Help me save my left foot

rileysowner

I hate to add more to your plate, but you are male, and 1500 calories a day is considered the starvation threshold for men. That means it is considered the minimum for males. I agree you are eating too little, but if you have been doing this for a long time your body will have entered survival mode and slowed your metabolism by various means including reducing muscle mass. Add calories and strength training and measure yourself (chest, waist and hips) as the scale is a liar. You are likely retaining water because with increasing your calories you have likely increased your sodium intake as well.

TipMcE

Ok. I'll give it a go. I'll be my own guinea pig (or maybe just a pig).

For the next two weeks, I'll eat a net of 1200 cals but maintain my exercise program. That means approx 1500 cals a day. I'll also increase fruit and veg considerably.

Two weeks ... if it doesn't work, you'll see 3 left work shoes going cheap on eBay.

I'll post my progress.

It's now Day 4 and I couldn't avoid the scales any longer. I've felt fatter every day since I began, but it could be psychological. Unfortunately, it's real. I've put on 1kg. I'm fast losing faith in the group consensus. I'll persist for a couple more days but if my weight continues to go up, I'll abandon ship.

From what I've read on the posts if your body has been in starvation mode, and you up your calories at first your weight will go up (I know, bummer). But if you stick with it, the weight will start to come off again. It can take a couple of weeks for your body to adjust. Don't give up yet. And eat healthy calories like nuts, lean protein, whole grains. Good luck and keep that mcDonalds menu away from your foot!

Jenlwb

This is really interesting, even if it does mean you're a science experiment! Keep us posted, I'd love to see how it goes.

Mommawarrior

EAT .... you are not eating enough so your body won't let go of anything!

ljbhill

Hey. That was me too. I was very close to goal and also was around the 1200 cal mark. I was bumping between 1-2Kg for 2 months! Just recent'y started cycling my calories (zigzaggin) and in the first week lost .8Kg! Blew the plateau right out of the water. 0.7Kg is massive when you are so close to goal! Fingers crossed it continue for my next weigh in. I would recommend looking into it and giving it a go

terence

I burn A LOT of calories and I HAVE to replace the ones I've burned or my body freaks out and starts to gain weight. Like last week, I just wasn't hungry and was way under every day but one. Guess what? I slowly gained weight over the last 10 days. I'm now making a conscious effort to eat my calories every single day - even if I'm not hungry.. because I know I NEED to eat.

Great post, thanks.

So, how do you manage to stuff it in without feeling horrible?

terence

Hey. That was me too. I was very close to goal and also was around the 1200 cal mark. I was bumping between 1-2Kg for 2 months! Just recent'y started cycling my calories (zigzaggin) and in the first week lost .8Kg! Blew the plateau right out of the water. 0.7Kg is massive when you are so close to goal! Fingers crossed it continue for my next weigh in. I would recommend looking into it and giving it a go

How does that zig-zagging work? I haven't heard of that.

lampworker60

Eat more, you are not eating enough and eat good fats such as nuts, nut butters, avocado, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. aprox 20%-25% of your calories per day should be from good fats.

ncgingerich

Bump - I am in a similar position as you... I've been netting less than 900 cals on average each day I exercise and have hit my second plateau since starting MFP about 85 days ago. I just figured out that most of the successful people using MFP are eating back most if not all their exercise calories. I am starting to do the same thing today and will also evaluate my progress in a week or two.... so we will be guinea pigs together!!! Best of luck to both of us!!!

terence

Bump - I am in a similar position as you... I've been netting less than 900 cals on average each day I exercise and have hit my second plateau since starting MFP about 85 days ago. I just figured out that most of the successful people using MFP are eating back most if not all their exercise calories. I am starting to do the same thing today and will also evaluate my progress in a week or two.... so we will be guinea pigs together!!! Best of luck to both of us!!!

Welcome aboard and thanks for helping out with the ballast.

)

terence

Eat more, you are not eating enough and eat good fats such as nuts, nut butters, avocado, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, etc. aprox 20%-25% of your calories per day should be from good fats.

Tomorrow morning, I'm straight in to the nut stall at the department store. Thanks.