I AM ON FIRE! Kidding. Seriously... Am I eating too little?

I personally don't understand why MFP would have anybody eat less than their BMR (which from what I understand is the minimal amount of calories your body needs to sustain itself while in a coma).

I set myself higher than my BMR, personally. I'm no longer hungry all the time or feel deprived at all (even on my lifting days which used to be just killer for me as far as my appetite went). I just basically chose "lose 1/2 pound per week" and am eating most of my exercise calories back. Seems to be working for me.

If I lose 1/2 pound per week, that means I'll be at goal in 6 months. I'm fine with that since I'm doing this with long-term goals in mind and am not in a race or anything. If I lose more than that ... then hey, bonus for me and I'll go into maintenance that much sooner.

Try this for starters, lots of helpful info:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

i eat 1250, but i also only do 150cal snack six times a day and a 500 cal meal. i eat every two hours and it keeps me satisfied and never feeling hungry or weak and keeps my metabolism going.

That is how I feel now. I was surprised at how easy it was for me! (Sounds good by the way... great job!!!) No stress on my body or fatigue or weakness, if I make sure to eat snacks as well. I am just concerned about the lasting results of not eating what my body requires in a coma (no brain function, no exercise, no functioning at all). Those are 700 calories more than I am eating now.

Well thats how much your body burns per day if you were in a coma. to lose weight you need to eat less cals ten you burn per day. to lose 1/2lb a week you need to burn or eat less then 500 cals then your body burns a day. if you eat your bmr you also need to burn 500+ a day to lose weight. not unrealistic but it easier to eat less then your bmr and workout. i would say anthing that makes you feel weak or hungry all the time is too little and anything under 1200cal is to little. just have to find what works best for you and balance it out.

i eat 1250, but i also only do 150cal snack six times a day and a 500 cal meal. i eat every two hours and it keeps me satisfied and never feeling hungry or weak and keeps my metabolism going.

I am not going to argue with you. I am just going to give you something I have read recently that contradicts the theory of frequent meals. I want you to know that I am not promoting or agreeing with this approach.

I've read his book and looked online for the explanation why he thinks eating more often could actually promote weight gain. Below is an article I found online. I also copied it here. I am interested to hear your opinion on the theory of toxic hunger....


http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/weight-loss-eat-more-often-gain-weight.html

POSTED ON AUGUST 11, 2011 BY JOEL FUHRMAN, M.D.
It is well known that in recent years, restaurant portion sizes have steadily increased, and many single meals at fast food outlets and restaurants pack in enough calories for an entire day. Overall in the U.S., we are surrounded by calorie dense food all the time. Today, we eat more and more often than we did 20 or 30 years ago. We eat constantly. Calorie-dense, nutrient-poor snacks are everywhere. And many of our beverages contain enough calories to be meals in themselves.
However, “eat smaller, more frequent meals” is common weight loss advice – supposedly, if we eat more often to “keep blood sugar stable,” will avoid overeating. But does this really work? Is it sound advice for reducing caloric intake overall? The research says no – eating more frequently actually appears to promote weight gain.

In a recent study, researchers examined three potential drivers of increased calorie intake: portion size, number of eating occasions, and calorie density of meals. Although portion sizes were responsible for much of the caloric increase up to 1991, by far, the greater number of eating occasions was the strongest driver of increased calorie intake, accounting for 22 of the 28 calories/day/year increase the researchers observed since 1977.
Snacking for most people is a reaction to toxic hunger – most people snack between meals to stop uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms from the unhealthy foods that they eat. The average number of eating occasions has increased as our diet has become more toxic, producing more cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Unhealthy food indeed does have these addictive qualities.4-6
To maintain a healthy weight we need to eat fewer total calories; eating primarily nutrient-dense (rather than calorie-dense) foods and eating fewer times per day both will help to achieve this goal. Low calorie-density (high nutrient-density) foods like greens, other vegetables, and fruits are associated with reduced total calorie intake, higher nutritional quality, and lower body weight.7-9 Conversely, high energy-density foods are associated with greater calorie intake.10 Also, contrary to the conventional wisdom, the majority of studies have not found any weight-loss or calorie-reduction benefit to eating more frequently. Consuming a snack has been found not to cause a compensatory decrease in calorie consumption at the next meal. Ultimately, snacking most often results in increased daily caloric intake. Furthermore, most studies have shown that there is no weight loss advantage to dividing a diet of the same number of calories into a greater number of meals.

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

^^^What she said. Read that link, follow the advice there.
Bottom line, you need to do the math: calculate your TDEE and BMR, eat calorie amount that falls between those 2 numbers. Doing anything less well give you the symptoms you describe of feeling weak, and you may also lose more lean body mass than necessary. Lean body mass is good, try to keep it.

Well thats how much your body burns per day if you were in a coma. to lose weight you need to eat less cals ten you burn per day. to lose 1/2lb a week you need to burn or eat less then 500 cals then your body burns a day. if you eat your bmr you also need to burn 500+ a day to lose weight. not unrealistic but it easier to eat less then your bmr and workout. i would say anthing that makes you feel weak or hungry all the time is too little and anything under 1200cal is to little. just have to find what works best for you and balance it out.

no no no no no.

Your TDEE is how much you burn in a normal day. Your BMR is what you burn if you woke up and stayed in bed all day - this means its what your body needs to function BEFORE you add in movement. You need to eat less than your TDEE, NOT less than your BMR.

Well thats how much your body burns per day if you were in a coma. to lose weight you need to eat less cals ten you burn per day. to lose 1/2lb a week you need to burn or eat less then 500 cals then your body burns a day. if you eat your bmr you also need to burn 500+ a day to lose weight. not unrealistic but it easier to eat less then your bmr and workout. i would say anthing that makes you feel weak or hungry all the time is too little and anything under 1200cal is to little. just have to find what works best for you and balance it out.

no no no no no.

Your TDEE is how much you burn in a normal day. Your BMR is what you burn if you woke up and stayed in bed all day - this means its what your body needs to function BEFORE you add in movement. You need to eat less than your TDEE, NOT less than your BMR.

Exactly! I think that is what I am going to do. I think I am going to find a happy number about my BMR and go from there.

phew, that's right (as far as i know lol). It's what I do. I eat BMR rounded up to the nearest 100, which is about 700 under my TDEE, then I try do an average of 300 cal burn of excercise a day to round it up to 1000 deficit. lost nearly 9kg in 51 days

Exactly! I think that is what I am going to do. I think I am going to find a happy number about my BMR and go from there.

That, and use common sense. Make choices that are sustainable and choose a balanced diet, and then get your butt moving and find a way to exercise that you can sustain on a long-term basis.

I appreciate all the expert advice around here, but I'm no min/maxer nor am I looking for some "ideal" or "superbest" way to put food in my system. I'm just a regular person trying to make better choices for myself without getting religious about anything. "Fat" isn't a dirty word. Our bodies do make fat cells for a reason, and we do need them. Just not 50 million bilion gazillion of them.

Also, I loved the title of your thread. Made me laugh. Ya got me. :laugh: :flowerforyou:

no no no no no.

Your TDEE is how much you burn in a normal day. Your BMR is what you burn if you woke up and stayed in bed all day - this means its what your body needs to function BEFORE you add in movement. You need to eat less than your TDEE, NOT less than your BMR.

Exactly! I think that is what I am going to do. I think I am going to find a happy number about my BMR and go from there.

phew, that's right (as far as i know lol). It's what I do. I eat BMR rounded up to the nearest 100, which is about 700 under my TDEE, then I try do an average of 300 cal burn of excercise a day to round it up to 1000 deficit. lost nearly 9kg in 51 days

TDEE has an exercise factor already calculated in. Think of it as your BMR+daily activity+exercise. So if you are eating just above your BMR and then exercising for a burn of 300 calories, you should eat those calories back. You don't want to net below your BMR.

TDEE has a standard built in but i'm excercising more than that, eating BMR and losing 1kg a week. full, fit, sleeping great... that goes against every other piece of advice I've been given.

phew, that's right (as far as i know lol). It's what I do. I eat BMR rounded up to the nearest 100, which is about 700 under my TDEE, then I try do an average of 300 cal burn of excercise a day to round it up to 1000 deficit. lost nearly 9kg in 51 days

TDEE has an exercise factor already calculated in. Think of it as your BMR+daily activity+exercise. So if you are eating just above your BMR and then exercising for a burn of 300 calories, you should eat those calories back. You don't want to net below your BMR.

TDEE has a standard built in but i'm excercising more than that, eating BMR and losing 1kg a week. full, fit, sleeping great... that goes against every other piece of advice I've been given.

The following is a quote from the first page of this link: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

"Eating at BMR and staying in bed should maintain things as long as you do nothing at all.
Most people who start using MFP dont really understand the importance of this BMR number.
They jump in with both feet thinking "I'm going to lose soooooo much weight and be fantastic!"
What they dont understand is by not eating back calories from working out, they are netting below BMR.
The only people who should be eating below BMR are folks who have had Gastric Bypass, 500-700 cals/day, or people who are morbidly obese and only for an extremely short time and only prescribed by a Certified Nutritionist/Dietician.
I know I know!
There have been recent studies on fasting for extended periods of time and losing weight, but for all intents and purposes we are going to assume that the people on this site hopefully love food and can learn to have a synergistic and healthy relationship with it.

Most people who eat at or below BMR will lose weight for a short time.
Their bodies are no longer getting energy from food and so their bodies turn to fat stores for energy.
Problem is after extended periods of time, their bodies will adapt to the new energy and attempt to balance things out.
This isnt starvation response, we've beaten that horse on the forums over and over, but it is a metabolic slow down"


That's just a small section. You can read the rest and see what you think. Smarter people than me give and follow this advice. Check it out then decide for yourself.

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READ CAREFULLY. I DO NOT HAVE AN ISSUE. I AM HELPING THE OP WITH HER QUESTION. THIS IS WORKING FOR ME. YOU DO NOT NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS TO ME. I AM HAPPY. IF I AM NOT I WILL RAISE CALORIES. I AM LOSING WEIGHT, GETTING FIT AND I DID NOT ASK FOR ADVICE.

Sorry for caps, but seriously? Maybe you think you're trying to help, but you're not.