Have I been losing UNhealthily?

mckennasihde

well my friends.. I think I may have been underestimating the amount of calories I need to lose weight. I have been on MFP for 43 days now.. and during that time I have been eating at a goal calorie intake of 1200. I did some research when I began my weight loss journey and even calculated my Basal Medobolic Rate and TDEE. But at the time I wasn't as concerned with losing weight in a healthy fashion and I did not heed these goals. I followed MFP's default caloric goal for a person of my size and I have lost 10lbs. My true BMR is 1364cal (that is what i need to intake just to sustain a life of being sedentary in bed all day long). My TDEE is 1876 (that is my maintenance caloric intake). My daily calories I should ACTUALLY be eating to lose body fat at a 15% reduction is 1594cal. I do 1-3 hours of light exercise each week. Until I started being concerned about the actual health aspect I have NOT been eating back the calories that I expend. I feel guilty that I have not been responsible with my health. In your opinion.. have I been losing weight unhealthily? Shall I need to do a metabolism reset? What are your thoughts?

logg1e

I understand that eating under your BMR is not a sensible thing to do. I did it for weeks, because that's what MFP calculated for me. I have not noticed any lasting effects.

I'm not sure what you mean by a metabolism reset. Why don't you just your calories to 1400?

mckennasihde

If you are curious--- here is a video I watched about resets. Start listening at about 0:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COzMKkXeiFo
The vid blogger is a avid user of MyFitnessPal. Her name is Kiki and she's very knowledgeable.

SnuggleSmacks

The whole "starvation mode" effect on metabolism is a myth. Eating at 1200 calories will not wreck your metabolism. The actual effect is called adaptive thermogenesis and it's impact is minimal. Think about the pics you see of severe anorexia victims, or people in concentration camps. Did it look their bodies went into starvation mode and stopped losing weight?

However, eating so little without being either extremely short (like, a dwarf) or under a doctor's direct supervision is a bad idea because it's very difficult to get the appropriate nutrients on so few calories, so you can end up malnourished. But then, those who pay no attention to their diets can end up malnourished on 4000 calories, also.

So definitely up your calories to an appropriate level. It will be more healthy, enjoyable and sustainable. Set your macros according to your goals (start with protein, then alter carbs/fats according to activity level, etc.) I set mine to 30% protein, 30% fat and 40% carbs, because I lift and do a bit of cardio. Set yours to the optimal level to fuel your activities, then eat what you want within those parameters.

Lasmartchika

I think you can get better answers about BMR, TDEE, and the metabolic reset in this group.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less

ETA-This is Kiki's group.

mckennasihde

Thanks for the quick and much needed advice everyone! Im just on my couch on a Sunday morning freaking out... not a big deal. lol

TimothyFish

There's nothing particularly unhealthy about eating below BMR. A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit, no matter what you are doing that burns the calories. It is, however, unhealthy to eat so little that you don't get enough vitamins and minerals. That is why it is recommended that women not eat less than 1200.

leanne0627

If you lose weight slowly its supposed to be easier to keep it off and you lose less muscle. Also why incorporating some weight lifting is so important. Unless you've been undereating for awhile though you will be fine. Just add more calories and make sure to eat under your TDEE but above your BMR.

funchords

Another reason not to undercut your TDEE by too much is when you transition back to normal eating. You don't want to be in the situation where on Monday you reach your goal and from Tuesday on, you need to eat over 1500 calories more.

Cortneyrenee04

When I first started, I had my calorie goal at 1200 as well. I stayed there for about 5 weeks with great success and I think it was a wonderful way to get started. Then I moved to 1400 or so and now I'm around 1550 since I'm more active now. No lasting negative effects for me just don't worry if you see a slight gain when you up your calories a bit.

Unknown

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