Am I eating to little?
kodachrome64
Posts: 7 Member
So I weigh 250 lbs and am 5'8 and 32 years old. I have a job where I stand and walk around all day so I added myself as lightly active when I set up the app. Now I have been eating 1200-1500 ish calories a day. The app is suggesting 1900 + adding more based on excersize data from my apple watch. I do a lot of cardio everyday now. Yesterday the app suggested I eat 2600 calories!! that seems like waaaaay to much even 1900 seems like an awful lot. In the past i ate alot of calories in a day. even then the app is suggesting. I had alot of rich food out at resturaunts. (hence the 250 lbs) but i have been comfortable in the 1200-1500 calorie range I have been in the past couple weeks. I have been sticking to it and it hasnt been killing me. should I really be eating more?
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Replies
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i should also say i set up the app with the goal of losing 2lbs a week.0
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I'm also a newbie - trying to get right target for calories.
My thinking is - whilst there are lots of calculations to work of various parameters our bodies and lives are more complicated than that.
So I'm going with a target number of calories for a month and then I'll see if I'm losing sensibly - and adjust accordingly.
That said you are saying 1200 a day which is less than I have (1400) and based on info you've given I'd have expected your target to me higher than mine. So maybe take some time to experiment and see what works and is sustainable.1 -
If you are weighing/measuring/logging correctly then as a male you should definitely not eat less than 1500 calories per day as you will be unable to get adequate nutrition. Eating the calories allotted to you by MFP is recommended, plus eating 50-75% (up to 100%) of your exercise calories. Also, you only gained weight by eating more calories than you burned, so that would have been substantially more than 1200-1500 calories per day. A couple of weeks of eating at the lower end won't kill you, however, it is not sustainable long-term.
If you are highly accurate in your calorie counting, 2600 calories is not actually that much. I ate that much today, including 550 calories I ate back from my workout & I am only 5'3 & 125 lbs!7 -
LisaEatSleepRun wrote: »If you are weighing/measuring/logging correctly then as a male you should definitely not eat less than 1500 calories per day as you will be unable to get adequate nutrition. Eating the calories allotted to you by MFP is recommended, plus eating 50-75% (up to 100%) of your exercise calories. Also, you only gained weight by eating more calories than you burned, so that would have been substantially more than 1200-1500 calories per day. A couple of weeks of eating at the lower end won't kill you, however, it is not sustainable long-term.
If you are highly accurate in your calorie counting, 2600 calories is not actually that much. I ate that much today, including 550 calories I ate back from my workout & I am only 5'3 & 125 lbs!
Ok this is 2 weeks in. btw. as i said i used to eat waaaaay more calories. past 2 weeks I have been eating at most like 1500 calories a day and often less. i really think that is accurate. I am scanning labels for alot of things. I however do want to lose like 2lbs a week. itll still take more than a year too work this fat off so I want to be aggressive0 -
For a young male your calorie goal i pretty low. I agree you may be eating more than you realize already, are you using a food scale?
Reguardless, if you dont think your apple watch it correct then the only way to find out is to stick to a plan for a few weeks and see what the results are. If you are losing close to what you expect then your numbers are correct, if not something is off. I see variable feedback as the wether pople think their gadget is accurate or not, there are alot of variables that go into that.1 -
Do you own a food scale? It is honestly the best thing you can buy for this journey! Weighing everything you eat initially is the best way to learn and gauge your calories. You can start off aggressively, many people do, just remember it is a marathon not a sprint! Even then, marathons end, maintaining a healthy weight is a lifelong commitment.2
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How much have you lost in the first two weeks? (Your results are the gold standard for determining whether you are eating too little.)0
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kodachrome64 wrote: »So I weigh 250 lbs and am 5'8 and 32 years old. I have a job where I stand and walk around all day so I added myself as lightly active when I set up the app. Now I have been eating 1200-1500 ish calories a day. The app is suggesting 1900 + adding more based on excersize data from my apple watch. I do a lot of cardio everyday now. Yesterday the app suggested I eat 2600 calories!! that seems like waaaaay to much even 1900 seems like an awful lot. In the past i ate alot of calories in a day. even then the app is suggesting. I had alot of rich food out at resturaunts. (hence the 250 lbs) but i have been comfortable in the 1200-1500 calorie range I have been in the past couple weeks. I have been sticking to it and it hasnt been killing me. should I really be eating more?
I had basically the same starting stats as you (but I'm female) my gross calories on an active day are anywhere between 2100-2700 and I have been consistently losing 1lb per week.
Trust the numbers from MFP, be conservative with those from the apple watch for 4 weeks or so (50% is a good starting point) you will know from you weight loss rate how accurate it is.
Eating 1200-1500 per day is a lot less than you need and will most likely cause you to lose a great deal of muscle along with the fat.
It may not be killing you but in the long term it can damage your health.
It can be helpful to understand how MFP calculates your calorie allowance, take a read here http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p12 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »How much have you lost in the first two weeks? (Your results are the gold standard for determining whether you are eating too little.)
6lbs0 -
1200-1500 sounds too low for a male weighing 250lbs. Like others above, I suspect your actual intake is considerably higher. I've averaged around 3lbs a week for three and a half months now from a start of 141kg (310lb) but I eat much closer to 2000 a day, frequently more. Try to be accurate in your calorie estimates, and weigh your food.0
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kodachrome64 wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »How much have you lost in the first two weeks? (Your results are the gold standard for determining whether you are eating too little.)
6lbs
That's a little fast, although in the first two weeks, some of that could be water. You might want to nudge it up 200 or 300 calories a day, and see what happens over the next two weeks. As @tinkerbellang83 pointed out, it may take a while for the effects of undereating to make themselves known, and for some of those effects, it can be too late by the time you see them.
However, I also second @LisaEatSleepRun 's question about the food scale. Often when we see people claiming to feel just fine on very-low cal diets (and for a male with your stats, 1200-1500 is very-low cal diet), it turns out that they are eating more than they think.1 -
kodachrome64 wrote: »LisaEatSleepRun wrote: »If you are weighing/measuring/logging correctly then as a male you should definitely not eat less than 1500 calories per day as you will be unable to get adequate nutrition. Eating the calories allotted to you by MFP is recommended, plus eating 50-75% (up to 100%) of your exercise calories. Also, you only gained weight by eating more calories than you burned, so that would have been substantially more than 1200-1500 calories per day. A couple of weeks of eating at the lower end won't kill you, however, it is not sustainable long-term.
If you are highly accurate in your calorie counting, 2600 calories is not actually that much. I ate that much today, including 550 calories I ate back from my workout & I am only 5'3 & 125 lbs!
Ok this is 2 weeks in. btw. as i said i used to eat waaaaay more calories. past 2 weeks I have been eating at most like 1500 calories a day and often less. i really think that is accurate. I am scanning labels for alot of things. I however do want to lose like 2lbs a week. itll still take more than a year too work this fat off so I want to be aggressive
That doesn't mean that you are accurate. If the label says a serving is 1/2 a cup and you are eating 2 cups, but only log as 1 serving, you are not accurate.
In all honesty, the fact you are 250 pounds but feel fine eating 1,200-1,500 calories a day indicates that you are likely eating more then you realize.
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kodachrome64 wrote: »LisaEatSleepRun wrote: »If you are weighing/measuring/logging correctly then as a male you should definitely not eat less than 1500 calories per day as you will be unable to get adequate nutrition. Eating the calories allotted to you by MFP is recommended, plus eating 50-75% (up to 100%) of your exercise calories. Also, you only gained weight by eating more calories than you burned, so that would have been substantially more than 1200-1500 calories per day. A couple of weeks of eating at the lower end won't kill you, however, it is not sustainable long-term.
If you are highly accurate in your calorie counting, 2600 calories is not actually that much. I ate that much today, including 550 calories I ate back from my workout & I am only 5'3 & 125 lbs!
Ok this is 2 weeks in. btw. as i said i used to eat waaaaay more calories. past 2 weeks I have been eating at most like 1500 calories a day and often less. i really think that is accurate. I am scanning labels for alot of things. I however do want to lose like 2lbs a week. itll still take more than a year too work this fat off so I want to be aggressive
That doesn't mean that you are accurate. If the label says a serving is 1/2 a cup and you are eating 2 cups, but only log as 1 serving, you are not accurate.
In all honesty, the fact you are 250 pounds but feel fine eating 1,200-1,500 calories a day indicates that you are likely eating more then you realize.
sigh yes i know how serving size works.0 -
I think if you are cooking more of your food, that is terrific. You know what is in your food and better portion control.1
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Scanning doesn't always ensure correct database entries. Neither do the "verified entry" green check mark. Sometimes they were incorrect to start with, but more likely, the food formula has changed since the entry was downloaded or created. If you're not already, double check the entry against the label to make sure they're the same.
I echo the advice given to use a food scale for all solid foods (including prepackaged foods like frozen dinners, eggs, slices of bread, etc.). And to use measuring cups and spoons for all liquids.
People are expressing real concern for your low calorie intake and it's valid. Severely undereating as you seem to be doing will lead to muscle loss as well as fat loss. And preserving lean mass is usually a goal in weight loss. MFP gave you the allowance for a reason. I know you want the weight off yesterday, but it didn't come on overnight and it won't come off that way either. The human body is a funny thing, you weight loss won't be a consistent, downward trend. Hormones, food, waste all make a difference. And you should lower your pounds per week as you get closer to your goal. Expecting to lose 2 pounds per week until you're done isn't realistic. As you get close to your goal, less than 25 pounds, a loss of .5 pound per weeks is recommend. MFP is all about losing weight healthfully and sustainably. It doesn't sound like you're doing that right now, and is really encourage you to rethink your approach and expectations.
People often feel they have to starve/drastically reduce calories to lose weight, but it's not true. Someone said on here once, "whoever loses weight and eats the most wins." And that is true.
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kodachrome64 wrote: »kodachrome64 wrote: »LisaEatSleepRun wrote: »If you are weighing/measuring/logging correctly then as a male you should definitely not eat less than 1500 calories per day as you will be unable to get adequate nutrition. Eating the calories allotted to you by MFP is recommended, plus eating 50-75% (up to 100%) of your exercise calories. Also, you only gained weight by eating more calories than you burned, so that would have been substantially more than 1200-1500 calories per day. A couple of weeks of eating at the lower end won't kill you, however, it is not sustainable long-term.
If you are highly accurate in your calorie counting, 2600 calories is not actually that much. I ate that much today, including 550 calories I ate back from my workout & I am only 5'3 & 125 lbs!
Ok this is 2 weeks in. btw. as i said i used to eat waaaaay more calories. past 2 weeks I have been eating at most like 1500 calories a day and often less. i really think that is accurate. I am scanning labels for alot of things. I however do want to lose like 2lbs a week. itll still take more than a year too work this fat off so I want to be aggressive
That doesn't mean that you are accurate. If the label says a serving is 1/2 a cup and you are eating 2 cups, but only log as 1 serving, you are not accurate.
In all honesty, the fact you are 250 pounds but feel fine eating 1,200-1,500 calories a day indicates that you are likely eating more then you realize.
sigh yes i know how serving size works.
It was mentioned because the packaging might say one thing, but the actual product might weight more or less than what's listed. It's important for weight loss (or at least somewhat important) to have a food scale so you can be accurate with what amount of food you're eating thus knowing the caloric amounts. I didn't start at 250 pounds but at 210, a woman and I began by eating 2000 or so calories. I'm currently at 163lbs and eat 1700 or so to maintain that weight. You asked if we think you're eating too little, and most of us say yes, you are. It will be beneficial for you in the long run to eat as much as you can but still lose weight, so that you can keep what musculature you have intact. But if you're doing the amount of exercise you say you are, and have an active job but don't feel like you're about to collapse then you might possibly be eating more than you think. Thus where the food scale comes in. Either way good luck.1 -
OK this morning i have a tingling sensation in my hands. I ate a little more yesterday but not much. I think this is coming from undereating (eating made it go away) possible so i am going to adjust some more.0
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Tingling in your hands resolved by eating? I never heard of that before. Someone already asked if you were using a kitchen scale to weigh your food. Well, are you?0
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kodachrome64 wrote: »OK this morning i have a tingling sensation in my hands. I ate a little more yesterday but not much. I think this is coming from undereating (eating made it go away) possible so i am going to adjust some more.
Please be kind to yourself. I'm 4'11" and lose weight eating 1400 calories, on an average day I eat between 1600 and 2000 calories a day. You are eating less than a 4'11" 120lbs woman that is losing weight think about that.1 -
kodachrome64 wrote: »So I weigh 250 lbs and am 5'8 and 32 years old. I have a job where I stand and walk around all day so I added myself as lightly active when I set up the app. Now I have been eating 1200-1500 ish calories a day. The app is suggesting 1900 + adding more based on excersize data from my apple watch. I do a lot of cardio everyday now. Yesterday the app suggested I eat 2600 calories!! that seems like waaaaay to much even 1900 seems like an awful lot. In the past i ate alot of calories in a day. even then the app is suggesting. I had alot of rich food out at resturaunts. (hence the 250 lbs) but i have been comfortable in the 1200-1500 calorie range I have been in the past couple weeks. I have been sticking to it and it hasnt been killing me. should I really be eating more?
Most apps over estimate your work outs.
Some people here suggest eating between 1/3 to 1/2 of those work out calories. Experiment.
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