Calorie intake ?

Not enough for what? In what time frame?

On one particular day? I guess it would depend on your goals.

If you were trying to lose weight, eating too much would be worse. If you were trying to bulk, eating too little would be worse.

At the extremes, both can kill you, depending on what "not enough" and "too many" really means.

There's not enough information in the question to answer it.

well how has the scale been going based on what you are doing already? that is a clue into how you eating plan is working or not working

Well, depending on whether or not you're weighing your foods or logging them by size/estimation, 200 calories is probably within the margin of error for your goal. So it may not hurt you.

That said, just fruits and veggies is going to leave you low in things like protein and fat, which are essential for a healthy diet. It might help you to use those 200 calories to be sure you're hitting your goals for those every day.

200 calories is ridiculously easy to add in with healthy foods. Avocado, chicken breast, a little extra cheese or dressing on the salad, peanut butter with your fruit, a handful of nuts, a serving of Greek yogurt, etc. Don't be afraid to add some of those good, calorie dense foods into your day.

I also want to point out that being hesitant or afraid to eat a little more can lead to problems later down the road when you need to adjust your goals. Learning to eat "enough" now is incredibly useful when you reach your goals and need to transition to maintenance.

If you are asking whether it is better to starve yourself or gorge yourself, I would say it is better to gorge yourself, since starving yourself would kill you more quickly while obesity just increases your risk of premature death. But you shouldn't do either. You should eat within an appropriate range and if you are trying to lose weight you should eat at a deficit, but it shouldn't be more than 1000 under per day.

You're 22 years old and trying to lose 25 pounds. I don't know your height or current weight, but 1200 calories is probably too low a goal for you. Let me guess: You set up MyFitnessPal and set your goal to lose 2 pounds per week? That's too aggressive a deficit unless you're a very large, morbidly obese male.

For someone with your stats, 1 pound a week is going to be the maximum recommended goal for you. Try resetting your goal to 1lb/week and you'll get a higher calorie goal than 1200.

And yes, if you exercise, you'd eat back those exercise calories on top of that. That's how MFP is designed to work. Just make sure you're not over-estimating your calorie burn; MFP is notorious for doing that with exercise. So, say it estimates you burned 300 calories; in reality you might've burned more like 150-200 and you may only want to eat back that many calories. But you should at least eat back some of them, or you're creating too big a deficit.

Tanira17 wrote: »

I put my goal at 1.5lb per week & it recommends 1280 calories/day. But thanks for the advice. I will change it and try harder to hit my calorie goal.

Awesome.

And seriously, don't think about it in terms of "good" or "bad" food. Just eat the foods you enjoy and focus on staying within your MFP calorie goal. Weight loss is a long journey and you're creating healthy habits for life. If you try to lose weight eating nothing but salad, it will feel much, much longer. Instead, ask yourself "can I realistically see myself eating like this for the rest of my life?" and create a food plan that includes your favourite foods in moderation. That's how you know you'll stick to it and keep the weight off once you lose it.

Good luck!