Question about calories

Bowl4life87
Bowl4life87 Posts: 69
edited December 17 in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone, currently I am eating around 800-1000 calories a day it seems and my goal according to this site says 1430 a day. Is it ok that I am eating a lot less or should i be eating closer to the 1430? Because for the first two weeks that I've been on this site, I've been losing a lot of weight pretty fast surprisingly but I am not sure if I am supposed to eat closer to that number or if its ok to eat much less calories. I think it may quite be Passover and there is less for me to eat either that or I just am trying to lose the weight.
Please give me some feedback it would be appreciated!
Jenna

Replies

  • Tattoos_and_Tea
    Tattoos_and_Tea Posts: 529 Member
    You will lose wright fast eating 800 - 1000 calories a day but that sort of lifestyle isnt sustainable, trust me, been there done that! Its not a healthy way to lose weight, even if you are not feeling hungry for more caloreis you really should try. Do you eat back exercise calories? You should be eating the minimum of 1200 calories a day for your body to function properly. You will lose weight eating 1200+ calories. If the site is giving you 1430 calories then you should honestly eat close to that.
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science
  • omanitshann
    omanitshann Posts: 179
    You should be eating more. It all depends on how active you are, but even if your not very active you should be eating AT LEAST 1200.
  • Mel1959a
    Mel1959a Posts: 7
    You should never go below 1200 calories a day because your body needs that much to get all the nutrition. Generally you will lose muscle mass instead of fat and that is not what you want to do. The more nusacle you have the more fat your body will burn. So...shot for 1200 and do a little strength training. Good luck.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    You'll screw yourself up long term if you eat that little. Number one, it is extremely unhealthy. Number 2, you aren't eating enough to support your body's organ functions let alone energy to do anything else. Try to eat AT 1430, not below. Read this thread on why eating so little is not good for you:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If your goal on MFP is 1430, I would stick with that, and if you exercise eat those cals back too. So if you burn 400 cals from exercise eat 1830. Eating too little can lead to the loss of a large % of lean muscle, not just fat.

    And on a diet less than 1200 cals it is difficult to get the required macro nutrients (fat and protein), and micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals) Not getting enough of these can also lead to malnutrition.
  • LetsDoThis103
    LetsDoThis103 Posts: 85
    Look, of course you will lose weight fast and right away eating so few calories, but the problem is, it will only last a few weeks. Your body can't sustain that kind of low calorie amount and will go more quickly into starvation mode- conserving the energy you do eat, and holding onto it, so that you will stop losing first as rapidly as now, and then you will plateau. For a long term weight loss, you should really increase your calories now, it will pay off later. Also, I was strict with the calorie amount on here and at some point became a bit less disciplined and started going 1-200 calories above my limit every day (I also started running, which may have made me much hungrier despite the added exercise calories). Anyway, I changed my weight loss goal from 2 pounds a week to 1 pound a week, my calorie limit went up, and I started losing more weight than on the lower calorie limit.
  • bohlben
    bohlben Posts: 1 Member
    you need to eat more... taking in that few of calories will shut your metabolism off and you will store every calorie that you take in. You need to fuel the body in order to burn calories. You will soon start to lose muscle tissue due to your body using it for energy. I would set up your goals on the site and follow the amounts it tells you to take in for the day. Make sure you are getting your protein and carbs, your body will than use those for energy rather than using up muscle tissue. Make sure that the calories you are taking in are healthy calories and continue working hard.
  • ksanchez311
    ksanchez311 Posts: 31
    YOU HAVE TO EAT MORE!!!!! Trust me, I have been there and back and you will eventually stop losing and hit a plateau (not to mention this is dangerous because you may end up extremely malnourished). This is because your metabolism will basically shut off and will stop burning fat. The human body is constantly trying to reach a level of homeostasis. It doesn't want to lose weight. It is programmed to hold onto those "reserves" just in case food becomes scarce. Your body needs at least 1200 calories a day in order to perform it's natural functions (breathing, digestion, etc). Also keep in mind that your caloric intake should depend on the weight you are starting out at. If you eat any less, you are telling your body that food is not available and that it should hold onto what it has. I know that it is hard (REALLY HARD) to re-train your mind into believing that you need MORE calories in order to lose weight, but it's true. Not to mention I've always been a firm believer in "the faster you lose, the faster it can come back". Make sure you set up your goals on myfitnesspal and it will tell you how many calories you need to be taking in every day. AND don't forget to eat back the calories that you burn working out (this is very important, as well).
    Check our this article- it has really helped me a lot in trying to reach an appropriate level of eating right, cardio, and weight training. That is the RIGHT and HEALTHY way to lose weight. Good luck! Don't give up!

    http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html
  • Bowl4life87
    Bowl4life87 Posts: 69
    nope i dont eat the calories i burn
  • Bowl4life87
    Bowl4life87 Posts: 69
    Thank you everyone for your thoughts and opinions. I truly learned a lot from reading this. When I first joined and entered my weight at 148 it said to have 1430 cals a day. I just thought that if I ate a lot less than I could lose the weight faster but didn;t realize all the effects. I would honestly be happy losing 1-2 pounds a week. I just want to overall be healthier and get in shape.
  • Bowl4life87
    Bowl4life87 Posts: 69
    So I have a question though, how would eating more calories make you lose weight because it just seems weird to me? I believe it but it doesn't make full sense to me. Could someone explain it to me please. I'll try to eat more than I have been yesterday I ate more than 1100 calories which is better than ive been doing.
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