Please help: Calorie intake and Exercise

vgirl21

Hi, about 3-4 weeks ago I signed up at a weight loss clinic to help me lose weight. I started at 142 and the first week I went down to 138, 2nd week 135, third week 133, fourth week 131. That is where I am now. I am averaging 2 pounds a week. I get B12 and Lipotropic injections twice a week. The doctor put me on a 1200 day calorie intake diet plus exercise. I am also on weight loss supplements such as phentermine, a fat burner, crave controller and water pill. (I am on my last week of phentermine)

Since I am on such a low calorie diet I have used My Fitness Pal to try to get all of my nutrition that has been set for my goal. I have done pretty well getting 100 percent from everything to protein, fiber, potassium, calcium, fats and carbohydrates...and so on. Not always but I am working on becoming more educated with foods to try to get this nutrition for my body.

Problem: I have been doing my research and have read that a woman should not go under 1200 calories a day (which is good cuz I love food and want to do this without making myself sick). However, I have been researching and found that if I eat 1200 calories a day and workout and burn let's say 500 calories from exercise, I am actually only getting 700 calories to live on!

1. Why would my doctor tell me to consume 1200 calories a day and exercise if this is bad? (Please don't say they want my money) I pay 24.95 a week for medication and shots and would gladly pay more. But if that is the case I need to rely on myself and you guys of course
2. Am I indeed fine if I eat 1200 calories and get all my daily nutritional needs from those calories. (Which I have been if MyFitnessPal is accurate.)
3,. Should I keep going with this diet if I am losing weight? I am 5'2 and currently weigh 131 pounds. Yes I am in my BMI but I am still chunky around my waist and thighs. My goal weight is 118 pounds but that is an estimate that seems healthy. Although I want to get toned so may require additional weight loss.
4, Should I wait until my weight loss starts to stall? I assume then that my body is storing fat, or retaining water and I need to consume more calories?

Please help if you can I think that if my weight loss should stall, I should take on 1500-1600 a day and burn 300-400 calories through exercise, to maintain 1200 calories a day.

Exercise: I do Tracy Anderson Continuity Mat workout and Dance Cardio. I found I lose the most weight when I do this everyday for six days a week. This is roughly an hour to an 1 1/5 hour a day workout. I am on my feet vigorously for my work 8 hours a day. I rest for 2-4 hours then do my workout around 4:30 or 5:30.

Thank you, the more comments...the more appreciation

jonnythan

In general doctors don't know a whole lot about nutrition and weight loss.

That said, the first thing I would do is talk to your doctor. Not the internet. You're receiving medical treatment. You shouldn't deviate from the physician's orders while receiving his or her care, and you certainly shouldn't listen to what any random anonymous people on the internet tell you to do while receiving medical care.

DancingMoosie

With your healthy diet and exercise plan, I don't see why you would need a weight loss plan with those injections and pills at all. Personally, I would eat more, I like to net 1300 while losing, but I guess its your choice.. As you lose most of your excess fat, you will probably need to consume a bit more than 700 net, more like 1200-1400. And you could save a bunch of money by doing it yourself without the doctor....but maybe you have a medical condition that we don't know about.

LorinaLynn

The sad fact is that not all doctors are created equal. Just like there's good driver and bad drivers, there's good doctors and bad doctors.

The problem I'm seeing, from someone who's been there, done that, then had to work to fix it, is that by focusing on the number on the scale, and aiming for fairly high weight loss each week, you're going to lose muscle. That's going to lead you to think you need to keep losing more and more weight to "tone up," when if you were instead focusing on losing body fat instead of pounds, you'd be much happier with your body sooner.

You don't have much weight to lose. That weight SHOULD come off slowly. I did it the way you're doing it, eating fairly low, and at 130 pounds, I still had back fat rolls, double chin, muffin top, etc. Losing weight this time around, eating about 1800-2000 calories a day and exercising including strength training, I was two sizes smaller at 130 pounds. I'm currently closer to 140, and still smaller than I was at 130, thanks to strength training and good nutrition.

matthewmoore09

I cannot answer the question as to why your doctor would advise ~1200. I suggest doing your own research and calculating your own daily calorie requirement. Search "daily maintenance bodybuilding". It will take you to a thread on bodybuilding.com to help you determine what you should be eating. From there average about ~500 calories below per day, over the course of a week. On days you workout, eat a little extra like -100 to -300 below daily maintenance. On rest days, eat less. Mix it up. Keep your body guessing. Clean, whole foods. And a variety of them. Stop taking those supplements, whole food is all you need. Those pills will only make you crash when you come off of them, trust me, I have been there.

If you have the willpower and desire, look into intermittent fasting (leangains.com), and EC stacks for appetite suppression and metabolic increase. EC stacks are far more effective than all of those pills you are on now, and incredibly cheaper.

Cardio is a great way to shed weight (muscle, water, and fat). Weight lifting is a great way to shed fat. The combination, with a focus on weight lifting, is ideal.

I am going to assume you are more concerned with your "mirror weight" rather than your "scale weight". If you looked the way you wanted, would 130lbs on the scale matter? Don't overdo cardio and lose muscle, it will help you achieve your "scale weight" when you are pursuing "mirror weight". Determine what your goal really is, and choose your exercise accordingly.

I am no expert. I don't have the body of some Greek god, yet. I began my journey May 2012 and spent the first year trying everything. I spent this year learning how to transform your body properly. And it is easier than all the effort I put in before and I am getting twice the results. If you have any other questions or concerns, let me know.

matthewmoore09

This. x100.