Under calorie goal should I eat more?

LaurenG1219
LaurenG1219 Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So the last few days I have been about 100 calories under my targeted goal of 1200 (not including my exercise). I’m just not hungry or don’t have time to eat a snack. I’m doing 16:8 fasting because naturally I’m not a breakfast eater. Should I make myself eat more even in if im not hungry or is have a 300 ( including exercise) or so deficit under 1200 ok?

Replies

  • LaurenG1219
    LaurenG1219 Posts: 23 Member
    I’m eating a lot of protein rich foods and a lot of veggies so I’m not worried about lack of protein or nutrients I’m always in my range for that
  • melissaaridgeway
    melissaaridgeway Posts: 278 Member
    edited January 2023
    See where it gets you in 5-6 weeks. Are you still losing weight at a healthy pace of 1-2lbs a week? Do you have enough energy throughout the day? If the answer is yes, then I'm sure it's fine.

    I wouldn't drop below 1000 calories a day for health reasons. 1200 calories is already on the low side, but this is just my take on it. You definitely risk not losing weight if you don't eat enough.

    Perhaps you can incorporate higher calorie items like nut butters. Healthy too for the must part.
  • herblovinmom
    herblovinmom Posts: 443 Member
    I wouldn’t eat more unless I was hungry, in the grand scheme of things you may eat more some days and less other days and it all balances out… and this is why it’s so beneficial to log, so we can see trends and apply changes as needed to reach our goals 👍
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,261 Member
    edited January 2023
    LaurenG1219 wrote: »
    So the last few days I have been about 100 calories under my targeted goal of 1200 (not including my exercise). I’m just not hungry or don’t have time to eat a snack. I’m doing 16:8 fasting because naturally I’m not a breakfast eater. Should I make myself eat more even in if im not hungry or is have a 300 ( including exercise) or so deficit under 1200 ok?
    No, don’t eat more. Put that deficit in the bank incase you need to go over your maintenance in the near future. It will balance out the surplus.

    Without knowing your stats it’s difficult to say if 1,200 is a good amount however most people under estimate their intake even though they all say the track calories meticulously so there’s a good chance that you’re taking in more than 1,200. That’s pretty low.

    You need to include exercise in your TDEE to figure things correctly

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,688 Member
    100 under isn't a lot, but 100 + exercise under might be. Fast loss isn't necessarily a great idea: It can backfire (trigger compensatory overeating somewhere along the line, or giving up because it's too hard in the long run), and it can increase health risks.

    The key fact, as stated above, is how fast you actually lose weight on average over a few weeks (whole menstrual cycle, if that applies). One rule of thumb sometimes advocated around here is 0.5%-1% of current weight per week, with a bias toward the lower end of that unless so overweight that bodyweight itself is a health risk.

    The statistics suggest that a lot of weight loss attempts derail before reaching goal weight. Losing any meaningful amount of weight is a long-term proposition (months, maybe even years) . . . then there's the issue of maintaining the loss afterward. Sometimes a slow but relatively easy loss rate can get us to goal weight in less calendar time than an aggressive intention that leads to bouts of overeating or even to giving up for long periods of time.

    One note about nutrition: In MFP, when eating at low calories, it's possible to be spot on one's percentage split for protein or whatever, but still getting an inadequate amount of total grams of the nutrient. So, how one assesses "plenty of protein" (or another essential nutrient) matters.

    I'm not trying to be negative nanny here, but we're in "diet honeymoon" season right now. I empathize with feeling motivated and enthusiastic out of the gate, but - for myself at least - maintaining that mindset long enough to lose many tens of pounds is going to be challenging to the point of maybe being unsustainable. It's a wonderful thing to see the folks who join in January still here and losing a few months on, assuming they have a fair amount to lose.

    I don't know how much you have to lose, but it took me most of a year to lose 50+ pounds, and that was too fast (unintentionally) for a while, with some negative side effects. I feel fortunate to have reached a healthy weight and stayed in a healthy range for 7 years since.

    I'm always cheering for people to find habits that will take them sustainably all the way to goal weight, then long-term maintenance. Eating low calories can be risky, in that context.

    Best wishes!
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 921 Member
    Unless you are super petite....eating only 900 calories in the day is not safe. I'd imagine you can eat more than 1200 and still be in a deficit. Did you tell MFP you wanted to lose 2lb/week?

    Being 100-300 calories under you goal may not be a big deal as long as overall you are getting enough fuel....but at a base calorie goal of 1200 (and then burning more on top of that and not eating them back)....is likely too low (like I said, unless you're very petite).

    I understand that you may not feel hungry - but my advice would be to eat the calories you need to. MFP is *already set to a deficit if you said you wanted to lose weight so you are unintentionally creating an even larger deficit (through undereating and burning calories through activity). It is typically not going to be sustainable.
  • Rockmama1111
    Rockmama1111 Posts: 262 Member
    I don’t eat more on days I’m not hungry. I have a few 1000 calorie days scattered through my diary in the past month. I also have a few 2500 calorie days. That’s life.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    "Honeymoon phase" is a really apt descriptor! And I think that period ending is how my fifty-odd attempts at weight loss previously failed. I'd cut calories really hard, ride a high for a few weeks while quickly dropping the first 10-15 pounds, crash, get depressed and think "oh well, I guess I just have to be fat," and then my weight would creep back up, and then I'd repeat again a few months later.

    The last time, I did hit the fatigue wall, but I was being more intentional and decided to take a break for a bit and eat at maintenance (rather than give up entirely), then when I ate at a deficit again I didn't do one that was so steep, and maintained good energy levels and pretty steady loss. I had a decent amount to lose (about 80 total, I lost about 50 then got pregnant, and now am back to it with 50 to lose) and even though I haven't lost all of the baby weight yet I'm choosing to go slow this time even though I probably *could* lose faster at this stage. But I don't like how it makes me feel after that first rush, and I want to still live my life while I'm doing this.

    Sometimes I get stuck in a rut where I do stay really well within my targets and I get to the end of the day and realize I should eat more - there are things you can eat with a lot of calories that are good for you - a handful of nuts or nut butter, some cheese or other whole milk dairy. A couple of crackers with avocado. Pre-portioned out trail mix or some other treat. You could even give yourself permission to have a treat many people would call "bad" (though many seasoned MFPers would disagree and I'm inclined to their side too!) If you've been avoiding dressing, butter, etc, here's a place for them!

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