Must I starve to lose?

KleioKia

I'm on 1200 >.<
and I'm struggling badly. I end up eating roughly 1400-1500 instead.
I'm five foot though, and wanting to go from a 115 to a 100 T.T
It's tough at first, but eventually your body will get use to it. I'm eating a ton of carbs so my calorie intake piles quickly.
Try lots of fruits and veggies.

DanielAdams3

Once you get used to a diet it becomes a habit eat 1500 calories a day I'm 6ft 3 male 216lb and I eat like a king no starving at all its all about the right food choices and loats of protein take a look at my diary and you will see and I'm very active with a extreme training programme

blondageh

I don't have much more advice to give to you then what everyone else have already said. It sounds like you eat good stuff and not junk already.. If you are really active and very muscular, you probably do need more calories just to exist.

What I DO have to say is I want your bathing suit! It is adorable!! So cute!

0somuchbetter0

I understood it as hyperbole.

Literal starvation is a terrible state. Having been anorexic in the past, I can understand people being sensitive about the distinction and wanting to argue that point. But starvation or not, it also makes me happy to see someone valuing their well-being enough to care about their hunger levels and energy while trying to lose weight. Too many people assume it has to feel *awful* And no, no - It doesn't and shouldn't.

I've never been anorexic and I don't know what real starvation feels like, but I've worked in international development for 20 years and I've been around people who were literally starving to death. So yes, I'm hypersensitive about the term.

dewsmom78

hmmm... I know you don't mean "starve" literally, right? 1600-1700 seems like plenty to me, but I'm only 5'3" and I've been doing this a long time. How tall are you? You say you have a "ton" of lean muscle...why is that? Were you a bodybuilder in the past? Are you sure about that? Have you had your BF% tested by a reliable method? I'm pretty muscular myself, but I don't use that as permission to eat more calories. Through lots of trial and error and measuring and weighing and experimenting, I've found my "sweet spot" of 1350 cals to lose about 1 to 1.5 lbs a week on average. Sure I'm hungry before meals...at first it was hard but I've gotten used to it. I've also learned that if I eat plenty of protein and fiber I don't get as hungry as when I eat meals that are heavier in carbs. i.e. I had pancakes for breakfast the other day and my stomach was growling a couple of hours later, whereas an egg or some Greek yogurt will last me to lunchtime.

AGREE

paymentm

I know you said that you don't exercise much but going for a jog/walk right in the morning helps me start my metabolism early and keeps away the cravings. I am eating about 1,000-1,200 calories a day without feeling hungry. I also use a multivitamin that helps me get the proper nutrients that i need.

43mmmgoody21

Once you get used to a diet it becomes a habit eat 1500 calories a day I'm 6ft 3 male 216lb and I eat like a king no starving at all its all about the right food choices and loats of protein take a look at my diary and you will see and I'm very active with a extreme training programme

no one on 1500 calories a day eats like a king (unless they are eating one meal a day)

PinkyFett

:noway:

ericarenee2005

I know where you are coming from with this because I eat the same amount and some days I am literally just still hungry. You know..it's not necessarily bad to feel hungry though when you are losing weight, but if you are feeling weak then something isn't right. Maybe you need more calories because of your busy life style. When I exercise I would usually eat a good amount around 2000 calories or so and I've still lost over 20 lbs in three months. Do whatever is realistic for you and you are going to stick to gal and good luck. I also found that drinking tea or coffee can help suppress hunger or playing a simple game on the computer or something takes my mind off of it.

caitconquersweight

I weigh 228. I eat 1400-1900 a day, depending on the day and what I eat. I can honestly say I've never ever starved myself to lose weight. If you're starving on that amount of calories, you're either not eating foods that will fill you up, or your have a medical condition.

And besides, if you want more calories to eat, you have to exercise. This isn't easy, sometimes it's not fun. It's hard work.

ATT949

All the online tools tell me to eat between 1600-1700 cals to lose. Seriously, I cant even get through one day on that?

I weigh 200lbs, but also have a ton of lean muscle. Im quite thin at 150-160. I dont work out much, but I have a pretty active lifestyle.

I eat lots of lean protein and fresh produce and high fiber grains- I eat very clean and healthy & avoid sugar. I also only drink H20. But I still find that if I go below 2000 cals I feel really weak. Must I starve and feel awful to release fat?

You will lose weight when you take in fewer calories than you burn.

How quickly do you want to lose weight?

When I decided to lose weight, I want to lose weight quickly and I ate 800 to 1k cals/net per day for 7 months. I lost 95 pounds and I had a superb weight loss experience. Some folks are comfortable with that approach (including doctors going back at least 40 years).

Other folks, including the good folks at MFP, suggest that you not eat less than 1200 calories per day.

If you really can't sustain a diet of less than 2000 calories, then < 2000 is a moot point - eat your 2000 and accept that it will take a while longer to lose weight.

If you have to stay at that level of calories, what about upping protein (so you feel full longer) and dropping the carbs, which are digested more quickly, hence causing us to feel hungry?

Having said that, if you want to change your weight, you're going to have to induce a caloric deficit. I'm 6' 1" and, with the exception of the calories I eat because I run, I only eat 1995 cals/day.

We all got to be obese because we shoveled in the calories. Sometimes you have to go through some pain to get to the other side, right?

Good luck with this. Lifestyle change can be tough.

pinkyslippers

Some great tips here. I know when I started I was so unused to feeling hungry it scared me - I had to go through a whole process of learning to listen to my body and figuring out what it needed. It does get easier. Good luck to you :flowerforyou:

Mr_Knight

All the online tools tell me to eat between 1600-1700 cals to lose. Seriously, I cant even get through one day on that?

Your body certainly can, just fine and without trouble. That is nowhere near "starving" levels of food intake.

Fix your mind, and your body will follow.

vanginmi

I used to feel the same way but realized that the more you work out, you get added extra calories to eat for the day. I got a FIT BIT and it links up to this program. It automatically synchs with this program and just by everyday activity, on top of intentional excercise, you get added extra calories to help you through the day. That's the only thing that's saved me many days.

This!!! Walk...lets you eat more. Highly recommend a fitbit. It shocked me how inactive I really was! Good luck.

Jkj95

First, you might want to make sure you're not actually eating less than that or measuring what you're eating wrong. If that's not the problem, maybe eating 2000 calories is a better goal for you. You probably won't lose weight as fast, but maybe it'll be healthier and make you feel better. I can't imagine you would gain weight or maintain when eating that amount at 200lbs. You could also combine eating 2000 calories with a little extra exercise and that might help you feel less hungry, while still losing weight at the rate you want to.

tierra85

I usually eat 1200-1500 a day. You learn to manipulate foods and meals. Feel free to fr me!

This. Eat more veggies and low calorie/high nutritional foods to fill up.

nursecat1

You may be the type who needs to have small meals every 2 hours. AND, it is super important to accurately measure everything. The portion control and estimating amounts is what kills me. It is such a discipline to weigh each piece of food or put it in a measuring cup.
You need to wright it down . And, to get started, try alternating days with fasting and water, and the next day with a sensible meal plan. Do that one or two weeks only. It trains your stomach to eat less.

nursecat1

Great advice on this subject. My dietician said that I need to eat more to lose! I have not been meeting my 12oo cal/day amount. That is hard to believe. Any ideas????

VeryKatie

My tip would be to snack on raw veggies and fruit. Half a pound - 1 pound of carrots can leave a person very full but be relatively low on calories. I just don't do this the day before I weigh myself. Wouldn't want a pound of carrots sitting in my tummy being the reason I didn't lose as much weight. Note this could work with other veggies. I do tend to find carrots the most filling though.

Haha maybe this is just a weird trick I use on myself? Other people seem to have more scientific responses.