Too Little Calories? PLEASE HELP!
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izzyoramah920
Posts: 16 Member
Hey guys,
I have a bit of a problem! I work out 5-6 times a week (3 resistance training sessions and 4 cardio sessions) and I’m currently eating 1500 calories.i also practice Intermittent fasting (16/8 mainly). However, a lot of TDEE calculators suggest that I should be having 1800-2000 calories but I think it may be too much? I’m so afraid of regaining weight!
Any help would be great!
Thanks!
I have a bit of a problem! I work out 5-6 times a week (3 resistance training sessions and 4 cardio sessions) and I’m currently eating 1500 calories.i also practice Intermittent fasting (16/8 mainly). However, a lot of TDEE calculators suggest that I should be having 1800-2000 calories but I think it may be too much? I’m so afraid of regaining weight!
Any help would be great!
Thanks!
0
Replies
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Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?3 -
Only way to know is to try.
1800-2000 is a perfectly reasonable number for me. I don't gain on that, but you won't know unless you try.
Are you hungry frequently? How are you tracking your food? You may be eating closer to that than you think if you are just guessing on weights of food you eat.4 -
TDEE calcuators include your exercise. MFP is NEAT and does not include exercise so you will add that separately each time you perform exercise.
What did you setup your activity level in MFP?
This video gives an explanation of eating back your exercise calories.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p12 -
cmriverside wrote: »Only way to know is to try.
1800-2000 is a perfectly reasonable number for me. I don't gain on that, but you won't know unless you try.
Are you hungry frequently? How are you tracking your food? You may be eating closer to that than you think if you are just guessing on weights of food you eat.
My thoughts exactly! Why fear something that *might* happen especially when the consequences of it are so easily solved?1 -
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cmriverside wrote: »Only way to know is to try.
1800-2000 is a perfectly reasonable number for me. I don't gain on that, but you won't know unless you try.
Are you hungry frequently? How are you tracking your food? You may be eating closer to that than you think if you are just guessing on weights of food you eat.
Previously I was on 1200 calories. Then increased it to 1500 calories at the beginning of the year. I wasn’t hungry before but now I feel myself getting more hungry.
I track everything I eat along with my exercise.0 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »Only way to know is to try.
1800-2000 is a perfectly reasonable number for me. I don't gain on that, but you won't know unless you try.
Are you hungry frequently? How are you tracking your food? You may be eating closer to that than you think if you are just guessing on weights of food you eat.
Previously I was on 1200 calories. Then increased it to 1500 calories at the beginning of the year. I wasn’t hungry before but now I feel myself getting more hungry.
I track everything I eat along with my exercise.
and are you eating those exercise calories back? that's how MFP is meant to work, no point in using a tool if you're not using it properly.
3 -
Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)4 -
TDEE calcuators include your exercise. MFP is NEAT and does not include exercise so you will add that separately each time you perform exercise.
What did you setup your activity level in MFP?
This video gives an explanation of eating back your exercise calories.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1
I workout 3-5 times a week. I selected lightly active but lowered the calories because I was getting conflicting nutritional information. I saw people who were also working out frequently eating 1200-1500 calories, so I assumed anything more would be too much.
I know this sounds silly but I’m just trying to get my nutrition on the right track.0 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
If you're losing slower than expected, you're not eating too little. But if your logging isn't on point, you might be eating more than you think.
If you have 35 lbs left to get to a healthy weight, than 1 lb per week is kind of perfect.
There is no reason to worry about your calories being a little too much or too little, you just need to monitor your rate of loss over several weeks and adjust from there. In fact, it's perfectly normal to have a week where you GAIN weight sometimes (even if you are doing everything right) due to water weight fluctuations. So no panicking!
Different people lose on different calorie goals based on their height, weight, and activity level. Women here are losing weight on anywhere from 1200 - 2000+ calories.
If you are losing 1 lb per week, you really don't need to change anything. If you'd like to have a better idea of your accurate calorie numbers, it couldn't hurt to tighten up your logging and make sure the numbers you are working with are accurate. Check out this thread when you get a chance:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
And definitely check out the "sexypants" linked above too.
Good luck!8 -
I eat 2000 calories per day and still lose. I work out 5 days a week. I use a food scale and log everything to insure I'm actually eating the amount of calories I think I am.
I'm nearly 44 years old, 5'9", 185 pounds.
Eat what MFP told you to eat, PLUS exercise calories.
Another good thread to review:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p17 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
I'd drop that to 1lb/week, and eat to whatever number MFP gives you for that. 4lbs is quite good for what you have left to lose, that is inevitably going to slow down the closer you get to your goal. You might want to also look at your macros if you're finding you're hungry often, and play around with those. For example when I manage to keep my protein to around 60-80g I have an easier time staying on track, I don't feel hungry all day and I don't 'forage' for snacks or something to eat. It's a little different for everyone but that will help. Also eating back a portion of your exercise calories.2 -
MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
I'd drop that to 1lb/week, and eat to whatever number MFP gives you for that. 4lbs is quite good for what you have left to lose, that is inevitably going to slow down the closer you get to your goal. You might want to also look at your macros if you're finding you're hungry often, and play around with those. For example when I manage to keep my protein to around 60-80g I have an easier time staying on track, I don't feel hungry all day and I don't 'forage' for snacks or something to eat. It's a little different for everyone but that will help. Also eating back a portion of your exercise calories.
Okay so I dropped it down to 1lb a week and I selected lightly active. I’m nervous but I’ll try this set up for a week and adjust if I need to.
Should I also get a fitness watch or something to keep track of my activity level?
Thanks!0 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
I'd drop that to 1lb/week, and eat to whatever number MFP gives you for that. 4lbs is quite good for what you have left to lose, that is inevitably going to slow down the closer you get to your goal. You might want to also look at your macros if you're finding you're hungry often, and play around with those. For example when I manage to keep my protein to around 60-80g I have an easier time staying on track, I don't feel hungry all day and I don't 'forage' for snacks or something to eat. It's a little different for everyone but that will help. Also eating back a portion of your exercise calories.
Okay so I dropped it down to 1lb a week and I selected lightly active. I’m nervous but I’ll try this set up for a week and adjust if I need to.
Should I also get a fitness watch or something to keep track of my activity level?
Thanks!
that's a lot of protein. is there a reason you chose those macros?1 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
I'd drop that to 1lb/week, and eat to whatever number MFP gives you for that. 4lbs is quite good for what you have left to lose, that is inevitably going to slow down the closer you get to your goal. You might want to also look at your macros if you're finding you're hungry often, and play around with those. For example when I manage to keep my protein to around 60-80g I have an easier time staying on track, I don't feel hungry all day and I don't 'forage' for snacks or something to eat. It's a little different for everyone but that will help. Also eating back a portion of your exercise calories.
Okay so I dropped it down to 1lb a week and I selected lightly active. I’m nervous but I’ll try this set up for a week and adjust if I need to.
Should I also get a fitness watch or something to keep track of my activity level?
Thanks!
Do you use a food scale?
I agree with the above 1lb/week is terrific and perfect for where you are at.0 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
I'd drop that to 1lb/week, and eat to whatever number MFP gives you for that. 4lbs is quite good for what you have left to lose, that is inevitably going to slow down the closer you get to your goal. You might want to also look at your macros if you're finding you're hungry often, and play around with those. For example when I manage to keep my protein to around 60-80g I have an easier time staying on track, I don't feel hungry all day and I don't 'forage' for snacks or something to eat. It's a little different for everyone but that will help. Also eating back a portion of your exercise calories.
Okay so I dropped it down to 1lb a week and I selected lightly active. I’m nervous but I’ll try this set up for a week and adjust if I need to.
Should I also get a fitness watch or something to keep track of my activity level?
Thanks!
One week is not long enough to evaluate anything. Give it 4-6 weeks and then assess.1 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
I'd drop that to 1lb/week, and eat to whatever number MFP gives you for that. 4lbs is quite good for what you have left to lose, that is inevitably going to slow down the closer you get to your goal. You might want to also look at your macros if you're finding you're hungry often, and play around with those. For example when I manage to keep my protein to around 60-80g I have an easier time staying on track, I don't feel hungry all day and I don't 'forage' for snacks or something to eat. It's a little different for everyone but that will help. Also eating back a portion of your exercise calories.
Okay so I dropped it down to 1lb a week and I selected lightly active. I’m nervous but I’ll try this set up for a week and adjust if I need to.
Should I also get a fitness watch or something to keep track of my activity level?
Thanks!
Do you use a food scale?
I agree with the above 1lb/week is terrific and perfect for where you are at.
Yeah I use a foodscale religiously lol. I don’t trust serving sizes on some foods2 -
TavistockToad wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
I'd drop that to 1lb/week, and eat to whatever number MFP gives you for that. 4lbs is quite good for what you have left to lose, that is inevitably going to slow down the closer you get to your goal. You might want to also look at your macros if you're finding you're hungry often, and play around with those. For example when I manage to keep my protein to around 60-80g I have an easier time staying on track, I don't feel hungry all day and I don't 'forage' for snacks or something to eat. It's a little different for everyone but that will help. Also eating back a portion of your exercise calories.
Okay so I dropped it down to 1lb a week and I selected lightly active. I’m nervous but I’ll try this set up for a week and adjust if I need to.
Should I also get a fitness watch or something to keep track of my activity level?
Thanks!
that's a lot of protein. is there a reason you chose those macros?
I watched a video and the person said to start with those macros.
I actually struggle a lot to meet my daily protein goals.
Should I adjust them?0 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »izzyoramah920 wrote: »Where did you get the 1500?
If that is what MFP suggested, that is to eat BEFORE (or WITHOUT) purposeful exercise so at minimum you should be eating back the exercise calories for each of those work outs.
but also, what rate of loss did you select and how much do you plan to lose?
how long have you been eating 1500 and how much have you lost in that time?
I’m still relatively new-ish to weight loss. I got the figure from a woman with similar characteristics to me and saw that she saw a lot of results. But now that I’m learning more, that probably wasn’t a good idea.
I picked to lose 1.5 pounds a week and I have 35 pounds left to lose.
I started losing weight in September and was eating roughly 1200 calories. I lost quite a bit but decided to increase it to 1500 at the beginning of the year because I started exercising more intensely (+ was getting more hungry). I’ve lost ~4 pounds since the start of the year.
It’s a bit discouraging because I’m expecting myself to lose 1.5 pounds a week only to see less than that being lost.
I know that weight loss is slow and I’m at the middle of my journey, but I’m scared that I’m currently under-eating.
Thanks!
(Sorry for this long response)
I'd drop that to 1lb/week, and eat to whatever number MFP gives you for that. 4lbs is quite good for what you have left to lose, that is inevitably going to slow down the closer you get to your goal. You might want to also look at your macros if you're finding you're hungry often, and play around with those. For example when I manage to keep my protein to around 60-80g I have an easier time staying on track, I don't feel hungry all day and I don't 'forage' for snacks or something to eat. It's a little different for everyone but that will help. Also eating back a portion of your exercise calories.
Okay so I dropped it down to 1lb a week and I selected lightly active. I’m nervous but I’ll try this set up for a week and adjust if I need to.
Should I also get a fitness watch or something to keep track of my activity level?
Thanks!
that's a lot of protein. is there a reason you chose those macros?
I watched a video and the person said to start with those macros.
I actually struggle a lot to meet my daily protein goals.
Should I adjust them?
i would... if you cant hit them, whats the point of them?5 -
izzyoramah920 wrote: »I watched a video and the person said to start with those macros.
There are a lot of videos out there, and a lot of people telling you what you should do. Most of them are talking nonsense. Take all dietary advice with a pinch of salt!4
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