Not losing weight because eating too few calories?

RadiantNebula
RadiantNebula Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone,
Let me start out by saying that I am not overweight but I do have some fat that I would like to lose. I am a 5 foot 2, 23 year old female and I started out three months ago at 118 lbs. I am now down to 110 but I seem to be stuck there. I eat really well and I exercise (circuit training or elliptical) for 60 minutes a day, 6 times a week. I eat about 800-1000 calories a day. I am wondering if this is too few, could this be the reason that I am plateauing on my weight loss? (My goal is 104 by the way.)
Thank you so much!

Replies

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    No, increasing calories will not cause you to lose weight. You do far too much cardio, you are already at a low weight, even for your height...
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    You're at your ideal weight. Why would you need to lose more? Eating that few calories a day is NOT healthy.
  • Amanda4change
    Amanda4change Posts: 620 Member
    Your calorie intake is way to low, especially with the amount of cardio that you are doing. I suggest increasing your calories and adding some weight training to your workout.
  • cookmtn
    cookmtn Posts: 156 Member
    The closer to goal you are the slower you should go. You run the risk of losing muscle mass as well as fat. I would add in heavy weight lifting, less cardio, and measure yourself as opposed to the scale. My daughter is 5' 2", does judo and jiu jitsu, as well as weightlifting, and maintains 108 lbs on well over 2000 cals a day.
  • desidieter
    desidieter Posts: 195
    With your stats, you don't need to lose weight; you just need to shape up. Strength/weight training will help you achieve this.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    your goal weight is unsustainable.

    3 of those cardio days should be resistance training

    And I'd be eating around maintenance which "should" be somewhere around 1650 to 1900 if you don't have some metabolic adaption going on. You may want to increase to this over a few weeks as it is likely that your metabolism is slower than normal because of lack of intake plus lots of cardio.
  • newdaydawning79
    newdaydawning79 Posts: 1,503 Member
    With your stats, you don't need to lose weight; you just need to shape up. Strength/weight training will help you achieve this.

    ^^ This
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Yes, 800-1000 is too low for your activity level, and the exercise program you are doing isn't going to get you to your goal of losing fat, especially with such a low calorie intake eating away all your muscle. What would be more appropriate for your goals is to do a body recomp, in which you eat at a modest deficit (set MFP to lose 0.5 lb per week), get lots of protein, and lift heavy weights with the goal of retaining muscle and losing fat.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I don't believe that eating more will help you lose more, but you're thin enough that trying it out won't hurt! Go for it!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I eat the same calories as you, except I'm 5"8 and don't exercise. I'm not losing either :-(
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    with all that activity, you really should be eating more.
    Do you weigh and measure your foods, I'm just curious on how your determining your exact intake for the day??
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    Are you saying that you only work on the elliptical 6 days a week? Maybe you need to switch it up and give your body a shock.
  • GeeWillickers
    GeeWillickers Posts: 85 Member
    Based on the activity level you've given us if you have been eating that low of an intake for a sustained period of time then you will need to increase your calories or cut back your activity. Slowly increase (reverse dieting) your calories and go from there.
  • swmartin322
    swmartin322 Posts: 1
    I had the same problem a few years back. I was biking about 25-30 miles 6-7 days a week and eating healthy, lots of protein especially, but I was stuck at 140 (I'm 5'5"). My son (who was 18 at the time!) told me he didn't think I was eating enough for all the exercise I was doing. I started eating more and those last 10 pounds just melted away! I agree, you definitely need to eat more than 800-1000 calories. You're putting your body into starvation mode and it's hanging on to every bit of fat it can! That's what I love about myfitnesspal...it takes the guesswork out of your calorie requirement taking into consideration your exercise. I agree, you're aiming at a pretty low weight for your height. And, the less you have to lose, the harder it may be. Good luck!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Eating too little does not cause plateaus.

    Open your diary....

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