Scared...Might be eating too Little

Aikigoth
Aikigoth Posts: 40 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey all,

First let me say that I AM seeing a counselor for body image issues (once every 2 weeks). Although sadly he just had to cancel for yesterday.

Basically I am at a set point. I haven't been able to drop below 188 for the last 4 years, despite being fairly active. (I'm 5'10".)

The first few weeks went well. With a trainer, I figured out I needed to lose 26.6 lbs to get to about 21.5% body fat- which I guessed would make me happy. First week out I lost 4 lbs. Then, I lose another 3.6. And then the brakes hit- only .4 lbs. I weigh in tomorrow I can't see the scale dropping more than 1/2 a lb again. :(

I had been eating around 1250 cal a day and exercising another 525 cal off 6 days a week. I think I am not eating enough. Calorie King estimates I need to eat 1450 to 1650 a day to lose 1-2 lbs a week.

Now I am scared. I don't want to gain weight by eating more....but I don't want to get weak. I really like being active.

Replies

  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    If My Fitness Pal says you need to eat 1250 a day (That's not much for 5'10") that is the amount you should eat to lose weight. If you exercise and burn 525 calories then you need to add that in and eat 1775 calories that day. Your NET calories will still be 1250 and you'll continue to lose weight. If you don't eat enough you're going to end up falling flat on your face and lose the energy to exercise.

    My morning workouts burn between 1,000 and 2,500 calories. Yes I eat all of that back which means some days I'm eating 4,000 - 5,000 calories and I can still lose weight. NET calories are the only thing that matters. I guarantee if I wasn't eating enough I would be out of gas within a week and those workouts would come to an abrupt halt.

    Read this. It has tons of great information.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    1200 isn't enough for someone at 5'10.

    I'm 5'8 and I was maintaining with total calories consumed just under 2000.

    I can eat 1500- and lose weight with no working out- if I work out - I eat back a portion.

    no reason to kill yourself eating 1200- try for 1500 or 1600- you'll feel better and be able to perform better in the gym.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    I have been at my same weight for almost 6 weeks. I went to that eating less (like 1,200-1,300 calories a day) to try to speed up the weight loss. Guess what happened? Nothing. i stayed the same weight and felt terrible - no energy and my workouts were suffering because I was so fired all the time.

    Over this past weekend I bumped up my calories to 1,600 a day and guess what happened. I lost almost 1 pound without doing anything that different except eating more. And the energy is back to normal.
  • stephe1987
    stephe1987 Posts: 406 Member
    Well, how much you "should" eat isn't just determined by height, but also age and activity level. So what works for one person of a certain height might not work for someone else. More active people obviously need to eat more calories.

    If you exercise a lot, then you should put that you are at an active lifestyle (choose the one that most closely fits your activity level), which should increase your daily goal to above 1250. But if you decide to do that, don't "double dip" and log your exercise calories because they are already being included in how much you should eat. If you choose "sedentary" then you should log everything and eat back about 1/2 of your exercise calories (remember, you're probably eating more than you think and burning less than you think, so eating back all the of them will push you over... which is okay when you have a lot to lose, but when you get close to your goal every calorie counts).

    Are you taking any rest days? Or maybe a week off in between intense training sessions? If you are eating right (accurate calorie count is important because you could be eating more than you think and that could be why your loss has stalled, too), then chances are you are holding onto water weight. Take a couple days off or even a week off to eat at maintenance (but not a surplus) and you'll see the weight come off. I remember one time I was trying to lose weight faster by exercising on Sunday which was supposed to be my day off. But sadly I didn't lose any weight that week even though I worked harder and burned more calories. :wink:
  • Aikigoth
    Aikigoth Posts: 40 Member
    "If you don't eat enough you're going to end up falling flat on your face and lose the energy to exercise."
    "you'll feel better and be able to perform better in the gym."

    Well that hit me like a ton of bricks. Complete bull's eye there. Yes, I have been having more fun in these last few weeks. I really do love the exercise I am doing and I love being active.

    But if I am not tired today, I don't know what else to call it. I don't think my performance is suffering yet...but that's also because I've been sleeping more and my recovery times have gone to bleep.

    I've been getting 1500 and 1600 when I try to crunch the numbers again. I'll go with 1600 for a week see if that works and adjust up/down 100 calories till it works.

    Thanks. :) If I could reach out over the internet and give you all a hug I would. I'm a lot less scared now.

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