Am I eating a healthy amount of calories?

sillyninna

I am pretty new to this whole calorie counting thing, so please bare with me
To reach my goal weight, I am supposed to be eating 1200 calories a day. I normally eat like 1500-1800 calories a day, but I run 7-10 miles a day so i probably burn a lot of calories too. I also eat most of my calories at one time. Is this bad? Will I lose weight this way, or am I not getting enough calories? I'm sorry I sound so ignorant, I just really have no idea lol.
Any help is appreciated

LoraF83

The best way to figure out how many calories you need is to run your numbers. Follow this link, read it. Figure out your BMR & TDEE and then eat a 20-25% cut from that.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

sillyninna

Ok thanks!

diannethegeek

Meal timing won't affect your weightloss, so it's fine to eat most of your calories at once.

AmyRhubarb

The best way to figure out how many calories you need is to run your numbers. Follow this link, read it. Figure out your BMR & TDEE and then eat a 20-25% cut from that.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I'll second this link - great info there. Read through it, read it again if you're not sure, ask questions of the original poster - helped me tremendously!

GrammaBonnie

Eating all your calories isn't recommended. You should consider eating three meals and 2-3 snacks per day. That keeps your blood sugar more stable ... which will help curb food cravings, keep your energy up, and help in the fight against diabetes. Many will also tell you that you should eat your carbs earlier in the day, saving the proteins and fats for later in the day.

sillyninna

thanks so much!

sillyninna

thanks

SueGlazier

That 1200 is a minimum net amount. i.e if you eat 1200 calories in a day and then exercise burning off 300 you would only net 900 which the body cannot function on. If you know you are likely to burn say 500 calories then eat 1700 that day so that you actually net the 1200 at the end of it. Alternatively, once you have done those calculations and found your TDEE then your exercise is already factored into the figure you are given and then you take of 20% to give you the calories to aim for each day without worrying about how much exercise you have or have not done.

mag2906

You will have to do some homework to make sure that you eat enough calories - especially if you're running regularly.
I used to eat one (sometimes two) big meal a day and if I was not exceeding calories - I was losing weight.

About two months ago, I decided to eat in a healthier way and changed to 5 meals. I felt terrible! My stomach hurt every day, even though, I was eating healthy foods. After about 4 weeks, I finally decided that this will never work for me.

Now, I'm eating 3 meals a day (plus a snack if I'm really hungry by the end of the day). I also increased the amount of proteins and reduced carbs and I'm feeling so much better now!

What I'm trying to say - you have to find what works for you. Over last few months, I've spent significant time reading weight loss forums and very often people are told to eat 5 meals a day as the only healthy way to lose weight. This is simply not true.

Good luck with your weight loss!

squishycow7

some good newbie links for you (:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/577479-seriously-eat-more-i-did-and-look-what-happened-pics

Robin_Bin

Good start! Coming here and asking about healthy eating!

In general, MFP sets 1,200 as the minimum because it's hard to get a full range of nutrition at a lower amount. Unlike many other sites, MFP does not add calories for the amount of exercise you say you are going to do, just for what you record having done. I recommend starting by tracking your food and exercise for a week or so. If you set your goals in MFP as (for example) losing a pound a week, then MFP has already subtracted the calories to enable the weight loss. There are other ways to calculate good settings, but for a new person, I'd suggest starting with what MFP suggests.

First see if what you're already doing will get you where you want to be, and if not, figure out what you want to adjust. Would you rather try to do more exercise to strengthen your body and endurance or do you already feel you have enough exercise and want to learn more about which foods have high calories and low nutritional value? Depending on your goals and where you are now, your next step will vary.

You can eat nutritiously at 1,200 calories, and you can also eat crap. Whether or not it's healthy depends on a combination of the nutritional content, and as you ask, whether you are eating enough to fuel your body. MFP numbers are not perfect, but they are a good starting point.

I've been collecting some advice for starting, as well as links to various nutrition sites. See http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin/view/how-to-use-myfitnesspal-427993

Good luck!

MarlinWil

I haven't read the other links that have been provided for you, but here is a link to a BMR calculator:

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

I run regularly, too, and I am currently doing a 12 week body transformation challenge (halfway through now), and find that eating my BMR works for me. I am pretty relaxed about eating a little more now and then, because I have enough calories in the bank from working out that I can afford to. But it's rare that I eat my exercise calories back.

Good luck - great question, and you have been given a tonne of info to help you to understand your body better.

Wil

ixap

To reach my goal weight, I am supposed to be eating 1200 calories a day. I normally eat like 1500-1800 calories a day, but I run 7-10 miles a day so i probably burn a lot of calories too.

MFP is probably recommending you NET 1200 calories per day, so you'd eat 1200 calories PLUS whatever you burn running (or at least eat back some of it). Eating only 1200 total calories and running 10 miles would be a recipe for burnout -- after a few weeks of that you are likely to really feel run down and terrible. so your 1500-1800 is just fine; if anything you may want to eat a little more than that, absolutely don't eat less.

I also eat most of my calories at one time. Is this bad?

Nope, lots of people do that. There's no evidence to show that meal timing matters all that much. The main thing is that the schedule works for you - that it is convenient for you, and that you are eating on a schedule that makes your feel satisfied.

ixap

The 1200 calorie minimum is relative to your BMR. If you are a bigger person this is a low number, if you are small like me this is a large number, barely below my RMR. This 1200 may work okay for most people but for short females like me it's way too much.

PLEASE. This is an 18 year old girl with less than 5 pounds to lose, who runs 7-10 miles every day.
Why in the world would you encourage her to eat less than 1200 calories per day?