I need to change my plan

geordiegirl27

I have been struggling to eat my recommended net calories since joining here, I'm eating food I dont feel I need just to get my calories up a bit more.

Over a week my daily average is up & down like a yo-yo and I think I need to regulate it. Question is do I need to up my calories too?

Over a week my net average is less than 1000 - this is me trying to eat more! I have a naturally low appetite (although reading the stickies there is a thought that your body reacts to what you eat so as you eat more then your appetite returns)

Any advise from you guys would be hugely appreciated. I am terrified to eat more and put weight on and I'm sure I'm not alone in this worry.

Thanks in advance

ji225

You absolutely have to eat more. Your body wont let you lose weight til you reset your metab - netting less than 1000?? Your BMR must be at a guess at least 1200-1400. You are literally running on empty. Your body will be metabolising internal organs and muscle at that level.

Believe me, I know its hard initially, but once you start eating more (yes you feel full for a while cos your body is not used to it) , you will feel more hungry, and your body will tell you when it needs calories.

If you are overweight, you must have eaten above maintenance at some point for a sustained period.

It is the VLCD that have made you have a 'naturally low appetite' in order to survive. Read all the stickies in the eat more to weigh less group and learn from others experiences so far. Its no quick fix, but who is in a hurry?

Hope you dont think my response sounds harsh - its not meant to be - just black and white.

Jenny

rosied915

You absolutely have to eat more. Your body wont let you lose weight til you reset your metab - netting less than 1000?? Your BMR must be at a guess at least 1200-1400. You are literally running on empty. Your body will be metabolising internal organs and muscle at that level.

Believe me, I know its hard initially, but once you start eating more (yes you feel full for a while cos your body is not used to it) , you will feel more hungry, and your body will tell you when it needs calories.

If you are overweight, you must have eaten above maintenance at some point for a sustained period.

It is the VLCD that have made you have a 'naturally low appetite' in order to survive. Read all the stickies in the eat more to weigh less group and learn from others experiences so far. Its no quick fix, but who is in a hurry?

Hope you dont think my response sounds harsh - its not meant to be - just black and white.

Jenny

^^^^this^^^^

I did VLCD for YEARS and was having symptoms of "malnourishment" that I overlooked such as losing gobs of hair in the shower and general "weakness".

Only YOU can decide what's right for you but what Jenny said and what I'm going to second is that netting 1000 calories or below is toxic to your metabolism~ you will lose "weight" initially but you ARE going to stall at some point and it will eventually become impossible to lose anything due to the unhealthy state your body will be in.

Yes, you are going to gain weight with the EM2WL process. Yes, it's very difficult to see that happen (struggling with it myself right now). But I believe in the science of it and that I will come out MUCH healthier on the other side.

geordiegirl27

Hi both thanks so much for taking the time to reply, sorry its taken me a bit time to come back but I wanted to have time to reply properly. Jenny I don't think you were harsh it was perfectly written and I can tell you are passionate about people eating properly to fuel their bodies.

My calories which MFP have given me is 1250, I've been onto Scooby's page and it says my BMR is 1461.

A bit of background, I never used to have any problems with my weight as a kid but I was always active. My weight started to come on in my early 20's when I started to have health problems, eventually I was diagnosed with endometriosis and the various medications and operations messed everything up. I then started trying to lose weight by the only way I knew how - cut down the food. At some point I joined WW in an effort to lose weight between 2 operations which were close together and the leader we had was fab, she sent me home with my only need to log everything I ate. Turned out I was averaging 13 points per day and exercising! So I had to learn to eat more. I kept the weight off when I was well, putting it on when I was poorly so its been a bit of a yo-yo.

The past 6 years I have been running. Initially I dropped weight with no effort but since my last operation 4 years ago I've struggled to lose every lb. I had an anaphylactic shock to anaesthetic back in 2007 and later had my ovaries removed putting me into medically induced (and very early) menopause. My thyroid is low but not quite low enough for medication.

I frequently get told of my pals that I don't eat enough, and with the exercise I do I am having to agree with them. As I found years ago with WW eating more did make me lose weight.

Don't get me wrong I'm far from perfect and I don't always eat under calories, weekends are always higher as we let our hair down bit, have a few beers/glasses of wine and eat out or have a take away or higher caloried meals at home.

So it was with great interest joining here and finding this group, I keep popping by and reading bits and I think that I need to bite the bullet and see what happens. Above all I think I need to try to regulate the daily calories as I'm noticing I'm all over the place. I think this way is also better for that rather than exercising then eating more.

As I said I've got the totals from scooby, so I will try to reset my goals in my profile and give it a go.

I run most days and also cycle and do a few kettle bells so I've opted for 3-5 hours moderate exercise.

Thanks again for the responses and I'll get swotting up on the stickies and other posts and hope that my body recovers and I don't panic initially.