Is This Bad For Me?

TriThreat

So this has been my strategy for the past month and a half :

I never eat more than 1,000 calories a day
I exercise for 30-40 minutes M/W and for 60 minutes T/TR
I drink only water

So far, I had lost 16 pounds on this plan, but I got on the scale today and it told me I had GAINED two pounds. I actually have been adding an extra hour of exercise for the past week or so, and this has really confused me. But I have been eating a lot more salty foods lately (I love salt more than sugar) Could this be causing me to keep some water weight? Is all the salt bad for me? Please, any advice/comments would be appreciated!

Thanks

Rilke

You are not eating enough. Eat more.

BlueJayMeg

You are going to get tons of responses telling you that you should be eating at least 1200 calories a day!

TriThreat

You are going to get tons of responses telling you that you should be eating at least 1200 calories a day!

It's not that I starve myself. I am comfortably full with the 1000 calories, I never let myself go hungry. Could my calorie intake really be the problem?

Heather75

You are going to get tons of responses telling you that you should be eating at least 1200 calories a day!

It's not that I starve myself. I am comfortably full with the 1000 calories, I never let myself go hungry. Could my calorie intake really be the problem?

Yes.

BlueJayMeg

Not being hungry doesn't mean you are getting enough nutrients. Your body may be holding on to weight now. This is the entire premise of MPF. The intro links might be a good resource for you.

lrc7

Just because your full doesn't mean your body is. You still need to eat even if your not hungry keeps your metabolism going

Jorra

It's not that I starve myself. I am comfortably full with the 1000 calories, I never let myself go hungry. Could my calorie intake really be the problem?

Yes, it really could. If you don't eat enough, your body gets scared that there isn't food around. It will hold on to fat harder to ensure you have the energy you need to fuel your body if you run out of food.

Most people need at least 1200 calories a day, usually more. Go with the suggestion MFP gives you, it's based on your height, weight, and activity levels. Your body needs fuel and MFP calculates how much. The website is built to help you succeed if you follow the method.

nuttyfamily

You are going to get tons of responses telling you that you should be eating at least 1200 calories a day!

It's not that I starve myself. I am comfortably full with the 1000 calories, I never let myself go hungry. Could my calorie intake really be the problem?

Yes, you are not eating enough.

barbiex3

eat more.
=] i work out probably as much as you and eat about twice what you do, and I lose every week.

GreenSkinnyJeans

Eating under/at 1,000 calories is only a good idea(And only works) for the first couple of weeks.
Now that you are use to exercise, and are getting even more, it's a great idea to bump up to 1,200 or even more to meet your needs.

BethanyMasters

You are going to get tons of responses telling you that you should be eating at least 1200 calories a day!

It's not that I starve myself. I am comfortably full with the 1000 calories, I never let myself go hungry. Could my calorie intake really be the problem?

You eat 1000 calories a day and work out every day.

Yes you are definitely not eating enough. You have to take into account how many calories you are burning.

If you are eating 1000 calories a day and burning 30 - 40 minutes worth of calories EVERY day then you are asking your body to function on WAY too few calories and it's probably freaking out and holding on to whatever you feed it.

Just because you don't feel hungry doesn't mean you don't need to eat and fuel your body.

mandy_lynn

I would suggest eating a minimum of 1200, but the days I work out more than an hour I tend to up mine to closer to 1500 and still lose. Your body is going to hold on to your fat when it's in starvation mode like you have created with your low calorie intake.

TriThreat

I guess I didn't realize how important the extra calories were. Thanks for the advice everyone! I guess I'll add to my diet and see what happens

woja9640

You need to eat 1200 calories AFTER exercising. Technically you are only eating 400-600 cal a day after excersizing.

aippolito1

Yes, it's bad for you. Your minimum is 1200 but if you're exercising, you should be eating those back too. I stopped losing at -20 lbs when I stopped eating so many calories... once I increased my calories (because I was working out more) and eating most of my exercise calories back, I started losing again. I've lost 2 weeks in a row eating back my exercise calories.

♥xenawarriorprincess♥

Women should never go below 1200 and men should never go below 1500 calories or your body will think it is starving, add at least 200 more and be careful with the salty stuff and u should be fine

sweetiebelle

EAT MORE!!!!!!!

glenr79

try to make sure it is good calories and not the salty foods that you like!

Lolyballs

your body goes into starvation mode and starts to hold on to everything it gets. You need to eat more... shananagins is right 1200 calories. You can get your metabolism all screwed up ... I sure did and I regret it. My doc told me if you want to burn a fire you have to add fuel... if you aren't putting enough fuel in your body the fire goes out.

chevy88grl

If what you're doing isn't working and you aren't losing weight (or you're gaining...) then it is time to switch things up some. The first place to start is to eat more. 1000 calories - for most people isn't enough for your body to function properly long term. When we starve our bodies, we may initially lose weight. But, when our bodies catch up with what we're doing - they'll freak out and start holding onto fat stores because it isn't getting enough food each day. Your metabolism will slow way down (which you don't want!). And you'll see a halt to your weight loss or a weight gain.

tamiller93

Yes, eat more food (healthy food)! Not sugary, salty stuff. The less man-made foods you eat, the better. Your body thinks it is starving, so it is keeping everything it can (and you are losing any muscle that you had). Not good.

BeastieJane

Okay, so as everyone's said, you should be eating more. But I definitely understand then not eating when you're not hungry thing, and I think that's healthy, because I don't know...I just think that maybe if you're not hungry you have the right to not eat?
(this is my opinion because I feel terrible if I have to eat when I'm not hungry, my dad has me to this a lot).

Anyway. I think the extra weight gain would be from a) bloat from all the salt (I love salt too though, so I also understand)
and b) muscle

that's just my guess, and you can feel free to ignore my opinion

TriThreat

Okay, so as everyone's said, you should be eating more. But I definitely understand then not eating when you're not hungry thing, and I think that's healthy, because I don't know...I just think that maybe if you're not hungry you have the right to not eat?
(this is my opinion because I feel terrible if I have to eat when I'm not hungry, my dad has me to this a lot).

Anyway. I think the extra weight gain would be from a) bloat from all the salt (I love salt too though, so I also understand)
and b) muscle

that's just my guess, and you can feel free to ignore my opinion

Yeah Lol maybe I can add some protein shakes in to boost my calorie count :]

snowman8wa

Yes it is bad for you and some of the other posts have valuable information as to why. One of these days when I have some time I will work on a posting of what I've learned over the years. But here are some facts that I've sucessfully used to help me. A Dietician once told me that the basics are this. For adults: Find out what is considered a healthy weight according to the height/age/weight charts and see if you concur with the charts. (personally, I added 10% to where I know have felt "GOOD")
UNLESS DR. APPROVED you should NEVER consume less tha 1200 calories and ONLY under supervision. Now to find out caloric needs- For (WOMEN) multiply 11 calories x (desired weight)= the number of calories you need to be that weight if you did NOTHING.....For men multiply by 12.

On the same rationale, if yyou're overweight, you can take your current weight and multiply it by the appropriate number above, you will SWIFTLY realize how many calories you are consumming on average on a daily basis. EYE OPENER!!!!

Why am I gaining weight? Because below 1200 calories, your body will begin to "store" calories to survive. It is worse if you add exercise to the mix......you will end up starving yourself to death and could damage organs. Read the below link about Marathon Runner Jim Fixx

http://www.vop.com/previous_broadcasts/2005/january/05043.htm

Hope this helps. This website takes some of this into consideration, that is why you get to eat more if you have incorporated you day's exercise into the equation.

chevy88grl

Protein shakes are a good way to boost calories AND they are great for you immediately following your workout. Some taste better than others (for me, I'm partial to Muscle Milk) and some dissolve better than others. It is a trial and error kind of thing.

SiltyPigeon

I started out on MfP doing exactly what you are doing. I ate <1000 calories per day... usually around 600-700. I consistently lost 1-2 pounds per week almost every week. On my TOM I gained 2 lbs, and after I would lose about 3-4. Then I started on the message boards and started reading about Starvation Mode. I got worried that I was messing up my metabolism. So, I increased my calorie intake to 1100 - 1400 every day. The first week I gained weight. The second week I stayed the same. Then guess what happened after that? I consistently lost 1-2 pounds per week almost every week, including during TOM. SO! Eat <1000 calories per day and lose 1-2 pounds per week OR eat 1100-1400 calories per day and lose 1-2 pounds per week. Tough call, right?

TriThreat

Wow I really appreciate all this info guys! I had no idea that I could be hurting myself with the "less than 1000 calories" intake. I will definitely pay more attention to the website suggestions. Thanks a lot everyone

Nikkiairforcewife

There's a free podcast available called Fat2Fit Radio (also available online) that talks about many healthy lifestyle changes to get fit including eating more calories. Check it out.

Also, since you mentioned you love salty snacks, I can totally relate. I just learned we should keep our sodium under 2500 mg a day. So, since that's hard to do sometimes, make sure you're getting plenty of water to flush it out.

Think of 8 8-oz. glasses as the MINIMUM.

I try to drink 12-14 glasses a day and it's made a big difference in shedding the weight. Good luck!