1200 cals = weight gain?

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Replies

  • Jade021996
    Jade021996 Posts: 26
    nope. i've tried 800 cals before and i think i almost experienced hallucinating. specially because i'm working out. i lost 3 lbs. a week. then i upped it to 1,300 cals.which made me lose 1 pound a week, then my body adapted to it and i after a week i returned to losing 3 lbs a week. then i'm not scared to go beyond that and eat my exercise calories. don't stick to eating only a few. ou won't last long and your metabolism will slow down. and besides, you should find something that you can maintain FOREVER. :) good luck!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    You should be eating at least 1500 calories a day. Increasing your calories from 900 to 1200 led to an increase in glycogen and water storage, not fat. Glycogen is a good thing, because it is your muscles' energy source, and it's also required for efficient fat burning. I'd bump up to at least 1500 calories, maybe even eat 2000 for a couple weeks, to get your metabolism back to normal (eating so low for so long slows your metabolism dramatically, which can lead to long term complications.) Based on your age, height, and weight, your maintenance calories are roughly:

    Sedentary - 1800
    Lightly Active - 2000
    Moderately Active - 2325
    Very Active - 2600
    Extremely Active - 2850

    Obviously it depends on how active you are. Starving yourself is not the way to go. I wouldn't recommend less than 1500 calories if you are less active, 2000 calories if you are more active.
  • ebonie101
    ebonie101 Posts: 95 Member
    nope. i've tried 800 cals before and i think i almost experienced hallucinating. specially because i'm working out. i lost 3 lbs. a week. then i upped it to 1,300 cals.which made me lose 1 pound a week, then my body adapted to it and i after a week i returned to losing 3 lbs a week. then i'm not scared to go beyond that and eat my exercise calories. don't stick to eating only a few. ou won't last long and your metabolism will slow down. and besides, you should find something that you can maintain FOREVER. :) good luck!

    i usually eat about 1000 or 900 a day and i feel perfectly fine and i workout regularly. been this way since feb.
  • ebonie101
    ebonie101 Posts: 95 Member
    You should be eating at least 1500 calories a day. Increasing your calories from 900 to 1200 led to an increase in glycogen and water storage, not fat. Glycogen is a good thing, because it is your muscles' energy source, and it's also required for efficient fat burning. I'd bump up to at least 1500 calories, maybe even eat 2000 for a couple weeks, to get your metabolism back to normal (eating so low for so long slows your metabolism dramatically, which can lead to long term complications.) Based on your age, height, and weight, your maintenance calories are roughly:

    Sedentary - 1800
    Lightly Active - 2000
    Moderately Active - 2325
    Very Active - 2600
    Extremely Active - 2850

    Obviously it depends on how active you are. Starving yourself is not the way to go. I wouldn't recommend less than 1500 calories if you are less active, 2000 calories if you are more active.

    2000?? what? how? lol i cant eat that much in a day. i would feel like a blimp and im trying to lose weight not maintain my 150 pounds :/ plus im not starving myself i actually eat healthy all day. fruits/veggies salad with eggs and turkey burgers through out the week etc. but i guess i have no choice but to eat more. :/ thanks again for the answers.
  • ebonie101
    ebonie101 Posts: 95 Member
    I am 4'11' and my maintenance is 2000 calories a day and that include my exercise.

    Eat at maintenance for a few weeks than come back down by 250 calories, it should give you a diet break and help you lose again.

    to be totally honest i can barely even eat 1200 calories. it was a struggle getting there yesterday. ill look on this site for recipes and meal ideas though
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    From one of my old posts from a similar topic:

    OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

    It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

    It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

    1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

    2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


    That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

    Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

    Are you getting the picture?

    EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
    --

    There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

    Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

    Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    blessings.

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