Calories vs. Everything else?

Slothsoul

Hey all,

I've gotten more savvy about MFP and healthy eating by this point, but still have some problems I'd like help with if possible.
Lately I've been having some problems of eating too LITTLE, at least calories-wise.
For example, take today: I have eaten 1054 calories (316 left), 131 carbs (57), 41 fat (5), 50 protein (1), 2167 sodium (333), and 25 sugar (2).
Whenever I enter this amount into my diary, it tells me I'm eating too little and will go into starvation mode, that I should keep at least 1200 a day (my estimated weight in 5 weeks has also gone up).
The thing is everything I think of to eat and get my calorie count up puts me over something else--either protein or sugar, or even fat.
What should I do in a situation like this? Should I just bite the bullet and eat more? Is keeping the others in check more important? It doesn't help that I'm actually not very hungry NOW and eating more feels a little like pigging out.

Thanks in advance!

girlofambition

I feel the same. It's very difficult to meet my calorie goal of 1680 because I'm so full.

SoDamnHungry

And yes, bite the bullet and eat more. An adult male eating less than 1100 calories a day is very unhealthy.

Honestly, I don't even pay attention to macros and had no trouble losing weight. Most people have trouble with the sugar goal. MFP sets you very low as a default.

michellekicks

What is your height and weight OP? You are a 24 year old man. You need well over 1200 calories in a day.

Start by ensuring you get 1g protein daily for every lb of lean body mass. That will help you to increase calories in a hurry. With the MFP method you are supposed to add your exercise calories and eat them. The deficit is already built in without exercise.

iclaudia_g

What is your height and weight OP? You are a 24 year old man. You need well over 1200 calories in a day.

Start by ensuring you get 1g protein daily for every lb of lean body mass. That will help you to increase calories in a hurry. With the MFP method you are supposed to add your exercise calories and eat them. The deficit is already built in without exercise.

I keep reading from lots of MFP users not to eat back your calories burned . How reliable is it to depend on a HRM to calculate calories burned through exercise. Some have said it overestimates calorie burn so I try to not eat back my calories burned .

michellekicks

What is your height and weight OP? You are a 24 year old man. You need well over 1200 calories in a day.

Start by ensuring you get 1g protein daily for every lb of lean body mass. That will help you to increase calories in a hurry. With the MFP method you are supposed to add your exercise calories and eat them. The deficit is already built in without exercise.

I keep reading from lots of MFP users not to eat back your calories burned . How reliable is it to depend on a HRM to calculate calories burned through exercise. Some have said it overestimates calorie burn so I try to not eat back my calories burned .

I rely on my HRM. It's a good one that takes into account my BMR and subtracts it from the number it gives me. I've found when I have used MFP's database the numbers are high for some activities and low for others. Your own HRM should take into account gender, height, weight, age and heart rate, which overall should be pretty accurate for a burn.

Here's a blog post I wrote originally for my non-MFP friends to explain how I lost weight. It explains why I advocate eating back exercise calories if you're following MFP's method and not IPOARM.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mrsbigmack/view/finding-the-sweet-spot-452184

cacleghorn

*Eat your calories* before you worry about anything else.

There are *so* many different theories about the optimal ratio of macronutrients. (There are lots of debates on the ideal caloric intake, too, but to a lesser degree.) There are professional althletes who eat high fat diets, who eat high carb diets, and who eat high protein diets. MFP's ratios are not necessarily the most ideal.

If you're getting lots of calories from added sugars, high-cholesterol foods, or saturated fats, consider monitoring those nutrients specifically by changing your diary settings, and then try not to go over those limits. Those foods are all associated with poor health. But if you're eating a good amount of unprocessed foods to get in your calories: plant-based oils, a potato, beans or fruit, you won't hurt yourself by going over any of your macros.

But you will hurt yourself by staying under your calories.

LJGettinSexy

You definitely need to eat your minimum calories. go ahead and eat something else, cheese and crackers, or something not too heavy, it is pretty late. I do suggest you plan your daily meals so you can intake at least 1200 calories per game. Your body may already be in starvation mode if you're already filling full. How ironic, because I'm never full.

Slothsoul

Thanks for the decisive advice, guys!

I wasn't sure what the right thing to do here was. I've now eaten 3 cookies and half a banana, getting me up to 1220.
...I thought getting the calories beneath that mark was going to be the hard part, not getting to the minimum....

Thanks again!

iclaudia_g

What is your height and weight OP? You are a 24 year old man. You need well over 1200 calories in a day.

Start by ensuring you get 1g protein daily for every lb of lean body mass. That will help you to increase calories in a hurry. With the MFP method you are supposed to add your exercise calories and eat them. The deficit is already built in without exercise.

I keep reading from lots of MFP users not to eat back your calories burned . How reliable is it to depend on a HRM to calculate calories burned through exercise. Some have said it overestimates calorie burn so I try to not eat back my calories burned .

I rely on my HRM. It's a good one that takes into account my BMR and subtracts it from the number it gives me. I've found when I have used MFP's database the numbers are high for some activities and low for others. Your own HRM should take into account gender, height, weight, age and heart rate, which overall should be pretty accurate for a burn.

Here's a blog post I wrote originally for my non-MFP friends to explain how I lost weight. It explains why I advocate eating back exercise calories if you're following MFP's method and not IPOARM.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mrsbigmack/view/finding-the-sweet-spot-452184

This is great! Thanks for sharing this with me.