Am I starving myself?

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Ezza280900
Ezza280900 Posts: 11 Member
edited October 2018 in Food and Nutrition
So I’ve been trying to lose weight for 2 weeks. I can see it in the mirror but not on the scales. I’ve been doing cardio 4x a week and weight lifting 2x times a week or more. I would normally burn around 300-500 calories a day and I normally eat. 800-1000 calories. Should I be eating more??

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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Well yes you should be eating more but how are you tracking those calories? are you using a food scale ?
  • Mithridites
    Mithridites Posts: 595 Member
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    healthybat28 wrote: »
    So I’ve been trying to lose weight for 2 weeks. I can see it in the mirror but not on the scales. I’ve been doing cardio 4x a week and weight lifting 2x times a week or more. I would normally burn around 300-500 calories a day and I normally eat. 800-1000 calories. Should I be eating more??

    Yes
  • admaarie
    admaarie Posts: 4,297 Member
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    Yes. Eat more. Also, the scale isn’t the only measure of progress - go by progress photos, how your clothes look/fit, inches lost, etc. There’s some people who start a fitness journey at last say 150 lbs, and scale weight shows they’ve only lost let’s say 10 but look completely different after strength training, etc.
  • Ezza280900
    Ezza280900 Posts: 11 Member
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    How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
    I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.
  • KarenSmith2018
    KarenSmith2018 Posts: 302 Member
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    what did MFP give you to eat for your goals when you entered your information? Aim to eat those calories, plus those given from purposful exercise. weigh your food and enter that information into MFP to gain an accurate picture on how much you are eating. do this for 4-6 weeks, tracking your measurements/take photos/weigh yourself and adjust as required.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    healthybat28 wrote: »
    How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
    I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.

    What are your stats? What is your goal?

    MFP will calculate a calorie target for you if you enter all your information and select a rate of loss. If you have less than 50 lbs to lose, 1 lb/week is an appropriate rate and if you have less than 20 lbs to lose, 0.5 lb/week is the recommended rate of loss.

    When the calorie goal is calculated it’s important to know that’s a NET calorie target, meaning it doesn’t included exercise, so that when you do exercise you’re supposed to log and eat back those calories.

    Using a food scale isn’t required but it’s the best way to ensure accuracy in logging and making sure you’re eating the right amount of calories relative to your goal. When people are frustrated that they aren’t losing at the rate they want, it almost always comes down to inaccurate logging and eating more than they think.

    Oh and yes, you need to eat more.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
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    healthybat28 wrote: »
    How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
    I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.

    If you don't weigh your food, you don't know what you're actually eating. So you're likely eating more than you think.

    Weigh your food, and keep *accurate* logs. Eat at least 1200 calories -- but a true 1200, weighed and accurately tracked.
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
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    Yes.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited October 2018
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    healthybat28 wrote: »
    How much do you think I should be aiming around, calorie wise?
    I don’t weigh my food but do keep track on what I eat daily.

    Plug your stats into MFP and see what it says. What is your height, current weight, and age. Male or female? Eat your recommended calories and start by eating back 1/2 of exercise calories earned. After about a month, adjust how many you eat back according to your one month results.

    Also, you need to weigh your food. Weigh all solids and semi solids (peanut butter, mayo, etc) and measure all liquids except water. There is no way to accurately track your calorie intake without weighing and measuring.

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