Another post about calories

mathgirl
mathgirl Posts: 61 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone

I'm on 1200 calories a day, and calculated that by lying in bed all day I would burn over 1600 calories. I'm a woman, about 5'11", heavily built and got bigger muscles than the "regular" woman (I am certainly not happy with this very little feminine shape :)).
The days I do not exercise (I burn about 500 cals when I do my regular work out) I tend to get somewhat hungry, restless and up for some snacks. It's like my body is telling me 1200 calories is not enough for one day. The days I do exercise and therefore can eat more I feel very energetic and have little/no cravings for eating something more ( like unhealthy things). Except for the days I'm not working out I spend most of my time sitting still (I am a student with "too much" to do :)).

What I'm wondering is if 1200 calories a day is too little for me? Or is it a normal thing while trying to lose weight to WANT more because the body is not yet used to the lower calorie intake? I'm just trying to figure out if my body is trying to adjust me back where I used to be and I have to overcome this hunger?

I appreciate all answers and will be very happy if anyone could steer me into the right direction here.

(Sorry about my English, I'm from Norway)

Replies

  • lefrance12
    lefrance12 Posts: 131
    Are you eating your exercise calories? Also your metabolism may be a bit more active than some others. 1200 is very low. If it were me, i would increase my caloric intake for sure, especially if you are feeling low on energy. Listen to your body.
  • mathgirl
    mathgirl Posts: 61 Member
    Thanks for your reply

    Yes, I am eating most of the exercise calories, I don't think my body would respond well to eating just 1200 calories and then burn off 500 of them. That I won't try :) I'm just not sure how many more calories I can add to my daily 1200 calorie budget without adding to many. One learns from mistakes, but mistakes also take time.. :)
  • becomingsara
    becomingsara Posts: 205
    I would also wonder what you set your daily activity level at as well, as that has a MAJOR effect on the amt of calories MFP allows you (even to lose weight). But I agree with the above...listen to your body over ALL.
  • mscott45
    mscott45 Posts: 3 Member
    Hi. I'm on here trying to lose weight (about 5 stone) but my daughter is anorexic so we have been to see a nutritionist for her.

    She was told that you need to have 1,500 calories a day just to do normal body functions like respiration, making new cells, digestion, etc. If you have less than that your body starts to shut down 'non-essential' things (actually they are necessary!) such as temperature control, menstrual cycles, hair and skin condition, etc. That is what has been happening to my daughter. She has even grown what I can only describe as fur on her back, because she is always cold and her body is trying to keep her warm. It's not a pleasant place to be, her mood is very low and she has no energy.

    I go along with the nutritionist's theory that you do need 1,500 calories a day. She says the calorie theory is incorrect because according to that if you ate less than the recommended amount you would weigh nothing eventually but actually that doesn't happen because your body starts to need less calories to survive.

    So she says eat 1,500 but make them really high quality calories. Don't waste a single one on food that isn't nutrient-packed.

    She told me to concentrate on protein and fat rather than carbs (because carbs to turn to sugar in the body, which turns to fat easily). She said if you can get your body to burn fat rather than sugar the weight drops off - and you teach it to burn fat by feeding it fat. Not silly fat like chips and crisps and cakes, but good oils such as olive and coconut. Coconut speeds up your metabolism and makes you feel fuller for longer, it's great.

    So I'm trying to cut down on carbs but it's tough as I love potatoes! But I'm getting there by learning to eat good fats again, my body seems to be loving it. I'm vegetarian so it's a bit tougher for me as lots of veggie foods are high-carb but I'm making nice casseroles and soups and they are very filling.

    Sorry to drivel on so long! Hope some of this helps.

    Michelle x
  • lefrance12
    lefrance12 Posts: 131
    What about your sodium intake? If you go public, I can take a look at your diary?
  • lefrance12
    lefrance12 Posts: 131
    mathgirl, everything looks pretty good except your protein and water intake.. These are very important.. Remember protein intake helps to build lean muscle which burns fat and your protein intake is super low, additionally water helps to flush impurities from the body or basically the leftovers the body cant use. Friend me if you would like
  • mathgirl
    mathgirl Posts: 61 Member
    lefrance12: Diary gone public. Some of the meals are in Norwegian, but you should get the nutritional values

    bringasmilesara: I set it to "sedentary"

    mscott45: Thanks for your informative post, it gave me some more insight. I really wish your daughter all the best and hope she will get well. After starting here I've mostly been eating fruits, cereals (not the ones packed with sugar, but healthier ones), fat&sugar free yoghurts, "grained" bread with brown cheese or fish. For dinner I usually eat fish or meat with potatoes. I know the carbs from the potatoes and bread might not be so healthy, but at least it is something that I feel fills my stomach for a while.
  • the_other_kitkat
    the_other_kitkat Posts: 31
    I'm 5'2.5" and MFP also has me at 1200 calories. If I really ate that little on a regular basis I'd feel hungry all the time and eventually I'd blow it and start chowing down on whatever was close at hand. I seem to be able to function quite well and not feel hungry around 1400ish, so that's what I eat and I use exercise to increase my deficit (not to mention to make me generally fitter and healthier.)

    I think listening to your body is probably the way to go here. Just make sure you get enough exercise during the week to cover your deficit.
  • ottawagirl613
    ottawagirl613 Posts: 112 Member
    Personally I find 1200 calories to be on the low side. I am following a 1400-1500 calorie-a-day intake and am losing weight consistently at a rate of about 1-1.5 pounds per week. I am 5'6" and probably about medium build, and for the time being have not made any plans to exercise (it is next on the list). I figure if I can pull off weight loss at that calorie intake then so can you! So if you are feeling hungry I would definitely adjust your settings to accomodate a 1400+ calorie intake for the day. Just make sure the extra calories you are eating are in nutritional food as another person mentioned. Best of luck!
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
    I was at 1200 for quite a while but wasn't really feeling it so I bumped up my activity level setting to somewhat. It gave me 1500 and I saw results (slow but there) and felt a lot better. I also since I only had less than 20 to lose, I set my weight loss to 1 lb not 2 (though it already would not let me go past about a 1.5 setting since that was 1200 cals, and the min)

    And - you know what - you can switch! Try it. Bump up your activity level setting and see what your weight does. Stick with it for a month. Do you lose, gain? How do you feel. Then keep it there or switch it back.

    If it does not work, one month is little price to pay for understanding your body better and insuring you are doing this "right."
  • FitnessTim
    FitnessTim Posts: 234 Member
    I alway make an effort to eat more when I exercise but it seems I'm less hungry when I exercise. If I'm sitting around the house doing nothing I can eat double my calorie requirements for the day.

    It's not a small difference either. I have gone days 1000 calories under my suggested calorie intake when I exercise. I don't mind being a few hundred under but 1000 under without feeling hungry is just scary.

    For me losing weight by just cutting calories doesn't work even though technically it is possible. With exercise I can pretty much lose as much as I want. It's almost as if I replace a bad habit with a good habit which I guess is what fitness trainers are trying to teach their clients.
  • biggerpix
    biggerpix Posts: 96
    I have my goal set at 1000 calories a day and I walk a lot. I never get close to the 1000 calories. I'm always feel a little empty, but I fill up on fruit or something filling so I don't run to Little Ceasers and pig out on a whole pizza. Just today, I burned off most of what I took in. In my mind, it seems that I should burn off what I take in to loose weight. Am I being too logical in thinking that?
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