Low Carbs - Not enough Calories

determinedgirl1

I have lost 60 lbs. eating healthy and exercising...but I still have about 60 lbs to go. I have been staying between 1200-1500 calories (weekends tend to be cheat days)...Recently my depression / anxiety medicine changed and my doctor prescribed Prozac & Ativan. I have gained 12 lbs in less than a month. I am not blaming the entire weight gain on Prozac because I went on vacation and did not log my meals...or eat very healthy so...I told my doctor that I was concerned about the weight gain and thought Prozac might be making it harder to lose weight, if not causing me to gain.

He said absolutely Prozac (or any SSRI) can make you gain weight and advised me to keep taking my meds the way he prescribed them but step up my exercise and cut out carbs (or drastically cut carbs). So...with that being said...I have lowered my carb intake to 20-25 per day but now I am not getting enough calories. I think I am eating enough but I am not even getting close to 1200. Here is an example of my diet since cutting carbs:

Breakfast: eggs (hard boiled) or protein bar or handful of nuts
snack: handful of nuts or string cheese
lunch: chicken or fish with some sort of low carb vegetable
dinner: chicken, fish or steak with some sort of low carb vegetable
snack handful of nuts or string cheese

I do not have a huge variety of foods right now because I am still learning about low carb foods. Any suggestions??

Unknown

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Jestinia

Suggestion: Put some steak on your plate.

jsteras

Almond milk with protein powder. I use the thirty calorie milk and the powder has one hundred calories.

GauchoMark

Did your doctor give you a carb target or did you self impose that? 20-25g per day seems very tight.

Doctors really tend to give horrible nutrition advice. I would be careful to be sure you ask follow up questions so you can satisfy yourself that your doctor has a reason for the advice he is giving and not just spouting off the typical crap they tell everyone because they saw it on oprah or something.

If you really want to stay that low, make sure you are getting about 1.5g protein per lb of LBM and be sure you are eating TONS of lettuce, celery, broccoli, etc. Also, did he give you a fat target? If no, then 1) it REALLY makes me suspicious of his advice and 2) you could probably increase fat a little to get more calories. However, protein and veggies are the essentials to cram into your diet.

WBB55

(1) I URGE YOU -- You simply MUST get enough calcium. Please add some whole milk or another quality source of calcium. IF YOU DONT GET ENOUGH CALCIUM YOU WILL LOSE BONE while you diet over a long period of time.

(2) No matter how low you're trying to go with carbs, it is ESSENTIAL that you eat a couple servings of fruit each day (unless you know for certain you're getting the vitamins elsewhere and are under regular care of a dietitian or weight loss doctor). Blueberries and oranges are two I personally recommend for people trying to eat low carb. They still have carbs. But their vitamin to carb ratio is very attractive.

(3) PLEASE BE GOOD TO YOUR COLON. There are high protein grains that can serve as your recommended whole grain for the day. If you're eating low carb, I'd recommend things like lentils, navy beans and black beans. But also, oatmeal.

I know these suggestions will push up your carb intake. But I recommend these things to everyone trying to lose a lot of weight over the long term. Your mileage may vary.

wilsoje74

I personally would never go that low on carbs. Your diet looks very limited and not sustainable long term in my opinion. Why not make small changes slowly rather than go so drastic?

determinedgirl1

He did not give me a fat target. But I will definitely follow up with some questions. Thanks to everyone for the support & advice!