Only ate half my target calories! Help

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ActivePhelps
ActivePhelps Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm 5'10" 205 lbs, 27 year old male my target calories are roughly 1,400 but I only ate a little over 700. I'm not hungry at all, should I be worried? I know it's good to fluctuate calorie intake but is this ok?

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  • luciroo
    luciroo Posts: 31 Member
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    Given your age/gender/current weight, it's my opinion that your goal of 1400 is too low.....I am a 47 y.o. female who weighs around 130 lbs. and I can eat approx. 1700 calories/day and lose weight. And no I don't exercise tons! Where did you get the 1400 figure from?

    If you are having trouble eating enough try calorie dense foods such as nut butters, nuts, etc.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    Wow only 700? Are you used to eating so little? I would be concerned, and maybe see a doctor if it persists. It's true that if you starve yourself you eventually stop feeling so hungry but since you don't sound like someone with an eating disorder I'd be more worried that something is wrong.

    Are you sure you logged everything correctly? Did you measure? Sometimes we can underestimate portions to a great extent. Just to give you an idea I'm a 5'4" female, I weigh 140, and I eat almost 1500 calories per day without feeling overly full. You should be eating much more I would think.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    If this is just for one day, don't worry. If this is happening regularly, then yes, you should be worried. That is a very low calorie intake for a man.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    So I'm 5'10" 205 lbs, 27 year old male my target calories are roughly 1,400 but I only ate a little over 700. I'm not hungry at all, should I be worried? I know it's good to fluctuate calorie intake but is this ok?

    If you have been eating like that for awhile, and moving in the undesired direction, you should be worried.

    Your metabolism is probably in major slow down mode.

    Are you exercising in addition to those few calories?
  • ActivePhelps
    ActivePhelps Posts: 15
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    I do excersise, not as much as I should seeing how I am in the military. I never really tracked my before calories, so I would assume that I am just eating fuller foods with a lower calorie count. I eat, controlled portions and have snacks throughout the day. I eat a salad with everymeal, except breakfast. I think it is also cause I just started out on this new diet and haven't really found my meal plan. I am also consuming 100+ oz of water a day. You can click my profile and see my diary for the last few days. My calories have been well below the 1400 mark, but again I think I'm just trying to adjust to the start of the new diet.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Hmmm, I just had a look at a few days of your diary and it really doesn't look like you are eating enough.

    I know that we all have the expectation that we should be starving to lose weight, but the amount you are eating is just not going to be sustainable. Eating such low amounts is going to leave you feeling tired and unwell and have an impact on your job and your lifestyle and your health.

    I suggest adding a bit more food to every meal - add some wholegrain toast and peanut butter to breakfast, extra cheese or avocado to lunch, more meat or eggs or rice/pasta to dinner for example.
    Or perhaps it would work to find an eating plan for 1500 - 1800 cals/day and follow this to get some ideas of what and how much to eat each day.
  • abby1791
    abby1791 Posts: 34 Member
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    Try to eat more than 3 times a day. Like every two hours eat something high in protein and filling.

    And from that- if you're not hungry don't eat. Listen to your body. You know it better than anyone else does, including a machine putting your life into a number of calories.
  • Puffins1958
    Puffins1958 Posts: 614 Member
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    If this is just for one day, don't worry. If this is happening regularly, then yes, you should be worried. That is a very low calorie intake for a man.
    DITTO!!!! Seven hundred calories for anyone is way too low. I would definately increase it as much as you can. Is there a way you could add snacks to you everyday thing. Snacks can add on calories about 100 each, I hope that you increase your calories....
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    And from that- if you're not hungry don't eat. Listen to your body. You know it better than anyone else does, including a machine putting your life into a number of calories.

    I think for the vast majority of people that choose to use a service like this - it is precisely listening to their body and doing what they think it wants that has gotten them into trouble, to the point of needing this service to help lose weight.

    And actually medical or mental self-image problems can totally mess with what you even think your body is telling you.

    So while a philosophy that sounds good at first glance, that really doesn't pan out.
  • PrincessGlitterTush
    PrincessGlitterTush Posts: 388
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    Hey.. it doesn't look like you're eating any sort of starch - i may have missed it, but you should try eat balanced meals.. start out with chicken stir fry or a chicken wrap or tuna mayo sandwhiches.. or something. Try to consume carbs, protein and veg in all your main meals. And also add in some fruit - theyre super yummy and can help with sweet cravings if you have. If you want you can check my diary for the last 2 days - I think my goals also 1400 since coming back from holidays.

    If you have time - go do some research online, Google healthy eating plans and get some ideas for meals - mix and match until you have a meal plan you enjoy and can afford. I'm trying out a new thing these next 2 weeks as I don't have a very big budget for groceries. But I made a list of 3 different breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners and 3 different snack options. I worked out that each meal needs to be eaten 3/4 times in the next 2 weeks and I'm just marking that off now. I find this easier as trying to stick to a set meal plan doesn't work for me. Getting it right takes time though - just keep at it.
  • ActivePhelps
    ActivePhelps Posts: 15
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    See I don't know what it is, I am not hungry I eat and feel satisfied. I do grab snacks when I feel hungry but for the most part its just something that fills the hunger void, then I am satisfied again. I will switch some things up and add some calories for breakfast, since I know this meal is really low. Thanks everyone for your advice and keep the suggestions coming!
  • ActivePhelps
    ActivePhelps Posts: 15
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    Would the 100+ oz of water have any play in this, since I did just start doing all of this on Saturday?
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    How are you measuring that feta? Is that 1 cube?
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    As someone above mentioned, "listening to our bodies" and "eating when you are hungry" doesn't always do us any favours.
    So many of us (like me!) have tried so many different ways of eating over the years, that it is hardly surprising that we're not sure how and when to eat any more.

    When I started out on MFP (almost a year ago!) my objective was to record what I was eating and to get into the habit of eating a healthy amount every day - not too little (I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it up) and not too much (that was what got me overweight in the first place). Of course, you can debate all day about how much is a "healthy amount" but I would take a guess that it has to be more than 700 calories for an active man.

    I suggest that you decide how many cals to eat (start with 1400, even though this seems very low), find or make yourself an eating plan, enter your meals into your food diary the night before, then eat those meals/snacks even if you aren't really hungry.
    I don't mean you should over eat and stuff yourself, but if you can't even get in 1400 cals - then I think there could be a bigger problem and you should seek professional advice.
  • ActivePhelps
    ActivePhelps Posts: 15
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    How are you measuring that feta? Is that 1 cube?

    No it's crumbled and I believe we do 2 tbsp of it.. don't quote me on that, my wife is the one that usually puts it in the salads.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    I'd expect the cheese to be about 80-100 calories, not the 10 you have recorded.
  • ActivePhelps
    ActivePhelps Posts: 15
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    I'd expect the cheese to be about 80-100 calories, not the 10 you have recorded.

    It's 80 calories per 1/4 cup and so 2 Tbsp would equal half of the recommend serving which should bring it to 40 calories. Thanks for pointing that out. Not as big of a jump as you suggested but better than 10.
  • PrincessGlitterTush
    PrincessGlitterTush Posts: 388
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    You need to eat more either way.. anything below 1200 is not doing your body favours.. Eat the food to make up 1400 and youre body will get used to it. I read that you're jobs on the line on your profile - is this true? You can't expect to starve yourself to get to the weight you want to be at. I don't know how to put this in perspective for you. I came to this website and lost a couple of kgs in water and some in weight on a 1200 cals a day. I then stopped losing completely (have no idea why) but people suggested I up my cals - so I did that and started losing consistently since then. You're eating too little and need to have balanced meals. Start exercising more. Unfortunately there is no short cut to get your desired body without hurting yourself in some way. I'm constantly telling myself not to take certain supplements and to finish the food I've planned for the day. Trying my best not to search for detox diets and so forth. It's about consistently eating healthier. Could you eat 700 cals every day. Never have bread again, take aways, a steak? It's unrealistic and if you carry on eating this way - unfortunately you'll crash (and hopefully try something new or ) give up.

    I'm sorry that your job is on the line - it makes you want to see results much quicker. I'm not sure what your deadline is but make your weight loss realistic and achievable or you'll be setting yourself up for failure. Good Luck
  • ActivePhelps
    ActivePhelps Posts: 15
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    You need to eat more either way.. anything below 1200 is not doing your body favours.. Eat the food to make up 1400 and youre body will get used to it. I read that you're jobs on the line on your profile - is this true? You can't expect to starve yourself to get to the weight you want to be at. I don't know how to put this in perspective for you. I came to this website and lost a couple of kgs in water and some in weight on a 1200 cals a day. I then stopped losing completely (have no idea why) but people suggested I up my cals - so I did that and started losing consistently since then. You're eating too little and need to have balanced meals. Start exercising more. Unfortunately there is no short cut to get your desired body without hurting yourself in some way. I'm constantly telling myself not to take certain supplements and to finish the food I've planned for the day. Trying my best not to search for detox diets and so forth. It's about consistently eating healthier. Could you eat 700 cals every day. Never have bread again, take aways, a steak? It's unrealistic and if you carry on eating this way - unfortunately you'll crash (and hopefully try something new or ) give up.

    I'm sorry that your job is on the line - it makes you want to see results much quicker. I'm not sure what your deadline is but make your weight loss realistic and achievable or you'll be setting yourself up for failure. Good Luck

    Thanks for the encouraging words. As far as my job being on the line, I have a fitness test coming up in February and the main thing I need to focus on for that is a smaller waist line, and running the 1.5 mile faster. I'm hoping to run the 1.5 mile in around 12:00 min if not faster. As far as the waist I need to be around a 35 and I'm currently at 36. So I don't have a terrible amount of weight to lose. Also, I got my recommended calories from this site, but have been reading that this calculator can be wrong at times. I will try to bump my calories to 1500 and see how that goes for a day or two, and then adjust again from there.

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