From 600-1000 calories/day to 2300+ and other questions

SkFarmMom · May 2014

After reading into the wee hours of the morning last night, I'm a little leery about asking because the responses I found to similar questions were occasionally harsh and usually sarcastic, but since I didn't actually find what I was looking for, and because I'm a noob and feeling completely overwhelmed, I'm asking anyway. So aside from the obvious answer "eat more", how does a person transition from eating an estimated 600-1000 calories a day to eating the MFP recommended 2300+/ day?? Since I started on here 4 days ago I feel like I'm eating mountains of food, pretty much constantly (like I should just strap the fridge to my back and take it with me...)

My back story: For the past decade I've been really bad about skipping meals...not an intentional thing, I'd just get busy and forget to eat...I could go all day and realize at supper time that I hadn't eaten anything. (2 small kids, a hubby, a mixed farm, and my own business for a couple years, it's kept me running pretty much flat out.) When I started tracking my food I finally realized what a deficit I've been running all these years and apparently it's slaughtered my metabolism because over that 10 years I've climbed to an all time high of 220lbs). The weird thing is that I NEVER felt hungry...seriously...it's like that signal was shut off.

Back to the present: So far I'm sitting between 1400+ and 1700+ calories per day, which I guess is a lot better than what I was doing, but I'm stuck between feeling like I'm eating tons of food, and the thought of eating more feels almost overwhelming, and yet an hour later I'm feeling so hungry that the dog starts looking like a viable food option...the past two mornings I woke up feeling like I could chew my Hubby's arm off. (And while I suspect he'll enjoy the trim and energetic me I'm working towards, I'm fairly certain he'd prefer to keep all his limbs in the process.)

Is this ravenous feeling normal?? Does it mean my metabolism is kicking in? Will it balance out?? We raise our own beef, pork, lamb and poultry, and I like to cook and bake so I shop for the basics (fruit/veggies/eggs/milk/flour/etc), so we eat fairly clean (aside from my chocolate and hard cheese addictions). I suspect I should be content with having basically doubled my intake in a couple days and just slowly work toward the remainder, but does anyone have any suggestions on how to bump it up the rest of the way without rounding it out with ice cream and chocolate...?? (MMMmmm chocolate...)

According to "ideal BMI" standards I should be trying to drop between 60-80lbs, but I know I generally weigh about 30Lbs heavier than anyone would guess (even the Dr...it's a family trait...serious bone density or thick skulls or something...) Whatever the case, I'm less worried about numbers on the scale and more interested in lowering my % body fat and building muscle. I don't buy into the weights=bulk mentality (I've seen too many inspiring smoke-show heavy-lifting feminine women to be convinced otherwise) and am really interested in starting weight training, but I won't be able to start my gym membership until the fall (farming logistics)...my Hubby is on board (FINALLY) so if anyone has any fantastic ideas on how to improvise weight training at home without equipment until then, I'm all ears. (So far I've taken a distinct liking to biking for cardio, but at the moment that's all that's in my workout repertoire...)

One final confession, I have a secret desire to get fit enough to hit a stage, although I'm not sure if I'll be brave enough to actually do it. I have a couple members in my extended family who lift...one has won the OPA provincial heavyweight bodybuilding championship out east and the other won her INBF masters figure competition out west. I find it both extremely inspiring and intimidating at the same time...so much so that I haven't breathed a word of it to anyone.

If anyone wants to point me in the right direction on any of this (diet/exercise/weight training/the road to competition), feel free to write back or message me!

SkFarmMom · May 2014

Sorry, just realized how long winded that was...one final thing, I'm not weighing my food yet, measuring what I can and estimating what I can't...pretty sure I'm rounding up not down, so my caloric intake might be slightly lower than what I think it is. Will be correcting this in the next day or two...I know Hubby has a good little scale kicking around here somewhere.

StaciMarie1974 · May 2014

I'm far from an expert, but it sounds like you're taking a good step. Eating 1400-1700 is much better than 600-1000. Perhaps focus on that, and then assess how/where you need to be?

Full fat dairy is a good source of protein & calories, and the notion that all fat should be eliminated is bogus anyhow. Nuts, cooking with olive oil, and some fruits can be calorie dense without feeling like you've eaten a huge amount.

Ps-nothing wrong with enjoying some chocolate and ice cream.

I_Will_End_You · May 2014

Round it out with chocolate and ice cream.

AliceDark · May 2014

Transition slowly. Add 100 calories per day for a week or two, then another 100 per day, and so on. Your appetite will catch up, you just have to give it time. Every time I've upped my calories, for the first week it seems like SO much food, and then I'll be constantly starving for the second week, but eventually my appetite adjusts.

While you're in transition, try to stay away from the scale if you can. Rely on measurements and progress pictures instead of the scale, because you'll likely see it going up and down a lot.

The last piece of advice I have is to focus on any and all good results you get from upping your calories. I went from under-eating at 1400 to trying to bulk (first at 2000, then eventually stepped up to 2200), and for the first month I was constantly in a panic, afraid that I would blow up like a balloon. I didn't, obviously, because my body doesn't defy the laws of physics. The first few things I noticed: I wasn't constantly cold, I wasn't constantly tired, I could push harder at the gym and I recovered much more quickly. Focusing on those things got me through the first month, and everything got easier after that.

lindsey1979 · May 2014

I think the first thing to do is start with the food scale -- it sounds like you'll be doing that soon and then report back to us. My guess is that you've been eating more than you realized and the new information will help guide the process going forward. I say this because if you really were averaging 600-1000 cals per day over the last decade and gained weight, there is something seriously off with you medically. A lot of people who have really low cal days like that tend to binge on other days to make up the calorie deficit. So my guess is that isn't totally accurate -- so once you get more information with the food scale, we'll be able to help guide you more.

_KitKat_ · May 2014

I think the first thing to do is start with the food scale -- it sounds like you'll be doing that soon and then report back to us. My guess is that you've been eating more than you realized and the new information will help guide the process going forward. I say this because if you really were averaging 600-1000 cals per day over the last decade and gained weight, there is something seriously off with you medically. A lot of people who have really low cal days like that tend to binge on other days to make up the calorie deficit. So my guess is that isn't totally accurate -- so once you get more information with the food scale, we'll be able to help guide you more.

^^^^^This^^^^

I have my whole life really only ate one full meal, when I gained the weight these last 3 years I thought something must be wrong with me.....well perfect blood work and 2 checkups, I found out it was just me having a snack in the evening (never used to) and just being lazier...slowly the weight crept up. A perfect example was yesterday for me. I had many calories to spare (new med is really messing me up) so I had some Guacamole and chips last night, I ate a good amount but in the past I could have ate half the little dish that would have been 15 servings just of the Guac and 15*60 so 900 calories without the chips. I am also not a person who binges, it really is a small dish and my kids can split one and stay on the low side of bmi (they do not do this often and are very active). These things add up. A food scale will give you a new perspective, some foods you will get more of and others you will get less of, it really helps to understand portions. You just started 4 days ago so there is no need to increase slowly 99.99% sure you were never eating a 600-1000 calorie daily average.

SkFarmMom · May 2014

Thanks for the comments so far!

I guess I should clarify. When I say I estimated my past average consumption at 600-1000 calories, I meant that most days that's where my eating fell. I definitely had my binge moments (Christmas...okay, more like the last 1/2 of December

, Thanksgiving, or if we went out...but we live in a pretty remote area, and we have a pretty tight budget, so that's usually constrained to less than once a month. If it averaged out over the year to 5 days in a month that I wen't over 2000 calories I'd be really surprised...the rest of the time I'd often only eat one meal and since we've been eating real (nutrient dense, natural, unprocessed) food the whole time (Ie, I'm not changing from a diet of junk food to a healthier menu, just significantly upping the volume of pretty much everything to hit 1400+ cal.) I suspect I'm not too far off. Whatever the case, I don't plan on going back to find out.

Re: something off medically...yep. I've had PCOS for about as long as I possibly could...screwy hormones and insulin response and metabolization of sugars and all that good stuff for at least the past 15+ years. I've had Dr.s suggesting medicating for a while now (Metformin and something else) but I've been resisting...I like to do things as naturally as possible. I actually booked an appt for next Thurs to get the prescriptions because I was so fed up. Now I'm not sure if I should actually get it, or just find how much it would have cost and then spend the $$ on a good blender for healthy smoothies...I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what the food scale reveals.

Re fats: Yep. I have no problem with eating healthy fats...I buy coconut oil by the 4.5 gal pail and it's kind of like Frank's "I put that ::splat:: on everything"...I fry my eggs in it, pop my popcorn in it, it's also great for dry skin...love avocados and almonds, real butter, even real, heavy cream (we milked for a while...mmmm....) All things (natural and therefore recognizable to my body) in moderation.

AliceDark, thanks for your comments I guess I jumped the gun a little hey? LOL!...I'll give it a couple weeks and see if this famished sensation levels out before I worry about bumping my intake any higher.

Re: focusing on the good results from upping calories...like more energy. As I was typing this reply I heard my Hubby hollering for me out in the yard. It's pretty unusual so I went running to see what was going on...black smoke was billowing up from behind the garage...I grabbed two 5 gallon pails that were by the house, filled them and ran them to the garage, and repeated until the fire was out. Hubby was busy trying to smother the flames, but his heart's been giving him issues so he couldn't go running for water. Apparently he'd been grinding a piece of steel in the garage and the sparks went out the door and ignited the dead grass (we still haven't greened up and things are really dry), it spread along the side of the garage before Hubby noticed it and called for me...the flames were just reaching a propane tank and the riding lawnmower when I got there...burnt a tire and some PVC pipe we had behind the garage but we got the fire out before it did any real damage. If it had gotten away it could have burned down the entire farm...the garage backs onto a shelter belt that's full of dead fall and dry grass, and the van was parked 5 feet from where we got the fire out (with a full tank of gas)...that runs into my lambing pen which is full of dry straw and THAT goes straight to both of our barns and wood grain bins. If it had taken off about 30 seconds more we wouldn't have stood a chance. I guess that's one way to get an adrenaline filled workout in (though I wouldn't recommend it!!!)

lindsey1979 · May 2014

Do you know how bad your insulin resistance is? Have you had your A1C checked? Insulin resistance is super common with PCOS, and is a major (if not THE major reasons) losing weight with PCOS is so difficult.

I don't know if you've read up on how insulin resistance works, but it's pretty interesting. I have insulin resistance (though from a long untreated thyroid issue, not PCOS). And I've been on metformin since early Feb -- 2000 daily dose. I can't say if it's just that as I started on thyroid meds at the same time, but I know the combination has been a lifesaver for me -- from how I feel to finally losing weight like a "normal" person.

I resisted really looking into my medical issues previously I think in part because I really don't like medication and prefer natural approaches as well. And when I was told that I was "fine" by different doctors over the years, I was generally happy to accept it even though it conflicted with my symptoms and how I felt.

But, I can tell you that I am happy that I finally pushed to get it figured out. I feel so much better, it's amazing. My whole sense of "normal" has shifted 100%. I'm not saying it will be that way for you, but it might be. At the very least, if you don't to go down the metformin path, try a keto diet -- it's what a lot of PCOS women do, some with metformin and some without. Because of the insulin resistance, it's very difficult to lose weight on a healthy caloric deficit alone.

SkFarmMom · May 2014

I'm not sure about the A1C testing...They ran a bunch of test on me a few years back, but I can't remember now what all they did. I had one Dr. tell me that I should go on the pill to "resolve" my PCOS...never mind that we were trying for another baby at the time. After that I never really even considered the Metformin route...guess we'll see, I have a week or so to decide what I want to do there.

I'm still hoping that by increasing my food intake into the proper range (up to 1900+/- today ...and currently STARVING...LOL...I don't think I've ever eaten so much or felt so hungry...it's an odd feeling), increasing my activity and limiting a few known problem foods (bread/pasta), I'll be able to get the inches melting off. I really need to find a way to strength train at home...

Vailara · May 2014

You could do bodyweight exercises to help with strength, maybe. There are programmes out there (Nerd Fitness, You are your own Gym, Body By You, Convict Conditioning, etc.), but I'm sure just things like push-ups and pull-ups can help. (I can't do pull-ups, so do hangs - I couldn't do full push-ups to start with either, so built up to them). If you look at bodyweight exercise sites, there are some other good ones, like inverted rows under a table.

If you've got things which are convenient to lift and of equal weights, you could use them instead of dumbbells. I've heard people recommend plastic milk containers, filled with water or sand, although they are a bit light for some things, but maybe you can find something better and do farmers' walks (a classic strongwoman exercise!), etc. I have a cheap home set of weights, but it is limiting - I can't do squats, for instance, without a rack, and there isn't enough weight to push me at deadlifts. I've also used them for exercises like Turkish get-ups, which don't need a lot of weight in my case.

Anyway, if I was in your position, I'd try push-ups at least to start with, as they are simple and supposedly a good whole body exercise, and can be fairly easily adapted to your individual strength (by using an incline, doing them from the knees, keeping one foot of the grouind, etc). Good luck!

viphour · May 2014

If you burn 500 more calories than you eat every day for a week, you should lose about 1-2 pounds.

If you want to lose weight faster, you'll need to eat less and exercise more.
For instance, if you take in 1,050 to 1,200 calories a day, and exercise for one hour per day, you could lose 3-5 pounds in the first week, or more if you weigh more than 250 pounds. It's very important not to cut calories any further -- that's dangerous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JQ9cl1tYkA
To lose weight or more importantly, fat from your body you must burn more calories than y...
Limiting salt and starches may also mean losing more weight at first -- but that's mostly fluids, not fat.
"When you reduce sodium and cut starches, you reduce fluids and fluid retention, which can result in up to 5 pounds of fluid loss when you get started," says Michael Dansinger, MD, of NBC's The Biggest Loser show.

From 600-1000 calories/day to 2300+ and other questions

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