I NEED ADVICE AND HELP

TourThePast · July 2012

but wont i gain weight?

On "800 to 1000 calories a day sometimes less" and working out every day?

Not unless you're some kind of genetic freak, no you won't gain weight.

You might however gain a few dozen more years of lifespan...

DontStopB_Leakin · July 2012

Women shouldn't eat less than 1500 calories per day, if you're only eating 800 calories and burning 1000 calories, you in effect don't have enough energy (food) coming into your body for it to function, so it is shutting down, which is why you are tired and feel icky. You really need to eat more and eat at least 1/2 of your exercise calories back. Try it, you will feel 100% better and have more energy.

^^This. Many sites and weight loss programs say that womens should eat between 1200-1500 calories a day to lose weight, while men should eat 1500-1800. Both my gynecologist and the nutrionist who works at his office say that this theory is completely outdated and incorrect. Most of the time, women need MORE calories to function than men do, once you factor in height and weight differences. Also, I always, always, always up my caloric intake by 300 extra calories when my monthly visitor is here. If I don't, I always feel exhausted and just plain sick.

chimpy_chimp · July 2012

If your food diary is correct, you are not getting enough calories. You need a minimum of 1,200 a day. Please eat more and you will feel less lethargic *and* lose weight.

egotkowski · July 2012

Not necessarily. Gaining/losing weight is not just about your net calorie intake. More importantly it is about the composition of the calories you are ingesting. If a high percentage of your diet stems from carb and fat caloric intake then it is more difficult to maintain/lose weight. However if you change that percentage and focus more on a high fiber and protein diet then you will notice results quickly. It is important to recognize that you need carbohydrates in your diet for physical activity. If you are continuously exercising and burning calories, but only ingesting fiber (which offers little to no caloric energy) then you will be feeling exhausted constantly.

When it comes to weight loss one of the biggest myths or false goals is focusing solely on the loss of body mass and weight. A much healthier alternative is to re-gauge the focus on your body's composition. For example if you are 180 lbs and would like to lose say 15 lbs to 165, but you are a female with 18% body fat then it would be near impossible (not to mention unhealthy) to be losing that much weight as you would be losing 8% of your body mass! Instead make goals such as ,"I would like to get my body composition to 15% body fat." This would then translate to a more realistic (and healthy) goal of losing 5.5 lbs of body fat.

Razack541 · July 2012

Women shouldn't eat less than 1500 calories per day, if you're only eating 800 calories and burning 1000 calories, you in effect don't have enough energy (food) coming into your body for it to function, so it is shutting down, which is why you are tired and feel icky. You really need to eat more and eat at least 1/2 of your exercise calories back. Try it, you will feel 100% better and have more energy.

^ This right here. You need to eat more calories. You're running a calorie deficit that is not safe and your body is telling you as much.

bcattoes · July 2012

Women shouldn't eat less than 1500 calories per day,

Why not?

SuzyLy · July 2012

You are not eating enough. Your diary shows you don't even eat 1200 cals (and you don't eat into any exercise calories)!!

soehlerking · July 2012

Listen to your body! I find the MFP calorie recommendations to be a bit low (and so have my friends, and a personal trainer or two!) Not sure how long you've been doing this or what your calorie goals are, but, I was doing 1200 calories and working out - not losing and feeling like crap - cold and exhausted every night. So, I would tell you to do some research and find out what you can adjust...maybe you just took on too much too fast, but if you're feeling wiped out, your body is telling you to give it a break

^^^This! Too often I've hit the point of complete exhaustion from hunger--we shouldn't be there! What's the sense in being miserable all the time? Take care of your body, and be sure to eat AT LEAST 1200 calories, regardless of exercise. If you exercise of course feel free to eat some or all of those calories, but above all just take care of yourself!