Advice please- not eating enough calories

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wheninroam
wheninroam Posts: 44 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all:) I am hoping I can get some advice on how I should go about getting my eating habits/body fixed. I feel kinda bad asking this when so many are struggling with the opposite issue, but I'm struggling none the less.

I've been on MFP for a couple of months now with a calorie goal of 1200 for a 1lb/week weight loss. I am finding it difficult to meet that 1200 while at the same time eating healthy (I mean sure, I could go grab a 900 calorie burger) but opting for healthier foods is filling me up.. but not meeting my calorie goals. Usually I have to force a protein bar down me to at least get to the 1000 calorie minimum where MFP won't "yell" at me for not meeting the minimum.

To add to that issue, I've also been regularly working out, usually burning 800-1000 calories during the day..and I certainly hadn't been eating back any of them, let alone 50%. (which I only recently found out was a bad thing)

So now my dilemma, do I stop excising until I can eat back those calories? Do I opt for higher calorie foods, but not as healthy, so I can meet my calorie requirements? I've been in a funk the last two days because I'm just not sure how to attack this, as a result I haven't met my step/exercise or calorie goals!

Any suggestions are appreciated.
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Replies

  • ensie1
    ensie1 Posts: 2 Member
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    I struggled with this for a while, and started adding more calorie dense foods to what I was already eating. Add chicken or another lean protein to your salads, or avocado, or an egg to your meal. You don't have to go all-or-nothing, lettuce or Big Mac.
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    Is this a new "problem" for you? It seems like you went from one extreme to the next .. clearly you didn't gain weight on this 'formula' you are at now, so what gives? How long has this been happening? If it's a few week problem it's cool, but if it's something ongoing then you should reevaluate your thinking
  • wheninroam
    wheninroam Posts: 44 Member
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    lemonychild wrote: »
    Is this a new "problem" for you? It seems like you went from one extreme to the next .. clearly you didn't gain weight on this 'formula' you are at now, so what gives? How long has this been happening? If it's a few week problem it's cool, but if it's something ongoing then you should reevaluate your thinking

    Meeting the 1200 goal is not a new problem, I've been struggling with that all along. Where my newly-found concern stems from is that I hadn't realized that I should have been accounting for and eating back 50% of my exercise calories, so I fear I've been severely short-changing my body. If I've been struggling meeting the 1200 calories, how on earth am I going to meet, say 1700.
  • wheninroam
    wheninroam Posts: 44 Member
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    Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods

    eat more calorie dense foods!

    Thank you for the link!!!
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited February 2017
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    wheninroam wrote: »
    lemonychild wrote: »
    Is this a new "problem" for you? It seems like you went from one extreme to the next .. clearly you didn't gain weight on this 'formula' you are at now, so what gives? How long has this been happening? If it's a few week problem it's cool, but if it's something ongoing then you should reevaluate your thinking

    Meeting the 1200 goal is not a new problem, I've been struggling with that all along. Where my newly-found concern stems from is that I hadn't realized that I should have been accounting for and eating back 50% of my exercise calories, so I fear I've been severely short-changing my body. If I've been struggling meeting the 1200 calories, how on earth am I going to meet, say 1700.

    How much weight have you lost during these three months? There are so many ways logging can be inaccurate including database entries and difficulties getting accurate calorie burns. If you're losing at the 1lb/week, I wouldn't mess with it. If you are losing faster, then increase your calories to match your goal rate. About 250 cals/day/0.5lb.
  • wheninroam
    wheninroam Posts: 44 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Look_Its_Kriss wrote: »
    what they are saying is tho is that you got over weight by eating more calories.. so they are just trying to understand why you cant seem to do that now, and is thinking your approach in general outside of just the calories being too low might be also an issue

    Oh, the original weight gain was due to pregnancy... I had NO problem eating then.. and had actually put on 80lbs with my second child! After pregnancy, I lost most of the weight both kids put on me with the exception of 20lbs that I'm now trying to lose. (Figure 7 years is long enough to hold on to it)

    ETA: Prior to using MFP, I wasn't paying attention to what I was eating. I wasn't gaining, so I wasn't too concerned. Now that I am focused on losing and eating better, a lot of the foods I used to (LOVE) to eat had insane calories. (I was dismayed to find my favorite Johnny Rockets burger was a whopping 950 calories) So based on that revelation, I imagine I was maintaining my calories through high-calorie/unhealthy foods, which I have since given up.
  • wheninroam
    wheninroam Posts: 44 Member
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    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    How much weight have you lost during these three months? There are so many ways logging can be inaccurate including database entries and difficulties getting accurate calorie burns. If you're losing at the 1lb/week, I wouldn't mess with it. If you are losing faster, then increase your calories to match your goal rate. About 250 cals/day/0.5lb.

    I've lost 8lbs so far. The last two weeks have been at a standstill.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    wheninroam wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    How much weight have you lost during these three months? There are so many ways logging can be inaccurate including database entries and difficulties getting accurate calorie burns. If you're losing at the 1lb/week, I wouldn't mess with it. If you are losing faster, then increase your calories to match your goal rate. About 250 cals/day/0.5lb.

    I've lost 8lbs so far. The last two weeks have been at a standstill.

    So a bit slower that would be expected, assuming everything were completely accurate.

    Have you been eyeballing foods, using a food scale to weigh things, using measuring cups, or going off package sizes for servings?
  • beckygammon
    beckygammon Posts: 73 Member
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    You don't HAVE to eat back 50% of exercise calories, not sure where you heard that. If you calculate you TDEE correctly then you can just workout and eat your calories and you dont even need to track your workout with MFP. Eat some more calorie dense foods, if that involves a burger than go for it, and then have some fruit and veges after. #balance #IIFYM.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    edited February 2017
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    How much fat and protein are you eating?

    Add in Nuts, seeds, salmon, nut butters.

    And I eat burgers, pizza & ice cream also.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,064 Member
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    beckygammon wrote: »
    You don't HAVE to eat back 50% of exercise calories, not sure where you heard that. If you calculate you TDEE correctly then you can just workout and eat your calories and you dont even need to track your workout with MFP. Eat some more calorie dense foods, if that involves a burger than go for it, and then have some fruit and veges after. #balance #IIFYM.

    If you've used MFP to work out your calorie goal you should be eating back the calories as it doesn't factor in exercise only your NEAT. OP is on the lowest calorie goal of 1200 and should not be netting below that for a healthy intake. Lets not confuse matters by referring to TDEE which is entirely different to the method MFP uses.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
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    I.never undestand these posts. It's.not hard.to eat.1200'cals a day at all....yes, even in a healthy way
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Where are all the fruit and vegetables in your diet?

    Perhaps you should start with how you are defining healthy eating, what foods you feel you need to exclude and why.

    A good approach to "fixing" a diet is to start from what to include rather than what to exclude.
  • AFGP11
    AFGP11 Posts: 142 Member
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    Just looking at your diary for yesterday, it looks like you drank three of your meals and only ate a small something at dinner. You need to actually eat food. Protein shakes are not food. Can I ask if you have had disordered eating issues in the past? This is VERY restrictive and seems almost punishing. Are you afraid of cooking because you think adding oil and ingredients will raise the calories too much? A healthy diet would have a few meals that would each have protein, fat and fiber along with healthy carbs to give you an energy boost. Aim for 2-3 small meals and a few snacks per day. A healthy lunch might look like 3 oz grilled chicken, a small helping of veggies like broccoli or bell peppers and maybe a small sweet potato or piece of fruit. That right there is bigger than your dinners.

    It seems like you are afraid to eat. I was like that at one time but it really worked against me. I lost muscle along with fat and though I lost 60 pounds, I had a higher percent of body fat at the end than when I started. Your body needs fuel.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    AFGP11 wrote: »
    Just looking at your diary for yesterday, it looks like you drank three of your meals and only ate a small something at dinner. You need to actually eat food. Protein shakes are not food. Can I ask if you have had disordered eating issues in the past? This is VERY restrictive and seems almost punishing. Are you afraid of cooking because you think adding oil and ingredients will raise the calories too much? A healthy diet would have a few meals that would each have protein, fat and fiber along with healthy carbs to give you an energy boost. Aim for 2-3 small meals and a few snacks per day. A healthy lunch might look like 3 oz grilled chicken, a small helping of veggies like broccoli or bell peppers and maybe a small sweet potato or piece of fruit. That right there is bigger than your dinners.

    It seems like you are afraid to eat. I was like that at one time but it really worked against me. I lost muscle along with fat and though I lost 60 pounds, I had a higher percent of body fat at the end than when I started. Your body needs fuel.

    Protein shakes are food, but a diet made up of them isn't likely to be balanced or satisfying.

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