Hi Everyone,

I have been on a clean eating diet that is lower in carbs and sugar for almost 3 months. I have PCOS so the carbs and sugar is something I really have to watch, even when eating clean. I've successfully lost almost 30 lbs since I started mid January and I feel great...but here is where I am running into some confusion...

I haven't been counting calories or anything like that...I am basically eating what fits into a clean eating diet, but is also mindful of carbs and sugar, but today I decided to download the My Fitness Pal app just to see where I was with everything. I'm not really sure how accurate this app calculates everything. It said that I needed to intake 1660 calories to lose 2 lbs a week, which I know they don't mean you will lose 2 lbs every week. I entered in all of my food for the day (not including dinner yet) and I was only at 472 calories for the day. I looked at all of my other nutrition information, and I think for someone following the life style change that I am, it looked alright. I am just wondering if I should worry about the calories being so low, or just shrug it off since these are only estimates and I am doing well with losing? I am not by any means starving myself and sometimes I even have a hard time finishing my meal because I'm full.

Sorry this was so long winded but anyone with any insight, or who has been eating clean and have some good helpful info to give me I would very much appreciate it!

What did you eat that was only 472 calories?

Could you post what you ate? That doesn't seem right. I think it would be difficult to meet all nutritional requirements at 472 calories a day. I currently eat more moderate carb (120 grams or 100 grams net carbs) but I have eaten low carb. I do really watch the added sugars. Even so, to eat at that low a calorie level on a regular basis seems concerning.

I agree with the others. What are you eating exactly? It doesn't sound right that you could be full on less than 1000 calories per day assuming you eat a huge meal.

But i can vouch for the benefit of 1650 calories for you. I started my diet at 1650 calories and lost 20 pounds in two months. And i was 179 pounds when i started. So if you can feel good on 1650 then do that.

I suspect you might have been using the wrong weights or measurements of the foods you are eating. I find one of the limitations of fitness pal is that the foods are often not listed in the type of measurements i use e.g. grams when i use a cup or tbsp and vice versa. That means i sometimes have to guess because my scales are not very accurate.

If you are using cups and tbsp remember that means a level tbsp not a heaped tbsp.

Well done on your progress so far. That's an excellent start.

Hi everyone, Sorry I havent answered your questions. I had been trying to get on the forum all day yesterday but my phone and computer saod the server was down here. You guys may be right about the measurements but I'm not sure. I haven't been tracking since that one day but this is what I ate up until before dinner:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup cooked bob reds mill gluten free oatmeal with 1/2 cup raspberries and 1/2 cup strawberries. In the oatmeal I mixed in 1/2 tsp of honey, and 1/2 Tbsp of Laura Scudder's PB. According to MFP this meal was 171 calories.

Morning Snack: 1 cup Sam's Club Fruit Salad. MFP says that is 120 calories

Lunch: 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce with 2 oz all natural boneless skinless chicken breast and 4 orangic cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup english cucumber, 1/4 haas avocado. My dressing was home made, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil. MFP says this is 181 Calories.

This adds up to 472 calories. I also drank 16 cups of water that day. For my dinner that night it was high calories so at the end of the day including my dinner it was 927 calories. The dinner I ate was a throw together meal that Indon't usually eat with eggs, spaghetti squash, onions an peppers, jalapenos, cheese, avocado and sour cream and 2 different hot sauces. I'm not too worries about the calorie count if I am eating and staying full, I just wasn't sure how bad this is for my weightloss. Thank you all for your help.

Sam, i don't know what you are doing wrong but just to double check, i put in the chicken, avocado and olive oil and got 187. I know the rest of the meal wouldn't add too much to that but i don't believe all what you've eaten is below 1000 calories.

I think what are eating sounds fine. Just keep doing that and so long as you are losing and not starving yourself, then its probably fine.

When your weight gets down much lower, you will need to reduce the high calorie stuff a bit probably.

I notice you are not eating dairy. You should probably think about reading up on calcium and figuring out how to get enough into your diet. If you take a supplement instead of adding dairy, ask your doctor or the pharmacist for a quality brand because not all work the same. For calcium to be absorbed you need also vitamin d and phosphorus or is it potassium. Anyway calcium is important for strong bones.

Otherwise your food choices seem pretty good.

I don't know whether like you beans, and lentils but these are also a good source of all sorts of good things including fibre, cholesterol sucking up things, protein and complex carbs And they are filling.

My days are much like yours - I eat pretty clean and my foods are filling. I often end up in the 800-1000 calorie range.

I'm still trying to figure out if it's a good or a bad thing, but I will tell you that I haven't really lost any weight in about 5 years eating this way. I just maintain, so I'm trying to increase my food just a little bit (closer to 1000 than 800) and kick up my gym routine.