Low net calories okay?

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135

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  • ArienneE
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    i''m sorry i really didn't mean to offend you there was one person who was being rude i should have left it.
    i didn't mean to shoot you down i really appreciate what everybody's said i think i'm going to start eating protein bars or something for the calories i didn't mean to seem like i was whining, i really was wondering if it was really unhealthy even though i feel fine. i didn't mean to offend anybody, thank you all so much for your advice.
    sorry
  • 30Purple
    30Purple Posts: 252 Member
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    Eat a minimum of 1200 calories a day. MINIMUM. You're not eating enough at all.
  • APBTChampion
    APBTChampion Posts: 93 Member
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    EVERYONE!

    Stop belittling her, she's asking a legitimate question and asking for help from us. Do your part as a fellow weight loss individual and be NICE.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I'm sorry, but what do you mean by net calories? I usually only eat 1400-1500 calories, which MFP says that my limit is 1640. I've also been told by a nutritionist to NOT eat back the calories that you burn by exercising.

    The nutritionist probably isn't familiar with how MFP is set up. MFP is set up specifically to where you DO eat back your exercise calories. If your MFP limit is 1640, it means you should be netting right around there - so if you burn 500 calories through exercise, you need to eat round 2140 calories a day to be healthy and lose weight.

    Please eat more! Other posters have already pointed out the dangers of not doing so. Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean anything. Your body can get used to a low calorie diet meaning it won't tell you that you're hungry, even thought it is missing essential nutrients and fuel every day.

    It always helps me to think of my body like a car. It needs good fuel or it won't do what I need it to do! Food is that fuel. Especially if you work out a lot, your body NEEDS a good amount of food!

    This is where I am really getting confused, because the nutritionist is the one who recommended MFP, but also said there were issues with it. Basically she didn't want me logging my exercise, because if I did, then MFP would want me to eat back the calories that I exercised off, and I wouldn't lose weight that way.

    Wow! The nutritionist who recommended MFP forget to figure out how this website works. MFP as designed expects you to eat your exercise calories back ..... BECAUSE ..... the deficit is built in WITHOUT any exercise. People who do ZERO exercise will lose weight with MFP. People who exercise .... need extra FUEL for their workouts.

    Healthy weight loss is modest weight loss (each week) .... you get to KEEP existing muscle mass. UNhealthy weight loss is (maybe) quicker .... you lose muscle mass.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    You don't necessarily need to eat more volume (though I'd recommend it) but you can eat smarter. Consider adding a handful of nuts, full-fat dairy, olive oil, avocado, etc to your diary to beef up your calorie intake without adding a lot of food.
  • kmuree
    kmuree Posts: 283 Member
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    You need to figure out what it is that is bothering you.
    Dairy items? Gluten?

    Food should not make you feel sick, unless you binge. It shouldn't. It should give you energy and make you feel good, inside and out. The food choices you are making are good but you need to be eating a lot more. You are dangerously borderline anorexic.

    You will not lose weight until you eat more. You can't out-exercise a bad diet; even one that is technically good food. A bad diet is a bad diet, whether it's McDonald's three times a day or not eating enough. Your cardio will do nothing for you because your muscles will waste away as your body uses what little muscle you have for energy, since you are lacking in your diet.

    70% diet, 30% exercise.

    You need to eat more, or identify why it's sickening to you, or see a doctor. Maybe all three. Good luck.

    :flowerforyou:
  • sk_bennett
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    I'm sorry, but what do you mean by net calories? I usually only eat 1400-1500 calories, which MFP says that my limit is 1640. I've also been told by a nutritionist to NOT eat back the calories that you burn by exercising.

    The nutritionist probably isn't familiar with how MFP is set up. MFP is set up specifically to where you DO eat back your exercise calories. If your MFP limit is 1640, it means you should be netting right around there - so if you burn 500 calories through exercise, you need to eat round 2140 calories a day to be healthy and lose weight.

    Please eat more! Other posters have already pointed out the dangers of not doing so. Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean anything. Your body can get used to a low calorie diet meaning it won't tell you that you're hungry, even thought it is missing essential nutrients and fuel every day.

    It always helps me to think of my body like a car. It needs good fuel or it won't do what I need it to do! Food is that fuel. Especially if you work out a lot, your body NEEDS a good amount of food!

    This is where I am really getting confused, because the nutritionist is the one who recommended MFP, but also said there were issues with it. Basically she didn't want me logging my exercise, because if I did, then MFP would want me to eat back the calories that I exercised off, and I wouldn't lose weight that way.

    Wow! The nutritionist who recommended MFP forget to figure out how this website works. MFP as designed expects you to eat your exercise calories back ..... BECAUSE ..... the deficit is built in WITHOUT any exercise. People who do ZERO exercise will lose weight with MFP. People who exercise .... need extra FUEL for their workouts.

    Healthy weight loss is modest weight loss (each week) .... you get to KEEP existing muscle mass. UNhealthy weight loss is (maybe) quicker .... you lose muscle mass.

    I don't know if it that she forgets, I think she just doesn't like how it works. That and she doesn't like that you can only put a goal for losing weight as up to 2 pounds. Maybe that's another reason.....
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
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    You said you are light headed when you eat more? Is this true? You might be a diabetic and not know it. Type 1 diabetes I'm guessing.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    To the OP: Please see a doctor or nutritionist about your diet. The fact that your diary has set everyone's alarm bells off is a sign that you need more professional advice than a bunch of amateur know-it-alls on a website forum can give you. For example, the fact that your body has adjusted to eating so little may be why you have trouble losing weight.

    To the person with the nutritionist: it's possible that your nutritionist thinks that you aren't exercising so much that you need to eat your exercise calories back, or they may be saying that if they think your metabolism is lower than average. A personal recommendation isn't really appropriate for everyone.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    No. You're eating way too low. You will fail.

    :laugh: Sums things up nicely.

    Whether you like it or not, your body will get used to it. Even if you cannot manage 1400 calories a day, assuming you are overweight and trying to shed fat, then you managed it before and more so now you have permission and indeed we insist that you eat more! Go for high calorie foods. I started a thread a while ago on calorie dense foods but cannot find it.
  • bridgelene
    bridgelene Posts: 358 Member
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    Looking at your food diary/intake I'm very concerned. I'm not sure what your mindset is, but I have to say that really really really looks a LOT like when my girlfriend was at her most sick with anorexia :( I know MFP is to help lose weight (which does not always correlate with healthiness), but the body does need fuel for basic functions -- digestion, heartbeat, breathing, sitting up takes more fuel than laying down, and standing even more. Then add stuff like walking, and more and it takes even more fuel. You need to give your body the fuel it needs, or it won't be able to serve you.

    My girlfriend actually restricted (food and fluids) so much that eventually she lost her hunger mechanism and just literally never felt hungry anymore.

    I have a friend who restricted severely and had a heart attack before she was 25, and another who alternated severe restriction and binging/purging and had one when she was only 22. (yeah, I became friends with some of the people my gf became friends with when she went into treatment)

    Treating your body right and respecting it's needs goes both ways. Please be healthy.
  • jesspi68
    jesspi68 Posts: 292
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    I'm sorry, but what do you mean by net calories? I usually only eat 1400-1500 calories, which MFP says that my limit is 1640. I've also been told by a nutritionist to NOT eat back the calories that you burn by exercising.

    The nutritionist probably isn't familiar with how MFP is set up. MFP is set up specifically to where you DO eat back your exercise calories. If your MFP limit is 1640, it means you should be netting right around there - so if you burn 500 calories through exercise, you need to eat round 2140 calories a day to be healthy and lose weight.

    Please eat more! Other posters have already pointed out the dangers of not doing so. Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean anything. Your body can get used to a low calorie diet meaning it won't tell you that you're hungry, even thought it is missing essential nutrients and fuel every day.

    It always helps me to think of my body like a car. It needs good fuel or it won't do what I need it to do! Food is that fuel. Especially if you work out a lot, your body NEEDS a good amount of food!

    This is where I am really getting confused, because the nutritionist is the one who recommended MFP, but also said there were issues with it. Basically she didn't want me logging my exercise, because if I did, then MFP would want me to eat back the calories that I exercised off, and I wouldn't lose weight that way.

    Get a new nutritionist. You are not heavy enough to work out without eating any of the calories from the exercise. And you said that your nutritionist doesn't like MFP because it only allows you to go up to 2lbs per week of loss... restricting your calories to ATTEMPT to lose more than two pounds per week isn't healthy either.

    I hope that if nothing else you get from this thread that you are not eating healthy right now. If you want to work out and not worry about consuming the calories you spent in the work out then you should be eating probably close to 2200 every day regardless of whether you work out or not.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    I'm sorry, but what do you mean by net calories? I usually only eat 1400-1500 calories, which MFP says that my limit is 1640. I've also been told by a nutritionist to NOT eat back the calories that you burn by exercising.

    The nutritionist probably isn't familiar with how MFP is set up. MFP is set up specifically to where you DO eat back your exercise calories. If your MFP limit is 1640, it means you should be netting right around there - so if you burn 500 calories through exercise, you need to eat round 2140 calories a day to be healthy and lose weight.

    Please eat more! Other posters have already pointed out the dangers of not doing so. Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean anything. Your body can get used to a low calorie diet meaning it won't tell you that you're hungry, even thought it is missing essential nutrients and fuel every day.

    It always helps me to think of my body like a car. It needs good fuel or it won't do what I need it to do! Food is that fuel. Especially if you work out a lot, your body NEEDS a good amount of food!

    This is where I am really getting confused, because the nutritionist is the one who recommended MFP, but also said there were issues with it. Basically she didn't want me logging my exercise, because if I did, then MFP would want me to eat back the calories that I exercised off, and I wouldn't lose weight that way.

    Wow! The nutritionist who recommended MFP forget to figure out how this website works. MFP as designed expects you to eat your exercise calories back ..... BECAUSE ..... the deficit is built in WITHOUT any exercise. People who do ZERO exercise will lose weight with MFP. People who exercise .... need extra FUEL for their workouts.

    Healthy weight loss is modest weight loss (each week) .... you get to KEEP existing muscle mass. UNhealthy weight loss is (maybe) quicker .... you lose muscle mass.

    I don't know if it that she forgets, I think she just doesn't like how it works. That and she doesn't like that you can only put a goal for losing weight as up to 2 pounds. Maybe that's another reason.....

    Wait, your nutritionist thinks you should be aiming to lose MORE than 2 pounds a week?! Oh good lord please get a new nutritionist.

    Also, see a doctor about why eating makes you feel sick. That's not normal, and you need to be able to start eating more. You are slowly killing your body doing this. Please seek whatever kind of help you need. I wish you the best.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
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    I'm sorry, but what do you mean by net calories? I usually only eat 1400-1500 calories, which MFP says that my limit is 1640. I've also been told by a nutritionist to NOT eat back the calories that you burn by exercising.

    The nutritionist probably isn't familiar with how MFP is set up. MFP is set up specifically to where you DO eat back your exercise calories. If your MFP limit is 1640, it means you should be netting right around there - so if you burn 500 calories through exercise, you need to eat round 2140 calories a day to be healthy and lose weight.

    Please eat more! Other posters have already pointed out the dangers of not doing so. Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean anything. Your body can get used to a low calorie diet meaning it won't tell you that you're hungry, even thought it is missing essential nutrients and fuel every day.

    It always helps me to think of my body like a car. It needs good fuel or it won't do what I need it to do! Food is that fuel. Especially if you work out a lot, your body NEEDS a good amount of food!

    This is where I am really getting confused, because the nutritionist is the one who recommended MFP, but also said there were issues with it. Basically she didn't want me logging my exercise, because if I did, then MFP would want me to eat back the calories that I exercised off, and I wouldn't lose weight that way.


    Do what your nutritionist says because he's already accounted for your exercise calories. Eating back exercise calories on MFP has grown to mythical proportions. To give you piece of mind, no dietitian or doctor will ever tell you to eat exercise calories back because those calories are already calculated into the prescription that they give you. In fact, if you google any diet or research paper, it will never mention a single thing about eating exercise calories. Exercise calories is a myth created by MFP.



    .
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    Do what your nutritionist says because he's already accounted for your exercise calories. Eating back exercise calories on MFP has grown to mythical proportions. To give you piece of mind, no dietitian or doctor will ever tell you to eat exercise calories back because those calories are already calculated into the prescription that they give you. In fact, if you google any diet or research paper, it will never mention a single thing about eating exercise calories. Exercise calories is a myth created by MFP.

    It's not so much a myth as it is an alternative way of accounting. People with poor critical thinking and comprehension skills have caused the whole thing to become a big "debate". It's just numbers.
  • You guys are such *kitten* on here... just saying

    Telling a young girl she's going to fail whens she's asking for help about something. Its people like YOU why people get disorders in the first place cus u tell them crap like that and expect them to not feel horrible about themselves.
  • kathyms13
    kathyms13 Posts: 497 Member
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    You guys are such *kitten* on here... just saying

    Telling a young girl she's going to fail whens she's asking for help about something. Its people like YOU why people get disorders in the first place cus u tell them crap like that and expect them to not feel horrible about themselves.

    i totaly agree, my cals are low but i eat realy well . Veg is brill, small portions sizes, but eat maybe 2 or 4 meals a day. good luck dont listen to idiots.
    Add me if youd like, and look at my diary for ideas tho i do eat the same things each dat.
  • EatClenTrenHard
    EatClenTrenHard Posts: 339 Member
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    if you dont like eating, how did you get fat?
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    i don't have a disorder i just don't like eating, i eat enough so i'm not hungry or light headed or anything i just don't know if i should be forcing a change, i know that it seems really unhealthy but i don't understand how it could be, i feel worse when i eat more than when i eat how i do. i try to keep my net above 100 every day but even doing that is eating more than i want most of the time
    i don't know
    thank you for your input all of you i really do appreciate it
    You are not eating enough, period. The reason you feel full on 600 calories a day is because you caused your serum leptin concentration levels to drop severely. Leptin is your satiety hormone - when decreased, it alters your sense of hunger to the point you feel full on less calories. In other words, although your body is demanding more energy in the form of calories, your leptin signaling is messed up and you aren't "getting the message" to eat more. The longer you continue, the longer it will take for leptin values to return to normal. In studies of recovered anorexics, their leptin values didn't return to normal even after weight recovery was complete and were still significantly lower than normal, healthy women who did not engage in disordered eating.

    I would not be surprised if you are experiencing amenorrhea as a result of chronically low energy availability - ie net calories. If you continue this eating pattern, you will begin to lose bone mass density - if you already have not begun so. I can point you to studies of anorexics who were unable to replace loss of bone mass even with supplementation of calcium. By losing bone mass, you will greatly increase the risk of fractures as an athlete.
  • BabsPerl
    BabsPerl Posts: 18 Member
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    My BMR on this site is 949! But then again I'm 4'9" 82 lbs. I average at 800 calories a day and like Ms. Bateman, I do not feel hungry. I truly believe that a BMR of 949 is high for me because i have fatty fibrous tissue in place of many of my muscles (mainly legs). It's a disability. So I do wonder that because i have less muscle mass, I need even less calories to maintain myself. Who really knows in my case. Being 5'"8", you do need more calories.