Question about Too Little Calories

biged335

As of Jan 15 I've lost 36 lbs... Most of it's been through diet and I've started running, Feb 21, 3 days a week and strenght training 3 days a week. I didn't relize that I had cut my Calorie intake down to about 1100-1500 a day. I eat at least 5 times a day. End of last week I could tell I was losing energy and then I read about Starvation mode. I think I've entered it. I know I need to increase my calorie intake and I've started that, but I'm wondering what is the best way to do that.

ryzola

Get some more whole foods into your diet. Maybe some more essential fats, like omega 3, 6 and 9s? You need to fuel your body or you'll end up 'over training', which is counter productive. The lack of energy sounds like you could well be hitting this stage. Do you lack motivation? Feel tired more?

missbeezy

congrats on your loss so far and being able to start working out! I'm not a dr, but I don't think you have entered starvation mode for you would be really sick as well. (or almost there) you simply just need more energy. I would throw in a banana or an apple, some fresh veggies when you can maybe even some whole grains. some find it easier to pack snacks in the beginning of the day and just carry them with them then eat them when they can. You are doing really great, just try to get more energy and drink plenty of water!

robin52077

As a male, you should never get below 1500 a day NET, meaning if you Eat 1700 and exercise for 500, you are only at 1200 NET, so you NEED to eat at LEAST 300 more that day.

I am 105 lb female and even I eat more than 1500 net a day...

feel free to add me as a friend, share your diary, inbox me, etc.
I will share all my knowledge with you and help you to get it right. :flowerforyou:

reojames

Eating too little calories is a very dangerous thing. It can ruin your metabolism and cause all kinds of other problems. You end up burning muscle instead of fat. Since muscle burns a lot more calories than fat, you wanna hang on to it!
The first thing you need to do is figure out your Basil Metabolic Rate. You can find calculators for that online. Your BMR is the amount of calories you burn daily just by being alive. I used the one on Fat2Fitradio.com. Speaking of Fat2fit, you should listen to their podcast.
They recommend adding 10 percent to your BMR and never going under that.

PlanetVelma

Review your food journal and make a conscious effort to increase your calorie intake, try adding more protein, omegas, fruits/veggies/etc... You may want to consider printing out your food journal and making a visit to your doctor and/or a nutritionist. A nutrtionist could be really helpful in suggesting certain types of food to eat.

I would also consider incorporating a recovery shake after workouts, maybe that will assist your calorie intake and your energy level.

robin52077

Eating too little calories is a very dangerous thing. It can ruin your metabolism and cause all kinds of other problems. You end up burning muscle instead of fat. Since muscle burns a lot more calories than fat, you wanna hang on to it!
The first thing you need to do is figure out your Basil Metabolic Rate. You can find calculators for that online. Your BMR is the amount of calories you burn daily just by being alive. I used the one on Fat2Fitradio.com. Speaking of Fat2fit, you should listen to their podcast.
They recommend adding 10 percent to your BMR and never going under that.

GREAT advice.
Far too many people on here are depriving themselves of needed energy and nutrition, trying to drive a car with no gas, so to speak. And frankly, I believe the numbers MFP spits out are too low.

Also, set your goal to half pound or 1 lb a week, NOT 2. You don't seem to be trying to lose a lot, and too large a deficit is going to hurt rather than help.
2 lbs a week is ok for obese people, but when you are close to where you want to be, you NEED to go at it slower. And strength train, don't just run...the benefits of weight training are immense in so many different ways...

hpsnickers1

As of Jan 15 I've lost 36 lbs... Most of it's been through diet and I've started running, Feb 21, 3 days a week and strenght training 3 days a week. I didn't relize that I had cut my Calorie intake down to about 1100-1500 a day. I eat at least 5 times a day. End of last week I could tell I was losing energy and then I read about Starvation mode. I think I've entered it. I know I need to increase my calorie intake and I've started that, but I'm wondering what is the best way to do that.

Has your weight loss slowed? How much did you set up to lose per week? You might just need to re-calculate your goals. You can re-set them and choose 1lb per week instead of 2lb; .5lb instead of 1lb. This will increase your daily Net calories so you can eat more. And you can get more calorie dense foods like avocados, nut butters, almonds, olives, etc. Maybe even have a "spike day". One day when you eat high calories but with healthy foods (not a "cheat" day where you eat all the crap you want).

(Starvation Mode won't make you really sick. You could be in it and not even know. All starvation mode is is your metabolism slowing down and your fat burning/weigh loss stalling because you aren't getting enough calories/fuel). And you have to be very low for a number of days in a row to a week for it to happen. Up and down calories are fine. Some people have had great losses with calorie cycling and intermittent fasting. You can search this on the message boards. But as a male you definitely need more calories.

Take a close look at your nutrient numbers. I'm set at 40carb/40pro/20fat. I have a really easy time hitting this and have tons of energy these days. I changed my calories over to Maintenance and I'm still losing weight. It gives me a higher calorie goal to try and hit.

I'm 5'2" and 122.6lbs. Recently purchased a BodyMedia Fit. My lowest burning day was this past Saturday. I did nothing but lie or sit on the couch in front of the TV. I burned more than 1600 calories. I've burned over 2200 on a lazy day.

biged335

Thanks for all the advice... That'll be a great help.