eating below calorie target

rylovesty23

SOoooo, a question to everyone answering this question.. on a day when i dont workout, is it wrong to intake under the target(1200)? For instance today- with everything logged in I would be about 950 calories.

Many days, even when I do workout I am usually about 100 calories below target - can 100 calories really make my body think its starving?

JenRun1

I'm not a medical expert but I would say yes. If what Ive been told is correct, you have to intake at least 1200 calories per day. Or, over the period of a week, should you choose to eat 1100 one day, increase your intake to 1300 the next day.

Sheila_Ann

Have a handful of nuts. High in calories and it's the good fat.

mydeloo78

are you losing the way you want to? If yes, then don't worry about it, if no then perhaps change something. I don't know how you only eat 950cals and aren't starving all the time. Remember you body needs calories to keep running all the necessary functions. Why starve yourself if you don't have to.

trogalicious

that's too little, especially if you're exercising on a regular interval.

Calculate your BMR/TDEE and go from there.

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

that link above will help out immensely.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

well 1200 is already incredibly low for 99% of the population so I'd say that eating below that is not advisable, period. Change WHAT you're eating and you won't run into those issues.

erickirb

1200 should be the minimum on days you don't workout, on days you workout you should eat a minimum of 1200 + cals burned from exercise. A day here or there will not be too bad, but don't make a habit of it.

plynn54

my calorie allownce is 1250 for the day but if I do any exercise I make sure my net calories for the day are at least 1000-1200 this has really helped since I wasnt losing much before I started to eat more. And I think you have to go for like 2 or 3 days with no food before you will go into starvation mode

Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door

I would say yes to this as well. for me I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks as long as I stick to that and make healthy choices I am spot on with my calories.

on non work out days you should eat 1200 minium. not always easy I know.

ChristyRunStarr

that's too little, especially if you're exercising on a regular interval.

Calculate your BMR/TDEE and go from there.

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

that link above will help out immensely.

Agreed X100...you need to figure out your BMR and TDEE and eat according to those

AmyRhubarb

that's too little, especially if you're exercising on a regular interval.

Calculate your BMR/TDEE and go from there.

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

that link above will help out immensely.

Agreed! Awesome info in that link, and following the advice there is the best move I've made!

TeaBea

1200 calories NET is as low as most women should go on a regular basis. One day here or there is not a big deal ..... consistantly below 1200 net is.

The 1200 calorie limit (adding exercise back) is considered safe .... these calories are used for daily bodily function (heart, lungs, kidneys). It's not so much as starving your body ... your body will break down existing muscle mass and use it as fuel if it needs too. But who wants to lose fat AND muscle. Fuel up to keep existing muscle.

SexyTmar

A starvation diet does not mean the absence of food. It means cutting the total caloric intake to less than 50% of what the body requires.

Using myself as an example, my current weight is 144 lbs. and my bmr is 1625. So, I would have to cut my calories to below 812.5 per day.

Many fear that going into starvation mode will drastically reduce their metabolic rate and cause them to hoard calories and gain weight instead of losing.

This is not borne out by the infamous Minnesota Semistarvation Study (1950), 36 young, healthy, psychologically normal men while restricting their caloric intake for 6 months. Their calories were restricted in various phases, but the least amount of calories they were allowed was 50% of the "normal" maintenance calories. Notice, this was dubbed a "semi" starvation diet.

Yes, their metabolic rates were significantly lowered -- to something like 40% below baseline. Yet at no point did the men stop losing fat until they hit 5% body fat at the end of the study.

Does starvation mode slow down the metabolism? No, and Yes. In the first 2 days of starvation, there is a small absolute increase in BMR relative to values obtained from overnight fasting. Overnight fasting is what every one of us does during our sleeping hours.

So it is not true that going below recommended calories for one day is going to slow down your metabolism -- quite the contrary, it may speed it up just a little.

Does Starvation mode cause our bodies to catabilize (devour our muscles and other lean mass)? Yes and No. You should not go below your goal weight maintenance calories to lose weight, and you should do adequate research and dietary analysis to ensure you are getting the best nutrition you can for your calories.

If reducing your calorie intake to goal weight maintenance creates greater than 1000 calorie a day deficit, then I strongly suggest that you do a value half-way until you have lost some of your weight.

Serena_Kitty

It's not healthy. You are not providing your body with enough food, and you won't be able to maintain that level of calorie restriction for long.

It isn't that hard to meet a reasonable calorie goal. Use full-fat products instead of nonfat. A lot of people complaining about not being able to meet their calorie goal are eating nonfat, low-fat, or sugar-free products all day.

strikerjb007

If I continue to hang out on these forums, I will be an MFP graduate. YES, I will hold a PHD in Broscience.

Bonny619

I don't understand the surge of people lately who can't seem to meet 1200 calories. I could eat 1200 calories by noon if I let myself.

AmyRhubarb

I don't understand the surge of people lately who can't seem to meet 1200 calories. I could eat 1200 calories by noon if I let myself.

Agreed! And I always wonder how on earth you need to lose weight in the first place if you can't eat 1200 calories now?

Serena_Kitty

I don't understand the surge of people lately who can't seem to meet 1200 calories. I could eat 1200 calories by noon if I let myself.

Yeah, it's a mystery to me. And these people are losing weight, which means they are familiar with eating high quantities of calorie dense foods. Lol.

Bonny619

excellent point!

PikaKnight

.http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521480-1000-calories-or-less-a-day
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing
http://www.fitwatch.com/weight-loss/3-reasons-why-eating-less-than-1000-calories-is-a-waste-of-time-3347.html
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/859495-if-only-i-had-known?page=1#posts-12919931

loriepaulin

I would say talk to you doctor but I agree doing below 1200 without any exercise is not good for everyday. If you average it out for the week and have one low day then a high day to offset it, it should all balance out.

For me with being hypothyroid to lose the weight my thyroid doctor told me to net 1200-1300 a day but that means I eat at least 1600-1800 calories burn @400 to net that @1200-1300.

ady1211

I have been stuck without weight loss, so I met with a personal trainer. She was SHOCKED how low myfitnesspal put my calorie intake. She wanted me to eat almost 600 calories more!!!
She takes your weight, multiplies it by 10, then only reduce this by 90% for weightloss... and continue to adjust while losing weight. My body was in starvation mode.

andy13

Yogurt coated banana chips, there's no excuse for being under when these exist

DebbieLyn63

It depends entirely on how many calories your body needs. If you are very small, and not very active thruout the day, then you need less cals than someone else who is larger and more active.
One day going under is not going to kill you. Look at the total calories for the week and see where you are. If you are eating a lot more on exercise days, then it might even out.

jacksonpt

SOoooo, a question to everyone answering this question.. on a day when i dont workout, is it wrong to intake under the target(1200)? For instance today- with everything logged in I would be about 950 calories.

Many days, even when I do workout I am usually about 100 calories below target - can 100 calories really make my body think its starving?

Without knowing any specifics about it, it sounds like you are going at it backwards. On exercise days you should be eating a bit more (to fuel the workout). On rest days you should be eating the 1200. MFP calculated the 1200 will lead to weight loss based on no exercise. When you exercise, you throw the calculations off and should eat back those cals to try to get back to your baseline number.

jacksonpt

I don't understand the surge of people lately who can't seem to meet 1200 calories. I could eat 1200 calories by noon if I let myself.

Try doing it on chicken breast and broccoli every day.

People struggle with it because they are restricting their diet too much, generally out of ignorance.

Buttercupnectar

I stay between 1000-1200 calories everyday but Sunday. Now I may be a bit different as I had a gastrectomy sleeve done 12/14/2011. My doctor put my markers at 800 calories, 40 carbs, 30 fats, and 60-80 protein. That is for the losing phase. Now I have upped those because I workout 5-6 days a week. So I have bumped my goals up to 1000-1200 calories, 60 carbs, 30 fats still, and 80-100 protein. I could easily reach these numbers by noon if I chose to eat the wrong foods. My personal downfall is salami..num num num. Working that right out of my fridge this month. Anyway, if I feel tired or light in the head I add carbs and calories as needed. So there are days my carbs and calories are over my goal. I try to listen to my body, doctor, and have regular blood work done as well. If you are not under a doctor's care (and one very familiar with weight loss and fitness) I would suggest you do so and get a full blood workup. Then adjust your nutrition accordingly.

mum212

i try to stay well above 1200 my daily target is 1500 on days i dont work out and the days i do x