help with setting correct calorie intake!!!

aliya1717
aliya1717 Posts: 12
in Food and Nutrition
the site suggests 3057 calories per day because I am on my feet most of the day and workout an average of 30 mins a day (sometimes more). I can barely break 1200 most days. I currently have it set at 1700 calories a day and with my work out I often have over 1000 calories left.

I weigh starting weight was 319, I'm 5'10", female. I've lost 16 pounds already but I am concerned that I am doing harm to my body.

thoughts? suggestions? thank you!

Replies

  • lovelifehealth
    lovelifehealth Posts: 71 Member
    Most of the articles I've read say women should eat at least 1200 calories a day.

    See what MFP recommends if you change your goal setting to sedentary with no exercise. I would think that would give you a good baseline as to what is the minimum you should be eating.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    I never understand why anyone can't get 1200 cals in. It's not hard. How did we gain gain weight if we couldn't eat over 1200 calories? Eat higher calorie foods. Prelog your food the night before so you know exactly what you need to eat to get to your goal. That is something I do. And if you can't eat 3000 cals a day, at LEAST find out what your BMR is & eat that.
  • ilovescarymovies
    ilovescarymovies Posts: 202 Member
    I never understand why anyone can't get 1200 cals in. It's not hard. How did we gain gain weight if we couldn't eat over 1200 calories? Eat higher calorie foods. Prelog your food the night before so you know exactly what you need to eat to get to your goal. That is something I do. And if you can't eat 3000 cals a day, at LEAST find out what your BMR is & eat that.

    this^. calculate your BMR- you can google it, and eat that much. netting below 1200 is not good for you
  • notworthstalking
    notworthstalking Posts: 531 Member
    I never understand why anyone can't get 1200 cals in. It's not hard. How did we gain gain weight if we couldn't eat over 1200 calories? Eat higher calorie foods. Prelog your food the night before so you know exactly what you need to eat to get to your goal. That is something I do. And if you can't eat 3000 cals a day, at LEAST find out what your BMR is & eat that.

    I've noticed that people who try and eat no carbs or no fat, or who have a replacement shake or something lo cal but very filling have that problem. I do have trouble with 1820 somedays. When I did a long walk last saturday (500 cal burn) I had trouble getting to 1200 net. But I did get their. I mostly try to not go under or over by more than 250 cal . I have a 250 deficet built in so this seems reasonable.
  • aliya1717
    aliya1717 Posts: 12
    I know it seem stupid right, how did I become this size and now I can't eat enough? but everyday its the same thing. I stopped eating fast food and drinking sugary drinks, and replaced them with fresh fruits and veggies and water. it seems like a small change but I am dramatically under.

    in clarification, I so burn quite a bit. I regularly go hiking which they say burns close to 1500 calories. I take hour long walks and burn 600. so my net is always below, even if I do consume 1200 calories a day.
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
    I know it seem stupid right, how did I become this size and now I can't eat enough? but everyday its the same thing. I stopped eating fast food and drinking sugary drinks, and replaced them with fresh fruits and veggies and water. it seems like a small change but I am dramatically under.

    in clarification, I so burn quite a bit. I regularly go hiking which they say burns close to 1500 calories. I take hour long walks and burn 600. so my net is always below, even if I do consume 1200 calories a day.

    Could be self-conscious. A "hey, if I eat way less I'll get faster results!" kinda thing playing in your mind. In which case, why other calorie counting at all? Tbh, I'd you're already in such a deficit, you may as well not log if you're struggling to meet your goal; see how that goes.
  • aliya1717
    aliya1717 Posts: 12
    something to think about
  • chellebublz
    chellebublz Posts: 568 Member
    It is actually very hard to meet calorie goals if you do the right things and cut processed foods out and watch carbs and white sugars. I don't make my calories alot of times but I don't stress over it. If I'm hungry I eat, if I'm not I don't. I'm not going to force myself to eat to conform to someone else's idea of how many calories I should net. Honestly, I believe that if my body needed more, it WILL let me know.
  • aliya1717
    aliya1717 Posts: 12
    It is actually very hard to meet calorie goals if you do the right things and cut processed foods out and watch carbs and white sugars. I don't make my calories alot of times but I don't stress over it. If I'm hungry I eat, if I'm not I don't. I'm not going to force myself to eat to conform to someone else's idea of how many calories I should net. Honestly, I believe that if my body needed more, it WILL let me know.

    thanks, I was beginning to feel bad...
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    this is a great place to start, read this and it will explain why you have to eat more:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • ilovescarymovies
    ilovescarymovies Posts: 202 Member
    Drink some juice, eat a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, handful of almonds- non filling ways to up the cals
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    I know it seem stupid right, how did I become this size and now I can't eat enough? but everyday its the same thing. I stopped eating fast food and drinking sugary drinks, and replaced them with fresh fruits and veggies and water. it seems like a small change but I am dramatically under.

    in clarification, I so burn quite a bit. I regularly go hiking which they say burns close to 1500 calories. I take hour long walks and burn 600. so my net is always below, even if I do consume 1200 calories a day.

    I totally elieve you burn a lot. If you could just get ur food intake up to ur BMR, then that would b much better than what it is now. U can worry ab net later. But if you eat 1200 and buring 1500, ur net is negative. That's no good.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    It is actually very hard to meet calorie goals if you do the right things and cut processed foods out and watch carbs and white sugars. I don't make my calories alot of times but I don't stress over it. If I'm hungry I eat, if I'm not I don't. I'm not going to force myself to eat to conform to someone else's idea of how many calories I should net. Honestly, I believe that if my body needed more, it WILL let me know.

    Ok, u do that & lose muscle. Your body, your choice.
    Honestly, carbs don't matter. I have never watched carbs myself. Unless you're diabetic, they're fine. I've done the clean eating thing before, but now I realize that you can take things in moderation & be fine & look amazing. I know I may not look amazing, but I know ripped people who eat sweets every day & induldge in 'bad foods' in moderation. iifym- if it fits your macros. I suggest 40/30/30 C/P/F for ur macros.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    this is a great place to start, read this and it will explain why you have to eat more:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
    ^ seconding this
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    You really need to try eat more. Looking at the last couple of days in your diary your intake is very low. With such a high energy requirement you can afford not to be so cautious with your eating.

    Eat more carbs - pasta, rice, wholemeal bread. Eat full fat dairy - cheese, Greek yoghurt, milk. Eat higher calorie wholefoods - nuts, avocado, seeds. Add oil to cooking - olive oil, coconut oil. Eat larger portions of lean protein - chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, Quorn, etc. Eat a larger breakfast - large portions of oatmeal/porridge adds cals.

    I have a high TDEE too, maintaining at around 2800. If you need to increase you cals by 100 per week while you get used to eating more.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    You have a bunch of fat free and sugar free stuff in your diary and are eating half servings of things. Stop with the fat free/sugar free. Eat larger portions.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    Double check your lifestyle/activity setting. Just because you're on your feet all day doesn't mean you should choose the most active setting. Do you work in construction where you're lifting, squatting, pulling or pushing heavy things for 8-10 hours per day? Probably not. Choose an accurate, realistic activity setting and log your dedicated workouts using the Exercise tab.

    Other posters are correct, eat at least your BMR but try to eat more as that's the bare minimum you need. It's the amount of calories you would burn even if you were in a coma. You can find it on MFP by clicking on the "Apps" tab and scrolling down.
  • aliya1717
    aliya1717 Posts: 12
    You really need to try eat more. Looking at the last couple of days in your diary your intake is very low. With such a high energy requirement you can afford not to be so cautious with your eating.

    Eat more carbs - pasta, rice, wholemeal bread. Eat full fat dairy - cheese, Greek yoghurt, milk. Eat higher calorie wholefoods - nuts, avocado, seeds. Add oil to cooking - olive oil, coconut oil. Eat larger portions of lean protein - chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, Quorn, etc. Eat a larger breakfast - large portions of oatmeal/porridge adds cals.

    I have a high TDEE too, maintaining at around 2800. If you need to increase you cals by 100 per week while you get used to eating more.

    these are great suggestions. I have been trying to eat through out the day, I used to just eat a large meal after work. the idea of breakfast was once vomit inducing. it's a process!!! I'm working on it!!!
  • chellebublz
    chellebublz Posts: 568 Member
    I understand the whole roadmap/TDEE thing, but that doesn't make sense for ME right now. (I have been going through a long term dental process and just got an upper denture this week and just something simple like drinking a glass of water is a hard task for me; my dentist says is a long learning process). When I can eat normal again that is something I will look more into. But this thread isn't about me, it's about OP. What works is different for everyone, and you shouldn't beat yourself up. Also, I'm not on this journey to just lose weight, I'm in it to be healthy and I choose not to do that by eating sweets on a daily basis.
  • aliya1717
    aliya1717 Posts: 12
    Double check your lifestyle/activity setting. Just because you're on your feet all day doesn't mean you should choose the most active setting. Do you work in construction where you're lifting, squatting, pulling or pushing heavy things for 8-10 hours per day? Probably not. Choose an accurate, realistic activity setting and log your dedicated workouts using the Exercise tab.

    Other posters are correct, eat at least your BMR but try to eat more as that's the bare minimum you need. It's the amount of calories you would burn even if you were in a coma. You can find it on MFP by clicking on the "Apps" tab and scrolling down.

    it is currently set at one step above a desk job (nursing)I am a nursing assistant and I spend a large part of my day pushing wheelchairs, lifting people out of bed, giving showers, helping with pt. it's fairly active.
  • aliya1717
    aliya1717 Posts: 12
    Double check your lifestyle/activity setting. Just because you're on your feet all day doesn't mean you should choose the most active setting. Do you work in construction where you're lifting, squatting, pulling or pushing heavy things for 8-10 hours per day? Probably not. Choose an accurate, realistic activity setting and log your dedicated workouts using the Exercise tab.

    Other posters are correct, eat at least your BMR but try to eat more as that's the bare minimum you need. It's the amount of calories you would burn even if you were in a coma. You can find it on MFP by clicking on the "Apps" tab and scrolling down.

    it is currently set at one step above a desk job (nursing)I am a nursing assistant and I spend a large part of my day pushing wheelchairs, lifting people out of bed, giving showers, helping with pt. it's fairly active.

    I have it set as lightly active...I think that is fair?
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    Dan explains how to calculate your calories and how MFP does it for you

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


    He rocks.

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