is not eating enough cals stalling my weight loss??? HELP ME

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  • coopjg
    coopjg Posts: 4 Member
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    Please eat more
  • tzuris
    tzuris Posts: 30
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    I've lost 47 lbs in 8 months through extreme low cals (500-700) and exercise. I've stopped losing completely! I exercise 6 days a week for about 50 mins. I know I'm being stubborn but I just don't see how eating MORE can help

    I just posted to good articles on the forums regarding this topic - 'eat more to lose weight' and 'eating too few calories'. I would encourage you to read them and rethink your calorie goal!!!!!

    I second this. If that's the calorie intake BEFORE exercise and not after, that's seriously dangerous. Your net calories would be even lower than what's listed. You should definitely check out the eat more to lose weight forum that was linked.
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
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    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Put in your height and weight and everything else applicable here. The number it gives you is the number of calories you can eat without gaining or losing weight. Now take that number and subtract 500 calories from it. Eat that amount of calories daily and you'll lose a pound a week, no prob. As for why you've stopped losing weight eating less calories - your body is a vehicle. It needs fuel to run. You're not giving it enough fuel, so it's forcing itself to use less fuel to compensate.

    I'm gonna tell you something you're not gonna like. If you up your calories even below your TDEE, you will gain a few pounds, because your body is used to running on less fuel and will store the fuel in case you start starving it again. BUT - and this 'but' is important - after your body trusts you to give it the amount of fuel it needs to run again, you will lose weight steadily, consistently, and sustainably.

    You've burnt yourself out going too far too fast and right now you have to take a pit stop to be able to keep going. But lucky for you, it's not a race, honey. Take your time to get back on track - you'll be glad you did.
  • tnjackso1
    tnjackso1 Posts: 312 Member
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    wow, I do understand how you may want to get the weight off quick but you didn't gain it over night and with healthy weight loss you want lose it over night either... Regroup and let's do this thing the healthy way! You will appreciate it in the end and your body will be much happier and tell you with great weight loss results from giving it fuel to run off of.
  • konerusp
    konerusp Posts: 247 Member
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    oh yeah lady.I did an 800 cal diet for 3 months and lost 30 pounds,then 500 calorie diet for few more months and lost 20 more pounds.It took me so much time to regain my metabolism and to be able to eat normal without gaining.I reached a point that an extra 100 cal in my diet i was gaining weight.my body held on to every inch of fat it can.

    Please read this
    http://www.7layerliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/feastorfamine.pdf

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/core_march_8.htm


    Whenever I have had energy surges(ie parties/holidays) my body stored more and more fat though i was very active.It took me almost a year to slowly increase my intake from 800 to 2200.i increased 200 calories for every few weeks until the weight went up and came back down(between 160 and 164).now at 2200 i dont gain anymore,ie the weight has stabilized.making a small cut out of maintenance will have safe fat loss.
  • CatMagnet71
    CatMagnet71 Posts: 3
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    47 pounds in 8 months by eating that little? I ended up losing 85 pounds in that amount of time, exercising about as much as you do and eating 1500-1600 calories a day.

    Sweetie, you HAVE to eat more, because you're in starvation mode. Your metabolism, even with the exercise has GOT to be majorly slow at this point because you've been depriving it of nutrients. Yeah, you may gain a little short-term, but long-term, your body will thank you for it!
  • gguynes
    gguynes Posts: 20
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    Short answer, It could be part of the problem... I'll give you my take, but I'm just learning...

    I continue to hit plateaus in my weight loss efforts so I began reading more about the subject... There are at least two ways where your eating habits can hurt you...
    1 - if you continue to eat too little, your body will adjust by slowing down your metabolism (whenever possible) to store energy in the body because it believes you are starving it. When your metabolism is high, you're burning calories.
    2 - depending on how you eat, your body may create more insulin than needed to turn energy into fat for storage...
    3 - keeping your metabolism high throughout the day helps you continue burning calories throughout the day; and building off of the first two items, it keeps your insulin in check and prevents fat storage because it doesn't think its being starved.

    Hope that helps...
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
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    47 pounds in 8 months by eating that little? I ended up losing 85 pounds in that amount of time, exercising about as much as you do and eating 1500-1600 calories a day.

    Sweetie, you HAVE to eat more, because you're in starvation mode. Your metabolism, even with the exercise has GOT to be majorly slow at this point because you've been depriving it of nutrients. Yeah, you may gain a little short-term, but long-term, your body will thank you for it!

    I lost 73lbs in 8 months eating 1500-2000 net calories a day and eating back all my exercise calories, some days I ate 3000 calories. I don't get why people do this to themselves lol
  • MemphisKitten
    MemphisKitten Posts: 878 Member
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    You have to up your metabolism by eating MORE FOOD MORE OFTEN or you won't lose any more weight. Your body is in starvation mode and is holding onto everything you eat bc your calorie count is so low. Wouldn't it be nice to eat almost 2000 cals a day and still lose weight? Boost your metabolism and you can! Friend me or message me if you're interested. :smile:
  • thistimeismytime
    thistimeismytime Posts: 711 Member
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    I've lost 47 lbs in 8 months through extreme low cals (500-700) and exercise. I've stopped losing completely! I exercise 6 days a week for about 50 mins. I know I'm being stubborn but I just don't see how eating MORE can help

    I am almost speechless. I can't believe you did that to your poor body for 8 whole months. :cry: And NOW you wonder why you're experiencing the effects of a metabolic slowdown?!? You have done much more harm than good. Please start fueling your body appropriately, focus on getting healthy, and put away the scale for a few months while your body attempts to repair the damage that's been done.
  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
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    I've lost 47 lbs in 8 months through extreme low cals (500-700) and exercise. I've stopped losing completely! I exercise 6 days a week for about 50 mins. I know I'm being stubborn but I just don't see how eating MORE can help

    Is this a joke? It sure seems like it.

    Otherwise...

    You've been on here for 2 years and are doing that 700cal thing? Why ask? clearly you aren't going to listen to this forum.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
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    Starvation mode is oversold, but the fact is your body pretty much adjusts to anything. Best thing to do is mix things up to confuse it. Vary your exercise routine, eat over on some days and under on others, etc.
  • eggfooyumyum
    eggfooyumyum Posts: 42 Member
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    A 47lb loss in eight months is slow/steady weight loss - a little over 5lbs a month. I suspect you are eating a lot more than 500 - 700 calories a day. Either way, I think you would benefit by investing in a private consultation with a nutrition and fitness specialist. If you are indeed eating that few calories, something is awry. Good luck!
  • ceajules
    ceajules Posts: 123
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    THat happen to me thats why I came back and I am tracking everything feel free to add me
  • debbie1012
    debbie1012 Posts: 2
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    definitely starvation mode...especially since you are working out so much. if you are not giving your body enough nutrients , it will shut down and hold on to any stored fat you may have. you can eat more, if you are worried about gaining, just make good choices...protein is good since you are working out. carbs are necessary to keep your energy up before a work out. just watch the carbs that you consume. I like drinking 1% chocolate milk, it gives me the sweet that I desire and the carbs and protein that my body needs.
  • daddysgrl
    daddysgrl Posts: 29 Member
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    Thanks for the concern lovelies but please know an eating disorder couldn't be more absurd! I was OVER being fat and went a lil extreme. That is all. I never thought it was normal, ok, or cool. I was freakin starving but it was working so I suffered through it. I will abruptly fix.
  • erindh87
    erindh87 Posts: 94
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    I'm gonna tell you something you're not gonna like. If you up your calories even below your TDEE, you will gain a few pounds, because your body is used to running on less fuel and will store the fuel in case you start starving it again. BUT - and this 'but' is important - after your body trusts you to give it the amount of fuel it needs to run again, you will lose weight steadily, consistently, and sustainably.

    ^^This!! If you follow everyone's great advice and increase calories to a safer level (which you definitely need to do), you will most likely see a jump in weight for a while. Your body will be expecting you to take it back down to your normal dangerously low levels, so it will hold onto anything it can. You'll have to give it some time to learn that you're not going to starve it again.

    You could try a gradual approach to see if it will help...say only 100-200 extra at a time for a few weeks until you get to at LEAST 1200 (IMO, you should go at least to your BMR). It might minimize the weight gain. Either way, just give it time and your body will start dropping again. It might be several weeks before it stabilizes after you up calories, but it WILL go back down eventually.
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
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    I have been on a low calorie regimen for several years and I have stopped loosing weight also. I read all the message boards about the starvation myth and that we need to eat more to weigh less. Okay, I started upping my calories and I have gained about 5 pounds. Some say that is to be expected. So now I am going to go back to low calories and see what happens. The problem I had with low calories was I was waking up at night starving. Really don't know if the starvation thing is true.

    If you think starvation mode is a myth, you will be yo-yo dieting your entire life. Have fun.
  • vkruithof
    vkruithof Posts: 227 Member
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    I've been EXACTLY where you are - and I do mean exactly. I refused to eat more than 700 calories a day - and I would only eat in the morning and early afternoon. My reasons may not match yours, but I was working on developing a pretty solid eating disorder. As it is, I got away with a minor one.

    You have to eat. YOU HAVE TO EAT.I cannot say it any plainer.

    I PROMISE you that you will not gain weight in the long run. Not with the amount of exercise you do.

    Look at my diary ( I know I haven't logged much in the past few days - I was away and internett was sketch) but look at my July/August. I lost about 10 pounds in 10 weeks. Weight that I hadn't been able to lose on a restricted diet. Some days I'll eat 1800 calories, some days 2000 -- it depends on my TDEE

    Say screw it and go up to 1500 calories of good quality food - don't cheat your way up with chips or sweets. Good stuff, as much as you want. You will be so surprised at how awesome it tastes and how full you get. You might gain a couple three pounds in the first week, MIGHT, but it will come off after that

    And you will be so surprised at how great you feel and how much better your work outs are

    Seriously....go eat

    ALWAYS take advice from someone who's LOST weight and knows what she's talking about! Good luck!
  • jbella99
    jbella99 Posts: 596 Member
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    Wh you have done basically is taught your body to survive on a very low amount of calories.
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