how much you need to eat in a day and how to eat that much (or little) in as healthy a manner as possible.
Good luck!

dreambig_gohome

I've actually been using MFP to try and push myself to eat more. My caloric goal is 1560 and I'm usually lucky if I make 900-1200 in a day [though I definitely up this during the winter snowboarding season.] I'm trying to balance being a dancer and an athlete, so you know where that leaves me. Knowing all of the logical things about fueling my physical activity for snowboarding but also needing to stay slim and toned for dance...well, it can get overwhelming! There's a lot of information out there on how to maintain healthy eating. I'm trying to lose a shed some unnecessary pounds that came on when i was sidelined from an injury. I am definitely appreciative of the advice.

I've also had doctor and nutritionist consultations and am working with a physical therapist and trainer right now. I have all of the tools, it's just sorting through all of it to find the ones that work for me without falling back into my previous tendencies. Which makes a ten pound weight loss over time feel so much less satisfying when you know what's safe for you is .5 lb increments. There's a lot of pressure in the dance world to get back to where I was. I train hard at the gym at least three times a week on top of my ballroom dance training. It's been very hard to wrap my mind around eating more = greater weight loss. I havent necessarily received the same results over time but it doesn't mean it isn't valid. I'm just doing the best I can, like anyone else. But any support is needed and much appreciated!

I've always had a hard time viewing my weight and training realistically precisely because I'm involved in a sport that demands so much from my body and an art that is image-obsessed. But I'm aware of these tendencies now and I'm fighting to recover what was lost and fighting to keep it all in perspective. I can knock out a 40-minute hardcore cardio workout without being out of breath in the slightest, so there's no doubt as to my fitness level. It's just getting my head in the same place