Nutrition vs Calorie intake?

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thesebeautifulbones
thesebeautifulbones Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
My trainer has set me a workout and nutrition plan (he is qualified to do both) and I have a calorie goal of around 1200/1300 as my net calories. Now I have been reaching my macros he set me (carbs, protein, fat and sugar) and my calorie count is generally around 1000 or 1100 calories. I know that people say you shouldn't eat under 1200 (and where did the number come from anyway?) but I am reaching my nutritional needs. I have checked with a dietitian about what he has set me and she said it was perfect for me. I'm not tired or feeling like I need more food either.

But I was wondering what you guys think? I would really appreciate some feedback!

Replies

  • disdatdude
    disdatdude Posts: 118
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    Take vitamins and supplements?
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    Macros are not the whole story, also consider vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, fibre and antioxidants. Without seeing your food diary it's impossible to know what you are low on.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    1200 is MFP's floor. It is there to cover MFP legally so it doesn't recommend too low of calories for people when they select too ambitious weight loss goals.

    There is absolutely NOTHING scientific limiting at 1200 at all.

    That said, for a majority of people, 1200 is too low. But that is just a majority. Smaller people can safely eat at 1200 and even below simply due to their size.

    Just be sure you are eating above your BMR. As eating under it for too long can cause cortisol levels to raise to the point where weight loss will stall. Also, the larger the deficit, the more likely muscle loss will occur during the weight loss.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,020 Member
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    If that is under your BMR I wouldn't call that qualified at all. It just seems a lot of people want to justify eating low calories......it works, but the success rate is dismal.
  • charlesrunner
    charlesrunner Posts: 6
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    I've been told 1100 calories, but I do take in under 1000 some days. I find my biggest losses come when I keep a low calories intake for a week and then take in about 16-1700 in one day. My scale jumps me up about 3 lbs for that one day but within 4 i usually drop at least 5 from my starting weight.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
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    Honestly, it took me months to get the hang of getting the right mix of nutrients within my macros. Now it is almost like a game of whether I have to take an iron supplement at the end of the day or whether I can get all my micros in within my macro and calorie requirements. I don't take a multi-vitamin. There's a lot of stuff in them that my doc says I don't need. My evening snacks are generally a little wacky because I want to get my micronutrients in without causing my macros to go too low in fats or too high in carbs. There are a lot of micronutrients in proteins and fat free dairy. But I always save calories for my night-time snacks because I really enjoy playing my little food game.

    Are you talking about 1100 NET calories or total calories? Not going to make any remarks about whether this is the calorie intake that is appropriate for you (my RMR (resting metabolic rate, hate the term basal because it is often misused) calculation is comfortably under 1200, but I eat in the 1700 range because I burn a lot of calories through exercise. For some people that would be too low, but for me it works and keeps my weight with an overall zero net gain/loss. When I need to lose, I go to 1400 calories and about the same amount of exercise.

    Bottom line is that you're not going to figure out what works for you overnight. Have fun with your micros and macros, experiment with nutritious food, and enjoy the process. Unless you become skin and bones and find yourself with a distended belly, don't worry so much about starvation mode. It takes time to figure out the right caloric intake that works for you. Age, weight, body comp, past health issues, and genetics all play a part in this calculation. Just have fun with it.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    \Now it is almost like a game \

    I am so glad to hear someone else say this lol.

    My friends all have looked at me funny when I've mentioned the game-like mentality I have when managing my macros, vitamins, and minerals.
  • thesebeautifulbones
    thesebeautifulbones Posts: 8
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    Yes I was definitely saying 1100 as a net calorie intake. I run, so some days I burn around 400/500 calories on top of strength training and such, some days my exercise is up to 600 calories and I just struggle to eat enough to get my net OVER 1200.

    Thanks everyone for your replies though! I've tried a few multi-vitamins and found out that they make me so sick because I'm highly allergic to seafood and some contain traces of it. It's hard but I'm slowly working it out :)

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