Switching up my diet- bad idea???

Kai_Milla1

I have kept my daily diet about the same for about 6 weeks now. My calorie goal was 1200 but the past two-three weeks I tried to factor in a low carb diet into it. I do cardio everyday for about an hour and a half (stair stepper and treadmill) and not counting the strength I do that alone burns about 650-800 cals depending on my intensity that day.

I realized this week that I am eating too few calories if im working out this much- and my protein levels weren't close to meeting even 75...which I believe is my daily recommendation for my weight/height/bmi. So my questions for you all are:

1. If im not hungry am I suppose to still make myself eat?
2. I bought protein powder (Pure Protein Whey- to mix with skim milk post workout) so that it will
up my protein and cals for the day...but is it a bad idea to start this when its crunch time for
losing the rest of the weight?
3. Is it even possible to be on a low carb diet (staying under 100g a day) and get your cal amount
for the day?
4. Instead of my bigger 2-3 meals a day I am doing 5 now, 1 including my protein shake...is me eating
this much more suddenly, going to make me gain weight back? It just doesn't seem right to eat
that much if you're not hungry enough...

diannethegeek

Hunger can be a pretty poor method to determine adequate nutrition. When you undereat for a prolonged period of time your body will stop producing as many of the chemicals that tell your body to be hungry. Increasing your calories slowly and steadily can help with this.

Any time you increase your calories you'll see a slight gain on the scale. It's mostly water weight, but if it's going to bother you, again, you might try increasing your calories slowly, say 100 per week.

Meal timing has very little to do with weight loss. If you need to increase your calories, adding a meal can be a great way to do it. But if you're not comfortable or not able to eat several meals a day then it's okay to eat all of your calories in only one or two meals. Unless you have a medical condition that says otherwise, meal timing is all down to personal preference and what helps you stick to your diet.

Kai_Milla1

"Hunger can be a pretty poor method to determine adequate nutrition. When you undereat for a prolonged period of time your body will stop producing as many of the chemicals that tell your body to be hungry. Increasing your calories slowly and steadily can help with this.

Any time you increase your calories you'll see a slight gain on the scale. It's mostly water weight, but if it's going to bother you, again, you might try increasing your calories slowly, say 100 per week. "

Ok so what if I dont increase my calories...I know that I am not reaching the right amount everyday but I am also never depriving myself of food when I am hungry. When i'm hungry- I eat! So is this a bad way to be losing weight? (I am on a certain daily medicine that the side effect, no matter what type is always going to be decrease in appetite).

I have lost 16 pounds aleady, but now im not losing it as fast...do you think its from not eating so much or do you think its normal since im closer to my goal for it to be harder to lose the last 10-15 pounds.

I am all for advice and tips of all kinds-I just want to know if what I am doing is unhealthy. Thanks!

diannethegeek

It's definitely harder to lose the last 10-15 pounds and a slow down on the scale is very normal. This close to goal, most people are happy to see a 1/2 pound loss per week.

But at this point in your weight loss you also run the risk of losing muscle mass when you run a dramatic calorie deficit. Your body needs a certain amount of energy every day just to keep your organs functioning (your BMR) and even more calories to get you out of bed and moving, exercising, working, etc (your TDEE - lots of calculators on the web to look these up). It needs to find that energy somewhere and it can only get so much of it from your fat stores, especially when you don't have a huge reserve of fat anymore. When it can't get enough energy it will break down some of your lean muscle mass for energy. This, in turn, slows down your metabolism, slows down your weight loss, and makes it harder to maintain.

When you eat 1200 calories and then burn off 600 of them your body can't use those burned calories to help keep you alive. You're asking your body to function on fewer calories than the average toddler eats. In the end, though, it's up to you to decide what your priorities are.

highervibes

i eat about 100g carbs/day and I have no trouble eating 1800 calories. I would reconsider the 1200 if it were me personally.

AJ_G

I have kept my daily diet about the same for about 6 weeks now. My calorie goal was 1200 but the past two-three weeks I tried to factor in a low carb diet into it. I do cardio everyday for about an hour and a half (stair stepper and treadmill) and not counting the strength I do that alone burns about 650-800 cals depending on my intensity that day.

I realized this week that I am eating too few calories if im working out this much- and my protein levels weren't close to meeting even 75...which I believe is my daily recommendation for my weight/height/bmi. So my questions for you all are:

1. If im not hungry am I suppose to still make myself eat?
2. I bought protein powder (Pure Protein Whey- to mix with skim milk post workout) so that it will
up my protein and cals for the day...but is it a bad idea to start this when its crunch time for
losing the rest of the weight?
3. Is it even possible to be on a low carb diet (staying under 100g a day) and get your cal amount
for the day?
4. Instead of my bigger 2-3 meals a day I am doing 5 now, 1 including my protein shake...is me eating
this much more suddenly, going to make me gain weight back? It just doesn't seem right to eat
that much if you're not hungry enough...

This low of a calorie intake and this much steady state cardio everyday is a recipe for thermogenic adaptation(metabolic slowdown). An hour and a half of steady state cardio every single day is absurd and your body is going to slow it's metabolism to adapt for that cardio. This is part of the reason that long distance runners are so skinny and have very little muscle at all. Their metabolism has adapted to the high volume of steady sate cardio that they do everyday. If I were you I would stick mainly to strength training to build muscle, and if you want to do cardio, stick to HIIT or maybe a half hour of steady state cardio a few days a week. Make your goal to lower your body fat, not to lower your weight. Scale weight means very little compared to body fat percentage and how you look in the mirror.