Unrealistic Calorie Goals

KillingAurora
KillingAurora Posts: 333
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all, this is a question for all the My Fitness Pal'ers that like to investigate the science behind dieting and weightloss. I have a MFP calorie goal of 1200 a day, and I feel that this is an unrealistic target for me to reach everyday. On the days that I don't consistently track my calories as I eat them, I only reach around the 700 mark. If I do track I might reach around the 900 mark, but I usually feel like a stuffed thanksgiving turkey when I eat that much. So my question is (and if possible I would love some science geek answers :p) which is more important, the quantity or the quality of calories that we eat? I believe that it is more about the vitamins and minerals etc, rather than the number of calories I consume. I'm absolutely not hungry/starving myself at this many calories, and actually find that when I do occasionally go up to 1200 - 1500 calories I feel bloated, sick and sometimes even gain a pound or two. Which makes me believe my body doesn't want or need the 1200 calories suggested by MFP.

To put this into a little more perspective, I am 24, female and have lost 37lbs to date. My starting BMI was around 26 and my current BMI is around 21. I try to work out everyday, but do spend the majority of my day on my feet. I never eat back exercise calories. I am still losing weight at a relatively consistent weight, and I don't feel sick, sluggish, tired or any of the other symptoms associated with 'starvation mode'. I know that I would be losing some muscle and some fat, but that doesn't worry me as I don't like muscles anyway, lol. I have been eating like this for about a year, though it didn't take the full year to lose the 37lbs (I visited my parents for a few months and gained, lol) I also have issues with emotional undereating, which is the reason why I started losing weight in the first place (was going through a stressful time, started losing weight and thought that was pretty darn cool!) I have always been an emotional undereater, so that is nothing new. So what do you guys think? Does it matter that I eat a relatively small amount if the amount that I do eat is made up of wholesome and nutritious food?

Thanks :)

Replies

  • sharoniballoni
    sharoniballoni Posts: 163 Member
    I don't know the science and the 1200 calorie minimum seems too arbitrary to me. Why should the same minimum apply to anyone regardless of height, build, gender? The theory of starvation mode is also highly debated.

    That being said, it's amazing to me you're not hungry at such a low calorie count. I am 5'2, 105 lbs and I eat between 1400 and 1800 calories a day, depending on whether or not I've exercised. I'm 34, so it's not like my metabolism is what it used to be. Perhaps once your body starts burning more efficiently, as you get more and more in shape, you will be hungrier and require more fuel.
  • darling_nickie
    darling_nickie Posts: 117 Member
    You know I think quality is important but so is the # of cals. I find it hard too, to always reach my cal goal...sometimes I feel like I really have to force feed myself to eat back exercise calories...and at 208 lbs you would think 1500 cals would be easy peasy but on the days I really strive to make those healthy choices I find I have to make a point to eat more...even if I don't feel like I need to. This is a tough question...have you thought about seeing a nutritionist? Everyone is different but I think 700-900 calories is still undereating for most anyone. And it sounds to me like you are at a healthy BMI. Maybe too you could try not increasing the amount of food you eat but changing the types? I haven't looked to see if your food diary is public but there are things you could add to meals to rev up the cals without actually making the volume of food much different. Add avacado to a sandwich or salad, saute your veggies in olive oil, toss nuts and seeds into some whole wheat pasta...just my suggestions :) Best of luck to you...
  • Valtishia
    Valtishia Posts: 811 Member
    I would never suggest eating that little... but if you feel yucky afterwards, that isn't good either. I eat all my calories most days (despite what my diary may say sometimes) but I absolutely refuse to drink my calories, meaning juice and stuff. Perhaps that would be an option for you to get more calories though, drink some. You won't overfill yourself, but will still get your calories and not get that yucky overfull feeling you are referring to. Maybe a glass of OJ in the morning.. and something else in the afternoon and evening?
  • sarahbear119
    sarahbear119 Posts: 80 Member
    I think that the most important thing is Getting Enough Calories and Not eating too much. I would check with a doctor and see if you are getting enough calories.
  • seobstar
    seobstar Posts: 169
    just my opinion but that is WAY too few of calories to be eating. The reason you feel full/bloated, etc when you eat more than that is b/c your stomach has shrunk (due to eating so few calories for so long) and it isn't used to the feeling of adding more calories. You might not think that what you are doing is a big deal right now, or that it won't hurt you to eat that few of calories but it will eventually cause you problems. Eating that low calories everyday will slow down your metabolism and cause you problems in the future as you get older. I speak from experience! I did what you're doing (eating very few calories) when I was younger and I lost weight, felt great, never felt "hungry". etc. , got really full if I ate more.etc But, now I'm paying for it! My metabolism got SO messed up from being in starvation mode for so long that now I have to work SUPER hard just to drop my pregnancy weight. It's no fun! I would suggest trying to slowly add more calories into your diet (so you don't feel so miserable and full) to get yourself atLEAST up to 1200 a day!
  • tahoemads
    tahoemads Posts: 64 Member
    Sounds like there is a lot more going on than simply caloric intake. What you describe about emotional under eating is deeper than eating for the sake of reaching your caloric intake for the day. The majority of us miscalculate our intake and eat more than we assume by how we visually read our food. It could be possible you are eating more than 700-900 and don't realize it. But in general, that is a low intake for an active person. When doing so, you cause your body to break down muscle to retrieve protein, which is why we lose muscle mass when we severely restrict calories. Sound like a MFP myth? When you look at the chemistry of nutrition, you'd be surprised at what your body needs to fuel its cells. It's very creative!

    I would tackle the emotional reasons why you lean toward under eating and then address increasing your lean proteins and complex carbs to reach a healthy intake. You may feel fine right now, but it does long term damage on your metabolism.
  • TeraMarieD
    TeraMarieD Posts: 55
    I would also wonder if you are eating enough protein; most meats have a larger calorie value than a veggie. The other thing is fiber from whole wheat bread. I would start looking at the nutrional value of your food diary. I would not eat that little without talking to your doctor. Calories are energy. Our body needs a certain amount of energy or over time it will start to compensate in other ways.
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/193753-don-t-believe-in-starvation-mode
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Both are important. Macros (protein/fat/carbs) and Micros (vitamins & minerals) are both vital to the functioning of all of our systems, from muscular and skeletal to brain functions.

    Calories is simply a measure of energy. And EVERY person has a minimum amount of energy required to keep the systems running...and a higher amount required to keep them running at an optimum level. The basic idea is that once you begin underfeeding - eating less than is required for the number of calories you burn each day (as in maintenance), your body will begin sacrificing what it doesn't need. This doesn't always follow a "logical" sequence of "triage" (what we might think is vital isn't necessarily what is most conserved.) And it depends on exactly where you are short in calories (which macros).

    While you MAY not need 1200 if you are a very small woman, very few people can consistently get the necessary macros and micros each day on less than 1200 unless they have a dietitian planning their meals. And, while you may not "feel hungry" that is not a reliable cue for whether you are eating enough (just as feeling hungry isn't reliable for someone who overeats). Some people are outside the curve of averages used to determine these guidelines but very rarely is ANYONE in a situation to need less than 1000 cals per day, and certainly not if they are doing any kind of exercise.

    Unfortunately, you won't hop out of bed one day with a sign on your forehead that says "Starvation Mode". It isn't that obvious. You can experience it without feeling hungry, getting dizzy, or having no energy. And you may still lose weight for a while. But that does not mean you are healthy.

    It may help to read through these threads that help explain metabolism and underfeeding.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding
    (my own experience with undereating)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

    Edit: To fix my stupid typos on links
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Also, since you asked about the science - here are just some of the studies that explore the risks of LCD/VLCDs (Low Cal Diets/Very Low Cal Diets - typically eating under BMR). This is a list I compiled through my own research on underfeeding. They include issues with gallstones, decrease in RMR/BMR, loss of lean tissue, arrhythmias, and others. :wink:

    The following describe the various risks inherent in LCDs and VLCDs (eating below BMR, typically), especially without supervision of a doctor and dietitian. And these are mostly regarding obese/morbidly obese people - The dangers for a relatively lean person can be far higher.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8777329&dopt=AbstractPlus

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/47/6/981.full.pdf+html

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/56/1/230S.full.pdf+html

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/39/5/695.full.pdf

    http://www.springerlink.com/content/vl488623pn1q0219/


    Long-Term Weight Patterns and Risk for Cholecystectomy in Women
    Background: Obesity and rapid weight loss in obese persons are known risk factors for gallstones. However, the effect of intentional, long-term, moderate weight changes on the risk for gallstones is unclear.

    Objective: To study long-term weight patterns in a cohort of women and to examine the relation between weight pattern and risk for cholecystectomy.

    Design: Prospective cohort study.

    Setting: 11 U.S. states.

    Participants: 47 153 female registered nurses who did not undergo cholecystectomy before 1988.

    Measurements: Cholecystectomy between 1988 and 1994 (ascertained by patient self-report).

    Results: During the exposure period (1972 to 1988), there was evidence of substantial variation in weight due to intentional weight loss during adulthood. Among cohort patients, 54.9% reported weight cycling with at least one episode of intentional weight loss associated with regain. Of the total cohort, 20.1% were light cyclers (5 to 9 lb of weight loss and gain), 18.8% were moderate cyclers (10 to 19 lb of weight loss and gain), and 16.0% were severe cyclers (≥ 20 lb of weight loss and gain). Net weight gain without cycling occurred in 29.3% of women; net weight loss without cycling was the least common pattern (4.6%). Only 11.1% of the cohort maintained weight within 5 lb over the 16-year period. In the study, 1751 women had undergone cholecystectomy between 1988 and 1994. Compared with weight maintainers, the relative risk for cholecystectomy (adjusted for body mass index, age, alcohol intake, fat intake, and smoking) was 1.20 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.50) among light cyclers, 1.31 among moderate cyclers (CI, 1.05 to 1.64), and 1.68 among severe cyclers (CI, 1.34 to 2.10).

    Conclusion: Weight cycling was highly prevalent in this large cohort of middle-aged women. The risk for cholecystectomy associated with weight cycling was substantial, independent of attained relative body weight.
    http://www.annals.org/content/130/6/471.full

    http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v22/n6/pdf/0800634a.pdf

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8696424?dopt=Citation

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7489033&dopt=Citation

    http://www.springerlink.com/content/t462u540t7151722/

    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0689/is_n3_v41/ai_17516395/

    http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/18/6/620?ck=nck

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/53/4/826.full.pdf+html

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=2341229&dopt=Citation

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2613433?dopt=Abstract

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/49/1/93.full.pdf+html

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/45/2/391.full.pdf+html

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6694559&dopt=AbstractPlus

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/57/2/127.full.pdf

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/51/2/167.abstract?ck=nck

    http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v32/n3/abs/0803720a.html

    http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/low_calorie.htm
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  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I was going to stay out of this thread as I don't think you will want to hear what I have to say.

    However, you responded in another thread I read and stated that you only eat a few kinds of fruit and some rice cakes each day. There is no way that you are getting the proper nutrition to keep your body running properly with such an eating plan, even if you ate 8000 calories of those foods per day. It's not possible as you are missing macro and micronutrients.

    When you combine your calorie restriction, your signature, your food choice restriction, and your goal weight of 96 pounds (unless you are under 5') it seems to say that you not only have an issue with undereating, but you may be headed down the eating disorder road.

    It would be a good idea to share your eating and exercise plan with your doctor. If your doctor signs off on this, feel free to come back and tell me I misplaced my concern.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    Thank you all for your comments and suggestions :) I always (in an OCD kind of way) weigh my food so I do know how many calories I eat. I hate hate hate eating something that I don't know the calorie content of! As for the emotional undereating, ever since I was a kid I have felt stress, anxiety, sadness etc in my stomach. So if I feel that way I have no appetite and don't eat. Not deliberately, it just doesn't occur to me to do so as I am not hungry. There are days like that where I won't eat at all, or eat around 100-300 calories. I KNOW that is really really bad, but it's how I have always coped with stress. Problem is my life sort of fell to pieces over the last year, so that was happening more and more, and it got to the point where my stomach had shrunk so much that I was only on around a 500 cal a day max. After I visited my parents for a few months I started to get over the various things that had happened and began slowly increasing my food (not deliberately, I just felt hunger once more) I maintained my weight at that point for around 2 months, then over the next 2 months gained a few more pounds. Once I left my parents place though I was back in the stressful environment and stopped/reduced my eating and lost about 13lbs in about 6 weeks. Again, not deliberately. Now I'm back in the 700-900 zone, though I am occasionally under or over that. Being over makes me feel really ill though. So shouldn't I listen to my body?

    I like the idea of seeing a nutritionist, but I couldn't afford to do so at this point. So I just try and do lots of research! Lol. Thanks again for your responses :)

    No, you shouldn't. As a friend said not long ago "Sometimes our bodies are lying, deceitful *kitten*." :smile:

    And, as I like to say.... Why is it that we understand so easily that an obese person should not "listen to their body" when it tells them to eat 5 donuts.... But we struggle to understand that "listening to our bodies" when it tells us to UNDEReat is just as foolish?

    Again, I'd recommend reading my thread that I linked above regarding underfeeding and the MFP basics. When we've had poor eating habits for a while, the body has adapted and no longer sends the appropriate hunger cues - so you cannot depend on them.

    And, as Atlantique suggested, I would look into more info on disordered eating/bodydysmorphic disorder. I've been there, and it's not a good place to be, physically or mentally.
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    I was going to stay out of this thread as I don't think you will want to hear what I have to say.

    However, you responded in another thread I read and stated that you only eat a few kinds of fruit and some rice cakes each day. There is no way that you are getting the proper nutrition to keep your body running properly with such an eating plan, even if you ate 8000 calories of those foods per day. It's not possible as you are missing macro and micronutrients.

    When you combine your calorie restriction, your signature, your food choice restriction, and your goal weight of 96 pounds (unless you are under 5') it seems to say that you not only have an issue with undereating, but you may be headed down the eating disorder road.

    It would be a good idea to share your eating and exercise plan with your doctor. If your doctor signs off on this, feel free to come back and tell me I misplaced my concern.

    I was going to say the exact same thing. Not trying to seem "attacking" here...but your profile quotes a "pro-ana" poem.
  • lcoulter23
    lcoulter23 Posts: 568 Member
    the weight i am at now may not show it, but I once struggled with under eating as well. In 9th and 10th grade of high school, I was 160 pounds, but only because my calorie intake was down to around 500 calories a day. After I started therapy I gained a little weight back and ended up at 210. It turns out that I have Polycystic ovarian syndrome with insulin resistance. although I have always had troubles with my weight, starving myself did not feel good when all was said and done. However, I maintained that 210 pounds until 2006, when I gained over 100 pounds in under 6 months due to my insulin resistance and PCOS being triggered by the depo shot for birth control. at the time I was doing a strict 1200-1500 cal a day plan doing turbo jam 3-4 times a week. and I kept gaining weight, sometimes 15 pounds in a week. You need to get off this road to destruction, it can lead nowhere good.
  • mara232
    mara232 Posts: 93 Member
    Eat higher caloric food - healthy food - like avocado. 280 cal in that little avocado!
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  • YeaILift
    YeaILift Posts: 580 Member
    When you eat under maintenance (compared eating at or above maintenance), your body stops producing as many T3 hormones. Triiodothyronine hormones help regulate your metabolism. When they aren't as prevalent in your body, your BMR lowers, and you will be at a smaller caloric deficit which will make for slower fat loss.

    Eat More, especially with the amount of working out you do. Your body will get used to it after a week or so.
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  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    you have to do what works for you.
    if youre not hungry and you have energy and feel ok. youre probably not starving yourself
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  • sherrymo6
    sherrymo6 Posts: 79
    Be careful not to confuse the body and mind. The mind is very powerful and can overpower what your body says even without you knowing it. If you consistently eat fruit and ricecakes as a mainstay, then when you try to eat something with more bulk, you will naturally feel fuller and bloated initially. Like everyone else is saying, it just doesn't seem like the total nutrition is there which is why you can stay at a low calorie intake. If you have been at this rate for a while, the hunger will subside and you will have energy, but it doesn't necessarily mean you are not undernurishing your body. Undernurishing and starving are 2 different things. Good luck with whichever way you decide to go.
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  • JustMichelleB
    JustMichelleB Posts: 290
    I don't want to attack here, but you don't seem to have a healthy relationship iwth food or your body.
    Perhaps it's b/c I cannot fathom feeling "Thanksgiving dinner full" from eating more than 800cal/day.
    It just doesn't sound healthy. And eating mainly rice cakes and fruit just isn't very healthy or well-rounded.
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  • busygirl1
    busygirl1 Posts: 217
    You should be thinking about your calories as units of energy rather than vit/ min sources. If your body does not get enough energy for a sustained period it will start breaking down muscle in your body and using the protein for energy- this includes your HEART muscle!! I think that as others have said, the reason that you feel bloated is because you are used to eating small amounts. Try upping your snacks so that you are grazing more so that you only have to increase portion size slightly. Just adding a couple of pieces of fruit and a smoothie can bump you up by a few hundred calories a day. That along with a sandwich and a half rather than one sandwich for lunch should help you hit 1200 which is a more healthy energy intake.

    Good luck x x x x
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