Too few calories??

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Hello,

I've just joined MFP today and have entered the foods that I have eaten already and what I know I will be eating later on, and it calculated that I have a deficit of over a thousand calories! My daily allowance recommended by MFP is 2200 calories. Today's food is pretty typical of my normal daily intake and I do not feel that I am starving myself at all. In fact I feel that if I were to eat 2200 I would either have to eat far more than I could comfortably eat, or I would have to eat foods that I consider to be unhealthy (fast food etc).

Is this normal and did anybody else find this when they started?

Thanks.

Replies

  • bigsal911
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    It depdends on how much you weigh, but I would be reluctant to consume any less than 1400 calories on any given day and definitely not less than 1600 as a daily average. If it's telling you 2200 calories to lose weight based off of your weight, age and height, then I'd listen to it. Eating too little for long periods of time will cause you to not lose weight.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    What did you set you weekly weight loss goal at when you signed up?
    What activity level did you choose when you signed up?
    These will give you more or less calories on MFP so just make sure they are correct and if so MFP's numbers will be very close to what you need to reach your goal.
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,052 Member
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    What sort of foods are you eating?

    I see you are pretty new to the message board portion of this site atleast, so you should really try to eat quality food that brings you close to your daily caloric goal.
  • TonyTuba
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    What did you set you weekly weight loss goal at when you signed up?
    What activity level did you choose when you signed up?

    Weekly target for weightloss was 1.5 pounds and activity of 4 x 30 minute sessions.
  • Tiffany177
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    Eat more carbs or high fiber foods like granola bars, granola cereal, or oatmeal. Some healthier foods can have the same amount of calories or more. For example pretzels have more calories than m&ms.
  • TonyTuba
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    What sort of foods are you eating?

    A summary of today's food is toast and coffee, baked salmon, cous cous, tomatoes, yoghurt, steamed vegetables. I'm also drinking lots of water, as I usually do, so that may contribute to my feeling full.
  • bigsal911
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    What did you set you weekly weight loss goal at when you signed up?
    What activity level did you choose when you signed up?

    Weekly target for weightloss was 1.5 pounds and activity of 4 x 30 minute sessions.

    Ah, that makes sense. Without the workouts in there your calorie goals would be much lower.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    For fast food, that is easy to do.

    Sausage McGriddle - 420
    Hashbrown - 150

    Quarter Pounder with Cheese - 510
    Large fries - 500
    3 ketchups - 45
    Large coke - 310

    Total - 1935


    That only leaves you 265 caloriies for dinner!! I can't eat dinner for 265 calories, certainly not when I wasn't watching what I ate. Probably you ate more like 600-1000 calories for dinner before you started MFP, depending on what you ate and if you had dessert.

    My point is, when you cut out the fast food, you have a ton of actual food that you can eat.. Everything doesn't have to be low cal or fat free. It shouldn't be, you need healthy fats in your diet. To easily add 550 healthy calories, drink a glass of whole milk (146), an oz of almonds (167), a tablespoon of olive oil (124) and/or an oz of cheddar cheese (113). These are negligible in terms of quantity, but high in nutrition and calories (calorie dense foods).

    Food is fuel. Fuel your body so that it will run properly. Fast is not necessarily better in terms of weight loss. It is rarely sustainable over the long term and not eating enough deprives you of the nutrition your body needs.

    So find ways to meet your calorie goals :)

    And good luck :flowerforyou:
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,052 Member
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    What sort of foods are you eating?

    A summary of today's food is toast and coffee, baked salmon, cous cous, tomatoes, yoghurt, steamed vegetables. I'm also drinking lots of water, as I usually do, so that may contribute to my feeling full.

    It seems like you are under eating if you ask me... OR have you not had dinner yet?
  • TonyTuba
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    I haven't had dinner yet, but I know what I will be having so I added that onto my llist, i.e. I won't be adding anything else to the food list today. Like I said though, I don't feel like I am depriving myself and would feel as if I was overeating if I ate much more. Hmmmm, I'm confused!! haha.
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,052 Member
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    I haven't had dinner yet, but I know what I will be having so I added that onto my llist, i.e. I won't be adding anything else to the food list today. Like I said though, I don't feel like I am depriving myself and would feel as if I was overeating if I ate much more. Hmmmm, I'm confused!! haha.

    I think if you add in a protein there it would go a long way to helping you lose weight. Even adding in a tuna sandwich or something mid day would help.

    It is good you feel full and do not think you are starving yourself, but I promise your body is of a different opinion.
  • TonyTuba
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    Thank you GorillaNJ, I'll try harder to meet my body's expectations. And thanks to everyone else for your support and tips. :-)
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    What did you set you weekly weight loss goal at when you signed up?
    What activity level did you choose when you signed up?

    Weekly target for weightloss was 1.5 pounds and activity of 4 x 30 minute sessions.

    Ah, that makes sense. Without the workouts in there your calorie goals would be much lower.

    Actually this is incorrect. The calorie goals are based on NO EXERCISE. Your exercise goals do not influence your daily food goal. Only logged exercise calories do. This is why MFP adds any exercise calories to your daily goal; your deficit has already been factored in, so any exercise calories are extra. MFP works on the basis of a set deficit. So if your goal is 1.5 lbs/week, that's equal to a 750 calorie deficit per day. If MFP gives you 2200 to eat, then they estimate you burn 2950/day without exercise, based on your height/weight/age/gender and normal daily activity level (sedentary, active, etc.). Subtract 750 from that, and you get a goal of 2200.

    When you burn calories and don't eat those back, or don't eat all the recommended calories, then you increase your deficit beyond 750. It's not generally recommended to regularly have a deficit of more than 1000 calories/day (2lbs/week). Rapid weight loss can stress the body and cause long-term health problems. It can slow your metabolism. The heavier you are, the higher deficit you can sustain, but you won't be able to sustain high deficits forever. The more weight you lose, the more important it will be to eat all of your calories and reduce your weight loss goal.

    To the OP: I don't know how tall you are, but it looks like you're a good-sized guy - your calorie needs are going to be higher than 1200/day or whatever the exact amount is that you ate today. You NEED to fuel your body to keep it healthy and keep your metabolism healthy. Your list of foods from today didn't sound like 3 full meals. I only saw one real entree (salmon) - you need to be eating 3 good meals a day (breakfast needs to be substantial - more than just toast and coffee!) and several healthy snacks. I didn't see any protein other than the salmon - you need more! Good calorie-rich foods are eggs, nuts (and nut butters), avocado, oatmeal, quinoa, barley, starchier veggies like sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc. (eaten in moderation), beans, meats, whole-fat dairy, olive oil, etc.
  • chocolatnoir
    chocolatnoir Posts: 182 Member
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    Try some hummus, a cup of brown rice, nut butter, avocado, fresh fruits....they are healthy foods that will give you some more calories!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    I haven't had dinner yet, but I know what I will be having so I added that onto my llist, i.e. I won't be adding anything else to the food list today. Like I said though, I don't feel like I am depriving myself and would feel as if I was overeating if I ate much more. Hmmmm, I'm confused!! haha.

    The human body is a remarkable machine, eat to few calories for long enough and the body will essentially turn down the volume on hunger. For someone that is overweight or obese and has been for a long time, trusting your body to tell you when you are full is a risky proposition. Better to intellectually figure out what you should be eating, and try your best to spread that food out throughout the day. Or better yet, gradually add small calorie increases over the course of 3 to 4 weeks. This way you are essentially "teaching" your body to accept a higher calorie count. Remember, eventually you're going to have to learn how to eat enough to maintain your body weight (believe it or not, calories does not decrease significant as you lose weight, as fat is an inconsequential calorie burner in the body, thus losing a lot of it doesn't effect your metabolism by large amounts), so best to learn how to eat correctly now so that when you start having to shrink your deficit (as you lose weight, you'll need to do this) you can slowly raise your calories without issue.