Eating too little? can't lose weight!!

jaylouisedavies

Hey fitness pals, question: am i eating too little and exercising too much? I try to exercise 5 or 6 days a week for about 40 minutes, doing running, pilates and kettle worx workouts, but no matter what i'm trying i just cannot lose weight!
I'm 5 ft 8 and weigh roughly 160lbs (ugh)
So i started tracking my food intake with my fitness pal, and my net was always very low, coming to around 500 net calories intake for that day!
Does this mean i'm exercising too much?
I'm starting to worry my thyroid is not working well, as my ED has caused trouble with that, though it was apparently fine last time it was checked.
Any suggestions please? I NEED YOUR HELP

Also, it looks like i'm GAINING weight?!

unbalanced1

You might be eating too little. I think that you should normally try to get at least 85% of your goal calories in. When my wife is dieting, she sometimes goes overboard and then doesn't lose because I think that your body doesn't want to give it up. Also, make sure that you are drinking your water. I generally eat something every couple hours. It might be an apple, banana or a couple of whole wheat crackers. Good luck.

jaylouisedavies

That sounds like me, it's like ive just damaged it too much it doesnt trust me! Diet coke is definitely out from now on haha. Thank you for your suggestions!

navyrigger46

Your net, if what you stated is accurate (Diary is closed so I don't know) is way too low. You can exercise that much, but you have to fuel that activity with more food. Not knowing your stats I can only guess, but 500net is likely 1000 calories or more, under what you should be consuming. But again, with your diary closed we can only speculate as to the actual number. Regardless, you are eating too little.

Rigger

fast_eddie_72

Eating too little can not make you gain weight. It's possible you're over-estimating the calories you burn doing exercise, or underestimating exactly how many calories you're eating. Do you use a food scale?

But by definition, if you're gaining weight, you're eating more calories than you're burning. Eating more will only make that worse.

jaylouisedavies

thanks everyone, such confusing business!!

ascrit

You should consult with a registered dietitian or nutritionist.

justinproulx1

youre under eating and causing metabolic damage id slowly increase cals asap

sullus

You should consult with a registered dietitian or nutritionist.

I'm more disappointed than I should be that you didn't say; "You otter consult with a registered dietitian or nutritionist. "

fast_eddie_72

youre under eating and causing metabolic damage id slowly increase cals asap

Seems unlikely if they're gaining weight. Other than a medical issue, I guess. Seems more likely they're over-estimating calories burned doing exercise, under-estimating calories consumed, or some combination of those.

jaylouisedavies

that took me ridiculously long to get the pun haha! But i am definitely considering seeing a nutritionist..driving me insane!

Quasita

Eating too little can not make you gain weight. It's possible you're over-estimating the calories you burn doing exercise, or underestimating exactly how many calories you're eating. Do you use a food scale?

But by definition, if you're gaining weight, you're eating more calories than you're burning. Eating more will only make that worse.

Eating too little can, in fact, cause problems with weight gain for people with a history of eating disorders. Do some research on the matter before you speak out of turn. People talking about subjects they don't understand makes me so angry.

OP, if you have a history of eating disorders, than you should know better than to net 500. Your NET calories should not dip below 1000. Under 1k is anorexia/bulimia level, whether it is caused by excessive exercising or just plain cutting calories from eating.

It sounds to me like you have not properly rehabilitated and need to get back to therapy and your physician to resume recovery. You have to remember that eating disorders are like other addictions. Once you develop them, you will also face the struggles that come with them.
I'm speaking from experience as someone in recovery myself. It took a lot for me to come to terms with the fact that I was not eating enough to see success in my weightloss. I was over-taxing my body and not fueling it properly and hit plateau... FAST. If you keep such a low NET, you'll find yourself gaining anytime you go over that, because your body is basically begging for it.

I have written several blog pieces about EDs and clinical starvation. I highly recommend you do some reading, and understand how VLCDs are very dangerous, especially for those of us with history. I fear you are walking a very slippery slope here, dear.

Quasita

youre under eating and causing metabolic damage id slowly increase cals asap

Seems unlikely if they're gaining weight. Other than a medical issue, I guess. Seems more likely they're over-estimating calories burned doing exercise, under-estimating calories consumed, or some combination of those.

Metabolic damage and eating disorders ARE medical issues that shouldn't be ignored.

jaylouisedavies

Here was a day from last week, to give you some sort of idea of what i'm consuming:
My goal intake is 1400 kcal,
I consumed 967 (roughly), and burned 456 kcal running for 40 minutes. My net was therefore 511, with a left over 949 kcal
Is this normal?

arrseegee

Here was a day from last week, to give you some sort of idea of what i'm consuming:
My goal intake is 1400 kcal,
I consumed 967 (roughly), and burned 456 kcal running for 40 minutes. My net was therefore 511, with a left over 949 kcal
Is this normal?

Read the very helpful posts above, particularly from Quasita, and you can answer that question yourself.

erickirb

Eating too little can not make you gain weight. It's possible you're over-estimating the calories you burn doing exercise, or underestimating exactly how many calories you're eating. Do you use a food scale?

But by definition, if you're gaining weight, you're eating more calories than you're burning. Eating more will only make that worse.

^ This, but I would add that if you recently had more sodium in your diet, or started a new workout plan you may be retaining more water which could be masking any "real" weight loss you may have had.

jaylouisedavies

My eating disorder is very unstable, and you are completely right, i'm not recovered.
I'm glad to hear you are recovering Quasita!! How have you overcome your weight plateau?

tfleischer

Eating too little can not make you gain weight. It's possible you're over-estimating the calories you burn doing exercise, or underestimating exactly how many calories you're eating. Do you use a food scale?

But by definition, if you're gaining weight, you're eating more calories than you're burning. Eating more will only make that worse.

Eating too little can, in fact, cause problems with weight gain for people with a history of eating disorders. Do some research on the matter before you speak out of turn. People talking about subjects they don't understand makes me so angry.

OP, if you have a history of eating disorders, than you should know better than to net 500. Your NET calories should not dip below 1000. Under 1k is anorexia/bulimia level, whether it is caused by excessive exercising or just plain cutting calories from eating.

It sounds to me like you have not properly rehabilitated and need to get back to therapy and your physician to resume recovery. You have to remember that eating disorders are like other addictions. Once you develop them, you will also face the struggles that come with them.
I'm speaking from experience as someone in recovery myself. It took a lot for me to come to terms with the fact that I was not eating enough to see success in my weightloss. I was over-taxing my body and not fueling it properly and hit plateau... FAST. If you keep such a low NET, you'll find yourself gaining anytime you go over that, because your body is basically begging for it.

I have written several blog pieces about EDs and clinical starvation. I highly recommend you do some reading, and understand how VLCDs are very dangerous, especially for those of us with history. I fear you are walking a very slippery slope here, dear.

Thank you for the time and insight and thoughtfulness of this reply.

Quasita

Here was a day from last week, to give you some sort of idea of what i'm consuming:
My goal intake is 1400 kcal,
I consumed 967 (roughly), and burned 456 kcal running for 40 minutes. My net was therefore 511, with a left over 949 kcal
Is this normal?

NO.

This is not even a recommended level for someone on a bariatric surgery post-op diet.
If your goal is 1400 calories, why would you cut even lower than that?
I also suspect that your burn calculation is off... but regardless, you're not eating enough to start.

Diet experts at the Mayo clinic recommend the rehabilitation of a starving individual to begin at a MINIMUM of 1200 calories. There is a reason for this. There is a reason why MFP will not calculate lower than 1200.

If you are stuck on this, you need to get professional help.

WALKSMARATHONS

Eating too little CAN and WILL make you gain weight. Your body goes into starvation mode and slows metabolism as a natural defence mechanism during times of famine. Counting calories is both a silly and brutal way to live. Just stop eating all those tasty substances which are not food and eat food instead. There is nothing difficult or complicated about losing weight.

ascrit

You should consult with a registered dietitian or nutritionist.

I'm more disappointed than I should be that you didn't say; "You otter consult with a registered dietitian or nutritionist. "

Legit LOL! Damn, a missed opportunity for sure. I will keep that in mind for next time! :flowerforyou: