Am I eating enough?

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melissaka7
melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I recently started eating 5 meals a day. A good breakfast. I snack 2 hours later of either fruit & almonds or yogurt. A healthy lunch (usually a turkey wrap). And another snack two hours later (if I'm hungry) of veggies, string cheese, or almonds. My dinners vary between really healthy to something processed in moderation, but NEVER fast food. I also no longer drink soda. I typically can make it to 1200 calories a day. I have a sedentary job & sit all day. I do walk at least 20 minutes on my breaks. I work out 6 days a week for 60-60 minutes either yoga, working out videos, or running. I do NOT eat my work out calories. I have lost 22 lbs since 5/7. I am at 166 & my goal is 145. I was planning to give myself until end of October to reach that goal in case I plateau.

My concern is I always hear about the calorie defecit & I guess I don't really understand a lot of it. I just want to make sure I'm eating enough. I know I am eating the right things. I have my goals set on MFP of 1.5 or 2 lbs a week, I can't remember. I like counting calories because I feel like it holds be accountable. Obviously I'm doing something right or I wouldn't be losing, I just want to make sure I'm doing okay.
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Replies

  • Sandie001
    Sandie001 Posts: 29
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    I would be interested in other peoples opinions on this. Hope you get some replies :smile:
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
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    You will plateau faster as you are keeping a very aggressive deficit. You will have to up your calories VERY slowly when you hit maintenance.

    Technically, you are eating too little. But since it's working for you I also know you are less likely to listen and eat more :wink:
  • melissaka7
    melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
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    Honestly, if I need to be doing something differently I will. This is just a VERY big deal to me. I have been overweight for so long & I want to be healthy & feel good about myself. I am determined to meet my goal & I am looking forward to being able to maintain & not focus on weight loss all the time.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    You should change your goal to 1 lb a week since you don't have a ton to lose anymore, and eat back your exercise calories.. Why starve yourself when you don't have to.. of course if you plateau or don't like your body after you lose the weight.. the above is why.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    If you use MFP as it is intended you need to meet your calorie goal and eat back your exercise calories. With less than 20 lbs to go it would probably be best to change your loss per week goal to .5 or 1 lb so you have less of an increase in calories as you reach maintenance.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    You should change your goal to 1 lb a week since you don't have a ton to lose anymore, and eat back your exercise calories.. Why starve yourself when you don't have to.. of course if you plateau or don't like your body after you lose the weight.. the above is why.

    This!
  • melissaka7
    melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
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    I don't feel like I'm starving myself though. I am eating when I am hungry & when I eat I feel full. Before I started doing the 5 a day meals I was starving all the time.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    In short, no. You aren't eating enough. Eating when you're hungry doesn't matter.
  • melissaka7
    melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
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    If I'm not eating enoght then how much SHOULD I be eating?
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    If I'm not eating enoght then how much SHOULD I be eating?
    Your allotted calories plus your exercise calories.
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
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    If you are working out for an hour 6 times a week, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories. I work out 4-5 times per week for no longer than like 35 minutes, eat 1600-1700 calories and still lose. Go online, figure out your TDEE, and subtract twenty percent from that. Slowly up your calories to that amount. You'll be amazed at how much more you can eat and still lose!
  • melissaka7
    melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
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    I don't know what TDEE means, sorry. :( Do you have a recomended site?
  • tmccarter11
    tmccarter11 Posts: 39
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    To see how much I need to eat I used my BMR and my TDEE. Do a search on here and you will find out tons of information on these subjects. You can use the numbers to get an idea how many calories you should be eating for the day
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
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    Try not to net lower than 1200. Do you have a heart rate monitor for your cardio? I ask because MFP tends to overestimate the exercise calories. Do raise your calories slowly, or you will notice a big jump from retained water, and more food (it's not fat).
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    I don't know what TDEE means, sorry. :( Do you have a recomended site?
    go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    give that a look.
  • catbubbles
    catbubbles Posts: 28
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    I have had something very similar happen to me. When I had a lot to lose, eating 1200 calories worked great because my body used my "excess" to feed itself. However, once I got down to a more manageable weight I plateaued. Since I was working out a bunch, I couldn't figure it out. All the research I did said eat more. I was soooo skeptical but eventually gave it a try. It worked! Also, mixing things up works well to. For instance, if you usually walk for your workout, switch it with stair climbing on occasion. If you normally do a treadmill, do an elliptical occasionally. Same goes for food. If you always eat the same things, eat something different. I even go as far as switching up my calorie intake. Some days I stick to 1200, and some days I go for 1800 and range anywhere in there. I rarely eat the same amount of calories on consecutive days. This keeps your body from getting "used" to anything.
  • janegeraldine
    janegeraldine Posts: 20 Member
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    I believe you are eating enough. I eat around my 1200 calorie goal even on days that I burn 300-500 running. Sometimes I eat a hundred or so of those calories back, but not always. I went through a phase in which I bought into the "starvation mode" nonsense that makes the rounds here...I upped my daily calories to 1500 (my BMR) and ate back at least half of my exercise calories, which so many people claimed is the only way to do it. My weight loss slowed to less than 4 pounds a month. Now that I am back in control and doing what makes sense to me, I am back at a 6-7 pound a month weight loss. I have lost over 90 pounds total throughout my weight loss journey (I started out at 267 pounds...and am now at 175). And while I have gone through phases of a couple months of not dieting and eating around maintenance calories, I have never plateaued and I have never gained any back. The people here love to tell you that you will plateau or go off your diet and be a disaster because of "starvation mode," but I have never seen evidence of any of it, and I know I am not the only one. I think people freak out over the idea of eating lower calorie and buy into the starvation mode story because it makes them feel better about eating more.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I do walk at least 20 minutes on my breaks. I work out 6 days a week for 60-60 minutes either yoga, working out videos, or running.
    This is NOT sedentary. :smile: Even with a desk job, with daily walking & workouts, you're definitely not sedentary. Changing that setting would bump up your daily goal.

    And you should also be eating back those exercise cals. MFP has your daily goal with a deficit already built in - meaning eat to goal every day, do zero exercise, and you'll lose weight. Add in the exercise, and now you've got a much larger deficit, which is not a good thing - a small deficit is best for fat loss, and eating too little for too long can cause a stall in weight loss, slow your metabolism, jack with your hormones, etc. You are supposed to eat them back.

    As for how much you should be eating - hard to say without knowing your stats. If it helps, I'm 45 years old, 5'8", workout about an hour a day (running and weights every other day), and I lose eating 1800-2000 cals a day. If you're barely making it to 1200, and not eating exercise cals back, you aren't eating enough.
  • catbubbles
    catbubbles Posts: 28
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    I think everyone is different. It is just a matter of figuring out what is best for your body. For me, eating 1200 plus half my exercise calories works best. If I eat less, I gain weight. If I eat more, I gain weight. However, when I was 30 pounds heavier staying at 1200 was the best. So basically, for me this was very accurate.
  • melissaka7
    melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
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    I'm 5'5" (and a half). I'm 28. I work out six days a week. Mostly running (3-4 miles a day) I already have been told it's too much running) I also do yoga once a week for an hour & 3 ten minute work out videos on some days. I want to start P90X soon.

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