Some MFP Basics

*sigh* I really wish more of the "I'm not hungry" folks would read this - and heed. Why is it easy to understand that "listening to your body" when it tells you to eat 5 donuts is foolish... But NOT understand that listening when it tells you to eat 500 cals in a day is JUST as foolish?

:sad:

I agree 100%. I eat on schedule (every 3 hours) and don't "wait" until I "feel" hungry. Funny how I don't have trouble cleaning my plate. Weird.

Great post! I have a hard time meeting my calories but I have tried much harder lately. Today was much better than the past few, and my exercise was up pretty high as well. I have made sure to eat several snack and my "6 small meals" so to speak. I eat as much as I can at one time. I add in extra walnuts or pecans here and there. I even had two protein shakes today! I am meeting my protein, which is what a dear friend of mine who is a personal trainer and nutritionist said is most important, so long as I am eating at least 1400 calories a day period. I know this is to aid in my body's processes post workout. I hate feeling guilty for not eating those extra cals though! I do have 108 lbs left to lose though so perhaps this deficit is okay right now? I mean I cannot make myself eat anymore and I am increasing my intake as it is. I also drink tons of water. I guess I am really just looking for an opinion, because I definitely want to lose the weight and lose it right.

Protein is definitely important (as are carbs and fats). That is critical to maintaining muscle.

I don't know your stats, but if you have that much still to lose, you can likely withstand a SLIGHTLY greater deficit. There are two things you want to aim for - quality and a minimum. The minimum is probably around that 1400 - but we're talking 1400 NET. That means if you burn 500 in exercise, you want to eat 1900 to get to a net of 1400 (1900 - 500 = 1400). That is pretty low, but again you can probably handle that. The key is to stay within the range that your body feels comfortable burning fat, AND ensuring that you're feeding the muscle and maintaining energy levels so that you can put your all into your workouts.

As for quality, if you are well under some days, those days you need to make absolutely sure you are getting high quality, nutrient dense foods. Not processed, empty cals. This will help ensure that you are getting quality nutrition - as one of the key problems with eating too little cals is that your nutrition suffers and you're not providing all of the macros (protein/fat/carbs) and micros (vitamins/minerals) your body needs.

Nuts are great for boosting cals. Some other things - more protein, milk, cheese, natural oils (olive/canola), fruit.

And lastly, remember that as you lose weight, your cal goals will decrease a bit. But also remember that you will not be able to maintain a high deficit. So it becomes more important to keep nutrition in line. Good luck to you! :flowerforyou:

MFP does not allow for a daily cal goal below 1200. This number was provided by WHO as the lower limit for the average woman to receive adequate nutrition each day. The lower limit for men is 1500 calories. Unless you are much smaller than average, or are under the care of a professional who has provided a specific diet, attempting a regular intake lower than this is asking for trouble.

*sigh* I really wish more of the "I'm not hungry" folks would read this - and heed. Why is it easy to understand that "listening to your body" when it tells you to eat 5 donuts is foolish... But NOT understand that listening when it tells you to eat 500 cals in a day is JUST as foolish?

:sad: