Help with calories.

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Hiya,
i'm just wondering why when i barely reach 1000 cals a day why i'm putting on weight.

a typical day for me is
breakfast: a piece of fruit or a slice of wholemeal toast with a scrape of margarine.

Lunch: a piece of fruit.

Dinner: Generally something without carbs or as little carbs as possible. always a small portion (i use a side plate as a main plate)

i hardly ever snack. and drink loads of water.

I go for a 30 min walk 6 days a week

the weight is still piling on and it's making me depressed so i was wondering if anyone has any kind of tips or tricks or any advice that might help me.

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    You are eating more than you think. There ain't no way eating 1000 calories a day and not losing weight.
  • Juvenica
    Juvenica Posts: 460 Member
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    I can hardly believe you might keep eating like this every day , this doesn't look like 1000 cal , I'll give you that. So, in my opinion either you're not logging every food you eat, or you are eating on a barely minimum on one day then feasting (binge eating) on the next. I'd advice you to try to eat more regularly, or try to log in every food.
  • wyattj99
    wyattj99 Posts: 454 Member
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    Well if you say 1000 a day than your not eating enough, never go below 1200 a day. If your working out as you say you definitely need more calories than 1200. EAT MORE and healthy!
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    flower1988 wrote: »
    Hiya,
    i'm just wondering why when i barely reach 1000 cals a day why i'm putting on weight.

    a typical day for me is
    breakfast: a piece of fruit or a slice of wholemeal toast with a scrape of margarine.

    Lunch: a piece of fruit.

    Dinner: Generally something without carbs or as little carbs as possible. always a small portion (i use a side plate as a main plate)

    i hardly ever snack. and drink loads of water.

    I go for a 30 min walk 6 days a week

    the weight is still piling on and it's making me depressed so i was wondering if anyone has any kind of tips or tricks or any advice that might help me.

    How long have you been doing this? How do you feel? Are you hungry or tired often?
    Are you logging your food at all?

    I think you should eat more food and try to get a more balanced diet. I wouldn't think you would be getting enough of anything if you typically eat like that. You don't have to restrict your food so severely to lose weight.
    I would aim for a minimum of 1200 calories but you might need more. MFP probably gave you a number over 1200 but there are other places on the internet you can look to figure out how many calories also.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    Do you use a food scale to weigh the fruit you eat and the margarine you put on the toast?

    Also, you should be eating a minimum of 1,200 calories daily.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    You're not eating enough so your body is not going to let go of the little bit of nutrients you giving it. Just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean you have to starve yourself. Please read this page to understand how you can eat normally and still be able to lose weight.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3817-eat-more-2-weigh-less
  • flower1988
    flower1988 Posts: 9
    edited November 2014
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    To be honest i've been doing this for a good year now. am on metformin for my pcos also that's why i have to restrict carbs because i have to eat a diet for my insulin resistance. I feel tired all the time, just run down and really ill. i think i need to go back to the doctor again because everyone i see says i look really ill. MFP advised me to eat 2020 cals a day. i don't know how to eat that many calories. i'm logging everything that goes into my mouth and it's around 1000-1050 cals a day. i'm at the end of my tether with it all. even before i was "dieting" i was eating healthy and it just annoys me how i can eat healthy and pile on weight yet other people can eat as much as they want and never put on a pound.
    thankyou for the advice people. it's much appreciated.

    (edit: i thought i should mention, i'm under a hospital dietician and the calorie amounts are only slightly under what has been suggested for me)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    You say you restrict carbs but breakfast and lunch are both just carbs?
  • ChrisM32205
    ChrisM32205 Posts: 218 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I agree with some of the other posters.. you are eating more than you think.

    Start weighing/measuring your food and read the labels.

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    wyattj99 wrote: »
    Well if you say 1000 a day than your not eating enough, never go below 1200 a day. If your working out as you say you definitely need more calories than 1200. EAT MORE and healthy!

    While this is true, if the OP was really eating 1000 calories, she would be losing
  • agl59
    agl59 Posts: 6
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    Your body is hanging on to every morsel as it feels you are starving it. I am following iifym.com and have tweaked it a bit. I am getting my totals here on fitnesspal. I'm 5 ft 5in weight 179 last week and just started metformin last wed. Im already down 1.8 pds but eat every 3 hrs. My carbs are 135-150 per doc suggestion. Protein was set for 170 as I'm lifting heavy and to make up for carb drop. I also do less carbs on non gym days. Also make sure you are getting enough healthy fats. I also have hypothyroid and hypertension so I really have to watch my sodium and not go over 1300mg. It's hard eating my calories with the metformin but I make myself eat small meals 5x daily. 1500 cal a day minimum although 1700 is what I should be doing with this lifting schedule. I also do the pool 4x a week.
  • getstrongkaylen
    getstrongkaylen Posts: 137 Member
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    definitely should be eating more. i know its hard sometimes, but you shouldnt feel guilty about eating... just as eating all the unhealthy stuff all the time is an unhealthy relationship with food, so is practically starving your self to lose weight... at first i stuck to a 1200 cals a day, but i upped it to 1500 and it hasnt really done anything to my weightloss goals.. also like other people have said, eat correct portion sizes... we live in world where bigger is better- so we arent necessarily trained to eat know the correct sizes to eat!
  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
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    flower1988 wrote: »
    Hiya,
    i'm just wondering why when i barely reach 1000 cals a day why i'm putting on weight.

    a typical day for me is
    breakfast: a piece of fruit or a slice of wholemeal toast with a scrape of margarine.

    Lunch: a piece of fruit.

    Dinner: Generally something without carbs or as little carbs as possible. always a small portion (i use a side plate as a main plate)

    i hardly ever snack. and drink loads of water.

    I go for a 30 min walk 6 days a week

    the weight is still piling on and it's making me depressed so i was wondering if anyone has any kind of tips or tricks or any advice that might help me.

    Chances are, you're not.


    You're either grossly underestimating calories, not being honest about what you're actually consuming, or you have a medical issue. I would invest in a scale, log accurately for a couple of weeks and if you still continue to gain weight, get to the doctor!

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I'm a diabetic in remission, because I have lost a significant amount of weight. I was on Metformin for more than a decade. I was also under the direct supervision of a dietitian.

    Only when I was preparing for surgery did my dietitian (under close supervision) order a less than 1200 calories diet for a couple weeks. And when I was on that liquid diet, I was in no shape for exercise, I was so weak.

    Where is the protein in your meals? You need to stagger your protein throughout your day. The wholemeal toast and the fruit at lunch are going to spike your sugars because there aren't adequate proteins and fats included to sustain you.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    flower1988 wrote: »
    (edit: i thought i should mention, i'm under a hospital dietician and the calorie amounts are only slightly under what has been suggested for me)

    If you are sure about your calorie amounts (or that what you described is an accurate reflection of what you eat on a day to day basis), keep good records and go talk to your dietician and doctor. It would have to be a medical problem.

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    agl59 wrote: »
    Your body is hanging on to every morsel as it feels you are starving it. I am following iifym.com and have tweaked it a bit. I am getting my totals here on fitnesspal. I'm 5 ft 5in weight 179 last week and just started metformin last wed. Im already down 1.8 pds but eat every 3 hrs. My carbs are 135-150 per doc suggestion. Protein was set for 170 as I'm lifting heavy and to make up for carb drop. I also do less carbs on non gym days. Also make sure you are getting enough healthy fats. I also have hypothyroid and hypertension so I really have to watch my sodium and not go over 1300mg. It's hard eating my calories with the metformin but I make myself eat small meals 5x daily. 1500 cal a day minimum although 1700 is what I should be doing with this lifting schedule. I also do the pool 4x a week.

    Grumpy-Cat-dashing-no.jpg
  • skinny0000
    skinny0000 Posts: 90 Member
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    If that is truly all you are eating, I don't believe you would have the fortitude in your fingers to even type.
  • martyqueen52
    martyqueen52 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    You eat terribly, IMO. Eating one piece of fruit per meal isn't helping your body in any way, period. I don't need to be a registered dietitian to tell you that.

    Get a good scale, weigh food, track it in MFP... ACCURATELY.

    If you're still not losing weight eating under 1000 calories *rolls eyes*, go to a doctor.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    You're not eating enough so your body is not going to let go of the little bit of nutrients you giving it.
    I don't know where this idea came from, but I really wish people would stop with the broscience.

    The body works on chemistry, physics, thermodynamics, etc.
    It doesn't have a brain.
    It has to burn calories (energy) to run. If it stops doing that, you die.
    If you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight because the energy has to come from somewhere.
    For some people with metabolic disorders that may need to be a scary low number (arrived at in consultation with their doctor).

    51637601.png
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    flower1988 wrote:
    i've been doing this for a good year now. am on metformin for my pcos also that's why i have to restrict carbs because i have to eat a diet for my insulin resistance.
    But 2/3 of your intake is carbs, some simple, some complex.
    Where's the protein, healthy fat, vegetables, whole grains?

    http://www.diabetes.org/
    Click on "food & fitness" to get help planning healthy meals.
    I feel tired all the time, just run down and really ill.
    Not surprising, because you're barely eating enough to fuel a toddler & you're not getting a balanced diet.
    i think i need to go back to the doctor again
    Yes. And take a printout of your food diary for a couple weeks. I'm sure s/he will have something to say about that.
    MFP advised me to eat 2020 cals a day. i don't know how to eat that many calories.
    Add healthy fats: nuts, olive oil, avocado, salmon.
    Increase your protein intake, esp. fish, chicken, lean cow or pig.
    Eat beans & legumes. Lots of healthy carbs, insoluble fiber, protein, very low fat.
    it just annoys me how i can eat healthy and pile on weight yet other people can eat as much as they want and never put on a pound.
    Everybody's body is different in re metabolism.
    Also, they may be doing more exercise than you. If you want to stick with walking, have you considered increasing your time, distance, pace, difficulty (choose a route with hills), doing speed intervals (jog 30, walk 90)?
    (edit: i thought i should mention, i'm under a hospital dietician and the calorie amounts are only slightly under what has been suggested for me)
    Then go back and talk with her, show her your food diary for a few weeks. I'm betting she will make major changes because you're not eating a healthy balanced diet.