Am I eating too little?

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GeoBaybee
GeoBaybee Posts: 69 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I am a 24yr old female who's starting weight was 161 on May 31st. I am 5'5". I am down to 140 as of today. I lead a somewhat active lifestyle. I wear an Apple Watch and it tells me that I burn around 2200-2400 calories a day. I go to the gym and do low-medium impact workouts 3-4x a week. I have been pretty strictly following 1300 calories, the most I've gotten up to during this journey is 1660 (eating back some exercise calories). I do find myself wanting more food, but not letting myself have it. I also am noticing loose skin in my midsection from 21 lb loss in 6 weeks. My goal is 115-120 lbs by fall. Should I be eating more, as I feel hungry a lot, or should I keep up with my current routine and I will eventually get used to it?
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    You could add a couple of hundred cals and still lose.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    In just over five weeks you have lost 21lbs - yes of course you are eating too little.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
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    21 lbs in 6 weeks? Seriously?
  • GeoBaybee
    GeoBaybee Posts: 69 Member
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    Technically 5 weeks, as I just started my 6th week yesterday, but MFP set me to 1200 calories and people from the community have reccomended eating back half of exercise calories. My exercises are only burning around 400 calories...
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    godlikepoetyes wrote: »
    21 lbs in 6 weeks? Seriously?

    Missed that bit.

    Definitely eat more....
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    GeoBaybee wrote: »
    Technically 5 weeks, as I just started my 6th week yesterday, but MFP set me to 1200 calories and people from the community have reccomended eating back half of exercise calories. My exercises are only burning around 400 calories...

    Well that was spectacularly bad advice then!

    You know you set a weight loss goal, you know you have lost far, far too fast.
    Eat more - simple as that.
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
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    If you are hungry a lot then it sounds like you need to eat more :)
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    Yes.

    If you are hungry, eat more.

    If you are losing more than 2lb per week, eat more.

    Ask yourself why you are limiting more than necessary? Because that can become a destructive habit. Your body needs food. Food is good. Food is important. Food is wonderful. And weight loss comes with bad side-effects if you do it too fast. It is not a race.

    Definitely eat more.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,898 Member
    edited July 2016
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    You're definitely undereating. With only 20-25 pounds left to lose, shoot for losing 0.5 to 1 pound per week.
  • jo_nz
    jo_nz Posts: 548 Member
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    The "eat back 50-75% of exercise calories" is just a guideline because it's hard to be really accurate in figuring out haw many extra calories the exercise is burning. Now that you have seen a trend, you can know that you are definitely burning more than 50% (because you are losing so fast).

    In your situation, I'd definitely be increasing my food intake - try eating all of those exercise calories and see how it goes.
    Remember the figures you get are only estimates based on averages, so may need adjusting for you. Aim to lose half to one pound a week and adjust the food so you are getting that - you might find it helps with the loose skin too if you loose slowly.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited July 2016
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    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    Yes.

    If you are hungry, eat more.

    If you are losing more than 2lb per week, eat more.

    Ask yourself why you are limiting more than necessary? Because that can become a destructive habit. Your body needs food. Food is good. Food is important. Food is wonderful. And weight loss comes with bad side-effects if you do it too fast. It is not a race.

    Definitely eat more.

    ^^this.
    Fall is only about 2-3 months away. Trying to lose 25 lbs by then is too aggressive of a goal for someone at your current weight. Is it more important just to see a certain number on the scale, or to develop healthy habits that you can stick with for life in order to keep the weight off? I like the idea that weight loss mode should look a lot like maintenance mode, meaning you're using your newfound knowledge in the best way possible. What you're doing currently is unstainable for the long haul.
    ETA: Loose skin is often one of those bad side effects of losing too fast, mentioned above.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
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    21 pounds in 5 weeks means you've been losing 4 pounds a week which is twice as much as the (maximum) recommended amount to lose per week is so yes you should eat more. If you can I don't see why you wouldn't :smile: I wish I could eat more lol
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    st476 wrote: »
    21 pounds in 5 weeks means you've been losing 4 pounds a week which is twice as much as the (maximum) recommended amount to lose per week is so yes you should eat more. If you can I don't see why you wouldn't :smile: I wish I could eat more lol

    I can't even fathom how that is possible even accounting for a drastic drop in carbs/water weight.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
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    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    st476 wrote: »
    21 pounds in 5 weeks means you've been losing 4 pounds a week which is twice as much as the (maximum) recommended amount to lose per week is so yes you should eat more. If you can I don't see why you wouldn't :smile: I wish I could eat more lol

    I can't even fathom how that is possible even accounting for a drastic drop in carbs/water weight.
    She would need a 2000 calorie deficit everyday, seems impossible to me for just one day, let alone all 7 days of the week for multiple weeks, but who knows
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    st476 wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    st476 wrote: »
    21 pounds in 5 weeks means you've been losing 4 pounds a week which is twice as much as the (maximum) recommended amount to lose per week is so yes you should eat more. If you can I don't see why you wouldn't :smile: I wish I could eat more lol

    I can't even fathom how that is possible even accounting for a drastic drop in carbs/water weight.
    She would need a 2000 calorie deficit everyday, seems impossible to me for just one day, let alone all 7 days of the week for multiple weeks, but who knows

    At the same height and similar weight, doing 2 a days a the gym and very strict low calorie diet, the best I was able to hit was 1.5-2lbs a week.
  • koslowkj
    koslowkj Posts: 188 Member
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    How accurate is your logging? I only ask because I'm also 24, 5'5", currently 160ish. I'm eating between 1200 and 1400 per day and I'm not losing anywhere as fast as that. I think I'm pretty accurate (although there's always room for improvement) so this makes me curious if you're actually overestimating what you're eating.
  • GeoBaybee
    GeoBaybee Posts: 69 Member
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    st476 wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    st476 wrote: »
    21 pounds in 5 weeks means you've been losing 4 pounds a week which is twice as much as the (maximum) recommended amount to lose per week is so yes you should eat more. If you can I don't see why you wouldn't :smile: I wish I could eat more lol

    I can't even fathom how that is possible even accounting for a drastic drop in carbs/water weight.
    She would need a 2000 calorie deficit everyday, seems impossible to me for just one day, let alone all 7 days of the week for multiple weeks, but who knows

    The math doesn't make sense to me either, which is why I created this post. I'm not lying about my loss, it's a genuine question that I needed advice for because I was surprised to see the scale dropping so fast. I wasn't looking for any hate or criticism. Isn't this supposed to be a place I can come for help without being torn apart by people criticizing or questioning my truth. My doctor did put me on 25 mg Lasix (diuretic) daily to reduce swelling that I've accumulated from having high blood pressure. I am new to this and thought I was doing everything right with the guidance on MFP. Thank you for those that helped me in a kind way with good advice.
  • GeoBaybee
    GeoBaybee Posts: 69 Member
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    koslowkj wrote: »
    How accurate is your logging? I only ask because I'm also 24, 5'5", currently 160ish. I'm eating between 1200 and 1400 per day and I'm not losing anywhere as fast as that. I think I'm pretty accurate (although there's always room for improvement) so this makes me curious if you're actually overestimating what you're eating.

    I think I have been logging accurately. I always try to stay well below on carbs/sugar/fat, but have been troubled with going over on sodium. The first week, I lost 6 lbs, the second week I lost 2, the 3rd week I lost 1, the 4th week I lost 4, last week I lost 8 in one week, that's when I got concerned. I didn't do anything differently last week either...
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,898 Member
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    Yes, that 8 pound loss 5 weeks in is concerning. Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    edited July 2016
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    GeoBaybee wrote: »
    st476 wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    st476 wrote: »
    21 pounds in 5 weeks means you've been losing 4 pounds a week which is twice as much as the (maximum) recommended amount to lose per week is so yes you should eat more. If you can I don't see why you wouldn't :smile: I wish I could eat more lol

    I can't even fathom how that is possible even accounting for a drastic drop in carbs/water weight.
    She would need a 2000 calorie deficit everyday, seems impossible to me for just one day, let alone all 7 days of the week for multiple weeks, but who knows

    The math doesn't make sense to me either, which is why I created this post. I'm not lying about my loss, it's a genuine question that I needed advice for because I was surprised to see the scale dropping so fast. I wasn't looking for any hate or criticism. Isn't this supposed to be a place I can come for help without being torn apart by people criticizing or questioning my truth. My doctor did put me on 25 mg Lasix (diuretic) daily to reduce swelling that I've accumulated from having high blood pressure. I am new to this and thought I was doing everything right with the guidance on MFP. Thank you for those that helped me in a kind way with good advice.

    @GeoBaybee

    No one has torn your apart. or even questioned your truth.

    You are now mentioning a prescribed diruetic which is likely the reason why you dropped some of the weight quickly which would also answer the questions people had about your calorie deficit. That fact makes all the difference.

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