Starving myself?

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SarahRuth♥
SarahRuth♥ Posts: 609 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does MFP calculate in your exercise calories when it decides if you are starving yourself? I've had days (today included) where I was within 40 calories of my goal and it has told me that I'm going to starve myself. I have eaten quite a bit today, and I'm not the slightest bit hungry, and this is not a one time issue, it has happened before...

So, is MFP expecting me to eat those exercise calories? Or does it just say that anytime you fall below your goal, even if it's only by a few calories? Or is there some special calculation that is used? Does anyone know?
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Replies

  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
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    How many calories did you eat, and how many did you burn, and what's your goal?
  • heather0mc
    heather0mc Posts: 4,656 Member
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    this is one of the top 3 questions asked on this site. there are a ton of threads about this question. short answer, yes you are supposed to eat your exercise calories. so a search in the forums to find out more - you can also google it :flowerforyou:
  • Still_Sossy
    Still_Sossy Posts: 868 Member
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    Yeah I have the same thing happen to me. I would like to know too.
  • shoog883
    shoog883 Posts: 29
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    It tells me I'm starving myself all the time, but I refuse to eat more if I'm not hungry...that's just silly! I think they want you to eat your recommended calories (ex: 1200 before exercise) and you're allowed to eat more when you exercise...but they want you to eat at least the minimum of your recommended calories. I hope that makes sense.
  • darvecl
    darvecl Posts: 1
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    your body need:happy: s fuel! If you are doing excersises, your body burns more calories - making it need more fuel just to breathe and function. Although you may not be hungry...you still do need to eat those additional calories otherwise, your body will go into "starvation mode" and the result is slower weight loss. I know...I've been there. Trust me, eat the additional calories (providing they are "good" calories and watch the weight drop.
  • JenBrown0210
    JenBrown0210 Posts: 985 Member
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    Is your goal 1200? If I'm under 1200 even by a few it scolds me. I only ate around 900 calories yesterday because I was sick and couldn't eat. Today feeling a little better I was 94 shy of 1200. It told me I'm being unhealthy and I should eat more. So I had a half cup of yogurt with half cup of cut strawberries. It put me 12 calories over which I figured it was better. What is your goal?
  • simplywriting
    simplywriting Posts: 64
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    According to many you are supposed to eat your exercise calories back - sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. That's me. Usually the system won't tell you that you are going to go into "starvation mode" (hate the phrase) unless you are under 1200 calories which truly is the bare minimum. (yes, I've done research and talked to my doctor),
    If you exercise, but still consume 1200 calories in a day, you should not ever receive that message, at least I don't... so I can't see why others would.
    With that said, I have indeed consumed less than 1200 calories several times and have NOT been hungry at all (I eat beans a lot and they are full of fiber and protein and keep you full a LOT longer). I'm not dying and I'm still losing weight. So there's the best answer I can give you.,

    I'll be honest, everyone will say something different and for every opinion (or even "fact" in some cases) there is an opposing view somewhere else you can find with research and data to back it up also. It's all kinda confusing. I just met with a nutritionist the other day for the first time, and I'm LOVING it. I plan to continue this for awhile. 1200 seems to be the amount you have to make sure you eat, to stay healthy and continue losing weight. I really hope this helps and does not further send you into more confusion :)
  • midnightangelz
    midnightangelz Posts: 18
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    it only gives you the warning if you dont eat your required calories for the day. (example. if your daily goal is 1200 cal/day and you exercise for 850 cal, you will only get the warning if you eat less than 1200 cal that day)
  • NorasNana
    NorasNana Posts: 12 Member
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    Glad to see others are having this issue. Now I can tell my husband to RELAX and stop worrying I'm on the road to starvation. Isn't the whole point to try to come in UNDER your goal, not OVER? I'm only a hundred or so under usually, when you calculate in the exercise.
  • bm140
    bm140 Posts: 4
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    I was 8 calories short the other day and it said that to me too. I have been reading a lot about this topic on here and am going with, you should eat your 1200 per day if you exercise then you should get as close as you can to eating those calories too. I think as long as you aren't way over or way under you should be fine. Some days are over and some are under the only way it could be the same all the time is if we were machines LOL =) Good luck!
  • Still_Sossy
    Still_Sossy Posts: 868 Member
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    It tells me I'm starving myself all the time, but I refuse to eat more if I'm not hungry...that's just silly! I think they want you to eat your recommended calories (ex: 1200 before exercise) and you're allowed to eat more when you exercise...but they want you to eat at least the minimum of your recommended calories. I hope that makes sense.


    Thank you! I usually come in under my goal but only by a bit. I am finding I just do not have the appetite I had before. I am eating and having my snacks and balancing out my nutrients, but I am not gonna force feed myself if I am not hungry. That said, there have been days I go a bit over, so I don't know maybe at the end of the week it balances out.
  • SarahRuth♥
    SarahRuth♥ Posts: 609 Member
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    I didn't ask if I should eat the calories. I asked if MFP includes those when tells me that I'm starving, or if it only wants me to eat 1200. There have been days I've come in under 1200 and I don't think it told me that. I could be wrong though. I don't remember seeing it. I am not asking for nutritional advice... I'm asking how MFP's calculations work!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    OK, as I understand it, the way MFP works is:
    - It asks about your general level of activity (ie, do you have a sedentary job etc).
    - it calculates the number of calories you need to have in a day to maintain your weight (say 1700 for example).
    -Then it subtracts calories so you have a deficit, which should make you lose weight. If you have said you want to lose 2 pounds a week then it will take off 500 cals.
    - this means that it will assign you 1200 cals to eat for the day. This is the base level to keep your body going but still lose weight. Excercise is not included at this point.
    - if you excercise, you add extra cals - say 300 for example. This means your base level to keep you going, lose weight and account for the extra fuel needed for exercise is now 1500.

    The key thing here is that the calorie deficit needed for you to lose weight is included whether you excercise or not.
    If you excercise it give you extra calories to eat, but you still have the 500 (or whatever) calorie deficit!

    Hope this makes sense!
  • mtwd65
    mtwd65 Posts: 51
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    The recommendation for me is 1450 cal per day. I've just gone back over my diary and one day I ate 1235 no message, another 1177 and I got the message. (This is without exercise). So it is not just going under the recommendation, it looks like it is if you are under 1200 net calories.
  • SarahRuth♥
    SarahRuth♥ Posts: 609 Member
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    The recommendation for me is 1450 cal per day. I've just gone back over my diary and one day I ate 1235 no message, another 1177 and I got the message. (This is without exercise). So it is not just going under the recommendation, it looks like it is if you are under 1200 net calories.

    But that is without exercise. So that's under 1200 calories eaten total. Not 1200 net. Net amount is What you have eaten minus calories burned. If it expects 1200 net calories, then it DOES expect you to eat those. THAT is my question.

    I had no idea it was this much of a controversy... I can just pay closer attention and figure it out on My own. I just thought if someone knew... I did see one person who said its only if you go under 1200 total... I'll just watch it more closely. Thanks for the responses!
  • mtwd65
    mtwd65 Posts: 51
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    I just tested my theory, I added 850 cal of exercise on a 1257 cal food day and no message. That is a net day of 400 cal!

    It appears that you only get the message based on eating 1200 calories a day. Exercise does not come into it at all.
  • SarahRuth♥
    SarahRuth♥ Posts: 609 Member
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    I just tested my theory, I added 850 cal of exercise on a 1257 cal food day and no message. That is a net day of 400 cal!

    It appears that you only get the message based on eating 1200 calories a day. Exercise does not come into it at all.

    Thanks!!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Keep in mind that MFP does not have a "brain" per se. The site is loaded with various bits of information and boilerplate text which is programmed to pop up when certain thresholds are crossed.

    There is no nuance or shading. It calculates number and stores database information as a convenience to the users.

    No one should be taking "guidance" from this site in any way.
  • heather0mc
    heather0mc Posts: 4,656 Member
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    No one should be taking "guidance" from this site in any way.

    i see you have an educated background and are probably basing this statement on what you know. but i have to argue what you are stating - thousands of us have taken it upon ourselves to reach our personal goals buy doing this very thing - taking 'guidance' from this website. that is what we are here for - to figure out what we need to do in order to get to where we need to be, aka guidance.

    yes MFP is programmed a certain way - to GUIDE people in the right direction based on calculations and facts. maybe it doesn't have a human brain, but it is much smarter than you give it credit for.

    if what you say is true, then WTH is anyone here, including you? :huh:
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    It gives you a warning if your gross cals is less than 1200.

    It doesn't give you a warning if your net cals are less than 1200.

    IMO it should as it is essentially the same result.

    (BTW I don't know how you people don't get hungry! I usually eat 1200 by lunch time :P)

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