Will eating more help me to lose weight?

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andrewskl
andrewskl Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

I've decided to start losing weight again (how many times have you heard that before?!) and so started to track my eating habits to see what was really going into my body. Seemed to be a balanced diet, but not particularly varied/healthy (sandwich, crisps and fruit for lunch at work etc) and was reaching between 1000-1200 calories a day. Whilst I'm overweight, this calorie intake is too low and I'm guessing that my body has gone into starvation mode to survive. I also wake up tired 60% of the time after having a good 8 hours sleep, and am generally cold most of the time - which I guess all relates back to my lack of calories.

So I suppose my question is if I up my calorie intake, will I still be able to lose weight? FYI I am a woman, 196 pounds and 5'7".

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Kristinemomof3
    Kristinemomof3 Posts: 636 Member
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    Yes, eat more.
  • PinkyFett
    PinkyFett Posts: 842 Member
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    Cold and fatigue, along with a hard time losing weight, could mean hypothyroidism. I would get checked to be sure. But yes. Eat more than 1000 cal.
  • nebakanessa
    nebakanessa Posts: 11
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    Check your thyroid too. I was fat, cold all of the time, tired, and had really thin hair. My hairdresser encouraged me to check, and I was hypothyroid. I felt like a new person on the meds (now I just feel normal).
  • nknjansen
    nknjansen Posts: 33 Member
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    How do you measure your food? It's all to common to underestimate. I used to do it myself! I would highly recommend buying a food scale. Maybe those 1200 calories are closer to 2000.

    Or course, it would be wise to see a doctor about the fatigue and coldness, as that may point to another issue.
  • CallMeRuPaul
    CallMeRuPaul Posts: 151 Member
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    eat more nutritious food not junk and start walking or get active somehow. I wouldn't consider a sandwich a good meal. try to cook you own food so that you know exactly what you're eating. also, get a kitchen scale and measure out your portions. I used to guess at how much I was eating and I was WAY OFF. good luck.
  • DaniettaF
    DaniettaF Posts: 212 Member
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    Hello,

    When I started losing weight I was on 1200 and it didn't really work. I posted a similar post to you some months ago and a lovely lady suggested I'd need to eat 1700 calories and do exercise 3 times a week and to not eat back my calories.

    As at that time, I really didn't want to exercise I just ate 1500 calories which still made me lose, but just 1lb a week which was much better than not at all.

    If you want to calculate a rough amount that you "should" eat, the following websites helped me calculate what I needed to lose and how.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/#projectedweightloss

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/lbm_calculator.htm

    I'm not saying that these fully accurate but they helped me have more solid goals, rather than just aimlessly losing weight.

    With the sleeping, I also had that problem, it's literally down to calorie consumption. Even if you don't use the links above, just adding 100 or so calories a week to your diet to see at what you feel healthy and alert. That's what made me realise that a calorie intake of less than 1500 wouldn't let me function during the day.

    The first link above will let you know roughly the calorie intake you need :)

    I hope this helps!
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
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    1) open your diary. No one can possibly give you advice if we don't know what you're eating. Log every single thing you eat, even condiments, vegetables and fruit. Everything that has nutritional value counts.

    2) If you don't weigh your food, start doing so. It's highly likely you're underestimating how much you are actually eating. Most dieters make this mistake. I made this mistake myself and plateaued for a year. If you're not logging accurately, it's very easy to eat above your deficit and not even know it.

    3) It wouldn't hurt to raise your calorie limit a little. But only if weighing all of your food and logging accurately. It takes a caloric deficit to lose weight.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    ^^THAT!
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,932 Member
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    1) open your diary. No one can possibly give you advice if we don't know what you're eating. Log every single thing you eat, even condiments, vegetables and fruit. Everything that has nutritional value counts.

    2) If you don't weigh your food, start doing so. It's highly likely you're underestimating how much you are actually eating. Most dieters make this mistake. I made this mistake myself and plateaued for a year. If you're not logging accurately, it's very easy to eat above your deficit and not even know it.

    3) It wouldn't hurt to raise your calorie limit a little. But only if weighing all of your food and logging accurately. It takes a caloric deficit to lose weight.

    +1

    You will never gain weight in a calorie deficit.

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