Not enough calories?

You might need to open your food diary or give us a bit more info... how many calories are you eating/day? What is your current weight? How much are you trying to loose?

Try to eat regularly throughout the day to help avoid energy dips. I eat every 2-3 hrs as a rule.

When I joined I straight away set my cals for a 2lb a week loss and was given 1200 cals. I *very* quickly discovered there was no way I could live like that even for a short time. I was going over on my cals even with including exercise and still feeling *starving* constantly. This is supposed to be a lifelong change so it has to be a level that you feel is sustainable. I put mine up just a little bit - up to 1300 instead of 1200 - and thats pretty much fine for me now I'm used to it. I do, however, *always* eat back my exercise cals. There's no way I'd survive without them!!

This is my 5th day using MFP. Ever since I've started, I have noticed that I'm faintly lightheaded and sometimes feel shaky.
I'm drinking plenty of water and using all my calories MFP has given me. So I'm wondering if the calories aren't enough for me?
Any thoughts? Oh, and I hope this is the right area to post this in.

We have no way of knowing; are your goals set to lose 1 lb per week?
Are you exercising AND eating back your exercise calories?
I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but this issue keeps coming up again and again.

Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be?
In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more.
Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount
of weight each week.

Be efficient.
Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.

Do you realize the number MFP gives you is NET cals? As in, what you're left with when you subtract exercise from what you consumed?

Let's say MFP has you at a goal of 1200 daily NET cals. That means if you burn 300 calories through exercise, you should be eating 1500.

NOTE: The deficit you need to lose is already calculated into the goal! People talk about "eating back" their exercise calories. That is NOT what you are doing when you hit your NET cal goal. For you to truly 'eat back' your exercise cals, you'd have to eat more than 1500 in the above example.

Is it just me, or should MFP really clarify this when you do your setup? I see people misunderstanding this all the time... And it's dangerous!

Aside from what others said about food, how new are you to exercising?

Do you have blood pressure or blood sugar issues? It may be best to check in with a doctor as well as you begin your journey.

Best of luck!

Check with your doctor

my calorie intake should be no more than 1200 calories im currently eating between 600 -900 calories i drink 4 pints water a day feel free add me lets reach our goals together

That is TOO LOW, omg. You are going to stall your metabolism at some point, and may risk hurting your body. /headdesk

^^^ So very true. I can't believe people do this to themselves.

It gave me 1260 calories a day. I set it to lose 2 lbs per week. I eat three meals a day. I include fruit and veggies in each meal aside from breakfast (just eat fruit w/ whole grain toast or cereal) and then I eat a main dish like chicken or pasta, sometimes a quesadilla. I do exercise each day with a 30 min aerobic video and I don't eat back the calories because I'm not sure how many calories I actually burn.

Yep, you're not eating enough. If you're not comfortable estimating how many calories you're burning, you should invest in a HRM or use a cardio machine that will get you close enough for government work. 1260 is NET, meaning what you are left with when you subtract exercise from what you ate (cals out from cals in).

If you keep eating like this, you'll end up like me. 8-10 lbs from goal, having lost a decent amount, but stalled there, or even gaining. My metabo is shot after years of WW. If you have less to lose, you'll get to that point even faster.

I'd say if you're breaking a good sweat when you exercise, you're probably burning 8-10 cals per minute. That would have you at upwards of 300, which would mean you'd need to be eating more like 1560.

It gave me 1260 calories a day. I set it to lose 2 lbs per week. I eat three meals a day. I include fruit and veggies in each meal aside from breakfast (just eat fruit w/ whole grain toast or cereal) and then I eat a main dish like chicken or pasta, sometimes a quesadilla. I do exercise each day with a 30 min aerobic video and I don't eat back the calories because I'm not sure how many calories I actually burn.

You might want to change the amount you are set to loose for now or look at how you have your activity level set! You also need to figure out how to calculate those exercise calories (use the database, HRM, etc) and eat them back

I think it depends on the person...mines is supposed to be 1270, but I never meet that goal unless I go out to eat, which I rarely do. I normally get to 1,000 calories or less. I don't like to eat that much anyway and when you are eating healthy food you really don't have to eat as much. I don't get light headed or anything crazy and I am losing weight at a normal rate.