Scared to increase

ovi212

So I know this has probably been addressed many times...but here it goes...

I have been netting an intake of under 1200 because I was really impatient about my weight loss. It doesn't seem to be moving fast though so I feel like it may not be worth it. I am lacking energy a lot, don't feel rested and dread exercising sometimes. The problem is I feel like I have gotten somewhat used to this amount of food. I've been eating very healthy/clean and I feel like I'm hungry but can't imagine consuming more food. After 5 weeks it's become foreign. I just stick to my routine and that's it.

I was wondering if I up my intake to a net of at least 1200, will I gain all the weight back? I worry my body has gotten used to this amount. Would it be better to up my intake and keep my exercise the same (30-40 min 6x a week) or to eat less and not exercise?

My diary is open, I log mostly everything, though I tend to log off at night and not log my night snack. Still sure to be netting under 1200 though. I am also looking to lose 2-3 more lbs. I have a desk job during the day, with prob 10mins of walking. Then I go home and exercise (cardio kickboxing, boot camp, light weights etc). I eat 3 meals (generally, sometimes I skip breakfast, and have 2-3 snacks.) I am open to any ideas about changing my diet or exercise.

Aaron_K123

I was wondering if I up my intake to a net of at least 1200, will I gain all the weight back?

There is no way that if you truly net 1200 calories without underestimating your food intake or overestimating your exercise you will do anything but lose weight let alone gain weight. Your body needs more than 1200 calories unless you are incredibly small in which case you probably don't need to be dieting anyways.

The difficulty just comes in being accurate about your caloric intake and expenditure.

Aaron_K123

Check your BMR:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

If 1200 calories is above your BMR then even if you did nothing but sleep all day and all night with the 1200 calories vein-dripped into you you would still lose weight.

If you decide to actually get out of bed and have a normal day you can probably safely add 25% of your BMR in calories on top of that just for being upright.

agronx

When I first started I did the 1200 cal for about a week...maybe two. It did not work for me. I felt really sluggish and starving. I put myself up to 1300 and it made a big difference in the way I felt and my hunger level. 100 cal a day doesn't seem like a big difference, but it def works for me.

ovi212

Ok so I got 1300 as my BMR....
Does this mean I have to exercise everyday to burn more calories or I'll gain by eating like a normal person...

DorkothyParker

If you eat 1300/kcal a day, you will lose weight.

If you are doing more intense exercise, you will probably want to up your intake.

I am fairly small (my BMR is a bit lower than yours), so it's important to recognize you will lose weight much more slowly than someone who is much larger. A goal of 1 lb/week may not even be realistic or healthy.

You may also benefit from a heavy lifting program instead like Starting Strength and focusing on fitness gains/wellness instead of weight.

ovi212

So according to this site http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html, not sure it's accurate though...

my TDEE is 1600 if I am sedentary (desk job) so no working out
OR 1800 if I work out 1-3x a week.

What would be considered as "exercising" ?

If this is actually true, and I am currently 'exercising' as they consider it...then my TDEE is 2100-2300.....meaning I have been having a deficit of about 1300 a day...so I should lose 2.5lbs a week...

Aaron_K123

There are two numbers you should care about:

1) BMR: Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the amount of calories your body needs to keep your heart beating, your brain functioning and your body temperature at 98.6 degrees. Your body will use this amount of calories at least no matter what you do even if you just stay in bed all day long.

2) TDEE: Total Daily Energy Expediture: This is the amount of calories your body actually uses on any given day. It is a function of your BMR plus the calories burned for activity. Activity can be as simple as standing upright or as intense as aerobic cardio. Generally speaking you can assume that just from being on your feet and doing your general day you can add an extra 25% of your BMR for activity (which would bring your TDEE to about 1600 calories) and any exercise gets layered on top of that (going for a 45 min jog and burning 300 calories more would make your TDEE 1900 for that day)

As a general rule for healthy weightloss you want to eat between your BMR and your TDEE. If you want to lose more weight you exercise more.


If your BMR is 1300 and you eat 1200 calories a day there is zero chance that you will lose weight and in fact you should probably consider eating more than that.

Aaron_K123

So according to this site http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html, not sure it's accurate though...

my TDEE is 1600 if I am sedentary (desk job) so no working out
OR 1800 if I work out 1-3x a week.

What would be considered as "exercising" ?

If this is actually true, and I am currently 'exercising' as they consider it...then my TDEE is 2100-2300.....meaning I have been having a deficit of about 1300 a day...so I should lose 2.5lbs a week...

A calorie deficit that large is not healthy and your body will not respond in a very positive way. You will be hungry, you will be lethargic and your metabolism will slow down as your body goes into a sort of shock.

You can get good weight loss healthily if you aim for about 20% below your TDEE which if your TDEE was 2100 calories would be eating 1600 cal a day which sounds much more reasonable to me. The trick here is not to overestimate the number of calories you are burning from your exercise. If you want to fudge it you can eat a bit less than that but 1200 is definitely overly low and you will make yourself sick doing that.

You want something maintainable that will get you there eventually, if you fall to impatience you will just get frustrated as you become lethargic and feel hungry and ill as you lose both fat and muscle and possibly even bone density.

Aaron_K123

Give this calculator a try.

It defines what the different levels of activity are down below and you can type in the number of hours you spend doing each activity in 24 hours. If you want to report only 30 minutes you can just type in 0.5 for half an hour.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

When I use it it gives me a BMR of 1700 and a TDEE of 2500 as an example.

ovi212

ok I got 1300 and 1800.
Gosh you are so helpful!

ovi212

As far as logging exercise, what do you think bootcamp or cardio kickboxing is?
I've just been logging it as general aerobics and log 10 min less than the video is long because of restimes etc.
In the other calculators I was counting this as moderate activity, with the underestimate of time.
I don't want to over estimate my exercise calories. I know it plays a lot on your weight and I am about 119

corgarian

How tall are you?

ovi212

Just measured myself today...after a very long time...and i was over estimating before..I'm 5'3"

Aaron_K123

So this is probably going to be hard for you (it is hard for almost everyone) but the next step is to pick a calorie value between those numbers (say 1400 to 1600) then stick to that religiously for a couple of months and see how your body responds. If you try to measure progress in days all the random fluctuations that everyone experiences are going to psyche you out. But if you stick to that and you feel good and after say 10 weeks you see a reduction in your waist size then congratulations you are losing at a healthy pace that should be maintainable. Time to time you might have to make adjustments but try to stick with something for a while consistantly. Dont kid yourself though this will take time and it should take time. You try to rush it and it will cause you problems.

trogalicious

So this is probably going to be hard for you (it is hard for almost everyone) but the next step is to pick a calorie value between those numbers (say 1400 to 1600) then stick to that religiously for a couple of months and see how your body responds. If you try to measure progress in days all the random fluctuations that everyone experiences are going to psyche you out. But if you stick to that and you feel good and after say 10 weeks you see a reduction in your waist size then congratulations you are losing at a healthy pace that should be maintainable. Time to time you might have to make adjustments but try to stick with something for a while consistantly. Dont kid yourself though this will take time and it should take time. You try to rush it and it will cause you problems.

yup.

pick a number. log everything. religiously. accurately. for at LEAST 6 weeks. Weigh yourself and check for a trend. If you lose, then you've found your deficit. If you don't lose, you've found your tdee. If you gain, well then.. look at how much you've gained and adjust accordingly.

you can visit every single calculator out there... it won't matter until YOU test it yourself.

freckly3321

Bump...good information to have.

DuckDynastyMakesMeLaugh

Another encouragement would be to take measurements and pics so that even if the scale is not moving (weight loss is not linear) you can see physical changes.

ps. I hope you take akor and trog's advice about upping your calories and being patient. Don't sell yourself short by under eating - can't stress that enough. We see it all the time here at MFP -people want fast results, don't eat enough, and within a few weeks they are crashing and burning and wondering what went wrong. Lack of energy for workouts, tired, suddenly overeating and binge eating, grouchy - keep this up and eventually the posts become about hair loss, brittle nails, complete stalls in weight loss, and a slowed metabolism to match the low intake, which leads to needing to eat less and less in order to lose weight.

You don't want to go down that road! Eat your calories, drink water, exercise, take rest days, get good sleep - good luck!

Have a read through this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13 Great info there.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

healthygreek

your diary is depressing to me, i could only look back a few days

how are u functioning with out being tired and mood swings?

I dont want to hear about how little you are and how u dont need more calories

Your diary is truly sad. Take it tot your Dr and see what they say.

Good luck to you.

+1

WhisperingCloud

I was in the same situation. I started out under 1200, and was terrified to start eating exercise calories back, making me go up to 1200. I found that my weight loss did not slow at ALL, however, and I felt much better; I was less irritable, my dry skin went away, even started pooping again. Now that I'm nearing my goal, I've been upping my calories every few weeks, trying to slow the loss at a lesser pace to get ready to maintenance. I went up to 1300, then 1500, now I'm up to 1750. After losing the majority of my weight on 1200, 1750 seems like SO much food, and guess what? I'm still losing! The thought that made me finally take the plunge was, I'll just try it out. Its not like you're going to gain 50 lbs if it you try it for a couple of weeks. If you start gaining, you have the option of reducing your calories, though I don't think that will happen. I think you'll be pleased with the results you get.

neandermagnon

OP - read this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1237237-a-not-humble-brag