Eating too few calories? Losing "too much" weight?

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mdiet12
mdiet12 Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
I really hope I don't sound silly to everyone, this is (theoretically) much better than anything I could hope for, I'm just concerned.

Firstly: Female, 23 y.o., very sedentary*, 173cm, 73kg on 24th May (start of diet) - 67kg today. (Also quite friendly - feel free to add me!)

My goal was to get to 65 kg, losing 0.5 kg weekly, and MFP calculated that I should eat 1370 calories daily. That's what I did, although sometimes I ate less (and even less than 1200 on occasion) because I cut back on sweet things which used to be my main food source. I lost 1.3 kg in week 1, 0.8 kg in week 2, 0.5 in week 3 and I thought great, I lost water weight and now I'm losing at my desired rate. Nope! I started losing 1.sth kg per week again. I thought our scale was broken (but it's not).

*Side note: I started exercising daily (walking/intervals) soon after starting the diet (and not always eating back my exercise calories), and later on I started taking birth control pills, which gave me all the reasons in the world to stop exercising (constant headache, dizziness and nausea, which also translates to inability to eat many things). I understand that all those symptoms could also be diet-related, but they didn't start until I started taking the pill (3.5 weeks after starting the diet). I haven't even tried resuming exercise, not just because of these symptoms, but also because it's already difficult to reach my calorie goal. It's ironic because I used to have the worst sweet tooth ever, but nausea and stomach pain have ensured it's long gone.

Since losing all this weight, I've become really concerned that I'm starving myself and/or losing muscle mass (although that's not obvious at all, it mostly looks like I'm losing fat). I'm not eating enough protein (I really want to, but I am a transitioning vegetarian - thinking of giving up for my health, and anything dairy makes me nauseous right now). I'm working on it though.

P.S. MFP recalculated my goals after losing 5kg, and now I'm supposed to eat 1300 calories. I also calculated my TDEE with 20% reduction, using my current weight (67 kg), and apparently I should be eating 1441 calories?! I'm completely confused.

Sorry for the really long post... Any help/advice/comments would be extremely appreciated! :):)

Replies

  • FXOjafar
    FXOjafar Posts: 174 Member
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    My problem is that I stop losing if I eat too little. A 15% deficit for me puts me at 1800 cals but if I eat less for a few days I stall badly. Eating over 1800 starts weight loss again. Weird but that's the way it works.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    OK ... you eat less than MFP programmed for you without exercise and coupled that with new exercise and you're shocked that you're losing faster than planned? You increased your deficit which results in a faster loss. If you open up your diary there might be a few other things that the community can gleam that will help you out such as how far off your protein intake is and where your extra deficit is really coming from.
  • mdiet12
    mdiet12 Posts: 3
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    OK ... you eat less than MFP programmed for you without exercise and coupled that with new exercise and you're shocked that you're losing faster than planned? You increased your deficit which results in a faster loss. If you open up your diary there might be a few other things that the community can gleam that will help you out such as how far off your protein intake is and where your extra deficit is really coming from.

    I'm hardly "shocked" :D I guess I'd overestimated my overall calorie intake, I looked at my report and apparently my average is around 1200 calories, as I ate 1100-1300 calories on most days. So yes, as you mentioned, it makes sense that I'm losing faster. I'm just confused because everyone warns against eating too few calories, because that would stop weight loss (as FXOjafar mentioned). Mine hasn't stopped, if anything, it has increased - despite continuously eating less net calories than recommended. Does that mean that what I'm doing is "okay"? That I'm not starving myself? And if so, that both MFP's calculation and my TDEE (which is 150 calories higher than MFP!) are wrong?

    I haven't opened up my diary because I'm quite embarrassed to be honest, I have mostly Greek food which doesn't translate very well internationally anyway, and also during my recent 'bad stomach' days I've eaten inordinate amounts of fat. I might do it eventually though... Thank you both for your replies :)
  • curlygirl513
    curlygirl513 Posts: 199 Member
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    So yes, as you mentioned, it makes sense that I'm losing faster. I'm just confused because everyone warns against eating too few calories, because that would stop weight loss (as FXOjafar mentioned). Mine hasn't stopped, if anything, it has increased - despite continuously eating less net calories than recommended.

    You said the answer in your reply. You are exercising and that is causing the faster weight loss. I'm supposed to be eating 1200 calories and I'm pretty close to it every day. I am also supposed to be losing 2 pounds a week. I have lost 11 pounds in 2 weeks. it is what it is, and my guess is that I'm eating a vegan diet based on whole foods and I cut out sugar. I never exercise on purpose. I'm sedentary.

    So the fact that you are exercising and losing more than you expected is a wonderful thing. And not everyone stalls their weight loss by eating too little.

    Some people lose a massive amount of weight on a very low calorie diet. The problem is it is extraordinarily difficult to get enough nutrients and that can cause serious health issues if you stay on it a long time, which the obese tend to need to do.

    My point is that you are probably over thinking your situation a little It is ok to lighten up and be happy with your results. I'm sure the birth control (hormonal changes!) have wreaked havoc on you physically and emotionally.

    I do hope your experience with the birth control pills smooths out. If not, I hope you have another option. Sounds perfectly awful what you are going through.

    But seriously, congratulations on the fine results. :drinker:
  • mdiet12
    mdiet12 Posts: 3
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    Aw, thank you so much! :) It's really nice to hear that it can be normal, and you're probably right about the overthinking bit... and the birth control-associated havoc :D

    What worried me the most is that I've actually stopped exercising completely, for weeks now, and weight loss is still going strong. However, I guess my *net* calories are still the same (i.e. I ate a bit more while I was exercising) so that could explain it.

    I am currently trying hard to get my appetite back and overcome the stomach trouble that's causing me to eat too little (less than 1000, which can't be acceptable in terms of nutrition).

    Again, thank you so much for your kind words and everyone else who replied! :flowerforyou:

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