Not eating enough calories
crjohnston12
Posts: 76 Member
Would someone please explain to me how eating not enough calories can actually make you GAIN weight? I mean, all you ever hear is if you want to lose weight, burn more calories than you take in....so, on days when I'm not super active, I take in less calories. Physiologically, eating more in order to lose weight just doesn't make sense to me.
My Diary is open - feel free to make your comments. But, I am not always hungry enough as to eat 1,600 calories on exercise days. Do I need to "force" myself to? HELP!!!
p.s. since I've been doing MFP, I have had the best outcome on my yearly physical blood tests...all my numbers (cholesterol, etc.) are the best they have been in 10 years!
My Diary is open - feel free to make your comments. But, I am not always hungry enough as to eat 1,600 calories on exercise days. Do I need to "force" myself to? HELP!!!
p.s. since I've been doing MFP, I have had the best outcome on my yearly physical blood tests...all my numbers (cholesterol, etc.) are the best they have been in 10 years!
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Replies
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ur body just holds on to everything u eat for safety reasons0
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Your body needs a certain number of calories (based on your BMR) to function, i.e. just to breathe and go through the day and night. Calories are nothing but a measure of energy stored by your body. If you eat less than the number your body needs to function, OR you are creating a BIG calorie deficit by working out and not eating 1600 calories, your body thinks it is in a starvation mode. Thus, it will use less calories for daily function, you might feel tired and lethargic, AND it will store the remaining calories as fat for 'FURTHER USE' (think about how bears store fat during hibernation). Hope this helps.0
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It isn't so much "gain weight" and "hold onto fat".
Eating less than your organs need to function if you were completely bed ridden will eventually lead to serious medical problems and even death.
Eventually your body will eat away muscle (including your heart) to get proper nutrition.
The estimated medical recommendations for basic calorie intake (if you were to lay in bed all day) for adult(18+) men is 1500 and 1200 for women. This is before exercise, when you burn extra calories, you need more for your body to run.
If you've lost weight, then you use to be able to eat calories in abundance, right? There are many foods that can boost calorie intake that are good for you.0 -
Under eating doesn't cause you to gain weight, it just causes your rate of loss to slow down. If you ate at a 50% deficit you might see a reduction of BMR by about 10% but that's still a 40% deficit.0
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ultimately having the body you desire requires manipulating the metabolism correctly and efficiently.. this is actually the main goal anyone here should have.
how people mess up this process is the reason people can get morbidly obese without even trying.. basically drastically cutting calories, doing excessive cardio and creating a gigantic energy deficit will greatly damage the metabolism. after they do this they find that any "cheat" day they have or if they go back to eating "normal" they have greater fat gain results because of the damaged metabolism.
facts are that any energy deficit will result in slowing the metabolism if dieting for an extended period of time.. and eating more food (particularly more carbohydrates and lesser extent protein) will increase the metabolism. so basically everyone who is trying to lose weight on this site is gradually slowing their metabolism.
what people need to understand is that they also need to do some sort of 'reverse dieting' (important google it if you dont know what it is already) along with strength training to create a better environment for losing body fat.. and having higher carbohydrate days while dieting can also help metabolic rate as well...
BMR and TDEE are moving targets depending on tons of variables so the biggest thing to monitor is just your caloric/macronutrient/micronutrient intake.0 -
My Diary is open - feel free to make your comments. But, I am not always hungry enough as to eat 1,600 calories on exercise days. Do I need to "force" myself to? HELP!!!
Just from looking at a few days you are creating too big of a deficit for yourself.. sure you will lose weight doing that, but it maybe more muscle than fat and slow your metabolism.
Being hungry isn't an indicator that your body is being underfed, its a basic function that you can suppress overtime from under eating, it is not an indicator that you are hurting yourself.
Figure out your numbers and eat correctly, you didn't gain weight by eating 1600 calories, you did it by eating 3000+.. your not going to gain weight eating more to change your lifestyle.
And read Monty619's post, great info.0 -
It's basic biothermal dynamics -- your body is like a furnace. If you feed it less coal, it will eventually begin to slow down and less energy will be produced. It will begin to hold onto whatever scrap pieces of coal is left, in order to keep from burning out.
However, if you feed it more coal and fan the flames (healthy food and exercise), your furnace will begin to burn the fuel more efficiently, using MORE of the fuel you give it to burn. That's weight loss.
By the way, just to eliminate any further confusion: a pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same, but take up different volumes. And fat NEVER can turn into muscle. They are two separate things. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.0 -
Under eating doesn't cause you to gain weight, it just causes your rate of loss to slow down. If you ate at a 50% deficit you might see a reduction of BMR by about 10% but that's still a 40% deficit.
Well, something caused me to gain weight. I had to put 2 pair of pants away because they no longer fit right, but no weight loss.0 -
Here is a decent post on the topic, although this one has to do with lots of cardio and low calorie intake
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html0 -
Under eating doesn't cause you to gain weight, it just causes your rate of loss to slow down. If you ate at a 50% deficit you might see a reduction of BMR by about 10% but that's still a 40% deficit.
This.
Yes, there are some people who eat too little and should be eating more to lose more... but generally speaking the "you need to eat more" response is abused on this site.0 -
If you run too large of a deficit your body will go into starvation mode and hold onto weight instead of shedding it. It happened to me and it took 6 months to reset my metabolism and level off so I could start losing again. Some may say it's a myth, I just know that that was how my body reacted and I really wish I hadn't ended up in that situation.
I now eat clean and don't count calories. I find it's much simpler and I never overeat and I'm losing again!0 -
I can explain this totally. your body when not getting enough calories takes what you eat and stores it as fat. it thinks it will not be fed properly. I have underate in calories for a long time between 1,000 -1100 calories and I gained a lot of weight.
basicially I eat now 3 meals, 2 snacks period and it helps me stay on track with my calories.0 -
i'm quite sure you're eating below your bmr, which is not healthy. that is the amount of calories your body would use if you were in a coma all day, which I'm sure you're not. so you need more calories than that. You should NOT eat below bmr, ever.
secondly, you need to concentrate on the quality of food you're putting in your body. you're not eating nearly enough protein. and I'm seeing lots of processed foods. low calorie doesn't mean healthy or good for you or your body.0 -
Your body also holds onto water. Unless you ate over 3500 of what you burned in a day including BMR, you are not going to gain a pound.
Food is not the enemy.0 -
I can explain this totally. your body when not getting enough calories takes what you eat and stores it as fat. it thinks it will not be fed properly. I have underate in calories for a long time between 1,000 -1100 calories and I gained a lot of weight.
basicially I eat now 3 meals, 2 snacks period and it helps me stay on track with my calories.
If it's storing what you eat as fat, where is the energy coming from to do everything you do over the course of the day?0 -
Under eating doesn't cause you to gain weight, it just causes your rate of loss to slow down. If you ate at a 50% deficit you might see a reduction of BMR by about 10% but that's still a 40% deficit.
This, but if you binge, your body will store the excess cals as fat as a survival mechanism. but if you are constantly in a deficit, you will just lose less than you expect as your metabolism slows down which shrinks the deficit from what you think it is.0 -
In my own experience, there is nothing wrong with a big deficit as long as you are exercising!!!
I was always super confused about the whole eating more to lose weight thing. When I had a super labor intensive job, sometimes I struggled to net above zero for the day, and during that time I lost a TON of weight! I went from 165 lbs to 135 in 2.5 months.
I think the thing is that your metabolism WILL slow down if you are simply starving yourself. However, if you are eating and getting all your macros and nutrients (I was eating about 1600-1800 cals, burning 1500-2000 so netting extremely low even though I was eating lots) then your metabolism won't slow down, no 'starvation mode'. I was able to maintain my weight for almost 4 months after I was laid off, without intensive exercise. I gained back my weight on a 6-week vacation
Anyways, ive never had any metabolic issues as a result of netting very low, as long as I've kept up exercise.
Hope this helps, good luck
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bump to read later0
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I can explain this totally. your body when not getting enough calories takes what you eat and stores it as fat. it thinks it will not be fed properly. I have underate in calories for a long time between 1,000 -1100 calories and I gained a lot of weight.
basicially I eat now 3 meals, 2 snacks period and it helps me stay on track with my calories.
you gained a lot of weight?
your body made something from nothing?
quite curious.0 -
I really have a hard time believing the 1200 calorie thing to be true as a person who is going to undergo bariatric surgery is actually put on several weeks of a liquid diet at 900 calories per day. This is doctor supervised, but if it were medically dangerous, I can't see it happening. They say that the 8 - 12 weeks of the "optifast" helps you to break all your bad habits and retrain your body with good eating habits thereafter.
I am certainly not supporting a diet of under 1200 calories daily, but I also think there is a fair amount of fear mongering out there.0 -
In my own experience, there is nothing wrong with a big deficit as long as you are exercising!!!
I was always super confused about the whole eating more to lose weight thing. When I had a super labor intensive job, sometimes I struggled to net above zero for the day, and during that time I lost a TON of weight! I went from 165 lbs to 135 in 2.5 months.
I think the thing is that your metabolism WILL slow down if you are simply starving yourself. However, if you are eating and getting all your macros and nutrients (I was eating about 1600-1800 cals, burning 1500-2000 so netting extremely low even though I was eating lots) then your metabolism won't slow down, no 'starvation mode'. I was able to maintain my weight for almost 4 months after I was laid off, without intensive exercise. I gained back my weight on a 6-week vacation
Anyways, ive never had any metabolic issues as a result of netting very low, as long as I've kept up exercise.
Hope this helps, good luck
So what do you do when you've reached goal?
If you are taking in1600-1800 calories and burning 1500-2000 in exercise, you are starving yourself.0 -
I really have a hard time believing the 1200 calorie thing to be true as a person who is going to undergo bariatric surgery is actually put on several weeks of a liquid diet at 900 calories per day. This is doctor supervised, but if it were medically dangerous, I can't see it happening. They say that the 8 - 12 weeks of the "optifast" helps you to break all your bad habits and retrain your body with good eating habits thereafter.
I am certainly not supporting a diet of under 1200 calories daily, but I also think there is a fair amount of fear mongering out there.
1. People with a lot of body fat to lose can do much bigger calories deficits a lot safer.
2. Doctors put people on those VLCD because the benefit of dropping that weight outweighs the risks of a VCLD.
3. It is medically supervised.0 -
I can explain this totally. your body when not getting enough calories takes what you eat and stores it as fat. it thinks it will not be fed properly. I have underate in calories for a long time between 1,000 -1100 calories and I gained a lot of weight.
basicially I eat now 3 meals, 2 snacks period and it helps me stay on track with my calories.
you gained a lot of weight?
your body made something from nothing?
quite curious.
She did have something - and therefore since her body felt as though it was "starving" it kept everything in not burning so the body absorbs it... thus gaining weight from "little" versus losing with "lots" as long as you burn it!!0 -
I really have a hard time believing the 1200 calorie thing to be true as a person who is going to undergo bariatric surgery is actually put on several weeks of a liquid diet at 900 calories per day. This is doctor supervised, but if it were medically dangerous, I can't see it happening. They say that the 8 - 12 weeks of the "optifast" helps you to break all your bad habits and retrain your body with good eating habits thereafter.
I am certainly not supporting a diet of under 1200 calories daily, but I also think there is a fair amount of fear mongering out there.
I tend to agree. "starvation" diets are only bad when they are done consistently for a long period of time (months), and the heavier you are the more leeway you have with them.0 -
This article explains it well:
http://www.coachcalorie.com/not-eating-enough-calories-to-lose-weight/The majority of the time when you’re having a problem losing weight, it’s not because you aren’t making good food choices. The reason why your weight loss has stagnated is because you’re not eating enough calories to lose weight.
What Happens When You’re Not Eating Enough Calories?
When most people start dieting, they slash their calories and add a large amount of exercise to their daily routine. That’s fine, but they usually cut their calories way too low. Add in the extra exercise, and all of a sudden you have an extreme calorie deficit that is working against you.
Not eating enough calories causes many metabolic changes. Your body is a smart machine and senses a large decrease in dietary energy. Your large calorie deficit might work for a few days or even weeks, but eventually your body will wake up and sound alarms that it needs to conserve energy. It doesn’t want to just waste away. It needs that energy (fat) to survive. So, what does your body do when it senses prolonged energy restriction? Not eating enough calories…
Slows down thyroid production – Your thyroid is responsible for fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism among other things. Your body has the ability to slow down thyroid output in an effort to maintain energy balance [1].
Decreases muscle mass – Muscle is highly calorie intensive to maintain. In a prolonged extreme calorie deficit, it is one of the first things that your body looks to get rid of. Your body needs the fat, wants the fat, and the muscle can be spared. It breaks down the muscle tissue and uses it for energy.
Lowers testosterone levels – An important hormone for both men and women, testosterone is just one of many hormones that are affected with severe calorie restriction [2]. Testosterone is anabolic to muscle tissue. Without it, it becomes that much harder to maintain, let alone put on muscle mass.
Decreases leptin levels – Leptin is one of many energy regulating hormones. More importantly, it’s a “hunger” hormone that tells you whether to eat or not. High leptin levels signal that it’s OK to stop eating, while low leptin levels are a signal to eat more energy. Because of this, leptin levels decrease in calorie restricted environments [3].
Decreases energy levels – There are many physical actions your body takes when you’re not eating enough calories to lose weight, but there are also some mental ones. Neurotransmitter production is limited, which can lead to a lack of motivation. It’s your body’s way of telling you to “slow down” – conserve your energy.
How Many Calories Should You Be Eating?
Your goal should be to eat as many calories as possible and still lose weight. You always want to start high and then come down with your calorie intake. It’s much easier to do this than come up in calories after your weight loss has stalled and you’ve lost all your motivation. How many calories should you eat? There is no perfect number. Each person’s metabolism is different. Calorie calculators are a good starting point, but they can’t take into account all the individualistic variables.
To do that, you need to find your calorie intake either through:
Experimentation – I laid out a plan to determine this number in – How Many Calories Should I Eat? You might want to give it a read.
Measure it with a device – I personally use the BodyMedia FIT Armband to determine my calorie burn. You can read more about it here. I’ve found it to be accurate within a 10% margin of error.
The problem is most people want the weight gone, and they want it gone now. Weight loss is a patience game. It takes time and consistency to make it work. Losing 2lbs per week is the most I would aim for. At this pace, it will ensure that the majority of your weight loss is coming from stored body fat instead of muscle. You will also give yourself the best chance to build muscle while you lose fat, which is what you should be striving to do. To find out what portion of your weight loss is fat and what portion is muscle, I highly recommend you pick up a $5 pair of body fat calipers to measure your body composition. It will make weight loss much easier if you can hold onto your muscle, or even put some on in the process.
So if your progress has stalled, but you think you’re eating the right foods and exercising intensely, more than likely your problem is that you’re not eating enough calories to lose weight. Eat as much as you can, get in as many nutrients as possible, and your weight loss will start moving forward again.0 -
I can explain this totally. your body when not getting enough calories takes what you eat and stores it as fat. it thinks it will not be fed properly. I have underate in calories for a long time between 1,000 -1100 calories and I gained a lot of weight.
basicially I eat now 3 meals, 2 snacks period and it helps me stay on track with my calories.
you gained a lot of weight?
your body made something from nothing?
quite curious.
She did have something - and therefore since her body felt as though it was "starving" it kept everything in not burning so the body absorbs it... thus gaining weight from "little" versus losing with "lots" as long as you burn it!!
That makes no sense.0 -
I can explain this totally. your body when not getting enough calories takes what you eat and stores it as fat. it thinks it will not be fed properly. I have underate in calories for a long time between 1,000 -1100 calories and I gained a lot of weight.
basicially I eat now 3 meals, 2 snacks period and it helps me stay on track with my calories.
you gained a lot of weight?
your body made something from nothing?
quite curious.
She did have something - and therefore since her body felt as though it was "starving" it kept everything in not burning so the body absorbs it... thus gaining weight from "little" versus losing with "lots" as long as you burn it!!
but if it was well under her TDEE (maybe she was bed-ridden)...
im just trying to understand...im going to try some math.
lets say for S&Gs her TDEE is 1500
she was eating 1000
thats a deficit of 500 cals.
can someone gain "a lot of weight" on a daily deficit of 500 calories? (this of course with the assumption she was entirely immobile.)0 -
So what do you do when you've reached goal?
If you are taking in1600-1800 calories and burning 1500-2000 in exercise, you are starving yourself.
Was I? See I always wondered about that, I find it quite curious. I ate massive amounts of veggies, fish, chicken and small amounts of nuts and oil. I NEVER felt hungry, weak, ill, etc. In fact I'd never felt better. The fact that someone could say to me "you are starving yourself" would have completely confounded me. If it weren't for MFP and my being aware of my daily net calories, I am sure I would have felt like I was netting 1500-2k.
So I guess my question is, what exactly is "starving yourself?" why was I always full of energy and never physically hungry? And I kept track of my vitamin and mineral intake, eating tons of healthy veggies, getting way more nutrients than the average SAD.
Was I still damaging myself? Shed some light, brother!0 -
I truly appreciate everyone's input here. I am going to be extremely diligent about hitting my alotment of calories and see if things change. I always welcome feedback on my food diary and am open to suggestions on how to improve.
It's SO nice to have this forum...I appreciate everyone!0 -
So what do you do when you've reached goal?
If you are taking in1600-1800 calories and burning 1500-2000 in exercise, you are starving yourself.
Was I? See I always wondered about that, I find it quite curious. I ate massive amounts of veggies, fish, chicken and small amounts of nuts and oil. I NEVER felt hungry, weak, ill, etc. In fact I'd never felt better. The fact that someone could say to me "you are starving yourself" would have completely confounded me. If it weren't for MFP and my being aware of my daily net calories, I am sure I would have felt like I was netting 1500-2k.
So I guess my question is, what exactly is "starving yourself?" why was I always full of energy and never physically hungry? And I kept track of my vitamin and mineral intake, eating tons of healthy veggies, getting way more nutrients than the average SAD.
Was I still damaging myself? Shed some light, brother!
You were burning off all of the calories you ate. Your body still needed additional calories to function. How is it any different that not eating, and doing no exercise?
There is only so much fat that your body will burn off and you will burn LBM. Unless you were overestimating calorie burns...
So what do you do when you've reached your goal?0
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