The number of calories I can eat a day seems a bit low

greenthickies
greenthickies Posts: 33
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there

This is the first time I've used My Fitness Pal and I'm a bit confused. I'm currently maintaining my weight fine by I fancied losing an extra 7 pounds to get the body I really want. However the number of calories I've been given a day to eat is 1200 and I've inputted my usual breakfast and half of my lunch (I'm still hungry) and it's telling me I've already eaten 2214 calories already. I don't understand how I can be so far out when this is the food I normally eat everyday and I'm not gaining weight. I'm still breastfeeding. Will this make a difference to the number of calories I need to take in?

Many thanks

Katherine
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Replies

  • LittleMissDover
    LittleMissDover Posts: 820 Member
    Wow, what have you eaten so far? lol

    Breastfeeding does give you extra calories. Type it into the food database and it will give you options for EBF (around 500 extra), twins, older baby, toddler etc.
  • leanne9876
    leanne9876 Posts: 301 Member
    Wow, what have you eaten so far? lol


    I was going to ask that as well.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    With seven pounds to lose, you should have your goal set to a half pound a week. That alone will give you more calories. Once you add in extra calories from breast feeding, and extra for exercise, you'll be eating a good amount.
  • chezileigh
    chezileigh Posts: 255
    seems like a lot of calories for breakfast and half of lunch! are you sure you're logging your food correctly?
  • ebony__
    ebony__ Posts: 519 Member
    Breast feeding made a huge different to the amount I could eat and my weight and just everything. I lost a lt of weight after my pregnancy while I was breastfeeding and when I stopped I put on about 40lbs quite rapidly
  • ebony__
    ebony__ Posts: 519 Member
    Also I'm no expert but I would think 1200 while your breastfeeding is a fair bit too low ...???
  • 92_sweetheart
    92_sweetheart Posts: 131 Member
    Did you put in that you wanted to lose 2lbs a week? Change it to 1lb a week.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
    With only 7 pounds to lose, I agree that you need to set things to a .5 pound loss per week. A 1200 calorie suggestion is usually even considered low for very overweight people with a lot to lose, and usually only results from telling MFP that you want to lose 2 pounds a week.
  • ArtemisMoon
    ArtemisMoon Posts: 144
    There are a lot of people who don't go by the recommendations of MFP. I suggest going to a place like fitnessfrog.com and calculating your tdee(the estimate of how many calories you use in an average day) and eating around twenty percent (or a little less to take breastfeeding into account maybe ten or fifteen) under that number to put you in a light deficit. Then adjust a bit as needed if you don't see any weight loss after a few weeks.

    As you have so little weight to lose it may be a struggle just cutting calories alone. If you aren't already exercising, strength training would be a good one. A lot of people might not lose weight doing that, but your shape almost always improves drastically. If you browse around the forums you'll see the kinds of things people have had success with and it might give you some ideas.
  • Yes2HealthyAriel
    Yes2HealthyAriel Posts: 453 Member
    only breakfast and half of lunch and already over 2000 calories? DANG!!! Eating healthy and around 1200 is not hard. MFP has my goal at 1280 and some days I have trouble even getting in 1000
  • woodsygirl
    woodsygirl Posts: 354 Member
    Yes, definately increase them. If you have been eating the same amount of calories and not losing weight, see how many you have been eating then make a small reduction. If you eat 2,500 calories a day with no gain, try setting your calories to just 2,000 or 2,250. Every week weigh yourself until you are where you want to be weightloss wise and then adjust your calories to reflect that. :)
  • Lina4Lina
    Lina4Lina Posts: 712 Member
    It also might be best if you are maintaining to track your calories for a week then cut out 250 calories per day.
  • deborahlhall
    deborahlhall Posts: 1
    Maybe you're overestimating your portions (my friend would always put in that she ate 1oz of cheese until she finally weighed it and found she was only eating 1/4oz of cheese). Otherwise, while 1200 calories is probably too low for a breastfeeding mother (though I have no idea of your height or current weight), 2000 calories by midday is also probably way too much.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    Less calorie dense foods like fruit and veg may stave off the hunger for fewer calories from your allowance if you're struggling. If you open your diary to be viewable we may be able to point you in the right direction.
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    I wouldbt go as low as 1200. Figure out your tdee and eat below that. Log exercise and breast feeding (usually adds 500 cals from what I have seen
  • heddy90
    heddy90 Posts: 144 Member
    I'm really curious about what you have for breakfast and lunch, since you're already so high on calories :|
    Are you sure added the right amount? Often the default amount of something I want to add is, say 100 g, and I only ate 45, so remember to change that if you don't already.

    If you want users here to give some more helpful advice, you should open your diary :)

    Edit: oh, and I'm sure you don't need to be as low as 1200 calories, unless you want to lose weight reeeeally fast, which I do not recommend. Better going slow, but steady. Especially since you're breastfeeding.
  • dawndw
    dawndw Posts: 203
    Open your diary so you can be given a more accurate answer or advice.....that is just alot of cals for only breakfast and lunch....
  • theNurseNancy
    theNurseNancy Posts: 149
    I dont think she's far off, considering the smoothies she drinks are way higher in calories than she advertises on her website.
  • greenthickies
    greenthickies Posts: 33
    Hi, thank you so much for all your replies. Wow I've overwhelmed by your support! It's lovely there is such a sense of community on here as it's my first time on Myfitnesspal.

    I have made my diary public but didn't update it since yesterday as I was too scared to see my total calories for the day. I'm going to start again today and see how it goes.

    Yes you're right I did set the number of pounds I wanted to lose to 2lbs as my husband has gone away for a week so I thought it's a good opportunity to try and lose some extra weight.

    Yes I wonder if i did make a mistake with the amounts I inputted. I'll check more rigorously today. I have changed the amount I want to lose to half a pound a week plus the 500 for breastfeeding has given me a lot more calories.

    I was just drinking my usual green smoothies (green thickies). I have a website where I share my recipes for green thickies to encourage people to be improve their health.

    I usually use chronometer to calculate the calories of my green smoothies. The calories on my website are accurate and one serving would usually fill me up but I know I eat more calories than most people as I'm still breastfeeding.

    This week I am trying to only drink my green thickies all day long. They include fruit, leafy greens, oats and some nuts or seeds. I am always trying out new recipes so the ones I drank yesterday aren't on my website but perhaps they were higher in calories than usual. I would have to input them into chronometer to check this properly. I measure everything with US cups so sometimes it's hard to convert everything to weight but today I'll input my smoothies on here an chronometer and see if there is a massive difference.

    I do a daily strength training workout along with some walking or a very short run but I do need to do more exercise and eat slightly less to get the body I want.

    Thank you so much for all your help so far. I really appreciate it.

    Katherine
  • greenthickies
    greenthickies Posts: 33
    40lbs! Ahh scary, I'll have to bear this in mind when I stop I'll have to bring my calories right down.
  • greenthickies
    greenthickies Posts: 33
    I just weighed my food this morning before adding it to my smoothie and my calories seem a lot more reasonable today. I think something must have gone wrong yesterday. Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement. I weighed myself this morning and I'm actually 2 lbs lighter which I know is probably just a water fluctuation but I'm encouraged that I didn't put on weight which is what I was expecting. So I'm going to continue with my experiment to drink nothing but smoothies (green thickies) for a week and see if I notice any improvements. I'm going to have to measure myself too as I know it's not all about the weight.

    Thanks again
  • ebony__
    ebony__ Posts: 519 Member
    Don't be too freake out to much about my weight gain. I'm one of those terrible unfortunate people that it just piles onto even if I'm eating healthy foods. And I wasn't doing a lot of physicall activity either.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    I would reconsider whether you really want to be losing the last bit of baby weight while still breastfeeding. According to a bunch of other posters, the body seems to want to hold on to the last 5-10 while nursing, after which it is easier to lose them.

    Also, I would strongly advise against drinking shakes and eating nothing else. Even if the shakes themselves are healthy, eating the same thing every day tends to result in nutritional deficiencies that could be avoided simply by eating a variety of foods. If you look at your log (which I know is inaccurate, but still), you will see that you tend to be quite high in carbs and low in protein. Not good for you or the baby! At the very least, I would review this plan with your pediatrician.
  • rotill
    rotill Posts: 244 Member
    I just put in one of your smoothies, using both the fitness pal calculator and, to double check, another list of nutrition for the same foods. Just one of your smoothies comes to over 1100 calories. It contains, besides a whole lot of fruit, a cup of coconut milk (which was my choice for the smoothie) and a cup of oats.

    A regular, and filling, breakfast for me is a cup of oat-meal porridge made on water - that's cooked, and contains about half a cup of oats, two-three spoons of youghurt and some fruit or sugar-free jam, with two cups of tea. That is about 200 calories.

    I can see why I have no problems staying under the 1400 calories mfp suggests for me (before adding activity), while you reach 2000 calories in one and a half meal.

    Perhaps your smoothies are better for people who work out a lot, and need quick, healthy and nutritious meals? Some people have problems eating enough, you know, and they will most likely benefit from your health advice. People who are already sedentary and try to lose weight will have a problem though.
  • _Mimi_
    _Mimi_ Posts: 233
    I just put in one of your smoothies, using both the fitness pal calculator and, to double check, another list of nutrition for the same foods. Just one of your smoothies comes to over 1100 calories. It contains, besides a whole lot of fruit, a cup of coconut milk (which was my choice for the smoothie) and a cup of oats.

    A regular, and filling, breakfast for me is a cup of oat-meal porridge made on water - that's cooked, and contains about half a cup of oats, two-three spoons of youghurt and some fruit or sugar-free jam, with two cups of tea. That is about 200 calories.

    I can see why I have no problems staying under the 1400 calories mfp suggests for me (before adding activity), while you reach 2000 calories in one and a half meal.

    Perhaps your smoothies are better for people who work out a lot, and need quick, healthy and nutritious meals? Some people have problems eating enough, you know, and they will most likely benefit from your health advice. People who are already sedentary and try to lose weight will have a problem though.
    I agree! I also find it worrisome that the "nutritional" information looks so official....and is sooooo wrong. :sad:
  • ebony__
    ebony__ Posts: 519 Member
    I think both the previous comments are very valid
  • marinebiologist_girl
    marinebiologist_girl Posts: 300
    I've never been pregnant but I reckon for the health of you and the baby, 1,200 might be a little low. If you set the site to lose 1lb a week instead of 2lbs it should raise what you're allowed to eat to a bit more. Is your diary open? I'm surprised by how much you've eaten, if you're not putting on weight.
  • _Mimi_
    _Mimi_ Posts: 233
    <snip>

    I usually use chronometer to calculate the calories of my green smoothies. The calories on my website are accurate and one serving would usually fill me up but I know I eat more calories than most people as I'm still breastfeeding.

    <snip>
    I'm sorry, but I don't believe the calories on your website are accurate. In fact, I know they aren't. Aside from the example rotill gave, I just picked a recipe at random. Your very official nutritional information (really bothers me that is IS so official looking, therefore garnering faith in the accuracy) says 305 calories per serving for the peaches and cream. The 1/2 cup of coconut milk alone is over 200 calories. Then you add a peach and an apple, among other things. No way that is accurate information. :sad:
  • annafonte
    annafonte Posts: 82 Member
    Wow, how many calories were you expecting to consume in one day? I barely reach 1000 calories by lunch.

    Sounds like you're eating like a 'king'!
  • rotill
    rotill Posts: 244 Member
    <snip>

    I usually use chronometer to calculate the calories of my green smoothies. The calories on my website are accurate and one serving would usually fill me up but I know I eat more calories than most people as I'm still breastfeeding.

    <snip>
    I'm sorry, but I don't believe the calories on your website are accurate. In fact, I know they aren't. Aside from the example rotill gave, I just picked a recipe at random. Your very official nutritional information (really bothers me that is IS so official looking, therefore garnering faith in the accuracy) says 305 calories per serving for the peaches and cream. The 1/2 cup of coconut milk alone is over 200 calories. Then you add a peach and an apple, among other things. No way that is accurate information. :sad:

    And, while we are nitpicking: You claim that your recipe is good for a long list of allergies. If you are to claim that a recipe is safe for people allergic to nuts, you really need to specify that they can not use for instance coconut milk in the recipe. Nut allergy is one of the truly dangerous allergies, as people tend to react violently, and if you want to give out serious-looking health advice, please don't leave it up to people's common sense. What if some friendly neighbourhood mother made your smoothie for an allergic child, trusting that it was safe to use the ingredients listed?

    And... isn't a chronometer a very precise clock?

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