Help! I can not eat less than 1500 calories a day!
Replies
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I'm set at 1.5 lbs per week. I thought about lowering it to 1 lbs a week, but then I don't want to end up eating more .In other words, I'm torn between fear of eating more if I allow myself to take more calories in and the constant guilt of always being over 1300.
Funny thing is, I'm still loosing more than 1.5 lbs a week even if I'm over 1300 calories a day? Confusing...
Oh, I missed this earlier. In that case, set your goals less aggressively so that you get 1500 calories and enjoy them!
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Tell your boss that because of other results in studies, scientists expect that people who walked at lunchtime would be more productive.
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OK, here's what I learned much needed lessons from all of you:
1- I shouldn't assume what this MFP website app tells me is God's word
Eating over 1300 calories a day is not a problem as long as I continue to loose weight.
2- Sustainability is the key. Which was one reason why I was troubled by this 1300 cal/day business, because I knew I can't sustain it. I see this new eating pattern not only as a weight loss thing, but as the way I eat from now on.
3- I may be underestimating my activity level. That looks like the most reasonable cause of still loosing weight eating 1500 cal/day. I told the app that I'm moderately active, but I run after a toddler all day, maybe that's it. Also I do Bikram Yoga 4-5 times/week and scientifically I'm only burning maximum 300 cal per one class, but because it's a hot humid crazy yoga my heart is pounding crazy for the entire 90 min class. Some websites claim you burn more than 300 cal per Bikram class. In short the activity area is in the gray area, am not sure about the numbers.
4- The reason why some days I'm at 1300 by the afternoon may be the fact that my body is not used to a) cutting calories and b) cutting carbs, so I feel hungry. Or maybe 1300/day is simply too little for me.
5- As long as I am loosing weight I should not feel guilty about those minus numbers in red. Especially that I don't plan to reach my goal in a short time.
6- Planning ahead what and when I eat can be very helpful. Several of you mentioned that, thank you. That's what I will do for a while now and see how it works.
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1500 calories per day is fine for weight loss. If you want to lose weight faster, increase the amount if exercise you're doing and keep the calories consistent. It takes both to have success.0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »She's BMI 25.7. But the point that poster was making is that she certainly doesn't need to get to 136 to be a healthy weight. 136 is a healthy weight, of course, but so are higher weights if she feels more comfortable there (as her post suggested).
I agree!
I also think 164 for a 5'7" person is not bad at all. I say, BMI many times mess with people's minds when they should worry about how they feel, how their clothes fit etc.0 -
And here are a few more thoughts based on what you've all said:
- 4 or 5 times a week I take a Bikram Yoga class after work. I have to stop eating 4 hours before class otherwise I feel sick on my stomach during class. So my typical last meal of the day on those days is at 2 pm. I finish eating by 2:30 pm and take a 6:30 pm class. When I get out of class at 8 pm, I am seriously hungry. Problem was I don't get home before 9:30 and need to sleep by 10 pm, which I solved by having a snack on the train home instead of a meal after I get home and going to sleep right after a meal. Now, this is why I need to eat most of my calories by 2 pm, because I don't get to eat them after 2 pm: yoga class interrupts and I don't want to eat too much calories at night right before I sleep. Also, when I eat less calories by 2 pm, I feel very weak and shaky during and after the yoga class (Bikram Yoga is not a very gentle slow type of yoga.) Last Saturday I felt so bad after class I had to lie down for 30 min to be able to get up and walk, I thought my body was collapsing into itself. So then I got afraid of fainting during class and ate more calories the next day. In short, there's a fluctuation of not eating enough then eating too much.
-maniacallaugh wrote: »Carb cutting does very little for weight loss anyway,
Really? So what's the deal about all those low carb diets? A friend lost a lot of weight with the Ideal Protein diet and said your body goes to carbs first for energy and if you're eating little carbs but high protein, it will burn your stored fat. Which sounds logical? Seeing her results made me cut carbs, which consisted of morning cereal, chickpeas, bananas and once a week rice. Now I don't eat any of those. I feel -kind of- fine as long as I eat more protein, which is challenging because I'm a vegetarian. Without nuts (too much fat) and without legumes (too much carbs), I can only eat so much tofu and eggs. Frankly, I can not eat more than 2 eggs a day and a 1/5 block of tofu. Which brings me to another confusion I have:
- Some websites say 60-70 grams of protein per day is enough. Some say I have to multiply my weight in lbs with 0.8 to find out how many grams of protein I need daily, which is 164x0.8=131.2 Also I heard that %30 fat, %30 carbs and %40 protein is ideal daily. That seems to fall around 130 grams of protein a day for me. Now, without much carbs, 60-70 grams of protein doesn't satisfy me. But being a vegetarian, I can not seem to come close to 130 grams a day. Which one of those is true? 70 grams or 130 grams?
Yes I do eat one high protein bar a day, I eat tofu, milk, yogurt and cheese. But all of that, if consumed in the amount of suggested servings, do not come close to 130 grams of protein a day.
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I am a nanny so yes, every day I take my toddler out for at least an hour walk and run after her. But I didn't think that was exercise.0 -
Luckily my bosses (the parents) encourage me to take their kid out every day But again, that's not rigorous exercise.. I thought exercise means that I have to sweat like crazy and it had to be some kind of cardio workout.. 0 -
gothicfires wrote: »"whatever I do" for me means eating small and healthy portions and also means trying really hard to cut carbs and increase protein.
If I reach my 1300 limit by late afternoon, I can not NOT have dinner, because I feel bad when I do: I may have a slight blood sugar regulation problem that if I don't eat every 4 hours I feel terrible.
Sorry but this doesn't make sense. If you've reached your calorie limit by late afternoon then you are eating too much. Take the total number of calories that you want to eat each day and divide them by the number of times you eat in a day. For me that is 4. That means each meal is 300 calories. I can fill a 10inch plate with 300 calories.
This made me think about and realize why I have been eating 1300 calories by the afternoon some days. Thank you. It's because of "having" to eat most of my calories by 2-2:30 pm on yoga days (and not wanting to eat much after 8 pm) and because I've been fluctuating and sometimes feeling too weak during exercise and fearing that...0 -
"maniacallaugh wrote:
listen to your body before you listen to MFP.
This is a very valuable advice and I thank you for that. Not that I didn't know I have to listen to my body, but I needed to hear it, because all this counting and reading and listening to others made me confused..0 -
you can eat nuts because healthy fats are good for you and help you to feel satiated as well. you can eat legumes and chickpeas too. you should only avoid a lot of carbs if you have a health issue to where you have to limit them.you can eat nuts and stuff just make them fit into your allowance.And here are a few more thoughts based on what you've all said:
- 4 or 5 times a week I take a Bikram Yoga class after work. I have to stop eating 4 hours before class otherwise I feel sick on my stomach during class. So my typical last meal of the day on those days is at 2 pm. I finish eating by 2:30 pm and take a 6:30 pm class. When I get out of class at 8 pm, I am seriously hungry. Problem was I don't get home before 9:30 and need to sleep by 10 pm, which I solved by having a snack on the train home instead of a meal after I get home and going to sleep right after a meal. Now, this is why I need to eat most of my calories by 2 pm, because I don't get to eat them after 2 pm: yoga class interrupts and I don't want to eat too much calories at night right before I sleep. Also, when I eat less calories by 2 pm, I feel very weak and shaky during and after the yoga class (Bikram Yoga is not a very gentle slow type of yoga.) Last Saturday I felt so bad after class I had to lie down for 30 min to be able to get up and walk, I thought my body was collapsing into itself. So then I got afraid of fainting during class and ate more calories the next day. In short, there's a fluctuation of not eating enough then eating too much.
-maniacallaugh wrote: »Carb cutting does very little for weight loss anyway,
Really? So what's the deal about all those low carb diets? A friend lost a lot of weight with the Ideal Protein diet and said your body goes to carbs first for energy and if you're eating little carbs but high protein, it will burn your stored fat. Which sounds logical? Seeing her results made me cut carbs, which consisted of morning cereal, chickpeas, bananas and once a week rice. Now I don't eat any of those. I feel -kind of- fine as long as I eat more protein, which is challenging because I'm a vegetarian. Without nuts (too much fat) and without legumes (too much carbs), I can only eat so much tofu and eggs. Frankly, I can not eat more than 2 eggs a day and a 1/5 block of tofu. Which brings me to another confusion I have:
- Some websites say 60-70 grams of protein per day is enough. Some say I have to multiply my weight in lbs with 0.8 to find out how many grams of protein I need daily, which is 164x0.8=131.2 Also I heard that %30 fat, %30 carbs and %40 protein is ideal daily. That seems to fall around 130 grams of protein a day for me. Now, without much carbs, 60-70 grams of protein doesn't satisfy me. But being a vegetarian, I can not seem to come close to 130 grams a day. Which one of those is true? 70 grams or 130 grams?
Yes I do eat one high protein bar a day, I eat tofu, milk, yogurt and cheese. But all of that, if consumed in the amount of suggested servings, do not come close to 130 grams of protein a day.
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also what works for one will not always work for another person. I have cut out sodas and things like that which tends to help others lose weight. it didnt work for me,same with carbs,.Im lower carb but stuck in a weight loss stall so. I would say 0.8 grams per lb of weigh is fine. if you dont feel its enough then eat a little more protein. you have to listen to your body and see what works for you.0
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Luckily my bosses (the parents) encourage me to take their kid out every day But again, that's not rigorous exercise.. I thought exercise means that I have to sweat like crazy and it had to be some kind of cardio workout..
Hahaha, nope!
I've lost 14 lbs in 7 weeks and I'm just walking for exercise.0 -
I don't know if you're male or female, but most the women on this board are set at 1200 calories a day and are doing fine with that. You can adjust your setting to lose 1 pound a week, and that may up your calories?
You know at first, we all get hungry. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid that. The good news is after a few weeks your stomach will shrink, and your brain will change to accommodate your new calorie intake where you rarely get hungry at 1300 calories. My fix for hunger pangs was a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter. I am at goal weight now, and believe me I went through a lot of peanut butter over the last two years. I still eat peanut butter for lunch.
Just stick with it and you'll get there.0 -
Some people just burn more energy. I am 5'7, 134 lbs today (vs 138 two weeks ago, maybe) and losing at 2100, even without a lot of intense activity. I'd be the grumpiest, foggiest, clumsiest jerk on the planet if I had to eat 1200, no matter what it was made up of.
MFP and online calculators are definitely not always right - they only give estimates. You learn your real numbers by logging and seeing what happens on the scale.
My thinking is, don't look a gift horse in the mouth! Eat as much as you can while you lose. Why suffer if you don't have to?
Also: too big of a deficit could throw you later, when it's time for maintenance.
I would recommend eating 1800-2000 for a few weeks and seeing what happens.0 -
hearthwood wrote: »I don't know if you're male or female, but most the women on this board are set at 1200 calories a day and are doing fine with that. You can adjust your setting to lose 1 pound a week, and that may up your calories?
You know at first, we all get hungry. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid that. The good news is after a few weeks your stomach will shrink, and your brain will change to accommodate your new calorie intake where you rarely get hungry at 1300 calories. My fix for hunger pangs was a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter. I am at goal weight now, and believe me I went through a lot of peanut butter over the last two years. I still eat peanut butter for lunch.
Just stick with it and you'll get there.
Uh, nope.0 -
MFP and online calculators are definitely not always right - they only give estimates. You learn your real numbers by logging and seeing what happens on the scale.
That's what I should do, makes sense. What was confusing me was the numbers the MFP was giving me, not the numbers on the scale.0 -
hearthwood wrote: »I don't know if you're male or female, but most the women on this board are set at 1200 calories a day and are doing fine with that. You can adjust your setting to lose 1 pound a week, and that may up your calories?
You know at first, we all get hungry. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid that. The good news is after a few weeks your stomach will shrink, and your brain will change to accommodate your new calorie intake where you rarely get hungry at 1300 calories. My fix for hunger pangs was a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter. I am at goal weight now, and believe me I went through a lot of peanut butter over the last two years. I still eat peanut butter for lunch.
Just stick with it and you'll get there.
Uh, nope.
I'm not a penut butter fan and can't imagine eat it every day and fitting it into my daily calorie goal. I rather eat more broccoli and tomatoes, both of which I can never get enough of. BUT, thank you for offering it, because as others also said I think I need to include some nuts for good fats in my diet. So I will include them in moderation.
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Since you're new to logging you're going to have to experiment a lot to see what works for you. Always be honest with your logging. See what you use the most calories on and try another option. I know it sounds simple but it's really just trial and error.0
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OK, here's what I learned much needed lessons from all of you:
1- I shouldn't assume what this MFP website app tells me is God's word Eating over 1300 calories a day is not a problem as long as I continue to loose weight.
2- Sustainability is the key. Which was one reason why I was troubled by this 1300 cal/day business, because I knew I can't sustain it. I see this new eating pattern not only as a weight loss thing, but as the way I eat from now on.
3- I may be underestimating my activity level. That looks like the most reasonable cause of still loosing weight eating 1500 cal/day. I told the app that I'm moderately active, but I run after a toddler all day, maybe that's it. Also I do Bikram Yoga 4-5 times/week and scientifically I'm only burning maximum 300 cal per one class, but because it's a hot humid crazy yoga my heart is pounding crazy for the entire 90 min class. Some websites claim you burn more than 300 cal per Bikram class. In short the activity area is in the gray area, am not sure about the numbers.
4- The reason why some days I'm at 1300 by the afternoon may be the fact that my body is not used to a) cutting calories and b) cutting carbs, so I feel hungry. Or maybe 1300/day is simply too little for me.
5- As long as I am loosing weight I should not feel guilty about those minus numbers in red. Especially that I don't plan to reach my goal in a short time.
6- Planning ahead what and when I eat can be very helpful. Several of you mentioned that, thank you. That's what I will do for a while now and see how it works.
The numbers in red bug me out. During my first time with MFP, I set my goals to lose 0.5 pounds per week so I wouldn't see the red. Ended up losing 30# in 6 months.
I suggest you adjust your goals and/or log more activity.
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gothicfires wrote: »"whatever I do" for me means eating small and healthy portions and also means trying really hard to cut carbs and increase protein.
If I reach my 1300 limit by late afternoon, I can not NOT have dinner, because I feel bad when I do: I may have a slight blood sugar regulation problem that if I don't eat every 4 hours I feel terrible.
Sorry but this doesn't make sense. If you've reached your calorie limit by late afternoon then you are eating too much. Take the total number of calories that you want to eat each day and divide them by the number of times you eat in a day. For me that is 4. That means each meal is 300 calories. I can fill a 10inch plate with 300 calories.
This made me think about and realize why I have been eating 1300 calories by the afternoon some days. Thank you. It's because of "having" to eat most of my calories by 2-2:30 pm on yoga days (and not wanting to eat much after 8 pm) and because I've been fluctuating and sometimes feeling too weak during exercise and fearing that...
What time do you go to sleep and how much do you eat in calories on the train after your Bikram class?
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So, you leave your house at like 5am, and don't get home until at least 1am the next day? Side note: On top of everything else the posters above have suggested, don't forget about how important sleep is for overall health. This schedule sounds terribly exhausting!0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »gothicfires wrote: »"whatever I do" for me means eating small and healthy portions and also means trying really hard to cut carbs and increase protein.
If I reach my 1300 limit by late afternoon, I can not NOT have dinner, because I feel bad when I do: I may have a slight blood sugar regulation problem that if I don't eat every 4 hours I feel terrible.
Sorry but this doesn't make sense. If you've reached your calorie limit by late afternoon then you are eating too much. Take the total number of calories that you want to eat each day and divide them by the number of times you eat in a day. For me that is 4. That means each meal is 300 calories. I can fill a 10inch plate with 300 calories.
This made me think about and realize why I have been eating 1300 calories by the afternoon some days. Thank you. It's because of "having" to eat most of my calories by 2-2:30 pm on yoga days (and not wanting to eat much after 8 pm) and because I've been fluctuating and sometimes feeling too weak during exercise and fearing that...
What time do you go to sleep and how much do you eat in calories on the train after your Bikram class?
On early nights (going to sleep at 10:30 pm) I either eat an apple and an orange (about 150 calories together) or if I'm craving for protein, I eat 1 oz lowfat feta and 7 pearl tomatoes (about 50 calories.) On late nights (going to sleep at midnight), I ate all of this, adding up to 200 calories.0 -
MelWick524 wrote: »
So, you leave your house at like 5am, and don't get home until at least 1am the next day? Side note: On top of everything else the posters above have suggested, don't forget about how important sleep is for overall health. This schedule sounds terribly exhausting!
Well, it's not like that every day, only 1-3 days a week. Normally I wake up 5:30, leave home at 6, get back by 10 or 11 pm, go to sleep by 10:30 or 11:30. Later nights are not ever day. But you're right, I have to be very diligent about going straight to sleep when I get home. No time for anything else. This Bikram yoga gives me a ton of energy, so I don't need more than 7 hours of sleep. But anything less than that, my muscles complain the next day.0 -
I lost 80 pounds and never ate less than 1650.0
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SweetestHoney wrote: »Since you're new to logging you're going to have to experiment a lot to see what works for you. Always be honest with your logging. See what you use the most calories on and try another option. I know it sounds simple but it's really just trial and error.
Yes, I only started logging a few weeks ago and after the initial confusion now am realizing that it is really trial and error. Thank you.0 -
MFP isn't wrong in this case. YOU told it to calculate a 1.5 lb loss. All you have to do is change it to a 1 lb loss and you will be able to eat 1500 (and a little more if you want). 1 lb, or heck even .5 lb a week, over a long period of time is great.0
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Who cares, right? 1500 a day will lose significant weight over time for most mere mortals. Stick to 1500 and you'll do fine. It may take longer than you'd like but 1500 and you will lose weight. I promise.0
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