I've hit a plateau, I'm I eating too little?

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paigebolling
paigebolling Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I'm new to myfitnesspal, looking for support and advice. I've lost around 67lbs since I had my daughter 2 years ago. I quit smoking in August and have gained 15lbs back. I started eating better and exercising again and the scale isn't moving. I'm eating around 1000 to 1200 cals a day and when I signed up for myfitnesspal it suggested that I eat around 1800. I mean will I gain weight, do I need to increase my exercise if I increase my cals. Just wanting advice from other ppl on this weightloss journey. Thanks! :happy:

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  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
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    What's your height and activity level? Usually 1200 cals is for very short/small people. MFP takes the estimated number of calories you should need just to fuel your body and has you eat just a little more than that based on your lifestyle. If you put in lightly active or very active, for example, MFP will give you more calories than if you put in sedentary. You may very well be eating too little-- when I joined the site I was only eating about 900 calories per day and I was stalled. I upped to just over 1200 and started losing. Also keep in mind that if you set your MFP to active it is already counting your calorie burn, so if you re-enter the cals and eat back the calories you're getting credit for them twice. That's why I put in sedentary and then add my exercise individually.
  • kaydensmom12
    kaydensmom12 Posts: 338
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    Based on what you said I would say that you are not eating enough and probably in the dreaded "starvation mode". Your tricking you body where it thinks there is a famine, so it is saving all of its nutrients because you are not eating enough and metabolism slows down to save energy. I understand that some can eat 1200 per day but MFP is saying 1800 I would not stray off by 600. 1000 calories per day is not enough calories for anyone, especially when exercising. You may gain weight when you up your calories to a normal amount that your body needs but that is usually inevitable when you go on such a low calorie diet. I would say if you up your calories, keep exercising and eating healthy then your metabolism will go back up in a couple of weeks.
  • paigebolling
    paigebolling Posts: 65 Member
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    I'm 5'5 and I'm a stay at home mom to a two year old so I'm lightly active. I do my chores and try to make time for at least 30 mins of cardio a day plus I chase after my little girl on and off throughout the day. I did as you said and changed my activity level to sedentary and it changed my calorie limit to around 1600. Still more than I have been eating. I'll increase my calories for the next week or so and see how things go. I may have kicked my metabolism into starvation mode but still after years of being told the less you eat the less you weigh its hard to wrap your mind around eat a little more to loose weight. But it's worth the shot. Thanks for the advice!
  • kaydensmom12
    kaydensmom12 Posts: 338
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    I know it is odd after the misconception the less you eat the less you weigh, to find out something different. Just don't give up on the higher calories after a week because you may gain weight the whole week as a result of the "starvation mode". Sorry I just don't want to see you starve yourself thinking that the 1600 is too much because at 5'5, doing cardio and chasing a 2 year old around I really think that 1200 is not enough. Good luck!
  • paigebolling
    paigebolling Posts: 65 Member
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    Thanks for the help! I know that when the body kicks into starvation that every calorie is absorbed and the body stores fat so starvation is not the way to go and Ive preached that to a friend my entire life. She starved herself all through highschool maintaining her thin figure and now approaching 6 years later shes as big as I am but eats half as much as I do in a day. I just didn't realize that 1000/1200 was so low! I had been researching the HCG diet and they want you to eat 500 cals a day and I just thought that was outrageous, didn't realize that I was nearly committing the same crime.
  • Manda_H
    Manda_H Posts: 80
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    i am 5'5 too...and I am currently crawling out of starvation mode. I was eating okay but ignoring my calories burned for exercise... plus im breastfeeding which takes a lot of cals too... in the end, my weight loss stalled and then to start eating right i did gain a bit back but im getting close to week 3 and im finallys tarting to see the scale go down again. I know it sounds like backwards thinking about eating more in order to lose more but as someone who has seen starvation mode, i advise eating :) Keep your NET cals above 1200. I am shooting for 1400 NET now cause i want to stay away from starvation mode again. Nothing is more frustrating that exercising and gaining weight doing it.. my body was holding onto everything!

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