intaking 1000 calories bad?

eat more...your body will thank you and help you lose weight...oh and your brain needs fuel too...so...

You need to eat more without a doubt - plan healthy food that if you 'haven't got time' yuo can pull out of your bag and eat when you sit down. Like someone else said - we are all busy. I have two kids, two step kids, my own business and my up and coming wedding to sort out but I know I won't do any of it well if i don't eat.

It doesnt take long to eat. Do you want sympathy for a busy schedule? This is 2011, everyone is busy. I have 3 kids and run my own business. Take a few minutes to plan your diet and make it happen. You had time to post your concerns, which means you had time to plan your diet.

Agreed. I have three kids and am in law school so if I have time to eat breakfast so do you.

Your diet looks nutritionally bare and I doubt you are eating up to your calorie alotment.

There must be time for breakfast. It takes 5 minutes to mix up a protein shake with some fiber and snag some toast out the door. I cannot stress how important to your nutritional success eating ANYTHING for breakfast is.

Snack one looks good. An apple and some yogurt, good protein, fiber calcium and fruity nutrients there

Lunch: good carbs, good protein, I'd add some fruit or nuts for variety though. What about some green salad?

second snack: I'd go for a little more than just an apple. Sure the sugars and fiber is good, but some roasted almonds will really help you keep some energy up for the rest of the afternoon

Dinner: more protein.

You're exercising doing strength training. I would also look into having a protein source immediately after you complete your workout. A shake or a can of sardines (yes, they do taste good, I swear), or some chicken breast. Your body needs that protein to help build muscle back.

1,000 calories is not enough, unless your doctor has diagnosed you with hypothyroidism or low Basal Metabolic Rate. You are likely starving yourself with that low of an intake, which will not help you at all. It's about being healthy, not getting a fast "Biggest Loser" drop on the bathroom scale numbers.

I hope that helps

Whoa - I totally empathize with the busy schedule. I put on most of my weight during the school year because I am studying from 5:30 in the morning until midnight.

I am currently taking in about 1000 calories per day, but I am not sure if this is right or not (MFP keeps telling me not and many members have noted they've had negative results with undereating).

I would recommend a little more pizazz in your diet (it will make it easier to diet over long periods of time) and you should try doing something for breakfast! If I'm rushed out the door, I usually grab a Fiber One bar - it's probably not the best, but just something to get the metabolism running.

More importantly, all bodies are different, you just have to find the right balance.

well the main problem I'm trying to overcome is that I'm trying to figure out how many calories I burn whilst walking around at school/ sitting for about 12-14 hours of the day, since I don't have much time at the moment to exercise regularly, so yeah.

MFP says I should intake a minimum of 1200 calories but with my home made meals which includes lunch and dinner, I'm not sure how to calculate the amount of calories inside the meal.

i make home made meals most of time and have pain stakingly sat for half an hour and worked out what was in it ie cals carbs protein etc by putting the individual items into database and adding it all together. I then weigh it out and put it in tubs to take with my so i know just what i'm having

well is it wise to have a protein shake for breakfast ? Or even after a workout if I'm gonna sleep almost instantly afterwards,

i might begin to have oats with some milk for breakfast, but yeah. and for my 2nd snack would a apple + a yogurt fruit bar thing be suitable? the uncle Tobys ones?

I work in grams and kilograms in my country. so unfortunately I have no understanding what a ounce looks like

What could be unwise about having a protein shake for breakfast? Seriously, I don't get you.

You can eat pasta twice a day and stay under 1000?
Intense.

I think it's too low. When I first started on MFP I sometimes had difficulty in reaching 1,200 Kcals, but on hindsight I think I was under-logging my calories, especially as I make all my own meals and hadn't got into the whole 'recipe builder' thing yet.

Once I did, I realised that I had been underestimating my calorie intake. Now I eat about 1,700 - 1,900 kcals a day, which includes my exercise calories.

Perhaps you could spend some time going through the database finding calories per food? You say that you have no idea what an ounce of food looks like, well, google it! Find an imperial to metric convertor.

My point being I'm not sure how large each serving is in terms of calories.

I mostly think in grams rather than ounces, and there are plenty of foods on here measured in grams (or, as others have suggested, find an online converter).

Weigh your food, just for a day or two, as you prepare it. That way you'll know exactly how much you're taking in calorie-wise, and can work from there. The site allows you to enter your own recipes, so do that for the things you commonly eat and then you won't have to keep entering all the ingredients over and over again, so it doesn't take a lot of time to do.

Agreed. There's loads of online converters. (an ounce is 28 grammes and a lb is 450 grammes abouts. A cup is different, depending on the type of food, av oid anything in the database with cups when you're not used to it)
Do you have kitchen scales at home? I find especially with cereals, pastas and rices it's very easy to underestimate the portion size.

Your daily menu looks extremely boring to me, I would definitely vary a bit more.

try to eat a little something for breakfast, even if its a quick bowl of cereal (not the sugary stuff though). If im in a hurry ill just eat a banana and drink a cup of milk.

well is it wise to have a protein shake for breakfast ? Or even after a workout if I'm gonna sleep almost instantly afterwards,

i might begin to have oats with some milk for breakfast, but yeah. and for my 2nd snack would a apple + a yogurt fruit bar thing be suitable? the uncle Tobys ones?

I work in grams and kilograms in my country. so unfortunately I have no understanding what a ounce looks like

What could be unwise about having a protein shake for breakfast? Seriously, I don't get you.

Well the thing is protein does 2 things, help build muscle, but if there's nothing to repair it turns into fat?

??