Worried about amount of calories left at the end of the day

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JRtheNutbar
JRtheNutbar Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So basically I just started the two new jobs where I am constantly walking and hitting my 10000 step daily goal (yay!). I have also started eating healthier so for the same amount of food that I would typically eat, the calorie count has lowered. So now at the end of the day, when I would typically have around 100 calories left, I can have around 900 calories left and I would get the notification saying that I haven't eaten enough, but I'm full! Is this something I should be worried or proud about?

Replies

  • corri966
    corri966 Posts: 6 Member
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    That was happening to me. Your body may go into starvation mode. I started eating a bigger breakfast and make sure I gets snacks in between meals.
  • reeddpeterson253
    reeddpeterson253 Posts: 3 Member
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    Make sure that your Fitness Pal activity level is set to reflect your new job, as needed calories should change. Also, what is your calorie intake vs what FP says you need? 900 calories is ALOT
  • Rebekahl87
    Rebekahl87 Posts: 95 Member
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    One thing that has made a big difference for me is planning meals in advance. I know where I'll be, calorie-wise, everyday of the week. Just sticking to the meal plan and working out has yielded a 3-lb loss for me this week. :) Is that something you think you can work in?
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    JRtheNutbar wrote: »
    So basically I just started the two new jobs where I am constantly walking and hitting my 10000 step daily goal (yay!). I have also started eating healthier so for the same amount of food that I would typically eat, the calorie count has lowered. So now at the end of the day, when I would typically have around 100 calories left, I can have around 900 calories left and I would get the notification saying that I haven't eaten enough, but I'm full! Is this something I should be worried or proud about?

    My goal is always to come in within 30 calories (in either direction) of my target each day. I always plan out my meals in advance, so I know how I'll get there.

    Sometimes you just need to eat more calorie dense food if you burn a lot during the day.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    Eating too little can hinder weight loss by promoting binges when everything catches up with you physically
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    900 is an awful lot assuming burns and logging are accurate. Add back in some calorie dense foods like oils, butters, peanut butter, chocolate! Too aggressive a deficit will catch up with you, either as stated above with binges or with more muscle loss than is ideal as the body can only metabolise so much stored fat in a day.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
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    I would only worry if you start dropping weight. I got a job where I had to walk a few blocks to work, and noticed after awhile that I was getting skinny, though I thought I was eating enough. I added some extra calories to each day to maintain the weight.

    You aren't going to have any dire consequences immediately, just monitor your weight for a couple of months and see if you are losing weight too fast.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
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    Hard exercise suppresses my appetite. Food can even be unappealing, especially if I haven't eaten enough to keep up with my burn. So yes, you should be concerned if MFP tells you you aren't eating enough. And it will take your body time to adjust to the increase in movement. Meanwhile, if you aren't hungry, eat anyway. The best way to consume calories when you aren't hungry is to drink them. Orgain (the best choice). Boost High Protein. Smoothies you make at home. Good old whole milk. Shakes you make at home and, okay, get at Sonic!
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    You should be worried about it. You're only getting half or less of the nutrition you need. You really need to eat closer to your daily goal, especially when you exercise. Food is fuel to your body.
  • MynameisChester
    MynameisChester Posts: 107 Member
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    Don't worry. I say its a combination of listening to your body when you're hungry or full and focusing more on weekly calories. So if my calorie goal for each day is 2000, my weekly goal is 14000. On Monday I may be full on 1500 calories but on Tuesday I'm full on 2500 calories. It still comes out to 2000 daily. As long as you're meeting your calorie goals for the week, you're good to go.
  • sylkates
    sylkates Posts: 173 Member
    edited May 2016
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    MFP doesn't yell at me for having a net calorie day of less than 1200 if I get that low by the subtraction from exercise calories alone. Perhaps it is different for those with an activity level set to higher than sedentary.

    For instance, if I ate 1400 calories, but I exercised for 300 calories and inputted it, it doesn't yell at me, the same way it does if I don't exercise at all and only eat 1100 calories for that day.

    I have it set for sedentary though, so it doesn't assume that I'm burning a lot more automatically than I'm telling it manually.

    Maybe, if you're tracking your job's movement accurately and logging that manually, you should put your activity level at sedentary? I think that the other settings such as 'lightly active' or 'active' are for if you're NOT adding your job's exercise calories manually.
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member
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    The thing that stood out to me in your post is that you asked if you should be "proud" of having a large number of uneaten calories at the end of the day.

    No! And you shouldn't be ashamed, either. It's hard- it's REALLY HARD- to take feelings of morality and pride/shame out of eating, because so much in our culture tells us that there are "good" and "bad" foods, that eating a certain way is "clean" and another way is "naughty," that desserts can be "sinful." And embracing that view- taking pride not in the strength of your body or the deliciousness of a meal you learned to cook but in what or how little you eat? That way lies madness.

    Food is energy. It has different nutritional profiles, some is more nutrient-dense than others, but it's morally neutral, and eating very little of it should not be a point of pride. You wouldn't ask if you should be proud of arriving home at the end of the day with the gas gauge in your car on E- it's not a moral victory, and in fact you'd know that you were setting yourself up for a disaster the next day when you tried to use the car and it stopped working because it didn't have enough fuel.

    That's what having a massive calorie deficit every day is like for your body- like it's a car you keep running on fumes.

    Eat to fuel your body properly. You'll feel better and look better and function so much better in the long run. And I know it's hard, because of all the messages around us, to avoid thinking about food choices in moral and ethical terms. But notice when you're doing that- be aware of it- and remind yourself that it's all just fuel, and taking the concept of sin and guilt and pride out of it is the way to make healthy choices.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    emmycantbemeeko wrote: »
    The thing that stood out to me in your post is that you asked if you should be "proud" of having a large number of uneaten calories at the end of the day.

    No! And you shouldn't be ashamed, either. It's hard- it's REALLY HARD- to take feelings of morality and pride/shame out of eating, because so much in our culture tells us that there are "good" and "bad" foods, that eating a certain way is "clean" and another way is "naughty," that desserts can be "sinful." And embracing that view- taking pride not in the strength of your body or the deliciousness of a meal you learned to cook but in what or how little you eat? That way lies madness.

    Food is energy. It has different nutritional profiles, some is more nutrient-dense than others, but it's morally neutral, and eating very little of it should not be a point of pride. You wouldn't ask if you should be proud of arriving home at the end of the day with the gas gauge in your car on E- it's not a moral victory, and in fact you'd know that you were setting yourself up for a disaster the next day when you tried to use the car and it stopped working because it didn't have enough fuel.

    That's what having a massive calorie deficit every day is like for your body- like it's a car you keep running on fumes.

    Eat to fuel your body properly. You'll feel better and look better and function so much better in the long run. And I know it's hard, because of all the messages around us, to avoid thinking about food choices in moral and ethical terms. But notice when you're doing that- be aware of it- and remind yourself that it's all just fuel, and taking the concept of sin and guilt and pride out of it is the way to make healthy choices.

    Wow, what a great post!
  • ashleyjongepier
    ashleyjongepier Posts: 130 Member
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    go for some calorie dense food like PB or avocado.

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