Serious calorie problem...

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A while ago, I dieted incorrectly. I under-ate and didn't exercise very much. I was getting net calories of about 300 most days for a long time. I would say it was an extreme diet, yes, I lost weight, but I felt horrible. And now, I'm feeling the after effects. I'm 5'3'' and 119 pounds, but I'm finding that with the calorie limit of 1200 calories, I'm almost gaining weight.. I want to lose 10 to 19 more pounds and nothing is happening (or the opposite is happening)
Everyone is saying don't go below 1200 net calories, but my body isn't used to that much food. What should I do? For the past week I've been eating around 900 (and IM SO FULL) and exercising off about 200 of that. I know it's not enough, but I'm not sure what to do. I don't want it to hurt my weight-loss in the long run, but I don't want to gain weight now either. Help?

Replies

  • modernfemme
    modernfemme Posts: 454 Member
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    Did you check your healthy weight? Being only 100 pounds for someone 5'3 seems a bit underweight....
  • ostheimerd
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    A 5'3 your appropriate healthy weight is 121 and 129 lbs. So weight loss is not in your best intrest for a healthy body.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    Quite simple really. Eat food that is denser in calories...Like Almonds, Walnuts, Granola and such and build muscle. You really need a healthy diet and may need to slowly get there. Do an intense workout like P90X, Chalene Extreme and you'll find yourself needing to eat more...without gaining weight. Muscle is the Key.
  • lukybug
    lukybug Posts: 209
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    Unfortunately, because you dieted incorrectly the first time, your body is storing all of the "extra" calories in fear that it may go back into starvation. Give it some time to adjust. Your body needs at least 1200 calories daily and it may store what you give it for a few weeks. Your body will eventually learn that you aren't going to deprive yourself of the calories so it will start burning more as time progresses. Is exercising more out of the question? I noticed you said you only burn about 200 calories. Just a thought would be to exercise a bit more every day.

    Good luck!
  • caroline1851
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    Quite simple really. Eat food that is denser in calories...Like Almonds, Walnuts, Granola and such and build muscle. You really need a healthy diet and may need to slowly get there. Do an intense workout like P90X, Chalene Extreme and you'll find yourself needing to eat more...without gaining weight. Muscle is the Key.

    This sounds right!
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    A while ago, I dieted incorrectly. I under-ate and didn't exercise very much. I was getting net calories of about 300 most days for a long time. I would say it was an extreme diet, yes, I lost weight, but I felt horrible. And now, I'm feeling the after effects. I'm 5'3'' and 119 pounds, but I'm finding that with the calorie limit of 1200 calories, I'm almost gaining weight.. I want to lose 10 to 19 more pounds and nothing is happening (or the opposite is happening)
    Everyone is saying don't go below 1200 net calories, but my body isn't used to that much food. What should I do? For the past week I've been eating around 900 (and IM SO FULL) and exercising off about 200 of that. I know it's not enough, but I'm not sure what to do. I don't want it to hurt my weight-loss in the long run, but I don't want to gain weight now either. Help?

    Ok, I'll say what others are thinking. I missed that you want to get down to 100 lbs but is it possible you have an eating disorder. You are a beautiful and healthy looking woman and should be looking to tone not lose weight. Sorry if I offended you but lots of people are striving to get where you are.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    No idea if this would work. What about not worrying about your poundage at this point, but try to lower your BMI by putting on more muscle mass. I see some ladies at work walking around with arm weights. If you do a little strength training, your weight will go up, but you will get more toned.
  • jdelisle
    jdelisle Posts: 1,050 Member
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    You seriously look beautiful, and hardly need to lose 19 pounds! My goal weight is 15 pounds heavier than what you weigh now, and I'm just under 5'2.

    I would suggest meeting with a nutritionist. 300 calories is damn near starvation, so it would be a huge benefit to meet with someone who has been schooled on nutrition to help and get your system back on track.
  • holly0623
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    I have the sameee problem !
    I recently started trying to eat at least 1300 , because i had been hearing how bad it was to eat under 1200. I usually ended up with about 800 net. Now that i've increased my calories, i still haven't lost anything. :(
    I'm 4'11 , 114 pounds. And also trying to get to 100.
  • healthychic
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    My opinion is to lose no more that 5 more pounds, 5'3 and 100 pounds if very thin, almost too thin and I bet once you lose 5-7 more pounds you will feel like a totally different person. Because your frame is small, you will be able to tell quickly that you have lost 5 lbs. And you MUST eat 1,200, trust me, i know from experience. I am 5'6, only 3 inches taller than you and my ideal weight is 125-130 and I make sure I eat 1,400 calories a day because if you go below your daily calorie intake it will just have harmful effects. I am not sure if you are familiar with "starvation mode" but your body will quickly go into this mode if you don't allow enough calorie intake daily. 900 is not enough, because if you continue that low calorie intake, you will not be able to build lean muscle and your weight loss may actually reverse. You may end up gaining back all that you lost. Stay with the 1,200 a day and adaquete exercise and trust me, you will see wonders with your body! Take care,

    -Danielle
  • ostheimerd
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    A while ago, I dieted incorrectly. I under-ate and didn't exercise very much. I was getting net calories of about 300 most days for a long time. I would say it was an extreme diet, yes, I lost weight, but I felt horrible. And now, I'm feeling the after effects. I'm 5'3'' and 119 pounds, but I'm finding that with the calorie limit of 1200 calories, I'm almost gaining weight.. I want to lose 10 to 19 more pounds and nothing is happening (or the opposite is happening)
    Everyone is saying don't go below 1200 net calories, but my body isn't used to that much food. What should I do? For the past week I've been eating around 900 (and IM SO FULL) and exercising off about 200 of that. I know it's not enough, but I'm not sure what to do. I don't want it to hurt my weight-loss in the long run, but I don't want to gain weight now either. Help?

    Ok, I'll say what others are thinking. I missed that you want to get down to 100 lbs but is it possible you have an eating disorder. You are a beautiful and healthy looking woman and should be looking to tone not lose weight. Sorry if I offended you but lots of people are striving to get where you are.

    I am going to second this. What you are trying to do is unhealthy for you body and will result in things that will cause serious health risks!
  • 2bFitNTrim
    2bFitNTrim Posts: 1,209 Member
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    Not trying to be mean, but I noticed under your signature your have 100lb=purity. What does that mean? :huh:

    Like others have said, you are already at a healthy weight even if you have a small frame. You could improve the quality of the foods you eat or tone up, but I'm not so sure you need to lose weight.

    Just my 2 cents worth. Be good to yourself. :flowerforyou:
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    I have the sameee problem !
    I recently started trying to eat at least 1300 , because i had been hearing how bad it was to eat under 1200. I usually ended up with about 800 net. Now that i've increased my calories, i still haven't lost anything. :(
    I'm 4'11 , 114 pounds. And also trying to get to 100.

    Why 100. Is something magic going ot happen at 100 lbs? You look fine now. Build some muscle...it's smaller than fat which you probably have very little of.
  • katbass
    katbass Posts: 351 Member
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    Look up your BMR using the "Tools" section at the top. That is the number of calories your body requires to keep your body funcitoning. If you were to lay in bed all day in a coma-like state, your body would requre a certain number of cals to keep your eyes blinking, your hair growing, your organs functioning, etc. That is your BMR.

    Once you get out of bed, walk across your room, turn off your alarm and brush your teeth, you have already started burning calories and taking away from that magic number needed to keep your body in shape.

    If you are committed to doing this the right way now, having experienced the effects of dieting the wrong way in the past, then it is going to take some patience. You cant "fix" your metabolsm over night. When I finally got it through my head that I had to eat MORE in order to lsoe weight, I was sooo hesitant to increase my calories from that "all important number everyone always talks about...the wonderful, the amazing, the outstanding 1200 calories!!!!" I couldnt wrap my head around eating more since THAT was THE magic number that EVERYONE was eating to lose weight. But I did it. I increase my cals to my BMR (1500). All it took was two rice cakes and 2 tbsp of peanut butter and I was there. Not hard, not gorging myself on fries and burgers. Just one extra meal. Easy to do...but oh so hard since I had that mental block about 1200 cals being THE WAY.

    I will freely admit that I gained weight at first. It freaked me out and pissed me off. But, like you, I was determined to do this the RIGHT way this time. So I stuck with it. I briefly debated going back to 1200 cals for a little bit just to see a few pounds fall off. But I didnt. I stuck to 1500 AND ate half my exercise cals.

    I'll be darned if that weight didint fall off 2.5 lbs at a time. Its like my body was thanking me for feeding it the calories it needed and craved. The right KINDS of calories was important, too...I couldnt sit and eat 1500 calories in ice cream and french fries and wings. But in the end, I have learned/am leaning that my magic number for weight loss is my BMR. It just plain works. I choose to eat half my exercise calories some days...other days I eat all of them....and RARELY I dont eat any, but that is VERY rare and not because I dont WANT them or know that I SHOULD eat them.

    YOU know that 300 cals isnt enough for your body to exist on. Even at only 5'2", you need more than 300 calories. Eating more doesnt mean pigging out. For me, eating more means I get to have some ranch dressing with my raw veggies. It means a 300 calorie smoothie with fresh fruit and yogurt and milk. It means a hadful of almonds. It means not feeling guilty when I do choose to have pizza one night. It means doing this the right way so that it is a lifestyle change....as in, for LIFE. It means not setting myself up for failure. It means I wont gain it back.

    Check your BMR up at the top. Give yur body what it needs to survive and function at an optimal state. You deserve it. :)
  • theatr3geek
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    Thanks for the thoughts everyone. I realize BMI wise, my weight is in the healthy category. I am happy to be where I am at and it is an accomplishment for me, but I still feel over-weight. I was thinking of maybe losing a few more pounds and seeing how I feel at 115. Then deciding if I want to keep going.
    It's not that 100 is THE weight, it's just that I have a very small frame so 119 still looks chubby on my frame. I'm determined to do this the right way if it is going to happen. If it doesn't happen, I know I'm still in the healthy weight range. Thanks guys. I'm going to try to slowly up my caloric intake and exercise a little more, with healthier, more calorie-rich foods!!
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    I agree with those that said tone up / add some muscle. You may end up weighing more but muscle is leaner than fat so you would end up thinner in the long run.