Eating too little?

fockstarr7783
fockstarr7783 Posts: 6
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
Maybe I'm not really getting it or maybe I'm being too careful I suppose. MFP constantly tells me I'm not eating enough calories compared to my intake and my daily exercise. It doesn't make that much sense to me b/c I eat like 6 times a day and I find it hard to believe I will be putting my body into starvation mode at this rate! I started this journey at 299.2 lbs and in 3 weeks Im down to 286 currently, so I can't really complain about that in general. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong and I seriously don't think I can eat anymore than what I'm already eating. It's all healthy food and I am very careful on portion sizes and all that as well. Could someone maybe help me on this issue or tell me what I have to change? Or am I just being too careful?

Replies

  • amw8675309
    amw8675309 Posts: 95 Member
    it's difficult to advise if your diary isn't public or without an example of what a typical day looks like for you in terms of eating/cals and exercise
  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
    Can't tell since Diary not public but General Rule is to stay above 1200 calories unless under Drs. orders.

    Worry is you will burn muscle instead of fat, you may lose weight but just not they way you want to. You want to burn fat and build lean muscle.
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
    in my opinion if its not broke don't fix it
  • Spayrroe
    Spayrroe Posts: 210 Member
    Congratulations on your success! My advice is to make sure you gross around your calorie goal (i.e. if your daily goal is 1200 cals and you're eating 1200 but exercising, I wouldn't be terribly worried about it). If you're not feeling fatigued, light headed, confused, etc, you're probably not under eating. You would've noticed in three weeks if you were severely under eating.
  • lizpfennig
    lizpfennig Posts: 14
    I'm having the same problem, but I blame it on the heat and the lack of desire to eat!!!

    The best suggestion I can give, aside from the previous response about not being able to view your daily diet, is to go under the tools tab and calculate your BMR, if you have not already done so. This will determine how many calories your body needs to sustain itself on a daily basis. On top of that, you have to add the number of calories burned to determine how many calories you should be eating daily to just MAINTAIN your weight. Obviously less is better, but you also need to make sure that your body doesn't start storing fat because it's going into starvation mode, as you said.

    You can also change your daily calories under the settings tool. For instance, according to my BMR I'm supposed to eat about 1600 calories/day just to sustain myself. With exercise I add about 300 more calories. My goal is to lose weight, so I dropped my daily calories to 1200 and then add on my exercise (300) and I try to stick to a 1500 calorie diet.

    Did I help or confuse you more? I tend to keep protein bars around so if I find that I'm lacking the specific calories to meet my daily allotment, I can add a quick 200. I personally like the taste so it's a good option for me.

    Good luck and let me know if you need me to clarify things.
  • SummerLuvR
    SummerLuvR Posts: 90
    I'm having this problem too, especially on my exercise days. I read so much here about "eat all your calories so your body doesn't go into starvation mode", but its really hard to eat a healthy 2000+ calories a day. I am really full around around 1400-1700. That is so much food but I have been trying to eat my allowance. If I were eating more unhealthy food it would be too easy to get these calories. I am new to this site, but with over 100lbs to lose I think that if you are full, eat over 1200 calories a day, and are exercising, that it might be a little different for people that have a lot (100+) of weight to lose. But I could be wrong.

    I was just going to post a very similar post when I saw yours. Maybe we can buddy up and see if our diarys are close. I have lost 9 lbs this first week, but I am sure it is going to slow way down the smaller I get. I also changed my setting to 1.5lbs a week to bring my calories down and I was even thinking about changing it to 2 lbs a week for this first month. Any advise would be appreciated. I am in this for the long haul, not a quick fix and I'm not looking for a fad diet. I am looking to change my lifestyle habits and becoming a more fit and healthy person! Thanks for the post, good luck :)
  • fockstarr7783
    fockstarr7783 Posts: 6
    Oh that would help wouldn't it :) I thought I had made it public, I'll have to change that. Thanks for letting me know!

    I don't feel fatigued or lightheaded at all, in all honesty I feel great. My diary is telling me that I need to consume nearly 2,000 calories! I feel that is just way too much, but it does make sense if I'm going for a vigorous bike ride for 12 miles which burns an extreme amount of calories. I did consult a friend of mine who did a lot of weight training and he has advised me to eat about a cup and a half to 2 cups of cottage cheese with flaxseed right after doing exercise like that to replenish energy and for the protein to reduce muscle fatigue and the flaxseed for fiber to offset the high amount of protein. Some days are very busy for me and it's hard to get in adequate nutrition and snacks around lunchtime, so Subway has been quite the out to eat option lately when I'm not at home. I hope to get it figured out at some point so I don't hit a block and stop losing at all or end up maintaining my weight which obviously defeats the purpose at this point.

    Thanks for all the replies and the advice everyone!
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