Maintaining After Very Low Calorie Diet

saraheubanks06 · October 2013

I am not new to MFP, but this is my first time posting. I started a very low calorie diet last year and lost a lot if weight. I am not going to disclose my caloric intake on here, as I've seen people be VERY judgmental of others on these forums.

Since deciding that I need to increase my calories (I haven't had my period in 5 months and it may be due to low body fat) I have added 300 calories a day over the past month. I exercise (cardio, weights, yoga) 6 times per week but I've gained 6 pounds very quickly! I need to be able to eat 1200 calories a day, but I'm gaining eating less than that and it's terrifying.

I have read about recovering from metabolic damage and many sites say weight gain is temporary as you body adjusts and that it will come back off.

Is there anyone else with experience in this; anyone who has gone through something similar? I'd love to hear from you about your experiences.

Thanks!!

EllaPaigeNora · October 2013

Hi, I had a very similar experience. I lost about 40 pounds in 7-8 months, and in that time didn't have my period at all because my body fat had dropped so quickly. When I started eating more my weight did increase, only with a slight upscale in my calories. THIS IS NORMAL, IT DOES NOT MEAN YOU WILL ALWAYS GAIN WEIGHT EATING THAT FEW CALORIES. Your body is re-adjusting to your new calorie intake. Since it was so used to surviving off of so few, whenever it gets more than it expected, it holds on to that.

You will gain weight for a little bit, but it won't be permanent. It will eventually even out once you get back to normal. My lowest weight was 106, once I started adding calories my weight did creep up faster than I wanted. I got to about 127, then finally my body got used to the change and now I'm about 120. And I'm happy here. I realized 106 wasn't healthy, and the way I was eating wasn't right for me. Trust me it just takes time.

saraheubanks06 · October 2013

Thanks so much for sharing! I was at 106 as well. I'm hoping to stay about 115.

DavidC1857 · October 2013

I don't know how you define very low calorie, but for me it was 800-1000 cals. Occasionally going some over that. Details are in my profile and I'll leave that at that. I lost about 130 pounds in 9 months.

For me, I did an 8 week transition where I added foods and increased calories. You could do it slower than that if you wanted. I reached my final calorie level about February and have maintained pretty well since. I did find for me that my ultimate "maintenance level" was lower than what most of the calculators will tell you. I've read this is not uncommon. And it makes sense, given that my metabolism has probably slowed because of the diet and may take some time to pick back up again.

Depending on how low your calorie level was, you may want to increase calories at a slower pace. This would give your body more time to adjust to the additional calories without gaining.

SpeakToAmanda · October 2013

I am not new to MFP, but this is my first time posting. I started a very low calorie diet last year and lost a lot if weight. I am not going to disclose my caloric intake on here, as I've seen people be VERY judgmental of others on these forums.

Since deciding that I need to increase my calories (I haven't had my period in 5 months and it may be due to low body fat) I have added 300 calories a day over the past month. I exercise (cardio, weights, yoga) 6 times per week but I've gained 6 pounds very quickly! I need to be able to eat 1200 calories a day, but I'm gaining eating less than that and it's terrifying.

I have read about recovering from metabolic damage and many sites say weight gain is temporary as you body adjusts and that it will come back off.

Is there anyone else with experience in this; anyone who has gone through something similar? I'd love to hear from you about your experiences.

Thanks!!

Exactly the same experience, with about 600-900 cals. Thank you for posting - I want to increase my uptake too.

saraheubanks06 · October 2013

I'm now at 800-850 a day and using IIFYM as a guide. I just hope this weight isn't permanent!

rduhlir · October 2013

What do you mean by gaining? You have to allow your glycogen stores to refill, and that can be any where from 3-7 lbs worth of weight. So if you are gaining a few pounds because your body is refilling the fuel that was the initial 5 weight loss jump start you got at the beginning of your journey then don't worry about it.

And to add...not trying to be judgemental. But this is one reason why it is advised to not go below 1200ish net. Because the minute your body sees it has extra food the glycogen stores are refilled. Then queue the yo-yo effect.

saraheubanks06 · October 2013

Yes, I've gained 5 pounds. I've read it's normal but I just wanted to hear the experience of others. Thanks!

amiramakh · October 2013

I've gained from 99 pounds to 104 now in the past 5 months.
originally i was 90lbs but that was a little bit back. i think that for me it was just my lack of control; i wasnt very good at keeping track of my calories. but now i am on MFP it helps a ton. i set myself at sedentary and it says that i need 1530 to maintain. i feel like that is too high to maintain, so im eating around 1450.

i feel a ton better now and i've even got my period back which i had lost for 1 year.
i also think that i should put it out there that i am a recovered bulemic and i love this site because it helps me really see how much nutrition im getting into my body and it shelped me realise that i never eat enough carbs.
anyways the weight gain is just your body trying to get back to a healthy state, it will deffinitely level out.
anyone else who's going through the low cal weight gain and wants to share im all ears!

Joehenny · October 2013

You messed yourself up hormonally from that diet. Usually you add cals back in slowly. 300 a day is way too fast. You should also probably see a dietitian,

lauren3101 · October 2013

People are 'judgmental' on here because they don't like to see people do it unhealthily, especially when it's completely unnecessary,

The weight gain you are seeing is perfectly normal and it will come off, but you need to give it some time.

Personally I would ditch the scales for the next two months and eat the 1200 calories. I'm not entirely sure if your relationship with the scale is healthy, so the inevitable weight gain may well put you off in the meantime.

ETA: I've just noticed you want to maintain?! You need to eat far more than 1200 calories to maintain. Especially with that amount of exercise. This doesn't sound right to me, I think you need more help than MFP members can give you. Please, get yourself down to the doctor.

yarwell · October 2013

Since deciding that I need to increase my calories (I haven't had my period in 5 months and it may be due to low body fat) I have added 300 calories a day over the past month. I exercise (cardio, weights, yoga) 6 times per week but I've gained 6 pounds very quickly! I need to be able to eat 1200 calories a day, but I'm gaining eating less than that and it's terrifying.

An initial weight gain is to be expected as you refill the glycogen reserves etc that you depleted on the VLCD. The question is are you still gaining or after that initial rebound is your weight stable ?

glitterstreet · October 2013

Hi, I recommend that you calculate your bmr and slowly work your way up to the point; adding about 50-100 calories a week onto your intake. You don't want to damage your body. I did a very similar thing for a while and I didn't realise how bad I felt until I started to eat at my BMR.

saraheubanks06 · October 2013

Thanks!

DizzyLinds · October 2013

I am not new to MFP, but this is my first time posting. I started a very low calorie diet last year and lost a lot if weight. I am not going to disclose my caloric intake on here, as I've seen people be VERY judgmental of others on these forums.

Since deciding that I need to increase my calories (I haven't had my period in 5 months and it may be due to low body fat) I have added 300 calories a day over the past month. I exercise (cardio, weights, yoga) 6 times per week but I've gained 6 pounds very quickly! I need to be able to eat 1200 calories a day, but I'm gaining eating less than that and it's terrifying.

I have read about recovering from metabolic damage and many sites say weight gain is temporary as you body adjusts and that it will come back off.

Is there anyone else with experience in this; anyone who has gone through something similar? I'd love to hear from you about your experiences.

Thanks!!

Exactly the same experience, with about 600-900 cals. Thank you for posting - I want to increase my uptake too.

Me too...

michellechawner · October 2013

People are 'judgmental' on here because they don't like to see people do it unhealthily, especially when it's completely unnecessary,

The weight gain you are seeing is perfectly normal and it will come off, but you need to give it some time.

Personally I would ditch the scales for the next two months and eat the 1200 calories. I'm not entirely sure if your relationship with the scale is healthy, so the inevitable weight gain may well put you off in the meantime.

ETA: I've just noticed you want to maintain?! You need to eat far more than 1200 calories to maintain. Especially with that amount of exercise. This doesn't sound right to me, I think you need more help than MFP members can give you. Please, get yourself down to the doctor.

^^ THIS. In looking at your photo, which may be old, you need to gain, not maintain.

bobbi_jo2 · October 2013

Try increasing your calories at a slower rate. You will probably still gain a little over time, but it shouldn't be as drastic. Like someone else mentioned, maybe only increase 50 calories per week. So if you are eating 800 calories this week, try 850 next week and 900 the next week. It will take time, but it'll help your body adjust. Good luck.

saraheubanks06 · October 2013

Wow, judging others because of their looks. I'm glad women are empowering women on here. I asked to hear others experiences. If you want to tell others how they should look, go find someone who asks.

saraheubanks06 · October 2013

Wow, judging others because of their looks. I'm glad women are empowering women on here. I asked to hear others experiences. If you want to tell others how they should look, go find someone who asks.

jett254 · October 2013

I wasn't on as low of a calorie intake as it sounds like you were, but I did start at 1200 per day (based on what MFP recommended and not knowing any better) and lost down past my goal weight with exercising 6x per week. I was down to 97-98 lbs and my period stopped. I increased the good fats in my diet and have slowly added to my calories so now I usually eat ~1800 calories per day. My weight has stabilized at around 103-104 lbs. I started taking birth control pills to re-start my period, so I don't know if it would come naturally without the pills. One thing I have noticed is that I'm never full anymore - I could eat probably 2500 calories per day and still be hungry - which is frustrating because I can't really trust my hunger to tell me whether to eat and help with portion control - instead, I just track what I eat. Hope that helps!

MintBerryCrunch21 · October 2013

I myself was on a a very low calorie diet, roughly 1,800 cals, exercising 5x a week. Lost 1 stone in a month which was too quick!! (but at the same time i was a bit happy to lose it even though I knew that was not a safe way to achieve it) Learning from my mistake in my experience you lose weight too quick, the weight will come back quick. Once I went to maintenance mode which was for me lightly exercising roughly 3x a week and increased my calorie intake from 1,800 to 2,400 the weight comes back so quick. I still need to find a balance of calorie intake & exercising to maintain.

Maintaining After Very Low Calorie Diet

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