frustrated and confused?

pittapatta

Hi all, I'm a bit frustrated and confused about our Guideline daily amount of cals we can consume.

my daily goal is: 1,437 calories - first thought: Wow. how am i not already stick thin?
so to elaborate, whilst browsing through others food diaries I can see straight away that everyone is eating a LOT of food and way more calories - much more than i've ever eaten in one day, in my whole life.

i eat no junk food - on the ODD occasion, but very rarely. and I eat very little proccessed foods. In a day my average calorie consumption would be around the 300-400 mark. plus very low fat, and average fibre and protein. very little or no sugar and salt.
so I don't understand how I never lose weight? I think my only option is to starve myself, but thats obviously not very wise :sick:

any help/insights???

kah78

Hello....I don't know your specific situation, but in general, if you are only consuming 300-400 calories a day, then IMO, you are already starving yourself. Your body is not going to let go of any more fat until it knows that it is going to get an adequate number of calories on a regular basis. It IS in starvation mode right now, holding on to all the fat it can for dear life because it doesn't get what it needs to function on a regular basis from food.

gecallo

"300-400"? I hope that's a typo. If not, then kah78 is right.

omid990

ditto to what kah said. your body is amazing at survival. because you're starving yourself, you're not losing fat. instead, your body is doing what is called glucose sparring. i'll spare (excuse the pun) you the details but basically, your body is hurting. you should never consume less than 1200 net calories (net meaning with exercise). bump up your calories to the 1400ish mark the site gave you.

you will notice a gain in weight. it may be a little, it may be a lot. your body will immediately store everything you eat. it will take some time for your body to adjust before you actually start losing weight.

Hermit4Hire

In addition to "wow only 400 calories per day," what you may be seeing in other's diaries is due to consuming their exercise calories which can really bring up the daily total.

After I ran a triathlon last weekend, I burned nearly 4,000 calories and tried to eat half those along with my base 1400.

Believe me, I am proof, eating more (good foods) calories actually works to lose weight. Eating less than the minimum will ultimately lead to future weight gain when you give up because you're hungry all the time.

StaceG1986

Um yeah -- 300-400 calories A DAY?? You are already starving yourself. You should eat the minimum of 1200 AT LEAST..haven't really got much to add apart from what the others have said...

sabrinafaith

Unless you are anorexic, you must've made a typo.

400 calories a day do not give you average fiber or protein. You need 25 grams of fiber and 65 grams of protein A DAY. You also need calcium and iron. Most likely, you are not eating enough to even fuel your daily activities. It shouldn't be difficult to reach 1000 calories a day. I eat no processed foods or junk and I reach 1200-1300 calories a day. You need to eat lean protein, dairy, fruit and vegetables.

Did you really mean 400 calories a day? If you did, then you are trying to kill yourself instead of loose weight. You need to have realistic goals. Otherwise, you will never reach your goals, or at least never be able to enjoy reaching them, since you won't be here anymore on 400 calories a day.

pajamamama

Like others have already said, your body is already in starvation mode if you really are only consuming 400 calories a day. It would be helpful to seek the guidance of a dietician to help you develop a food plan that will fuel your body and get you on a healthy track.

pittapatta

sorry, I'll rephrase a few things, when I say I only eat 400 cals a day, I'm not purposely restricting myself I just can't physically eat as much as I see on others food diaries, (I find it hard to eat 3 meals a day, plus snacks. and I do exercise).
And I suppose if my body is in starvation mode - which I don't think it is, because I eat when I'm hungry, then surely I must lose some weight? .. anorexic's are permanently in starvation mode (for the record i'm not anorexic)

thanks for all the feedback, its definitely had me thinking. It seems as though I should be eating more calories and fat to lose weight, which is quite a scary thought!

SimonLondon

anorexic's are permanently in starvation mode (for the record i'm not anorexic)

If you're only eating 400 calories a day you are already deep inside starvation mode and keeping this up for a prolonged time will seriously damage your body (if not fatal!). You are only eating a third of what your body needs. 1200 is the MINIMUM and is the baseline figure if all you do 24hours a day is lay in bed. Any kind of exercise (even walking) will quickly eat into your 400 calories giving you a daily calorie intake of ZERO!

Anorexic's are zero or less every day so there really isn't much difference between you and them; you just eat VERY SLIGHTLY more than they do.

I am only saying this because I am very concerned :flowerforyou:

sonjavon

sorry, I'll rephrase a few things, when I say I only eat 400 cals a day, I'm not purposely restricting myself I just can't physically eat as much as I see on others food diaries, (I find it hard to eat 3 meals a day, plus snacks. and I do exercise).
And I suppose if my body is in starvation mode - which I don't think it is, because I eat when I'm hungry, then surely I must lose some weight? .. anorexic's are permanently in starvation mode (for the record i'm not anorexic)

thanks for all the feedback, its definitely had me thinking. It seems as though I should be eating more calories and fat to lose weight, which is quite a scary thought!

I understand where you're coming from. When I started I couldn't believe how much food I was supposed to be consuming! There were weeks and weeks in the beginning when I seriously felt like I ate from morning to night... nonstop. There were days when I actually felt like I was "stuffing" myself... but I thought, "Nothing else has worked for me.. I need to try this..." It's worked!

I've learned that there really is no correlation between "hunger" and "nutrition"... our body sometimes just doesn't give us the cues to let us know that it needs more food. Doing this properly will retrain your body to tell you when it needs more nutrition.

I don't know what you eat on an everyday basis... but to get more calories in your day, add some olive oil, peanut butter, avocadoes, milk, etc. Commit to 2 months of eating your calories that MFP gives you... and see if it doesn't make a huge difference in the way you feel! It was an incredible discovery for me that I didn't have to "eat less" to lose... that I in fact, needed to eat more!

You can do this! We're behind you!

sabrinafaith

HI,

The reason you are not hungry enough to eat 1200 calories a day is probably because your body is used to this way of eating already and is only hungry for the 300-400 calories a day. That is anorexia. You may not be doing this on purpose, but your eating habits are the same as an anorexics. You aren't loosing weight because your metabolism is practically useless at this point. In order to burn calories, you need to consume calories. You have to see a nutritionist and have them help you through this. You need to consume at least 1000 calories a day for your body to function properly. Stay on the track you are on and you will probably stop getting your period, your hair will thin eventually, and you may even have trouble conceiving children in the future. You may not feel like you are damaging yourself, but you are and you need help to deal with this properly.

pittapatta

i'm sorry, but that is not anorexia. - anorexia is a mental disorder about control. If I don't have that mindset then I'm not anorexic. but thanks for your concern anyway

I'm going the doctors anyway tomorrow guys, hopefully I'll get some help/advice there.

lawkat

What foods are you eating where you only get 400 calories a day? Is it mostly fruits and vegetables? As someone else pointed out, you can up your calories by eating some higher calorie foods such as avocados or adding some olive oil to your vegetables. Maybe you could add in some fruit smoothies which, depending on what you get in them, can add calories.

You are right about anorexia. It is all about the mind and not the body. If you don't feel hungry, then why would you eat?

pittapatta

What foods are you eating where you only get 400 calories a day? Is it mostly fruits and vegetables? As someone else pointed out, you can up your calories by eating some higher calorie foods such as avocados or adding some olive oil to your vegetables. Maybe you could add in some fruit smoothies which, depending on what you get in them, can add calories.

You are right about anorexia. It is all about the mind and not the body. If you don't feel hungry, then why would you eat?

haha, ok, i'll tell you's what I eat on a daily basis - as i said 400 cals is the average day, but occasionally I do cook something up, like pasta and veg with a bit of butter, and if I do fry foods such as eggs, i'll use olive oil, but I usually poach or boil them.

so the main bulk of my diet is bran flakes/cornflakes with skimmed milk, a lot of tea and coffee (this is probably filling me up the most), banana's, apples, all types of veg i love it, and marmite on toast. I really do know this is not a balanced diet, and i'm not a fussy eater - i LOVE fish but very rarely eat it. but i like those foods, and i'm used to eating them so I've had no reason to change what I eat.

so average day would be:

branflakes in the morning, cup of tea

marmite on toast a bit later on

then a banana - i drink about 7 cups of tea day.

but my main point was that I don't see how this can stall loosing any weight, and that to actually loose weight i have to eat less than i normally do^ which is why i'm confused about the starvation mode thing.

i am grateful for all your thoughts, it's raised a bit of awareness to what i should be eating like

hasiangirl

the doctor is going to tell you you need to consume more calories before you do damage to your organs if u havent already...I'm 4'10" and was told the lowest i should go is 1000...granted i do see alot of 800 calorie days but on those days there are no empty calories...The reason u arrent losing weight is what alot of ppl have already said, your body is in starvation mode....if u eat more u rev up ur metabolism more...even if you're only eating 5 small meals/snacks a day...u'll notice the weight come of, but when or if u choose to do that add 100 cals a day to avoid gaining weight for example 400 to 500....then the next day 500 to 600 and so on

JoyousMaximus

I'm suprised no one has posted this link:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing?hl=700+calories

read it. Also read the posts tacked to the top of the "General Diet and Weight Loss" section. They answer a lot of your questions but basically your body wants to survive. If you don't give it enough fuel, it will become as efficient as possible and hold on to as much of what you consume as possible which means you won't lose weight. I will promise you, if you don't triple your calories and eat more, you aren't going to lose weight.

P.S. Hey, Hasian. Long time no talk.

hasiangirl

JMAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how the heck have u been chica?!

mworld

sorry, I'll rephrase a few things, when I say I only eat 400 cals a day, I'm not purposely restricting myself I just can't physically eat as much as I see on others food diaries, (I find it hard to eat 3 meals a day, plus snacks. and I do exercise).
And I suppose if my body is in starvation mode - which I don't think it is, because I eat when I'm hungry, then surely I must lose some weight? .. anorexic's are permanently in starvation mode (for the record i'm not anorexic)

thanks for all the feedback, its definitely had me thinking. It seems as though I should be eating more calories and fat to lose weight, which is quite a scary thought!

Its quite clear from this post that you don't actually understand how many calories a day you consume, whether it be through food or drink. You probably consume more than you realize already - in fact, I'm sure of it, otherwise your your posts wouldn't be so contradictory looking.

Ms_Natalie

Please read the topics at the start of this forum thread! You cannot possibly be getting the correct nutrition from your current diet and this should be more important to you than losing weight in my opinion. Anorexia is not just a control and mind thing, honestly....you may not have the characteristics but restrictive dieting is highly addictive and dangerous. Please talk to your doctor and be open with him/her....maybe they can help change your eating habits.

Take care :flowerforyou:

hasiangirl

so average day would be:

branflakes in the morning, cup of tea

marmite on toast a bit later on

then a banana - i drink about 7 cups of tea day.


that was their meal plan...which would equal about 400ish...although i dont quite know what marmite is....unless its super high in cals then they were right bout their cal count =/

mworld

so average day would be:

branflakes in the morning, cup of tea

marmite on toast a bit later on

then a banana - i drink about 7 cups of tea day.


that was their meal plan...which would equal about 400ish...although i dont quite know what marmite is....unless its super high in cals then they were right bout their cal count =/

don't forget all the cream/milk in the tea

o and the most important thing, which im sure you already know, a lot of people aren't all that honest/aware of their calorie consumption and like to 'blank' out a lot. Average days usually end up being days to strive for.

hasiangirl

so average day would be:

branflakes in the morning, cup of tea

marmite on toast a bit later on

then a banana - i drink about 7 cups of tea day.



that was their meal plan...which would equal about 400ish...although i dont quite know what marmite is....unless its super high in cals then they were right bout their cal count =/

don't forget all the cream/milk in the tea

o and the most important thing, which im sure you already know, a lot of people aren't all that honest/aware of their calorie consumption and like to 'blank' out a lot. Average days usually end up being days to strive for.

i just figured they wouldve said they add that if they did...i drink my tea black...so its pretty much 0 cals

mworld

i just figured they wouldve said they add that if they did

which of course goes back to the original point - you would think so wouldn't you?. Another interesting thing to note and add to the equation/confusion is that she's lost 4 pounds since joining in May and that she started at 144 lbs. She clearly says she doesn't think she's got an eating disorder (which also, doesnt say much) but other people think so.

I'd say square one is clearly getting a grip on what she is actually consuming on a day to day basis.

pittapatta

i just figured they wouldve said they add that if they did

which of course goes back to the original point - you would think so wouldn't you?. Another interesting thing to note and add to the equation/confusion is that she's lost 4 pounds since joining in May and that she started at 144 lbs. She clearly says she doesn't think she's got an eating disorder (which also, doesnt say much) but other people think so.

I'd say square one is clearly getting a grip on what she is actually consuming on a day to day basis.

no excuse me, i have not got an eating disorder, if you would of actually read the whole post anorexic's have a mental disorder. i think i know myself more than you do.
and for the fat in the milk from the tea i'm consuming. i drink skimmed milk, and even if i was drinking full fat that wouldn't really add up to much more over the 400 cals mark.

and 4 lbs is nothing, thats just fluid loss, that you get starting any kind of diet. clearly not a sign that i have an eating disorder

mworld

I don't think you have an eating disorder either, which is what I am saying in my posts!

I apologize if I gave you that impression.

lilmissy2

Ok, so as for this 'starvation mode' debate - I think you are right. If you were eating 400cal per day you would lose weight, much like people with anorexia DO lose weight. You won't burn energy as efficiently as somebody who eats more but as long as you are burning more than you eat you lose weight.

So... I find it hard to believe that somebody could not be burning 400cal/day. It's actually very rare to have a low metabolism and is usually associated with a serious health problem... that said, even if you were one of those people, your metabolism would still not be that low.

Perhaps you do have some medical condition that could explain it... the only ones I can think of are pregnancy, cancer (ie growing tumour) or conditions that make you retain lots of water.... but with the water retention you would probably notice your arms etc being VERY skinny?

To be honest, I see a lot of patients that report what they are eating to be very little and to some extent they believe that is what they eat. Usually people, particularly people that have spent a lot of time watching their weight, have 2 eating patterns - the one they think they eat (or what they plan to eat) and the one they really eat when that small amount of food doesn't satisfy them.

It's not my place to say that you aren't being honest with yourself, I was simply relaying what my experience has shown me, for the benefit of the debate (seems a lot of people have known someone in this situation) - but you might find that if you do increase the amount you eat and plan your days with plenty of variety in food intake that you might see some results.

Good luck!

pittapatta

I don't think you have an eating disorder either, which is what I am saying in my posts!

I apologize if I gave you that impression.

oh i do aplologise, I took it the wrong way, sorry about that.

but what i wrote down for the average day i eat is true, i am quite conscious of eating fatty things so i tend to steer clear from them altogether. i was just thinking that maybe my body is used to the cals/fat etc i consume, so to actually loose weight, i need to go lower. i really don't know.

mworld

Keep a strict journal - log everything (drinks too). When it doesn't make sense you then take it to the doctor.

I think you are in the UK - do you do a lot of walking during the day (UK'ers tend to walk a lot more than us Americans)

pittapatta

Ok, so as for this 'starvation mode' debate - I think you are right. If you were eating 400cal per day you would lose weight, much like people with anorexia DO lose weight. You won't burn energy as efficiently as somebody who eats more but as long as you are burning more than you eat you lose weight.

So... I find it hard to believe that somebody could not be burning 400cal/day. It's actually very rare to have a low metabolism and is usually associated with a serious health problem... that said, even if you were one of those people, your metabolism would still not be that low.

Perhaps you do have some medical condition that could explain it... the only ones I can think of are pregnancy, cancer (ie growing tumour) or conditions that make you retain lots of water.... but with the water retention you would probably notice your arms etc being VERY skinny?

To be honest, I see a lot of patients that report what they are eating to be very little and to some extent they believe that is what they eat. Usually people, particularly people that have spent a lot of time watching their weight, have 2 eating patterns - the one they think they eat (or what they plan to eat) and the one they really eat when that small amount of food doesn't satisfy them.

It's not my place to say that you aren't being honest with yourself, I was simply relaying what my experience has shown me, for the benefit of the debate (seems a lot of people have known someone in this situation) - but you might find that if you do increase the amount you eat and plan your days with plenty of variety in food intake that you might see some results.

Good luck!

i'm just as baffled as you are! and you seem like a professional person. like i said maybe because my body is so used to the same routine, to lose weight i'd need consume less cals. i think it would be a good point to add that i'm 5ft 7"

I'm going to try exercising a lot more, hopefully that'll do the trick. so stick around and i'll keep you posted on this weird anomaly!

pittapatta

Keep a strict journal - log everything (drinks too). When it doesn't make sense you then take it to the doctor.

I think you are in the UK - do you do a lot of walking during the day (UK'ers tend to walk a lot more than us Americans)

yeah, i've almost always kept a food diary. hence joining this site because it's so much easier.
and yep, i'm from the U.K, I don't walk as much as I should, but go on bike rides often so hopefully that makes up for the laziness :^P