undereating

bostongirl987
bostongirl987 Posts: 104 Member
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
I work out almost every day and can never eat nearly enough calories. Today I can have 1700 calories and I have only had about 1000. Will I not lose weight if I don't eat enough? This doesn't make sense because anorexics lose weight.

Replies

  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/75964-exercise-calorie-question-answered
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    I work out almost every day and can never eat nearly enough calories. Today I can have 1700 calories and I have only had about 1000. Will I not lose weight if I don't eat enough? This doesn't make sense because anorexics lose weight.

    Hold up there, anorexics do lose weight, but they lose it in VERY BAD ways. See, there are things you eat besides just calories which are extremely important for your body. If you don't get enough calcium for example, your body will take it out of your bones. If you don't get enough iron, your body will start to take it from your liver. So yes, they will lose weight - but at the cost of damaging most if not all of their vital organs, sometimes to the point where they end up killing themselves. Often if they survive, the damage is so bad that they'll never function again properly.

    Now, will underrating every now and then hurt you in any serious way? Not really. However doing it for a prolonged period of time will start to slow your metabolism down. Its your body's defense mechanisms trying to keep you alive.

    Add in some snacks through the day, like a piece of fruit here or there. Add some almonds. Add some whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter. There's tons of stuff you can add in. Snacks will help a lot to add in calories and other nutrients, just make sure you keep them healthy.
  • shanli
    shanli Posts: 19
    The weight that people with Anorexia loose is not just fat. Because their body has no nutrition to feed it, the metabolism slow down and goes into 'starvation' mode. Because your body does not know when it's going to be fed, it starts to eat off the fat storage. Once that runs out your body attacks your muscles, hence the MAJOR weight loss. It's REALLY bad for your heart and organs to not consume enough nutrition.
    As far as the "not enough Calories" go, I recommend eating a protein bar or drinking a shake 30min after your workout. This will help repair your muscles and replenish your body. The more you workout and build muscle the more calories you burn at a resting rate.
    Hope this helps!
  • inkaddict
    inkaddict Posts: 27
    I wish I had your problem LOL
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