i cant get enough calories

Vampcitychick
Vampcitychick Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
hello:)
i need help with my calorie intake , my goal calorie is 1220 and it gets higher when i exercise. i have days where i get 1000 or a little bit higher but even if im only 200 cal away from the goal it always tells me im getting low calories.. should this be a concern if im only 200-400 cal low from the goal?

im 5'1
sw: 208-12.24.13
cw:192 - 2.13.14
gw:130-140

and also feel free to add me i have no friends on here and i need motivation since im losing weight on my own with no motivation:(
thanks(:
«1345

Replies

  • Sunshine2plus2
    Sunshine2plus2 Posts: 1,492 Member
    Take a bite of peanut butter BAM 200 calories!
  • Iknowsaur
    Iknowsaur Posts: 777 Member
    1,200 is the lowest recommended safe calorie intake for women. Especially if you are exercising, you need to be eating at LEAST 1,200. Depending on your burn from exercise, it should probably even be more. I would recommend eating back half your burn calories on top of the 1,200 that MFP has you set at.

    Eep that sounded formal and annoying.
    Also WELCOME :D

    God, another edit -
    I just noticed you posted your weight, and 1,200 seems low for you in general. Was that a custom setting or did MFP give it to you?
  • hdelamore
    hdelamore Posts: 206 Member
    Handful of peanuts- slice of cheese-

    ^ I eat these when I'm having issues eating all my calories
    Hope this helps :)
  • qtgonewild
    qtgonewild Posts: 1,930 Member
    i find this hard to believe.
  • ldula88
    ldula88 Posts: 169 Member
    Take a bite of peanut butter BAM 200 calories!

    Yupp. 2 tbsp. for about 200 calories. Easy add on. And besides, no one is ever too full for two spoons of peanut butter before bed ;)
  • Vampcitychick
    Vampcitychick Posts: 16
    i find it hard to believe too :noway:
  • Vampcitychick
    Vampcitychick Posts: 16
    i ate peanut butter this morning:D
    Take a bite of peanut butter BAM 200 calories!

    Yupp. 2 tbsp. for about 200 calories. Easy add on. And besides, no one is ever too full for two spoons of peanut butter before bed ;)
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    How is it that this board is packed with so many of us who are/were very overweight to obese, but suddenly, when calorie counting, there is an endless amount of people who now can't get enough calories in?
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
    How is it that this board is packed with so many of us who are/were very overweight to obese, but suddenly, when calorie counting, there is an endless amount of people who now can't get enough calories in?

    This.

    I for one, became obese on 1201 calories a day.
  • Iknowsaur
    Iknowsaur Posts: 777 Member
    How is it that this board is packed with so many of us who are/were very overweight to obese, but suddenly, when calorie counting, there is an endless amount of people who now can't get enough calories in?

    I think it's because when people start trying to be healthy, they can (for a short time, it never really lasts) cut out everything they consider to be "junk" foods. They only eat things they don't really like, (plain veggies and plain yoghurt and fat free this and that) and they hate it. So they don't eat as much. It never lasts too long, though /:
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Eat more. Don't eat diet / low fat / special foods. Eat full fat dairy/cheeses.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    1200 is pretty much bare minimum (and usually means you told MFP to do a pretty massive weight loss goal per week, like 3 pounds), so eating under 1200 isn't a good idea.

    Looking at your diary, you seem to be a big fan of El Pollo Loco. Plenty of healthy things on their menu that pack more calories than what you've been eating -- nutrition chart is right there on their website.
  • katelion22
    katelion22 Posts: 23 Member
    Looking at your diary, it seems like there are a lot of days you could benefit from more protein. Cottage cheese and greek yogurt are good options for snacks if you're okay with dairy. Also make sure you're weighing/measuring your food intake accurately. I think that part is often overlooked and can result in people overestimating or underestimating their daily intake by several hundred calories.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    How is it that this board is packed with so many of us who are/were very overweight to obese, but suddenly, when calorie counting, there is an endless amount of people who now can't get enough calories in?

    I've often wondered this, as well. I usually tell them something along the lines of, "That stuff you ate to get fat? Eat some of that. (In keeping with your calorie goals.)" -- Nobody became obese because they couldn't manage to eat 1200 calories.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    If your goal is 1200 and you're 400 under, you're missing 33% of your daily intake. That's a pretty huge chunk.
  • jodikilleffer
    jodikilleffer Posts: 12
    Hey there! I am in the same boat. I never get close to my 1400 calorie range. I eat all day long but I eat low calorie foods...apples, celery and hummus, bananas, a Shakology shake, cottage cheese, chicken, fresh juiced veggies and fruits. I am never hungry and if I am..I eat. it is 1:15 and I still have 1,424 calories to eat, so far I have had a huge bowl of homemade, clean chicken sausage soup, cottage cheese, 2 cups of coffee and 4 hard boiled egg(No yolks). I have not lost a lb since January! I stopped logging thinking I would eat more- I think I eat less. I am going to go back to logging. any help would be much appreciated.
  • Fedup23
    Fedup23 Posts: 80 Member
    I used to look at MY caloric recommendations with some disbelief too.. then I put it in the perspective of "Well.. I MUST have been eating a lot more than this to get this big" .. then I bought a food scale it it all became apparent. :)
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
    Sorry for the snark in advance but I eat roughly 2400 calories of healthy food every week day. Then a little unhealthy stuff too :). If I can eat that much healthy food at 5'3" and 115 pounds then I would think it would be easy to eat half that amount no matter what your situation is. Feel free to browse my diary and such.
  • ElliottTN
    ElliottTN Posts: 1,614 Member
    My eyes are bleeding from the overwhelming amount of BS in this thread.
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
    My eyes are bleeding from the overwhelming amount of BS in this thread.

    Need some gauze? I have some leftover from bandaging my eyes long enough to be able to respond to the thread....
  • YearsWorthOfFAT
    YearsWorthOfFAT Posts: 210
    Joking right?

    Not being able to eat 1200?
  • jodikilleffer
    jodikilleffer Posts: 12
    My eyes are bleeding from the overwhelming amount of BS in this thread.


    That is very judgmental. Your not playing nice in the sand box.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    eat real food. Don't stick to the low cal / no cal / "diet" versions. Especially if you aren't eating enough to start with.
  • tegalicious
    tegalicious Posts: 629
    My eyes are bleeding from the overwhelming amount of BS in this thread.


    That is very judgmental. Your not playing nice in the sand box.

    It gets very old hearing this "I can't eat 1200 calories, it's too much food" line almost every day. It may not be the most helpful advice but seriously. It isn't THAT hard to eat at least 1200 calories. Especially when you have a food scale and realize just how little healthy food constitutes 1200 calories.

    Edited typo... My phone likes to change food to good....
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    threads like this always baffle my mind...

    How did you end up obese if you cannot consume more than 1200 calories a day? I assume in your over-eating days that you were eating 2000+ a day, which is how you put on the weight, yes?

    My suggestion, add a servicing of ice cream to your daily intake, which will give you an additional 230 calories a day...
  • lexbubbles
    lexbubbles Posts: 465 Member
    1200 is pretty much bare minimum (and usually means you told MFP to do a pretty massive weight loss goal per week, like 3 pounds), so eating under 1200 isn't a good idea.

    I've got mine set to 1.5 and it gave me 1,200 (and said I'd only be losing 1.3 a week)
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    My eyes are bleeding from the overwhelming amount of BS in this thread.


    That is very judgmental. Your not playing nice in the sand box.

    how is it judgmental to point out the obvious, which is how can someone go from consuming 2000+ calories a day, but then when they start trying to lose, that same person cannot eat 1200 a day? Makes no sense...
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    How is it that this board is packed with so many of us who are/were very overweight to obese, but suddenly, when calorie counting, there is an endless amount of people who now can't get enough calories in?

    I know. *facepalm*
  • jimmason20
    jimmason20 Posts: 122 Member
    Depending on how much/intense your workout is this low calorie ammount will really start to hinder your weight lose. Try to add more calories to your breakfast by way of good carbs and protein. This will give you more energy throughout the day and more time to burn any added fat. I did the same thing you are in the begining and it slowed my lose alot. i was doing Insanity and eating 1800 calories a day. Nowhere near enough.
  • coral_b
    coral_b Posts: 264 Member
    Just enjoy the foods you got big on, in moderation. I Wish I had the trouble of not eating enough... I work out hard and a thoroughly enjoy eating those calories back! and I certainly NEVER aim for 1200. Get some protein powder, (it will help anyway as you need protein to keep lean muscle when you work out on a deficit). 1 scoop, some milk.. calories done.

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