Not Eating Enough Calories to Lose Weight
electricmoogaloo
Posts: 5 Member
I'm by no means overweight but last year I was on SSID's which pushed my weight up past what I'm comfortable with. I'm trying to loose it now, but my weight will not budge and I think it's because I don't eat enough calories, on a normal day I usually only eat about 1,400. Can anyone suggest ways increasing my calorie intake (like foods I should be eating for example) or suggest anything I could be doing to stop my body being in starvation mode?
Thanks!
Thanks!
0
Replies
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No that's not right. You can't increase calories to lose weight .. what you can do is tighten up on your logging, weigh everything, log it carefully, never use cups, check calories against packages and other calorie databases, never use other people's homemade recipes and don't overestimate your exercise burns using the MFP database (cut them in half)
That's general advice .. if you want specific you will need to set your diary to public
PS it's Lose weight... and when you do your clothes will become loose0 -
PPS Starvation mode doesn't exist (well something like it does but not in the way dieters like to use the term)... it's unfortunately one of those bro-science made-up myths that is constantly perpetuated by media and well-meaning friends
Also see .. carbs make you fat, good carbs and bad carbs, sugar is bad for you, meal timing matters, breakfast is important .. all nonsense
Count calories with care to eat at a defecit and move more
If your numbers don't work over a month or 6 weeks and you're not losing weight, cut your calories or increase your exercise0 -
No that's not right. You can't increase calories to lose weight .. what you can do is tighten up on your logging, weigh everything, log it carefully, never use cups, check calories against packages and other calorie databases, never use other people's homemade recipes and don't overestimate your exercise burns using the MFP database (cut them in half)
That's general advice .. if you want specific you will need to set your diary to public
PS it's Lose weight... and when you do your clothes will become loose
Sometimes you can increase calories to lose weight. I have seen it work several times when people are eating very little and exercising too much. OP...if you are exercising a lot and never eating more than 1400 it could be your problem. How much do you exercise and how much do you weigh?0 -
I exercise most every day, walking around half an hour each way to work and when I'm not sick (like now) I do interval cross training for half an hour most mornings. I weigh 10st 10 and I'm 5"11. The cross training has made no difference so far and I think my body is kind of used to my normal eating habits and walking. I'm not really sure where to turn next!0
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Try taking one day and eating 2800 calories. Your weight will probably swing up but disregard the scale for a few days. Your calories are a bit low and this 'spike' day should get you moving. If you are going to maintain 1400 calories, do this spike day once a week. If this doesn't work, please message me and I will help.-2
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Thanks for the advice! In the past I've found I've only really lost weight inadvertently through eating nutritionally dubious foods or not enough of anything so if I could lose a few pounds in a healthy way that would be awesome. On days where I spike my calories does it matter what I eat?0
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How do you eat on a normal day?0
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No that's not right. You can't increase calories to lose weight .. what you can do is tighten up on your logging, weigh everything, log it carefully, never use cups, check calories against packages and other calorie databases, never use other people's homemade recipes and don't overestimate your exercise burns using the MFP database (cut them in half)
That's general advice .. if you want specific you will need to set your diary to public
PS it's Lose weight... and when you do your clothes will become loose
Sometimes you can increase calories to lose weight. I have seen it work several times when people are eating very little and exercising too much. OP...if you are exercising a lot and never eating more than 1400 it could be your problem. How much do you exercise and how much do you weigh?
Nope .. You can't .. cos Science!0 -
I scrolled back through a couple weeks and you don't eat 1400 or under very often, so I don't think starvation mode is a concern. I'd suggest tightening up logging to weigh everything and eat only half your exercise calories for a while to see how it goes. Doesn't look like you've been at this all that long yet, so give it a little time. I see you've only identified 10lbs to lose, so that will and should go slowly... I also note you eat a lot of carbs and not much protein. While it's doesn't always matter where you get your calories, some bodies don't like carbs much in weight loss (mine is one of them). If things aren't working, try lowering your carbs (not necessarily very low carb or keto or anything--just a lower % of your macros) and upping your protein to see if that helps.0
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No that's not right. You can't increase calories to lose weight .. what you can do is tighten up on your logging, weigh everything, log it carefully, never use cups, check calories against packages and other calorie databases, never use other people's homemade recipes and don't overestimate your exercise burns using the MFP database (cut them in half)
That's general advice .. if you want specific you will need to set your diary to public
PS it's Lose weight... and when you do your clothes will become loose
Sometimes you can increase calories to lose weight. I have seen it work several times when people are eating very little and exercising too much. OP...if you are exercising a lot and never eating more than 1400 it could be your problem. How much do you exercise and how much do you weigh?
Nope .. You can't .. cos Science!
I guess what I have seen didn't really happen then?0 -
You are not losing weight, because you are eating too much, not too little. If you were indeed eating 1400, being active and not losing, it would have been weird. But your loggings so most days no exercise or slow paced walking and that you are eating closer to 1700 or more calories, which especially if you are not overweight or very tall, it is probably around maintenace for a lightly active woman.0
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No that's not right. You can't increase calories to lose weight .. what you can do is tighten up on your logging, weigh everything, log it carefully, never use cups, check calories against packages and other calorie databases, never use other people's homemade recipes and don't overestimate your exercise burns using the MFP database (cut them in half)
That's general advice .. if you want specific you will need to set your diary to public
PS it's Lose weight... and when you do your clothes will become loose
Sometimes you can increase calories to lose weight. I have seen it work several times when people are eating very little and exercising too much. OP...if you are exercising a lot and never eating more than 1400 it could be your problem. How much do you exercise and how much do you weigh?
Nope .. You can't .. cos Science!
I guess what I have seen didn't really happen then?
See, everybody can learn
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PPS Starvation mode doesn't exist (well something like it does but not in the way dieters like to use the term)... it's unfortunately one of those bro-science made-up myths that is constantly perpetuated by media and well-meaning friends
Also see .. carbs make you fat, good carbs and bad carbs, sugar is bad for you, meal timing matters, breakfast is important .. all nonsense
Count calories with care to eat at a defecit and move more
If your numbers don't work over a month or 6 weeks and you're not losing weight, cut your calories or increase your exercise
^^^ this ^^^0 -
Try messing with your macros more. Increase your protein and fat and reduce your carbs (not cut them out- but make sure they're super clean and not processed). Sometimes it's all about balance. All calories are not created equal.0
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I'm thinking of upping my calories since I workout too much...is that wrong?0
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Try messing with your macros more. Increase your protein and fat and reduce your carbs (not cut them out- but make sure they're super clean and not processed). Sometimes it's all about balance. All calories are not created equal.
Actually all calories are equal - 1kcal = 1kcal. It's a scientific unit of measurement!0 -
I only scrolled back to a few days, but I noticed on the order of 300 calorie burns for exercise and you're eating the full amount. For someone your size, that's an awfully high burn for the activity you've noted. Try cutting the calorie burn estimate for your exercise in half at least. If you're getting them from MFP, they are notoriously inaccurate.0
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OP - you are probably eating more than you think, or burning less in exercise than you think.
If you eat less calories than you take in, then you will lose weight (unless you have an obscure medical condition). Simples.
Edit - I see you log 45g of porridge oats for brekky. Do you have these with just water? If you have milk, then that needs to be logged.0 -
snoringcat wrote: »Try messing with your macros more. Increase your protein and fat and reduce your carbs (not cut them out- but make sure they're super clean and not processed). Sometimes it's all about balance. All calories are not created equal.
Actually all calories are equal - 1kcal = 1kcal. It's a scientific unit of measurement!
Right- but your body doesn't process all calories the same way.0 -
You are not losing weight, because you are eating too much, not too little. If you were indeed eating 1400, being active and not losing, it would have been weird. But your loggings so most days no exercise or slow paced walking and that you are eating closer to 1700 or more calories, which especially if you are not overweight or very tall, it is probably around maintenace for a lightly active woman.
I'm not sure how you think I'm eating too much. I usually cross-train almost every day, something I've been doing since before I started my profile here but I've been ill the past week and haven't been doing it. I walk about an hour every day in all regardless. When cross training my weight started to go up, not sure if it was building muscle and not losing fat, or if my muscles were retaining water. Still there's been no change in my weight in the last month. I log pretty much everything I eat here too.
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Do you have a way to calculate body fat and muscle mass? Your body might be changing without your weight changing. try keeping some other measurements and use those. I still say increase your protein intake. If your body is recompositioning you want to get more protein so you don't break it down from your muscle.0
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You can't lose weight by eating more calories. At best, eating too much will make you sick and your body will purge from one or both ends, so that some of those calories go undigested. But there's no guarantee of that and even if there were, it isn't a healthy way to lose weight. If you aren't losing weight, you're either eating more than you realize, exercising less than you realize, or both.0
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Maybe I've missed something but at 5ft 11 and 10st 10lbs you sound like you are an ideal weight already - why do you want to lose any?0
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electricmoogaloo wrote: »I'm by no means overweight but last year I was on SSID's which pushed my weight up past what I'm comfortable with. I'm trying to loose it now, but my weight will not budge and I think it's because I don't eat enough calories, on a normal day I usually only eat about 1,400. Can anyone suggest ways increasing my calorie intake (like foods I should be eating for example) or suggest anything I could be doing to stop my body being in starvation mode?
Thanks!
Where does this come from?
No. Really.
Why is this bit of tripe so prevalent out there? It's almost universal. How does it spread? Why does it stay alive?
I.
Give.
Up.
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I think you might have two problems.
1) I could be wrong because I know some people do diary entries in an exact way that does look like they aren't weighing food (I tend to do this lol), but it appears you have some things you aren't weighing. When you aren't losing, that's the first thing you should make sure is 100% accurate.
2) I think your exercise calories are off. 30 minutes yielding a 450 calorie burn is likely an overestimate for you. This is not to say you aren't working hard. It's just likely burning less calories than you think. We all tend to overestimate. That's why many only eat back half the exercise calories. You appear to be eating back those calories completely. It would definitely have an effect on weight loss. On top of that, I'd stop logging the walking. It's to and from work. More than likely, you've got another overestimation problem there. I'd just consider that part of more normal activity for the day. At the very least, I'd strongly suggest you stop logging those walks. Even if you are using an app or tracker that is telling you that you're walking at a pace of 3.5, MFP overestimates the amount of calories for that anyway. You're just eating back more than what you actually burned.0 -
electricmoogaloo wrote: »You are not losing weight, because you are eating too much, not too little. If you were indeed eating 1400, being active and not losing, it would have been weird. But your loggings so most days no exercise or slow paced walking and that you are eating closer to 1700 or more calories, which especially if you are not overweight or very tall, it is probably around maintenace for a lightly active woman.
I'm not sure how you think I'm eating too much. I usually cross-train almost every day, something I've been doing since before I started my profile here but I've been ill the past week and haven't been doing it. I walk about an hour every day in all regardless. When cross training my weight started to go up, not sure if it was building muscle and not losing fat, or if my muscles were retaining water. Still there's been no change in my weight in the last month. I log pretty much everything I eat here too.
You ARE eating at maintenance if you're not losing weight. You are overestimating the calorie burn you get from exercise and eating all the calories from that, creating a situation where you're consuming enough calories to be at maintenance.
Stop counting your incidental walking calories and cut the burns from your workouts in half, and then maybe you will see the scale move again.
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Starvation mode doesn't exist. If you're not losing, you're not in a deficit.0
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Try taking one day and eating 2800 calories. Your weight will probably swing up but disregard the scale for a few days. Your calories are a bit low and this 'spike' day should get you moving. If you are going to maintain 1400 calories, do this spike day once a week. If this doesn't work, please message me and I will help.
If she's not losing at 1400, all doubling her calories one day of the week would do is increase her daily average to 1600. She wouldn't lose on that either if nothing about her diet/exercise was changed other than adding those extra 1400 on one day. That's not a "fueling the body" solution...it's literally just piling in more calories one day a week.0 -
Try taking one day and eating 2800 calories. Your weight will probably swing up but disregard the scale for a few days. Your calories are a bit low and this 'spike' day should get you moving. If you are going to maintain 1400 calories, do this spike day once a week. If this doesn't work, please message me and I will help.
If she's not losing at 1400, all doubling her calories one day of the week would do is increase her daily average to 1600. She wouldn't lose on that either if nothing about her diet/exercise was changed other than adding those extra 1400 on one day. That's not a "fueling the body" solution...it's literally just piling in more calories one day a week.
I wouldn't recommend something if I didn't think it would work. I have helped dozens and dozens of people through the years lose weight, many of which had a similar issue. The body is not a calculator...it just doesn't work that way. We have taken the human body, an extremely complicated miracle, and reduced it to simple math problem. Sometimes the math works. Sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, I try to find the solution.0
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