Eating below BMR: Am I really doing this all Wrong?!
pinthin87
Posts: 296 Member
Ok so for the past few days I have been seeing numerous threads regarding the 1200 calorie recommendation that a lot of us on MFP get when entering our stats. I have also been reading some fitness blogs and other articles regarding BMR and how you should not consistantly eat under that number. So my question is directly related to me and my personal weightloss journey: i.e. not to offend, upset, or start one of those ridiculous forum fights!
I have been on MFP for a while now and I have pretty much been eating in the 1200 calorie range for months. I started at 1230 then as I shrank the number of cals did too and I am sitting at the standard 1200. I have lost weight this way, but I keep going up and down. At the moment I feel that I am at a plateau bouncing between 135-132. I am not naive and know that the number on the scale changes daily but I will say that my body looks different at each of the weights in that range, and I don't like that.
Confession time: I do indulge in foods I should not have at times, but I try to keep a fair balance by upping my exercise, or consuming no sugar the next day. For instance I recently went on a road trip where I had to eat what was available to me and most of it was pure crap. When I returned from this trip I did 3 days of no sugar to get back into the swing of things. Btw, when I say no sugar...I mean nothing that is sugar or will turn into sugar, no bread, pasta, fruit...etc., all basics of the candida cleanse that I completed a couple of months ago.
Speaking of the candida cleanse. I did it for 10 days and it was the most life changing thing that I have ever done. I haven't seen my stomach so flat in two years, but of course when I went back to eating sugar it came back just not as big. The main reason I did it is because I do actually have problems with yeast...the weight loss was just a big perk. Now I try to do at least 1-3 days every week where I do not consume sugar. On these days though I am hungry, and I never feel that I eat enough because the food I have to eat while doing it is not as readily available.
Although it's great I cannot live on the candida diet infinitely. It is just not realistic because frankly almost everything I can consume candida can too, and I don't want to get to a point where I feel so deprived that I go on a huge binge. I realized this is getting very long and I still haven't gotten to my questions! Here goes, if I have been eating below my BMR and losing weight should I continue to do so or should I up my calories?
Let me also state that I try to be as dilligent as possible when working out, but I feel as though nothing I do is good enough. I can workout until I am blue in the face but my stomach is still not going to look good. My usual workouts are: Jillian Michaels Kickbox Quick Fix which contains three 20 minute workouts and I usually do 1 or 2, Jillian Michael's 6 pack in 6 weeks, 20-30 minutes on the elliptical, 20-30 minutes on the treadmill starting out slow and increasing speed in 5 minute intervals, Be a Knockout with Kendra which contains 6 workouts each about 10 minutes long and broken up into 30 second circuits of cardio movements.
Although this may sound terribly conceeded the main thing I am worried about is my stomach. No matter what I do it seems it will never GO AWAY. It only seems flat when I don't eat sugar and as I stated somethings are just not sustainable. I enjoy fruit and I don't want to miss out on nutrients it provides simply to have a flat stomach. So my next question is...is it possible for me to up my calories and eat at least my BMR without my stomach getting even bigger?
I just bought a set of kettlebells because I heard that any strength training will help reduce body fat and build muscle. I have also heard that kettlebells really work a lot of different muscle groups at the same time. I have not started using them yet but am going to give them a try. Is it possible that strenght training will help my stomach go down?
I would open up my diary for all to see but this month has not been pretty so you cannot get an accurate gauge by looking at it. This week I have been hitting my 1200 everyday, but I have been eating more like 1500 cals and netting somewhere between 1000-1200 daily. I just want to figure out something that actually works! I am not always hungry at 1200, but if it is hurting my metabolism and slowing down my weightloss I want to do something different. If you took the time to read this please help!
I have been on MFP for a while now and I have pretty much been eating in the 1200 calorie range for months. I started at 1230 then as I shrank the number of cals did too and I am sitting at the standard 1200. I have lost weight this way, but I keep going up and down. At the moment I feel that I am at a plateau bouncing between 135-132. I am not naive and know that the number on the scale changes daily but I will say that my body looks different at each of the weights in that range, and I don't like that.
Confession time: I do indulge in foods I should not have at times, but I try to keep a fair balance by upping my exercise, or consuming no sugar the next day. For instance I recently went on a road trip where I had to eat what was available to me and most of it was pure crap. When I returned from this trip I did 3 days of no sugar to get back into the swing of things. Btw, when I say no sugar...I mean nothing that is sugar or will turn into sugar, no bread, pasta, fruit...etc., all basics of the candida cleanse that I completed a couple of months ago.
Speaking of the candida cleanse. I did it for 10 days and it was the most life changing thing that I have ever done. I haven't seen my stomach so flat in two years, but of course when I went back to eating sugar it came back just not as big. The main reason I did it is because I do actually have problems with yeast...the weight loss was just a big perk. Now I try to do at least 1-3 days every week where I do not consume sugar. On these days though I am hungry, and I never feel that I eat enough because the food I have to eat while doing it is not as readily available.
Although it's great I cannot live on the candida diet infinitely. It is just not realistic because frankly almost everything I can consume candida can too, and I don't want to get to a point where I feel so deprived that I go on a huge binge. I realized this is getting very long and I still haven't gotten to my questions! Here goes, if I have been eating below my BMR and losing weight should I continue to do so or should I up my calories?
Let me also state that I try to be as dilligent as possible when working out, but I feel as though nothing I do is good enough. I can workout until I am blue in the face but my stomach is still not going to look good. My usual workouts are: Jillian Michaels Kickbox Quick Fix which contains three 20 minute workouts and I usually do 1 or 2, Jillian Michael's 6 pack in 6 weeks, 20-30 minutes on the elliptical, 20-30 minutes on the treadmill starting out slow and increasing speed in 5 minute intervals, Be a Knockout with Kendra which contains 6 workouts each about 10 minutes long and broken up into 30 second circuits of cardio movements.
Although this may sound terribly conceeded the main thing I am worried about is my stomach. No matter what I do it seems it will never GO AWAY. It only seems flat when I don't eat sugar and as I stated somethings are just not sustainable. I enjoy fruit and I don't want to miss out on nutrients it provides simply to have a flat stomach. So my next question is...is it possible for me to up my calories and eat at least my BMR without my stomach getting even bigger?
I just bought a set of kettlebells because I heard that any strength training will help reduce body fat and build muscle. I have also heard that kettlebells really work a lot of different muscle groups at the same time. I have not started using them yet but am going to give them a try. Is it possible that strenght training will help my stomach go down?
I would open up my diary for all to see but this month has not been pretty so you cannot get an accurate gauge by looking at it. This week I have been hitting my 1200 everyday, but I have been eating more like 1500 cals and netting somewhere between 1000-1200 daily. I just want to figure out something that actually works! I am not always hungry at 1200, but if it is hurting my metabolism and slowing down my weightloss I want to do something different. If you took the time to read this please help!
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Replies
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Bump- I want to do some research on probiotics and also on the candida cleanse and see if I can offer any advice.0
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I am having the same questions.. My calorie goal is 1200 a day, I add my exercise in and I'm falling way below that 1200 goal. I've read on different posts to eat them back and then others say don't eat them back. I'm really at a loss and with all that I'm putting into
this new journey (eating right, exercising daily) I would hate for the scale not to give me back a little reward. My diary is open, if anyone could offer some advice, I would so APPRECIATE it.0
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