Is 1500 cal. a day equal to starvation? Should I up my calor

Make sure you select the lifestyle that is compatible with your current style on your profile, calculate your intake goal and that will already factor your deficit to loose weight. If you're very strict about weighting everything and are very accurate I'd say stick to your goal intake or thereabouts if you do it mostly by eye however being under 400-500 isn't bad, I think by the contrary since we have a tendency to overestimate calories!!!

That's only my opinion though.

Good Luck

I'm doin between 1500-1600 and I think it's workin pretty good. A tip to avoid putting your body into starvation and keep your hunger satisfied is to eat every 2-3 hours, even if its just somethin small, also keep the protein up, drink lots of water, and keep exercising and you should be fine. Your body will let you know if you are in need of more calories, give it a shot and if you don't feel good or arn't seeing results, make some changes... Don't stress too much about it, keep workin and you'll find a groove. Best of luck!

Since mfp calculates it for you you should eat as much as it tells you, make sure you NET calories are where thay need to be. When you sign upo mfp has a deficit that is already created for you, it assumes you won't exercise. If you create MORE of a deficit that is where you may come to stall in your weight loss. The body needs fuel to work, for instance myself, I am so hungry all the time I need to eat a ton, just to feel good, today was 3133........I exercise a lot and have a physical job, so it may be different for you, although I see you exercise a lot. If you feel you need to eat more, do it, just choose healthy options. And protein good luck

These threads should help:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/230930-starvation-mode-how-it-works

Also log how many minutes you do strength training in the cardio section of exercise, that will add calories to that day's allotment. The strength training box is just for keeping a record for yourself.

Depending on your metabolism, it is completely possible to eat too little and gain weight. That's how I ended up at 312 lbs. I would eat one big meal every day, but it averaged out to only about 1500-1700cal a day.

As someone else said, make sure you spread your calories out throughout your day. Even 100 cal snacks do a lot for your metabolism.

If you want to be ABSOLUTELY SURE you are eating the proper amount, go to a nutritionist and have your BMR tested. That will tell you how many calories your body burns every day BEFORE daily activities. You'd be amazed how high that number usually is. When I had mine tested, my BMR was 1815. That's how many calories I'd burn if I was bedridden. Daily life adds another 500-700calories to that, and any exercise I do is just cream on the top.

The reason I went to the nutritionist in the first place is because I was eating 1400-1600cal a day while training for a half marathon and I was lethargic and crabby. She told me point blank that I was not allowed to eat less than 1800cal a day. I've been eating 1700-2000cal a day (and losing weight) for the past year.

For the record, I work out 5 days a week, including running/elliptical, yoga, and strength training. I currently weigh 185lbs. When I had the BMR test done I was 210, so I've lost 25lbs, but I've gained 10lbs of muscle mass in that time (tested by my personal trainer).

I'm thinking of upping my cals a tiny bit. I'm still nervous though :0/