WTH?? Daily Plate??
 

I started at the Daily plate today and entered in my weight loss goals and it says I should eat 940 cals per day! that can't be right!! I entered in what I ate today which was basically nothing and it exceeded that. Today I had an Atkins meal bar, two pieces of cheese, fish and veggies for dinner and some coffee. WTH?! I have been lightheaded and uncomfortable all day and this is telling me I OVERATE! I know the cheese was bad, but come on!

Maybe try another site? Like fitday or sparkpeople?

wow...940 cals per day is ridiculous

Those things should be taken with a grain of salt. Nothing bad about cheese in moderation. Dairy provides calcium and other nutrients. Try a different site, or change the settings yourself if possible.

I use the daily plate and that just doesn't seem right at all. It is probably a mistake or something. I dont really go by what they tell me I should be at either. I would definetely not ever eat less than 1200 calories a day, especially if you work out. No wonder you feel light headed!!

Don't take it too seriously.... it just told me to eat 2500 calories a day to lose 2 lbs a week. Somehow, I just don't think that's accurate!!! :dizzy:

I use The Daily Plate as just a guide. It tends to be a little "off". You can put in what you want to have for your daily calories (ie: 1600) and not rely on their calculations. Also, their calculations for exercise tend to be high.

I stay with them because I've entered a lot of my own meals and info and it would be too much of a hassle to change at this point. But, I just use it as a place to record calories and nutrients more than relying on them for any correct information as far as calorie requirements.

Thanks all for the input. I was a bit surprised at the low recs. I will go make changes and ignore the generated amount. I have a hard time eating as it is and know there are many days I don't get more than 900 cals. I also know that has always been my problem. If this as accurate I would already be skinny. LOL!

I use daily plate too. That seems a little off. What activity level did you use? I use Moderately active and it gave me a reasonable calorie goal. I still enter my own calorie goal that I figured out on my own.

I wouldn't trust that number, your body is likely to go into starvation mode on that low of calories. Someone else suggested 1200 and I would go even higher and say 1500 calories/day minimum.

I think you should try a different site, like FitDay, and see what you get.

If you have chosen too fast a rate of loss, like 3 pounds a week or something, a program might tell you a low number of calories--but that doesn't mean you should do it. What it means is that your goal is unrealistic.

Jay

I've never gotten that low a number from TDP, at least not when I put in realistic numbers.

You are 5'2" and currently 140, looks by your ticker that you want to lose 25 more pounds. How fast did you tell it you wanted to lose that weight and what activity level did you set? My maintenance level is 1830 according to TDP, if I told it I wanted to lose 2 pounds per week it would tell me I needed to only eat 830. Like Jay said, just because it says it doesn't mean do it, it might mean the goal is a little unrealistic.

I did say 2 pounds per week with light activity (desk job). so I guess I am unrealistic in my goals. gotta move my butt more ;)

When it asked you how much you want to lose a week, what did you put? If you put something like 5 lbs - then yeah I am sure it told you 900 ish calories. It should only be 2 lbs at most. Be sure to remember that is NET calories, post workout. Honestly though, we underestimate how much we burn during the day. I have it set at 1 lb loss per week, but I have been losing more than that. Also, keep in mind that 35 lbs is a big loss (your goal on ticker) so you want to start out with a higher calorie intake so that you can lower it later for the last few lbs.
TDP is awesome otherwise. Another one that is good for beginners is myfooddiary.com I think it is $9 a month but very nice layout.
I never had luck with fitday but find the one you like and stick with it. =)

I agree that The Daily Plate is weird in its calculations. But it is still a great way to track what you eat. Trial and error is really the best way to know what your body needs. The Daily plate may not give you a good number, but it does give you a great way to track your number you do use.