Do I really need to eat this much?!?

SuperSarah12345

Hello!

I am 34, 5'7, 183.5 lbs - my goal is 145. I work in an office - so I've set my activity level to sedentary - though I do workout a crazy amount and log it daily...MFP has me at a base calorie goal of 1200 - of course this goes up when I exercise.

I've been logging for almost two weeks now - and I can see I very rarely hit my caloric target - sometimes i'm shoving (healthy) food in my mouth at the end of the day just to get closer.

It's been tough for me to believe that probably the reason I hadn't been losing weight might be because I am not eating enough food - it feels backwards to me.

I will say that I have noticed my 'hunger' sensation has come back - I didn't even realize it was gone! But now I find I'm eating and eating and always starving.

ladynocturne

Even if you are under eating, you should still be losing plenty of your lean muscle mass along with fat, not stalling out after 2 weeks.

I think the most important question here is are you weighing all of your food, not just eyeballing it?

Are you logging your calories everyday? Or do you use one day a week to eat whatever you want and don't log?

And are you entirely sure you're burning as many calories during exercise as you think? Are you using a HRM monitor?

michellekicks

Keep eating the same kinds of foods you were eating before. Don't live on fat-free non-foods and salad. I don't mean this to sound offensive, but you didn't get to 180 lbs by not eating enough. The reason people don't usually find success with weight loss is they make drastic changes and then wonder why it doesn't work. Firstly, you won't want to keep eating under 1200 calories forever. Secondly, if you do go for a long period of time eating less than 1200 calories, you will burn through your lean mass which will make you burn fewer calories overall in future, which means you will have to eat less and less and less and less as time goes on... else you'll put the weight back on but without the muscle to burn any of it off.

kgeyser

First, you might want to set a less aggressive goal since you have less than 40 lbs to lose. A 1 lb per week loss is more realistic with so little to lose.

Second, how are you calculating your food intake? Are you weighing and measuring everything, or just eyeballing it?

Third, how are you calculating your calories burned during exercise? HRM, data on the machines, MFP database?

cwolfman13

If you are not losing weight it is because you are either consuming more than you think you are and/or overestimating your burn. If you're just guestimating servings and not weighing and measuring out foods then I can pretty much guarantee that you are underestimating intake. If you're using a database like MfP to determine your calorie burn I can pretty much guarantee that you are overestimating your burn.

You have to be as precise as humanly possible really for calorie counting to work. Most people substantially underestimate their intake.

SuperSarah12345

I'm not stalling out - in the last two weeks since i've been logging and eating more than usual I have lost 4.9lbs. I measure and weigh everything - i'm a overachiever..My exercise is something I don't question - yes, I wear a HRM, I'm very fit - I run atleast 5K 3 times a week, teach yoga, etc..

ladynocturne

I'm not stalling out - in the last two weeks since i've been logging and eating more than usual I have lost 4.9lbs. I measure and weigh everything - i'm a overachiever..My exercise is something I don't question - yes, I wear a HRM, I'm very fit - I run atleast 5K 3 times a week, teach yoga, etc..

Okay the way your Original Post was phrased gave the impression that you weren't losing weight and were confused because you had been under the impression that you were under eating. I'm not sure what your questions is?

You lost weight while eating more so... you want to keep doing it?

I'm the same height and we have the same goal weight. I know we are different ages, but I have been easily losing weight netting over 1360 calories everyday (grossing between 1360 and 2000 calories). However, I have only attempted to lose 1lb per week even when starting out.

SuperSarah12345

I'd like to clarify - because there seems to be confusion...I'm not eating less or better than I was - i'm eating more now - and seem to be losing. I don't eat fat-free, or calorie reduced or anything overly processed.

It's a mind *kitten* that I've been seemingly stuck, but now I'm eating more and have started to lose. I'm not complaing here that I'm not losing - I'm wondering if I really need to eat ALL THE TIME...it seems the opposite of what we are taught.

The goal I set is for 1.5 lbs per week - actually I didn't set it, MFP did...

sheermomentum

No, you don't need to eat this much. But, if you're genuinely hungry all the time, then it kinda seems you've answered your own question....you don't need to starve either Just pay attention to your body and your results, would be my advice.

SuperSarah12345

I didn't actually sign up to count my calories even - I just wanted a place I could log and journal my workouts and this was what my phone suggested..lol - now I'm obsessed with counting calories and making sure I hit the minimum at least

ladynocturne

I'd like to clarify - because there seems to be confusion...I'm not eating less or better than I was - i'm eating more now - and seem to be losing. I don't eat fat-free, or calorie reduced or anything overly processed.

It's a mind *kitten* that I've been seemingly stuck, but now I'm eating more and have started to lose. I'm not complaing here that I'm not losing - I'm wondering if I really need to eat ALL THE TIME...it seems the opposite of what we are taught.

The goal I set is for 1.5 lbs per week - actually I didn't set it, MFP did...

It is entirely possible that your body was producing stress hormones that helped keep your weight steady if you were under feeding it, it takes a long time to get to that point and it's pretty rare. Some people refer to it as Adrenal Fatigue. But seeing as you don't have any of the exhaustion symptoms, I'd say it's unlikely.

It's much more likely that you believed you were eating very little food before you started to log regularly and are now eating an appropriate amount of calories to lose weight. There is really no way for any of us to know whats really been happening over the past X amount of months.

WalkingAlong

I don't understand. You say you're hungry all the time but you wonder if you really need to eat all the time and that you have trouble eating enough to hit your goal? Why would you have trouble if you're hungry all the time?

You for sure don't need to eat all the time, and you don't need to eat more to lose weight or to feel hunger.

Lesulee1

Another question you might want to ask is: are you eating the 'right' foods. Smart proteins, carbs, fat & fiber? My goal is 1200 a day, but I'm around 1000 a day that's with eating clean and yes there are some days I feel as though I am shoveling in my food just to get to 1000. Having said that ... eating often is important also. Eating every 2 to 3 hrs helps with the 'hunger' you may be feeling.

I've been fallowing Dolvett Quince from the Biggest Loser's book called 3-1-2-1 Diet, for me it really helped to 'explain' what 'clean eating' is and makes its simple to understand AND follow. I have found that following eating 'smart proteins, carbs, fat & fiber' and eating every 2 to 3 hrs, I am not hungry and I am still losing weight. Now I'm not drastically losing weight. About a pound to a pound and a half a week but that's good with me.

I am just an 'average joe' like everyone else trying to walk this healthy journey so I'm just passing along tips that I have learned and have worked for me. Good luck we are all in it together!

sheermomentum

I've also found that when I'm eating well, as opposed to eating less, my body also seem to get a better sense of when its hungry. Alot of the time if I was just not eating much, I just didn't feel hunger. Same with overeating, actually. Now I don't know you obviously, and you say you're not eating any better than you used to, but I do wonder if maybe your logging has led to being more aware of what you're eating and maybe better nutrition is making your body more efficient.

Just a thought, for what its worth.

SuperSarah12345

I guess that is a bit confusing. This is what I meant:

Two weeks ago I started logging my food - it was immediately evident that I rarely hit my daily goal of 1200(more when I workout), though I never realized as I wasn't depriving myself or feeling hungry really. Because I noticed this I thought I should put a concerted effort into at least hitting that goal daily - so I've started eating more...which *I think* is why i've lost a bit.

I say I think - because it seems so backwards. I am looking for confirmation that eating more may actually be what I need to do to reach my goal?

I'm not tricking myself, or miscounting, or misjudging amounts..

Mellyajc

My parents saw a nutritionist for a while. My dad has claimed he never gets hungry, and she prescribed some pills for this because it supposedly had something to do with low stomach acid. Now that he's been on the pills for a while, he's actually starting to experience hunger.

Is it possible that in the past you taught yourself to ignore your hunger so you stopped feeling it, and now that you're getting closer to recommended, your body is realizing it can wake up and have a voice? I've been told the 'you're not eating enough' thing as well. Yes, it's hard to comprehend, but there is truth to it. The mind is powerful, the numbers game can wreak havoc, but trusting the advice to eat enough is a good thing.

SuperSarah12345

Thank you Mellyajc - that is what I was looking for lol - just confirmation. It just seems so crazy!

Sarauk2sf

Probably water weight.

If you eat more, you will decrease your deficit and therefore, long term, will not lose weight quicker. When you diet, you retain water. The larger your deficit, the more water you retain. You have higher calories, that water will be released, at least initially. It will stabilize.

I am not saying that a large deficit is a good thing - it is not for the most part. However, eating more will not cause you to lose more unless it impacts long term adherence.

ETA: to clarify, low calories are generally not a good idea and can have a slew of negatives associated with them, including increased risk of LBM loss, hormonal imbalances, being cranky, nutritional deficiencies etc.

FromHereOnOut

I think that until it's broke, don't try to fix it. You've lost weight and had no adverse effects, so there should be no reason to make any change at this time. Even if it doesn't "make sense", keep doing what you're doing. There may be a multitude of reasons why things finally clicked into place, but all you can know for sure is that what you are doing right now is working, so keep it up.

Congrats! Well done. Keep it up.

ladynocturne

I guess that is a bit confusing. This is what I meant:

Two weeks ago I started logging my food - it was immediately evident that I rarely hit my daily goal of 1200(more when I workout), though I never realized as I wasn't depriving myself or feeling hungry really. Because I noticed this I thought I should put a concerted effort into at least hitting that goal daily - so I've started eating more...which *I think* is why i've lost a bit.

I say I think - because it seems so backwards. I am looking for confirmation that eating more may actually be what I need to do to reach my goal?

I'm not tricking myself, or miscounting, or misjudging amounts..

I'm a strong believer in fueling yourself properly and that under feeding can result in a lot of weird human body chemistry that is complex and difficult to understand. It's all just a guess at this point.

It's also entirely possible that you forgot about a few things you ate/drank here and there and once you started logging.... It's a normal psychological response, especially for perfectionists, to desire strongly to be "good" once you start being accountable for it.

I'd just keep doing whatever it is you are doing that resulted in weight loss, I wouldn't expect more than 1lb per week though from now on.

maybyn

Gosh, your posts are definitely confusing.

In my opinion, it's not simply eating more that allows you to get to goal. If you eat more, you will find that you have more strength and more energy to do the workouts that you're doing.

It basically is still a calorie in/calorie out equation BUT everything has consequences, meaning that the more you eat, the more you burn and in the long run, your weight loss works out because you don't binge, you exercise, you are fit, you eat well and so on.

My comments are made as an aside to any scientific/physiological explanations that may be made to provide a reason for you seemingly becoming unstuck in your weight loss.