Eating less than 1,200 calories?

ghost15026

My BMR is 1616 and my TDEE is about 2,500. I guess this means I should eat around 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day? Haha this may be hard. I can't have any gluten like wheat and oats; no sugar; no rice; no chicken; no MSG or preservatives (so nothing processed), and various fruits and vegetables.

I am about 15 pounds away from my goal. I know I will have a much harder time now because I am close to my ideal weight. Is there anything I need to do differently because I am so close? Also, I have been eating a lot of carbs in my diet. Will that stunt my weight loss, or does it even matter? And will eating red meat like steak all the time be bad for my health and also hurt me in my weight loss?

First, I'm sorry to hear about your condition. I hope things change for the better. I'll help any way I can.

BMR/TDEE

Correct, you should target 1,800-2,000. A little over or under isn't an issue as these are all based on some level of estimation. Stay above BMR but below TDEE to continue to lose weight. As you can now tell with your own homework, the 1,200 calorie figure isn't applicable to your situation.

It is unlikely that you will need to do anything different as you get closer to your target weight. It tends to get harder the more weight you lose, however. As your weight drops so will your TDEE/BMR figures (weight is part of the computations). Your TDEE will also change if your activity level changes (more/less exercise and other strenuous activities).

WEIGHT LOSS

Carbs will *not* stunt your weight loss. In the simplest terms, weight loss is almost entirely due to eating less calories than your TDEE.

Net calories < TDEE = Weight Loss

Seriously, it can be made that simple. It can also be made incredibly complex depending on how much you want to micro-manage or if you have more extreme goals (like getting "ripped"). But the complexity is mostly for health, not weight reasons.

Since your dilemma involves insufficient calories I suggest you find an efficient way to get there (calorie goal). Obviously, that goes with consideration of your food restrictions. It doesn't matter if you get to your calorie goal via carbs, protein, or fat (aka Macro-nutrients) for the very short-term. Once you've found a reasonable way to get to your calorie goal (at least above BMR) , then worry about managing and balancing your macro-nutrients.

HEALTH

In other words, don't let yourself starve because that's what falling below the BMR is doing. Once you've got a grip on keeping yourself fed (calories) then start to make yourself healthy (nutrients). You will need carbs, fat, and protein in proper amounts to stay healthy. Later, manage micro-nutrients (Google).

FOOD

Make a trip to your organic/health food section. Maybe make a field trip to a Whole Foods type grocery. As you can tell, a lot of people can relate to your food restrictions (although, not necessarily the condition).

Gluten-free products are very common as this isn't an entirely uncommon issue (see Celiac disease). Check the health food isle of your grocery store. You already found Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free Oats. You can also try Gluten-Free Rice Krispies. Google "gluten-free diet" for a lot of great resources.

Note that unprocessed rice is normally gluten-free.

Sugar. Depends on the specific allergy/issue. Sucrose? Fructose? Glucose? Sugar substitutes not based on sugar such as nutra-sweet or sweet-n-low may work if sucrose is an issue. I would be wary about Splenda/sucralose since it's actually based on real sugar if that's the case. Stevia is a maybe/maybe not and may be a concern if fructose is a problem.

MSG and preservatives. Health food shopping either in a whole food type grocery or careful shopping in a regular grocery.

Seek out items with higher calories for now to get to your calorie goal. Steak has fat and protein. Cereal has carbs, fiber, and many other nutrients. It can be done. Input questions you have into Google such as "What can I eat that is Gluten free?".

Hopefully, this gives you a starting point. Good luck.

amysue_208

Thank you all so much! I really really appreciate it. I've just felt lost trying out a totally new diet! I have noticed some issues finding gluten-free things because most gluten-free things have rice! And I can't have rice! haha so frustrating......

I guess for the time being I will try to just eat a ton of food to try to get my calories up haha!

amysue_208

I wonder if it's possible to just eliminate like half of the foods I'm intolerant to for 3 months and then eliminate the other half? Do any of you know anything about this kind of thing?

ncmedic201

Try making a list of each group of foods you can eat ie protein, veggies, fruits, carbs, dairy, fats. From that you should be able to start making meals by looking up recipes. Allrecipes.com has a search feature by ingredients. You can always substitute ingredients that are on your do not eat list.

Also, I would follow your doctors orders and cut all those things out. It'll be easier later if he wants you to try and incorporate one new food in at a time.

ghost15026

I wonder if it's possible to just eliminate like half of the foods I'm intolerant to for 3 months and then eliminate the other half? Do any of you know anything about this kind of thing?

You're in uncharted territory for yourself. You know how you're feeling better than anyone else. Considering these items appear to be intolerances, rather than allergies, I don't see any reason you can't feel your way through it.

Not all intolerances are equal and the best method may very well be some trial and error. You may be able to cope with some intolerances. Eliminating the items that appear to give you the most trouble as a priority seems reasonable.

You've made it this far, after all.