is 600 to 800 NET cals per day too low?

nwachim
nwachim Posts: 111 Member
in Food and Nutrition
i used eat about 1300-1500 calories the first month i joined mfp(cant rem my net calories then) here am i in my second month &my calorie intake has gradually dropped and i have to purposely eat something extra even when am not hungry to get it up to 1300(above 1200) and Net calories usually comes out to about 700 per day,i know since i eat up to 1200cal,that its ok but recently reading some posts on MFP has kept me wondering if 700 NET calories is small.

CW -180lbs
GW- 145-150lbs
height - 5ft 8"
«1345

Replies

  • Mutant13
    Mutant13 Posts: 2,485 Member
    It is. Eat back your exercise cals!
  • Leeann1979
    Leeann1979 Posts: 1,090 Member
    Ya....its pretty much an eating disorder
  • flechero
    flechero Posts: 260 Member
    Definitely not enough. If you were 18" shorter and 75lbs lighter, it MIGHT be enough.
  • nwachim
    nwachim Posts: 111 Member
    wow am surprised,thanks everyone
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    Yes way too low. You put yourself in risk screwing up your metabolism.....making weight loss and maintaining that loss more challenging down the road. Pick a sensible calorie goal, eat and enjoy!!! :flowerforyou:
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    yes.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,043 Member
    This creates catabolism. Loss of lean muscle will SLOW your metabolic rate which intern will cause stalls and plateaus. Never undernourish the body when you're on a weight loss trek.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • toogsmom
    toogsmom Posts: 81 Member
    yes... the reason why mfp says at he bottom of each day when you submit ...if you are under 1200 , you are eating to low and gives you the risk associated with it! In the long run you are killing your metabolism!!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    yes.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    You will struggle to get enough quality nutrition into that, you nee to fuel you workouts and weight loss - not just calories but vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential fatty acids for health. When you exercise regularly your micronutrient needs increase.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    This creates catabolism. Loss of lean muscle will SLOW your metabolic rate which intern will cause stalls and plateaus. Never undernourish the body when you're on a weight loss trek.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    pretty much this. ^ Want to eat a LOW TINY amount of calories indefinitely so you don't gain weight back?

    Also, want to get to your "goal weight" and still look flabby and fat?

    Trust me you want to consume adequate calories and protein to try and ensure MOST of the weight your losing is FAT not muscle.
  • Barbellerella
    Barbellerella Posts: 1,838 Member
    Put your numbers in here and see what it says...

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    This creates catabolism. Loss of lean muscle will SLOW your metabolic rate which intern will cause stalls and plateaus. Never undernourish the body when you're on a weight loss trek.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    ^

    That's why yo-yo dieters gain all their weight back. Your muscle burns calories while at rest - less muscle/lean body mass, fewer calories burned maintaining your body. Your metabolism is worse off than when you were overweight. You want the opposite. Build lean muscle with weighted/resistance exercise and feed your body to be strong and healthy.
  • Cranktastic
    Cranktastic Posts: 1,517 Member
    yes
    :angry:
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    This creates catabolism. Loss of lean muscle will SLOW your metabolic rate which intern will cause stalls and plateaus. Never undernourish the body when you're on a weight loss trek.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    ^

    That's why yo-yo dieters gain all their weight back. Your muscle burns calories while at rest - less muscle/lean body mass, fewer calories burned maintaining your body. Your metabolism is worse off than when you were overweight. You want the opposite. Build lean muscle with weighted/resistance exercise and feed your body to be strong and healthy.

    Quoting for good advice!
  • plm209
    plm209 Posts: 222 Member
    This creates catabolism. Loss of lean muscle will SLOW your metabolic rate which intern will cause stalls and plateaus. Never undernourish the body when you're on a weight loss trek.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    ^

    That's why yo-yo dieters gain all their weight back. Your muscle burns calories while at rest - less muscle/lean body mass, fewer calories burned maintaining your body. Your metabolism is worse off than when you were overweight. You want the opposite. Build lean muscle with weighted/resistance exercise and feed your body to be strong and healthy.

    Could not have said it better myself! No matter how much I try to explain this to my father he keeps starving himself then gains all the weight right back. Lost 40 lbs this summer (way too fast) and he's already starting to put it back on. Eat healthy and don't starve yourself!!!!
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
    Yes. You should eat.

    cute-diet-eat-funny-girl-370533.jpg
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
    You seem surprised that people told you that it's too low but I think you already knew before even posting. If you feel you have to force yourself to eat to get to that number, then just eat something higher in calories-for a snack, grab some nuts or have peanut butter and an apple or for breakfast do toast and peanut butter
  • Melaniec78
    Melaniec78 Posts: 259 Member
    I think you said you were and are still trying to EAT at least 1200 and you're netting less because you are exercising?
    I don't always eat my exercise calories back but most days I try to eat at least half back.
    They are right about fueling your workouts but I would say kudos for trying to do the right thing by EATING the 1200 at least initially. Even if you have had to force those 1200 in lately you need to keep doing that or you will lose muscle mass.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I'm your height, started at 162lbs, and am currently about 137lbs - I eat around 1700 (sometimes over 2000) calories a day.

    Have a look at this topic, and run your numbers through the tools at the links provided there (same site another person posted above) - great info, great tools to help you figure out how much you should be eating: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    I have days where my NET is 700 but then the next day I smash my calories and eat all the food in site and kind of even out that super low net number - I usually try to NET 1200 calories at minimum, but usually end up in the 1500ish range at the end of the day.

    I would think you wouldn't want a 700 net total every day I think that is too little but thats just my opinion - if you aren't hungry and you are still low try some nuts (if you can have them), or peanut butter/other nut butter, or other calorie dense foods - stuff that doesn't necessarily fill you up..

    Or drink wine.... and eat chocolate.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Eating disorder zone calories. If you are around 4' maybe.... I'm guessing the answer is no. Get those calories up to 1600 odd, favour protein due to TEF (http://www.biolayne.com/nutrition/is-a-calorie-truly-a-calorie) and enjoy dieting rather than starving yourself.

    My other half is around 5' 1-2" and she she eats 1600 calories a day, exercises often, with a small amount of cardio and looks like this:

    abzilla.jpg

    Why eat less when you can lose plenty of fat and look great on MORE food making you feel more satisfied?
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    I don't snack much, but I guess I should start. Reading this thread made me go back through my diary. It seems I eat anywhere between 1200-1700 a day, but my NET calories are often below 1200. I never really paid much attention to the net. I feel like I eat a decent amount of food, mostly healthy. I'm certainly not hungry. But perhaps my weight loss will speed up if I eat more? That's what I keep reading, anyway.
  • elise9832
    elise9832 Posts: 9 Member
    OK I have to defend the OP. For some people (like me) it's very difficult to lose weight unless you eat about 1,200 calories per day. This is the minimum amount of calories for a healthy weight loss, and the National Institute of Health backs this up. If you're netting a little below 1,200 because of exercise that's OK in my book. Now, 600 does seem really low, and I only do moderate circuit training for about 20 minutes a day, so I usually NET at least 1,000.

    For those of you with significant weight to lose, it makes sense to eat more than 1,200, but if you're on your last 10 or so pounds, good luck losing on more than 1,200!! :wink:
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    OK I have to defend the OP. For some people (like me) it's very difficult to lose weight unless you eat about 1,200 calories per day. This is the minimum amount of calories for a healthy weight loss, and the National Institute of Health backs this up. If you're netting a little below 1,200 because of exercise that's OK in my book. Now, 600 does seem really low, and I only do moderate circuit training for about 20 minutes a day, so I usually NET at least 1,000.

    Care to provide some info from the National Institute of Health? Low calorie diets I've rarely seen recommend to the level of 1200 before exercise etc.

    The problem one should realize is not always something you can see today or many years. Eat insufficient good foods, high in minerals etc and you risk brittle bones, immune issues etc.

    I'm not saying everyone at 1200 will have problems but someone with a much stricter level of calories will much more likely be lacking IMO.
  • Melaniec78
    Melaniec78 Posts: 259 Member

    Or drink wine.... and eat chocolate.
    I plan my weekends for these allowances and when I get carried away it is ok because I can use up some of the exercise cals I didn't eat back during the week. :drinker:
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    My own rule of thumb - don't net below my BMR (around 1360). If my body needs that many calories to sustain itself while comatose, I should give myself AT LEAST that much while I'm walkin' & talkin' all day. And exercising on top of that. Food is fuel!
  • emily_bird
    emily_bird Posts: 236
    WAY too low .

    As someone who isn't a "food" person, meaning I can't just eat and some foods make me nauseaous, that's way too low. Eating below the basic calorie amount is going to make you more likely to backslide when it comes to weight loss and pick up more weight. You could also be losing muscle and not fat at the moment, which isn't a good thing.Eating too little can actually slow down your metabolism.
  • elise9832
    elise9832 Posts: 9 Member
    From the NIH:

    Calories
    Cutting back on calories (energy IN) will help you lose weight. To lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, adults should cut back their calorie intake by 500 to 1,000 calories a day.

    •In general, having 1,000 to 1,200 calories a day will help most women lose weight safely.
    •In general, having 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day will help most men lose weight safely. This calorie range also is suitable for women who weigh 165 pounds or more or who exercise routinely.
    These calorie levels are a guide and may need to be adjusted. If you eat 1,600 calories a day but don't lose weight, then you may want to cut back to 1,200 calories. If you're hungry on either diet, then you may want to add 100 to 200 calories a day.

    Very low-calorie diets with fewer than 800 calories a day shouldn't be used unless your doctor is monitoring you.

    Here is the website:

    http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/treatment.html
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    Yes

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