Not Enough Calories

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MaryLuvsTheLamb
MaryLuvsTheLamb Posts: 98 Member
in Motivation and Support
I absolutely LOVE MFP!! I've been using it for 6 weeks and have lost 13 lbs. My target daily calories are 1,340. This past week I was eating between 900-1,000 per day and not only stopped losing weight, but gained 1.5 lbs. Just can't get that scale to move. I bumped my calories back up to about 1,250 and started drinking way more water, as I was very dehydrated. Should that help? Am I not eating enough? Thank you kindly, in advance.

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  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
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    If you are weighing with a digital scale and are sure about your calorie accuracy, then no you are not eating enough. Don't sweat weight bump-ups! It fluctuates. :)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Chances are it is water retention.

    Weight will go up with water weight close to TOM, extra sodium, exercise and stress....even meds.

    Always eat at least 1200 net calories but that isn't for anything other than being healthy and nutrition.

    if you don't lose for about 4-6 weeks...then you might be eating more than you think...

    using a food scale helps with that.

  • MaryLuvsTheLamb
    MaryLuvsTheLamb Posts: 98 Member
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    I don't have my TOM anymore, as I am 2 1/2 years into menopause, however, I'm 52 years old and take meds that cause weight gain, so I'm sort of swimming against the tide here lol
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    maryhoule47 wrote: »
    I don't have my TOM anymore, as I am 2 1/2 years into menopause, however, I'm 52 years old and take meds that cause weight gain, so I'm sort of swimming against the tide here lol

    meds don't cause weight gain but they can cause increase appetite.

    ONly thing that can cause weight gain that isn't water weight is extra calories.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Water weight if you were dehydrated
  • MaryLuvsTheLamb
    MaryLuvsTheLamb Posts: 98 Member
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    SezxyStef wrote: »
    maryhoule47 wrote: »
    I don't have my TOM anymore, as I am 2 1/2 years into menopause, however, I'm 52 years old and take meds that cause weight gain, so I'm sort of swimming against the tide here lol

    meds don't cause weight gain but they can cause increase appetite.

    ONly thing that can cause weight gain that isn't water weight is extra calories.

    Yes, you're right. Meds don't cause weight gain. It's the increased appetite that does. Thank you for pointing that out. I'm eating so healthy that I'm gonna turn into a rabbit lol Major shock to my system compared to living on oodles of junk every day.
  • Chris_cairns80
    Chris_cairns80 Posts: 18 Member
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    Some meds do slow your metabolism though which makes it harder to lose
  • alucard2010
    alucard2010 Posts: 4 Member
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    Actually eating 900 -1000 calories a day is not good for you according to WEB MD. Try to do some strength training if you can. Lean proteins are your friend in this fight.. Every pound of muscle burns about 6 extra calories a day. eating to little destroys muscle and makes weight loss even more difficult. Every 500 calories is about 1 pound lost or gained. ease into it, if you see no change then mess with your Calories, a 200 calorie increment about every 2 weeks. Weigh your food. Your not doing a sprint,its a nice endurance race
  • MaryLuvsTheLamb
    MaryLuvsTheLamb Posts: 98 Member
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    alucard2010 wrote: »
    Actually eating 900 -1000 calories a day is not good for you according to WEB MD. Try to do some strength training if you can. Lean proteins are your friend in this fight.. Every pound of muscle burns about 6 extra calories a day. eating to little destroys muscle and makes weight loss even more difficult. Every 500 calories is about 1 pound lost or gained. ease into it, if you see no change then mess with your Calories, a 200 calorie increment about every 2 weeks. Weigh your food. Your not doing a sprint,its a nice endurance race

    This lack of calories was not intentional. I have rheumatoid arthritis and am often feeling under the weather, which includes loss of appetite. I am unable to walk outside without the use of a wheelchair. I guess deep down inside, although the loss of appetite was out of my control, I thought that perhaps the lesser calories might make up for what I can't work off, but it backfired on me. A lesson learned. For the past 2 days, I have started drinking 2 liters of water and have increased my calories to a minimum of 1,250 and a maximum of 1,350. I pray that it makes a difference.
  • Dove0804
    Dove0804 Posts: 213 Member
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    Just to clear something up- there is no possible way you were gaining lbs of fat if you were actually only eating 900-1,000 calories per day. You were probably underestimating how much you were actually eating, or retaining water for one reason or another. Make sure you are counting correctly- using a food scale is the best way.
    That being said, you should not be regularly eating under 1,200 calories per day as a woman unless medically supervised (if you can help it- I know you said you weren't feeling well for a while).
  • MaryLuvsTheLamb
    MaryLuvsTheLamb Posts: 98 Member
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    Thank you for the encouragement.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    I just want to say a couple things that you probably already know anyway.

    First, the scale is going to jump around a lot and you have to try to ignore it. Which is hard because you also have to pay attention to the scale, reverse trends before they get underway, etc. It's a hard balancing act. We all struggle with it sometimes.

    My girlfriend just gained 10 lbs overnight. I gained 8 lbs. She cleaned the bottom of the scale and swept the floor and we're both back to normal. :smile: On that note, I always weigh myself naked to make sure I don't freak out if I wear jeans one day and light slacks the next, and after I poop for similar reasons.

    Finally, what matters is the long term, and it sounds like you're doing pretty well as far as that goes. It's ok to go over or under your goal every now and then as long as the trend is going in the right direction.
  • MaryLuvsTheLamb
    MaryLuvsTheLamb Posts: 98 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    I just want to say a couple things that you probably already know

    My girlfriend just gained 10 lbs overnight. I gained 8 lbs. She cleaned the bottom of the scale and swept the floor and we're both back to normal. :smile: On that note, I always weigh myself naked to make sure I don't freak out if I wear jeans one day and light slacks the next, and after I poop .

    Thank you kindly for your words of encouragement. Yeah, I weigh myself in the morning naked, after I go to the bathroom and before I eat. I am thankful that this has not discouraged me and caused me to give up, but it sure is frustrating. I think the batteries are almost dead on my scale. Not saying that's the reason, but it sounds good, right? LOL Wow! Eight pounds? Whew! That must have been a tough pill to swallow. Did it come back off? Did it take a long time?

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