So confused about how much I REALLY need to eat?!

TauTheBull

Dizziness, fatigue and brain fog are signs of under nourishment but it doesn't mean it's the cause. The question is, how active are you? Based on the figures, if you are exercising 5-6 days a week, you can eat 1900 calories a day without weight gain. Also, most doctors know very little about nutrition and should rather consult a dietitian or a nutritionist.

At 5'2 I think 1900 is way to high even if your very active.

We need to gauge progress by the experiences not by numbers. If I am eating 1900 and gaining you better believe I will be eating less. Now if you already at 1200 and very active maybe increase to 1300 and see what happens but don't go crazy! Go intuitively and you may be surprised you will be eating a little more and still lose and not even reach 1900

michellekicks

I'd aim closer to 1500, which would be your TDEE if you didn't work out at all.

LorinaLynn

Keep in mind that if you increase your calories, you might have a temporary fluctuation in weight while your body gets used to things.

A temporary fluctuation??? Try a permanent one... If you increase your calories to some degree you need to increase activity. When I began on the eating more **** I gained about 15 pounds and stuck to it for over two months in hopes my body would get used to it... It never did!!! The key is to increase for a while then decrease after a while to get the fat moving.

Only if you increase it to more than your TDEE. And nothing is "permanent." It takes some trial and error to find the right amount.

But an increase in pounds isn't always a bad thing. I'm about 10 pounds more than when I went into maintenance, but I'm the exact same size. 5'2 and 103 pounds is teeny tiny, and she's having what might be health related problems. Gaining a few GOOD pounds wouldn't be a horrible thing.

TauTheBull

Keep in mind that if you increase your calories, you might have a temporary fluctuation in weight while your body gets used to things.

A temporary fluctuation??? Try a permanent one... If you increase your calories to some degree you need to increase activity. When I began on the eating more **** I gained about 15 pounds and stuck to it for over two months in hopes my body would get used to it... It never did!!! The key is to increase for a while then decrease after a while to get the fat moving.

Only if you increase it to more than your TDEE. And nothing is "permanent." It takes some trial and error to find the right amount.

But an increase in pounds isn't always a bad thing. I'm about 10 pounds more than when I went into maintenance, but I'm the exact same size. 5'2 and 103 pounds is teeny tiny, and she's having what might be health related problems. Gaining a few GOOD pounds wouldn't be a horrible thing.

Trial and error yes but in general "eating more" is too generic it could mean many things to many people.

No of course gaining a few pounds is not a bad thing if thats what the person wants. If she is having health problems the last thing I would want to do is gain weight be it muscle or fat. First thing I would do is see a doctor and get checked out.

70davis

bump

MalSponseller

I hear you on this one. I'm always so darn hungry. >.< Should I eat? Should I try and stick with the 1200 calories + whatever I get back from exercise? Oomph.

psuLemon

Dizziness, fatigue and brain fog are signs of under nourishment but it doesn't mean it's the cause. The question is, how active are you? Based on the figures, if you are exercising 5-6 days a week, you can eat 1900 calories a day without weight gain. Also, most doctors know very little about nutrition and should rather consult a dietitian or a nutritionist.

At 5'2 I think 1900 is way to high even if your very active.

We need to gauge progress by the experiences not by numbers. If I am eating 1900 and gaining you better believe I will be eating less. Now if you already at 1200 and very active maybe increase to 1300 and see what happens but don't go crazy! Go intuitively and you may be surprised you will be eating a little more and still lose and not even reach 1900

1900 is not too much for a very active women her size. If you dont believe me go spend time on the beachbody forum, especially when people do programs like insanity. This is why i asked her what her workout routine was so we could gauge her caloric needs. Additionally, there are plenty of women i work with that are eating more than she is and only 10 lbs heavier.

Also weight gain can be good, especially when its muscle. The more muscle you have the stronger your immune system, the more jnsulin control you have and the faster your metabolism will work. And really wouldnt you rather have a faster metabolism so you can burn more calories and enjoy food more. I dont know about you, but i love being able to pound down over 3000 calories a day and NOT gain weight.

psuLemon

I have a HRM so it helps me keep track of how much I am burning when working out. I recently just have been doing weights and strength training type stuff and only burning about 200 calories per workout.

One thing to keep in mind is hrm arent very accurate for low insenity workouts. Also you continue to burn calories after as your body repairs muscles.

geekyjock76

If I were to give you a hypothetical 20% body fat, that puts your lean body mass at 82.4 lbs. Thus, your BMR would be 1179. If you are consuming this on training days, you are well below your BMR - even on rest days I wouldn't eat just 1200 calories. Using an activity level scale (1.0-2.0) and assigning you a rating of 1.6, that puts your TDEE at 1886.4 calories. And if this has been a chronic issue for you, you could have slowed down your metabolism to where you do not feel hungry. Regardless, those symptoms are clear signs that your body isn't happy with something.

Incrementally up your macronutrients by 120 calories for 5 periods of at least 3 weeks each period (1320, 1430, 1550, 1670, 1790) and see how your body responds. If the symptoms disappear, and you are still maintaining body weight and body composition after adding up to 600 or so calories, then that shows you can eat more to sustain yourself.

spazgirl123

Thank you all SO much, you don't know how much your advice and opinions have really helped me and opened my eyes! I am so thankful for yalls support as well I am definitely going to up my calories. Last week I upped them to about 1600 most days and felt more energy and noticed I felt more hungry more often (which was a nice surprise!) This week I'm going to aim for 1800 every day and see how I feel I have had eating disorders on and off since I was 14 years old (I am now 23) and I am so ready to just be at peace with myself, what I'm eating, and my body. I am done obsessing and worrying about how I look. I'm done with trying to count every single thing I've eaten and track my exercise to the tee. I am going to keep track of how I feel when I add more food and see the pattern. I think that since I have been eating so low calorie on and off for SO long, I probably have confused my metabolism a bit, but it's time for me to get it back on track. I think my body really has just gotten used to not eating much, so that's why I don't often feel physically hungry, but instead feel lightheaded, dizzy, tired, etc. I would eventually like to give up counting calories and just eat intuitively- but I need to get my metabolism back on track so I can really trust my body. If anyone has gone through this, your support and advice would be great!

You have all helped me so much!

LorinaLynn

I don't have any advice, because it sounds like you're now doing everything right!

So I'll just give *applause* and *hugs* instead.

spazgirl123

Thanks!!