Question on daily food amounts page

[tec1207]

Basically, a question of calories. I understand that this lifestyle is supposed to set me free from calorie counting, but I have been plugging in my food to fitday just to get a ball-park estimate of how I've been eating lately to make sure I am on track.

The majority of the days I was actually eating less than 800 calories. It's not like I was trying to cut calories, but I'm just a lot less hungry lately. And I have had absolutely no dizziness, lightheadedness, or fogginess/grogginess. Hooray for being a fat burner? Or am I just constantly over stressing my system with so little calories? I have started breaking out again, maybe that is a sign of stress...

So my question is: how important is it to eat within a normal range of calories? I guess my normal caloric intake should be between 1500-1800 for my age, gender and activity level, but like I said, I'm only getting about 800.

To give you a little more background information: I'm a 5'5'' female, 20 years old, running about 10 miles a week (training for a 5k), and doing a beginner body-weight routine three times a week.

Thanks in advance for any input.

[Dirlot]

800 is too low.
Are you adding oil to your foods and adding the oil to fitday?

[Kharnath]

As your nutrient stores are depleted through ongoing undernutrition, your body organs and processes break down. Digestion fails, causing potentially fatal diarrhea. Heart function slows and blood count drops, reducing the amount of circulating oxygen in your body. Oxygen deprivation impairs mental ability and muscle strength. Body tissues break down and resist repair. - LiveStrong.com

That's what happens when you starve yourself. Don't go below 1200 calories without a doctor's approval.

[trob1234]

At 800 cals you can't be getting very much fat and protein. Training that much you might start to lose muscle unless you start eating more calories. Try eating more calorie dense foods. At 5'5" what is your weight? Also like the above post make sure you are adding in any oils you are cooking with as they will add to the calories you have consumed.

[muaythaimike]

At 800 calories you can't be getting adequate nutrition that is far to low IMO. Your metabolism will definitely take a hit and so will your muscle mass. If you aren't hungry your leptin might be too low.

[tec1207]

My weight right now is around 155. I'd like to be between 135-145 again.

And I was not adding in the oils that I cook with, but still, that doesn't bump up the calories that much. :/

And I guess I also still have it in my head that I need to be a caloric deficit to lose weight. I really am not meaning to eat so little, like I said, I'm not hungry the majority of the time.

Today I have been trying to eat more, but I feel like I am overstuffing myself. Sigh.

Thanks everyone for your input. I'll keep eating more and see how it affects my performance, strength and weight. Hopefully it helps in all aspects

[duckmama]

Are you sure you're really eating that low? It's really easy to underestimate what you eat. Post a day or two of your meals.

[Dr. Bork Bork]

FitDay is bogus. Try using a site like Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com
The foods are lots easier to find and come right off the label on many foods.

[SleepyRoots]

Do add the oils. They can add a fair bit, especially if you use them reasonably liberally. Of course they can be hard to estimate in some case, as some gets left behind (frying vs soups for example).

I am also having a slight problem with my calories as well. Did follow my hunger for a while, entered the food and came in at about 50% as well. I do have to remind myself to eat if in doubt. I am very good at ignoring my appetite :P
I use fatsecret for tracking, as they have a decent range of UK stuff. Accuracy seems to be pretty ok so far where I have checked.

[tec1207]

Typically, my meals look something like this:
No breakfast
Two medium sized salmon filets cooked in coconut oil and half a sweet potato with butter and cinnamon around 1200
Usually .6-.8 lbs of some sort of meat cooked in coconut oil with easily 1.5-2 cups of vegetables around 1930

Other days it may be:
Skip breakfast
Can of salmon around 1145
.6-.8 lbs of meat cooked in coconut oil with vegetables around 1945

Fitday tells me that's under 1,000 calories. How do I know how much is right for me? Like I said before, I feel fine. No lightheadedness, no dizziness or anything like that. My workouts have been consistent, I am still making small improvements every week.

Usually I skip breakfast just to save time, and also because I'm just not hungry. I've also read a little bit on LeanGains about eating only during a certain window. I was just trying to give that a shot.

EDIT: I guess I am being a little unclear and maybe overexaggerating: most days it's under 1000, some days it's actually around 800; but the point remains the same. From everything I've been reading, even eating 1000 calories is still far too little, especially with exercising 6 days a week. Argh, I have now become obsessive about calories. Sigh. So I guess a better question is: how do you know how much to eat in a day? For me, eating only when I'm hungry leaves me at about 1,000 calories, supposedly.