"You're not consuming enough calories"... Please help me.

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rchupka87
rchupka87 Posts: 543 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Dear GOD - Please someone help me with this. EVERY single day, I get that message when I complete my food diary. Maybe I am trying to read my goals incorrectly. Should I only be focused on Calories, or should I be watching Fat and Carbs and Protein too? I am finding it extremely difficult to reach my Caloric goal without going over in some other category... I see "FAT" and "CARBS" and they are red, and I start freaking and stop eating. I keep reading in all of the boards that everything is Calorie, and calorie defecit.

Should I ignore every thing else, and just eat my calories so my body doesn't go into starvation mode? I really don't understand.

Please help me.
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Replies

  • Smuterella
    Smuterella Posts: 1,623 Member
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    Eating enough is more important than the macros. Macros matter, but really only protein, try and meet that one.
  • MommyofLily
    MommyofLily Posts: 149 Member
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    You should open up your food diary so we can see how you're doing. I go into the red zones often on my diary and it doesn't mean that I am eating too much. You should really focus on getting enough protein, eating back exercise calories and at the very least, your daily allowance. Try to stay around your daily target for carbs/fat, but don't beat yourself up and starve if you go over. Sodium is another big thing that you should really try to stay under because it can make you gain water weight, but other than that, give yourself some flexibility!
  • shirinafshari
    shirinafshari Posts: 1
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    Okay I am having the same problem too so I always leave a extra 100 calories or so. Or maybe just regain it back through excercise. Whats important is for instance,
    Say you go over on your Protein but you have a little Carbs left over. That makes up for it in a way, because a lot of diets (like The Atkins- not something I'd recommend but you lost weight QUICK) stresses alot about lowering carbs and dramatically increasing your protein!
    Hope that helps :-)
  • TiffaniBarrett
    TiffaniBarrett Posts: 369 Member
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    Eating enough is definitely more important than the macros - but I believe that the macros are important - so I choose foods which fit both! xx
  • jenlarz
    jenlarz Posts: 813 Member
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    I know what you mean. Every day I am under on carbs and over on protein, but protein is what keeps me full. I go by calories and have been doing well so far!
  • DaltonsMom910
    DaltonsMom910 Posts: 45
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    I always try to stay under on my calories, sugar & sodium. I'm not too worried about carbs or fats, however I do try to not go over them more than 15-20g. Everyone is different, if you're still losing weight even though you're going over, that's great, but dont cheat yourself on calories b/c that is what is most important, along with protein, because you will starve your body & it will ruin your metabolism.
  • EmilyMarieMo
    EmilyMarieMo Posts: 67 Member
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    For the most part, I try to stay under calories, carbs, fat and sodium. I try to purposely overeat fiber and protein. If I do go over on the other stuff but an under on calories, I don't beat myself up about it... I just try to evaluate what it was that I ate that pushed me so high in that catagory and reevaluate that food choice.
  • talysshade
    talysshade Posts: 273 Member
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    Focus on the calories and make sure to reach that goal. The macros are a little bit weird on this website and if they don't suit the way you eat, go to the tab home, then click goals up top, change manually and change the percentages to anything that fits better.

    Personally i've upped my protein and reduced the carbs, but i'd suggest suiting it to what suits you. Never stop eating because you're over on those! Sure, don't eat too much fat, it's not really healthy, but definitely don't stop eating before you've reached at least 1200 calories.
  • maf66
    maf66 Posts: 211 Member
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    You can change your macros to suit your needs. Click on goals and change the percentages.
  • princessjarvis
    princessjarvis Posts: 97
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    I totally agree with Lisa on this one...

    Have you tried changing your FAT/CARBS/PROTEIN percentages to 40/30/30 mix, the 40 being either Carbs or Protein?
  • jeepwidow01
    jeepwidow01 Posts: 173
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    To me, eating your caloric goal (getting above 1200 min) is more important than the macros. I do track my carbs, fat, protein, and just started tracking my fiber & calcium to make sure I'm getting enough of the last two.

    If you tend to eat more fruit, you will go over in carbs. However, if you are eating a lot of pasta, bread, etc,, are you eating whole wheat/whole grain or white?

    Without seeing your diary, it is difficult to help you more, but definitely try to get your caloric intake up to around 1200 if you aren't already.

    Best of luck on your journey & feel free to friend me if you wish. :smile:
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Dear GOD - Please someone help me with this. EVERY single day, I get that message when I complete my food diary. Maybe I am trying to read my goals incorrectly. Should I only be focused on Calories, or should I be watching Fat and Carbs and Protein too? I am finding it extremely difficult to reach my Caloric goal without going over in some other category... I see "FAT" and "CARBS" and they are red, and I start freaking and stop eating. I keep reading in all of the boards that everything is Calorie, and calorie defecit.

    Should I ignore every thing else, and just eat my calories so my body doesn't go into starvation mode? I really don't understand.

    Please help me.


    Your diary is not public so we can't see if you are eating the right foods. If you are not constantly reaching your calories goal, you may not be eating the right foods, and/or not exercising much.
    Review your diary, be honest about it and ask your MFP friends, the ones that can see your food diary, to give you more inputs and recommendations.
  • Tishy78
    Tishy78 Posts: 108 Member
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    Honestly, I only focus on keeping the calories where they should be.

    I do check the other stats but I use them more as guidelines in checking out the "quality" of the food I am eating. If I'm in the red on one though, so be it :)
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Dear GOD - Please someone help me with this. EVERY single day, I get that message when I complete my food diary. Maybe I am trying to read my goals incorrectly. Should I only be focused on Calories, or should I be watching Fat and Carbs and Protein too? I am finding it extremely difficult to reach my Caloric goal without going over in some other category... I see "FAT" and "CARBS" and they are red, and I start freaking and stop eating. I keep reading in all of the boards that everything is Calorie, and calorie defecit.

    Should I ignore every thing else, and just eat my calories so my body doesn't go into starvation mode? I really don't understand.

    Please help me.

    Start by reaching your calorie goal. Once you're doing that consistently you can focus on tweaking your diet to meet your macros.
  • bella_babe_86
    bella_babe_86 Posts: 503 Member
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    If you are staying under 1200 calories but going over on fat and other things, you are eating alot empty calories, try focusing on healthier foods and leaner proteins, veggies and whole grains. This will allow you to pack more good stuff into your day without going over on your macros, except for protein its ok to be over on protein!
  • princessjarvis
    princessjarvis Posts: 97
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    You can change your macros to suit your needs. Click on goals and change the percentages.

    Great minds think alike!!

    Feel free to add me if you need any help x
  • tfancey
    tfancey Posts: 96 Member
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    Dear GOD - Please someone help me with this. EVERY single day, I get that message when I complete my food diary. Maybe I am trying to read my goals incorrectly. Should I only be focused on Calories, or should I be watching Fat and Carbs and Protein too? I am finding it extremely difficult to reach my Caloric goal without going over in some other category... I see "FAT" and "CARBS" and they are red, and I start freaking and stop eating. I keep reading in all of the boards that everything is Calorie, and calorie defecit.

    Should I ignore every thing else, and just eat my calories so my body doesn't go into starvation mode? I really don't understand.

    Please help me.


    Your diary is not public so we can't see if you are eating the right foods. If you are not constantly reaching your calories goal, you may not be eating the right foods, and/or not exercising much.
    Review your diary, be honest about it and ask your MFP friends, the ones that can see your food diary, to give you more inputs and recommendations.

    She must not be eating even 1200 calories if she's getting the message from MFP that "you're not consuming enough calories"... It has nothing to do with the right foods/exercise. I think she's asking if she should be eating 1200 calories, even if that means going over on macros.
  • MaryDreamer
    MaryDreamer Posts: 439
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    I try to keep my calories and macros in the green. It takes a while to get used to healthier food choices for this to be happen.
  • Graciecny
    Graciecny Posts: 303
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    Clearly I eat enough since I have never received that message. :noway: :laugh:

    Seriously, though, my days yo-yo. Some days I'm under by 200 calories, putting me around 1100 net, but those days are few and far between. Most days I'm right at my goal. My macros are all over the place...some days one thing is up, the next day something else is. The good news is, I think this is keeping my body confused. :laugh: When I stop dropping weight, I'll reevaluate. But I do make sure to net 1200 or so almost all the time, as I've seen a lot of posts mentioning that as a bare minimum.
  • karinaes
    karinaes Posts: 570 Member
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    just.eat.
    thanks.

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