need help

jquick25

i started out at 275lb now a year later i am 199 lb. i only eat around 800 sometimes less a day and i work out 500 off 6 days a week. i have been doing this for months. i feel fine. i eat lean cusines every meal and take a vitamin everyday. should i be worried. take a look at my food diary. thanks for the help

LillyWillow

The vitamin helps, but what are you going to do when you reach your goal? Do you plan on eating lean cuisine for the rest of your life? I can't imagine eating that few of calories and working off so many calories. I looked at your diary and it doesn't seem like you are getting enough protein. You said you feel fine, but do you feel strong? I don't want to knock the weight you have lost, because obviously you have worked hard to lose it. It just seems like you are starving your body. But I am not an expert and have my own struggles.

herblackwings39

Unless you're being monitored by a health professional with knowledge of VLCD I'd honestly suggest you do a little work on your numbers and eat more. You're a 25 year old woman with less than 10 lbs to lose. Do you want to spend the rest of your days maintaining on 1000 or maybe 1200 calories?

jquick25

ok so how many do you think i need to eat a day. im 5 5 and i want to be 150. i am worryed about gaining weight all the time. and im afraid if i increase my cals ill gain.

DaniettaF

ok so how many do you think i need to eat a day. im 5 5 and i want to be 150. i am worryed about gaining weight all the time. and im afraid if i increase my cals ill gain.

You'll only gain weight if you eat over your TDEE (Todal daily energy expenditure).
I'm about 150lb at the moment at 5'6'' and to keep at this weight requires me eating about 1800 calories without exercising.
So if I eat anything less than that weight will come off, and especially when exercise is involved.
Maybe look into what yours is for some piece of mind. There are some good written threads on here to help explain it.

Good luck and well done so far

nealwalk

Hi jquick25 I recently saw your post and, as a few other members here, was a little concerned that you are taking in too few calories. I am very impressed with your success so far, but I have a very hard time believing that your current calorie intake is sustainable long-term much less healthy. Even though you have been able to take off weight in terms of what the scale says, from the information I've taken in over the years I feel that your organs are what are really taking a beating here.

I am no doctor so I can't medically and scientifically tell you why it sounds like you could be doing more harm to yourelf. However, I agree with one of the other posts on here that advised you to go get physical done. Request to have your blood drawn and tested to see what is really going on.

Again, I applaud your obvious dedication and efforts. I don't think I've ever heard somebody be able to do what you've done over the course of a year by their own will. So this is not a post saying you're doing anything wrong, on the contrary you're doing amazing things. I just would be concerned about what's happening on the inside right now just to make sure you're going to be okay in the long run.

As far as a guess as to how many calories you should probably be taking in, the myfitnesspal app is a pretty great gauge of deciding that for you by just plugging in all your stats and goals. The universal rule right now seems to be 1-2 pounds healthily a week is a great figure to go by Best of wishes!

jquick25

i worry with every little thing i eat. like say i only ate 800 cal but i worked out and only net 150 cal for the day...sometimes i think that number is to high. so i wont eat bread with dinner and stuff. I plan on going to the doc in the next month and have a full exam to make sure im healthy. but i dont know how to stop feeling so guilty. i just dont wanna back slide bc i have had cheat days where i have ate taco bell and alot of it..and it just frustrating and when im upset i like to eat. i dont wanna backslide bc i have worked so hard.

luckydays27

i worry with every little thing i eat. like say i only ate 800 cal but i worked out and only net 150 cal for the day...sometimes i think that number is to high. so i wont eat bread with dinner and stuff. I plan on going to the doc in the next month and have a full exam to make sure im healthy. but i dont know how to stop feeling so guilty. i just dont wanna back slide bc i have had cheat days where i have ate taco bell and alot of it..and it just frustrating and when im upset i like to eat. i dont wanna backslide bc i have worked so hard.

I am not a doctor but you sound like you have a food obsession and that never ends well. I dont think its healthy to "worry with every little thing" you eat. And netting 150 cals a day is not too high, its very difficult to think that you can sustain that for the rest of your life. Its not enough cals for your body to function properly.

I am no expert but I have been on nearly every "diet" so I have some life experience at this. In every instance, especially the very low cal diets, I failed and gained all the weight plus more. Since joining MFP, figuring out my TDEE, BMI, and what my best goals are, I have consistently lost 1 lb a week and that makes me happy.

How do I do it... I eat 500 cals a day less than I burn. multiplied by 7 and I eat 3500 cals less a week than I burn which means I lose 1 lb a week.

I use a fitbit to figure out my daily calorie burn and a heart rate monitor to figure out my fitness cals burned.

I eat what I want so long as I have the cals for it. If I eat more, I have to exercise more. If I am a little low for the day, I get ice cream to fill it up. I eat all or most of my exercise cals back. I eat Taco Bell and donuts and ice cream and go out to eat at restaurants and drink beer. But I try to make choices that fit in my cal goals.

On non fitness days I eat about 1400 cals and on fitness days, I eat 1800-1900 depending on the workout. This is 500 cals less than what I would burn if I were not trying to lose weight.

Eating a little more wont cause you to gain weight so long as you know what your burn is and don't eat more than that. Eating less may cause you to plateau, binge, or develop an unhealthy relationship with food. All of which does not help achieve your long term goals.

No matter what you do, just be healthy about. Netting 150 cals a day is not healthy.

herblackwings39

i worry with every little thing i eat. like say i only ate 800 cal but i worked out and only net 150 cal for the day...sometimes i think that number is to high. so i wont eat bread with dinner and stuff. I plan on going to the doc in the next month and have a full exam to make sure im healthy. but i dont know how to stop feeling so guilty. i just dont wanna back slide bc i have had cheat days where i have ate taco bell and alot of it..and it just frustrating and when im upset i like to eat. i dont wanna backslide bc i have worked so hard.

Share these feelings with your doctor. The fact that you feel that the 150 calories you netted is too much so you restrict isn't a good thing. You may also consider talking to a therapist about your relationship with food and feelings of guilt.

jquick25

i am going to try to up it a little each day and i will def talk to my doc about all this. i want to be healthy. thanks everyone

Wickedswife

I can tell you from experience!! Don't deny yourself what you want. I have only lost 14 lbs so far BUT ( and this is a pretty big but there) I have made my portion sizes smaller than I used too!! That is it! If i want McDonalds I have McDonalds! But, instead of getting the super size meal. I get a regular cheeseburger and a small fry with tea. (of course I never eat it everyday, just to clarify) Another thing I would like to know..besides lean cuisine.. where are your fruits? Where are your veggies?? :noway: Make sure you have a "balanced" intake of all 4 food groups and DON'T DENY yourself anything. Do that and you will have "bad days" where you just devour what ever Fast food is closest!! Just a few tips to help keep yourself healthy and don't feel guilty! I used too but with the help of this site I can easily see everything that is in my food that I eat. It really has made it easy for me to see where I need to make cuts and where I need to add!! Good Luck!! don't look back just focus on the future!