gaining on a 1200 calorie diet: Find out how many calories y

dawntillery

Before someone says "starvation mode" read everything.

I tried dieting awhile back and gained on a 1200 calorie diet, so I quit and went back to what i was eating prior to the diet for about 6 weeks.
I was always bloated, so full sometimes I just sat there and couldn't move. i was literally stuffing myself on the 1200 calorie diet.
I dont restrict my carbs but i dont eat WHITE carbs. No sugar unless its in the food. Good proteins
I am not doing the adkins
Anyways I quit that and for 1 1/2 mths I tracked my food intake normally and I did NOT even eat 1200 calories a day on a normal day. Now if it was the weekend and we went out to eat, i would, but for the most part I didn't. My fat intake was high, high carbs etc.
So i changed my diet and ate just when I was hungry, restricting white carbs and sugar and no massive FAT.
Chicken breast, tuna (with miracle whip light), eggs and lots of green veggies.
That is what I am doing now, some days i take in 6-800 calories and I am losing weight. I don't feel hungry, and i dont feel weak. I eat 3 meals (most of the time just 2, but I am getting better about breakfast) and a few snacks and I lead a very busy life. I am not promoting eating less that 1200 calories for everyone. I went to visit my doctor this week b/c I have been on the diet all month and he said my thyroid is enlarged and he is doing a test on it to see if that is why I am gaining when eating 1200 calories, because at my current weight 140 I should take in 1400 calories to MAINTAIN. Now you may say go to the gym and i use to when I was doing the first diet of 1200 calories and I was working out at the gym, zumba and still gaining. It was pathetic. Anyways in all this I have gained 20lbs trying to eat 1200 calories b/c everyone said i would starve myself with any less and they said my metabolism would eventually level out and i would lose it all real quick? LOL Now i have lost 10lbs just lowering my NORMAL calorie intake.
So before you start to diet take a good mth or so and see how much you are REALLY eating and then slowly drop it down from there to see your weight loss. If you normally eat 2000 calories and your body is ok with that at 200lbs (just maintaining) you may only need to drop it down to 1800 at first and work from there. I swear that is why diets dont work b/c people try to RAPIDLY drop calories and they are so hungry they cant make it work. Same goes for people who have NEVER been big eaters their entire life.
I am a one meal a day eater and it has been a lot for me to eat 3 meals, but I do it. This month has been so easy, there are times i still want my carbs, but I will be ok. I try to treat myself to something once a week.

akaMrsmojo

Could be a food allergy. I have one and I had the same problems.

WifeMomDVM

Hmmmm.... it will be interesting to see what the thyroid test results are. In general, normal adults won't gain on a 1200 calorie, balanced diet. I did read your whole post, but everything you are saying - i.e. - 1-2 meals a day - 6-800 calories is still screaming at me STARVATION mode. Unless, of course you have an underlying medical condition to explain differently.

Did your doctor think it was a good idea to eat 6-800 calories per day? I'm still thinking if you did the 30 min of cardio 3x week, 1200 cals a day divided into a minimum of 4 meals that after 3 months your weight would stabilize and you would start losing again (but yes you could gain at first for the first couple of months) again assuming your metabolism is normal (no thyroid issues). How long did you try to eat 1200 calories? 1 month? 2 months? More? When did you give up on it?

stormieweather

Unless you are very small or have a medical issue, less than 1000 calories generally isn't adequate. The fact that you are gaining on 1200 a day and that your doctor thinks there may be a thyroid problem means it isn't normal.

If anyone finds they have to eat 600-700-800 a day in order to lose, please see your doctor for a full workup. Food contains nutrients that your body needs, not getting enough nutrients isn't healthy. If you have a medical condition, your doctor should be monitoring your health and giving you medicine to aid in avoiding malnutrition and resolving the issues.

cuerpito

I have a similar situation. I have maintained my 230 lbs weight for the last two years eating less than 1800 calories a day. My doctor told me also that I had an enlarged thyroid but supposedly the tests he did came back normal. I consulted a wellness specialist who said this is not possible - if it's enlarged, there's a problem. But I'm just not sure what to do - fighting with my doctor is impossible to do. He doesn't listen and I'm not a specialist.

I'm now "dieting" again.I'm now trying to eat 1200 cal a day and I do p90x every day. In the last 6 weeks I lost...... ZIP. Nothing. Whatever I lose, I quickly gain back - within a day or two. So, I know exactly what you mean. People tell me to eat more but nobody believes me when I say that I gain. I even met with a nutritionist who told me to eat 1600 cal and exercise 30 min three times per week - that made me gain. She said it was impossible. It's almost like nobody wants to believe me.