Eating 500 calories a day or 1200?

2

Replies

  • missemily1124
    missemily1124 Posts: 102
    I read this on another forum and found it very helpful.

    The general rule of thumb is:
    1) you need 10 calories per pound to maintain your current weight wtihout exercise.

    So right now I'm 129. I if I eat more than 1290 I'll gain? That makes me very sad. I don't think this rule applies at smaller weights... at least I sure hope not.
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    Take the 500 and add it to the 1200. Eat. Enjoy.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I read this on another forum and found it very helpful.

    The general rule of thumb is:
    1) you need 10 calories per pound to maintain your current weight wtihout exercise.

    So right now I'm 129. I if I eat more than 1290 I'll gain? That makes me very sad. I don't think this rule applies at smaller weights... at least I sure hope not.

    No. I'm 130 and I eat 1760 plus exercise calories to maintain.
  • mcrubino
    mcrubino Posts: 18
    Your body has definitely gone into starvation mode. You cannot deprive it of its nutrients and expect to lose any weight, in fact that is VERY unhealthy. I say up to around 1700, and exercise, and as you lose weight adjust your calorie intake down, but it should never be at 500 calories. Treat your body well and it will treat you well.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    What the what? 500 cals a day is what I ate when I was anorexic. And I, too, gained weight on it after a while. Are you suffering from an eating disorder? If so, I greatly encourage you to seek the advice of a therapist and a nutritionist.

    Im not suffering from an eating disorder. Ive been obese all my life and previously have done crazier diets than this. But i will up my calories because i am gaining fast.

    Yep Gaining because you starved yourself for so long.

    I started at 265 lbs, eating 1200 calories I lost 50lbs, plateaued and started gaining. I calculated my BMR and TDEE and realized for my size and activity lever, I should be eating at least 2000.

    So many people think you have to starve to lost weight, when it really just makes this harder.
  • mrzpeep1
    mrzpeep1 Posts: 64 Member
    Yikes! 500 calories for months?

    Get at least your BMR sweetie.

    exactly
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
    What the what? 500 cals a day is what I ate when I was anorexic. And I, too, gained weight on it after a while. Are you suffering from an eating disorder? If so, I greatly encourage you to seek the advice of a therapist and a nutritionist.

    Agreed.....eat your BMR if not MORE.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    You should probably up your calories to about 1500-1800, to be honest.
  • OtiWanKenobi
    OtiWanKenobi Posts: 340 Member
    Same thing happened me and I was on a plateu for a year!!! Now that I've been educated by the lovely people of MFP. I eat 1650 on non-workout days and up to 2000 on workout days!

    :D Loosing about 1lb to .5lb a week...it's been a slow loss this time, prob because I'm sure I screwed up my metabolism eating so little calories for so long. But I know this is the healthy and most safe way to do it.

    I'm 5'7" too and 197lbs with a BMR of 1672
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    I read this on another forum and found it very helpful.

    The general rule of thumb is:
    1) you need 10 calories per pound to maintain your current weight wtihout exercise.

    So right now I'm 129. I if I eat more than 1290 I'll gain? That makes me very sad. I don't think this rule applies at smaller weights... at least I sure hope not.

    No, that initial post wasn't quite right.

    10 cals per 1lb of body weight roughly equates to BMR for women It is used to set a reasonable calorie deficit level. (in other words what they should be aiming for to lose weight - not maintain or gain.)

    Therefore you should be able to lose eating around 1,300 calories per day to lose which factors in reasonable exercise (so no need to eat back exercise calories unless you are doing a lot of it. If you are doing a lot then use 12 cals per 1lb of body weight.)
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  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    I agree with the majority.

    Also, put the scales away for at least a month. Your body has a lot of adjusting to do, and there may be weight gain. You don't need to see that.
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
    I've been obese all my life and previously have done crazier diets than this. But i will up my calories because i am gaining fast.

    You just answered your own question. Crazy diets are not long term. If they were, then you would not have been obese your entire life. Yes, please up your calories. Get educated on how to eat and lose weight in a healthy way. And read IPOARM: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • 88meli88
    88meli88 Posts: 238 Member
    Hi there, great that you are here. Here is a website where you can calculate your BMR under which you should never eat. And it has awesome podcasts explaining it all. www.fat2fitradio.com

    Good luck, I am so impressed w your determination.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    I do 1750-1800 calories and I am losing and I don't have to starve myself. Just saying. I do TDEE -20%. :bigsmile:
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    See a doctor.
  • GG70
    GG70 Posts: 232 Member
    oh boy...
  • Goya44
    Goya44 Posts: 2 Member
    Absolutley, you cannot maintain your loss once your off the plan at just over 500 calories, your starving your body.
    Your body is famine mode and is holding on to everything you put in .
    Experts state 1200 is the calorie count you should not go below amount you should be eating a healthy balanced diet so you can mantain your loss eventually.
  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
    Dang, 500 for months. How did you do ot?? I would have eventually eaten one of my kids!! Up to 1200 and at some point you could go higher once you fix your metabolism

    I actually found it really easy. I would eat every four hours and I was pretty full eating that many calories. Been Doing 500 since September
    How can you eat every four hours, feel full and yet only consume 500 calories? Something doesn't add, unless you ate a head of lettuce every four hours.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    What the what? 500 cals a day is what I ate when I was anorexic. And I, too, gained weight on it after a while. Are you suffering from an eating disorder? If so, I greatly encourage you to seek the advice of a therapist and a nutritionist.

    Im not suffering from an eating disorder. Ive been obese all my life and previously have done crazier diets than this. But i will up my calories because i am gaining fast.

    I seriously hope you had a doctor monitoring you with such a low calorie intake. You are a prime example of why they are so dangerous! Such low calorie intakes cause people to GAIN weight. That is why they cause yo-yo dieting! They are not a life style change. DIETS don't work! If you want to get this right make it a life style change! And if you have done crazier than this then I would seriously sit down with a certified dietritian because you have some serious issues. If you have done other crazy diets, why then do you think you have to continue going on and off diets?

    Sorry if this sounds rude, but you need some sense knocked into that head of yours!
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    Even those who give themselves a 1200 calorie limit, should be eating AT LEAST that much, NOT UNDER. 1200 is the minimum a person should eat and it's usually still not enough. If you've been at 500 for a long time, I can only imagine the damage you've done to your metabolism and whatnot. I would start increasing by 100-200 calories every month until you get to about 1500. Then figure your BMR and TDEE and chose a number somewhere between the two. You can get these figures by going to www.fat2fitradio.com and plugging in your weight and measurements in their calculators.

    Also, do some nutrition research. Even better, speak to a doctor. Like a previous poster mentioned before, it sounds as though you may have an eating disorder. That is serious business and no amount of forum advice is going to fix that for you. Please take yourself and your health seriously. I wish you well.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I eat 2000 calories a day to lose weight.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    What the what? 500 cals a day is what I ate when I was anorexic. And I, too, gained weight on it after a while. Are you suffering from an eating disorder? If so, I greatly encourage you to seek the advice of a therapist and a nutritionist.

    Im not suffering from an eating disorder. Ive been obese all my life and previously have done crazier diets than this. But i will up my calories because i am gaining fast.

    Eating disorders are NOT defined by your weight. They are a result of "disordered" thoughts about food and eating. Eating 500 calories a day, and having done crazier things are indications of "disordered" thoughts. You should consult a doctor.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Dang, 500 for months. How did you do ot?? I would have eventually eaten one of my kids!! Up to 1200 and at some point you could go higher once you fix your metabolism

    I actually found it really easy. I would eat every four hours and I was pretty full eating that many calories. Been Doing 500 since September
    How can you eat every four hours, feel full and yet only consume 500 calories? Something doesn't add, unless you ate a head of lettuce every four hours.

    Because eating too few calories messes up your metabolism and your hormones. The hormones that regulate fat storage and hunger. Google cortisol, leptin and ghrelin.
  • lisarfrank
    lisarfrank Posts: 31
    You have to eat to burn fat. You body is starving and holding on to everything it gets.
  • GrannySparkle
    GrannySparkle Posts: 225 Member
    I know this makes no sense...and I have had a hard time wrapping my head around it...BUT you are putting your body in starvation mode cause you aren't feeding it enough. It takes what you are feeding and storing it. Your body says you ain't feeding me, I am gonna keep ahold of what little you do feed me.

    Here is my story...
    I had gastric bypass August of 2012. I lost steady till December 2012. Since then I have maintained. I was eating no more than 800 calories a day. I was walking 30 minutes to 2 hours a day. I was not eating any of what I burned when walking. And NOT LOSING!! I thought OMG something is wrong with me. I would have thought eating less + exercise = weight loss. Nope doesn't always work that way.

    Well last week I spoke to the dietician. She said up my calories to 1100-1200 AND eat some of what I burn when walking. In the past week I have lost more than I did the month prior.

    When you go on a diet, your body will allow you loss when you eat so little, but it gets to the point...a month or 2 in (for me it was 4 months in)....where your body won't burn what fat you have cause it is afraid you ain't gonna feed it. So it holds on to everything.

    I know going from 800 calories a day to 1200 was rough and then add on some from what I burned walking?? Can I really eat that much? I did. I allowed myself a few "extra" carbs and a lot more protien.
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
    Is this even real?

    Seriously, you need to CHANGE your relationship with food. The food is not the problem. Your thinking is. You talk about 'crazier diets than this," meaning you KNOW you are on a "crazy diet." So, cut it out. Dieting is not the answer. Education, nutrition, and changing your mentality is.

    You know your BMR, so obviously you have done some research, yet you are still even asking this question?

    wtf_face_gif.gif
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Actually you should up your calories to your BMR.

    ^^ This
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    If you really are sticking to 500 calories EVERY DAY and gaining weight or not losing, first thing first, go to your doctor for a thyroid check.
  • SaraB313
    SaraB313 Posts: 15
    Same thing happened me and I was on a plateu for a year!!! Now that I've been educated by the lovely people of MFP. I eat 1650 on non-workout days and up to 2000 on workout days!

    :D Loosing about 1lb to .5lb a week...it's been a slow loss this time, prob because I'm sure I screwed up my metabolism eating so little calories for so long. But I know this is the healthy and most safe way to do it.

    I'm 5'7" too and 197lbs with a BMR of 1672

    So am I supposed to eat my calories back that I burned working out? I burned 350 on treadmill so should I eat that plus 1200?

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