Net Calories CONFUSED.com!!!!

Martina_Who

Ok so nearly finished week 3 of my diet and on MFP

Lost 6lbs in week 1
Lost 4lbs in week 2
Lost 2lbs so far on week 3 (week 4 starts monday)

I'm 5'7 and currently 208lbs
Final GW is around 154-161lbs

I'm eating around 1200kcal perday (most days) and exercising off maybe 600kcal per day but I don't eat them back so on average I guess my net kcal is 600

Is this bad?????
Will my body really go into starvation mode?
I'm reading so many conflicting stories on here and the broader net that I'm really confused!

I've also read about calorie cycling aswell. does this work?
On the weekends my kcal do go up but never over 1800kcal and I still exercise.....

Worried I'll do more harm than good!

Articeluvsmemphis

moral = don't eat too little. only you can answer this, are you still hungry after eating 1200calories and then working out? if so, eat those calories that you're allotted. you'll have more energy in the long run and your body will get what it needs. you can still eat them and lose weight, it's more sustainable than starvation diets.

SPNLuver83

yes it's bad.

eat woman. fuel your body. 600 calories is WAY too low and once you start eating normally again you will gain the weight back because your metabolism will slow down.

so EAT. Without fuel the fire will die.

ladyraven68

Ok so nearly finished week 3 of my diet and on MFP

Lost 6lbs in week 1
Lost 4lbs in week 2
Lost 2lbs so far on week 3 (week 4 starts monday)

I'm 5'7 and currently 208lbs
Final GW is around 154-161lbs

I'm eating around 1200kcal perday (most days) and exercising off maybe 600kcal per day but I don't eat them back so on average I guess my net kcal is 600

Is this bad?????
Will my body really go into starvation mode?
I'm reading so many conflicting stories on here and the broader net that I'm really confused!

I've also read about calorie cycling aswell. does this work?
On the weekends my kcal do go up but never over 1800kcal and I still exercise.....

Worried I'll do more harm than good!

MFP does not take into account your exercise calories, it just sets a sedentary deficit, so let's assume you set a 2lb per week goal, and a 1000 calorie defict to lose 2lbs a week.

if you then burn an additional 600, your defict is now 1600 per day. Theoretically that should equate to over 3lbs a week.

MFP assumes you want to keep the 2lb loss you originally set, so tells you to eat back the 600 calories to still have a 1000 calorie deficit.

The maximum defict recommended is 1000, whether that is achieved through diet alone or diet plus exercise, so yes, you could do with eating a bit more.

If you decide not to, make sure you eat sufficient protein - you need a certain amount to grow your hair, nails, skin, organs etc, and if you are exercising too, you may not have sufficient to do all of that and repair your muscles post workout, so something will have to give.

Whilst 1200 is a minimum calorie intake, the number was set by looking at the recommended minimum daily dietary requiremements. Unfortunately whilst the 1200 calorie number has stuck and is mentioned a lot, the minimum nutritional requirements that resulted in that number are often overlooked.

Good Luck

CharlieBarleyMom

It is absolutely not healthy for you. You are not morbidly obese - you should not be dieting like someone who is. Eating 600 calories a day is not enough to fuel your body for normal bodily functions and then working harder during workouts on top of it. Your body is going to fight back soon. Of course anyone can do this for a short period of time -- but in the long run your body will start to react to not enough fuel to keep it going. It will start to shut down some of your normal body functions - a little at a time to conserve the little energy you are giving it.

Like another poster said - you will gain weight when you try to go to maintenance if you stay at this pace.

Check out a few sites like fat2fitradio.com and here on MFP in the groups section there is a group that is dedicated to eat more to lose. Read a few of the posts in there. Talk to some of the people on here who eat more and still lose.

Don't set yourself up for ultimate failure by trying to lose it so fast that you make yourself sick. Remember, this is for your health.

Martina_Who

Thanks guys

When I eventually hit my GW I was planning on gradually increasing my kcal intake as a few years back I lost over 3 stone on 1000kcal diet only to gain it all back within a short space of time and no way do I want that happening again!!!

I have an underactive thyroid gland so it'll always be harder for me to lose weight anyway, I tried for 2 years on a low calorie high exercise plan and didnt lose 1lb. I've since changed my meds and feel so much better and the weight is finally coming off! But I guess I'm paranoid if I up my kcal the weight loss will stop altogether. I seriously am worried about this!

I guess I do need to eat more when I exercise off the calories but I've read so much that my mind went into overload and I didnt know which to believe!
I am hungry on only 1200kcal a day alright so I guess my body knows best!

Thanks for the help guys

Helloitsdan

Ok so nearly finished week 3 of my diet and on MFP

Lost 6lbs in week 1
Lost 4lbs in week 2
Lost 2lbs so far on week 3 (week 4 starts monday)

I'm 5'7 and currently 208lbs
Final GW is around 154-161lbs

I'm eating around 1200kcal perday (most days) and exercising off maybe 600kcal per day but I don't eat them back so on average I guess my net kcal is 600

Is this bad?????
Will my body really go into starvation mode?
I'm reading so many conflicting stories on here and the broader net that I'm really confused!

I've also read about calorie cycling aswell. does this work?
On the weekends my kcal do go up but never over 1800kcal and I still exercise.....

Worried I'll do more harm than good!

5'7" you could actually eat about 1800-2k a day and still have 1lb lost.
Once the water weight is gone and hormonal response drops through the floor, frequent refeeds will help maintain your sanity.
Please for the love of God eat back all calories burned.
Youll be happy you did!