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Kbrain228

I joined this forum 4 days ago and I love it!!!! I do have one small problem though. I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I have only been comsuming about 800 calories. People are yelling at me to eat more! Now I have NEVER been told to eat more before. It's just that I get full and I don't want anymore to eat! And the fact that everything I eat is very low in calories so I feel like I'm eating alot. How bad is it to only consume 800 calories? Can anyone help me please!

Kbrain228

I joined this forum 4 days ago and I love it!!!! I do have one small problem though. I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I have only been comsuming about 800 calories. People are yelling at me to eat more! Now I have NEVER been told to eat more before. It's just that I get full and I don't want anymore to eat! And the fact that everything I eat is very low in calories so I feel like I'm eating alot. How bad is it to only consume 800 calories? Can anyone help me please!

lotusfromthemud

You really should ingest more calories. I find it is helpful (as I'm on a baseline of 1500, more on my heavy workout days). To drink some of my calories. I have gotten into the habit of drinking milk (in a decaf latte) which I never used to allow myself to do. Almond milk is also very gentle on the tummy. I make mine using a tablespoon of almond butter, and a cup of water mixed in the blender. I add cinnamon to this, and it's very soothing. Or a fruit smoothie with protein powder is another easy and healthful way to add calories.

800 calories a day will most likely cause your body to go into starvation mode, hanging on to every pound. I was set at 1200 and actually gaining weight, until I upped my calorie intake to 1500. It took a while for my metabolism to adjust...but now that it has, I'm losing a pound a week, rocketing toward my goal.

The only other thing is...double check to make sure you're recording everything...even garnishes, added oils and dressings....this can add up quickly.

cardgrl

Hi K~
From what I have read and understand, your body needs "X" amount of calories to do it's daily functions. If you starve your body of the X amount of calories it needs, it will go into starvation mode and store fat. The optimal weight loss mode is the 1200 calories. Make sense?
Jenn

sanlin20

Hi Kbrain228:
Welcome to MFP. My personal belief is that if you are not hungry and not feeling weak, you should be fine. Make sure you drink plenty of water, supplements, and be truthful about the portion size of your meals.

Quite a few members here will urge you to eat more because they believe you are or you will be in starvation mode if you eat too little. I think the body goes into a survival mode only in the extreme case of starvation in which it shuts down non-vital functions and breaks down muscles. I don't really think the starvation mode is to be blamed if someone is having difficulty losing weight. Check out my previous comments about this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/864-pounds-per-week-question

It may be a good idea to consult with a professional nutritionist too.

Healthier_Me

I agree with the previous posters.

Try eating foods with a bit higer calorie amount.

I'm the same way from time to time.
At 9 lastnight, I checked my food log and I had only consumed almost 500 calroes.
I wasn't hungry at all but I know that's not good for my body so I had 2 Special K waffles with 1 tbs PB & some low fat chocolate milk.

Just try to eat atleast 1 meal with a bit higher calorie amount.

pamelawh

you need to eat 1200 calories a day or your body will go into starvation mode and store what you eat as fat. add snacks like celery sticks or an apple or an orange. eat negative calorie foods in between meals. you don't need to wait until your hungry to eat sensibly. in fact if you are eating right you won't get hungry.

agitch

I watched my mother-inlaw starve and fast saying she just wasn't hungry. She couldn't understand why she wasn't losing weight. I got tired of telling her she wasn't eating enough and sometimes 800 calories a day was too much for her. She did lose a little weight at first but later it would not come off. Be careful about under eating. I at least know that much. I am trying like you to lose weight. I think if I eat less, I'll lose weight faster but then I remember my mother-inlaw bless her heart, I love and miss her. She died in January. In the hospital she didn't want to eat sugar free jello, said it would make her fat. I don't get it, it hurt to see her like that.

Kbrain228

Thanks for all the advice! I'm just trying to get healthy so I can start a family!

nbuehrmann

I can totally talk from experience here telling you that you need to up your calories.
When I first decided to start losing weight i drastically cut my calories. I don't know how far I cut them, I just know that all of a sudden i stopped eating whatever I wanted to and ate salads ...vegetables all day.. low fat yogourt etc. And I lost weight. I lost about 15lbs in my first month, but while keeping this up I only lost another five pounds over the next few months... so I started to cut back more. Instead of putting chicken in my salad I ate just garden salad with light sugar free dressing or just lemon juice... and for snack I skipped anything substancial and just ate veggies. Yogourt for breakfast... sugar free and small quantities. I ate like this for about... I don't know four or five months before I started to get really frusterated since I stopped losing any weight at all and instead I began to gain weight soo extremely easily.
I decided I need to go to the gym and I hired a trainer (because I thought I had slowed down my metabolism too much by just sitting in class). I worked out hard keeping my calories limited and still didn't lose a single pound. My trainer was very confused by this until he sat me down and actually counted up how many calories I was eating.
I was only eating 700-900 calories a day (plus starting to work out). I was horrified because I'd never counted calories... didn't understand it and always thought the way to lose was not to eat much. So my trainer sat down with me a set out a meal plan to bring me up to around 1600 calories a day and working out to burn around 300-400 a work out period. It was hard eating extra food, I had to litterally stuff myself because my stomach had shrunk, but finally now I'm actually hungry now and look forward to eating my calories and have lost about 5 pounds in the last month and a half. It started slow but my weight loss is picking up. Plus I feel better. I thought I felt fine but... now I feel better.
Save yourself the trouble! I know it seems counter intuitive but 1200 calories isn't really that much. Do what you have to do to get there or else you're just going to prolong your goal.

Kbrain228

My doctor is the one that put me one the 1200 calorie diet though.

redalee

Thanks everyone for sharing your heartfelt stories!

Loretta_Jo

You said you are trying to get healthy so you can start a family and your doctor is the one that put you on the 1200 calories a day…then that is what you should be eating. Your doctor is the one that knows what is best for you and your personal needs so your body will be able to carry and deliver a healthy baby. Just think about it that way.
Hang in there and take it one day at a time. Time is going to pass…so make use that time to become as healthy as you can be. In the end you will be soooooo glad you did.
And I agree with you this place is the best. I love it here.

denmother46

I think that when people here are talking about your body going into starvation mode they actually mean that your metabolism slows down and therefore so does your weight loss. True starvation mode would be a more drastic situation.
I have been having the same problem. Most days I find it very difficult to eat the minimum 1260 calories that I shoudldbe eating and I earn an additional 350-400 calories for exercise. I did lose 10 - 12 pounds the first month, but it has since slowed down. I think this has happened for exactly the reason everyone here has been stating. Instead of eating food I dont really want late in the day I have ben trying to up my calories slightly throughout the day. I have also noticed ( this has happened to others here as well) that if I have a cheat day or eat extra calories I either stay at the same weight or even lose a pound in the next day or two.

Kbrain228

Loretta Jo you are so full of great advice! I guess you know what you are talking about you have done it! You inspire me soo much thank you for all of your advice! I read somewhere that if you take a spoon full of apple cider vinigar once in the morning and once at night it jolts your matabilism what do you guys think? Tahnks for all the great advice! You guys keep me going!

Loretta_Jo

You are very welcome…I am glad you find my advice helps.
I have heard about the apple cider vinegar but never tried it. I even know of a couple of people who use it. But I am one of those odd people who has to ask the doctor first before I can take or use anything like that because of my multiple health issues. (I choose to call them issues rather then problems *grin*…just my way of not giving in to them *giggle*) I can’t even go to the health food store and buy a supplement with out clearing it through the doctor first. I can use the vinegar in food I know but every day twice a day….that could cause me a problem…not sure. That is why I always ask my doctor first before starting something like that on a regular basis.
It will be interesting to see what others have to say about it. I may bring it up at my next doctors visit.

villamiller

In relation to the vinegar, I 've read that an ingredient in capsicum/peppers is said to increase metabolism. Any truth in this, do you think?

kimford28

I have never heard of this vinegar thing... do you take it straight up or mix it with something? I love vinegar... especially on fries and salt and vinegar chips.... (which ehhhhem, I have not had in a LONG time) but I don't know if I could do this!

banks1850

Unfortunately there is no scientific evidence that it works, whether that is due to nobody running tests or just that it was tested and they couldn't find any conclusions, I don't know, but I couldn't find any results on my search (I looked into this). But it stands to reason that if you believe it works, many times that is enough! I have seen many testimonials that swear by it.

Loretta_Jo

I have heard about the peppers but I don’t know if that really works or not. I have also heard that caffeine speeds up your metabolism and ice cold water is suppose to speed it up also. Has anyone heard that?

nbuehrmann

Maybe i wasn't too clear... sorry I meant 1200 calories isn't too much more than 800 that you should go for the full 1200 even though your not hungry.