Calorie limit too low for weight loss?

Tachyonic

I have heard that setting your calorie limit too low can be really detrimental to your weight loss journey, let alone your health. I have heard that, as long as it is above 1,200 calories per day, you should be okay. Well, my calorie limit is at 1,290, and I have noticed on the days where I eat slightly below (less than 100) or exactly at my calorie limit, I'm not losing quite as much weight as when I net around 1,350 to 1,500 calories. Of course, I've only been at this thing for three or so weeks now, so I'm not sure if my 1,290 calorie limit isn't working quite as well because it just hasn't been long enough yet.

In case it matters, I am between 5'5.5" and 5'6", and I weigh around 185 pounds (my start weight was around 188-190 pounds).

A few years back, when I was around 160 pounds, I used MFP and had a calorie limit of 1,200 calories per day, and lost about five pounds in two weeks.

Are there any other factors that I should be looking into to explain this, or is it simply that it is healthier for me to raise my calorie limit a little bit (because I feel like my body is asking me to!).

teachmom32

I've been eating more calories for the last month. I'm not losing quickly, but I'm steadily losing anywhere from .5 to 1 pound per week. For me, this is sustainable weight loss. I'm not hungry. I'm not obsessing about food anymore, and the inches are consistently dropping off. My clothes fit better and I feel better than I have since high school. If you can slow yourself down and not stress about losing A LOT of weight FAST, it is so much better for you both mentally and physically. I'm 5'4"and weigh 181 right now. I would like to get down to 130 and it's going to take me a LONG time to get there at this rate, but I'm okay with it. It took me a long time to get this way....it'll take me a long time to get where I want to be.

teachmom32

Should've mentioned since we're quite close in stats that I've been eating 1750 calories a day for the last month and not been eating back my exercise calories.

emmalousmom1

I have stalled for about 3 weeks, I was set for 1410 cal per day, I'm 5'5 and 199lb, I upped my calories to 1600 yesterday, so afraid to up them, I have been hungry though and feel like I need to change something, I am also happy to lose .5-1lb a week:) I hope this works:)

emmalousmom1

teachermom, how much have you lost in the last month? how many times do you exercise and what kinds?

jackieomara

we're the same stats so i'm bumping this to see the answers!! i'm eating about 1500 calories right now.

jenay90497

I think 1200 is too little. I have mine set at 1400. I've lost 26 pounds since Nov. 1st not counting calories, so this is all new to me. I think as long as your making good choices, avoiding junk, you will lose. The bad thing about counting calories and carbs this way is that it puts them all in the same category. Carbs from an apple are not the same as carbs from pizza. So I think counting calories can be misleading. Just make sure you're eating good, wholesome food, the less processed the better!

teachmom32

In the last month I've lost about 5 pounds. I do 30 DS, although I finished that today and will be starting Ripped in 30. During 30 DS, I lost a total of 31 inches (7 from my waist alone and 4 from each thigh in addition to losses from my hips, arms, chest, and neck). I do 30 DS 5 days a week with 2 rest days and nothing else, although as a teacher I walk around quite a bit. I also lost 2 pants sizes in the last month, so while my weight loss may not be great, my inches lost and overall feeling about myself has been great!

Tachyonic

Thanks for the information, everyone!

I am considering bumping my calorie goal to somewhere between 1,350 and 1,450. I think that my brain and body will both thank me for it. I am pretty content losing weight slowly, since one of my goals is to just be below 150/145 pounds by December 2013 (40 pounds in 9 months seems perfectly reasonable to me), and ultimately be 135 pounds and toned.

I am trying to drink more water... I have had serious problems in the past with not drinking enough water, and drinking too much soda (even though it's always been diet soda).

I am also not super consistent with exercise yet. My significant other and I go on five mile (or longer) walks for an hour and a half at least once a week, and sometimes I go to the gym between my classes. I am sort of trying to get my food, water & nutrition situation down before I come up with a legit exercise & weight training routine.

S0nsh1ne

In the last month I've lost about 5 pounds. I do 30 DS, although I finished that today and will be starting Ripped in 30. During 30 DS, I lost a total of 31 inches (7 from my waist alone and 4 from each thigh in addition to losses from my hips, arms, chest, and neck). I do 30 DS 5 days a week with 2 rest days and nothing else, although as a teacher I walk around quite a bit. I also lost 2 pants sizes in the last month, so while my weight loss may not be great, my inches lost and overall feeling about myself has been great!

Hi it may be that I'm tired but what are 30 DS and Ripped in 30? Your results sound fabulous to me. Thanks and good luck!

teachmom32

30 Day Shred and Ripped in 30 are exercise videos by Jillian Michaels. They are short exercise videos (both around 30 minutes including warmup and cool down). Each involves 3 circuits. Each circuit has 3 minutes of strength exercises, 2 of cardio, and 1 of ab training. Each DVD has multiple levels and modifications for beginners and advanced. They are not boring and they move very quickly, which is why I enjoy doing them. They are challenging, and the first few days it may be hard to sit afterwards (especially if you go from never exercising to this like I did), but after a few days the pain goes away and you see AMAZING results!

chymerra

your body needs a certain calorie minimum just to function -- this is called your BMR (basal metabolic rate). for the majority of women, it's at least 1100 cals per day. everybody is different so there are different BMRs according to your height, age, current weight.

when you eat too low (below your BMR) and exercise, your body is expending way too many calories than it's getting and while many think this is a good idea to accelerate weight loss, this is in fact detrimental. in fact, your body will think it's starving so anything you eat will automatically get stored as fat. this is the body's natural defense against starvation. it also screws with your metabolism (slows it down) to further protect against starvation. this is why you will stall weight loss or gain weight, esp if the exercise you do is very intense and you're not eating enough to fuel your body.

this happened to me. i went with MFP's calculation of 1200cals/day while i was doing insanity. anyone who is familiar with this program knows how intense it is and you MUST EAT while doing this program. after 4wks of this, i saw a weight gain, esp in my mid-section which surprised me. it was my husband who alerted me that i wasn't eating enough (because i was following the 1200cals MFP gave and constantly complained how starving i was every hour) so when i did my numbers on my own, i realized i was nearly 500cals short of where i should be! so i added those calories back and bam! mid-section gone.

so yes, i truly believe that YOU MUST EAT PROPERLY TO LOSE WEIGHT. the numbers that you get for your caloric targets are for reference purposes so that you don't go over however once you switch to clean eating, many find it difficult to actually hit your target. IMO, i think you should listen to your body. if you are constantly hungry, redo your numbers OUTSIDE of MFP (which his notorious for miscalculating) and see what you get. if you are not hitting your caloric target (coming under) and you're full, then stick with that. there are days when i don't hit my target and i leave it be; there are days - esp when i workout multiple times or extra intense - that i'm hungrier so i eat my full calories.

while the numbers are important, they aren't set in stone. your body will change and as you get fitter, your numbers will change too. your body will tell you if it's had enough or too little so find that balance. don't force it but don't under feed either. also, it's good to redo your numbers every few months or so to figure out if anything has changed.

good luck!

iecreamheadaches

You're supposed to eat 1200 a day at least to prevent putting yourself into "starvation" mode. Maybe try redoing your goals and info on the page that determines your calories and see if the new limit works better? I did that recently and have been doing much better.

jmparis65

This just happened to me as well

I was at 1200-1400 a day for several months, lost 60 pounds with little exercise.

Now that I have added 6 day/week exercise routine, I have HAD to up my calories.

After calculating my BRR and TDEE, I now had a 2539 calorie limit

subtract the avg 600 cardio calorie burn and I am left about 1900 net calories a day

Going to try this for the next 4-6 weeks and see how it goes. But cutting more calories just wasn't a realistic option

april1445

In the last month I've lost about 5 pounds. I do 30 DS, although I finished that today and will be starting Ripped in 30. During 30 DS, I lost a total of 31 inches (7 from my waist alone and 4 from each thigh in addition to losses from my hips, arms, chest, and neck). I do 30 DS 5 days a week with 2 rest days and nothing else, although as a teacher I walk around quite a bit. I also lost 2 pants sizes in the last month, so while my weight loss may not be great, my inches lost and overall feeling about myself has been great!

Hi it may be that I'm tired but what are 30 DS and Ripped in 30? Your results sound fabulous to me. Thanks and good luck!

You can get the 30DS on youtube by the way. I'm doing it and loving it.

bodiva88

I find that when I'm excercising regularly I don't binge, don't fee that hungry in the evenings, and just generally feel more positive. So I'd suggest adding regular exercise as soon as you can. And choose things you enjoy if you find some, so that you look forward to exercising instead of having to force yourself. (I you discover you like something, you may find yourself doing even more exercise than you'd planned.)

And I'm all for eating more and losing more slowly. You're less likely to give up and more likely to have learned how to eat to maintain if you take the slow but steady route.

Remember, plateaus will happen. But just keep on keepin' on.