What happens if you don't eat all of the calories?

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  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    dee_thurman wrote: »
    I am pretty close to my goal weight. I am not too concerned with my weight. I am more concerned with my overall health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I don't want to start eating more and more calories and put back unnecessary weight.

    11 pounds in 32 days is equivalent of nearly 2.5 lbs a week. You say you're near goal weight, and you're not at the beginning of your weight loss, so it's unlikely that there's a lot of water weight involved in this. You could eat another thousand calories a day and continue to lose at a much more appropriate rate for someone approaching their goal weight. Do you want to lose fat or muscle? Excessively high calorie deficits = unnecessarily large amounts of lean body mass lost. It seems unlikely that what you're doing is conducive to your "overall health and maintaining a health lifestyle."
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
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    dee_thurman wrote: »
    The last 32 days I have been on MFP and I have lost 11 pounds.

    That's really fast if you're near your goal. I lost 11 pounds in the past 30 days but I am over 100 lb away from a true healthy body weight. As you get closer you need to go slower to be healthy.
  • savageman69
    savageman69 Posts: 339 Member
    edited December 2015
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    dee_thurman wrote: »
    I am pretty close to my goal weight. I am not too concerned with my weight. I am more concerned with my overall health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I don't want to start eating more and more calories and put back unnecessary weight.

    11 pounds in 32 days is equivalent of nearly 2.5 lbs a week. You say you're near goal weight, and you're not at the beginning of your weight loss, so it's unlikely that there's a lot of water weight involved in this. You could eat another thousand calories a day and continue to lose at a much more appropriate rate for someone approaching their goal weight. Do you want to lose fat or muscle? Excessively high calorie deficits = unnecessarily large amounts of lean body mass lost. It seems unlikely that what you're doing is conducive to your "overall health and maintaining a health lifestyle."
    exactly...really blows my mind when people with large amounts to lose start at stupid low calories because they like to see huge losses on the scale....where do they plan to go when their body gets use to 1100 calories...900, 800? hell lets just eat an apple and thats it for the rest of our lives.

    What needs to be done is to take a step back and think, you didnt gain this large amount of weight over night..you didnt gain it because you ate over your 1200 calorie goal you have just now set. Blows my mind why anyone would want to starve from day one and increasingly starve more.....why not eat as much as you can while maintaining a .5lb a week loss?...humm better muscle retention and more food huh weird i choose this way personally
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    11 pounds in 32 days when you are close to goal will do the exact opposite of your goal " overall health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle". When you lose at too fast a rate of loss, your body will consume muscle instead of fat, as it is the easier source for it to digest. You need to up your calories now. If the thought of that causes you distress, then I highly recommend that you see a professional for an eating disorder assessment. It can't hurt.

    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/1575987-eating-disorder-resources

    Signs of Problematic Eating
    Recurring episodes of under- or overeating
    Preoccupation or distress regarding weight and frequent comparison to others
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
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    I have read your posts. I agree that I need to eat more and I am starting to consume more calories. I probably set my goal weight a little too high. My body fat percentage, I am guessing is nowhere near where it needs to be. I am not starving myself. Like I said before in my post, I am consuming a lot of food (that doesn't have a ton of calories) throughout the day, and I am not hungry. This post will motivate me to keep working out and building lean muscle while I reach my goal weight and stay there.

    I also would expect from what I have put into my body. My blood pressure is better. My heart is healthier. I have better cardio endurance and I am stronger than when I started. I did this while losing the weight. So I know I need to start eating more calories and I am probably not the example of the perfect way to lose weight. I probably lost it in an unconventional way.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    dee_thurman wrote: »
    I am not starving myself.

    Based on your rate of loss, you are pretty close to starving yourself. 11 pounds at 3500 calories per pound is a 38500 calorie deficit over a span of 32 days, so a daily average deficit of 1200 calories. Unless you are currently obese, this is way, way too big of a deficit.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    blankiefinder wrote: »
    dee_thurman wrote: »
    I am not starving myself.

    Based on your rate of loss, you are pretty close to starving yourself. 11 pounds at 3500 calories per pound is a 38500 calorie deficit over a span of 32 days, so a daily average deficit of 1200 calories. Unless you are currently obese, this is way, way too big of a deficit.

    His profile says he is male. So yeah calorie intake too low.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    Not being hungry or eating a lot of low calorie food isn't really a sign you aren't starving your self.

    I could drink coke zero all day and not feel hungry. :smiley:
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    dee_thurman wrote: »
    I have read your posts. I agree that I need to eat more and I am starting to consume more calories. I probably set my goal weight a little too high. My body fat percentage, I am guessing is nowhere near where it needs to be. I am not starving myself. Like I said before in my post, I am consuming a lot of food (that doesn't have a ton of calories) throughout the day, and I am not hungry. This post will motivate me to keep working out and building lean muscle while I reach my goal weight and stay there.

    Losing weight more rapidly than your body can convert your fat stores to energy is unlikely to improve your body fat percentage. Lose more slowly so your body can make up the deficit mostly from fat, not from lean body mass.
    And just because you don't feel hungry doesn't mean that you're providing your body with adequate nutrients.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    You'll lose weight quicker. It may not be the best for your health or mental wellbeing though
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
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    I am close to my goal and today I changed so I will only lose 1 lb per week which increased my calories by a lot. I also am going to eat back more of the calories that I burn off.
  • andyrob87
    andyrob87 Posts: 4 Member
    edited December 2015
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    I was on 1,200 calories a day, slowly increasing my calorie intake up to around 2,500 (currently at 1,900) and my weight loss and BF is dropping faster than it ever has, also combining this with heavy weight training. I also feel a lot better and hitting more nutrient goals than previously.
  • LernRach
    LernRach Posts: 286 Member
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    andyrob87 wrote: »
    I was on 1,200 calories a day, slowly increasing my calorie intake up to around 2,500 (currently at 1,900) and my weight loss and BF is dropping faster than it ever has, also combining this with heavy weight training. I also feel a lot better and hitting more nutrient goals than previously.

    you are losing more weight when you eat more? My fitbit adjustment says I can eat more, I'm just scared to slow down weight loss
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
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    I have eaten around 2,000 calories a day lately. I am also jogging 7 or 8 miles and doing a body weight circuit for abut 15/20 minutes. I am going to start lifting in the mornings and eating before and after I lift and adding another snack in the day to increase calories. I have a comfort level with what I am eating. I feel good and the food tastes great. I have to start adding other healthy things throughout the day.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    dee_thurman wrote: »
    I have eaten around 2,000 calories a day lately. I am also jogging 7 or 8 miles and doing a body weight circuit for abut 15/20 minutes. I am going to start lifting in the mornings and eating before and after I lift and adding another snack in the day to increase calories. I have a comfort level with what I am eating. I feel good and the food tastes great. I have to start adding other healthy things throughout the day.

    7 miles of running is a net burn of somewhere in the neighborhood of 660 calories for a 150 pound person. Your circuit training if calculated at 5 calories above RMR per minute is another 100 .... so of that 2000 calories you claim to eat, you're netting under 1300 right off the bat.
  • dee_thurman
    dee_thurman Posts: 240 Member
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    How do you get your metabolism at a good level?

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