am I eating too little?

wrighty11146

Hey all,

just looking for some advise on calorie deficits and eating. Im currently trying to get down from 15st down to something in the 13's and im 5ft 11.

Using my fitbit HR im on average burning 3000 odd kals a day and im eating around 1000 - 1500 kals a day. Breakfast usually mixed berrys, nuts, yogurts and oats. lunch a salad with chicken, no dressing and a normal dinner with fresh veg and usually chicken.

I have a medium fitness level so i walk to work from the train station which is usually 10 minutes each way and a bit of xbox fitness or running when I can get the time in.

Am i eating too little to actually drop the weight?

noob to all this so thanks for the help.

DemoraFairy

1000 calories a day is way too little, I mean, 1200 is the minimum recommended for a woman. You shouldn't be aiming for a deficit of more than 1000 a day, so you want to be eating at least 2000 if you're burning 3000. With 21lbs to lose (if your profile is correct) you should be aiming for a loss of 0.5-1lb/week, which means a deficit of 250-500 calories. So eating about 2500 would be fine.

That said, eating to little will never stop you losing weight. But you want to eat enough to ensure your body is fueled and you're getting enough nutrients.

Have you not been losing weight then, since you're asking if you're eating too little to drop the weight?

wrighty11146

Thanks Demora, think I might add a sammich to my lunch then haha,

I feel like im stuck at 15 st and unable to shake it is all. I start to get to 14st 11/12 but then it will just go back up.

I suppose this might explain why i feel so lethargic in the mornings ect.

DemoraFairy

How long have you been stuck for? Can you open your diary?

atypicalsmith

Do you honestly believe that eating too few calories is making you gain weight? And that eating more will make you lose weight? Are you weighing your food, or just eyeballing to decide how many calories you are eating? Two ten-minute walks a day isn't much exercise; how does your fitbit show that you are burning 3000 calories a day? Am I reading something wrong here?

wrighty11146

been a few weeks. Ive started getting back into this after going from 18st to 15st. i did stop logging my food for a while but as i want to give this a proper go Ive decided to start logging properly again.

SezxyStef

As a man the min suggested is 1500.

As for you diary...quick adds, items are not weighed...you are using measuring cups.

You are not consistently logging.

How long have you been logging? I don't see it for a full month.

If you want to lose the weight log your food accurately and consistently for at least 4 weeks and see where you are then adjust as necessary...

ETA: btw you mentioned not eating enough to lose the weight...if you eat too low you will lose fast but it won't just be fat...it will be muscle too...if you aren't losing you are eating more than you think.

wrighty11146

hey atypicalsmith im not thinking that eating too little is making me gain weight but not helping me loose it and keep it off. The fitbit is monitoring my heart rate all day and *kitten* the calorie loss for the full days activity.

wrighty11146

Thanks stef,

That was my concern. it might be as you guys are saying i am not eating enough an need to up it which I can do. Reason the diary isnt full yet is because I only started using it again a few weeks ago.

I get free lunches at work so I cant really take in scales sadly. but the Breakfast and Dinner are usually accurate. Also the quick add for lastnight was to match it to another sausage and mash I had the other week which is the same recipe.

atypicalsmith

wrighty11146 wrote: »

hey atypicalsmith im not thinking that eating too little is making me gain weight but not helping me loose it and keep it off. The fitbit is monitoring my heart rate all day and *kitten* the calorie loss for the full days activity.

But apparently you are NOT eating too little! You are obviously eating too much, and I think once you start logging, you will realize that. You might want to exchange your fitbit, as well. Your free lunches at work are probably filled with calories. I have a friend who started working at the local senior center, where the employees also got the same free lunch as the seniors. She started gaining weight like crazy, and found out that the average lunch ranged between 700 and 1100 calories, even though the food was rather bland.

wrighty11146

The lunch I get here it just like a buffet kinda thing. so there is chips and meat ect but I just have lettuce, cucumber, jalapenos, peppers, sweet corn and chicken or tuna. no dressings or out.

atypicalsmith

Buffet kind of thing? Start bringing your own lunch. Buffets typically have tons of calories, even when you think you're just eating a little.

Quasita

Just for the record, if you undereat for a long enough period of time, it WILL cause enormous gains when you do eat. I don't think it's possible that OP is only eating 1000 calories, but from personal experience, being a tall person who ate 900 calories a day when my estimate TDEE at the time was about 2800, I gained huge amounts of weight when I did eat due to adaptive thermogenesis. Those huge gains would make me cut my calories and I stayed too low for a very long time, and I'm now paying the price for that. When I started working out, my NET calories were usually negative. When I rehabbed my diet and started eating appropriately for my activity level, which was 4000-6000 a day at that point, I started dropping 4-6 pounds a week. So yes, eating too little can in its way cause gains, and eating more can cause losses.

If you want to see success, you have to be consistent. That's the truth of the matter. If you're eating a buffet, bring at least measuring cups with you. Count what you take. I had people who would get frustrated with me during salad bar time at work, because I'd sit and count out my olives or what have you, but if you really care, you do what you have to do.

psuLemon

Definitely clean up your logging practices, but even when you do that, you shouldn't be aiming for that low. If your fitbit is accurate, you should probably be aiming for 2400 calories a day. While aiming to get about .8-1g of protein and .35g -.6g of fats per lb of lean body mass. Also, I would at least look into adding some resistance training (whether it's body weight or weight lifting) as this will help with muscle retention.

DeguelloTex

Quasita wrote: »

Just for the record, if you undereat for a long enough period of time, it WILL cause enormous gains when you do eat. I don't think it's possible that OP is only eating 1000 calories, but from personal experience, being a tall person who ate 900 calories a day when my estimate TDEE at the time was about 2800, I gained huge amounts of weight when I did eat due to adaptive thermogenesis. Those huge gains would make me cut my calories and I stayed too low for a very long time, and I'm now paying the price for that. When I started working out, my NET calories were usually negative. When I rehabbed my diet and started eating appropriately for my activity level, which was 4000-6000 a day at that point, I started dropping 4-6 pounds a week. So yes, eating too little can in its way cause gains, and eating more can cause losses.

If you want to see success, you have to be consistent. That's the truth of the matter. If you're eating a buffet, bring at least measuring cups with you. Count what you take. I had people who would get frustrated with me during salad bar time at work, because I'd sit and count out my olives or what have you, but if you really care, you do what you have to do.

Wait, you're claiming you had up to a 3000 calorie a day deficit and you're critiquing someone else's deficit?

TimothyFish

Nothing wrong with a buffet, as long as you don't take too much. Portion sizes are difficult, but meat that's about the size of the palm of your hand and a couple of servings of vegetables will bring you in at about 500 calories. I don't know if you're burning 3000 calories or not, but that's a large number of calories to be burning in one day. As for whether you're eating too little or not, check the bathroom scale. If you're losing more than two pounds per week, then you're eating too little. If not, then you aren't.

Sued0nim

wrighty11146 wrote: »

Thanks stef,

That was my concern. it might be as you guys are saying i am not eating enough an need to up it which I can do. Reason the diary isnt full yet is because I only started using it again a few weeks ago.

I get free lunches at work so I cant really take in scales sadly. but the Breakfast and Dinner are usually accurate. Also the quick add for lastnight was to match it to another sausage and mash I had the other week which is the same recipe.

I get free lunches at work too .. but I still bring my own .. because it's easier to control and saves me calories for the evening and weekend

wrighty11146

well my plate usually is a handfull of chicken then the rest just greens.

editorgrrl

wrighty11146 wrote: »

Im currently trying to get down from 15st down to something in the 13's and im 5ft 11.

Using my fitbit HR im on average burning 3000 odd kals a day and im eating around 1000 - 1500 kals a day.

Your Fitbit burn is TDEE—the number of calories to maintain your current weight. If you eat at a reasonable deficit from that, you will lose weight.

Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

Enable negative calorie adjustments in your diary settings, and set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight. Follow your MFP calorie goal, eating back your adjustments.

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

wrighty11146

Thanks for that, i havnt enabled the negative calorie adjustment so ill take it from there, thanks for all the advice guys

editorgrrl

wrighty11146 wrote: »

Thanks for that, i havnt enabled the negative calorie adjustment so ill take it from there, thanks for all the advice guys

If (and only if) you enable negative calorie adjustments, eating back your adjustments means you're eating TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) minus deficit.

Trust your Fitbit for several weeks, then reevaluate your progress.