Am I eating enough?

ethompsonemt

I’m hoping you all can help me. I’ve been eating around my calorie goal of 1280 for a couple of months now and losing fairly slowly and consistently. Some weeks the scale will move up a little or get stuck for a couple of weeks but eventually it starts its slow descent.

According to MFP I should be losing around 2 be a week which I know at this point is fairly aggressive. I started around 225 and I’ve lost 50 with at least another 20 to go (then we’ll see because I still feel like a big girl).

Maybe I’m over-reacting and I should keep on keeping with what seems to be working but my run today ended with dizziness and tingles-scary. My New Years goal is to start working with weights more and gaining strength but I’m guessing my calorie intake is going to be affected. I’m just terrified to increase what I’m eating and lose progress when I still feel like I’ve barely made a dent.

My food log should be set to public and I think it’s fairly accurate. A couple of meals out have been estimated but I try to aim high. I occasionally use my food scale but most of my meals are recipes I’ve added over the months.

Any suggestions welcome and maybe thoughts on how to have a healthier relationship with food (I feel obsessive some days).

cmriverside

With 20 pounds left to go, set your Goals to "Lose 1/2 pound per week." Still continue to eat more on exercise days.

1280 is wayyyyyyy too low. No wonder you're tanking on energy. Listen to that.

This:

I’m just terrified to increase what I’m eating and lose progress when I still feel like I’ve barely made a dent.

Sounds pretty irrational - right? I mean you've lost 50 pounds. You're not the fat girl any more.

Have you considered talking to someone about this?

You need to be eating a lot more. Lack of nutrients affects cognitive ability, too.

Quasita

I would strongly consider having a check-in with your doctor. Not because I think you're sick, but because I think that the best foundation is to get your numbers (blood count, cholesterol, BP, vitamins, etc) and an appropriate weight goal from your doctor. Depending on their background, they might even be able to advise on the food intake.
1280 calories per day is exceptionally low to start with, and is a goal for a dietary weight loss plan. If you're exercising AT ALL you should be eating more. If you balance correctly, eating more to accommodate fitness practices won't jeopardize your progress, because you're eating more to balance a burn. The only way you will jeopardize progress is to overeat, consistently, without exercise or anything, for a bit of time. At most, you might see an increase to water weight at first because that happens with resistance training and with food intake.

I agree that you should also see a counselor. Your post contains several red flags for disordered eating. Being terrified of weight gain is a big one. Knowingly overestimating your intake but then also strictly sticking to a low calorie count is another (what I mean is that you know you are eating less than you are logging, but you don't go over 1280 in your logging if you can help it... so you're probably under 1200 calories on many days, which is not advisable without medical supervision). For example, one thing that a lot of people disconnect from is what purging really is... It's not just puking. Purging is performing any activity that is meant to aggressively expel calories that have been ingested. This can take the form of exercise... and you're talking about exercising until you're on the brink of faint makes me wonder if you are intentionally exercising with a mindset of wanting to burn off food you ate today, rather than the mindset of wanting to be healthier.

To be successful in weight loss and changing unhealthy habits, a person must be obsessive to an extent, but that "obsession" is more like being strict. The healthy obsession would drive you to want to get as accurate as you could be with your intake numbers, rather than "rounding up." It would have you reading and educating yourself about sports medicine, using and TRUSTING tools that are designed to help you lose safely. Unhealthy obsession results in feelings of anxiety about food and weight gain, it comes with exercising to the point of passing out, and more.

fdlewenstein

I started at 229 with a goal of losing 90 pounds. I've been alternating between a losing and a maintenance phase. During the maintenance phase I eat 1430 calories, but watch macros even more (55% fat, 20% carbs, 25% protein) and that was with a doctor supervised program with genetic testing. It sounds like you are not eating enough especially if you are working out aggressively. I would seek professional advice! Also, remember when you begin your weight training that muscle weighs more. I do weigh myself everyday, but I also am mindful about how I feel physically and mentally and how my clothes fit. As long as you are consistent you should continue to be successful in your weight loss, However, before continuing I would speak with a professional to be sure you are eating a healthy amount. Good luck!

PAV8888

Respectfully you sound like someone who would potentially benefit from taking a short diet break, and then continuing with a more normal deficit.

And yes this is going to play a bit of a mind game with water weight and with being willing to go back to deficit if you're being overly agressive with your restriction to get here.