" You are eating too few calories" message

Ignore it. Who lets a computer tell them what to do?

Hunger is a funny thing. When I first started back up running last spring, I didn't track food - I ate when I was hungry, healthy stuff. I ate the occasional treat but when I'm active, my sweet tooth disappears. I dropped 5# pretty quickly, but then stagnated. I was never hungry and felt fine.

I started tracking, and found out I was accidentally starving myself. Oops! So I started eating more, had trouble eating enough calories, but dropped another 5# easily over about a month. Yay! But I was having trouble eating all my calories and constantly got that "you're not eating enough" message.

Saw a nutritionist, who helped redesign my calorie/meal goals. She put me on a higher calorie diet and has gotten me to start snacking (I hate snacking). Instead of "eating back" my workout calories, since my workouts vary over the week and I can't always plan precisely what they're going to be, I eat the same volume of calories every day, with very small variations based on workout (modulated by post-workout snack). I'm still adjusting, but am now ravenous all the time (and am eating more than I used to).

Hunger is a very strange thing, that at least for me, has absolutely no relation to how many calories I actually need to consume - I think I broke my appetite :frown:

How many people are getting this message from MFP when they are done logging their food for the day?

For the first time in about 6 months I finally feel like I'm losing some weight again, and I keep getting this message...it's not like I'm starving myself or anything. Most days I feel great with my "eating."

So, ignore the message or heed the warning....what's your take??

I think that 1200 is some sort of magical threshold of nutrition where if you're under then it's hard to get all the nutrition one might need. I think that MFP needs to inform you of that in the same way that exercise programs need to tell you to consult a doctor before beginning any exercise program. It helps decrease liability should someone be starving themselves and then try to blame MFP when they get sick.

This. It's an arbitrary number set by the American College of Sports Medicine to ensure that people obtain enough food in order to have the required nutrition (ie vitamins and minerals) your body needs to function. There is actually no research behind the number. The concept of minimum calories, just like the concept of starvation mode, is grossly misunderstood by many people. According to research, in order to put your body into starvation mode, you have to drop to about 50% below your body's required caloric intake. That being said, unless your very petite, sedantary, or slight 1200 is likely a low number for you. Unlikely to put you into starvation mode unless you need 2400 calories or more a day but for the average person pretty darn low. Now if your smaller then the norm, then that is a different matter. If in doubt, consult a physician . Physicians have been known to sometimes put people on EXTREMELY low calorie diets (ie, 350-500 calories a day) but only under medical supervision.