Used to eat 1700/1800 calories and now i can't seem to eat past 1200!
tatianapaulino
Posts: 7 Member
I started my diet about 3 months ago, in November. Have been loosing weight steadily (about 2 kg my first month and 1,3kg the second month, wich seems good enough for me).
My fitness pal told me based on my characteristics i should be at 1200 calories NET, so thats what i have been doing.
I used to eat about 1800 calories before this deficit and i was putting on some weight, reaching 69kg at my heaviest (i'm 159cm and i didn't exercise at all before this)
I realized i was eating junk food all the time and drinking a fair amount of alcohol almost every weekend, thus why i think i was reaching those caloric numbers on average.
Now on a diet i'm eating pretty much whatever i want, but i just switched to more whole foods and i'm not drinking my calories anymore. I still eat pasta, rice, delicious sauces etc etc
But this is where i'm getting a bit worried and confused.
I started weight training a few months ago and now im feeling myself getting weaker every workout, like i don't have enough energy or strength to push myself and i'd really love to progress because i fell in love with weight lifting. (i do it 3 times a week + 2 light cardio days)
My plan was to start slowly increasing my calories every month in order to eventually someday get back to 1700 calories while weight training, to recomp my body, loose fat and build at least a little bit of muscle. I even upped my protein intake, because i realized i was getting very little.
However with all of these changes and feeling weaker, i can't seem to eat much more than 1200/1250, i feel really full all throughout the day with these calories.
Now with the pandemic, im stuck at home all day and i don't get any physical activity done at all besides my timed workouts. Could this also be influencing my lack of appetite?
Do i just have a really slow metabolism?
Am i timing my meals around my workouts wrong?
Should i try to eat more calorie dense foods? (without going back to junk food all the time)
Sorry for the long text but i'm really lost on how to past this bump!
My fitness pal told me based on my characteristics i should be at 1200 calories NET, so thats what i have been doing.
I used to eat about 1800 calories before this deficit and i was putting on some weight, reaching 69kg at my heaviest (i'm 159cm and i didn't exercise at all before this)
I realized i was eating junk food all the time and drinking a fair amount of alcohol almost every weekend, thus why i think i was reaching those caloric numbers on average.
Now on a diet i'm eating pretty much whatever i want, but i just switched to more whole foods and i'm not drinking my calories anymore. I still eat pasta, rice, delicious sauces etc etc
But this is where i'm getting a bit worried and confused.
I started weight training a few months ago and now im feeling myself getting weaker every workout, like i don't have enough energy or strength to push myself and i'd really love to progress because i fell in love with weight lifting. (i do it 3 times a week + 2 light cardio days)
My plan was to start slowly increasing my calories every month in order to eventually someday get back to 1700 calories while weight training, to recomp my body, loose fat and build at least a little bit of muscle. I even upped my protein intake, because i realized i was getting very little.
However with all of these changes and feeling weaker, i can't seem to eat much more than 1200/1250, i feel really full all throughout the day with these calories.
Now with the pandemic, im stuck at home all day and i don't get any physical activity done at all besides my timed workouts. Could this also be influencing my lack of appetite?
Do i just have a really slow metabolism?
Am i timing my meals around my workouts wrong?
Should i try to eat more calorie dense foods? (without going back to junk food all the time)
Sorry for the long text but i'm really lost on how to past this bump!
4
Replies
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Without knowing more - and man, would I ever like to know more** - I vote "more calorie dense foods". Add a few calories, see what happens. Add full fat versions of things that are currently low fat, eat some nuts or seeds, use a little more oil in cooking or dressings, have some peanut butter, eat avocados, that sort of thing. Feeling weak is a bad sign, if you ask me.
** What's your current weight? You mention net calories; what are you eating gross? What's your exercise(s) and how do you estimate those calories? How are your protein & fat grams now?1 -
My current weight is 66kg. At the start of my diet i was eating about 1400/1450 gross and 1250/1300 NET, and still loosing weight with those calories.
Now it's about 1200 NET and gets to about 1000/1100 gross calories.
I use my polar beat chest strap to count my exercise calories but honestly i cut them down to about half and thats what i log in on mfp, since i think what polar gives me seems too high.
I do strength training 3 times a week, mostly the basic compound movements with progressive overload, and then i do 1 to 2 days of either elliptical machine or walking, for 40 min to an hour.
My protein used to be 50/60 grams and now im eating 75/85 grams of it. My fats from what i see are about 45/50 grams on average.
I think maybe the fact that i upped my protein so much from what i was used to, must have led me to feel more satisfied in every meal, thus increasing the sensation of fullness throughout the day?
I was a big carbs girl, most of my plate used to be pasta or rice and then a little bit of meat and that was it, so maybe my body is just not used to these different portions of macros aswell?
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For other USA readers following along here, I believe OP now weighs about 145.5 pounds, and is about 5'2.5" tall - so that others can contribute without having to repeat the conversion to our oddball system, eh? 😉
I think we have a terminology difference, or maybe a typo?tatianapaulino wrote: »My current weight is 66kg. At the start of my diet i was eating about 1400/1450 gross and 1250/1300 NET, and still loosing weight with those calories.
Now it's about 1200 NET and gets to about 1000/1100 gross calories.
Gross calories eaten is the total of logged food for the day. In MFP conversational terminology, net calories eaten is those gross calories, minus exercise calories. 1200 net calories and 1000/1100 net doesn't make sense to me, in that common definition of the terminology.
At your current weight, I'd expect you to be able to lose slowly at 1200 calories, even if completely sedentary in daily life (which most people aren't), and doing no exercise. That ought to be about half a pound a week, which can take multiple weeks to show clearly on the scale, but you're getting to the point where it's probably going to be a sensibly conservative loss rate, if you still want to lose more weight.
Adding exercise ought to get you either a faster loss rate (but I wouldn't suggest much faster!) or more nutrition (which would better support your muscle-gain goal).I use my polar beat chest strap to count my exercise calories but honestly i cut them down to about half and thats what i log in on mfp, since i think what polar gives me seems too high.
I do strength training 3 times a week, mostly the basic compound movements with progressive overload, and then i do 1 to 2 days of either elliptical machine or walking, for 40 min to an hour.
If the Polar is using heart rate to estimate strength training, there's a potential for that to be an overestimate. Compare MFP's exercise database entry for "Strength Training" (under cardiovascular). If the latter is lower, I'd suggest that you use that instead. Heart rate is poorly correlated with calorie expenditure during strength training.
Moderate intensity walking or elliptical, that isn't intervals but rather steady state, should be OK to estimate based on heart rate. I'd suggest logging that that way.
I'm glad to hear you're eating back at least half your exercise calories. More would be OK, I think. If you used to eat 1700 and maintain (was that with or without exercise?), your weight change from 69 to 62kg isn't going to make a huge difference. Undereating, which can cause temporary downregulation of some physical processes (less fidgeting, slower hair growth, maybe feeling cold, etc.), might make a bit of difference, but gradually increasing calories, while continuing to exercise, might improve things if that's the case.
That's a definite improvement, but IMO more wouldn't hurt, say around 100g if you can get there. Adding some calories could help you accomplish that.My protein used to be 50/60 grams and now im eating 75/85 grams of it. My fats from what i see are about 45/50 grams on average.
I'm basing that on this:
https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
(That is not a site that sells protein supplements, BTW. They offer free research summaries, and sell more advanced nutritional guides.)I think maybe the fact that i upped my protein so much from what i was used to, must have led me to feel more satisfied in every meal, thus increasing the sensation of fullness throughout the day?
I was a big carbs girl, most of my plate used to be pasta or rice and then a little bit of meat and that was it, so maybe my body is just not used to these different portions of macros aswell?
I can understand that many people find protein filling, so that could be true. While I think you might potentially benefit from bumping up protein a bit further, it may be easier to fit in more calories (without feeling overfull) by increasing fats. (They're more calorie dense per volume; some people find them satiating, too, but hard to tell unless you experiment a bit.)
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tatianapaulino wrote: »My current weight is 66kg. At the start of my diet i was eating about 1400/1450 gross and 1250/1300 NET, and still loosing weight with those calories.
Now it's about 1200 NET and gets to about 1000/1100 gross calories.
I use my polar beat chest strap to count my exercise calories but honestly i cut them down to about half and thats what i log in on mfp, since i think what polar gives me seems too high.
I do strength training 3 times a week, mostly the basic compound movements with progressive overload, and then i do 1 to 2 days of either elliptical machine or walking, for 40 min to an hour.
My protein used to be 50/60 grams and now im eating 75/85 grams of it. My fats from what i see are about 45/50 grams on average.
I think maybe the fact that i upped my protein so much from what i was used to, must have led me to feel more satisfied in every meal, thus increasing the sensation of fullness throughout the day?
I was a big carbs girl, most of my plate used to be pasta or rice and then a little bit of meat and that was it, so maybe my body is just not used to these different portions of macros aswell?
Is there a typo here? It sure looks like you understand gross v net calories, but these numbers don't make sense.2 -
Based on your current weight and your desire for progress on your lifting, I would highly recommend upping your protein as your method to increase calories before trying stuff like higher fat/carb items. Recommendations I've seen range from .7 g up to 1.0 g per lb of body weight.1
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Sorry, I'll use imperial system as to not be confusing!
So, i think the net and gross calories don't make sense because i'm talking about daily averages, based week by week, since i only exercise 4/5 days a week.
So i'm consuming 1200 calories. I estimate my burn during a one hour weightlifting session is about 250 calories x3 times a week plus 200/250 calories from cardio 2x a week.
That means my calories from exercise can be 1150 per week, wich i divide into 7 days to make an "average" per day and it gives me 164 calories per day. So that to me is the 1000/1100 gross calories. Is my way of thinking right, here?
Is it possible i'm underestimating the exercise calories aswell? I'm not sure if polar strap is more than 50% incorrect on the calories it gives me, as it gives me like 500/600 calories burnt, and i log them manually as being 250/300 calories (my polar strap is not synched with mpf, i log the exercise manually based on what i think is the truer value, because 500 calories on weightlifting seems like a looooot to me).
To me the rate wich i'm loosing weight is perfect to me. I don't mind only loosing 2lbs a month (or even less) if it means it's sustainable for me in the long run, creates good habits and is helping me put on some muscle. Thats why i don't want to stay in this deficit long term and i want to slowly keep adding a few more calories each month.
As for adding more protein, thats my goal aswell but it's been keeping me soo full already because it was a big change for me, i think. I want to increase it but i'll do it gradually to not get so sick of it, and adjust better to it.
I've been adding a few more fats these last couple of days and its been working to get my calories up a bit, so i guess a combination of adding both fats and protein shouldn't be too bad?1 -
Oh and yes, from the week i tested logging in my maitenance calories on mfp before this diet, it was about 1700 calories on average, while i was not exercising at all at the time.0
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tatianapaulino wrote: »Sorry, I'll use imperial system as to not be confusing!
So, i think the net and gross calories don't make sense because i'm talking about daily averages, based week by week, since i only exercise 4/5 days a week.
So i'm consuming 1200 calories. I estimate my burn during a one hour weightlifting session is about 250 calories x3 times a week plus 200/250 calories from cardio 2x a week.
That means my calories from exercise can be 1150 per week, wich i divide into 7 days to make an "average" per day and it gives me 164 calories per day. So that to me is the 1000/1100 gross calories. Is my way of thinking right, here?
Is it possible i'm underestimating the exercise calories aswell? I'm not sure if polar strap is more than 50% incorrect on the calories it gives me, as it gives me like 500/600 calories burnt, and i log them manually as being 250/300 calories (my polar strap is not synched with mpf, i log the exercise manually based on what i think is the truer value, because 500 calories on weightlifting seems like a looooot to me).
To me the rate wich i'm loosing weight is perfect to me. I don't mind only loosing 2lbs a month (or even less) if it means it's sustainable for me in the long run, creates good habits and is helping me put on some muscle. Thats why i don't want to stay in this deficit long term and i want to slowly keep adding a few more calories each month.
As for adding more protein, thats my goal aswell but it's been keeping me soo full already because it was a big change for me, i think. I want to increase it but i'll do it gradually to not get so sick of it, and adjust better to it.
I've been adding a few more fats these last couple of days and its been working to get my calories up a bit, so i guess a combination of adding both fats and protein shouldn't be too bad?
If your proper goal based on non-exercise activity level is 1200, and your accurate average is 164 calories of exercise daily, you would shoot to eat 1364 calories daily to keep the same weight loss rate as at 1200 calories without the exercise. In eating terms, in that scenario, that would be 1364 gross calories to net 1200 calories.
I'm skeptical of the 200-250 calories for strength training, especially if your specific device is estimating that purely based on heart rate. Heart rate is a pretty inaccurate way to estimate strength training calories, because heart rate increases for reasons that have nothing to do with oxygen requirements, and it's oxygen requirements (not heart rate per se) that correlates with calorie burn. In moderate steady state cardio, there's a reasonable relationship between heart rate and calorie expenditure, because the heart rate and oxygen demand are fairly well correlated in most cardio modes. I think MFP's exercise database gives one of the better guesses at strength training calories,. in a world where there are no excellent estimates for that exercise type. For me, at a weight in the 120s, I'm getting 163 calories/hour from MFP's estimate.
That's really not a huge discrepancy, though.
Yeah, add protein and fats. Try to get more protein in if/when you can, but if you're undereating calories, getting them from fats is better than not getting them at all. If calorie level is behind your energy drop, that should help with that part, at least, and give you some experiential feedback. If you find drinking calories less filling than eating them, this might be a place for protein shakes, or a smoothie based on Greek yogurt, or something like that.
Just my opinions, obviously.
Wishing you good outcomes - keep letting us know how it's going, OK? 🙂1 -
Like Ann said, gross calories = base calories PLUS the calories you earn from exercise.1
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How do you know you are only eating 1200 calories? Is it food labels, guesstimating, measuring cups and spoons, a food scale? I’m sorry, I didn’t see it if it was stated.1
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I'm having a similar issue. Im having trouble making 1200 calories. I eat when I'm hungry and when food is available, and its discouraging when MFP wont let me log a diary and says I need to consume more calories. It seems unproductive to assume that the only people that need support here are consuming too many calories.1
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Thank you so much for your help, Ann! I'll let you guys know how the progress is going.1
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How do you know you are only eating 1200 calories? Is it food labels, guesstimating, measuring cups and spoons, a food scale? I’m sorry, I didn’t see it if it was stated.
I use a food scale in grams and weight everything i eat. Sometimes i even plan one or two days ahead and add it in advance to mfp to keep me on track and then i just serve myself whatever i have put in there.1 -
I'm having a similar issue. Im having trouble making 1200 calories. I eat when I'm hungry and when food is available, and its discouraging when MFP wont let me log a diary and says I need to consume more calories. It seems unproductive to assume that the only people that need support here are consuming too many calories.
How many calories have you been able to eat most days? I think more details about you and what you're eating would be helpful to get some answers from the people 1 -
tatianapaulino wrote: »I'm having a similar issue. Im having trouble making 1200 calories. I eat when I'm hungry and when food is available, and its discouraging when MFP wont let me log a diary and says I need to consume more calories. It seems unproductive to assume that the only people that need support here are consuming too many calories.
How many calories have you been able to eat most days? I think more details about you and what you're eating would be helpful to get some answers from the people
More details including your age, height, weight, how active you are on a day-to-day basis, how much exercise you do (and do you log it) and what goal did you enter when you set up your info on MFP? Also, do you weigh your food on scales and use measuring spoons for all liquids?
MFP won't let you complete your diary at less than 1000 cals and the reason for that is that you're under-eating and this site definitely doesn't encourage that. However, it's possible that you're actually eating more than you think.1 -
I'm having a similar issue. Im having trouble making 1200 calories. I eat when I'm hungry and when food is available, and its discouraging when MFP wont let me log a diary and says I need to consume more calories. It seems unproductive to assume that the only people that need support here are consuming too many calories.
Huh?
It seems like I've seen quite a few threads where people wanted to eat more but were too full or something, and folks were making suggestions to help them get in more calories/nutrition . . . and a bunch where someone was eating super-low and getting recommendations to eat at least the standard minimums, for reasons of health or to avoid the fake stalls that come from stress-related water retention, and that sort of thing.
I've posted on threads like that myself, including at least one today.
If having trouble getting adequate calories, the usual advice is to add calorie-dense but not very filling foods. What is filling differs by person, but some common recommendations are nuts, nut butters, avocados, more MUFA/PUFA fats in cooking or dressings, full-fat versions of foods the person may be consuming in low- or non-fat forms (yogurt and that sort of thing), etc. Drinking rather than eating calories (smoothies, juice, etc.) is another common recommendation in the "need more calories" scenario.
If the person eating too few calories has a (grams-based, not necessarily percent) shortage of some nutrient, they usually get advice to strive to bump that one up, maybe protein shakes if protein is too low, things like the nuts if fats are too low.2
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