1200 calories is what I eat when not on a diet

dragonemisis

Can someone help me out here? I am a 59 year old woman who is on her feet a lot as I have a family and a 16 year old son to care for. I weigh 177 lbs (within 2 lbs of my all time high)and have a slow metabolism (my body temperature is below normal). Doing no additional exercise than my normal busy day, if I consume more than 1200 calories I gain weight. If I ever had the nerve to consume the 1400 calories my BMR indicates I would be obese in no time. Plus in my normal life I avoid eating any sweets and only eat bread or starch on occasion in small portions. If I eat this kind of carbohydrate that most people can, I will gain 4 lbs from a slice of pie which may sound scientifically impossible but is true.
I want to lose around 50 lbs but would be content with 40. When I input my info, fitness pal tells me to eat 1200 calories PLUS the calories for my exercise. I have been here on and off for most of this year and lost only 2 lbs. I end up getting discouraged and deleting my account. Yesterday I was on my feet all day cleaning and making homemade pizza for guests, I was unable to do my exercise. I consumed less than my calorie total and gained a lb back. I have tried sticking exactly to the recommendations as to exercise and calorie counts but gain! I drink two glasses of wine each day and I have a feeling this is my problem. Has anyone out there who is sensitive to carbs found wine interferes with weight loss?

rainbowbow

You say you gain... How long do you do that for? I gained initially when I started eating my BMR and about 3 weeks the weight started just coming off. I was skeptical, scared, didn't want to gain. But I stuck with it... It paid off. :P

stinastudios

Are the two glasses of wine factored into your calorie total for the day? A glass of wine has somewhere around 110-130 calories in it.

Also, does your exercise include strength training? The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just standing around, it revs your metabolism.

koosdel

I know your pain. I once ate a bag of M&M's and gained 11 pounds.

Anyway.. I think you're the perfect candidate for a strength training program. Best way to get that dang ol metebolism up and running.

d2footballJRC

Can someone help me out here? I am a 59 year old woman who is on her feet a lot as I have a family and a 16 year old son to care for. I weigh 177 lbs (within 2 lbs of my all time high)and have a slow metabolism (my body temperature is below normal). Doing no additional exercise than my normal busy day, if I consume more than 1200 calories I gain weight. If I ever had the nerve to consume the 1400 calories my BMR indicates I would be obese in no time. Plus in my normal life I avoid eating any sweets and only eat bread or starch on occasion in small portions. If I eat this kind of carbohydrate that most people can, I will gain 4 lbs from a slice of pie which may sound scientifically impossible but is true.
I want to lose around 50 lbs but would be content with 40. When I input my info, fitness pal tells me to eat 1200 calories PLUS the calories for my exercise. I have been here on and off for most of this year and lost only 2 lbs. I end up getting discouraged and deleting my account. Yesterday I was on my feet all day cleaning and making homemade pizza for guests, I was unable to do my exercise. I consumed less than my calorie total and gained a lb back. I have tried sticking exactly to the recommendations as to exercise and calorie counts but gain! I drink two glasses of wine each day and I have a feeling this is my problem. Has anyone out there who is sensitive to carbs found wine interferes with weight loss?

At 200 calories a day over it'd take awhile to gain into obese status.. I agree, you need to get some muscle going if that is the case. Some weight training would be huge for you!

bogoli

I think you should get your thyroid checked. It sounds like you have a hormonal imbalance. Hyper- or hypo-active thyroids can wreck havoc on your weight.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5243539_symptoms-thyroid-imbalance_.html

EJsMummy26

I would see my doctor. Something doesn't seem right to me.

lizziebeth1028

I would do the following -

Get a check up at the Doctor (over all health, thyroid, hormone imbalance)
Make your diary public so we can see how your diet looks
log EVERYTHING accurately! most people guessimate way too low with calories in, and too high with calories out
invest in a food scale to assure accuracy
strength training to give your metabolism a boost

JennieAL

I doubt the two glasses of wine are the problem. But, one 4 or 5oz per day for women seems to be the safest, supposedly... with maybe a couple days where you go without it entirely... just to keep your liver in decent shape.

I will add that I had a wee problem with drinking where I'd drink 1 to 1.5 bottles at a time... yeah, I know. When I quit that nonsense, I did effortlessly drop a few lbs... but that's probably just all the water I was retaining to neutralize the alchy.

Add in weights and tweak your calories and consider increasing your calories slightly to allow for the muscle building from strength training. It's exactly what I've done and things are starting to fall into place... I wouldn't factor in your age too much, from what I read the only factor against you would be that it might take you a little longer than a 20 yr old.

dragonemisis

Thanks for all the suggestions. From the things you've said I'm going to fearlessly eat the calories Fitness pal tells me to and ignore my initial weight gain. Add weight training to my time on the lifecycle stationary bike and cut my wine consumption to one glass.
Stinastudios: I count my two glasses of wine as 130 calories each. I am always accurate with my calorie counts because I use a scale to weigh things and read packaging and am meticulous about counting every mouthful. The number of innaccurate, fudged or deliberately misquoted calorie counts in the data base is one of my pet peeves about this site.
JennieAL, thanks for addressing something that I didn't express, that my age might be a factor in weight loss. I was afraid that the fitness Pal might be geared to people with a faster metabloism. I know that many sources say that by my age, you should cut calories in half. In my thirties I had to go to the gym 6 days a week, 1/2 hour cardio, 1/2 hour strength training 15 minutes of stretching just to maintain a weight 12 lbs over my high school weight. Plus I was going out three nights a week dancing with friends for three hours. Then in my 40s I met and married my husband and had my second child at 43, Stephen (my daughter is 40 this year!) After this late pregnancy I became more tied to home and less able to do the things that worked in my past to keep the weight off. The one diet that ever worked for me was a low carb and I got down to my target weight again. But here I am now back where I don't want to be. I will take the suggestions and keep going. Thank you.

stinastudios

Sounds like you're on the right track. You can do it!

havingitall

It's not an age issue.... that may slow things down a bit but not to an overall crawl. If you are genuinely active all day and only eating 1200 calories, it may take a couple of weeks for your body to adjust to a slightly higher caloric intake.

Weight training is a great thing to do. Just don't be all panicky when you see the scale go up the next day. If your muscles are sore from lifting, they will retain water and you will be heavier. Don't know all the science behind it ...just know that it happens.

The idea of getting your thyroid checked is a good one. Start with a good basic physical with your family doctor and maybe even ask your doc for some input. Beware....not too many doctors are very knowledgeable about exercise or good eating habits. My doctor thinks that weight lifting is bad. Mind you he runs marathons. He says cut down on fat/ sugar and salt but doesn't give a recommended amount.

Other than that...experiment with what works for you and go with it. Don't use age as an excuse though

jennifershoo

Why do you have a slow metabolism?

ironanimal

Calculating your BMR myself, the number is coming out around 1450. So by regularly eating 1200 or less, you have probably slowed your metabolism.

Eat more for a little while and it should start to shift. And no, you will not gain 5 lbs in a week by eating 200-250 calories more a day. 3500 calories makes 1lb, so the most you stand to gain in a week eating 250 more a day is half a pound.

dragonemisis

jennifershoo:
Why do you have a slow metabolism?

Reply: I have a low body temperature. Our furnace went out last year and I became clinically hypothermic with a body temp of 94. We live in CA and the house never went much below 64. When we got it fixed my temp moved back up but is never more than 96-97. I am of Scottish Irish extraction and had two sets of ancestors who emigrated during the potato famine. There is some research that populations of people who went through famine adapt in the following generations to a lower metabolic rate. Other than that I am healthy and feel great and have a grandma and great grandma who reach 101 and 102 and a grandfather who went to 96. Both parents are alive and healthy at 87 and 88.

jennifershoo

jennifershoo:
Why do you have a slow metabolism?

Reply: I have a low body temperature. Our furnace went out last year and I became clinically hypothermic with a body temp of 94. We live in CA and the house never went much below 64. When we got it fixed my temp moved back up but is never more than 96-97. I am of Scottish Irish extraction and had two sets of ancestors who emigrated during the potato famine. There is some research that populations of people who went through famine adapt in the following generations to a lower metabolic rate. Other than that I am healthy and feel great and have a grandma and great grandma who reach 101 and 102 and a grandfather who went to 96. Both parents are alive and healthy at 87 and 88.

Interesting. Is it what they call ''Wilson's temperature syndrome''?
Have you had your thyroid checked?
It sounds like you'll have to exercise to create your calorie deficit instead of eating less and less.
You definitely need to boost your metabolism, but first, you need to know if your hormones are affected.
Good luck!

dragonemisis

Yes I might have ''Wilson's temperature syndrome'', I certainly have the symptoms like slow metabolism and thin outer eyebrows but it is not a recognized syndrome by the medical establishment and is therefore difficut to get treatment. If I go to my regular doctor with this he would treat me by supplementing with regular Thyroid Hormones which actually makes this worse and I would be on a drug for the rest of my life. A doctor who treats for Wilson's would use different Thyr. Hormones and shock the thyroid into producing correct amounts and then withdraw all hormones. I'm not that into doctors period and would prefer too keep my temperature up with activity and I have used supplements.