Do I need to eat all of my calories

The idea behind not dropping below 1200 is that any less than that for the average person and your body isn't getting enough nutrition and so it will start holding on to the food it is getting (starvation mode).

I'd recommend trying to add more calorie dense foods to your meals if you aren't able to eat anuything else. There's a list on here somewhere or you could google.calorie dense foods. Is do it for you but am currently on mny phione

Your answer is based on your actual goal. Are you trying to lose weight or body fat %/gain muscle or both at the same time?

Assuming you're just going for body fat % (and not weight), you should be concerned moreso with carbs than calories (but you still enough calories to not lose weight).

But if you do have a calorie deficit for a particular day, you will most likely lose weight but it's fine as long as you're not starving yourself. Simply, if you aren't hungry, don't eat. Your body tends to panic when you go on a starvation mode and actually ends up storing fat.

Now there may be a reason why you aren't getting enough calories, it maybe your metabolism or your daily activity. If you are concerned about not losing too much weight and getting weaker, I suggest boost your metabolism by having smaller portioned meals throughout the day or you may want to exercise more.

Good luck!

I have trawled through the messages but just need an answer ....

MFP says I should eat 1200 calories per day.
Since I started 1 week ago I have only got to 1200 calories once and this was when I ate some rubbish food!!

Today I am eating:
1 x weetabix, 1 teaspoon sweetener and 50ml milk
ham sandwich with light mayo
5 x beef meatballs, 75g pasta and bolognaise sauce.

I still have almost 300 calories remaining and this is without exercise.

Do I have my calories by having crisps with my lunch or garlic bread with dinner or do I just leave it. I don't seem hungry or anything so could go without the additional foods but ARE YOU MEANT TO EAT ALL OF THE CALORIES??

I am so confused!!

Have 2 weetabix instead of one, and more milk.
Add real butter & mayo to your sandwich
Have a piece of fruit as a snack.
drink some fruit juice

it is easy to add the extra calories without increasing the bulk.

Definitely need to add in more fruits and veggies - your body needs the 1200 minimum! Easier said than done - especially when you add calories burned from your workouts!

Good luck! Start small - add another Weetabix (stay away from the chips!!!) and have some fruit and/or veggies with each meal!!

Instead of crisps or garlic bread, how about some fruit?

Try adding some fruit.

You definitely need to eat more. Houmous and vegetables is a great one, olives, full fat milk, like others are saying a dressing. A little greek salad added to your day would be good tomatoe, onion, cucumber, olive oil, mixed herbs, balsamic vinegar and a little feta. Tastes wonderful and would provide the extra calories x

Depending on what I eat for breakfast, will determine what I add with my dinner. If I had Ready Brek for breakfast, I usually have scrambled egg with my sandwich for dinner. If I am not having a sandwich I usually have my eggs for breakfast.

Like Ladyraven suggested, try using regular mayo and/or butter. It won't feel you are eating more, but the calories are pretty much hidden. You really need to eat a bit more breakfast as well. If you are using Skimmed Milk with that, you are getting like less than 100 calories for breakfast which really isn't a lot. I try to aim for around 400, maybe a bit more. You should be aiming at maybe 300 calories for each meal and 300 calories for your snacks.

Eat fruit that is higher in calories. I enjoy banana's. Depending on the size, they could range from like 70 calories to 150 calories. I tend to have one that's around 100 calories and they aren't exactly massive really.

I know a lot of people say Artificial Sweeteners are bad for you because of the ingredients that are in it, but if you have trouble keeping under your calorie goal, sweeteners are something that keeps me under. I don't use it often, maybe twice a week on my cereal. If you are having trouble reaching your goal, then you can't afford to use something that has little to no calories in it when you could go with something that has more calories in it. Sugar, Honey, etc. If you are using Skimmed Milk, switch to Semi Skimmed or Pure Whole Milk for cereals. Maybe add just another 25ml because 50ml doesn't seem like a lot. Or you can buy those yoghurts for cereal, I think they will add more calories, but they will be higher in sugar if you are worried about sugar.

With lunch, just add scrambled egg to the dish. 2 or 3 eggs does it for me, it's feel light when your eating it, but it can fill you up pretty quickly. And again, don't use low fat mayo, butter's, etc. Add just another piece of ham if you can.

With Dinner, that is probably a portion I would usually go for. Hell, I usually have less pasta than you do, but I go for a bit more meat for the protein. That seems like a decent size meal. It's just the rest of your meals seem small and really low in calories.

As for what to eat, I did not see many fruits or vegetables in your menu. Maybe add some of those - a salad with a nice olive oil dressing and some nuts? A slice of avocado on your sandwich? Fresh fruit? Veggies with hummus?

This is what I was going to suggest. If that's your food for the day, where are your fruits and vegetables? You've got carbs and fats and a little bit of protein. Steam some broccoli to go with dinner, have an apple or melon to go with lunch, some berries with breakfast. That will bring you to your calorie goal and give you the proper fruit and veg you need as well.