Too Few Calories?

Glitcher · February 2011

I've been using this site for a few months now, and finding it good going. My problem is that, my calorie limit is 2050 ish, and I regularly eat a little over 1200 - 1400 a day.

I was quite happy with this until I weighted myself a few hours after breakfast and found I'd lost another pound and a half since the morning (I'd lost 1.5 pounds over night already), which obviously isn't healthy.

I checked online and apparently as a man I shouldn't be eating anything less than 1800 Calories a day, but to me that seems too much; I'm getting on just fine on about 1300. that 1200 - 1400 is including three reasonable meals, snacks, and tea/coffee.

Should I up my intake for the sake of the average, or should I just carry on if I feel fine?

juldga · February 2011

I eat way less than my calories also. Just make sure you are getting enough protien and if you start intensly working out you might want to pick it up a bit. I lost 10 lbs my 1st week and 3 pounds since Tues

chicks2023 · February 2011

Your body will tell you if you are not eating enough. If you don't have the energy to bring it during exercise, than you are not eating enough. You want to weigh yourself in a consistent manner. The best and most accurate time to weigh yourself is in the morning before you eat anything. You want to weigh yourself 3 times in a row, then take the average of the 3 weights.

I watched my weight in the beginning too and thought it was all about the weight. Then, I realized that the muscle I was building weighed more than the fat I was losing. The best gauge for weight/fat loss, is your clothes.

Keep up the good work.

Chad
P90X Round 2

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

NoAdditives · February 2011

You should really only weigh yourself once a week since weighing every day picks up on the normal fluctuations that are caused by hormones, water intake, sodium consumption, etc. My husband's weight can fluctuate up to 5 pounds in the same day. Frequent weighing is not an accurate gauge of what it really going on with your weight.

As far as your calories go, it's best to stick with the goal that MFP gives you, at least in the beginning. Once you've gotten into a good routine with your diet and exercise you can experiment with adjusting your calories and exercise if you aren't happy with your results. That said, most people need to eat more than they think in order to achieve real fat loss. Your body needs adequate nutrition in order to function properly. If you aren't getting what you need, you may lose at first but you risk sending your body into starvation mode, where you will start storing fat instead of burning it and will burn muscle.

absros · February 2011

The 1200 to 1400 sounds just about right. So far, from what I have been reading, your body needs a minium of 1200 calories a day for it to run. My calories limit is 1740 a day and I regularly eat about the some as you. You just needed to make sure your not lossing to much weight to fast.

dijones53 · February 2011

Hi. You are eating way too few calories. Just to maintain life - Basal Metabolic Rate - as a male you need to be consuming in the region of 2000 calories a day. That's assuming you are 5'10" - 200lbs and aged 35. There is an assumption that if you reduce your calorie intake dramatically, then the weight loss will be the same. Initially that may be the case, but it would slow down as your body decided to enter 'famine' mode!!! As every 1lb of fat equates to 3500 calories - if you do a reasonable amount of exercise - you should still lose 2-3lbs each week by eating those 2000 calories each day. Of course, the occasional day that you are below that amount would be a bonus - but should not be the norm. Check out the Basal Metabolic Rate calculator on the internet to put in your exact details so that you know what you should be taking in now - and amend the total as your weight drops. Good luck.....

EecakYelsom17 · February 2011

When I started i was allowed 1800 some calories. I was eating about 1600 a day and losing, pretty rapidly. I obsessed over the calories and dropped to about 1000 a day. I stopped losing weight!!!
A family friend of mine is a nutritionist so I talked to her about it. She said (which Im sure most of this you know but may be a piece or two of helpful info for you) that everybody burns a different amount of calories a day, even if you were to just lay in bed. But if you eat less than what you should be eating your body feels "starved" (even if you dont feel hungry) and instead of burning calories naturally itll store the extra you consumed as a safety precaution for itself.
She said a safe average is females should consume a minimum of 1200 a day and males a minimum of 1500 a day. So as long as you're eating that many I do believe you should be ok. The drastic weight loss could be water weight and things like that. Unless you continue to drop pounds so dramatically I wouldn't be too worried about it.

I'm obviously no doctor but I hope this helped.

EecakYelsom17 · February 2011

You should really only weigh yourself once a week since weighing every day picks up on the normal fluctuations that are caused by hormones, water intake, sodium consumption, etc. My husband's weight can fluctuate up to 5 pounds in the same day. Frequent weighing is not an accurate gauge of what it really going on with your weight.

As far as your calories go, it's best to stick with the goal that MFP gives you, at least in the beginning. Once you've gotten into a good routine with your diet and exercise you can experiment with adjusting your calories and exercise if you aren't happy with your results. That said, most people need to eat more than they think in order to achieve real fat loss. Your body needs adequate nutrition in order to function properly. If you aren't getting what you need, you may lose at first but you risk sending your body into starvation mode, where you will start storing fat instead of burning it and will burn muscle.

I couldnt have said it better myself!

Glitcher · February 2011

I understand the principals of weightloss, calorific intake, and the chance of going into starvation mode. The fact is that, as a 23 year old, 6ft 2in, 214lb man. I just don't seem to need as much as I did in terms of calories.

Taking on board what everyone has said though, I will certainly try and eat more. My issue is simply that if I do eat more I will be essentially forcing myself to do so; I'm just not as hungry as I used to be.

Today is a great example of my average eating habit atm:

Breakfast: 1 poached egg on Nimble toast - 122 Cal
lunch: Tesco Spaghetti hoops with sausages (1/2 tin), two rounds of nimble toast - 276 Cal
Dinner: Egg Noodles, tin of Tuna, two spoons of light Mayo - 427 Cal
snacks: 3 cups of tea, 1 coffee, 1 single finger twix bar, 3 digestive biscuits - 436 Cal

total = 1,261

I've not skimpt on food as you can see, and I certainly don't feel hungry. It just seems like that extra 800 Cal worth of food I should be eating would be overkill.

T0ubab · February 2011

I would definitely say don't force yourself to eat if you're not hungry. Everyone is different and your body may just work that way. What is important is making sure what you do eat is nutritious and balanced and paying close attention to your body (do you have enough energy while exercising, are you noticing a decrease in body fat that corresponds to your weight loss, etc?).

Now since you say that you're "just not as hungry as I used to be" I would say that's a bigger indicator that there might be a problem. There are a wide variety of physical and mental health issues that could cause a decrease in appetite, and it's probably nothing worth worrying over too much but it can't hurt to see a doctor about it.

I'm by no means an expert but that's exactly why I say see a doctor. That's the only way to be 100% you're dieting in a way that's healthy for you and certainly seems like a better option to try before forcing yourself to eat when you're not hungry.

chicks2023 · February 2011

I agree with the NOT forcing yourself to eat. However, I put the food you documented into the database and I came up with 1550 calories, but more importantly, you are eating way too many carbs, if weight loss is your goal. If you are wanting to shredd the fat, your goal would be 50% protein, 30% Carbs and 20% Fat.

Here is the plan that I follow:

Servings
7 = Proteins (100 calories per serving)
3 = Dairy (120 calories per serving)
1 = Fruit (100 calories per serving)
4 = Vegetables (50 calories per serving)
1 = fat (120 calories per serving)
1 = Carb (200 calories per serving)
3 = Snacks (100 calories per serving)
2 = Condiments (50 calories per serving)

Cutting the carbs is the hardest part. But, I promise you, it will work if you follow this method and are honest with yourself about the food you are eating. If you cheat, you are only cheating yourself. Document everything that goes in your mouth and you will see the results.

Let me know if you would like food examples that fit this model.

Chad

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

Barelmy · February 2011

Your weight will vary by a couple of pounds over the course of a day, that's totally natural.

I weigh myself every day, but I expect to see that kind of fluctuation. My progress chart is very wriggly, but with a clear downward trend over time. If you don't feel like you can be relaxed about that kind of thing, then, yeah, weigh yourself once a week or less.

Too Few Calories?

Replies

Categories