How damaging to your weight loss to go under 1200

Penguinita

Hello everyone,

for the most part I barely go under 1400. But I notice during my time of the month I barely have an appetite and like today, I'm under the 1200 mark. So my question is, if I go under 1200 calories only for a few days will my metabolism and/or muscle mass be affected. Thank you!

candistyx

A few days, especially if your body is not demanding more food, won't be a problem imo.

bonnymom

No, you should be fine. A few days every now and then won't harm your metabolism. Maybe focus on eating a little bit more calorie dense foods during TOM, like some nuts.

fastbelly

You shouldn't be under 1200 calories, eat some peanuts or raw almonds or something, these are highly caloric foods that will give you a boost of energy and won't fill you up much.

rachellepilcher

I have heard that 2 days is ok but the 3rd is when your metabolism will drop if you dont up your cals

jbucci1186

as long as you don't do it consistently

crisanderson27

Two days isn't going to hurt you. I actually drop my calories a pretty high amount for two to three days (1300-1500, at 5'7" and 183lbs)...then pick it back up and eat slightly over maintenance for a day or two...on purpose. It really seems to have jump started my loss again.

You don't look like you need to lose any weight though lol...so I wouldn't worry at all =D. Catch your calories back up on the third or fourth day and you'll be fine.

Cris

Penguinita

No, you should be fine. A few days every now and then won't harm your metabolism. Maybe focus on eating a little bit more calorie dense foods during TOM, like some nuts.

Thanks, I think I'll try that while at work.

I'm thinking of getting in the majority of my calories in the morning. I am afraid of losing muscle mass that I worked my *kitten* to build so I do try to go over that 1200, which is never really a problem.

Hey Rachelle Picher, was it a magazine, blog, tv? either way I'll push to keep myself in check

Everyone thank you so much for your comments, they really help.

Penguinita

Two days isn't going to hurt you. I actually drop my calories a pretty high amount for two to three days (1300-1500, at 5'7" and 183lbs)...then pick it back up and eat slightly over maintenance for a day or two...on purpose. It really seems to have jump started my loss again.

You don't look like you need to lose any weight though lol...so I wouldn't worry at all =D. Catch your calories back up on the third or fourth day and you'll be fine.

Cris

Thanks Chris,

how has that see saw thing you've got going on helped your weight loss?

crisanderson27

Two days isn't going to hurt you. I actually drop my calories a pretty high amount for two to three days (1300-1500, at 5'7" and 183lbs)...then pick it back up and eat slightly over maintenance for a day or two...on purpose. It really seems to have jump started my loss again.

You don't look like you need to lose any weight though lol...so I wouldn't worry at all =D. Catch your calories back up on the third or fourth day and you'll be fine.

Cris

Thanks Chris,

how has that see saw thing you've got going on helped your weight loss?

My metabolism keeps burning like I'm eating my calories at a slight deficit...yet on the lower days, I'm not giving it enough calories...so it burns fat almost exclusively. The key is to try to keep a reasonable protien intake (along with fats and carbs to an extent) so your body doesnt' canabolize your muscle. Sometimes I don't do this...but i do try...and it hasn't seemed to hurt me yet.

I also implement interval workouts even when I'm not actually exercising (which I haven't been the last two weeks)...even if it's only ten minutes a day of planks or squats or something stupid (even jumping jacks!). Interval training spikes the hormones that tell your body to shed fat, because it's not necessary for short bursts of activity (like it would be for steady state activity). I like the tabata format, 20 seconds of max effort activity, 10 seconds of rest, repeat 8x.

Cris