Worried that my diet is starting to affect my health

Lushchicken

Hey you guys, bit of a special case here. I'm a 35 year old woman and a wheelchair user. I got disabled 10 years ago and the pounds started piling on. This made me incredibly miserable and after a long search I found something that worked: My Fitness Pal at 1200 cals per day. I ate like that for a whole year and finally ended up with a body I can accept. However, I also knew that staying on such a low cal diet wouldn't be healthy (MFP suggests 1700 cals per day, based on height, activity levels etc.) So I went to 1300. 6 months ago I went to my doctor for a routine blood test and my iron levels showed up as too low. This has never happened to me. He was dismissive when I suggested it might be related to my diet. I'm going in for another blood test in a couple of days and am petrified of my iron levels still being too low. I've done a lot of reading and some experts seem to suggest that diet does not affect iron levels? I know that I should up my iron intake but find it hard to do so on 1300 cals. A couple of weeks ago I started getting heart palpitations (I also suffer from anxiety, so this might be related) and I now worry that the amount I eat is really screwing up my body. This makes me miserable because I want to keep my figure and I'm not sure I can go much past 1300-1400 cals without gaining weight due to my disability. It's very hard to find any kind of calorie intake suggestion for a person in my situation.
I move as much as I can. I have an adapted exercise bike for arms and legs which I use daily to get at least SOME cardio.

So yeah, I'm a bit stumped. I will address all of this with my doctor, of course. But do you think that eating 1300 could really affect my iron levels/heart? And how do I find the courage to eat more? I know it's too little because I start every day feeling nauseous because I'm starving.

Annie_01

Because of your circumstances the only advice that I have is to look in to cereals with added iron. To help with the calories you might try using something such as unsweetened almond milk with about 30 calories per cup.

General Mills Cheerios iron fortified has about 49% of the RDA for about 103 calories for a 28g serving. I am sure there are others. I use to eat cornflakes with added iron.

Good luck.

jennypapage

take a supplement or focus on iron rich foods within the calories you now eat.problem solved.if you eat more but don't eat foods high in iron,you'll still end up with the same problem.

jessiferrrb

i have low iron. i go off and on with using supplements. they're an easy over the counter solution. i mostly take them as i'm nearing my TOM because the loss of blood is big contributor for my particular case of anemia. other times if i'm starting to feel unusually lethargic i'll take the supplements for a few days then as well. i don't like to take them all the time because of the side effects.

as for eating more, up your calories slowly. try 4 weeks at 1300 and see if you're losing or maintaining. if you are still losing up them another 100 and wait. you'll find your maintenance eventually.

cmriverside

If it were me, I would start eating iron rich foods AND up my calories to the suggested maintenance amount. If you are nauseous from being "starving" - eat!

Just keep good records. Try eating at the maintenance amount for three or four weeks (don't give up after three days!) and see what your weight does. You aren't going to gain ten pounds. You MAY have a couple pounds fluctuation. Hang on for those three to four weeks. It may be up and down for a while, so hold your course.

bunnyluv19

eggs combined with citrus fruit or a vitamin C tablet to help increase iron absorption and/or a serving of raisins daily are iron rich foods you could add to your diet without a lot of calories.

RaeBeeBaby

I had low iron a couple years ago when I was going through some medical treatments. I was able to increase my iron level on my own with just food, no supplements. There are some very high iron foods that are still low calorie. Even though it wasn't my favorite, I learned to like liver.

I would make a stir fry of liver, spinach, eggs and shitake mushrooms (all high iron foods). Add a little hot sauce and it was pretty tasty. I also ate a lot of salads with spinach and mushrooms. Iron problem solved!

lorrpb

Ask your doctor about iron supplements.

Fuzzipeg

I sympathise, I had mobility issues once. I would like to encourage you to increase your food consumption to the recommended maintenance level as soon as you can. What is suggested for maintenance for you? You will really feel the health benefits of doing this, it does not have to cost you your achievements figure wise, not doing so could be adding to your difficulties. Keeping to 1200 c's which was not the right level for you in the first place created a problem for you in achieving good nutrition, just as it does for someone for whom it was a recommendation, many references are now saying this level should only be done for a short period.

please optimise your food choices, and log what you are doing. BeeBaby has some very good suggestions which will help you. cmriverside is right too, please give it a good try.

wizzybeth

I would try eating a little more - 1300 seems too low, even taking into consideration your mobility issues. Try 1500 for a couple weeks and see what happens...

I get 100% of my iron on days that I eat a serving of Whole Grain Total cereal.

sllm1

Cereal or a multivitamin for iron...

I don't think 1300 calories would be negatively affecting your health.

Kimo159

Well, first of all, if you were losing on 1200 and you're content with your figure as it is then you can likely increase by more than 100 for maintenance. Unless you were losing at a ridiculously slow rate. A 100 calorie deficit per day were amount to about a 10lb/year loss or less than a lb a month. Most people prefer to lose at .5-1lb per week which would be a 250-500 calorie daily deficit. But, perhaps you really were going for the slow and steady rate.

But, if you're low in iron then as other posters have suggested, supplement or choose high iron foods. Cereal is one of the best, but it can pack a calorie punch and for myself it offers littler satiety so I'm more inclined to take an iron supplement.

ahoy_m8

sllm1 wrote: »

Cereal or a multivitamin for iron...

I don't think 1300 calories would be negatively affecting your health.

Not a medical professional, but I tend to agree 1300 isn't so low that it would harm your health. If you're worried, of course mention it to your GP. But if you don't feel any symptoms, the real underlying problem here is more likely to be anxiety (worry) than your caloric deficit.

French_Peasant

Personally, I take a multi-vitamin just to be on the safe side, but I eat a lot of nutrient-dense foods, especially meats, that help me hit my protein goals and coincidentally iron at the same time.

The Mayo Clinic has a good list of iron-rich foods which, are also nutrient-dense, and in the case of lean meats and greens, low-calorie: these make a great foundation of a 1200-calorie diet:

Red meat, pork and poultry
Seafood
Beans
Dark green leafy vegetables, such as spinach
Dried fruit, such as raisins and apricots
Iron-fortified cereals, breads and pastas
Peas

Lushchicken

Wow, so many replies! Thank you! Loads of excellent suggestions to up my iron intake. I will try to work more of them into my diet. This was the initial plan but I was discouraged by my doctor telling me that it's usually not possible to up your iron levels with food. But I will look into the suggested foods. Glad to hear that 1300 shouldn't be doing me any harm. I have just looked it up and MFP suggest 1710 calories for maintenance which sounds kind of crazy to me. I consider 1500 a more realistic goal for me, especially now I'm used to around 1300 cals per day.

Fuzzipeg

Doctors are not dietitians they can't know all there is to know. Take care, you are the only one of you we have.

sfa90

I also had often low iron levels, but I also had that when I ate a lot of calories. But since 6 months I use iron pills, I don't what country you are from, but I buy them at the local drug store. I feel much better now.

suzesvelte

Someone already mentioned it, but dont forget that iron absorption is really improved by taking it with Vit C so squeeze some lemon on your liver and spinach dinner!

VeryKatie

Your doctor can just prescribe iron supplements. You can also buy them off the shelf, but your doctor could recommend the right amount. Many women need to take them since we easily deplete our stores during our periods. Did you get the test done right after or during your period? Because you might naturally bounce back if so.

If you're wanting to add more iron to your diet, try foods such as:

Mollusks
Chicken livers
Beef (especially liver)
Pork
These are called heme iron sources - as they come from organisms which have blood.

Other less effective foods that have iron (meat sources are absorbed into your system significantly better than any vegetable or manufactured source. Your body only absorbs 30-50% of the iron that is contained in non-heme (non-animal) sources):

Fortified cereals and milks
Beans
Dark green veggies such as broccoli and spinach

If you find that you're always having trouble with keeping iron up, you could look into using a lucky iron fish when you cook.

Having low iron isn't a terrible thing as long as you take steps to correct it. Something crazy like 50% of women have low iron.

Try to get a minimum of 18 mg of iron a day. This will help you maintain a healthy level. You might need more than that for a while to build it back up if your second test is also low.

RaeBeeBaby

Lushchicken wrote: »

Wow, so many replies! Thank you! Loads of excellent suggestions to up my iron intake. I will try to work more of them into my diet. This was the initial plan but I was discouraged by my doctor telling me that it's usually not possible to up your iron levels with food. But I will look into the suggested foods. Glad to hear that 1300 shouldn't be doing me any harm. I have just looked it up and MFP suggest 1710 calories for maintenance which sounds kind of crazy to me. I consider 1500 a more realistic goal for me, especially now I'm used to around 1300 cals per day.

The MFP suggestion for maintenance is likely based on having some moderate activity during the day. If you are primarily using your wheelchair, then you wouldn't be burning a lot of calories. As others have suggested, up your calories a little at a time and see how it goes. If you gain a little, then back it down again. Maintenance calories are different for everyone, depending on activity level, age, metabolism, etc.

mumblemagic

I read somewhere that drinking black tea reduces your ability to absorb iron. Not sure whether that's scientifically accurate or not but it might be worth discussing that with your doc if you drink tea.

If your low iron is dietary, broccoli, spinach, roquette, and other green veggies are low in calories but high in iron. Fortified cereals such as shreddies are good too. You should consider trying to build in some red meat if you like the taste. And of course discuss with your doctor whether a supplement is necessary.

Even if your low iron is not dietary the above foods are tasty and good for you

fiddletime

My maintenance is 1350. I maintained for 4 months last year until I slipped a little and gained some weight back. I suspect it'll be 1350 for life, which is tough but is what it is. I'm 5'2" and 62.

spiriteagle99

There are a lot of causes of low iron besides diet. Hopefully, your doctor will address some of them. If you are female, it can be because of heavy periods. It can also be internal GI or colorectal bleeding. Could be too many NSAIDs.

I have had issues off and on with low iron for the past few years. I eat a fairly high iron diet and take a multivitamin. In December, I had serious energy issues so got tested and they found low ferritin/iron stores. I started taking iron supplements and it made a big difference. I also had a colonoscopy to see if there was something internal going on. That was negative, so I have no answers as to why, but I have been able to treat the symptoms, so I'm happy.

So talk to your doctor about the cause and what next.

ALH1981

I had very low iron for a long time - I was on a low cal diet but the 2 causes were 1) I didn't eat any iron rich foods 2) I had a digestive disorder (celiac) so any nutrients I ate were not being absorbed anyway.

I used to go to the hospital once a month to get infusions of iron, and took vitamin B shots weekly that helped with iron absorption. I was an extreme case but you should check these factors.

You might find that even though people are saying 1300 is not too low, that it may be too low for YOU - everyone is different. If your body can't process the food (in whatever quantity) you are giving it something will stop or break - perhaps for you thats absorbing iron...

Im not a doctor of course, just sharing my experience.

apullum

I agree with all of the suggestions to try a supplement and/or enriched food. I'm a vegetarian who has been eating 1200 cal/day for over two years and my iron levels are normal. Of course, your body is different, but my point is that a low calorie goal in itself may not be the problem.

However, if you are in a situation in which you can find a different doctor, I'd recommend considering that. (I know that's not possible for everyone.) No one should feel like their concerns are being dismissed by their doctor. You deserve to have your medical concerns respected.

Oishii

I became anaemic for the first time in my life after losing weight rapidly on mfp, which is why I now choose to lose slowly. I think part of the issue was that calorie counting didn't make me eat more healthily, whereas other methods of weight loss always had, therefore not triggering the anaemia.

I was also told I had to supplement, and that food wouldn't be enough, so I supplemented and took care with food. Annoyingly, a lot of foods prevent iron absorption, including spinach and dairy, but there are plenty of lists on line to help with that.

TimothyFish

I doubt that the low calorie amount is the issue. All the charts are based on non-disabled people. When you are forced to sit all day, you aren't going to burn as many calories as someone who can walk around.

Fuzzipeg

Sorry Timothy - this lady has an exercise bike which has been adapted for her. I think that is wonderful. She is way more active than myself.

VeroniqueBoilard

The heart palpitations should be check. Weight loss makes you loose muscle. Your heart is a muscle. There is a very real risk that your heart muscle was affected. Please talk with a doctor again just to be on the safe side?

VintageFeline

Well, the easiest thing to work out maintenance is just to work out your weekly losses for the last say two months you had consistent losses. And depending on those numbers you'll know your maintenance. I'd hazard it is more than 1300 even in your situation.

TheSkyBlushed

Lushchicken wrote: »

Hey you guys, bit of a special case here. I'm a 35 year old woman and a wheelchair user. I got disabled 10 years ago and the pounds started piling on. This made me incredibly miserable and after a long search I found something that worked: My Fitness Pal at 1200 cals per day. I ate like that for a whole year and finally ended up with a body I can accept. However, I also knew that staying on such a low cal diet wouldn't be healthy (MFP suggests 1700 cals per day, based on height, activity levels etc.) So I went to 1300. 6 months ago I went to my doctor for a routine blood test and my iron levels showed up as too low. This has never happened to me. He was dismissive when I suggested it might be related to my diet. I'm going in for another blood test in a couple of days and am petrified of my iron levels still being too low. I've done a lot of reading and some experts seem to suggest that diet does not affect iron levels? I know that I should up my iron intake but find it hard to do so on 1300 cals. A couple of weeks ago I started getting heart palpitations (I also suffer from anxiety, so this might be related) and I now worry that the amount I eat is really screwing up my body. This makes me miserable because I want to keep my figure and I'm not sure I can go much past 1300-1400 cals without gaining weight due to my disability. It's very hard to find any kind of calorie intake suggestion for a person in my situation.
I move as much as I can. I have an adapted exercise bike for arms and legs which I use daily to get at least SOME cardio.

So yeah, I'm a bit stumped. I will address all of this with my doctor, of course. But do you think that eating 1300 could really affect my iron levels/heart? And how do I find the courage to eat more? I know it's too little because I start every day feeling nauseous because I'm starving.

Include a few grass fed beef items per week... loads of iron.