Trying to eat enough calories

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  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    The virgogoddess I wish I had been able to find your post because I agree that it is rough posting in here. Lol

    Mereditheve when yo do not eat enough calories for a long period of time your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down. Add this to severe sleep deprivation, for over a year I was lucky to get more than 20 hours of sleep a week, and you now have very low energy. I was not excersising and was honestly, barely functioning. So I seriously doubt I was burning many calories to start with. All in all my lifestyle over the last couple of years was an unhealthy mess, but I wasn't just sitting there cramming my face. That would have taken energy I just didn't have. ;-)

    MFP definitely seems off on most things. I use the calorie count Zumba gives me for my workout, which is usually 100 or so calories less than MFP's suggestion and I drop 100 calories off of what they say you burn walking and carrying 15lbs. ( my son actually weighs 27 lbs.) With food, I adjust the nutrition info. To the correct amount if it's packaged. That's the best I could come up with on the calorie burn corrections.

    Starvation mode isn't really a thing IMO. If you don't give your body enough nutrients, your weight loss will stall for a bit, and then you'll continue to lose - it's just not a healthy way to lose.

    Were you formally diagnosed with sleep deprivation? Because lack of sleep causes decreases in leptin and elevations in ghrelin - these are two hormones that regulate hunger and fullness (satiation). So usually sleep deprived people eat *more* not less. I'm currently being treated for severe sleep deprivation.

    Also, on your exercises. are you using a HRM? And why are you logging carrying your child around? I'm not being critical, just curious.

    I have a really hard time meeting my calorie goals - it's partly mental though. I decreased my workouts some so I could get a handle on eating properly - and making sure I was taking care of my body. It doesn't make sense (again IMO) to burn 500-700 calories a day like you are and then say you can't meet your calorie goals.

    Again, all of this is my opinion based on my personal experiences.
  • Sherbear1109
    Sherbear1109 Posts: 155 Member
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    No sleep deprivation. Just a baby who never slept. Which meant I never slept. Since he was my 2 nd child, I couldn't nap during the day when he did, like I could with my first. I was completely exhausted all the time. I log carrying a child just for a low guesstimate of what I burn doing things with my kids. He walks, but I spend a lot of time carrying him around daily. I also give a lot of piggy back and horsey rides around the house, swim with them, and a number of other play activities that do get to be a workout by the end of the day. I didn't really gain much weight, but I lost my muscles and didn't lose my pregnancy weight, either.
  • Sherbear1109
    Sherbear1109 Posts: 155 Member
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    Thanks to everyone for your opinions and input on this. Except the snarky woman, who had nothing to add other than she apparently knows what I eat. The rest of you were helpful and insightful, though and I appreciate it. Even those of you who are all about the food weighing. While I'm not going to start weighing my food, you did make me feel better about the stupid message I get everyday from MFP about going into starvation mode. If I'm off by a bit, then I'm probably closer to my calorie goal than I'm registering. :-)

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