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carlyann110
carlyann110 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is it bad to eat under daily amount of calories?
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  • adamitri
    adamitri Posts: 614 Member
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    That really depends on your calorie goals.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    Depends on a lot of things - your current height, weight, age, gender and what your calorie goal is.

    If you're under by say...100, I wouldn't worry too much - you could have logging inaccuracies that would mean you're hitting your goal.

    If you're a gal you need to eat at LEAST 1200 calories. Think for men it's 1500? Folks here generally recommend you reach your initial MFP goal (whatever it is) and then eat back between 50%-75% of your calories earned from exercise.

    ~Lyssa
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    Depends how much the daily amount is , how much under and how often. You need to eat enough to get the nutrituion your body needs.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,022 Member
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    It depends on how much you're going under, how much of a deficit your daily calorie goal already gives you, what you weigh, what your body fat % is, and how often you go under your calories.

    If you're using a calorie goal set by MFP, and you were honest and realistic about your current weight and activity level, and set a reasonable weekly weight loss goal, going under by a little now and then is OK. Some people plan to go under on weekdays by 100 or 200 calories on a regular basis, so that they can splurge on the weekend.

    The point is that you don't want to regularly create such a large deficit that you are outpacing your body's ability to make up the deficit from stored fat so that it has to consistently break down muscle for energy. You want, as much as possible, for the weight you lose to be fat, not lean body mass.

    Also, the less you eat, the more difficult it's likely to be to get all the nutrients your body needs every day.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    edited March 2015
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    That's how you lose weight: eating less than you burn.
    And as others have said, if it's 100 cal or so, no big deal.
    Now, if you're substantially under and you're not even meeting the healthy minimum calories for an average-size adult (1200 for women, 1500 for men) that's a problem.
    Once in a while isn't going to hurt you, but don't make a habit of it.
    And I'm assuming you're talking actual calories, not "net". Ignore net. Just eat at your healthy calorie goal.

    This calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine will tell you not only your BMI, but how many servings of the various food groups to eat to maintain that weight. Play with it to get your BMI in a healthy range.
    https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html
  • franola12
    franola12 Posts: 45 Member
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    How much under? Are you starving yourself?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited March 2015
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    You lose weight by eating under your maintenance calories. If you told MFP that you want to lose weight, by setting your goal as losing between .5 and 2 pounds per week, you will lose by eating all of your goal calories. You may have a day slightly over or under but, on average, it's good to eat all of those calories.

    Your body needs fuel in order to function. Don't get caught up in "less is more" thinking because you want to lose quickly or think you have to be uncomfortably hungry in order to lose weight. That is, generally, a good way to burn yourself out and frustrate yourself unnecessarily. It also causes many people to become less active outside of exercise, because they feel like garbage, resulting in them burning fewer calories, thus reducing their caloric deficit and weight loss.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    When trying to lose weight, it is usually better to be a little under than to be over.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    TimothyFish wrote: »
    When trying to lose weight, it is usually better to be a little under than to be over.

    That also depends on if a person set a reasonable deficit. For those with too aggressive of a deficit, eating below it is not good. For those with a reasonable deficit, it depends how much under. For those who set an extremely conservative deficit, it still depends how much under but they have more wiggle room.
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    If it's under 1200, probably. If it's a bit under 1400, no. My goal is 1610 and I use them if I want and if I don't I usually end up around 1350-145. No big deal.

    Now, our question to you is what is your calorie goal? And how much under?
  • carlyann110
    carlyann110 Posts: 19 Member
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    My calorie goal is 1,500 calories but I get kinda under ,But my calories probably aren't that accurate.
  • carlyann110
    carlyann110 Posts: 19 Member
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    I'm sorry I didn't reply im new to this and it didn't give me a notification.
  • carlyann110
    carlyann110 Posts: 19 Member
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    O and I don't starve myself , I just can't eat a lot if im not hungry you know?
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    Are you close to hitting your calories daily?
  • AmyTCaldwell
    AmyTCaldwell Posts: 86 Member
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    It is OK to eat less.but it still is important to exercise.but don't eat less than 500 calories a day,keep hydrated,and eat protein. I sometimes don't even eat nearly what I should,but also please take a multi vitamin. B-12 and potassium is very important. :-)
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
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    amytmurphy3 wrote: »
    It is OK to eat less.but it still is important to exercise.but don't eat less than 500 calories a day,keep hydrated,and eat protein. I sometimes don't even eat nearly what I should,but also please take a multi vitamin. B-12 and potassium is very important. :-)

    :noway:

    Or don't eat less than 1,200 NET calories a day.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    edited March 2015
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    carlyann110 wrote: »
    Is it bad to eat under daily amount of calories?

    No. It's not. Because sometimes you might go over. And sometimes it can be real consternation to relegate yourself to JUST EXACTLY what you daily amount of calories are. Just log everything, eat foods that fill you up instead of making you want to eat more, and you'll be fine. Good luck on your journey!
  • carlyann110
    carlyann110 Posts: 19 Member
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    Thanks for the help !And yes I eat more than 500 a day! I have 300 left over for today though.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,708 Member
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    carlyann110 wrote: »
    Is it bad to eat under daily amount of calories?
    How much are you talking about?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • french4now
    french4now Posts: 1
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    On those numbers you've given - you're perfectly fine!

    One of the things I don't like about this app is that it automatically adds my exercise calories back into my allowance for the day (eg the cals tracked from MapMyRide). I would rather aim for my 1200 food cals, let the exercise cals take me under, then only eat a bit more if I am actually hungry. That way actually works for me - I find the "net" goal is too high for weight loss - probably because exercise cals are extremely variable and probably over estimated.

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