Need to lose 3 stone by 22nd May

Have you lost any weight yet?

1300 calories does not sound like enough. If you go to low, your body will hang on to the weighty you have. You need to up your calories so your body can function properly

Well I am sorry if you did not like my response but I can assure you there are many reasons you want to be cautious with very low calorie counts-hanging onto weight is one of them :-)

I have been a part of many groups over the years and can give you countless examples of this being the case.

Well I am sorry if you did not like my response but I can assure you there are many reasons you want to be cautious with very low calorie counts-hanging onto weight is one of them :-)

I have been a part of many groups over the years and can give you countless examples of this being the case.

I didn't say I didn't like your answer, I just disagreed.

And, I still disagree.

Every single day it is proven real life:

Eating less than you burn leads to weight loss.
Eating more than you burn leads to weight gain.
Eating around the same amount you burn leads to maintaining your weight.

The exceptions are health problems, which must always be diagnosed by a doctor.

Of course you should not eat very low calorie diets, but it's not because you won't lose weight, but because your body will not be properly fueled. Also, 1,300 calories is not very low calories for some people, especially those who don't exercise.

The answer to not losing weight is NOT to increase your calories, it's to check your food logging habits because if you are not losing OR you are gaining on 1,300 calories you are eating too much and simply do not realize it. I know, I've done it before.

I have had a weight problem from the day I was born (no kidding, the doc made my mother put me on a diet as an infant because I was getting too fat ) and have been doing this weight loss thing for years. The only truth I have found for me is if I cut calories, I lose weight.I exercise because I love it and because it provides other health benefits. Right now, I'm at the lowest weight I've been at as an adult, more fit than I've ever been, and feeling great.

However, with the exercise the OP is doing, she probably needs to eat more than 1,300 calories because she needs to keep her body properly fueled to continue doing her exercise. I don't know her age, height and weight so I can't really say what she should eat.

Eat more. I am 120 pounds and a little under 5'5" and I eat at least 1800 calories a day plus an hour of running and I'm still losing weight. Granted it 's really slow but I'm still losing. It is true if you eat too little your weight loss can stall. I ate 1200 calories a day for six months and lost steadily. I plateaued for over a month eating the same amount and I got really frustrated. Someone on MFP recommended trying the TDEE method and raising my calories and once I did that the weight started to come off again. So yes, it is very possible to eat too little and not lose weight.

Why do you want to be on the borderline of underweight?

Claudia if you are interested in a different point of view, feel free to drop me a message. As far as the information you are receiving about increasing calories not helping to lose weight-well it is incorrect.

The person posting this is not familiar with the concept of starvation mode-which is in fact something very real. At your height, 1300 calories is low enough to cause your body to enter into starvation mode.

If you would like more information on the topic, a google search would link you to several well written articles on the topic

Best of luck.

No, Leah, you saying that she needs to eat more to lose weight incorrect. If that were true, all the people who couldn't lose weight would be eating more to lose weight.

People who are overweight or normal weight do not go into starvation mode. You do not eat more to lose weight, but to properly fuel your body.

The OP is not underweight, and I doubt she's even overweight for her height. 1,300 calories is indeed too low because of her height and weight, therefore her body is not being properly fueled. Certainly, if she were to eat too low of calories for a long period of time and lose massive weight, she could go into starvation mode. But, it's not like 1,300 is the magic number to send her there.

Google Holocaust and Minnesota Starvation Experiment. THAT's starvation mode.

The big secret to weight loss is to eat less calories than you burn. A calorie deficit is the only thing required to lose weight.

Here are some threads you will find correct information in.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/516456-the-minnesota-starvation-experiment?hl=Minnesota+Starvation+Experiment#posts-18039956

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Since you are a "coach," I suspect your will enjoy this thread.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants.

The best of luck to you.

Thank you for your response laced with a negative tone. I am not quite certain why you feel the need to come across the way you do. From your comment about me being a 'coach' I guess it has something to do with your feelings I am somehow incorrect simply because I am a coach?


Unfortunately no matter how many times you state your position, it won't make it more correct. LOL. I actually have a pretty strong background in fitness and nutrition and stand by my suggestions. At this point I guess the OP will simply have to do her own research and see what works for her.

I can just repeat, as a 'coach' I have been involved with the fitness journey of lots of people-of all different shapes and sizes with different weight loss goals from minimal to extreme. On more than one occasion, someone has been eating calories that were 'too low' (often in that 1200-1300 calories range)...low and behold he or she increases the calories and the weight starts coming off.


Keep trying though! I am sure your persistence is creating some personal growth.

As for luck? Thanks I will rely on effort. ;-)

Leah,

Negative? Persistence? Nah, that is your perception only.

You are giving a false impression about starvation mode, making it sound like she is headed there because she is eating 1,300 calories. In fact, that is how you started off in this conversation even though you had no idea of her height, as if 1,300 calories was the magic number.

Please provide me some solid information links on starvation mode, please, just as I have provided you.

It is not easy peasy to get to starvation mode, and it takes a loss of a certain percentage of body fat and muscle to get there. Again, I invite you to read up on the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. THAT is starvation mode. People who are overweight or normal weight are not in starvation mode just because they are eating a certain amount of calories, and it certainly takes a long while to get there.

There is a difference between starvation mode and starving yourself, as in eating too few calories to fuel your body. Sure, the OP may be starving herself, as if in eating too few calories for her height and weight, but that in no way means she is in starvation mode. They are too different things.

As for using coach in parentheses-I have no idea what type of coach you are, thus I apologize if you took offense at the use of "coach". After all, your username is Coach Leah.

Perhaps you should read up on things like starvation mode before you tell someone they are headed there. In fact, if you really feel this way, shouldn't one of your first responses have been to tell her to go to the doctor? Starvation mode is a dangerous condition.

Please read the links I provided to you, especially the one on starvation.

Sllrunner is correct but let me put it another way to see if it can help. If the op truly eats 1300 calories she will lose weight.. its simple laws of thermodynamics but she will lose more than fat; she will lose fat, muscle, water and lean body mass. The reason to fuel your body with more calories is rather simple... to minimize muscle loss. The fact is it takes 72 hours to have any metabolic adaptation so if you are consistently eating the starvation mode isnt going to occur. I think what the coach is mention or referring to is long term effects of low calorie dieting which causes your resting metabolic rate to slow down and burn less calories. And loss of muscle also lead to a slower basal metabolic rate in the long run.

With that said the op should probably eat more, and focus more of weight training to maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss. At 5'10 and being young, eating closer to 1800 to 2100 calories would be a better goal.

Yes, the best you have to adhere to, as well as good control of your diet!