Calorie Deficit - Seems to be a hot but confusing topic.

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mumblemagic

Maybe people are jealous that you feel full on less than 1200..... Honestly I am a little bit too

Most anorexics feel not at all hungry on 600 calories (total) or less a day...it's because they have broken the mechanism that controls hunger cues and hormones. So, don't be jealous.

I didn't know that - that's really interesting! I just assumed they rode through the pain and forced themselves to ignore it. I was confused as to how they built up the willpower to avoid eating for days at a time. It makes more sense now.

ndj1979

Oh hai guise!!!!

This again!!!!

hai buddy!!!! haven't I seen you in here before...? bahahahahahaha

mumblemagic

OP:
I did not see people getting angry or attacking you. What I did see was a handful of blunt answers and people offering some information why you are doing it wrong. I can guarantee the people who have seen success are not jealous that you feel full on less than 1200 calories. Read the link provided earlier in the thread and read all of the links in it.

Ok, so maybe they weren't intended to be rude or aggressive, but without body language and facial expression things you can say IRL come across completely differently on the internet: e.g. the "Weight loss fairy" comment might sound ok in the right tone of voice with a smile to someone you know well, but comes across as rather unpleasant in a typed message to a stranger.

mayflowermn

"How long do you use the gazelle for?"

90 to 120 minutes per day. I usually go for an hour at a time twice a day.

When I first started with the Gazelle, I was gaining muscle but burning fat.

I took a look at your diary....

You may be burning fat but with the lack of protein in your diet, you'd be hard pressed to be gaining any muscle. I get more protein in one meal than you do all day!

Samstan101

Summary: I think you need to reevaluate why you can't eat more than 1100 calories total. What are you eating? Are you logging everything? (even a cup of tea with milk is 12 calories).

Edit:
Eat cookies and ice cream if you're stuggling! I know they're not "clean", but if you're getting enough vits elsewhere, they are a yummy way of upping your calories and rewarding yourself for doing so well :-)

I am logging every bite, every drink. I don't really drink anything but water and protein drinks. I haven't had soda in years, I hate the crap.

Seriously?! Cookies and ice cream to up my intake and still lose weight?! Now you're talking!!

And thank you so much for constructive advice!

My diary is open if you want to look. I have Haribo & chocolate as treats if I have the calories spare. If you want to eat clean then peanut butter, advocado and nuts are all high calorie foods that are easy to eat small amounts of to top up your calories. If you fancy a change from just water then a protein shake would add extra calories (I like strawberry falvour as its feels like I'm having a milkshake!).

I'd also suggest adding some weights or resistance work as well as the cardio so you help maintain muscle mass whilst losing fat.

These are things I've done that work for me and am losing steadily so far. Good luck

TavistockToad

I didn't know that - that's really interesting! I just assumed they rode through the pain and forced themselves to ignore it. I was confused as to how they built up the willpower to avoid eating for days at a time. It makes more sense now.

a person is not anorexic because they have good willpower.... they have a mental disorder.

mrscool5

All I'm gonna say is, if I ate like that I'd probably kill and eat somebody inside of a week. LOL

tyediri

Hi OP!

First of all, well done for starting MFP and don't worry about apparently rude comments. I have read through the entire thread, and yes, some come across as snarky, but there has been quite a lot of good advice. Don't take the snarky comments to heart and do keep sticking to MFP because it helped me get on track.

A few things,

1. I have taken a look at your diary, and I agree with many others that it may not be as 'clean' as you imagine it to be. Weight loss and healthy eating should go together, so diss some of the protein shakes and bars and substitute with smoothies, fresh fruit, vegetables, soups, etc. Plan to have your 5-a-day and hit the calorie limit. You can simply add a few salad leaves, a tomato and some cucumber to your sandwich. I know this is not about increasing calories, but eating fresh fruit and vegetables is as important.

2. Cardio exercise does not build muscle. It burns fat and muscle (depending on your heart rate and type of cardio) to energize your body. Muscle is supposed to be faster to burn that fat, so if you are doing high intensity cardio for a long time, you will burn more muscle than fat as the body wont have enough time to burn fat to satisfy the calorie needs of exercise.

3. You have said you combine some weight training with your cardio, which is good as this will help build muscle. You wont build new muscle like a body builder if you are eating on a deficit, but you will still make the muscle you've got bigger by adding some weight lifting. Also, you need to meet your protein requirements to build muscle.

4. The initial gain that you experience when you first start exercising is water retention. As your muscles aren't used to exercise you will get little tears and damage in the muslces, and the repair process (which also causes soreness) retains water, which causes the initial weight gain. I used to be a gym freak and exercise and eat properly as a university student. Then I got a job and had to move out of London and away from my gym so I was sedentary (apart from walking at least 30 minutes to and from work every day) for nearly 2 years before I started exercising again 3-4 weeks ago. I gained nearly 1.5kg in the first week and by the second week all that weight just dropped. Happens to everybody.

5. Hitting your calorie limit is important for the same reason. If you don't eat enough your body will burn muscle as well as fat to meet its calorie requirements. If you eat less consistently, the body will start to adapt to the low calorie level, i.e. it will slow down the rate at which it burns calories down (slow down your metabolism) and learn to live using fewer calories. If you damage your metabolism this way when you decide to eat more calories (say a 'normal' 1800kcals a day) you will start putting the weight back because the body no longer needs this many calories to survive. It has gotten used to surviving on much less.

6. In the same way as the body gets used to surviving on less calories you will need to eat even less to lose more weight, and the vicious cycle will continue. This is why it is important to meet the calorie goal, even if it means eating ice cream or chocolates (as long as you are also eating healthy and meeting your nutrient requirements).

I know this is a bit long, but I hope it answers all the questions you may have and hope it helps.

Please feel free to correct me if I've got anything wrong. xx

candicelh79

I think the OP is using the caloric needs calculator on the site she quoted..I'm pretty sure it's highly inaccurate or else I'm using it wrong . It told me I need 233 calories per day.

http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/calories.htm

mrscool5

How'd you gain 50 lbs? Did the magical weight fairy kiss your forehead and bestow glitter and starshine calories upon you? Dude, that's totally how I got fat. It wasn't like I was hungry all the time, stress eating, or having hormone issues . . . it was magic!

javascript:add_smiley('flowerforyou','post_body')

Awwww, hell. Can I at least say I'm under tall then??? :bigsmile:

SkinnyFatAlbert

MFP tells me I should eat 1350 calories. Honestly, I have a difficult time eating that much without getting sick or feeling like I'm ALWAYS eating!

Then how did you become overweight?

Camera_BagintheUK

HI
MY NAME IS MARG AND I CAN TELL YOU THIS... THAT I HAVE BEEN EATING 1000 -1200 CALORIES EXERCISE USE LITE WTS.. AND I RECENTLY WENT TO A PERSONAL .T AND NUTRI. AND HE TOLD ME ALONG WITH EVERY ONE ELSE I AN MOT EATING ENOUHG~~~ WHEN YOU EAT 1200 AND BURN SAY 500 IN EXERCISE YOU ARE THEN AT 700 CAL. STARVING YOUR BODY! BUT...... I HAVE UP MY CALORIES TO 1500 FOR 2 WEEKS AND I WT MYSELF TODAY UP 2 LBS SO I AM AS CONFUSED AS YOU... :{

It's only 2 weeks and 2lb is nothing - apart from anything else, if you're eating more, you'll be carrying more bulk in your digestive tract - it won't be fat. Give yourself a bit of time!

connie_messina

bump

bubaluboo

When I started logging I went into full 'diet mode'. I thought I'd set my goal to 1200 giving me a 1.5lb per week loss ... and not always eating back calories as sure it would be great to lose more. I have a vague recollection of posting or at least almost posting asking should I really be eating more because hey, I'm not hungry and my weightloss is going well. Took about 2 months to start gradually getting more and more hungry and for the weightloss to slow down. At this point, I read, read and read on here and realised that there was no way I wanted to drop my calorie limit as that would just be too impossible to stick with but there was a chance that if I upped my calories I could continue losing and feel better. I upped to 1400 and carried on losing at the new slower pace that I had on 1200...bonus! I then hit a serious plateau in Sept (maybe partly due to ill health and inactivity) and was feeling pretty low. I decided to try upping to 1600 (even though I was satisfied on 1400) which should give a 0.5lb per week loss. This just kick started my loss again don't think I was in 'starvation mode' by any means but I do think that I was feeling run down and the extra calories gave me the boost I need to be more active generally. Now I hardly feel like I'm on a diet at all. There are plenty of healthy high fat foods out there if you want to avoid junk food..I'm sure you've been given plenty of ideas like nuts, cream, cheese.

I feel like a bit of an idiot now for the way I started this diet which has now progressed to a lifestyle change. I could have argued that I was doing it the right way and was very sceptical of people saying that they eat more and lose. I thought I was a special snowflake. The result was getting run down, not losing any more quickly in the long run and probably losing a lot more muscle mass than I really should have. I guess some of us just have to learn the hard way!

dswolverine

i wish "making it" to 1350 calories was difficult for me. Crikey i'd have no problem scarfing down those calories before 11am haha. I keep it around 1550 to 1700, and that's with strict logging!

kkenney73

You should search for articles here on why you should never fall under 1200 calories net. You definitely are not eating enough. Your body is a furnace that needs fuel CONSTANTLY.

Camera_BagintheUK

eat more calorie dense food - full fat milk & dairy, higher calorie meat (beef/pork instead of chicken/turkey) higher calorie fish like salmon or tuna, peanut butter is always a winner, and in all honesty a bit of cake or icecream every so often wont do any harm!

I see. My first reaction was to wrinkle my nose. I hate milk, haven't had it since I was a kid :laugh: The meat issue is a big one for me. I've been a vegetarian for 5 years, and have just started reintroducing meat into my diet in the last couple of months. I will shoot for more meats. I love salmon and tuna. Peanut butter is awesome, thank you.

mmm... second person to recommend cake or ice cream. Just gotta remember to do those in moderation now. Before I would eat about half a cake (9x13 cake pan) and when I had ice cream, I made sure to dump a couple hands full of m&ms into it. Obviously not the intelligent thing to do

You can have the M&Ms! Why not?

Just weigh them, and have a few within your cals instead of a couple of handfuls and no idea how many calories you're eating.

If you weigh these things, you'll learn - for example 10 sweets is # grams/oz = ## calories. I can afford them today/I can't afford them today, (unless I run to the end of the street and back.)

shellylb52

OP:
I did not see people getting angry or attacking you. What I did see was a handful of blunt answers and people offering some information why you are doing it wrong. I can guarantee the people who have seen success are not jealous that you feel full on less than 1200 calories. Read the link provided earlier in the thread and read all of the links in it.

Ok, so maybe they weren't intended to be rude or aggressive, but without body language and facial expression things you can say IRL come across completely differently on the internet: e.g. the "Weight loss fairy" comment might sound ok in the right tone of voice with a smile to someone you know well, but comes across as rather unpleasant in a typed message to a stranger.


This^^

upscalelifedownscalebutt

Maybe people are jealous that you feel full on less than 1200..... Honestly I am a little bit too

Most anorexics feel not at all hungry on 600 calories (total) or less a day...it's because they have broken the mechanism that controls hunger cues and hormones. So, don't be jealous.

^^^^This is bull****. Most anas are hungry all the time they just fight against it. It's a second by second battle against levels of ghrelin that would send the average person into an all consuming feeding frenzy. Yes, they learn to bypass their triggers, some of which are healthier than others, but so has the vast majority of the world for varying reasons.

upscalelifedownscalebutt

Just add nutrient and calorie rich foods. If you like wine, beer, cake, cookies, etc. have some as part of your meal plan, but try to add nutrient density to go with the calories.

If you start eating more your body will start wanting more. Same with exercise. The more you do the more your body wants to do.

3foldchord

So my net calories are 400.

But because I ate 1100 calories and my deficit is 700 calories, I'm still eating enough to remain healthy and rarely eat extra due to working out or "make up my deficit" as some say. I feel like that is my sweet spot for burning fat without sacrificing muscle, as the article states.

Huh? Giving your body a mere 400 calories a day for basic functions is not enough to remain healthy, not enough 'burn fat without sacrificing mscle', and not enough to maintain cognitive function.

upscalelifedownscalebutt

I drink 4-6 20-oz bottles of water per day.

Water fills up your stomach. Could be why you aren't as hungry.

SLLRunner

I have to ask, how it is you have trouble eating at least 1200 calories? No offense but you didnt get to a place where you need to lose weight by under eating. i know I didn't. What is your plan after you lose the weight?

I echo this. Boy, all of us ate way over our calorie allotment to put on weight, therefore I don't understand how eating some healthy calories can be difficult.

Many of us don't have big stomachs - we got fat on sweets, pastry, sweetened drinks etc, not on big quantities of food. When switching to a clean diet you can feel full on 800 calories a day - for a while. It's just an adjustment period, that I personally don't see needing to be "fixed" as long as you know what's going to come next.

Granted that sweets generally do have more calories than other foods, it still takes a whole lot of them to gain weight over a few months or even a year. What is the difference between replacing those caloric sweets with caloric fish, nuts, legumes, and other higher protein food to make sure you reach your goals?

I think a lot of people saying that they can't meet their calorie goals to some extent (many of us don't eat back all exercise calories due to possible error, but we eat a good potion of them back) is about fear of certain foods being "fattening" or fear of going out of control again. Let's face it, we all got fat by being out of control at some point.

SLLRunner

HI
MY NAME IS MARG AND I CAN TELL YOU THIS... THAT I HAVE BEEN EATING 1000 -1200 CALORIES EXERCISE USE LITE WTS.. AND I RECENTLY WENT TO A PERSONAL .T AND NUTRI. AND HE TOLD ME ALONG WITH EVERY ONE ELSE I AN MOT EATING ENOUHG~~~ WHEN YOU EAT 1200 AND BURN SAY 500 IN EXERCISE YOU ARE THEN AT 700 CAL. STARVING YOUR BODY! BUT...... I HAVE UP MY CALORIES TO 1500 FOR 2 WEEKS AND I WT MYSELF TODAY UP 2 LBS SO I AM AS CONFUSED AS YOU... :{

Well, you are probably eating more than you think you are, plus you could be over estimating your exercise calories.

mumblemagic

I didn't know that - that's really interesting! I just assumed they rode through the pain and forced themselves to ignore it. I was confused as to how they built up the willpower to avoid eating for days at a time. It makes more sense now.

a person is not anorexic because they have good willpower.... they have a mental disorder.

Yeah, I know it's a mental disorder and a pretty serious one at that. I just didn't know how they overcome hunger to avoid eating for so long. I usually can't go more than about 4-5 hours without a nibble of something. If they don't get hungry, it makes so much more sense to me now how they avoid eating.

Holly_Roman_Empire

I'm confused. why is it so hard for you to eat 1350 cals? It isn't much at all, especially if you are burning 700 calories, which would take like 2 hours on a gazelle. How long do you use the gazelle for?

Agree. I never understand this. Especially coming from people with lots of weight to lose. How did they become overweight in the first place?

akaMrsmojo

Oh wow. I honestly don't think I've ever felt this much animosity in a forum or been attacked so harshly.

I'm afraid it's just the way it is these days on MFP but not without reason - you won't have been the first person to have mentioned how they are happily eating under 1200 kcals.

Irrespective of whether you feel full or not or whether you feel good or not, if you under-eat, at some point you will experience some of the following:
-fatigue (which can lead to injuries due to a lack of concentration)
-hair loss
-low libido
-low immunity (so you'll get infections, colds, flu etc)
-depression

So figure out how you can pack more calories in whilst still losing weight.

Thank you for that! I know I'm in for it in the long run, but for now, I have none of those symptoms of poor nutrition. I promise that I will keep those in mind and fix things

Once those symptoms appear, the damage is done. It makes it a lot harder to lose in the future because you are destroying your metabolism.

Follow the program, please. It works and you you do not have to damage your body to get results.

RonW956

I never was a big eater to begin with but after using MFP's calorie thing, it says that I'm not eating enough? According to it Im consuming on average 1100-1300 cal a day.... Been at it for months and I walk/jog everyday, I walk to work & stand at my job for long hrs at a time. I dont feel hungry, never really did.

Personally I think we go overboard on counting calories, everyone's bodies are not the same. what works for one may not work for someone else...


and yeah, if your watching your diet & eating clean, then 1300 cal a day for some, may be hard go figure....I'll have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.... 2/3 cup uncooked or about roughly a cup & a half cooked with 1 cup milk, about 400 calories. that can fill me up until past lunchtime.... for lunch, PB&J sandwich & a banana , round off to another 500 calories.... and I feel full...

dinner maybe a piece of chicken with a salad... about 300... and thats 1200 in a day.....so I think the ones who say that I'm starving myself may need to ask themselves if they are the ones who's still eating too much?

Rai007

The reason she is feeling full on so little net calories is primarily due to leptin serum concentration levels decreasing along with the LEP-R receptors becoming unreliable in monitoring changes in leptin levels. In short, her hunger cues are disturbed and not reliable in terms of meeting energy needs. Additionally, her body's proficiency in burning the optimal amount of calories throughout the day is decreasing at a considerable rate relative to the degree and duration of restriction. The result is, over time, she needs to eat less and less to maintain her weight. These are common side effects from chronically restricting calories via a semi-starvation diet and, combined, is also what leads to obesity relapse once one increases calories back up to adjusted maintenance.

Op pls see a doctor because you are going on VLCD.