are you all under 1000 cal a day?

shopper46

I am at like 800 a day if I do not cheat and have a big salad. I also burn 300-450 just in exercise. So My pal says I am way under and need more. How do you not go into starvation mode? I ate a bit more today, I ate a regular snack but then I felt like I was cheating. It bumped me to the 950 range and I am not hungry. what to do you all think? I have to lose 32 pounds at least.

KatrinaG2012

I vary my intake based upon my activity level which probably is not strictly on program but I feel it works for me. If I am desk bound I will aim for around 800-900 calories. If I am very active I will add addition protein, healthy fat and/or medifast meals to get me to around 1100 - 1200. I am a big proponant of the idea that we are all different and sometimes we have to fine tune these things to maximize our own individual results.

I am also still very new to medifast (1 month) and look forward to seeing the responses of our more seasoned members:)

cm1479

If you are following the 5 : 1 plan (5 medifast meals and 1 lean and green), this will induce a fat burning state of metabolism. You are consuming just enough calories and carbohydrates for your body to function and it is then forced to burn fat for energy. MyFitnessPal will say over and over you are not consuming enough calories, but if you eat everything each day, you will be fine!

Clifford2010 is correct in adding additional protein for days of activity. You want to limit to 45 minutes or less in one session and if you're pushing an hour, adding 1-2 oz of additional protien (100-150 calories) is ideal to allow your body additional calories for activity and to keep your body in fat burning.

I hope this helped. Cheers to your continued success!

amuchison

How long have u been OP if less than 3 weeks u shouldn't be exercising and if u were an avid workout person then u r supposed to cut your workouts n half...earlier when I started to.workout I would burn like 500 cals but found I was losing slower I didn't ease into it now that I'm restarting my health coach has advised me to stay OP 100% for 3 weeks them I can start working out but even then just 10-15 min and then every week after I can increase by 5 min till I get to 45 u don't really want to hit to massive of burns unless u r going to take in extra fuel like the ladies above said more protein...or u might not get the results u r looking for and may do more harm than good...Also its always good to cal TSFL nutritionist and double check;) They have good advice;)

JackieMac979

My calories are typically 900 something to 1100 something, but I have days where I'm in the 800 range on occasion. Long ago I did MF and didn't realize I needed healthy fats, and had 700 something most days... it was not as satisfying as my current way of eating.

MF guidelines usually allow for 800-1000 calories/day.

I agree with all of the above about the mild state of ketosis. Good luck!

shopper46

I talked to a medifast nutritionist today. No weight movement. He went over the whole plan with me for about 30 minutes. He said same thing I was not using my fats correctly. My lean and green meal was all messed up. I keep trying to log least cal in the fitness pal and feel I am great but it was not correct. I also was trying to add protein in the other meals since not enough at the lean green meal and that was not right the way I was doing it and products I was using. I was also eating 30 cal of carrots a day and carrots not correct at this time. So I readjusted the myfitpal to match the fat, etc I need based on medifast that will help some and then log my exercise when I am done at end of day. It was a very enlightening conversation. So hopefully tomorrow will be better. He said I could still work out an hour a day if I want, since I have done it for 6 years now. Unless I feel really hungry or sick then need to cut back.
:embarassed:

snowstorme

I'm very close to goal now, just trying to get rid of the last of the belly fat. When I started lifting weights last September I started to slowly up my daily calories while maintaining carbs < 100 grams. I increased both fat and protein. Right now I'm trying to net around 1200 calories. Over Christmas I wasn't very on plan lol and gained 4.8lbs, but it all came back off within a week. What I'm doing works for me, but it won't necessarily work for others. For my height I've a large bone structure and high lean body mass so I can get away with a bit more calories. (5'2" & 110 lbs lbm).

If you haven't already you can modify the goals here on MFP to give you your approximate goals for fat/protein/carbs and calories.

calla130

I am usually between 900-950. When I exercise, I burn about 300 calories. On those days, I add 1/4 cup AllWhites to my breakfast shake but still come out in the 900-950 range. Myfitnesspal will always say you're under when you go under 1200 because it's not standardized for the MF plan.

I found this to be an interesting read about starvation mode: http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html.