Anyone else discovered low calories are their only option?

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  • Tendlr
    Tendlr Posts: 17
    Bump to read later
  • mumtheshopper
    mumtheshopper Posts: 29 Member
    #1 eating 800-1000 calories a day..with do SO MUCH damage to your metabolism its ridiculous...please eat.

    #2 with this amount of calories, yes you will lose weight, but you're creating an eating disorder and are starving yourself.

    #3 You need to eat at least your BMR amount of calories...however with exercise your body needs more.

    Please seek a new doctor and or nutritionist. The one you saw obviously doesn't have any idea what their talking about.

    I don't get it. I am in the same situation as her, with a different doctor reaching the same conclusions. Why do people think they know more than the medically trained doctors. we are all different
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    Hey, I feel for you and totally agree. No two people are the same and our bodies react differently. I also believe that the foods we eat can cause different reactions in the body and for people who are sensitive to some foods this manifests itself in making it harder for us to lose water, fat and build muscle.

    I am going to stick to the calorie count I've decided is my maximum (for now) ie. 1250, continue training hard as I have been and make some small changes to my diet ie. lower sodium, lower carbs and more vegetables, fibre and protein and hopefully that will get things moving. I don't want to go lower in terms of calories from an energy/hunger point of view but it may just be the case that I need to so we will see.
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    Yes that would be amazing but I'll believe it when I see it! That said I know it's not good to eat too much sodium so I'm gonna cut down and if I has the added benefit of water loss then great! The does does funny things. For example this morning first thing after going to the loo I weighed myself and I was 146.5lbs and 32% body fat. I had a coffee, went into the gym and did my weights workout, drank lots of water and then had a yogurt as it's my fast day. I drank more water and went to the loo another 3 times and had a shower. Got back on the scales which now read 145.5lbs and 30% body fat. Not quite sure why this happens but I suppose it's to do with water loss.

    I work out my calories consumed by weighing and measuring the majority of the time and calories burned via a heart rate monitor. I'm currently reading a book called Dr. Abravanel's Body type diet which I've had for ages but wanted to re-read it. It basically says that my body type is a thyroid type and I should completely avoid eating refined carbohydrates ie. white carbs and sugar. It also says to eat eggs every day, steer clear of too much fruit and eat fresh vegetables and plenty of protein in general with every meal. I have ben thinking about lowering carbs for a while but I think I'll do this a little more now and stick to the other things he suggests too while sticking within my calories for the week.

    It's because body fat monitors on weighing scales are ridiculously inaccurate. Why are you weighing yourself so often anyway?
  • kathymhardy
    kathymhardy Posts: 267 Member
    I walk in my job about 5 miles minimum a day. In theory I get plenty of excersize. I do not have a desk job.

    I tried the in place of a road map thing. I tried it religiously for 3 months. I GAINED 7 pounds.

    I am done listening to other people's "eat more crap" Those 7 pounds took me 3 months to lose the first time and I am hostile that I am going to have to re lose them all on a notion of breaking a plateau and desperation. I broke the damn plateau alright I GAINED 7 pounds.

    I ate less than 500 calories 2 days this week just to get my stomach used to eating way less again. Today I am up to 600 something calories and am probably done for the day, Tomorrow I will aim for 800, and increase back slowly 200 calories a day until I hit 1000-1200, then I will stay there until goal.

    All the failed experiment with road map taught me was where I maintain and that is at 1510 calories per day.

    I'm glad other people can eat and eat and eat and lose weight, I tried it, failed and am now going back to what worked before the original plateau.

    Because as bad as a plateau is, it pales in comparision to gaining weight. If it takes me another year to get the last 20 off at a snail pace of 2 or 3 or maybe 4 pounds per month so be it.

    It beats the hell out of GAINING the weight back on some theory of eat more to weigh less. For me it is pure BS.

    Good luck and do what works for you.

    Sounds good to me :)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Wow, scary reading! I didn't realise sodium was so bad and that there was so much of it about!

    It definitely can be, though the amount of potassium you eat is also important and harder to track since many pre-packaged foods don't list the amount of potassium. Here is another article about the dangers of too much sodium and suggestions on how to lower it.
    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/lower-sodium-and-salt/

    Here is a link to a list of potassium rich foods, if you are interested: https://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/SR25/nutrlist/sr25w306.pdf
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    Interesting reading, thanks. I've saved the list of potassium rich foods and will make sure some of them are on my shopping list for tomorrow!
  • Danilynn1975
    Danilynn1975 Posts: 294 Member
    strange side note. Since I have for the last week gotten back to 1200 or a bit less in calories, my skin has stopped breaking out.

    My stomach has started losing puffiness again.

    My hair is not dry anymore and the natural moisture has returned

    I am also sleeping better.

    Even better 2 of the 7 pounds gained on that disaster of IPOARM have come off!

    Also, just as an even better side effect, my headaches have gone away, eating more seemed to trigger my migraines. Now that I am not eating that much anymore, no migraines in a week! It's awesome!

    Eating more does not work for everyone! Here's hoping that I can get the other 5 I gained off and the last few pounds I stalled out trying to reach off too.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    That's interesting. Since I cut down on carbs, especially this week I've noticed I don't feel so bloated either. I don't know if you eat a lot of salt but another poster pointed out that most of us eat a lot more than we should and it's really bad for our bodies.

    I've started monitoring this now and was surprised at how much I eat sometimes but I'm going to stop adding salt to meals. As someone pointed out to me the easiest way is just to eat less in general and then we can't eat too much of the things which are bad for us.
  • Charlottesometimes23
    Charlottesometimes23 Posts: 687 Member
    #1 eating 800-1000 calories a day..with do SO MUCH damage to your metabolism its ridiculous...please eat.

    #2 with this amount of calories, yes you will lose weight, but you're creating an eating disorder and are starving yourself.

    #3 You need to eat at least your BMR amount of calories...however with exercise your body needs more.

    Please seek a new doctor and or nutritionist. The one you saw obviously doesn't have any idea what their talking about.

    I don't get it. I am in the same situation as her, with a different doctor reaching the same conclusions. Why do people think they know more than the medically trained doctors. we are all different
    I'll tell you why...because 'medically trained doctors' usually have only very basic training in nutrition. Many are in the 'starving to lose weight' mindset. A registered dietitian would probably be a better choice.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    Given what I've read over the last couple of days about the sodium content of foods, also other harmful things such as fat, additives, preservatives etc. logically it seems to be better for your body to eat less. Even if you eat a lot of your calories from healthy foods if you are trying to do the best for your health then a lot of any foods can't be good for you.
  • zahid222
    zahid222 Posts: 233 Member
    bump
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
    I have found that upping my calories has resulted in better results for me. More ability to swim longer times, more energy, less afternoon sleepiness.

    I may lose slower, but I am losing and firming, toning and building long, lean muscles.

    I was starving before. :noway: Not anymore.
  • kitka82
    kitka82 Posts: 350 Member
    It's interesting how the body works. There are SO many different methods of weight loss. What works for one may not work for the other.


    When I was 15, I went on a 1200 calorie diet and did cardio every day (in the form of participating in gym class lol, aerobics, and a lot of walking). I gave up soda and red meat and I lost 50 pounds in under a year.


    Then I gained it all plus, but then I lost most of it again a couple of years ago. All I did was exercise 3-4x a week and track all of my calories using Livestrong.com Daily Plate. I didn't know anything about TDEE or all of that business. Too much math! I set the calculator to lose 1 pound a week. I averaged 1700-1800 calories a day and lost 60 pounds in a year. Which I later found out was a 10% deficit. Whodathunk?

    So now here I am, 30 pounds away from my goal weight and I feel like I've dabbled in a bit of everything: cardio, weights, zumba, yoga, running, P90X, Insanity, Primal, Paleo, intermittent fasting, high carb, low carb, clean eating blah blah blah. It's futile to argue about the best way to go about it. Sometimes you have to try different things to figure out what works for your body. My body loses fat faster via circuit strength training with moderate weights and running. You have to change things up in order to get results.

    I do know one thing that seems to work for everyone: eating less calories than you burn LOL.

    OP: Have you determined how much you will be able to eat in order to maintain your weight loss?
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Given what I've read over the last couple of days about the sodium content of foods, also other harmful things such as fat, additives, preservatives etc. logically it seems to be better for your body to eat less. Even if you eat a lot of your calories from healthy foods if you are trying to do the best for your health then a lot of any foods can't be good for you.

    I would disagree with this. Eating a lot of vegetables is very good for you. The more the merrier, in fact. The bigger the variety, the better.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Given what I've read over the last couple of days about the sodium content of foods, also other harmful things such as fat, additives, preservatives etc. logically it seems to be better for your body to eat less. Even if you eat a lot of your calories from healthy foods if you are trying to do the best for your health then a lot of any foods can't be good for you.

    Then logically, the healthiest person will be the one who never eats at all, right?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Oh-boy-here-we-go-again.jpg
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Given what I've read over the last couple of days about the sodium content of foods, also other harmful things such as fat, additives, preservatives etc. logically it seems to be better for your body to eat less. Even if you eat a lot of your calories from healthy foods if you are trying to do the best for your health then a lot of any foods can't be good for you.

    Then logically, the healthiest person will be the one who never eats at all, right?

    This does not seem to follow logically to me. You couldn't "eat a lot of your calories from healthy foods" and never eat.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Given what I've read over the last couple of days about the sodium content of foods, also other harmful things such as fat, additives, preservatives etc. logically it seems to be better for your body to eat less. Even if you eat a lot of your calories from healthy foods if you are trying to do the best for your health then a lot of any foods can't be good for you.

    Then logically, the healthiest person will be the one who never eats at all, right?

    This does not seem to follow logically to me. You couldn't "eat a lot of your calories from healthy foods" and never eat.

    Well, if you never eat, logically none of your calories are from unhealthy foods.

    But my attention was actually more on the "it seems to be better for your body to eat less because of all the bad stuffs in foods."

    The second sentence is a little difficult to parse without punctuation, but I read it as "Even if you eat a lot of your calories from healthy foods, if you are trying to do the best for your health, a lot of any food can't be good for you." i.e. eat less to avoid bad stuffs, again.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    #1 eating 800-1000 calories a day..with do SO MUCH damage to your metabolism its ridiculous...please eat.

    #2 with this amount of calories, yes you will lose weight, but you're creating an eating disorder and are starving yourself.

    #3 You need to eat at least your BMR amount of calories...however with exercise your body needs more.

    Please seek a new doctor and or nutritionist. The one you saw obviously doesn't have any idea what their talking about.

    I don't get it. I am in the same situation as her, with a different doctor reaching the same conclusions. Why do people think they know more than the medically trained doctors. we are all different
    I'll tell you why...because 'medically trained doctors' usually have only very basic training in nutrition. Many are in the 'starving to lose weight' mindset. A registered dietitian would probably be a better choice.

    Depending on your starting weight, many registered dieticians may also recommend eating below BMR to lose weight. For the obese, it is not unsafe to eat below BMR and sometimes losing the weight quickly is the healthiest thing to do.

    If you feel any doctor has given you questionable advice then by all means seek a second opinion or ask for a referral to a specialist. But taking advice from some Joe Shmoe on a public website over the advice of your doctor is rarely going to be the best plan.
  • janetteluparia
    janetteluparia Posts: 318 Member
    Yes, this is my experience as well.
  • TheNesa
    TheNesa Posts: 3
    Great point! I want to hear success stories do it!
  • TheNesa
    TheNesa Posts: 3
    Great point! I want to know how petite women 5'1 and under reach 96-103lb. That's another level of thin entirely. Like Susan Lucci - 5'1, 94lb. She eats very low calorie.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Great point! I want to know how petite women 5'1 and under reach 96-103lb. That's another level of thin entirely. Like Susan Lucci - 5'1, 94lb. She eats very low calorie.

    They stick to the limit required given their activity level. That's going to differ from woman to woman, but many people in show business (I am not speaking about Susan Lucci, knowing nothing about her) keep their weights low through perpetual dieting, exercise, and by taking appetite suppressants. I'm not judging, their looks are their livelihood, and they do what they need to do. I'm sure there must be some who are naturally slender, but after 30, most people need to start watching their weight.
  • Cobwellac
    Cobwellac Posts: 75 Member
    My weight varies between 92-96 pounds, depending on time of month or whether I just happened to overeat at some point. I'm 5'1" and 42. I eat between 1500-1650 calories per day for maintenance and fast (no food, not some 500 calorie "fast") for 24 hours on occasion if I've eaten too much. I exercise about 6 times a week, which includes 3-5 days of weight training and 3 days of running about 3 miles or so. Yes, it's work. In college, I weighed 88-90 pounds and ate like a horse, but I was also much more active and had a young metabolism.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    This MIGHT be true for me but I just cannot eat less than 2000 calories in my current environment so I won't be losing much weight until I'm done with my internship. Hopefully at that point the weight will fall off pretty easily. I've never REALLY had to diet to maintain my weight but since I've been eating quite poorly I will now have to.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    To the last two posters, if you can eat that much and be as thin as you are then you are VERY lucky! I have finally started losing weight consistently again by eating lower calories (netting 1000) as well as eating low-carb (under 60g most days). I have also been watching my sodium intake for a few weeks now and what I can deduce from this is that it's a combination of factors which seems to lead to weight loss and fat loss.

    I have also reduced my activity level from training 6 days a week so that I burn off 3500-4000 calories (and eating more) to now burning off around 2000 calories and eating less). This seems to have helped too as I do not require as much energy to work out as my workouts are shorter and less intense.

    I think weight loss is about discovering what works for you and in my case it's not eating more to weigh less!
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    To the last two posters, if you can eat that much and be as thin as you are then you are VERY lucky! I have finally started losing weight consistently again by eating lower calories (netting 1000) as well as eating low-carb (under 60g most days). I have also been watching my sodium intake for a few weeks now and what I can deduce from this is that it's a combination of factors which seems to lead to weight loss and fat loss.

    I have also reduced my activity level from training 6 days a week so that I burn off 3500-4000 calories (and eating more) to now burning off around 2000 calories and eating less). This seems to have helped too as I do not require as much energy to work out as my workouts are shorter and less intense.

    I think weight loss is about discovering what works for you and in my case it's not eating more to weigh less!

    God I truly feel sorry for you. What a sucky way to have to live.
  • JAT74
    JAT74 Posts: 1,081 Member
    It may seem like that but for some of us unfortunately the option is either to eat what you want and stay fat forever (and probably do your body no good in the process with a very high body fat %) or get rid of the fat and get lean by eating less of the foods you love and eating more of the right foods combined with training.

    If I had a choice I wouldn't be eating this way which is why I spent several months on here listening to advice telling me to eat more and I'll lose weight etc. I thought it might be possible to do it differently as others have done but my body won't respond to that as I've found out the hard way. I spent nearly 5 months losing then gaining the same 2-3lbs and a grand total of 1% body fat!

    I think it's also about what you get used to and what your body gets used to and it really only takes a few days of eating less and eating differently for you to stop feeling deprived, stop the cravings and feel less bloated. The only downside is not being able to eat foods which aren't good for you very often ie. the things we crave like cakes, bread, ice cream, potatoes, sugary snacks, chocolate, alcohol etc.

    When I was younger I thought it was my right to pig out on those things because I was a foody and I was in an environment which encouraged overeating. It didn't take long before those around me also got fat but at the time we didn't care. Now I don't live with others who overeat, don't work in an office where people are constantly snacking and don't feel it necessary to eat something just because I know it tastes nice.

    I feel it's much more important to know that what I'm putting into my body is good for me, fits my macros and is helping me get to a size which will make me look and feel better and which will also hopefully lower my blood pressure, lower my cholesterol and give me other health benefits. Why should it be necessary to stuff our faces just because we can get away with it?

    I've met people with very fast metabolisms (usually because they are ill but probably don't realise it) who are continuously eating junk food in order to put weight on. That might be fun but it certainly isn't healthy.

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