Not getting enough calories

roy987
roy987 Posts: 11 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

New to MFP. I've been logging my food intake for the past two weeks. Set myself a target of 1800 calories. However normally I tend to manage abour 1200-1500. However, I am able to meet/exceed the other parameters such as fat, carbs, protein, sugar without coming close to my target of 1800. If I try to come closer to 1800 I would drastically overshoot the other parameters.

Here's an example:

http://i42.tinypic.com/29ofuc7.jpg

As you can see, the calories are way below 1800 and if I try to reach 1800 I'd exceed everything else.

Any suggestions?

I'm an Indian. Not exactly over weight. Lost about 4 lbs in the past 2 weeks. In addition to the diet I do about 30-60 mins of cardio 4 days a week.

Cheers,

Replies

  • shalinimunjal
    shalinimunjal Posts: 192 Member
    Hello Vaibhav

    Fellow Indian..What are you trying to achieve? Are you trying to build muscle, you said you're not overweight. If you're looking to get fit, build some muscle you're going to have to eat at or above your maintenance and exercise, and eat your exercise calories. You're eating less than I am and I am a little 5 ft female. I'm sure you're taller than I am!
    Don't worry as much about the macros (protein, fat, carb ratio) at the moment. Just try to get to eat your maintenance calories.
  • roy987
    roy987 Posts: 11 Member
    Hello Vaibhav

    Fellow Indian..What are you trying to achieve? Are you trying to build muscle, you said you're not overweight. If you're looking to get fit, build some muscle you're going to have to eat at or above your maintenance and exercise, and eat your exercise calories. You're eating less than I am and I am a little 5 ft female. I'm sure you're taller than I am!
    Don't worry as much about the macros (protein, fat, carb ratio) at the moment. Just try to get to eat your maintenance calories.

    Hi Shalini,

    I'm about 5f 7" and weight around 69kg. Trying to get to around 63-65 over the next month. So not that too intense. Some muscle is the long term objective. But right now I'm just looking at getting in shape and getting rid of some flab.

    Read somewhere that the minimum calories required for the weight loss I've targeting would be around 1200-1400. Since I'm exercising as well I decided to aim around 1800 to cover the calories lost.


    Cheers,
  • atx7
    atx7 Posts: 41 Member
    edit: never mind, misread the issue
  • roy987
    roy987 Posts: 11 Member
    The amount of the macros and other components (fat, sugars, etc) are actually based on percentages--so if you eat more calories in a day, the amounts will change but the percentages will stay the same. So if you eat 1200 calories, you might be allocated 60g of protein. But if you eat 1800 calories, you're allocated 90g of protein.

    Hi,

    Yeah, I realize that. The trouble was I had set an 1800 calorie target for myself. Thereby the allocations were according to an 1800. However I am meeting/exceeding the amount of macros and other components by simply consuming 1200-1300 calories.
  • atx7
    atx7 Posts: 41 Member
    Looking at the entry you posted, you're eating too many high carb-low fat foods.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    going over on protein is a good thing, you should either change the % for protein or use it as a minimum. Looks like you could use more fat, as fat has more calories/gram then other macros. have nuts or seeds to boost your good fats.
  • healthyliving_girl
    healthyliving_girl Posts: 290 Member
    The macros are a guideline. You can change them as I actually think the carbs are too high/protein is too low.

    Just a thought...
  • roy987
    roy987 Posts: 11 Member
    Looking at the entry you posted, you're eating too many high carb-low fat foods.

    I know! That's the trouble with an Indian diet. It's full of carbs. Plus I enjoy a lot of fruits, which add to the carbs. Really can't escape the carbs. :-/
  • azwildcatfan94
    azwildcatfan94 Posts: 314 Member
    going over on protein is a good thing, you should either change the % for protein or use it as a minimum. Looks like you could use more fat, as fat has more calories/gram then other macros. have nuts or seeds to boost your good fats.

    Olives and avocados are also high in "healthy" fat. Not sure what fits in best with Indian food though.
  • shalinimunjal
    shalinimunjal Posts: 192 Member
    You can reset your macros by going into goals, change goals manually. Set them to 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fats. I am vegetarian and eat Indian most of the times..so getting that much protein is hard for me but I try! Sending you a friend request. My diary is open if you want to look :) It's far from perfect though.

    Avocados, olive oil are good sources of fat. Nuts, greek yogurt, quinoa, edamame (young soy beans) are good sources of protein for vegetarians. Along with these, switch to whole grain wherever possible and you will find carbs going down and protein going up.

    I make pilaf with quinoa or brown rice instead of white basmati. Also, you can make dosa with oatmeal! My babysitter makes it and you can't tell it's not the traditional dosa. You can buy multigrain flour in the stores now for making chapatis. Slowly but surely your diet will improve :)

    General opinion here is fruits are good so dont worry much about going over because of fruit. It's the other stuff that makes your carbs go high that needs to be worked. Definitely avoid maida because of carb content.
  • roy987
    roy987 Posts: 11 Member
    Thanks for the advice Shalini,

    Since I'm quite an avid non vegetarian increasing my proteins shouldn't be a problem! Have recently switched to olive oil. Pomace, since extra virgin didn't seem that great for cooking Indian food. Use EV for salads though. Have started have whole wheat bread for breakfast. However rotis are still continue to be the regular atta only. I guess I should try changing that as well.

    Dosa with oatmeal? That sounds interesting. I usually go for the packaged stuff. I'll check out if they have the oatmeal variant somewhere here in Delhi.

    And brown rice is something the family doesn't seem to like the taste of. So it's generally not made here. I don't eat too much rice anyway. Unless it's Rajma Chawal or if I'm ordering Chinese. Steamed rice is the usual then.

    Cheers!
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    However, I am able to meet/exceed the other parameters such as fat, carbs, protein, sugar without coming close to my target of 1800. If I try to come closer to 1800 I would drastically overshoot the other parameters.

    Here's an example:

    http://i42.tinypic.com/29ofuc7.jpg

    As you can see, the calories are way below 1800 and if I try to reach 1800 I'd exceed everything else.

    Any suggestions?

    Looking at that one example, your calories are low because your fat is low. You didn't "meet/exceed" your fat percentage. I'd try adding something with healthy fat like tree nuts, peanuts, or avocado.
  • shalinimunjal
    shalinimunjal Posts: 192 Member
    You're in Delhi?! I'm jealous!! My family is in Delhi - west (Vikaspuri) and south. Somehow I never have to worry about food when I'm visiting and still manage to easily lose weight.
    Ok - you won't find greek yogurt..you may find avocados. Try the multigrain flour..it's great!
  • roy987
    roy987 Posts: 11 Member
    You're in Delhi?! I'm jealous!! My family is in Delhi - west (Vikaspuri) and south. Somehow I never have to worry about food when I'm visiting and still manage to easily lose weight.
    Ok - you won't find greek yogurt..you may find avocados. Try the multigrain flour..it's great!

    Ha! I'm in South Delhi too.

    cheers!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories