undereating?
duvinrouge
Posts: 4 Member
Hi. New to MFP. When I set up my goals, my daily average calorie expenditure was calculated to be 2090 calories per day. To lose 1.2 lbs per week, MFP calcualted that I needed a calorie deficit of 590 calories per day, meaning that I could consume a maximum of 1500 calories per day. So far, so good. When I burn extra calories through exercise, MFP says that I can consume an equivalent amount of extra calories and still maintain my goal. No problem. MFP says that the avaerage male should consume more that 1200 calories per day in order to stay healthy. For the last two days, my net calorie consumption (diet calories minus exercies calories) has been around 1300 to 1400 calories (i.e., less than my daily consumption goal of 1500 calories). MFP says that I am probably undereating. If my net calories per day is still above 1200 calories, do I need to be concerned?
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Replies
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Well... why would you willingly eat so little? Log your exercise, eat back 50-100% of the calories, and you should be fine.
Unless you are a very slim man (150s or lower) then 2000ish should not be your maintenance. Even without exercise I would maintain on more than 2000. I'm 161lbs.0 -
MFP has it set for 1500 for men, 1200 for women. Any time you eat under that it's going to give you an automatic warning. It's just an estimate based on an algorithm, it doesn't really know you. I like to get a second opinion here: scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ This has proved to be pretty accurate for me. The only way to really know is to log everything accurately and let the test of time tell you if it's working. If you're not terribly hungry, still have energy to work out and go about your life, and are losing weight at a slow and consistent pace, you're doing it right. Good luck.
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Hey. Thanks for the prompt feedback! Off to the gym...
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What she said. The generally-accepted guidelines (don't go under this unless you're monitored by a doctor) are 1500 & 1200. That's supposed to be the minimum to eat & be able to get all the nutrition you need.0somuchbetter0 wrote:MFP has it set for 1500 for men, 1200 for women. Any time you eat under that it's going to give you an automatic warning.
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The only way to really know is to log everything accurately and let the test of time tell you if it's working. If you're not terribly hungry, still have energy to work out and go about your life, and are losing weight at a slow and consistent pace, you're doing it right.
If you go under once in a while, no big deal. Doing it consistently could cause problems. (Or indicate one.)
My doctor & dietician told me to eat 10x my healthy goal weight in calories & ignore exercise calories.
Most of the time, I've been doing that. Sometimes I'll have 1/3 - 1/2 of the exercise calories if I'm really hungry.
And when I hit plateaus, I drop another 50-100 cal, so while I started out at 10x healthy goal weight, I'm now below that. Still losing slowly & my doctors are happy with my progress & health. (FWIW, MFP has my _BMR_ at just over 1600 cal, and my current goal is 1400.)
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Thanks.
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You only have eleven pounds to lose, so that's probably too aggressive a goal for you. Change your goal to half a pound a week and go with that.0
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Please do not eat 10x your ideal body weight as your caloric goal. Or even 10x your current weight unless you are obese.
I'm 161lbs. Goal weight is 140-145. Like hell will I be able to survive off of 1400 calories a day, even if that were net. I cannot at all go below 1900 or I am the worst person to be around ever. And I plan on reverse dieting once I reach my goals so that next time I cut (bulk/cut cycles) I can lose weight on even more calories than I am now. Anyone who wants to lose weight sanely should be aiming to eat as much food as possible, not shortchanging themselves with ridiculously low goals.
If you use MFP method (net calories) then eat your exercise calories. If you do TDEE, then don't because they are already included.0 -
Please do not eat 10x your ideal body weight as your caloric goal. Or even 10x your current weight unless you are obese.
I'm 161lbs. Goal weight is 140-145. Like hell will I be able to survive off of 1400 calories a day, even if that were net. I cannot at all go below 1900 or I am the worst person to be around ever. And I plan on reverse dieting once I reach my goals so that next time I cut (bulk/cut cycles) I can lose weight on even more calories than I am now. Anyone who wants to lose weight sanely should be aiming to eat as much food as possible, not shortchanging themselves with ridiculously low goals.
If you use MFP method (net calories) then eat your exercise calories. If you do TDEE, then don't because they are already included.
Why not? I ate 1400 kcals per day and lost forty pounds a couple of years ago and then went back to maintenance at 2200-2400 for over two years.0 -
You just started? It's possible that you're in the "honeymoon period." When people start dieting, they picture a lot of salads and a total starvation feeling, but then they realize they can actually, well, eat. At first, having expected severe restriction, it's, "I can't believe I can eat SO MUCH. I can't even finish it all!"
Give it a week or two.
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Please do not eat 10x your ideal body weight as your caloric goal. Or even 10x your current weight unless you are obese.
I'm 161lbs. Goal weight is 140-145. Like hell will I be able to survive off of 1400 calories a day, even if that were net. I cannot at all go below 1900 or I am the worst person to be around ever. And I plan on reverse dieting once I reach my goals so that next time I cut (bulk/cut cycles) I can lose weight on even more calories than I am now. Anyone who wants to lose weight sanely should be aiming to eat as much food as possible, not shortchanging themselves with ridiculously low goals.
If you use MFP method (net calories) then eat your exercise calories. If you do TDEE, then don't because they are already included.
Why not? I ate 1400 kcals per day and lost forty pounds a couple of years ago and then went back to maintenance at 2200-2400 for over two years.
because it is 20000x unnecessary and eating as much as possible while dieting makes it far easier to manage. I'm going to guess you are either extremely inactive, very small for a male, or you ate more than you think you did... because if I cannot even go below 1900 calories gross (or about 1800 net) at 161lbs as a female without hating life, then I can only imagine that eating so little as a male was made easier by one (or all) of those three possibilities.0 -
What she said. The generally-accepted guidelines (don't go under this unless you're monitored by a doctor) are 1500 & 1200. That's supposed to be the minimum to eat & be able to get all the nutrition you need.0somuchbetter0 wrote:MFP has it set for 1500 for men, 1200 for women. Any time you eat under that it's going to give you an automatic warning.
...
The only way to really know is to log everything accurately and let the test of time tell you if it's working. If you're not terribly hungry, still have energy to work out and go about your life, and are losing weight at a slow and consistent pace, you're doing it right.
If you go under once in a while, no big deal. Doing it consistently could cause problems. (Or indicate one.)
My doctor & dietician told me to eat 10x my healthy goal weight in calories & ignore exercise calories.
Most of the time, I've been doing that. Sometimes I'll have 1/3 - 1/2 of the exercise calories if I'm really hungry.
And when I hit plateaus, I drop another 50-100 cal, so while I started out at 10x healthy goal weight, I'm now below that. Still losing slowly & my doctors are happy with my progress & health. (FWIW, MFP has my _BMR_ at just over 1600 cal, and my current goal is 1400.)
MKE, just because you were told this, and you choose to follow this advice, does not make it true for everyone. In fact, it is only true for you because your health care team knows everything about you. Why does it not work for the population in general? Because it's too generalized and not specific to another person and their weight loss goals or activity levels.
Also, it's a good idea to eat most or all of your exercise calories back. The key to this is to take steps to ensure that you are accurately logging your food and exercise and not just guessing, or falling prey to MFPs sometimes understated food calories and almost always overstated calorie burns.0 -
0somuchbetter0 wrote: »MFP has it set for 1500 for men, 1200 for women. Any time you eat under that it's going to give you an automatic warning. It's just an estimate based on an algorithm, it doesn't really know you. I like to get a second opinion here: scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ This has proved to be pretty accurate for me. The only way to really know is to log everything accurately and let the test of time tell you if it's working. If you're not terribly hungry, still have energy to work out and go about your life, and are losing weight at a slow and consistent pace, you're doing it right. Good luck.
Good input...0 -
There is no way I could survive on 10x goal weight calories, and not eat back any exercise calories! I can burn up to 700 calories on days that I am stuck at the gym waiting for my kids for 3.5 hours (I'll do a 2-3 hour workout). If I only ate 1300 calories and burned 700, my net would be 600, not sustainable.
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I'm 45 yr old, 5'6", 148 lb (or so) and I'm eating 1950 calories (TDEE-12%) to lose weight...as a probably taller and heavier man (who also looks younger) you should be eating a boat load more than me as I'm not super active (lifting 50 min 3x/wk, running about 1 hr a week).0
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I think you have it set to woman, not a man. It wouldn't say that for a man. Try putting yourself in as a male. 0
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Please do not eat 10x your ideal body weight as your caloric goal. Or even 10x your current weight unless you are obese.
I'm 161lbs. Goal weight is 140-145. Like hell will I be able to survive off of 1400 calories a day, even if that were net. I cannot at all go below 1900 or I am the worst person to be around ever. And I plan on reverse dieting once I reach my goals so that next time I cut (bulk/cut cycles) I can lose weight on even more calories than I am now. Anyone who wants to lose weight sanely should be aiming to eat as much food as possible, not shortchanging themselves with ridiculously low goals.
If you use MFP method (net calories) then eat your exercise calories. If you do TDEE, then don't because they are already included.
Why not? I ate 1400 kcals per day and lost forty pounds a couple of years ago and then went back to maintenance at 2200-2400 for over two years.
because it is 20000x unnecessary and eating as much as possible while dieting makes it far easier to manage. I'm going to guess you are either extremely inactive, very small for a male, or you ate more than you think you did... because if I cannot even go below 1900 calories gross (or about 1800 net) at 161lbs as a female without hating life, then I can only imagine that eating so little as a male was made easier by one (or all) of those three possibilities.
Nope. The only problem is adherence. I got all the macros and micros I required and stuck to my goal. I am under average height but my maintenance is about 2400 kcals.
Lots of people on MFP don`t like low cal but for those that can adhere, there is nothing wrong with it if you get proper nutrition. I went from 205 to 165lbs so it worked for me.
It was suggested by my doctor as well, so there`s that. If one wants to do it, and can stick to it, it`s fine for 3-4 months.0 -
LOL. What a tempest I have stirred up! My pic is 4 years old. I just turned 52. I am 5'7" and weighed 151 lbs this morning. My goal is to get back down to 140ish by the March Break.0
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Well, if I were you, which I'm obviously not LOL, I would probably eat around the 1800 calorie mark and then try to burn 2500 calories per week without eating them back. That would put you to lose just over a pound a week, to meet your goal of 10 lbs in 10 weeks.
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