I can't eat this much & lose weight

At that height and weight, you are very much in the ideal range. Granted, your frame may be small so losing more weight won't hurt, but you need to really get into the stickies on this forum and read about properly fueling your body, and why it's very hard to lose the last few pounds. Eating less than 1000 cals a day WILL put you in starvation mode. With so little weight to lose, you need to aim for no more than 500 cal deficit a day, maybe less. Please take some time to read the stickies and educate yourself more on this subject.

Yes you need to eat at least 1200 calories. I am no diet expert or nurtionist, I am a nurse and your body needs at least that much. It s great that your exercising and you dont have to eat those calories. but maybe try some Carrot/celery stix for a snack with small amt of peanut butter, hummus or low fat dip/dressing. Maybe trying to eat smaller meals but eat 6 times a day. Say eat 200 calories for breakfast lunch and supper and have 2- 200 calorie snacks. that way you have your 1200 calories. Or you could omit a snack and have those calories with your supper as you eat with your family. I hope this info comes helpful for you. Good luck!

If you notice when you complete your meals and exercise for the day, if you have not eaten 1200 calories, it says that you should be careful because that is not healthy. No one, no matter the size, should eat less than 1200 calories a day, you have to have all of your nutrition to remain healthy. I suggest just making healthier choices with less sugar and less carbs if you are not already doing so, because at 1200 calories a day you will lose weight if you maintain some exercise. Being healthy is also important. 3 balanced meals a day and a healthy snack with some exercise will definitley start to work. GOOD LUCK!

as tempting as it is to go under, you can't keep it up forever. Also, by going under 1200, you're messing with your brain at that point. I say, play around with carbs vs protein and watch your sugar intake but stick with the 1200 calories.

What are your ratios? Increase your protein intake and get rid of ALL processed food. Including flour products. You will be surprised the difference it makes.

You and I were pretty much about the same size at one point. I am 5'6" and now weigh 138 lbs. I started at 157. I have my goals set at 1200 calories and sometimes with my exercising I end getting an extra 500 calories I can eat. If my goal is 1200 cals and I get to eat 1700 cals because of exercising I will actually only eat up until about 1500-1600 cals. Just because calories burned/eaten are an estimate. I understand you dont want to eat just to eat but from what I have learned is that your body will go into starvation mode if you dont enough calories. I have learned this first hand. I know everyone is different but I have had more success when I stay close to my 1200 cal goal which requires me to eat a little more when exercising. Sometimes I am under it. I eat oatmeal in the morning with blueberries and strawberries. I usually have 2 snacks during the day which would be either fruit, veggies or nuts. I eat about 200-300 calories for lunch and a decent dinner around 400-500 calories. maybe less. I drink only water during the day besides one cup of coffee. I go to the gym right after work and then eat dinner when I get home. I have found that I need to have a small snack (usually fruit or something light) a few hours after dinner. When I dont I actually gain weight because I wouldnt be eating breakfast until about 10am the next morning.

I've never been able to lose weight by eating more than 1000 calories a day. My mother always said it was my metabolism. I ...

Once reason your metabolism could be slow is because you are not eating enough. Eating nutritious food will enhance your metabolism allowing your body to burn more calories consistently throughout the day. If you are exercising your body needs the fuel or will will probably loose more muscle than fat.

hey Dulcy ...

Read your post and i feel totallly the same way...i am also eating under 1000 cals and exercising and have been for about a month and no weight will come off.

I lost weight last year and im wanting to lose those extra pounds!!!

I feel like the more i eat the weight may creep back on....even though MFP suggests i should eat more! ah.

let me know how you get on. I am also going to try and bump the calories up.

Great topic you have raised! x

So, here's a little experience for you.
5 years ago I lost 40 pounds. Essentially by starving myself. I was eating 1400 calories a day (Of lower quality foods. I ate a lot of "low fat" and "diet" stuff... didn't know better) and was walking probably somewhere around 30-40 miles a week. I plateaued around 210 for a month. There was no way I could decrease what I was eating (since I was eating the wrong stuff) without being extremely hungry all the time. I gave up. And then gained about 60 pounds over the next 4 years.

Why couldn't I get past that plateau? I wasn't eating enough!

This time, I started out eating 1200 calories. Lost almost all of that 60 pounds I had just gained in about 4.5 months. Then, BAM, mega-plateau at the exact same weight as last time. This time, thanks to the sticky posts on MFP, I knew what to do. So I started increasing my calories and slowly but surely the weight started coming off again. I'm still struggling to find the right calorie intake. I'll increase it & then a week or two later drop a crazy amount of weight and then plateau again so I increase my calories again and then a couple weeks later drop a ton of weight and then plateau again for a couple weeks & increase again. I've gone through the cycle 3 times now. I've gone from eating 1200 calories a day regardless of exercise to 1330 calories a day plus about 50-75% of my exercise calories (which usually equals 1500-1900 calories a day depending on what exercise I do). Guess what-- I just dropped weight again this week for the first time in 3 weeks 2 days after having 4 "off" days in a row when I ate about 2200 calories each day!! :noway: So, it looks like I'm *still* not eating enough.

No wonder I'm the lightest I've ever been as an adult. I don't think I would have ever figured out I needed to eat *more* to continue losing weight.

Its really important to distinguish between what your body needs and what your mind wants. Dont get those two mixed up!

Very well said.

EAT TO LOSE. all these people here who are successful weight-losers cannot be wrong. The posts by educated members should be given more credence than those who are

1. Not able to lose weight
2. Have made 2 or 3 posts, and are agreeing to NOT eat

Please read these:


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions?page=1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/8977-your-body-s-thoughts-on-calories

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3293-undereating-not-counting-calories-not-hungry

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6832-eating-all-of-your-calories-bmr?page=1#posts-47129

One thing you should also keep in mind is that you won't feel as hungry once you're in the stages of the starvation mode. Your body is try to protect you, so it's using its calories verrrrrrry slowly. I used to eat 1200 calories and never feel hungry, and now I eat more like 1500 and still get hungry pretty often -- you just need to learn not to fear that, it's actually good and means your body is turning into a food-burning machine (as it's meant to be!) It may take awhile, and I wouldn't recommend increasing your calories all at once, but try upping your goal by about 50 calories a week.

Honestly, you can't sustain eating under 1000 calories for the rest of your life, but that's what you're training your body for. You're really shooting your future self in the foot by doing it this way. Just my opinion!

Thank you everyone:flowerforyou:
I feel like I've had a good talking to, by my Mum!! Which is a good thing!:blushing:

I think I'm so scared of the weight not coming off that I've got my body used to not eating that much. I eat healthily, even when I eat too much, which is what's caused the weight gain. I've been on this site before, so know it works if you stick to it.
I very rarely eat processed foods, almost everything is from scratch.
I'd kind of forgotten about nuts! They're one of my favourite snacks, so I think I'll go back to those & try & bump up my calories in that way as well as maybe eating more fruit & raw veggies. Maybe if I aim for my 1200 a day & not worry about the exercise calories for now. I probably don't snack enough & maybe I could add fruit to my breakfast??

You've given me loads of great ideas & I really appreciate your input xx

Oh and my healthy weight range is 126 - 154lbs (although that doesn't take into account body frame/shape etc)

:drinker: :flowerforyou:

I know, I know....it's sad that I can't get it through my head. and there is no way I could honestly say I plan on eating 1000 calories for the rest of my life!
I am really in this for the long haul....even if I want to get pregnant this summer my eating habits, I hope, will stay the same!

I cannot for the life of me imagine living on 1000 calories a day, not even 1200 a day. I eat around 1430 to 1500 on days I don't workout and I could probably still eat more if I wanted to. How are we suppose to nourish our bodies on only 1000 calories?

I have been eating at least the 1430 every single day since I have started, and yes, my weight loss is slow, but I have lost 32 pounds in 8 months and I have learned a lot about my body and what it needs/doesn't need, etc? I don't feel deprived. I feel healthy and good.

Eat more. It works!