Eating Better But On Less Than 1,000 Calories?!

ReformedFatty2015 · January 2015

I'm after some advice. I'm new to eating better and this App.

I've adopted a daily food plan of three meals a day, no snacks and only drinking water, tea with milk and occasional water with small amount of squash.

I have been eating this way since Jan the 1st and have found eating eggs for breakfast and chicken or fish for dinner with plenty of veggies had made giving up snacking pretty automatic. I'm feeling full and losing weight = 11lbs since Jan 1st.

However, since I started try and count calories and achieve a better balance of macronutrients Carbs/Protein/Fat, I've discovered I'm actually eating less than 800 calories a day!!!

I'm either miscalculating or using the MyFitnessPal App incorrectly or I'm potentially harming my health by this sudden reduction in calories.

Please could someone respond and advise me on how best to check my calorie intake. Suggestions of healthy foods which are high calorie and rich in either Protien or Fat would also be very helpful.

I don't want to eat more calories for eating more calories sake but I am worried of making myself unwell in the long run if I can't manage to take on more calories each day.

I hope this makes sense, am I worrying unnecessarily?!

Thanks for your time.

lemur_lady · January 2015

Snacking is not inherently bad. If you don't have enough calories for the day add in some snacks.

Nuts, seeds, avocado are all good high calorie options to add in and abundant in healthy fats.

Don't be so concerned with eating only 'good' foods that you end up underfueling your body. Have a treat to make up the calories if need be. If you have pretty much got your nutrition covered during the day no harm in indulging in a bit of what you used to enjoy.

ReformedFatty2015 · January 2015

Thanks for the response and advice. I think I'm just unsure of whether I have actually got all the needed nutrition for the day. That is the key part I want to get right : Is it the calorie intake that is most important or the percentage/grams of Carbs/Protein/Fat that I need to worry about? My goal is to lose weight and I am currently doing that. If I hadn't started to consciously try to count calories I don't think I'd even be aware that I was below 1,000 a day and potentially harming myself.

I really, really don't want to indulge on any unhealthy food snacks as it would undermine everything I'm trying to change with my eating habits. And I fear snacking inbetween meals would soon see me out weight back on.

I'll look into the healthy foods you suggested and see if I can implement them into my meals. I don't and haven't eaten avocados, nuts or seeds previously. Any recommendations of specific types? It will likely be a case of forcing myself as I imagine I won't like the taste

lemur_lady · January 2015

If you under fuel your body you could risk losing lean muscle tissue along with the fat. This would include muscle tissue from your body organs so best to try and eat as much as you can while still being able to lose weight. You may also find if you stay on really low calories for a while you will find it harder to keep the weight off once you start eating a normal amount again.

If you don't like the idea of keeping the old snacks etc try experimenting with some new ones. Health food shops have a range of healthy snacks available. Im a bit of a chocoholic so sometimes i'll have a bounce energy ball. Its full of protein and vitamin e but tastes so good! Your taste buds can take a while to adapt but mine are learning to love loads of foods now that I hated before.

Coconut is also quite high calorie but has lots of good fats. Maybe add coconut milk/oil to your cooking to bump up the calorie values.

The only thing with completely changing your diet overnight is it can be hard to maintain. At first you are real motivated as you are excited to be dropping the pounds but after a while you can start to get bored and want the foods you cut out.

ReformedFatty2015 · January 2015

Everything you say makes sense. I was worried about potential loss of lean body mass and frequency of putting weight back on.

I'll try and find healthy ways to increase calorific value of my three meals a day. I'll also research potentially healthy snacks which could boost my calorie intake to over 1,000. Thanks.

JillyCornwall · January 2015

Hi, I note that you are a 35yr old male so under 1000 calories is actually a fasting rate for you especially if you are also overweight so therefore with a higher TDEE with carrying the weight around. Please note by reducing your calories to that level you are NOT eating healthier!!!! So eggs for breakfast, how do you have them, add one more, cook in olive oil, add a piece of turkey bacon. No mention of midday meal, how about a healthy lean meat or fish based salad sandwich,then just fish or chicken plus veg for dinner-great no problem there. So increase the portion size of the piece of chicken or fish, add a little olive oil to the preparation. Make one nice whole milk fruit smoothie a day-throw in a few almonds, so very easy to bump calories and in a healthy way. Log it all into MFP every day and then you know exactly where you are calorie wise!! Good Luck.

ReformedFatty2015 · January 2015

Thanks so much for the advice. I will up my portion size of the meat, fish and eggs. I do have meat for lunch too and will increase portion size there too.

Clearly, I was getting paranoid of not having too large a portion size as I used to over eat in the past but clearly that was too large portions of the wrong foods.

I've gone out and bought nuts, avocado, apples and switched to whole milk. Implementing these into my daily food intake alongside my already established 3 main meals should see me bump up my calorie intake a fair amount. The 'unsalted nuts' alone gave me 300-odd calories for a 50g portion (small bowl).

Thanks again to everyone who has offered advice. I really appreciate it.

tzipfit · January 2015

I would include healthy snacks in your day. Avocado, Fruit, Veggies etc. Apple and Almond butter is one of my favorites. I think that if you are successfully avoiding "Treats" you should stick with that.

johnnylakis · January 2015

If you can take in a minimum of 40g of fat (important for brain development) per day, 50g or protein (important for muscle development) per day, and 130g of carb (important for tissue development) per day, you are fine! That's around 1,200 calories.

candacefausset · January 2015

Are you sure you are logging accurately? I'm guilty of it too sometimes. You should be weighing your solids and measuring your liquids.

Carbsmakefat · January 2015

Calories are a very strange little thing. I've been researching how they are measured and am finding the whole counting calories at all very pointless...what only matters is the essential make up of that particular food and how the body deals with it, not its calorie count. Nourish yourself properly And you'll be fine.

PrizePopple · January 2015

Carbsmakefat wrote: »

Calories are a very strange little thing. I've been researching how they are measured and am finding the whole counting calories at all very pointless...what only matters is the essential make up of that particular food and how the body deals with it, not its calorie count. Nourish yourself properly And you'll be fine.

I mean, you do realize you're on a website that is specifically intended for .. wait for it .. COUNTING CALORIES!

redversustheblue · January 2015

PrizePopple wrote: »

Carbsmakefat wrote: »

Calories are a very strange little thing. I've been researching how they are measured and am finding the whole counting calories at all very pointless...what only matters is the essential make up of that particular food and how the body deals with it, not its calorie count. Nourish yourself properly And you'll be fine.

I mean, you do realize you're on a website that is specifically intended for .. wait for it .. COUNTING CALORIES!

My thoughts exactly.

GiveMeCoffee · January 2015

Carbsmakefat wrote: »

Calories are a very strange little thing. I've been researching how they are measured and am finding the whole counting calories at all very pointless...what only matters is the essential make up of that particular food and how the body deals with it, not its calorie count. Nourish yourself properly And you'll be fine.

So I should just stop counting calories... and how do I know if I'm nourishing myself properly??
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PrizePopple · January 2015

Also, I'd like to point out that instructing someone who clearly is not eating enough calories to not worry about monitoring their intake is is dangerously stupid.

OP, the fact that you are receptive to the improvements mentioned is a good thing. Though it seems like you may have some issues with food that could stand to be monitored by a professional just to make sure you're on the right track both mentally and dietary.

AZTallguy · January 2015

I understand how you feel. I started dieting seriously after Thanksgiving. I lost 20lb over the past month and a half. I found that by working out and better eating I wasn't as hungry which led to more energy. It is snowballing. I became less hungry as the days passed until I was down to about 900 cals a day. Not good. I'm now forcing myself to eat more or drink an extra protein shake with each meal. Others have great advice which I'll work into my plan. Good luck!

arditarose · January 2015

You really should eat at least 1200 calories. If you're not weighing your food, it's possible you ARE eating that much, which would be a good thing. I sifted through the responses but did not see whether or not you were using a food scale.

ReformedFatty2015 · January 2015

Yep, using a food scale (new purchase) and no underlying psychological issues with food at all. I love the stuff! Just neglected researching or bothering about the nutritional value of what I eat all my life - hence became overweight. This year I'm gonna change all that (got a toddler to ensure I'm still about to look after in the years to come) and am learning about food groups and the biochemistry involved in how our bodies process that food all the time.

I feel I've made a great start - not following any prescribed diet just making informed decisions about what to eat at meal times. This has worked for me (lost 11lbs so far) and I've felt full and happy.

I then started using this MyFitnessApp to count calories as I'm aware for weight loss it is useful to know how many calories you are eating. I also wanted to monitor how much carbs/protein/fat I was eating. Having done my own research (books, online) and asked advice from dieticians and nutritional professionals via social media, I'm looking to eat less carbs and eat more protein.

I began freaking out as i soon realised after logging my foods in this app that I was eating less than 1,000 calories a day. It could well be I'm not using this tool correctly but nevertheless, I'm glad I asked as all your advice has been extremely helpful.

Whilst I don't want to snack on the poor food I did in the past, I will start including nuts, fruits etc.

Thank you

obscuremusicreference · January 2015

Carbsmakefat wrote: »

Calories are a very strange little thing. I've been researching how they are measured and am finding the whole counting calories at all very pointless...what only matters is the essential make up of that particular food and how the body deals with it, not its calorie count. Nourish yourself properly And you'll be fine.

This is the second thread I've seen you make this claim in (the first was a necro thread about eating calories back). Please elaborate. Does the fact that fresh foods have natural variations or the fact that manufacturers can round down throw you off enough to declare the whole exercise pointless, or is there something else?

arditarose · January 2015

You are male?! Would you mind opening your diary?

999tigger · January 2015

Carbsmakefat wrote: »

Calories are a very strange little thing. I've been researching how they are measured and am finding the whole counting calories at all very pointless...what only matters is the essential make up of that particular food and how the body deals with it, not its calorie count. Nourish yourself properly And you'll be fine.

Do more research. If counting calories is pointless then why are you here on a calorie counting site? If you eat too many calories you gain weight.

Btw OP you arent eating enough, so agree with everyone else along those lines.

Mishieru131 · January 2015

I think it's important to remember that many foods in the database are member submitted and there can be significant discrepancies. When I started using the app I found that I was under/over reporting my calories by 200-300/day because of this. Now I will generally pick the food that has been verified the most if I don't already know exactly how many calories/nutrients are in it.

The fact that you have been consuming less than 1000 calories per day is worrisome. Even in a state of comatose your body is still using at least 500-800 calories per day for fundamental bodily functions. If your body continues to be deprived of the calories it needs for basic functioning then you risk having elevated levels of keytones circulating in your body, which can potentially damage your organs over time (a good summary of this can be found here: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-starvation-ketosis.htm)

So, in general you should probably be trying to at least eat as many calories as your body needs in it's resting state. James Fell has a great tool for measuring this which you can get on his website http://www.bodyforwife.com/free-reports/ . Like so many people ahead of me have pointed out, you can add calories to your diet by adding small additions, which are still healthy (i.e. adding small amounts of nuts or low-fat cheese to salads).

If you already knew all of this then please disregard this comment. If not then I hope you find this info useful.

ReformedFatty2015 · January 2015

I've managed to nearly double my calorie intake for today compared to yesterday. Only thing I changed was = eat more at each of my three meals, switched to whole milk for teas, ate some nuts as a snack. This brought me to 1400-odd calories, plus I've still got a tea or piece of fruit to add later.

So simple, thanks for all your advice and help.

Now if I have out weight back on come my next weigh in day, I'm blaming all you lot

ReformedFatty2015 · January 2015

Woops, meant *if I PUT on weight*

Eating Better But On Less Than 1,000 Calories?!

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