Losing weight steadily, MFP keeps freaking out about lack of calories [Answered - Thankyou]

KateTii
KateTii Posts: 886 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I'm a month and a bit into my new eating lifestyle and i'm starting to get worried i'm not eating enough.

I'm making sure what I eat is filling and nutritious, all measured with a food scale (apart from maybe the rough estimation of my occasional few drops of honey in my tea at work)

Everything I'm doing is working, doing a mix of cardio/weights and i'm loosing weight (avg. 1kg per week) but pretty much every time I go to complete my daily diary, it warns me i'm not eating enough.

Now i'm not specifically trying to eat back exercise calories unless i'm hungry (have had some nightly junkfood cravings, however) and didn't think it was a good idea to eat when I wasn't actually wanting proper food.

So far, I haven't really worried about it as I'm feeling full of energy and not loosing massive amounts of weight but should I be worried? Should I really be eating more?

Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    If you're being warned that you're not eating enough, you should probably be eating more.
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
    Well, what is your current height and weight? If you're eating too little and you don't have a TON to lose, you might be losing straight up muscle.
  • juleszephyr
    juleszephyr Posts: 442 Member
    That is equivalent to 2.2 lbs a week which unless you are severely obese is too much EVERY week. You should set you target to .5 kg a week and then eat back approx. half your exercise cals. This way you should never be getting the warning which only comes if you eat / log less than 1200 calories a day.
  • extremespjb
    extremespjb Posts: 28 Member
    You can kill your metabolism in the long run so yes - please eat at least the minimum recommendation of 1200 calories. You will still lose plenty of weight. Good luck!
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    juleszephyr wrote: »
    That is equivalent to 2.2 lbs a week which unless you are severely obese is too much EVERY week. You should set you target to .5 kg a week and then eat back approx. half your exercise cals. This way you should never be getting the warning which only comes if you eat / log NET less than 1200 calories a day.

    Half a kilogram a week is still a large deficit if you only have 8 kgs to lose. Half a pound a week would make your weight loss more sustainable and reduce the amount of lean muscle lost.
  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    It looks like you eating between 700- 1000 calories a day. Honeslty that isn't enough.

    What is your height/ weight/ activity level?
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    OP is under 1200 calories. Or has a large deficit from the pounds per week she put in.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    edited June 2015
    hush7hush wrote: »
    Well, what is your current height and weight? If you're eating too little and you don't have a TON to lose, you might be losing straight up muscle.

    168cm & hovering around 62kgs - down from 66kgs. I am hitting new PBs at the gym and feeling much stronger so I didn't really think of that being a possibility. Kind of a scary thought...

    I guess i'll find new ways to add calories in, didn't really think I would have to think of ways to eat MORE when doing this haha. I've just been so much more content/full than my old skip breakfast, gorge on high sugar low nutrient food routine.

    Edit: My activity level (I feel) is coming up to moderate. I go to gym most days (5-6 out of 7) and generally do 30mins solid cardio then followed by my unique brand of "I don't know quite what i'm doing but I know something" of weights.
  • kaylag45
    kaylag45 Posts: 21 Member
    No matter what your body size or exercise level is, you should be getting AT LEAST 1000-1200 calories to help maintain all the processes happening in your body. I would try to incorporate some more protein since you are working out. Almonds, peanut butter, etc. Their higher in calories, but offer good protein and that should help you out a little with reaching the minium calorie goal! (: I would definitely suggest talking to your doctor as well to make sure your body is reacting the way it should and that you are not losing straight muscle.
  • didsomeonesaypizza
    didsomeonesaypizza Posts: 13 Member
    It may seem like the lower calorie diet is helping you achieve your goals, but in the end, it will backfire. You are not eating an adequate amount of protein when you aren't hitting a calorie count. Not enough protein = not enough lean muscle building, which aids you toward a goal weight you can actually sustain. Eventually, your body will stop creating muscle and you will be left with skinny-fat and a low metabolism. I'd suggest reading up on nutrition to understand better how the body uses fuel.
  • gobonas99
    gobonas99 Posts: 1,049 Member
    You are getting those warnings because in looking at your diary, you are only eating between 800-1000 calories total a day on most days (although I did see a few days where you hit 1200-1250). This is NOT sustainable in the long run, especially if you are exercising.

    Yes, you need to eat more. I would suggest adding more protein (your protein numbers are VERY low), and increasing the volume of the other things you eat. You should be netting (base cals plus exercise cals) at least 1200 per day. I personally make sure I eat the base goal MFP gives me, plus half my exercise calories.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    juleszephyr wrote: »
    That is equivalent to 2.2 lbs a week which unless you are severely obese is too much EVERY week. You should set you target to .5 kg a week and then eat back approx. half your exercise cals. This way you should never be getting the warning which only comes if you eat / log less than 1200 calories a day.



    ^^ this
  • chuckspooner
    chuckspooner Posts: 3 Member
    I wonder if MFP doesn't give the "you might not be eating enough" be cuz of legal concerns.
    Seems like I get that even when the calories are over the target.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
    edited June 2015
    Thankyou for the help everyone. It's been so confusing going from what was a high cals diet to what i'm doing now but actually feeling fuller & more energetic but consistently being warned. I'm going to sit down and put a bit more research into this... I really want to do it the "right" way.

    I guess my biggest problem was seeing that calorie number as a limit, not a goal. I've upped my goal and dropped the weightloss amount... hopefully will start to see slower weightloss but more sustainable progress.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    chuckspooner wrote: »
    I wonder if MFP doesn't give the "you might not be eating enough" be cuz of legal concerns.
    Seems like I get that even when the calories are over the target.
    Could be because your net is too low even if your intake was over the goal.

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    You have less than 10 pounds to lose.....your weekly weight loss goal should be 1/2 pound a week.

    MFP's default minimum is 1200+exercise calories. By netting less that 1,000 calories, by not meeting protein goals.....you are losing fat+lean muscle mass. Many people make the mistake in thinking 100% of weight they lose is just fat......fast weight loss is a higher percentage of lean muscle.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    chuckspooner wrote: »
    I wonder if MFP doesn't give the "you might not be eating enough" be cuz of legal concerns.
    Seems like I get that even when the calories are over the target.

    I believe it gives that if you're under 1200 total/1000 net
  • krazirob
    krazirob Posts: 2 Member
    Don't worry about it as long as you had your daily intake without adding active calories. Happens to me too. Ill exercise and burn 600 Cal and eat 1750 but when I complete log it says I'm under.

    Remember the best way to lose fat is burn more than you eat or real close to it
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