help me understand

babymaddux
babymaddux Posts: 209 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
we are given calorie targets for each day, the number that i don't know how much research has discovered is our optimum energy intake for both continued health and weight loss/gain/maintenance. so why do so many people celebrate you being 100s of calories under for the day rather than encouraging you to eat a bit more?
i get the misconception of 'just eat less'. and i get that people like quick, big losses. but i also understand that it isn't an overnight thing and that chronically under-eating simply isn't healthy.
i see friends coming in sometimes 1000 cals short when exercise is added in and while i want to say have a bit more, everyone else is saying they did great so i say nothing. or other people who don't get anywhere near 1200. i just feel like i'm the nagging parent...

Replies

  • CkepiJinx
    CkepiJinx Posts: 613 Member
    I don't comment on people's food intake for this very reason. Unless someone asks a specific question, I only comment on exercise and weight loss. Everyone has there own personal goals, and as for exercise calories that is a hot topic around here, some people eat them back some don't, I eat a portion depending on how hungry I am and what type of exercise I have done. I don't have a monitor so I like to leave a margin of error. Good luck
  • babymaddux
    babymaddux Posts: 209 Member
    I don't comment on people's food intake for this very reason. Unless someone asks a specific question, I only comment on exercise and weight loss. Everyone has there own personal goals, and as for exercise calories that is a hot topic around here, some people eat them back some don't, I eat a portion depending on how hungry I am and what type of exercise I have done. I don't have a monitor so I like to leave a margin of error. Good luck

    when it's exercise calories then that's different, i rarely eat those either. it's the number of pure food calories that gets to me. i'm glad i'm not the only one who doesn't like commenting.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    I think a lot of people don't bother to check the diary before congratulating. They just see the MFP message pop up that X was under their calorie goal and respond automatically.
  • mlrodgers381
    mlrodgers381 Posts: 71 Member
    It also might just be that specific person...what I mean...I try to "balance" my day with healthy food: meat, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. I throw in a little tiny bit of maybe not so good stuff occassionally. When I'm being totally good, i eat my food and I eat until I'm full, and I think that I must have met my calories for the day. Sometimes I find that I haven't and that I'm under, but I'm still not hungry. I really struggle with this, because on one hand, I don't want to eat if I'm not hungry, but on the other hand, I dont want to under eat which also can be unhealthy. I think it's just an adjustment period sometimes for that person to be able to figure out how to eat so that they meet all the criteria. If it continues on an ongoing basis, that you are concerned, I don't find anything wrong with saying, "be careful, because (insert thought here)", it just shows that you care about that person.
  • babymaddux
    babymaddux Posts: 209 Member
    It also might just be that specific person...what I mean...I try to "balance" my day with healthy food: meat, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. I throw in a little tiny bit of maybe not so good stuff occassionally. When I'm being totally good, i eat my food and I eat until I'm full, and I think that I must have met my calories for the day. Sometimes I find that I haven't and that I'm under, but I'm still not hungry. I really struggle with this, because on one hand, I don't want to eat if I'm not hungry, but on the other hand, I dont want to under eat which also can be unhealthy. I think it's just an adjustment period sometimes for that person to be able to figure out how to eat so that they meet all the criteria. If it continues on an ongoing basis, that you are concerned, I don't find anything wrong with saying, "be careful, because (insert thought here)", it just shows that you care about that person.

    it's not the person eating the food that i don't understand, it's the other people congratulating them and essentially encouraging under-eating. on the days i don't come close my target, i know personally i'd rather have someone point that out than celebrate missing 600 food calories.
    i guess it's just my weight loss mind set. i don't want a quick fix as a result of starving myself, i want long term health from eating sensibly. and i have too many friends who constantly starve themselves and are never happy as a result.
  • zhvah18
    zhvah18 Posts: 158 Member
    I always check the friends diary when it says they've completed it for the day. If they're way under I won't leave a comment at all. Most days I want to just say EAT SOMETHING, but like you said, I don't want to sound like a nagging parent so I say nothing at all.

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