Am I eating too little?

vitani88
vitani88 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
Disclaimer: I haven't logged anything in a very, very long time at myfitnesspal.

Okay, so I'm concerned that I might be eating too little. I'm 26 years old, female, 5'2", 125-128lbs depending on the day. When I was about 21 I had gotten up to 140lbs after a really bad marriage and dealing with depression as a result. I started logging calories and running a lot and got down to about 125lbs. The lowest I've weighed is 120lbs and that is where I'd like to stay, ideally. When I started counting calories back then I was eating 1200 calories per day. I've stayed at between 1200 and 1400 calories ever since and have maintained my weight. When I got out of the military 3 years ago I stopped working out as much since I'd messed up my knee.

Recently I moved to a hotel while my husband was in school and have been really inactive. I'm back up to about 128lbs and I really want to get back to 120lbs. I've been staying around 1300 calories and I've started running about 3 times per week on the couch to 5k program (week 5, day 1 today). After reading some around the forums here I'm thinking maybe I'm eating too little... This is my standard daily intake:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with PB and blueberries (around 300 cal)
Lunch: Spinach, berries, protein powder, and almond milk smoothie (about 250 cal)
Afternoon snack: Varies (100 - 150 cal)
Dinner: Varies (300 cal)
Snack: Varies (200 - 300 cal)

I really like dessert... but it's normally something low sugar or sugar free, in case that matters. Anyway, what I'm worried about IF I'm eating too little is that I'll gain a bunch of weight by increasing my caloric intake. I've read that your body adjusts to what you give it, so by eating 1200-1400 calories per day for 5 years, that's what my body is used to. So if I eat more I'll gain a bunch of weight. On the other side of things, if I want to lose weight, I have to eat next to nothing.

Advice? Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    If you increase your calories, yes you may gain some weight. Not a bunch though. Your body will adjust to the new higher calories that you are eating and then the weight will start coming off. As long as you are eating under what your maintenance calories should be.

    Just set your MFP activity to sedentary. Eat back exercise calories. Keep up with it and it will begin to work. Also you must log, weigh and measure your food to know exactly how much you are eating.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Disclaimer: I haven't logged anything in a very, very long time at myfitnesspal.

    Unless you're losing weight like a concentration camp victim, the answer is "No".
  • vitani88
    vitani88 Posts: 8
    Unless you're losing weight like a concentration camp victim, the answer is "No".

    Gonna be honest... Based on what you quoted, I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Gonna be honest... Based on what you quoted, I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me.

    Without logging, the only way to figure out if you're eating to excess (or the opposite) is with the scale. Eating "too little" will lead to extensive and rapid weight loss - if your scale isn't showing you that, you aren't eating "too little".
  • Aikigoth
    Aikigoth Posts: 40 Member
    Unless you're losing weight like a concentration camp victim, the answer is "No".

    I have to disagree. Its not a black and white process. You could not be eating enough to fuel healthy grow and just be idling yourself. There is a reason that athletes are really paranoid about their food- the difference between good and great is really slim.

    For the average person (which you sound like) thankfully it isn't that crazy.

    ----

    From the numbers you gave the standard formula for BMR says 1342. That is what you need to survive a coma. You said you did little around the day and you jog a bit. I think that would put you in sedentary to the beginning range of lightly active. That is a 1.2 to 1.375 multiplier ontop of your BMR to get you to not lose weight.

    That comes out to 1610 to 1845 for an estimated range. HOWEVER, you said you have been on a low calorie since for 5 years- that probbaly has hit your metabolism (not to mention the stress you are going thru). So I doubt you are a good candidate for standard metabolic rate modeling.

    Please, consider finding a dietitian to help you figure this out. I wouldn't be surprised if you have very little lean body mass; this ok for a 26 year old but we don't stay young forever!
  • vitani88
    vitani88 Posts: 8
    Gonna be honest... Based on what you quoted, I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me.

    Without logging, the only way to figure out if you're eating to excess (or the opposite) is with the scale. Eating "too little" will lead to extensive and rapid weight loss - if your scale isn't showing you that, you aren't eating "too little".

    I've been logging for 5 years. I log every now and then to make sure that I'm eating what I -think- I'm eating.
  • vitani88
    vitani88 Posts: 8
    From the numbers you gave the standard formula for BMR says 1342. That is what you need to survive a coma. You said you did little around the day and you jog a bit. I think that would put you in sedentary to the beginning range of lightly active. That is a 1.2 to 1.375 multiplier ontop of your BMR to get you to not lose weight.

    That comes out to 1610 to 1845 for an estimated range. HOWEVER, you said you have been on a low calorie since for 5 years- that probbaly has hit your metabolism (not to mention the stress you are going thru). So I doubt you are a good candidate for standard metabolic rate modeling.

    Please, consider finding a dietitian to help you figure this out. I wouldn't be surprised if you have very little lean body mass; this ok for a 26 year old but we don't stay young forever!

    Thank you for your reply! I think you might be right about finding a dietitian (I wonder if insurance covers that...). It sucks that I might have screwed up my metabolism. I wonder if that's something that can be reversed.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    You should really ask your doctor some of these questions.

    Everyone is different. What works well for one person might not work so well for another.

    Do what you want to do, what you'll be happiest doing right now. See how it works. If it doesn't work, you can always change later. If it does work, then yay! You get to keep doing what you want.

    You may decide, as you go along, to change what you're doing. That's cool, too.

    If it works for you, it's the best way to go. :)
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    It sucks that I might have screwed up my metabolism.

    You didn't.

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