Am I eating enough?

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Phoenix_Warrior
Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My diary is open. I'm just wanting to get opinions. I'm 5'5" at 158lbs currently. I'm eating 1200 calories a day and I try to eat back my exercise calories. I don't want to lose what muscle I have accumulated in the past month. I currently bench at 65 lbs and do leg lift at 36 lbs. I do weights every other day, typically. Cardio I alerternate between several exercises in 15 min bursts( I have a 3 month old and a 2 yo).

I eat at least three times a day and I eat when I am hungry.

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  • Fabfitgirl5
    Fabfitgirl5 Posts: 91 Member
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    Commenting because I went through something similar and my nutritionist informed me that Iw as not eating enough.

    I had to select healthy eating snacks like celery and peanut butter, apples and peanut butter, (not too much peanut butter) fruit, nuts, dried cranberries (though not too many of them-they have a lot of natural sugar), and things of that nature to snack on and make sure my body was getting the nutrition it needs.

    Since you are working out and building muscle your body needs protein and fuel to burn and ensure your proper nutrition. Try going to see a nutritionist, if you work, usually you can find one through your jobs health plan. Also, if you are breastfeeding (not asking just commenting) you need to eat waaaaayyy more than that.

    Good luck!!!
  • KaiNIGHT
    KaiNIGHT Posts: 1
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    I am not an expert, but I would say that eating 3 times a day and only when you are hungry is a mistake. You need to eat a snack in between meals and eating when you are hungry leads to binging or making the wrong decisions with food.

    In addition, when you start to exercise you will definitely need the extra calories. I would prob consult a nutritionist or play with you diet so you see result. I've noticed that when stop losing weight, or overall fat, it is due to not getting enough calories usually eating an extra apple, banana, or serving of almonds helps me.

    With you working out now, your body will need these extra calories - adding clean protein, complex carbs, and the right fats will help you lose weight and get into overall better shape.

    Anyway, best of luck. :)
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    I don't breastfeed, so I don't need extra for that. I'm tied between eating too much and not eating enough lol. I am careful when I'm hungry to make sure it isn't just binging or emotional eating (which use to be my problem). :) I suppose I should've added I do snack. Generally once a day, in between meals if I can't last it out. So far, I have no issues overeating. Just wanted check if intake seemed low. I do want to continue to lose 2 lbs a week but I didn't want to compromise my muscle build and body fat % with it.
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
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    It is probably low, and you are getting to the weight where you want to start losing more slowly. 1% of your bodyweight/week is an ok rule of thumb, or you can look up the TDEE method and see what deficit that would put you at. (The bigger you are, the happier your body is burning fat; the less fat you have, the more likely it is to look at that expensive muscle and wonder why you're carrying all that around.)

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