Tried to eat more it does not work

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Replies

  • mheightchew
    mheightchew Posts: 334
    Ok, if someone else has already said this sorry! There are a lot of responses on here!! I ate less than I was supposed to for a long time and lost 65 lbs. Gained back iver 100. I couldn't sustain it. Now its so much harder to loose because I damaged my metabolism. I am just now, 118 lbs in, feeling like its back where it should be.
    I learner that when you are trying to add calories to your diet, you cant add them on all at once. Add 10% per week. This way, you are gradually introducing the calories back in. You may gain or stay the same for a month or even 2, but you are rebuilding your body to burn better in the future.
    I do agree though, that every body is different. Just make sure you are healthy and satisfied! Good luck!
  • cakeums
    cakeums Posts: 228 Member
    It cracks me up when people say things like, "Sure you can lose weight eating VLCD, or else people in concentration camps would have been fat."

    Because the goal is to eat like an Auchwitz prisoner? As if its a good thing to starve yourself?

    OP, don't say that eating more doesn't work. It does. I eat nearly 2400 cals a day and lose 1-1.5lbs a week. And no, I don't have limitless free time and little stress. I have two kids, go to school full time, work full time, and have a husband who does the same. I just burn 500-750 calories over my intake between what my body burns functioning normally and during the 45 mins of exercise I can squeeze in 3-5 times a week.

    Just admit that you don't want it to work, so you won't give it a fair shot.
  • fitby38
    fitby38 Posts: 307 Member
    I've just checked your diary - I'm not sure why you think you are eating more.

    Some days you aren't even netting 500 calories.

    Go to reports, nutrition, net calories - it's the net calories that should be over 1200, you are way under.

    This^^ . You're eating too little so your body may be storing fat.



    I am not storing fat l have loss the fat, I have not loss skin at all and very tone and have muscle.

    hard to tell from that face shot you posted
  • FlyByJuly
    FlyByJuly Posts: 564 Member
    bump
  • freckledrats
    freckledrats Posts: 251 Member
    Best way to start a fight on the internet: Forget politics and religion, talk about your opinions on losing weight.

    1) Should she eat more? Maybe. Probably.

    2) Will she lose weight eating the way she is? Obviously yes. The biggest myth I see on these boards is that you can eat too little to lose any weight. As a general statement, that is crazy talk. Anorexia-stricken people do not have any trouble getting skinny. People in forced labor camps aren't flabby. Use your brains, folks. You can eat too little for health, you can slow your metabolism down, you can have increased difficulty losing weight at the same speed as your metabolism lowers, but no, you can't net 500 calories a day and not lose fat. If you are genuinely netting 500 calories a day and not losing weight, you are a medical MIRACLE or simply underestimating your calorie intake or overestimating your TDEE.

    3) Long term, it is better to deficit 500 calories a day (of total burned, not your BMR, folks), not as many as you can per day. A great calorie deficit might trigger your body to try to make up for it in ways that will eventually sabotage your weight loss plan. Additionally, the less you eat, the more likely it is that you miss out on important vitamins and enzymes that are difficult to get back through pills and enriched drinks.

    It's not a myth, yes, anorexia works. But its not healthy, and those that dont have the propensity for the disorder? Cant keep it up long term. Anorexia is just like any other mental disorder, additions, depression, etc, not everyone is prone to it.


    Eta for stoopid autocorrect

    Please don't read my post as pro-anorexia, because it wasn't. Anorexia is a debilitating mental illness, NOT a diet taken to extremes (though, sure, it might start that way for some). It was just evidence to show the misinformed that yes, eating too little still results in losing weight. It was not meant to say that this is actually how you should lose weight.

    If folks want to say it is unhealthy to net 500 calories or that there is a sweet spot in caloric deficit that may help you lose weight faster and with more energy or that that sort of extreme dieting isn't sustainable and could lead to binging and gaining back everything you've lost, then that is what they should say, not "you won't lose weight" or "you're eating too little to lose weight" or "you're putting your body in starvation mode, which causes your body to not lose weight" or "your body gets used to eating so little"

    It's all bad science. It's like saying the reason you should eat a couple of servings of fruit everyday is to ward off alien invasions. It's the right message, but everything else about it is wrong. Sorry, just misinformation drives me batty XD
  • fitby38
    fitby38 Posts: 307 Member
    Honestly, why bother trying to drill this stuff into peoples heads? Most of these women who refuse to eat more than like 500 calories a day are stubborn and will not listen.
    Society has drilled it into our heads that we have to basically starve ourselves to lose weight and be healthy, which is total bullcrap.

    If she doesn't want to listen to good, healthy, advice, don't force it on her. Let her starve.

    best response yet ... this chick is stubborn ... and she said her doctor advised her to keep doing what shes doing ... WELL ... when did psychiarist start giving nutritional information??? lol!!
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
    It cracks me up when people say things like, "Sure you can lose weight eating VLCD, or else people in concentration camps would have been fat."

    Because the goal is to eat like an Auchwitz prisoner? As if its a good thing to starve yourself?

    OP, don't say that eating more doesn't work. It does. I eat nearly 2400 cals a day and lose 1-1.5lbs a week. And no, I don't have limitless free time and little stress. I have two kids, go to school full time, work full time, and have a husband who does the same. I just burn 500-750 calories over my intake between what my body burns functioning normally and during the 45 mins of exercise I can squeeze in 3-5 times a week.

    Just admit that you don't want it to work, so you won't give it a fair shot.

    I totally agree with this ^^^ you really need to feed your body. Your muscle tissue will be affected by a very low calorie diet. Please try and think about what is sustainable for you. For me, 1200 was making me hungry all the time and i was sacrificing my muscle tissue. even though i lost fat as well as muscle, i wasn't really looking toned. just looking like a rubber band (a skinny rubber band anyway). that wasn't the look i wanted. i'm not saying you have to eat over 2000 but just try increasing to 1600 or so for a while... you really have to give it a good 2 month period to adjust. maybe even longer. what happened to me is i was wanting to binge all the time because my body was starving on 1200. it led to me eating really bad stuff that was high in fat, sugar, etc. if i would have just eaten good foods around 1600 calories the whole time i'm sure this may have not happened. i'm not saying your destined for that to happen to you, but that is what happened to me and it looks like also to several others who have commented. my body wanted more and didn't want to starve any more. as soon as i increased calories it did take a while but i got back to normal and now i'm doing strength training as well as do cardio and i've seen a big change already in just a few months. the Auchwitz prisoner/Gollem from lord of the rings look isn't good and that is what i could see happening to myself if i continued on low calories. it is just not sustainable for me.
  • tabinmaine
    tabinmaine Posts: 965 Member
    Okay, so don't eat back your exercise calories and don't eat enough for your body to do it's job. Why are you even posting about it then? Is eating too little working for you? Fabulous. Continue starving yourself then.

    ^^^ this!!!
    lmbo!! right ... why the heck did she post??

    eating more isnt something the posters of mfp made up ... it is a FACT ...

    Believe it or not, a weight-loss program that overly restricts calories will set you up for failure, as will a skipped meal. There is a point at which cutting calories will work against weight loss because consuming too few calories (or too few meals) leads to increased appetite and low satiety as your body prevents starvation. You will find it hard to implement your healthy eating goals when you’re feeling hungry and dissatisfied. And you will suffer from cravings, ultimately causing you to fall into under-eating and over-eating cycles.

    Your body will make a choice: lose body fat or lose muscle. An inadequately fueled body will choose to drop calorie-burning muscle rather than fat. Excessive loss of lean muscle mass leads to weight loss without improvement of body composition or health. This leaves you frustrated and ever-battling your weight.

    the OP will be posting later on down the line ... "EATING MORE REALLY WORKS" LOL!!

    Actually the "skipped meals" being bad is a myth. Many on here fast for 16hrs and then power feed for 8hrs. Timing of meals 1,3,or 8 of them a day does NOT matter...... that has been proven to be wrong..... and actually it's calories consumed in a week that matters.....not daily...
  • mdsjmom98
    mdsjmom98 Posts: 333 Member
    I agree with you!!! I was told the same thing because I range anywhere from 1000-1200 a day and I am losing about 1-2 pounds a week. When I eat more I don't do so well. Everyone is different and I'm not going to force myself to eat just to get over 1200 calories. That's crazy to me. Your body has a way of telling you to eat hungry so if your not feeling it don't do it.

    THIS!!!! I totally agree with this statement. I was just telling my husband this last night. I ate a cup and a half of homemade chili with a piece of cornbread, and was stuffed, yet I was still shy almost 350 cals. I told him I was so full from my meal why should I overstuff myself? It seems to be working for me as well, as I am down 25 lbs in 9 weeks.
  • fitby38
    fitby38 Posts: 307 Member
    [/quote]

    Actually the "skipped meals" being bad is a myth. Many on here fast for 16hrs and then power feed for 8hrs. Timing of meals 1,3,or 8 of them a day does NOT matter...... that has been proven to be wrong..... and actually it's calories consumed in a week that matters.....not daily...
    [/quote]

    ahhh ... if you say so
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member

    Actually the "skipped meals" being bad is a myth. Many on here fast for 16hrs and then power feed for 8hrs. Timing of meals 1,3,or 8 of them a day does NOT matter...... that has been proven to be wrong..... and actually it's calories consumed in a week that matters.....not daily...

    ahhh ... if you say so
    [/quote]

    timing of meals doesn't matter. all of my loss has come from working graveyard hours. I eat at strange hours all the time. I am rarely consistent and I have been losing weight just fine.
  • Mompanda4
    Mompanda4 Posts: 869 Member
    Bump
  • fitby38
    fitby38 Posts: 307 Member

    Actually the "skipped meals" being bad is a myth. Many on here fast for 16hrs and then power feed for 8hrs. Timing of meals 1,3,or 8 of them a day does NOT matter...... that has been proven to be wrong..... and actually it's calories consumed in a week that matters.....not daily...

    ahhh ... if you say so

    timing of meals doesn't matter. all of my loss has come from working graveyard hours. I eat at strange hours all the time. I am rarely consistent and I have been losing weight just fine.
    [/quote]

    thats fine ... my response never said anything about timing of meals, nor was that the point of my response ... so my "ahh if you say so" what to the bicep pic who replied
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member

    Actually the "skipped meals" being bad is a myth. Many on here fast for 16hrs and then power feed for 8hrs. Timing of meals 1,3,or 8 of them a day does NOT matter...... that has been proven to be wrong..... and actually it's calories consumed in a week that matters.....not daily...

    ahhh ... if you say so

    timing of meals doesn't matter. all of my loss has come from working graveyard hours. I eat at strange hours all the time. I am rarely consistent and I have been losing weight just fine.

    thats fine ... my response never said anything about timing of meals, nor was that the point of my response ... so my "ahh if you say so" what to the bicep pic who replied
    [/quote]

    gotcha....the quote button is being funny on my work pc.
  • fitby38
    fitby38 Posts: 307 Member
    [/quote]

    gotcha....the quote button is being funny on my work pc.
    [/quote]

    :wink:
  • Lily_Rose
    Lily_Rose Posts: 38 Member
    Thank you for posting this! People keep telling me to eat more but I can't lose weight when I do. I decided awhile back that everyone is entitled to their opinion but I'm listening to my body.
  • juliekaiser1988
    juliekaiser1988 Posts: 604 Member
    Okay, so don't eat back your exercise calories and don't eat enough for your body to do it's job. Why are you even posting about it then? Is eating too little working for you? Fabulous. Continue starving yourself then.

    ^^^ this!!!
    lmbo!! right ... why the heck did she post??

    eating more isnt something the posters of mfp made up ... it is a FACT ...

    Believe it or not, a weight-loss program that overly restricts calories will set you up for failure, as will a skipped meal. There is a point at which cutting calories will work against weight loss because consuming too few calories (or too few meals) leads to increased appetite and low satiety as your body prevents starvation. You will find it hard to implement your healthy eating goals when you’re feeling hungry and dissatisfied. And you will suffer from cravings, ultimately causing you to fall into under-eating and over-eating cycles.

    Your body will make a choice: lose body fat or lose muscle. An inadequately fueled body will choose to drop calorie-burning muscle rather than fat. Excessive loss of lean muscle mass leads to weight loss without improvement of body composition or health. This leaves you frustrated and ever-battling your weight.

    the OP will be posting later on down the line ... "EATING MORE REALLY WORKS" LOL!!

    No, I disagree. The OP will be posting later on down the line... "WHY AM I AT A PLATEAU? I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAS GONE WRONG! I'M STILL EATING 500-900 CALORIES A DAY AND HAVEN'T LOST A POUND IN OVER A MONTH!!"
  • fitby38
    fitby38 Posts: 307 Member
    Okay, so don't eat back your exercise calories and don't eat enough for your body to do it's job. Why are you even posting about it then? Is eating too little working for you? Fabulous. Continue starving yourself then.

    ^^^ this!!!
    lmbo!! right ... why the heck did she post??

    eating more isnt something the posters of mfp made up ... it is a FACT ...

    Believe it or not, a weight-loss program that overly restricts calories will set you up for failure, as will a skipped meal. There is a point at which cutting calories will work against weight loss because consuming too few calories (or too few meals) leads to increased appetite and low satiety as your body prevents starvation. You will find it hard to implement your healthy eating goals when you’re feeling hungry and dissatisfied. And you will suffer from cravings, ultimately causing you to fall into under-eating and over-eating cycles.

    Your body will make a choice: lose body fat or lose muscle. An inadequately fueled body will choose to drop calorie-burning muscle rather than fat. Excessive loss of lean muscle mass leads to weight loss without improvement of body composition or health. This leaves you frustrated and ever-battling your weight.

    the OP will be posting later on down the line ... "EATING MORE REALLY WORKS" LOL!!

    No, I disagree. The OP will be posting later on down the line... "WHY AM I AT A PLATEAU? I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAS GONE WRONG! I'M STILL EATING 500-900 CALORIES A DAY AND HAVEN'T LOST A POUND IN OVER A MONTH!!"


    LOL!! RIGHT!
  • fitby38
    fitby38 Posts: 307 Member
    Thank you for posting this! People keep telling me to eat more but I can't lose weight when I do. I decided awhile back that everyone is entitled to their opinion but I'm listening to my body.

    do what you do ... but its no more an OPINION than the FACT that you are a female
  • If your body gets used to eating so little, what do u think will happen when you start eating normal again? Not going to be able to maintain just gain! good luck on your journey and hopefully you can become a healthier you!

    You bring up a very good point! The goal is to create a lifestyle that we can maintain even after we reach our goal weight. By eating 1200 calories or less a day, not only are we not feeding our bodies the fuel it needs, but we are also setting ourselves up to not be able to maintain this lifestyle. I was doing 1200 calories a day at first, because MFP set that amount for me, but I was always hungry and not losing weight like I wanted to...I actually gained 2 lbs. So, I upped my calories to 1600 and have lost 3 lbs after I did that. We need to eat at least at our BMR level and try to eat our exercise calories back so that we do not fall below our BMR.
  • silverbullet07
    silverbullet07 Posts: 100 Member
    I think alot of people do not take in account their percent of body fat. If my body fat % is 20-30% and I do not eat at my BMR, My body will break down that fat to use it as energy to survive. This happens everyday in nature. Animals and people put on fat to survive during times when food is scarce.

    Now I do agree when you do not have much body fat lets say < 10% you better be eating the calories you need.
  • r1ghtpath
    r1ghtpath Posts: 701 Member
    i didn't read all 10 pages of this, and i have no clue if the OP is still reading or not. but, she stated she had been eating 500 cal so going up to 1200 was an increase.

    after speaking with someone who is knowledgable in this area i learned that if you are on a prolonged calorie deficit ( like years) it can take up to a year to correct the 'damage' done. so, 3 weeks might be entirely way too short of a time to see an increase in calories do ANYTHING! it could be months.

    basically, what you are currently doing, is losing muscle along with the fat. when you lose a lb the way you're doing it you're not just losing a lb of fat. you're losing your muscle along with that. and, at the end of the day what you want is to lose lbs of FAT!

    i know exactly where you are. it took me weeks to convince myself to increase from 900 to 1200 calories a day. not NET, just consuming. and it's taken me 2 months to convince myself to try and NET 1200 calories!! i am at a stand still, maybe even gained a lb or two. but, MY goal is FAT loss, not lbs lost. i want my body fat% to go down. i don't care about the number on the scale. i care about the inches and percentage :-)

    it definitely is a MAJOR change in thought process. one that doesn't occur over night and comes with doing tons of research, and educating myself as much as i possibly can!!

    best of luck in your journey. whatever you decide!!!
  • r1ghtpath
    r1ghtpath Posts: 701 Member
    i am a nurse, who works with doctors, and you couldn't pay me to see a doctor for weight loss advice!!! you do realize that doctors and nurses take the worst care of their own bodies, right? they do all the things they tell YOU not to do!!!

    not to mention, most docs only know THEIR specialty. i worked with docs who had kids but were NOT pediatricians themselves and honestly had no clue what to do with their own sick child....... as a nurse i have actually educated docs on more than ONE occasion.

    so, unless your doc is a weight loss specialist, i wouldn't trust them anymore than you trust anyone here! seriously. i would do my OWN research before i would take their word as the ultimate source.................

    OMG! Some of you were really mean in these post. I teach 13 year old and they had more manners. That is so not cool. That being said, are any of you on here posting (and demand you are right) a doctor??? Just curious... I do see a doctor to follow my weightloss and she told me NOT NOT NOT to eat the workout calories. So I am wondering why she would tell me that. I even printed out the last round of arguements on here and took them to her and asked her what I should do. She again told me not to eat over the calories and to eat every 2 hours. She said that it will burn the fat and my metabolism will be fine as long as I eat something (an apple, peanut butter toast etc) every two hours. So unless one of you are a doctor (not a nurse but a doctor) then maybe we should not pass out advice until we have spoken to our own doctor. Then maybe we could all be a little nicer. WE are here for support and understanding not to be harassed or hurt.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    Okay, so don't eat back your exercise calories and don't eat enough for your body to do it's job. Why are you even posting about it then? Is eating too little working for you? Fabulous. Continue starving yourself then.

    ^^^ this!!!
    lmbo!! right ... why the heck did she post??

    eating more isnt something the posters of mfp made up ... it is a FACT ...

    Believe it or not, a weight-loss program that overly restricts calories will set you up for failure, as will a skipped meal. There is a point at which cutting calories will work against weight loss because consuming too few calories (or too few meals) leads to increased appetite and low satiety as your body prevents starvation. You will find it hard to implement your healthy eating goals when you’re feeling hungry and dissatisfied. And you will suffer from cravings, ultimately causing you to fall into under-eating and over-eating cycles.

    Your body will make a choice: lose body fat or lose muscle. An inadequately fueled body will choose to drop calorie-burning muscle rather than fat. Excessive loss of lean muscle mass leads to weight loss without improvement of body composition or health. This leaves you frustrated and ever-battling your weight.

    the OP will be posting later on down the line ... "EATING MORE REALLY WORKS" LOL!!

    No, I disagree. The OP will be posting later on down the line... "WHY AM I AT A PLATEAU? I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAS GONE WRONG! I'M STILL EATING 500-900 CALORIES A DAY AND HAVEN'T LOST A POUND IN OVER A MONTH!!"

    I doubt it, but I do think she might start posting asking how to prevent getting wrinkly as the weight comes off, and if it's normal for your hair to fall out.

    edit - I am not saying this to be mean at all. I am completely honest when I say netting 500 cals a day is seriously unhealthy.
  • kateroot
    kateroot Posts: 435
    Increasing calories only works for some people, and only under certain circumstances. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight, eat LESS.. and that's still true the vast majority of the time. When someone isn't losing weight, it's most often because they're either underestimating the calories they're eating or overestimating their calorie burn.

    That said, there are rare occasions when someone is doing intense exercise, especially strength training, and truly isn't taking in enough fuel. When that's the case, increasing calorie intake can lead to more efficiency overall when it comes to muscle repair and recovery as well as fat loss.

    The whole "eat more to lose weight!" party line is thrown around entirely too much on these boards. Most of the time, it simply isn't the case.
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
    Increasing calories only works for some people, and only under certain circumstances. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight, eat LESS.. and that's still true the vast majority of the time. When someone isn't losing weight, it's most often because they're either underestimating the calories they're eating or overestimating their calorie burn.

    That said, there are rare occasions when someone is doing intense exercise, especially strength training, and truly isn't taking in enough fuel. When that's the case, increasing calorie intake can lead to more efficiency overall when it comes to muscle repair and recovery as well as fat loss.

    The whole "eat more to lose weight!" party line is thrown around entirely too much on these boards. Most of the time, it simply isn't the case.

    when they say "eat more" they just mean enough to support one's body and be able to sustain it long term. this is not 3000 calories but more like 1600-2200. this is the normal "daily intake" for most people that is on most nutrition labels. sure, if you have a seriously damaged metabolism or a really low metabolism by nature (thyroid problem or something else like that), it probably wouldn't work for you. but it does actually work when given a chance. some people give up pretty quickly because they might see a gain as their body adjusts. these gains go away and the body then thinks it is being fed again. there are people who eat very litte and are still not in good shape, mostly because they have damaged their metabolism over years and their body has tried to compensate by getting used to that level. or, if they have a condition that naturally makes their metabolism low. but for most people, this is not the case. most people can eat a little more and it helps them in the end to keep their metabolism higher.
  • kateroot
    kateroot Posts: 435
    Increasing calories only works for some people, and only under certain circumstances. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight, eat LESS.. and that's still true the vast majority of the time. When someone isn't losing weight, it's most often because they're either underestimating the calories they're eating or overestimating their calorie burn.

    That said, there are rare occasions when someone is doing intense exercise, especially strength training, and truly isn't taking in enough fuel. When that's the case, increasing calorie intake can lead to more efficiency overall when it comes to muscle repair and recovery as well as fat loss.

    The whole "eat more to lose weight!" party line is thrown around entirely too much on these boards. Most of the time, it simply isn't the case.

    when they say "eat more" they just mean enough to support one's body and be able to sustain it long term. this is not 3000 calories but more like 1600-2200. this is the normal "daily intake" for most people that is on most nutrition labels. sure, if you have a seriously damaged metabolism or a really low metabolism by nature (thyroid problem or something else like that), it probably wouldn't work for you. but it does actually work when given a chance. some people give up pretty quickly because they might see a gain as their body adjusts. these gains go away and the body then thinks it is being fed again. there are people who eat very litte and are still not in good shape, mostly because they have damaged their metabolism over years and their body has tried to compensate by getting used to that level. or, if they have a condition that naturally makes their metabolism low. but for most people, this is not the case. most people can eat a little more and it helps them in the end to keep their metabolism higher.

    Right, I understand that and I don't disagree with you at all. But when someone says, I've been eating X number of calories for X amount of time and haven't lost any weight, it's almost always underestimating intake or overestimating burn. If someone is truly eating 1200 calories for 3 months, they WILL lose weight.. if they do not, they are most likely eating more than they think they are, or burning less calories than they think they are.

    I completely agree with you that most people should be eating in that slightly higher calorie range, like the 1600-2200 that you mention, for slow, steady fat loss as well as a diet that's easy to maintain long-term. I'm just saying that most of the time when people aren't losing weight, it's certainly not because they're not eating enough.
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
    Increasing calories only works for some people, and only under certain circumstances. Conventional wisdom says if you want to lose weight, eat LESS.. and that's still true the vast majority of the time. When someone isn't losing weight, it's most often because they're either underestimating the calories they're eating or overestimating their calorie burn.

    That said, there are rare occasions when someone is doing intense exercise, especially strength training, and truly isn't taking in enough fuel. When that's the case, increasing calorie intake can lead to more efficiency overall when it comes to muscle repair and recovery as well as fat loss.

    The whole "eat more to lose weight!" party line is thrown around entirely too much on these boards. Most of the time, it simply isn't the case.

    when they say "eat more" they just mean enough to support one's body and be able to sustain it long term. this is not 3000 calories but more like 1600-2200. this is the normal "daily intake" for most people that is on most nutrition labels. sure, if you have a seriously damaged metabolism or a really low metabolism by nature (thyroid problem or something else like that), it probably wouldn't work for you. but it does actually work when given a chance. some people give up pretty quickly because they might see a gain as their body adjusts. these gains go away and the body then thinks it is being fed again. there are people who eat very litte and are still not in good shape, mostly because they have damaged their metabolism over years and their body has tried to compensate by getting used to that level. or, if they have a condition that naturally makes their metabolism low. but for most people, this is not the case. most people can eat a little more and it helps them in the end to keep their metabolism higher.

    Right, I understand that and I don't disagree with you at all. But when someone says, I've been eating X number of calories for X amount of time and haven't lost any weight, it's almost always underestimating intake or overestimating burn. If someone is truly eating 1200 calories for 3 months, they WILL lose weight.. if they do not, they are most likely eating more than they think they are, or burning less calories than they think they are.

    I completely agree with you that most people should be eating in that slightly higher calorie range, like the 1600-2200 that you mention, for slow, steady fat loss as well as a diet that's easy to maintain long-term. I'm just saying that most of the time when people aren't losing weight, it's certainly not because they're not eating enough.

    sure of course they will lose weight eating 1200. but it is probably going to be a higher percent of muscle that they will lose compared to the percentage of muscle they would lose by eating more. and sure, i am not saying they won't lose weight losing 1200 but i know in my case it damaged my metabolism and i've had a really hard time eating higher calories because of doing that. i wouldn't recommend it. sure they will lose weight, though.
  • ytweety5
    ytweety5 Posts: 16 Member
    Great post . Can you let me know if I'm on the right track to lose a lb a week?
  • anitasongs
    anitasongs Posts: 129 Member
    The bottom line is eating lower calories you continue for long term. I have dieted on and off for last 20 years and lost on 1200 calorie diet but I would go off for I was not fulfilled. This is a lifestyle move.
    I want to lose and eat for the rest of my life and keep on it.
    Eating more makes sense for the rest of your life, which pushes you to exercise which is new concept for me. I would just diet.
    Now I am walking and eating more than any diet in my life and I am finally losing and feeling good.
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