Is My Nutritionist Wrong?

Your calculations look fine, and that's being aggressive with a goal of two pounds per week of weight loss. Most people would eat even more calories and aim for 1 pound per week.

It's definitely time to find a new nutritionist.

Based on the numbers you came up with, it seems like you know how much you can eat and still lose weight. I am a long time recovering restrictive eater (600-900 while walking 10 miles daily at my worst) and I can tell you, if I go below 1400 for a few days I'm close to the "danger zone" for my own mental health. You really don't need to pay a nutritionist to figure out what works for you, especially one who tells you 1000 calories a day is a good idea.

badwolf4 wrote: »

Problem is she's the only one available within the ED program. I'm going to try and transfer to a different center perhaps. It's a longer drive, but it's probably worth it.

Wow. Please report her for the benefit of all the patients.

YESSSS SHE IS WRONGGGGGG!

Also, she should go to jail, she is seriously going to encourage someone to slowly starve themselves to death?

If it were me, I'd look into having my BMR checked. If you've been on a very low calorie diet for a while, it's possible, likely even, that generic online calculators will not be correct for you. By finding your correct BMR, you can form a plan that fits your needs.

If that is not practical for you, then I'd simply tell your nutritionist that you aren't comfortable with such a large deficit and you'd like to try eating more at first. If you really aren't losing, then you can adjust.

good god. hell no she's way off and unprofessional and should be fired and fined and sued. get far far away from her, but first report her and make sure she isn't ever allowed to doll out her ridiculous dogma to anyone else.

This is a sensitive area of course because as you have mentioned, you have a history of disordered eating. I would like to first tell you that you're very brave for sharing that, I know it can be hard to talk about. So thank you for that.
I also appreciate your attitude of wanting to do this healthily. It's very hard to change our thinking once we've been down that dark road of disordered eating, but of course it is possible!
I think you should tell your "professional" Gail to go piss off. She sounds soooo helpful..... A nutritionist is NOT a dietitian. A nutritionist is NOT a professional. Anyone can be a nutritionist.
A dietitian on the other hand IS a professional, as that is someone who has a 4 year degree at an undergraduate university and also holds a Master degree. You should speak with a dietitian. A dietitian will be able to give you much more beneficial and useful advice and meal plans. A dietitian will also be able to give you guidance for managing your eating disorder. An eating disorder is not something you should try to tackle on your own. There are many places to reach out to, and I suggest that you do. You don't have to face recovery alone!

All that said, in the meantime while you schedule appointments for a DIETICIAN and reach out to either a guidance counselor, counseling, therapy, what have you, I would say please, please, IGNORE GAIL!! Do not follow that horrid advice. You're math appears correct to me, but again, I would verify this all with a PROFESSIONAL. I would say eat at 1547 calories. That's a less aggressive goal than 1398, so probably 1 lbs loss a week.
Considering that you do have a disordered eating history, I would suggest that for you, working on sustainable, healthy eating habits and thinking patterns towards food in general will be more helpful than trying to lose 2lbs a week. Slow and steady wins the race It's far better to be in a healthy state of mind than to lose yourself again to disordered thinking!

i apologize for the super long response! I just want you to know that mental health is just as important as physical health and you don't need to be alone to find a balance between the two! Please reach out to health care providers!

Best of luck to you, and I hope you find a balance and reach a healthy mental state!

On a side note, in some countries, nutritionist is the term for the regulated, certified professional. If the OP is outside the US, the advice to seek a dietician may not be accurate. That said, what ever certification this nutritionist may have, she's clearly not qualified for her job.

badwolf4 wrote: »

Yesterday I had an appiontment with her and she recommended I should eat no more than 1000 to 1200 calories a day and run/walk 5-6 miles per day to burn ~600 calories off. Specifically she said 500 calories net.

I am extremely not comfortable with this. Heavy exercise loads + low calorie intake is a guaranteed way to strip away lean body mass.

*Guaranteed* - there's no room for discussion - it *will* happen.

500 net calories sounds very similar to the quackery that people call the HCG diet. Where they ridiculously restrict calorie intake, give you some bunk supplement, then tout how much weight you lose. Of course people lose weight at 500 calories...you're hair also falls out from nutrient deficiency after a while. Not healthy at all!

I'll second someone else's recommendation to see a certified dietitian, they have actual degrees and have to have ongoing training and licensing.