Under Calories

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thebrokentide
thebrokentide Posts: 47 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
MFP keeps yelling at me every single day because at the end of the day with what I eat and how much I work out it says I'm under calories. Except I feel like I'm eating more on this diet, just better things. For example yesterday had four pieces of bacon, eggs, an apple for breakfast, then soup and almond milk for lunch, then tuna fish, quinoa, celery and edameme for dinner.

Is it really bad to be under calories if you're eating three meals a day, enough, and not hungry?
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Replies

  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    If you open your diary, you might get more feedback.

    Tentative answer: yes, you probably should be eating more to fuel your exercises. MFP already factors in that you want to lose weight, thus eating back the calories you burn will still have you in a deficit and you will still lose weight. This assumes that the calorie burns are accurate and you're measuring your heart rate instead of just going off of height, weight, and age.

    Anyway, open your diary and I can give you more specific feedback
  • thebrokentide
    thebrokentide Posts: 47 Member
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    If you open your diary, you might get more feedback.

    Tentative answer: yes, you probably should be eating more to fuel your exercises. MFP already factors in that you want to lose weight, thus eating back the calories you burn will still have you in a deficit and you will still lose weight. This assumes that the calorie burns are accurate and you're measuring your heart rate instead of just going off of height, weight, and age.

    Anyway, open your diary and I can give you more specific feedback

    How do I open my diary?
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Settings>diary settings>either public or MFP members only
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    yes as long as you are still losing weight and not drastically cutting calories without doctor supervision

    Not true. Depending on how much you weigh vs a healthy weight for your height, you want to lose a certain amount per week to be healthy. For instance, if the OP is within 25 lbs of a healthy weight, she should not be losing 2+ lbs a week because that is above a healthy rate for her. If she is within 100+ lbs of a healthy weight, that rate of loss would be fine.

    OP, here is a good resource with all kinds of other links for you to check out. This has helped me immensely.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • thebrokentide
    thebrokentide Posts: 47 Member
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    Thanks for the link. I went ahead and made my diary public.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Thanks for the link. I went ahead and made my diary public.

    Ok, yeah you're way to low to be in healthy range especially considering that you work out. What are your height and current weight?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Do you have a lot of half logged days or have you really had less than 600 calories 7 days this month?

    1200 calories is the bare minimum recommended to sedentary women and many people should be eating more than that. That has more to do with nutrition than weight loss. The less you eat the harder it is to get enough fat, protein, calcium, iron, and other vitamins and minerals into your diet. Supplements can only do so much to help with this and sooner or later you could start to see negative effects from this (muscle loss, bone density loss, brittle hair and nails, fatigue, etc).

    That said, your logging is pretty spotty, so it's hard to tell whether you're eating enough or too little.
  • thebrokentide
    thebrokentide Posts: 47 Member
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    Thanks for the link. I went ahead and made my diary public.

    Ok, yeah you're way to low to be in healthy range especially considering that you work out. What are your height and current weight?

    I'm around 5'3" and 165 lbs.
  • thebrokentide
    thebrokentide Posts: 47 Member
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    Do you have a lot of half logged days or have you really had less than 600 calories 7 days this month?

    1200 calories is the bare minimum recommended to sedentary women and many people should be eating more than that. That has more to do with nutrition than weight loss. The less you eat the harder it is to get enough fat, protein, calcium, iron, and other vitamins and minerals into your diet. Supplements can only do so much to help with this and sooner or later you could start to see negative effects from this (muscle loss, bone density loss, brittle hair and nails, fatigue, etc).

    That said, your logging is pretty spotty, so it's hard to tell whether you're eating enough or too little.

    I've had my MFP for months and would randomy put stuff in. I really didnt start keeping track til a few days ago.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Thanks for the link. I went ahead and made my diary public.

    Ok, yeah you're way to low to be in healthy range especially considering that you work out. What are your height and current weight?

    I'm around 5'3" and 165 lbs.

    Ok, so you are within about 25-30 lbs of your goal weight, I assume? You should probably start trying to lose about a half pound a week at this point. This will increase your calories, but don't fear! You can fill them up by using higher calorie foods if you're feeling too full. You can add things like nuts and beans that are fairly high calorie but nutrient dense.

    If you are aiming for a lower weight, say about 35-40 lbs, you can still lose at one pound per week healthily.

    I guess your question was more about adding in some calories, so I'll address that too. You can add peanut butter to almost anything, add in some drinks with calories (milk, juice, coffee, etc) and oils and dressings. You really should be eating more to make sure your body is doing what it needs to do.
  • dont_tap_my_aces
    dont_tap_my_aces Posts: 125 Member
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    at your height and weight, 1200 kcals a day isn't horrible if you are trying to lose about 1.3lbs a week (assuming TDEE around 1850kcals)

    you could change your goals in the settings page. Click on My Home at the top left, then click Goals and Change Goals.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    you don't need to show your diary to anyone if you don't want to. calories are calories and its ok to be under

    Please stop. I'm not trying to be mean, and this is not an attack, but your advice can be harmful. You keep telling people it's okay to be under, when you don't know how many calories they are eating at all. If a person was only eating 600 calories a day, then no, it's not okay to be under, because they are already way under eating.

    I know you are new and you just want to help.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    you don't need to show your diary to anyone if you don't want to. calories are calories and its ok to be under

    A day here and there below your calories is fine, but a blanket statement that it's always okay to be below your calories is bad advice and dangerous in the wrong setting. Severe cases of undereating can lead to hair loss, brittle nails, muscle loss (including the muscle of the heart), bone density loss, vitamin deficiencies, fatigue, and other problems.

    Please keep in mind that there are plenty of impressionable posters reading and lurking here who might take your advice to heart.
  • thebrokentide
    thebrokentide Posts: 47 Member
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    you don't need to show your diary to anyone if you don't want to. calories are calories and its ok to be under

    Please stop. I'm not trying to be mean, and this is not an attack, but your advice can be harmful. You keep telling people it's okay to be under, when you don't know how many calories they are eating at all. If OP was only eating 600 calories a day, then no, it's not okay to be under, because they are already way under eating.

    I know you are new and you just want to help.

    I wasn't eating 600 calories a day. That was based off being I started using MFP fully.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    you don't need to show your diary to anyone if you don't want to. calories are calories and its ok to be under

    Please stop. I'm not trying to be mean, and this is not an attack, but your advice can be harmful. You keep telling people it's okay to be under, when you don't know how many calories they are eating at all. If OP was only eating 600 calories a day, then no, it's not okay to be under, because they are already way under eating.

    I know you are new and you just want to help.

    I wasn't eating 600 calories a day. That was based off being I started using MFP fully.

    I wasn't saying you were. I was trying to give an example to the person who posted it's okay to be under. She's not seeing the big picture, or doesn't realize that there are some that do eat only 600 - like in another thread the girl was netting 400 and she told her it's okay. Yeah, no.

    Sorry, didn't mean to imply that you were.
  • _Pseudonymous_
    _Pseudonymous_ Posts: 1,671 Member
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    you don't need to show your diary to anyone if you don't want to. calories are calories and its ok to be under

    She asked for our assistance and having her diary open is the best way for us to help assess the situation and offer the best advice available. And it is one thing to be under goal (which is already set well below our TDEE) but within reason. it is also okay to be above TDEE within reason. What you want to do is eat as close to goal as you can, not as low under as you can. Eating too far under goal sets one up to fail because then it is more likely to go on a binge and throw everything off. It is better to eat more and in a sustainable manner than it is to be too restrictive and rebound harshly.
  • itsadogslife
    itsadogslife Posts: 209
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    Its not terrible to be under calories, if you're goal is fat loss you should not be eating back your workout calories that get burned. HOWEVER, you can expect some degree of muscle loss if you aren't tracking your macros. Also, if you are severely below your calorie goal, eg. your base need is for example 1500, you workout and burn 700, but you only eat 1200 then you are in a deficit of 1000 calories. That's a lot to be under for a day. A couple days a week like this would be okay, but you will mess up your metabolism if this is the "norm" for you. I would have a higher calorie day once or twice a week to offset the low calorie days.. maybe up it to a maintenance 1-2 a week the day before a heavy weights day. Just my two cents.. I'm not a trainer or anything, just from my own reading up on said subject.
  • itsadogslife
    itsadogslife Posts: 209
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    PS. I wouldn't use the scale if your goal is fat loss/muscle gain.. some people weight the same or more but are epic shredded compared to where they were a year ago... I'd use measuring tape and jeans.. I weigh the same as I did 6 months ago, but my workouts are significantly more strenuous and I upped my leg press to 350 lbs.. I LOOK leaner but my weight says otherwise. Just somethin to keep in mind.. scales are evil and can mess with our confidence/brains.
  • InevitableButterfly
    InevitableButterfly Posts: 340 Member
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    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGGM9YSSbQbzicwslzEceTq9V9uXDKPDUEdKOObqPATnvzaNH3dg
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Its not terrible to be under calories, if you're goal is fat loss you should not be eating back your workout calories that get burned.

    MFP already sets you at a deficit. Too high of a deficit is a bad thing. Yes, you should eat back some of your exercise calories
    I would have a higher calorie day once or twice a week to offset the low calorie days.. maybe up it to a maintenance 1-2 a week the day before a heavy weights day. Just my two cents.. I'm not a trainer or anything, just from my own reading up on said subject.

    Or just maintain your reasonable deficit consistently and still lose weight

    If you lose weight by creating too large of a deficit, you're losing fat as well as lean body mass. You want to maintain as much lean body mass as possible, which requires a REASONABLE deficit

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