"You are not eating enough"

ddache
ddache Posts: 21 Member
in Food and Nutrition
That what it says when I finish adding food and exercise.
The first two days when I started counting I had over 2000 calories, maybe even 3000 (it was a really bad day I normally dont eat that much). It was an awaking call and I`ve been very careful these days. Working out and watching what Im eating.
Yesterday I had omelet, stir fry and pasta. It was plenty of food I think. But the counter says too little. Im thinking it might be the same today because Ive already spent almost 300 cals. walking and plan 2 T25 workout videos for tonight.
I dont want to give myself the permission to eat more then the meals until I have my cravings under control because I know myself, Ill say oh, just a little of this, or its ok to snack more, or Ill use that as an excuse to over eat.
Anyone else experience something like this?I dont want to shock my body or starve it. Should I add more calories?
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Replies

  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
    edited November 2014
    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    Fill in your information on that site and it will give you a general calorie intake you can consume too lose weight at a reasonable pace. Too little over time can wreck havoc on the body. Trust me on this. To avoid overeating, why not have fruits or vegetables with some type of fat to add calories? More likely than not, you will not overeat those types of food due to their water and fiber content.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    If you're referring to that statement that pops up when you close your diary for the day, understand that it is looking only at that one single day. If some days you go over, but some days you're under, the average is what counts, so don't get too worried about that comment.

    Many people don't try to eat back all of their exercise calories because of common estimation errors and because they like a cushion for just in case. Try to eat the recommended basic calories and maybe half of your exercise calories. If you consistently under-eat, you find it more difficult to stick to your plan.
  • ddache
    ddache Posts: 21 Member
    lthames0810 wrote: »
    Try to eat the recommended basic calories and maybe half of your exercise calories.
    I sounds a lot of calories to eat, around 2000, if not more. I have rest days when I dont workout so maybe on those days Id eat more? Im just worried I will waste away my muscles that Ive just got. I have fat to lose and I want to waste that :)
    It seems like Ive been over eating and now Im under eating :(
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Open your diary.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    It's tough to give any kind of advice when we don't know how much you're actually eating or how much you're burning. Can you give us any further information to help?
  • chunkytfg
    chunkytfg Posts: 339 Member
    If you are bigger then it's an interesting start to losing weight that I went through also. You start off being soo very good only to find you need to start bringing back higher cal foods just to hit target. Then as you lose weight your daily allowance decreases. The decrease is okay until you get right down and then you find yourself struggling to keep yourself out of your exercise cals.

    If i rmemeber rightly I was starting off with a daily allowance of 2800 and would get to the end of the day and sit down with a chocolate bar or 2 just to find those last 250-600 cals. In the end i jyst chose not to bother and by the end of the week it was an extra pound off.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    open your diary.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,302 Member
    Just do it. Show it to us. . . . .the diary. . . . .the diary
  • Idiot_Killjoy
    Idiot_Killjoy Posts: 9
    I get that statement every single day. It's not because I'm eating too little, it's because I'M too little. I eat very little, but I honestly don't need to eat as much as most people my age, due to being just over 4.5 feet tall. I'm comfortable eating less, and I prefer eating light whole foods that are not usually very calorie dense (mostly raw fruits and veggies, with a fruit smoothie here and there). I don't think it really matters, so long as you keep your health up and are getting adequate nutrition. As a vegan I keep close watch on my macros anyway. As long as you feel good and are keeping out of the vitamin and nutrient danger zone, you should be fine. Don't eat more unless you are actually hungry. That will only set yourself up for emotional failure. if you are hungry, eat. If you aren't, then just let it go. Don't let a bit of red text tell you how to live your life ;)
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    It used to yell at me all the time, but now it only does that if I go under 1000 calories. I'd almost forgotten it did that when it popped back up one day.

    You don't have to snack to raise your calories, just eat a little more at a meal. I'm guessing you know that, though, and don't think I actually understand the question.

    Me, I go over and under all the time. I'm not EXACTLY 1200 calories hungry every day, lol.


  • oORosadaOo
    oORosadaOo Posts: 97 Member
    Out of interest: Where does it say you're not eating enough? My diary only gives me my leftover calories in green and then the prognosis for the next 5 weeks.

    How many calories under your goal do you have to eat to be "yelled at"? :worried:
  • ddache
    ddache Posts: 21 Member
    Didnt even know that I have made my diary private Its open now. lol.

    I dont think Im big, Im 5.5 and 163lbs.
    I was to eat 1300cals but added a few more days to my exercise log and now its says 1500.
    Im doing T25 and Im on Gama now, doing 2 workouts a day. I`ve got a lot of muscles and Im getting nicely toned up.
    Im worried that not eating enough calories will affect that. Im already struggling with the protein intake being vegetarian going on vegan.
    I hope that clarifies what I meant.
    @ oORosadaOo at the end of entering the food for the day you are given the option to close the entry for that day, that when it says it
  • libbydoodle11
    libbydoodle11 Posts: 1,351 Member
    Enter your stats into a TDEE calculator and see what it comes up with. Deduct 10 to 15 percent from that number. Eat back half of the calories burned while working out.
    Use a food scale to measure all of your food.
  • oORosadaOo
    oORosadaOo Posts: 97 Member
    @ddache, you seem to eat very far under your calorie goal then, I have never received any alarming message when I close my diary. It just says how much I'll weigh if I eat the same amount of calories every day over the next 5 weeks. :confused:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    You do understand that your body has basic energy...i.e. CALORIE needs right? I don't think and omelette and some stir fry and pasta is going to cut it. The average female "burns" around 1300 - 1400 calorie merely existing...
  • ThePhoenixIsRising
    ThePhoenixIsRising Posts: 781 Member
    Is there a reason you insist on consuming less than the 1300 cals you were set up with?
  • ddache
    ddache Posts: 21 Member
    edited November 2014
    I know eating too little can result in weight gain, muscles can be eaten away and the body can not function...
    I dont eat so little on purpose. It just happenes. And its not like that all the time. I ate a bit more after the log was done just didnt log it. I like omelet,with some bread and a fruit after it fills me up.Thats enough for me. I dont starve my self, especially not on purpose. Is not a full plate of pasta enough for a meal?!
    I have no problem getting the set up 1300 or 1500 cals. But its the extra that I get from exercise, ( I get 300cals just for walking and I walk every day for at least an hour, sometimes even 3) Im not that hungry most days to consume 2500 cals.
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
    edited November 2014
    Doesn't that message only appear when you eat less than 1000 calories in a day? It doesn't appear if you are set for 1300 (or 1500) and eat only 1200 for the day.

    I see on Nov. 18 you only ate 825 calories so, yes, you would have seen that message because you are under 1000 calories.
  • missdibs1
    missdibs1 Posts: 1,092 Member
    I second the iifym. It takes exercise calories into account so you don't need to add those calories to your diet
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    I don't quite understand what you are saying, because the sign only pops up when you eat less than 1000 calories. If you eat 2000 it should not pop up and you might want to contact MFP to solve that problem.
    But then again from your post, even though you don't go into details, I get the feeling that you eat much less than 2000 calories. It is difficult to figure out without any specific information.

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