I under ate by 4000 calories

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Replies

  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    everyone says you must eat 1200 calories.....................all the sites say you must eat 1200........................well wheres the proof
    no facts on this
    I suggest calculate your rmr and keep it under that by a couple hundread.

    That would be quite stressful for her body. RMR is the absolute bare minimum she would need to keep her organs functioning if she were in a coma.

    Terrible advice.
  • KCNutritionCoach
    KCNutritionCoach Posts: 10 Member
    Going too low in calories will:
    1. Stall your weight loss. There is a science to reducing calories enough to lose weight and keeping them high enough that your metabolism doesn't slow. And, yes, your metabolism will slow down. Not permanently, but while you are restricting. Someone referred to the starvation study done with soldiers, but that is not the only study. That is the extreme of what prolonged hunger can do. Raising calories can actually stimulate weight loss when you hit a plateau from going too low.
    2. Under 1200 calories for women does not allow you to meet your vitamin and mineral needs. This is fact, for the gentleman whom disputed it. I would suggest he brush up on his nutrition facts.
    3. You are setting yourself up for failure. This is "crash dieting". You may lose weight fast, but you will lose muscle no matter how much you exercise. When you gain it back, it will come back as fat. Chronic dieters become more fat over time due to this.

    Be moderate and make it a lifestyle change. If what you are doing now cannot be done over the long haul, then you are bound to have rollercoaster dieting the rest of your life.
  • GBrady43068
    GBrady43068 Posts: 1,256 Member
    I never have eaten breakfast Even before a diet I rarely eat before 12noon. Maybe it's something I should try and make a priority in the morning I just don't feel like I can stomach food that early in the morning.
    Bagel with peanut butter. It's "light" as far as AMOUNT of food...but it will easily drop another 300 cals into your day. Peanut butter has the "good" fat too. If you're not a peanut butter fan, do butter or sour cream instead.
  • lautour
    lautour Posts: 89 Member
    Your overall weight loss goal is 50 lbs. How did you gain 50 lbs if you aren't able to eat at least 1000 calories per day? It's an excuse. Eat!

    The problem is she's scared to eat more because she doesn't know how to "add calories" and not go overboard.

    Another problem is, outside of myfitnesspal forums, there is a strong dieting culture around "less is more" so if you can eat less you might think you should. It feels virtuous to many women to eat under their goal because the goal is seen as a maximum. Even mfp puts you in the red for going one calorie over so you usually have to eat less to stay in the green where it's "good". And even as it's telling you that you're eating " too few calories", it gives you a nice low number that you will weigh if you keep eating that way. Mixed messages.

    I'm glad I read these forums and gave myself the freedom to eat more but before I did, I was doing the same thing as the OP, and I was morbidly obese.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    I never have eaten breakfast Even before a diet I rarely eat before 12noon. Maybe it's something I should try and make a priority in the morning I just don't feel like I can stomach food that early in the morning.
    I think over the last seven days ove had a salad lunch at least three times so don't think I'm not eating to unhealthily and I cook most of my hot meals from scratch which always include veg lean meats and sauces from scratch, yes I know I've had packet pasta a couple of times but generally speaking I do cook my own. I'm trying to steer clear of 'junk foods' like chocolate crisps and cakes. I try and weigh all my food as has been suggested on other forums but I think in some ways this has made me more strict as I think oh I could have 10 grams less of that and feel full still. I think maybe If I increase my portion sizes this will help
    I'm one of those people that I could sit for a month and just eat rubbish all day long but I want to break that habit and create better habits I'm learning guys go easy I'm asking for help
    Here's the help you are asking for:
    Eat at least 1200 calories a day plus exercise calories back!!!!
    You are doing harm to your entire body by eating so little!!!!
    Eat:
    Protein
    Fats
    Veggies
    Fruits
    Eat treats
    Eat.
    Every organ in your body needs adequate nutrition to function.
    Your bones.
    Muscles (including your heart!!!)
    Brain
    Blood
    Nervous system
    Etc., etc.!!!
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    Going too low in calories will:
    1. Stall your weight loss. There is a science to reducing calories enough to lose weight and keeping them high enough that your metabolism doesn't slow. And, yes, your metabolism will slow down. Not permanently, but while you are restricting. Someone referred to the starvation study done with soldiers, but that is not the only study. That is the extreme of what prolonged hunger can do. Raising calories can actually stimulate weight loss when you hit a plateau from going too low.
    2. Under 1200 calories for women does not allow you to meet your vitamin and mineral needs. This is fact, for the gentleman whom disputed it. I would suggest he brush up on his nutrition facts.
    3. You are setting yourself up for failure. This is "crash dieting". You may lose weight fast, but you will lose muscle no matter how much you exercise. When you gain it back, it will come back as fat. Chronic dieters become more fat over time due to this.

    Be moderate and make it a lifestyle change. If what you are doing now cannot be done over the long haul, then you are bound to have rollercoaster dieting the rest of your life.

    Under eating will not stall weight loss. There is nothing magic that happens that makes you stop losing weight while in a calorie deficit (which she clearly is). The importance of eating enough food is in regards to the end result. You need to get enough fats, proteins and carbs to maintain your lean body mass while losing the optimal amount of body fat.
  • ublanchard
    ublanchard Posts: 47
    I get that you are worried about going over and don't trust yourself to eat more with out eating *too much.* I think you should Google around for meal plans for 1200 calorie diets. There are lots of them out there and they show that you an eat a variety of healthy food at that calorie total. And you can eat a good amount of lean meat too. Honestly, you could even work a hamburger in, if you make it with 93% lean ground beef, don't go nuts with mayo and leave off the cheese.

    If you don't like breakfast, how about coffee or tea with full fat milk in the morning? Or have a mid morning snack of peanut butter toast or a full fat greek yogurt? I really feel like full fat dairy keeps me satisfied longer. Or, ok, you want to skip breakfast entirely, that's cool, I know some people do a diet where they fast 16 hrs a day and only eat between 12 noon and 8 pm. Still try to get 1200 calories. You can have lunch and dinner at 600 calories each, or have lunch and dinner at 500 calories each and then a 200 calorie snack. The fact that you don't like breakfast shouldn't erase 1/3 of you calories from your diet.
    Even mfp puts you in the red for going one calorie over so you usually have to eat less to stay in the green where it's "good". And even as it's telling you that you're eating " too few calories", it gives you a nice low number that you will weigh if you keep eating that way. Mixed messages.
    This is so true! It can mess with your head.
  • ashleycde
    ashleycde Posts: 622 Member
    Bread, cheese and wine, my friend. With those three beautiful things I could easily consume 1300 calories in one sitting.

    Beer and fried foods work just as well.
  • ashleycde
    ashleycde Posts: 622 Member
    On a more serious note, I did take a look at your diary over the past week and you've skipped breakfast every day. Eating breakfast, whether you take the time to have a proper meal at home or make/grab something to eat on the go (or when you get to work/school, depending on your lifestyle), will definitely help you meet your daily calorie intake. Consistently eating too few calories does not make for sustainable weight loss. You also want to fuel your body in order to be able to be (or remain) active.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Fact: The "starvation effect" or whatever you want to call it, is overrated. It has been noted in clinical trials of your metabolism slowing down very slightly .when you eat many fewer calories. Slightly. These studies are based in military studies done shortly after WWII on healthy male volunteers who were subjected to starvation diets under close medical supervision.

    For that part - there are a whole lot more studies than just that MN one.

    And is suppressing your TDEE by 500 calories lower compared to what it could have been "very slightly". I'd dare say 500 calories suppressed is mighty big, like a good sized meal or more for smaller eaters.
    How much easier will weight loss and then maintenance be if it was 250-500 less than it potentially could have been.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/reduced-metabolism-tdee-beyond-expected-from-weight-loss-616251

    http://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/truth-about-metabolic-damage

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_cmltmQ6A

    And a bunch more.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1077746-starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss
  • KCNutritionCoach
    KCNutritionCoach Posts: 10 Member
    Under eating will not stall weight loss. There is nothing magic that happens that makes you stop losing weight while in a calorie deficit (which she clearly is). The importance of eating enough food is in regards to the end result. You need to get enough fats, proteins and carbs to maintain your lean body mass while losing the optimal amount of body fat.
    [/quote]
  • KCNutritionCoach
    KCNutritionCoach Posts: 10 Member
    Under eating will not stall weight loss. There is nothing magic that happens that makes you stop losing weight while in a calorie deficit (which she clearly is). The importance of eating enough food is in regards to the end result. You need to get enough fats, proteins and carbs to maintain your lean body mass while losing the optimal amount of body fat.
    [/quote]
  • Ulwaz
    Ulwaz Posts: 380 Member
    this is so damaging for your body, there is no reason to eat that little!
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Are you logging everything? You only seem to eat twice a day.
    How do you measure everything? Are you using accurate entries?

    Assuming you are actually eating so little, yes, there can be problems with it. I've personally done the low calorie (paired with tons of exercise) thing. I lost the weight, looked great, but keeping it off was a whole different story.

    Keep in mind that hunger is not always a reliable indicator. Hormones can affect hunger. Overeating or undereating can mess with our signals. Lots of people who are anorexic report not being hungry and they are literally starving. Some people who are overweight report constantly being hungry when they do not need more food.

    Its not hard to add a few extra calories, there are tons of calorie dense foods that won't add bulk. Olive oil, butter, avocado, nuts and nut butters, eggs, etc are all examples.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    everyone says you must eat 1200 calories.....................all the sites say you must eat 1200........................well wheres the proof
    no facts on this
    I suggest calculate your rmr and keep it under that by a couple hundread.

    rmr? Do you mean bmr? You shouldn't be eating under that.

    What you mean is find out your TDEE and eat 15-20% under that.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    everyone says you must eat 1200 calories.....................all the sites say you must eat 1200........................well wheres the proof
    no facts on this
    I suggest calculate your rmr and keep it under that by a couple hundread.

    rmr? Do you mean bmr? You shouldn't be eating under that.

    What you mean is find out your TDEE and eat 15-20% under that.

    RMR is resting metabolic rate.
    It is closely related to BMR

    http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/2882/resting-metabolic-rate-best-ways-to-measure-it-and/

    ETA - FTR - I agree, eat under TDEE not BMR or RMR.
  • rainbowxelephant
    rainbowxelephant Posts: 71 Member
    Former anorexia sufferer here. You need to eat more. Like, 1000 calories a day more. Or you will end up hospitalized and obsessed.

    Trust me.

    Add a 500 calorie smoothie to the start of your day for breakfast and double your portion sizes, something. This is serious. You are clearly deluded if you think you eat meals and are consuming under 1000 calories. Yes this is dangerous, yes there are long term health and weight implications. Plus you could end up experiencing refeeding syndrome when you do finally start eating

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