How to eat for weight loss?!?

Lori0534

I have had myself in 1200 cal diet for a while. In the last 50 days peso I have tracked well and not gone over. I can't even hardly get my 1200 in and now that I am back to running my net isn't very much at all somedays. I just don't know what else go eat to up my calories to get those in. I am FULL but I have people telling me I am going to store fat and it's going to be harder to lose weight. What do you think? I just don't believe it. I am down 11 lbs this morning! I weighed in at 134 and that's the lowest I've been in 2 years since getting pregnant! So, is it true or so you think it's individual metabolisms and bodies? If I need to eat more, what?!?

yarwell

you aren't going to store fat unless you eat more calories than you use - there's nowhere for that excess to come from.

As a shorter person your calories expended are lower, so if you're continuing to lose weight don't try to fix what isn't broken.

MFP's 1200 minimum can catch shorter people out, especially when it adds on exercise cals to the minimum value rather than the calculated true value.

healthygreek

The only time you are close to 1200 is when you have the beers. At least eat the 1200 you've allotted yourself or your eating plan is not sustainable in the long run. (and not healthy) Just eat more of what you're eating. You can also add some healthy fats to bring up your calorie count to 1200 although you will still lose eating back some of your exercise calories. Eat some avocado, nuts or nut butters as well as more veggies with olive oil.
I'm 5'1" and still went down to 122 eating a lot more than you.

goodtimezzzz

do not listen to those people...become an instinctual eater...u are DOING GREAT!!!

vjrose

If you are hitting your macros, keeping your protein up over 42g (latest recommendation medically for active women) then you should be fine. Greatest risk to active and low calories is losing muscle mass along with the fat then having to build that back up when you hit your goal weight.

blueraidermike

I weigh about the same and am short - 5'4", but male so I probably have more muscle mass. I think the answer depends on what you eat, a calorie is not a calorie. If your diet is full of processed foods, your body will store the excess. If you diet is full of whole foods you will be surprised how your body will process it.

So to lose you have to manage the total net calorie intake but also the type of food you eat. Here are the rules
- Get rid of sugar from processed foods (only thing with fructose, etc), fresh fruits are fine
- Eat more veggies
- Increase your fiber intake
- Eat fish at least 2 times per week (easy on the red meat)
- Whole wheat only for your carbs

If you were going to focus on one thing - get the sugar out! Freaking poison. All that low carb food is full of sugar, to me its criminal.

gracetillman

How do you feel?

Is what you are doing working?

I looked at your food diary and it seems like you are eating healthy food choices. If you feel like you are hungry and should add more to your daily diet then add in some additional healthy choices -- perhaps more dairy (if you like it because it seems to be missing) Maybe some additional fruit would be a good treat.

If you feel like you are denying yourself or you want more switch things up a bit or your won't be able to maintain your lifestyle long term because eventually your willpower will lapse. If everything is going well and you are reaching your daily recommended intake for vitamins and minerals (which you may be getting from your supplements) then stay on course. For me I would not be satisfied for the rest of my life eating like you are eating, but that is me and everything isn't the same for everyone!!

Lori0534

I feel good! Most processed food has been removed from my diet. I can't have a lot of dairy due to lactose intolerance. I can't stand fish either! I'm losing the weight, but I have people tell me you don't eat enough and you are going to store fat. Well, I can add some healthy fat, but I can't eat a whole lot more because I'm full!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

My opinion is that you should eat more. Not because of "starvation mode" but because of overall health and adherence. The only reason you might "store fat" with this approach is that when you deprive yourself for a long time a lot of people find that they break and binge.

There are definitely reasons to eat more. 1200 calories is the amount that has been determined to be the minimum at which you can get adequate nutrition, and if to get nutrition on such a low number you'd have to be very very careful and use all the calories for nutrient dense foods.

You're only logging 900-1000 calories per day. That's not enough for health. Forget the weight loss part. VLCDs (which, admittedly, are a few less calories than what you're doing now, but not by much) are linked to depression, the development of eating disorders in previously psychologically healthy men, heart failure, and a host of other issues.

You don't have much weight to lose. Do it the healthy way. Eat all the calories MFP gives you and eat back at least most of your exercise calories. Use calorie dense foods like nuts, nut butters, avocados, full fat dairy, etc to meet your goal. You can also spread your calories out over the course of the day if you know you're going to burn a lot at the gym, that way you won't feel like you're trying to fit them in at the end of the day. Good luck and take care of your body, it's the only one you get.


ETA: I forgot to add that eating at too steep of a deficit, especially when you don't have much weight to lose, usually results in losing a lot of muscle along with the fat, and muscle is what makes you look good naked when you reach your goal weight.

Sarauk2sf

My opinion is that you should eat more. Not because of "starvation mode" but because of overall health and adherence. The only reason you might "store fat" with this approach is that when you deprive yourself for a long time a lot of people find that they break and binge.

There are definitely reasons to eat more. 1200 calories is the amount that has been determined to be the minimum at which you can get adequate nutrition, and if to get nutrition on such a low number you'd have to be very very careful and use all the calories for nutrient dense foods.

You're only logging 900-1000 calories per day. That's not enough for health. Forget the weight loss part. VLCDs (which, admittedly, are a few less calories than what you're doing now, but not by much) are linked to depression, the development of eating disorders in previously psychologically health men, heart failure, and a host of other issues.

You don't have much weight to lose. Do it the health way. Eat all the calories MFP gives you and eat back at least most of your exercise calories. Use calorie dense foods like nuts, nut butters, avocados, full fat dairy, etc to meet your goal. You can also spread your calories out over the course of the day if you know you're going to burn a lot at the gym, that way you won't feel like you're trying to fit them in at the end of the day. Good luck and take care of your body, it's the only one you get.


ETA: I forgot to add that eating at too steep of a deficit, especially when you don't have much weight to lose, usually results in losing a lot of muscle along with the fat, and muscle is what makes you look good naked when you reach your goal weight.

^good advice.

If your fats are too low you run the risk of greater hormonal imbalances and is detrimental to health. If your protein is too low you run a greater risk of loss of LBM.

Also, have a read of this: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html