1200 Calories a day, a ton of cardio and GAINING? !

ndj1979

since you are doing IF you need to do back the cardio off and go to three day a week total body work outs and two days of cardio...lean gains is pretty specific about total body strength training as part of the protocol..

I do leangains/if 18/6 and have lost 3% body fat...

greyoutside

Eat more. Your body has gotten used to starvation mode and that's why you're not hungry very often. If you eat more, your body will re-adapt and you will be hungry the way that you should be.

suzette52

I found that cutting out refined sugars & refined flour, as well as only eating the healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, avocado, nut butters) helped me. Also don't forget the protein, which you should have at every snack & meal. It is especially needed when working out a lot. Protein snack options that I like are: eggs, mozzarella string cheese, almonds, protein shakes, nut butters, & yogurt are great! Eating more vegetables in different forms, including in (fruit) smoothies is a great way to add vegetables, and tastes delicious too! Strength training is an added bonus!

ndj1979

Eat more. Your body has gotten used to starvation mode and that's why you're not hungry very often. If you eat more, your body will re-adapt and you will be hungry the way that you should be.

you can't go into starvation mode if you are eating daily....it is impossible. You have to not eat anything for 72 hours and even then the effects are minimal....

RMNPHike

It's been said and I have to agree. 900 calories a day is ridiculous. 900 calories and not eating back the exercise calories is suicide. It sounds like you already wrecked your metabolism by starving yourself, and I can tell you, it's a long road back from that! I have done it. I am much smaller than you and I have to eat a minimum of 1250 per day, more if I exercise moderately (you exercise way more than me), in order to LOSE weight. That's right! It took me months, maybe even years to re-set my metabolism and you are just going to have to go the distance if you want to be healthy AND thin. Just the way it is. At 5'7", and muscular (I assume, with all that working out), 145 - 150 isn't all that bad though I can understand wanting to be thinner. How old are you, by the way?

You might consider cutting back a little on the exercise, even. Sounds dumb, maybe, but to me it looks like you're overdoing it all the way around and being too desperate about it. Protein, healthy fats, complex carbs, and moderate exercise, along with a REALISTIC calorie deficit will allow you to slowly lose weight, maintain it and be healthy. It could take awhile. Enjoy it.

sarahmarc

Hot topic... Just do the opposite of what you're doing and it should work!

RiannonC

One question:

Do you care about your health or a number on a scale more?

My health, before I sound like too much of a whiner I will add that I FEEL 100% better since i started eating clean and excersizing nomatter what weight. And regardless of the number on the scale will never go back to my previous lifestyle, however I was looking forward to dropping some pounds when I started and thus am a little "blah" about that...

The reason I asked is because you're being entirely unhealthy. I don't harp on people not eating or JUST eating 1,200 if they aren't working out and don't lead an active lifestyle, however, you seem to be.

I guess you might not realize the damage you are doing to your body by eating 900 calories a day and burning 300-500 of those on a work out. Do you really think 400-600ish calories is enough per day to sustain healthy bodily functions for long periods of time? Do you suppose that eventually, if you continue on this course your body might start to break down?

Is seeing a number on a scale really worth it?

If you want to lose weight, listen to the people who are tell you to fuel your body by netting more calories and adding strength training.

Everyone's blanket response is "eat more, lift more heavy weights!" (seems like that is the blanket respons to ANY post lately) But if you look at OP's original post and actually read it, you will see she is already lifting. And if she has a severe thyroid or hormonal problem, the only thing eating more will do is cause weight gain. Gaining weight on 1200 calories a day at OP's height and weight, and with the amount of exercise she is doing, is beyond normal metabolic slowdown from eating too little. I would seriously say that a doctor's advice and thyroid testing is the best course of action. There are plenty of people with metabolic issues who can't just bump their calories up to MFP's recommendations and lose weight. You have to determine the underlying problem before recommending a solution.

I'm sorry, where did I say to lift heavy? I said STRENGTH training, didn't I? Like you know, YOGA instead of intense cardio because it burns less calories. Calories she needs since she's netting 400-600. Maybe YOU should learn to read responses before you respond like a know it all.

Let me break down what is happening here:

She's 5'7 147 pounds to start. She IS a healthy weight to start, the likelihood that she has a thyroid or hormonal problem is probably not great given those facts. To get MFP to set you to 1,200 calories you have to set your goal to 2 pounds per week. That is not realistic given how little weight she has to lose. Anyone who is happy to resort to netting 400-600 calories per day to lose weight does have a problem, most likely an eating disorder.

ETA: She says she was eating 800-900 calories before starting the journey to lose weight, it's very likely her body got used to doing with less and she's having a hard time losing weight because she's messed her metabolism up after consistently under eating.

No need to take offense, I merely stated what has been a common trend in the responses in this thread. Nowhere did I imply that I know everything. And most people don't consider yoga "strength training." It's not exactly the prototypical association with that phrase.

There are actually plenty of people who have thyroid or metabolic disorders and are still at a normal weight. Either they are getting by eating very little (as it sounds like OP has been doing) or they have not gained very much weight yet but may do so in the future. I have known such people personally.

Also, nowhere in any of my posts does it state or imply that eating such a low amount of calories is ideal or healthy. What I do think, however, is that you can't automatically assume that eating MORE calories is going to fix everything. People overestimate the effect of metabolic slowdown. If someone is MAINTAINING on 900 calories a day, gaining at 1200, if they up calories to a healthy normal amount like 1800 or so, they will probably experience significant weight gain, even with the metabolism speeding up a bit to accommodate the greater caloric intake. I don't want to see that happen to OP, it sounds like it would make her unhappy, hence my recommendation to see a doctor to determine if hormone therapy or thyroid supplementation is in order. Hopefully this makes my position more clear.

I guess maybe you don't understand how forums work? If you quote somebody, imply they said something they didn't (when there actually are plenty of other posts that actually did, word or word), you're going to get a defensive response. Period.

Strength training is basically any activity that uses resistance -- "lifting heavy" or whatever is strength training, but it's FAR from the only type. Your limited understanding is not my problem. I engaged with you over the "pregnant women are gaining too much weight" thread, so I think you chose my post even though it had nothing to do with what you had to say.

It's highly unlikely this woman is experiencing anything other than the reality of what happens when you don't eat enough calories for an extended period of time. Not that she should take my word for that -- but when somebody is writing details that very clearly indicate disordered thinking about food, making suggestions that it could be something medical is just not helpful. It provides justification for a negative behavior. "Oh I must have a slow (fill in the blank) I should just cut more and see". Do you see the point? If what she was doing was healthy, then your answer would be completely valid, but because it was so clearly unhealthy, your answer was misguided. And yeah, she might gain weight -- that's what I asked initially if she wanted to be healthy or see a certain number on the scale more. To correct the damage, she might gain weight. Usually aren't "happy" about gaining weight, sometimes you have to look critically at what is informing your notions of happiness. See my point? Maybe?

Of course she should go to a doctor. Everyone should if they have a health concern.

OP, I didn't mean to imply had a specific eating disorder - I just meant to suggest that you had disordered thinking about food, I went back to clarify but the edit option was gone.

Oh brother.

If we debated in another thread I guess that would explain why you seem so hostile. Honestly, I didn't even connect you as one of the same people. So it was totally unrelated.

"How forums work" Well, if I quote someone, it means that something they said is going pertain to something I will say. It doesn't necessarily mean that my whole post is about their whole post. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on "how forums work."

I get what you are trying to say in that she should change to healthy behavior, but my point was that if she has another underlying problem it might be wise to find that out FIRST before drastically upping the calories, gaining significant weight, and then having 20 extra lbs to lose or something. If she did have a slow thyroid, and the doctor ended up supplementing it with medication, surely it would be better to have that taken care of before raising calories? That way maybe she could eat a healthy amount without even having to gain weight at all?

I am sorry that you took my post as singling you out or attacking you in any way. It really was not meant that way, we may disagree on some things but I wish OP and you and everyone well in their journeys toward health and fitness.

RMNPHike

It would definitely be wise to work with someone with some expertise and knowledge, a nutritionist or alternative health care practitioner, who can advise if there is a health issue and at least give some close guidance. It's true, we can all assume things, and my assumption is that by eating too few calories and over-exercising for what you are taking in, that you have wreaked havoc on your metabolism and exhausted your adrenals. But I agree you should get with someone local to you who knows what they are doing and can actually look at you and what you're doing and advise on how to make it possible for you to eat a normal and healthy amount of calories and attain your weight and fitness goals.

volume77

You know what...nevermind. lol

this

daydream_believer

eat more food.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

"How forums work" Well, if I quote someone, it means that something they said is going pertain to something I will say. It doesn't necessarily mean that my whole post is about their whole post. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on "how forums work."

Except nothing you said pertained to ANYTHING I said -- I said "strength training" and suggested eating at least 1,200 calories a day -- you started talking about heavy lifting/eat more to lose more blanket responses... neither of which I ever suggested.

RiannonC

"How forums work" Well, if I quote someone, it means that something they said is going pertain to something I will say. It doesn't necessarily mean that my whole post is about their whole post. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on "how forums work."

Except nothing you said pertained to ANYTHING I said -- I said "strength training" and suggested eating at least 1,200 calories a day -- you started talking about heavy lifting/eat more to lose more blanket responses... neither of which I ever suggested.

This will be my last post on this thread since it's an old thread but just wanted to clarify a few things.

First, about the strength training. I will admit that with all the other posts about lifting heavy on this thread I lumped you in with them and assumed you were talking about heavy lifting too. Entirely my mistake on that one.

Second about the calories. You were talking about 1200 net, not gross, since you said that after the workout her body is sustaining on 400 calories or so a day rather than the 900 she said she was eating. That would mean you are recommending not 1200 gross, but 1700 gross for her on days when she's working out. Her current intake had been 1200, on which she had gained, so 1700 would mean a 30 percent increase on calories. I put a 30 percent increase in the "eat more to lose more" category, since it is so much more than her current intake.

If she did happen to be hypothyroid, she could gain quite rapidly on that and wind up with another 20 lbs to lose when she is already trying to lose and severely struggling with it. If it were me, I wouldn't want to take that kind of risk. It's up to her of course, but if I were in her situation the advice I would hope someone would give me, is to have the thyroid checked first to make sure everything is normal, and if it is, then proceed with upping the calories as you and many others have suggested.

Hopefully I have not grown too long winded on this subject. Have a nice day

WendyTerry420

Yes I just changed my diary goal today to 900. Everything ive read paired with my stats tells me to eat more but being never hungry and gaining discourages me from that... I am not eating back what Ive burned. Just total intake of 1200

THIS is the problem.

Not being hungry is the result of screwed up hormones from a VLCD. It is probably also the reason that you aren't losing as much as you otherwise would if your deficit were smaller. You have probably wrecked your metabolism too. You should eat at maintenance for a couple months, adding WAY more protein and fats than you've been eating. This will help your body readjust to normal eating and your hormone levels and metabolism can go back to normal.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

Second about the calories. You were talking about 1200 net, not gross, since you said that after the workout her body is sustaining on 400 calories or so a day rather than the 900 she said she was eating. That would mean you are recommending not 1200 gross, but 1700 gross for her on days when she's working out. Her current intake had been 1200, on which she had gained, so 1700 would mean a 30 percent increase on calories. I put a 30 percent increase in the "eat more to lose more" category, since it is so much more than her current intake.

If she did happen to be hypothyroid, she could gain quite rapidly on that and wind up with another 20 lbs to lose when she is already trying to lose and severely struggling with it. If it were me, I wouldn't want to take that kind of risk. It's up to her of course, but if I were in her situation the advice I would hope someone would give me, is to have the thyroid checked first to make sure everything is normal, and if it is, then proceed with upping the calories as you and many others have suggested.

Hopefully I have not grown too long winded on this subject. Have a nice day

Um, suggesting somebody net the bare minimum number of calories isn't "eat more to lose more". Eat more/lose more is actually eating 1450+ calories per day in addition to all exercise calories. A good number of those people were netting 1,200 calories a day and not losing. So again, you're suggesting I said something I didn't. Just like with "lifting heavy".

And for the last time, YES, she will probably gain weight. That idea shouldn't even be a consideration or something she tries too hard to avoid right now in light of her not eating enough calories for however long (we know it's been a while). You cannot mistreat your body for a lengthy period and magically think it will work the same as if you'd treated it well. Again, that's why I asked HEALTHY or NUMBER ON A SCALE. If her response was scale, I wouldn't have even talked to her further.

I didn't advocate that she needed to start netting 1,200 in a BAM, all at one kind of way. I DID suggested to shift her work outs to something that burned less calories and eat more until she was netting 1,200 calories a day. What I am saying is this: if she has to gain weight to get back to a place were she is able to healthfully lose weight, that's what she needs to do. Period.

Jocolette

Yes I just changed my diary goal today to 900. Everything ive read paired with my stats tells me to eat more but being never hungry and gaining discourages me from that... I am not eating back what Ive burned. Just total intake of 1200

THIS is the problem.

Not being hungry is the result of screwed up hormones from a VLCD. It is probably also the reason that you aren't losing as much as you otherwise would if your deficit were smaller. You have probably wrecked your metabolism too. You should eat at maintenance for a couple months, adding WAY more protein and fats than you've been eating. This will help your body readjust to normal eating and your hormone levels and metabolism can go back to normal.

what is VLCD?

TavistockToad

Very Low Calorie Diet