Gaining on 1200 calories a day? Really?

PussyKat

So, I'm 5"4 female, nearly 21. Have lost over 60lb the past two years, first by sticking to a 1200 - 1400 calorie a day diet, but for the past few months was a lot more restrictive (900 calories a day and fasting once a week).

I got down to just below 109lb, then went home for Easter for a week, ate too much and the scale jumped to just below 116lb. I've been going back to 1200 calories a day, and i've gained another pound in the last few days.

What is going on? Have I really damaged my body so much that 1200 is too much? Or will my weight start to 'level out' sometime soon? I feel like crying in frustration here, I don't know what to do.

fteale

109lbs is very little, for anyone especially at 5'4". I imagine your body is desperately trying to redress the balance. 109 lbs is technically underweight at that height. At some point, you aren't going to lose any more weight because to do so means actual starvation.

lestahling

Your body is in starvation mode from only eating 900 calories a day and fasting. That is NOT good for your body, it is probably desperately trying to cling onto any calories it can get. You should eat 1200 calories a day MINIMUM, more if you exercise at all.

Keep eating more calories... 1200 plus... it should level off soon but you will probably gain a few lbs in the process, but it will be worth it to get your metabolism in working order. Be safe!

sharonuk10

A healthy 5'4" weight is 110 to 140.. sounds to me your body is trying to get you to within this.

morganadk2_deleted

your bmi is 18.7 which is low , 900 calories is not enough just to live well and be healthy!

tinareet

ohhh huni, i do know how you feel, why the hell we put ourselfves on such a restrictive meal plan baffles me(i did it too) and then we have to suffer the consequences.

try eating 1200-1400 and exercise(and eat back those cals) it may take even longer than a normal person but it will happen eventually, and try and concentrate on carbs, protein, fat. I found I used to always go over on carbs and fat and found i was putting weight on(but i know i needed to to get the nutrients my body required) but it has stopped now. Also ensure you take a multivitamin/mineral to ensure your micronutrients are taken care of. The 900cals has messed up your hormonal balance and has probs increased your body fat percentage and also messed your micronutrients, so your body is trying to get itself into balance(which will probs take a while) just be patient, malnutrtion(or starvation) is such a shock to the body.

xxx

phinners

I bet your body was chuffed to bits to get some grub in it over Easter! 900 cals and fasting, yeah it would have been over the moon to get some food. You are starving yourself, learn to eat properly before you end up screwing your body and mind right up.

littlemili

Realistically I doubt you will want to make yourself eat 1500 and eat back exercise calories right now. So start by stopping this fasting business as that's going to be killing your energy and restricting your nutrients aside from anything else. Open up your food diary if you feel comfortable, so we can see where your 900 calories are coming from. To be honest I sometimes net like 600 calories because of exercise, but if you are only intaking 900 and also exercising that's bad news. What you need to find is a stable, maintainable level of intake and exercise. It's your business what weight you aim for but at the lower end of the scale it's worth concentrating on eating good quality food (things where per calorie, you get a lot of vitamins, minerals etc) and measuring in body fat % rather than BMI or lbs.

Try, please, to just make one small change per week. This week stop fasting. Next week bump up to 1000 calories a day. The week after, try 1100. That way, you wont lose control over your body which I know is how it feels when people say "eat 500 more calories plus your exercise calories" - it scares the hell out of me too when people recommend that. Technically, what is happening to you makes no sense, right? That's because your body is clearly not functioning normally because what you are feeding it has thrown it off balance so the normal rules no longer apply. If you can find your way back to a normal way of eating (ie 1200 intake minimum, every day) then you can start to control your weight normally again.

I would also very strongly advise you that you talk to a medical professional about your food habits.