what if I don't eat all the calories recommended?

jilldan55
jilldan55 Posts: 61 Member
edited September 18 in Food and Nutrition
Hi,
I am new as of today! My question is simple: If I don't eat all the calories recommended daily, will I lose weight or will my body just slow down the calorie burn?

I ate for two years, only one meal a day. I lost a ton of weight at first and then when i finally started eating normally again, I gained the weight back quickly. I just want to make sure that if I don't eat what the recommended calories are, I won't have a problem again!

Has anyone dealt with this?

Replies

  • jilldan55
    jilldan55 Posts: 61 Member
    Hi,
    I am new as of today! My question is simple: If I don't eat all the calories recommended daily, will I lose weight or will my body just slow down the calorie burn?

    I ate for two years, only one meal a day. I lost a ton of weight at first and then when i finally started eating normally again, I gained the weight back quickly. I just want to make sure that if I don't eat what the recommended calories are, I won't have a problem again!

    Has anyone dealt with this?
  • studentRN
    studentRN Posts: 440 Member
    Eating only 1 meal a day will certainly make the pounds come off.... because you are starving your body! That's why you quickly lost the weight and then promptly gained it all back.

    Slow and steady wins the race! You don't have alot of weight to lose so don't expect to drop 2#/wk. You'll probably benefit to between .5-1 lb/wk loss. Use that as a goal here and eat the calories it recommends, and if you exercise... eat those additional calories!

    Good Luck! :flowerforyou:
  • SThayer
    SThayer Posts: 35 Member
    if your body does not have something to burn it will begin to store the fat - it thinks your straving it to death.

    Best to eat all of your planned meals and snacks to keep that metabolism going.

    Sheila
  • ohthatbambi
    ohthatbambi Posts: 1,098 Member
    Eat what is recommended. If you start out doing it that way then it is less likely that you will gain your weight back. Get your body used to eating. It is an extremely hard concept..it was for me anyway. I have always been in the less is more frame of mind, but I have also gained and lost the same 60 pounds more times than I care to count. This time however, I ate and lost. It took longer, but it has been much easier to keep it off. If you do it in a way that you can live with rather than some extreme way then it is a life change, not a diet.

    I do not always eat all of my exercise calories that I earn, but I do eat the daily recommendation for losing a pound a week.
  • age1389
    age1389 Posts: 1,160 Member
    I ate for two years, only one meal a day. I lost a ton of weight at first and then when i finally started eating normally again, I gained the weight back quickly. I just want to make sure that if I don't eat what the recommended calories are, I won't have a problem again!

    Has anyone dealt with this?
    [/quote]

    How did you only eat one meal a day??!!:noway: I would collapse:tongue:

    But yeah you should eat your all your calories.

    Good luck:flowerforyou:

    -Adrienne:heart:
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    years ago I did the same thing, 1 meal a day, minimal excercise though. I lost about 30 pounds in a couple of months. I put it all back on, obviously. Eat all that is recommended, you'll be glad once you see results :flowerforyou:
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    I ate one meal a day and ballooned up to 325 pounds. When you eat that infrequently your body goes into heavy starvation mode, and will horde every single calorie and ounce of fat you give it. On top of that, it starts dissolving your organs, muscle, bones, and other tissues to provide the nutrition its missing.

    Eat throughout the day. Eating frequently speeds up your metabolism.

    Also, eat everything you are suggested.

    Finally, PLEASE read this thread. Its excellent and explains a lot of what will happen, and why you may gain a little weight at first.

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

    Basically your body is still convinced it is in starvation mode, and it can take time for it to realize that its going to be fed regularly, and lower its defenses. You have to work with it, and understand it. Its trying its best to make sure it can keep you alive, and you have to make it realize you're perfectly fine. It also explains why you need to eat all of your allotted calories.

    Cheers!
  • stschulz
    stschulz Posts: 340
    Like Bamboo I do not always eat my earned exercise calories. I can't. unless I eat really, high cal food. But that is because 2 hrs or more on the bicycle earn so many extra cals and I am not that much more hungry.
    One meal a day is simply unhealthy. You have to give your body the minimum required daily intake not only in cals but in everything else. And, as you have already learned, you will gain all that weight back.

    Finally, the one meal per day is not a solution even if it was not unhelthy, because you do not chnage your lifestyle permanently.

    What msarro posted is a great read and should answer all questions.
  • ohthatbambi
    ohthatbambi Posts: 1,098 Member
    I dropped my first 25 pounds doing a very low carb diet. When I added carbs back in I gained a few pounds back. I had to retrain my body to eat them. I think that the best way to lose weight and keep it off is to find a way that you can lose and then maintain without sending your body into a tailspin. When you fad diet and then go back to old habits your body is confused. My new motto is EAT TO LIVE NOT LIVE TO EAT!!
  • jilldan55
    jilldan55 Posts: 61 Member
    Hi
    I had just accustomed my body to only the one meal. I was NEVER hungry nor did I crave things the way I do now that I eat properly. However, the drawback was that I was always so paranoid of over eating because I knew that the one meal was all my body would allow before it started storing the calories from anything else I ate.
  • healthydiet
    healthydiet Posts: 1
    If you eat once meal a day surely will reduce your weight. You can eat normally (3 times a day) with a lot of vegetable and fruits as a balance. Also, exercise regularly is recommended.

    http://healthydiet-tips.blogspot.com/
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