Am I eating enough...

Bullstone08

Hi everyone! My name's Kevin and I had a question for you MyFitnessPal users that might be a little more experienced in using this system. When I started my weight loss program prescribed to me by my doctor, I was 402 lbs. I can proudly say that I have dropped 51 lbs in the last 3.5 months. My goal currently is 300 lbs and my ultimate goal is around 200 lbs. My question is... It says my calorie goal is 2560 calories per day. Does that mean I need to eat 2560 or that that is my limit. It looks to me as though I'm not eating enough when everything is calculated. I end up with a net of 500-700 calories a day after I do some cardio around my neighborhood and the gym. Should I eat more or exercise less? Any advice or comments would be appreciated...

_CiaoParis

Exercise regulary but try to eat about 1200-2000 a day

Justjoshin

First of all, opening your diary to the public will help some..

However, MFP already calculates in a deficit for you to lose weight each day.

So you want to be eating as close to your goal as possible, including eating your exercise calories.

Having a net of 500-700 calories is not what you want.

lidybug1984

I would love to know the answer to this question as well!! I'm having trouble eating as many calories as I'm alotted... so I don't force myself too. Is that ok?

Justjoshin

Exercise regulary but try to eat about 1200-2000 a day

NO.. do not eat that few calories. You are a big guy. Eat the calories MFP tells you to eat.

zphenom

Have you discussed this with your doctor or a nutritionist? They might have a healthy calorie goal for you. Remember MFP is not a doctor and I would accept this computer-generated recommendation with a grain of salt.

tracybarnes1

Hi everyone! My name's Kevin and I had a question for you MyFitnessPal users that might be a little more experienced in using this system. When I started my weight loss program prescribed to me by my doctor, I was 402 lbs. I can proudly say that I have dropped 51 lbs in the last 3.5 months. My goal currently is 300 lbs and my ultimate goal is around 200 lbs. My question is... It says my calorie goal is 2560 calories per day. Does that mean I need to eat 2560 or that that is my limit. It looks to me as though I'm not eating enough when everything is calculated. I end up with a net of 500-700 calories a day after I do some cardio around my neighborhood and the gym. Should I eat more or exercise less? Any advice or comments would be appreciated...

if you are full ( not hungry ) , don't eat...however if you are choose a sensible snack or meal!!! Your body will tell you, so listen up

chicky89

Exercise regulary but try to eat about 1200-2000 a day

NO.. do not eat that few calories. You are a big guy. Eat the calories MFP tells you to eat.

X2!!!!

tataliciousd89

I would suggest that you eat more. Your body needs a lot of calories to maintain that weight and creating a deficit to lose 1-2 lbs a week is ideal. You will lose a ton of weight, but it will come off fast and that can be really hard on your body. I dont think you have to eat all of those calories, but more than what you are if you want a sustainable change.

Cal28

Does that mean I need to eat 2560 or that that is my limit.

You need to eat around this figure. Nobody should eat no more than 1200 calories NET however some people say you should eat 8calories per lb and reduce this as you loose weight to keep the loss going. x

Bullstone08

Diary opened to public... The big thing I'm worried about is sodium intake. The doctor specifically said I need to lower that, and I'm doing a decent job at it. It's almost like I need low sodium, high calorie food choices...

zphenom

If you go to settings, you should be able to track your sodium intake if you are worried about that......

Scott_P

Exercise regulary but try to eat about 1200-2000 a day

NO.. do not eat that few calories. You are a big guy. Eat the calories MFP tells you to eat.

^^This!

Bullstone08

Yeah, I am tracking sodium, and only some days is it even a minor concern. It usually is under

rsmithy89

Do not take this the wrong way, but there are advantages to being so overweight.

You are able to cut your fat on a caloric goal of 2500. In fact, you could go even lower if you wanted. This is because severely overweight people are capable of running on a very low caloric intake with little to no health disadvantages. Thats why you see people on the biggest loser losing like 20 pounds a week.

That said, as you get closer to your goal weight, you will need to re-assess your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). At which point, it is recommended that you up your calories in order to maintain your lean body mass.

If you are going to run a large deficit, make sure you hit your protein macros each and every day and lift heavy in the gym.

Guage how you feel. If you feel fine on 2500, stay on 2500. You will end up losing more weight and you will not sacrifice any LBM until you are leaner. Furthermore, you will still be able to build muscle on a large caloric deficit considering you are so overweight.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that you do not want to eat back your exercise calories UNLESS you feel like you really need to. This is for the following reasons:

1. MFP uses a mathematical formula that calculates your TDEE. Your TDEE takes into account your activity level. I.e. how often you work out. Because of this, it factors in any exercise that you do to your caloric intake.

A lot of people make this mistake and go "ooo I burned 500 calories I can go eat that extra stuff at dinner or eat that chocolate". Then they post that they arent losing weight. This could be why.

2. Cardio machines are very inaccurate at calculating how many calories you burn during your workout. This is highly subjective and runs on a case by case basis. Simply monitoring your heart rate is not sufficient. They can be as much as 40% inaccurate.

A slice of cheese that is 70 calories will always be 70 calories. Create your deficit from diet and youll be sweet. Cardio isnt even required.

CyberEd312

To give you some insight with me...... My MFP is set up to lose 1 lb. a week so my BMR after the 500 calorie deficit MFP takes out is 2420 calories... That is what I need to eat just to sustain life if I did absolutely nothing but sit on my *kitten* all day..... Of course I do not sit all day I exercise (split train) 6 days a week with 1 day of rest... I do strength training 3 days a week (Tues, Thurs, and Sat) and Cardio 6 days a week... I burn 1200-2000 calories most days ( I wear a Polar FT60 HRM only during cardio, I don't track calories burned during weight training) So 32 months into my journey I eat 3200-3400 calories a day (I eat 85% of my exercise calories back and leave 15% for error in calories burned and logging food) and I am still losing a pound week..... I did the whole why eat back calories thing months ago and it caused me weeks of plateau's and stalled weightloss but now my metabolism is going strong, I feel strong and have plenty of energy for my workouts..... This is just my own experience, I am not saying it is a one size fits all but it works for me and I have lost some weight doing it...... Good Luck to you on your Journey.......

jenniebean1680

You're not eating enough.

The amount MFP gives you is your net. Meaning if you work out you have to eat more. Netting that few calories is going to stall your metabolism for the long term and you won't be able to continue losing. Plus, it's just not healthy!

Def eat up! Plan ahead, track ahead, just make sure it happens

ETA: Can't believe I forgot to congratulate you on your great progress. What an inspiration! You have a lot to be proud of

laurabeth326

Without being a doctor myself, I do have to agree with what the previous posters have written. I don't think you're eating enough calories. Remember that calories are not intrinsically bad, calories are fuel for your body. And it looks like many of your calories are coming from good sources most of the time. You want to make sure you are giving your body enough calories to do it's job correctly. There is a balance and I think this is a good topic to bring up with your doctor.

Congrats on the weight already lost and good luck for those to come!

Justjoshin

Eat more high protein whole foods. You really need to up those calories.

Bullstone08

Forgive my dietary ignorance, but what foods exactly would those be for example?

otiswallymom4

No, you are not eating enough. After a look through your diary, here are some suggestions. Start with breakfast, I know it's unappetizing to some people, but... You should get in the habit of consuming nutritious food within and hour of rising. This fuels ques your body to start your engine and gets your metabolism moving. A couple of poached eggs and some whole grain toast, a protein smoothie, cottage cheese and fruit, anything with a 10-20 grams of protein and some fiber. This should add 300 calories or so to your diary.
Learn to READ LABELS
You don't need to find high calorie low sodium food, you need to eat more lean meat, fruits and vegetables, REAL FOOD. Mini carrots, snap peas, apples, oranges, broccoli eat colorful food, its healthiest. You don't even need to cook these and you could always add a little hummus or ranch dressing if you need to jazz them up.
If you are worried about sodium intake, it appears that you consume a fair amount of processed foods. The easiest way to control sodium is to make your own food and add a little salt. It will still be a lot less than processed food.
You've done an amazing job so far by cutting calories drastically. Congratulations on the weight loss it's really gratifying to see someone motivated and do well. You are asking the right questions, now it's time to fine tune the process so that your body can continue to lose weight and you can be truly healthy.

sarahhammons

you need to know exactly how many calories you eat a day and aim for a500-1000 calorie deficit keep tract of what you eat every thing.a bite here or there will mess you up.and be aware of drinking your calories they add up quick. what i do is make sure i eat what im supposed to fruits veg's protein and healthy (carbs never after 2 pm an only healthy complex carbs )and im so full i don't want junk food.as you lose weight you will have to lower your calories intake.do lots of weight training muscle builds metabolism .and keep up the cardio 30 to 60 min at least 3 times a week i do six days a week but Ive been exercising for two in a half years now. .i hope you've.been checked out by a Dr. before starting a program.congratulations on the weight loss.keep it up. and drink lots of water.

rsmithy89

Listen to my post. I have researched this to death. At your weight it is fine. Unless you are feeling lethargic and weak of course...

Keep calories as they are and enjoy the faster weight loss.

You can cut down on the exercise for now and enjoy the weight loss with less cardio. Trust me I have done my research. Once you get to a more normal weight, what the other posters are saying is correct. However, YOU CAN stay on your current calories right now.

When you get closer to 200lbs, listen to this advice.

As for protein: Go for lean meats, chicken, fish. Dairy has a lot of protein as well. You can also supplement with a shake if you are having trouble hitting protein macros. This is not essential however.

Pebble321

Well done on making such positive changes in your life. As you're still a big guy you can probably get away with a bigger calorie deficit than someone who is smaller, but a net of 500 seems very low to me.
MFP is a generic tool, you might be better having a chat to your doctor to get recommendations that are specifically suited to your weight and any other health issues.
Good luck and keep up the good work!

Bullstone08

Well 500-700 net might have been a bit drastic, but on some days it's been in that range. For example today, I'll probably end up eating about 1200-1300 calories for the day, but after I go to the gym, I will be down to about 8-900 net. So it's a little bit better than 5-700, but not much

otiswallymom4

I found this definition on another website, I think its helpful.
Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat.
All raw fruits and vegetables are whole foods. Since most of us are not following a raw-foods diet, lets look as some other common foods. Take potatoes for starters. A baked potato is closer to its original form as it was uprooted on the farm than a potato chip. A kettle chip is simply sliced and dropped into a deep fat fryer, and possibly coated with various flavors. A baked potato would be considered a whole food: a potato chip would not.

Things can get a little gray from here, as many of the foods that we do not consider as junk-foods may still not be considered as whole foods. Milk is a perfect example. Pasteurization and homogenization strip milk of nutrients and enzymes that are normally contained in raw milk. Add to that the practice of reducing fats, fortifying with vitamins and mineral , and in some cases, adding artificial flavors such as strawberry and it becomes more clear that the milk you get in the grocery (unless you live in California) is no longer a whole food. It does not matter if you use that milk to make fermented foods such as yogurt or kefir – it is no longer a whole food. Raw milk cheese would be a different story.

Whole food does not imply organic, kosher, or gluten-free. Those are completely separate and distinct classifications that have their own definitions. Whole foods can be from plant sources or animal sources.
Whole Foods Not Whole Foods
Steel cut Oats All purpose flour
T-bone steak Chicken-fried steak
Spaghetti squash Egg noodles
Hard boiled eggs Egg-white omelet
Dry-roasted nuts Whey protein powder
Sun-dried raisins Sweetened, dried cranberries
Sea salt Table salt
Bone broth Frosted Mini-Wheats

Some of this is obvious, but others are not so. If you have questions about something in your kitchen, start by looking at the ingredients label and measure it against our definition above
Try to find foods that you like that don't require a lot of preparation or than can be eaten raw. For example, oatmeal, eggs, all fresh fruits & vegetables, lean protein sources like white meat turkey and chicken breast, pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin, fish, shrimp and tuna. It's ok to add a little salt or sugar to make things palatable.

rsmithy89

Eat 2500 calories. Do less cardio. Lift heavy weights at the gym 3-4x a week. Profit.

/thread

maru84

It sounds like a lot but it'll decrease as you lose, and (at least for me) my goal is less than I used to eat!

jmp1031

I flipped through a few days of your food log and notice you're not eating breakfast. A good healthy breakfast will get your metabolism going 1st thing in the morning and will also help you get closer to your recommended daily calories.

Bullstone08

Yeah, I know...I don't eat breakfast lol. I haven't since 8th grade. Never woke up in time for it. Still don't and I'm 24 lol. I go to sleep around 3 and get up at 10:45 to have brunch if you will before I go to work.

rsmithy89

Breakfast is non essential. Meal timing is not essential.

Macronutrient sufficiency and caloric intake is essential.

Eat when you want and what suits your daily activity. I eat a big breakfast, skip lunch and have a big dinner. Research Itermittent Fasting. Heaps of people do it with excellent results.