I don't understand

kellicarter11
kellicarter11 Posts: 178 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok I have been doing pretty good on losing weight. I've lost 14 lbs, the problem is every time I eat more than 900 calories I gain it back. I go to Zumba at least once a week for an hour and I also have the zumba fitness game. I walk everywhere and try to make sure I always stay under my fat grams. I can eat the 800 cals a day and not feel hungry, but I am scared its not healthy, I also do not want to become anorexic...can some body please help me
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Replies

  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
    You're right, that's not healthy ... AT ALL
    You need to eat 1200 minimum and all of your calories burned through exercise, you need to eat back.
    Skinny doesn't always = healthy. You may become thin the way you're doing things, but your body will begin to shut down & fail you. You need to feed your body.
  • GreatSetOfBrains
    GreatSetOfBrains Posts: 675 Member
    You should NOT have to eat that few calories. I would try to do a JM video or something maybe 3 time a week. .
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    Believe it or not, you are actually eating too few calories. It worked for a while, but now you are bouncing up and down because your body is going catabolic. This is a very common problem, and unfortunately, people don't understand that the longer they stay catabolic, the hungrier they will be while in fact they will plateau and/or even gain weight.

    Here is a nice explanation.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing?hl=for+people+who+work+out+like+crazy

    It seems counter-intuitive, but 1-2 weeks eating correctly and your body will be back in sync and you'll be losing nicely.

    blessings.
  • yanicka
    yanicka Posts: 1,004 Member
    Please please read this

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing
  • debdptg
    debdptg Posts: 94 Member
    When you eat that little, you metabolism slows down and your body holds onto its weight. You need to let your body know that you are not starving it so it can rev up your metabolism. Eat about 1200 net calories a day, with some days even a little more. It sounds wrong, but it is true. You are not eating enough calories to loose weight.
  • yanicka
    yanicka Posts: 1,004 Member
    In short....you are trying to kill yourself and your body won't let you.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Ok I have been doing pretty good on losing weight. I've lost 14 lbs, the problem is every time I eat more than 900 calories I gain it back. I go to Zumba at least once a week for an hour and I also have the zumba fitness game. I walk everywhere and try to make sure I always stay under my fat grams. I can eat the 800 cals a day and not feel hungry, but I am scared its not healthy, I also do not want to become anorexic...can some body please help me

    If this is the case then your are probably already in "starvation mode" and your metabolism has slowed down due to not being fed enough over a period of time, and now if you eat normal your body will store it as fat, as it does not know when it will be fed again.

    The best thing to do is change your goal to 0.5lbs loss/week or maintenance, and eat all the calories including what you burn from exercise. Do this for 4-6 weeks, you may gain the first few weeks, due to slowed your metabolism down, but after that your metabolism will start running properly again then you can switch to a 0.5 to 1.0 lb loss per week goal and go from there, and don't eat under 1200 Net calories, or you will have this happen again.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    .. eventually ur body will slow down so much u wont beable to loose... if u gain weight after you eat more; what r u looking at the scale everyday? Your body needs 1200 calories a day just to survive, and if you eat 800 calories and then burn off alot of that doing zumba, your probably at under 200 calories... if u dont give ur body enough fuel, it starts to eat ur muscle cuz it has to get its fuel from somewhere...

    r u gaining weight due to not having enough water? r u gaining because u had to much salt? u need to make sure u drink plenty of water (and no caffeine because it depletes your water)... if u dont drink enoug ur body holds onto toxins and then your weight can go up as much as 5pounds overnight... its just sodium retintion...

    if uve been in starvation mode, eating more could see a slight gain while your body adjusts, but youll loose faster if your eating enough calories... u gotta stick with it for weeks though, and not expect results over night.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    p.s.; i weigh 272 pounds and can get full off of under 500 calories a day; doesnt mean i should!!
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    Ok I have been doing pretty good on losing weight. I've lost 14 lbs, the problem is every time I eat more than 900 calories I gain it back. I go to Zumba at least once a week for an hour and I also have the zumba fitness game. I walk everywhere and try to make sure I always stay under my fat grams. I can eat the 800 cals a day and not feel hungry, but I am scared its not healthy, I also do not want to become anorexic...can some body please help me

    If this is the case then your are probably already in "starvation mode" and your metabolism has slowed down due to not being fed enough over a period of time, and now if you eat normal your body will store it as fat, as it does not know when it will be fed again.

    The best thing to do is change your goal to 0.5lbs loss/week or maintenance, and eat all the calories including what you burn from exercise. Do this for 4-6 weeks, you may gain the first few weeks, due to slowed your metabolism down, but after that your metabolism will start running properly again then you can switch to a 0.5 to 1.0 lb loss per week goal and go from there, and don't eat under 1200 Net calories, or you will have this happen again.

    completely agree.. at one point several years ago i shut down my metabolism and even though i went back up to a normal amount of calories and was dieting and wtching what i ate, i gained weight because i had no metabolism left and had to wait for it to rebuild itself; which takes along time--weeks... for some people who have been in starvation mode for long periods of time, it could take years; so quit doing what ur doing while your ahead and get ur body in a healthy place.
  • GreatSetOfBrains
    GreatSetOfBrains Posts: 675 Member
    In short....you are trying to kill yourself and your body won't let you.
    Funny but true. . I can eat iceburg lettuce. . . how much = 1200 calories (what I eat a day) . . A LOT and i would be stuffed . but robbing my body of what it needs
  • GreatSetOfBrains
    GreatSetOfBrains Posts: 675 Member
    In short....you are trying to kill yourself and your body won't let you.
    Funny but true. . I can eat iceburg lettuce. . . how much = 1200 calories (what I eat a day) . . A LOT and i would be stuffed . but robbing my body of what it needs
  • bgelliott
    bgelliott Posts: 610 Member
    Ok I have been doing pretty good on losing weight. I've lost 14 lbs, the problem is every time I eat more than 900 calories I gain it back. I go to Zumba at least once a week for an hour and I also have the zumba fitness game. I walk everywhere and try to make sure I always stay under my fat grams. I can eat the 800 cals a day and not feel hungry, but I am scared its not healthy, I also do not want to become anorexic...can some body please help me

    You need to figure out how many calories you are burning in a 24 hour period and then put yourself in a 500 - 1000 calorie deficit from that number. Here is a great link to give you a general idea of where you are with your current activity level http://my.apexfitness.com/vip/content/fitness_calculators.php

    If you walk everywhere and this has been a part of your lifestyle for a while, you cannot consider that exercise because your body has become used to it. You should be doing cardio at least 3-4 times per week aside from your walking everywhere and make sure that after 3 weeks you change it up as your body will adapt to new workouts every 3 weeks. I would also recommend adding resistance training to your workouts 3 times per week, also changing it up every 3 weeks. Adding muscle will help in burning fat and overall weight loss. Some women are afraid of weight lifting because they think they will get bulky. This is a myth. Women do not have the hormones to bulk up the way men do and the ones who do bulk up for bodybuilding are on a very serious diet and training program.

    Good luck with your goals!
  • kellicarter11
    kellicarter11 Posts: 178 Member
    Ok I want you guys to understand on the days that I exercise I do eat more than that and lately I've been trying to eat 1000 cals...according to the websites I burn 1600 cals a day......I have made my diary open to see if that will help, cuz I really don't feel like I have ate low enough long enough to be in starvation mode
  • jujubean1992
    jujubean1992 Posts: 462 Member
    i would say make sure your left over calories isn't more than 100 every night. you might gain a bit at first because your metabolism is slowed down. you'll start losing again eventually.

    EDIT: i noticed that your always under on your calories... check what your deficit that MFP gives you is and as long as you don't go over by more than that your in the clear... yeaterday was a cheat day for me i went over by 745 calories but my deficit is 750 so it still said "if everyday were like today, in 5 weeks you'd weigh 148.8" my current weight is 149.4
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Ok I want you guys to understand on the days that I exercise I do eat more than that and lately I've been trying to eat 1000 cals...according to the websites I burn 1600 cals a day......I have made my diary open to see if that will help, cuz I really don't feel like I have ate low enough long enough to be in starvation mode

    Unless your are 5' and 100 lbs 1000 calories is not enough on days you don't workout, and no where near enough on days you do. Eat more, much more. Set your goal to 0.5 lb lose/week and eat 75% of the calories you burn from exercise. Like I said before you may put on a few pounds at first until your metabolism gets back to normal, then you will start to lose again, and at that time you could probably change to 1 lb loss/week but you should still eat 75% of your exercise calories. If you use a HRM to get cals burned you should eat 100% of them, if you go by the machine or MFP stick with 75% of them.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,442 MFP Moderator
    I would say you are eating about 600 - 1000 calories too few. If you are working out a lot, you really need to eat. Food is fuel and without fuel your body will eat the muscle which will decrease your basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is the amount of calories you burn if you slept for 24 hours. By some quick guesses, your BMR is 1400-1500 calories. If you add that plus your activity level to get your total daily energy expended, your body burns around 2000-2200 calories in a day. If you back off 500 calories, you need to intake around 1800 caloires to lose weight. If you eat less than that, you are hurting your results and your body. You aren't getting the nurtrients your body needs to function properly. Erick is dead on with this. You will be surprised how much faster you will lose if you eat properly. Below is a very good calculator which has helped me. The only downside is, you need your body fat.




    http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
    Are you counting your calories right? If you aren't using these already, use a food scale and measuring cups/spoons with EVERYTHING to make sure you're not over- or under-counting. Pay attention to serving size on nutrition info labels, too.
  • kellicarter11
    kellicarter11 Posts: 178 Member
    I'm five two and according to MFP they give me a 400 calorie deficit, I don't exercise every day I don't have the time. I am lucky if I get to once a week. I don't want to lower my goal I want to continue to lose weight. My goal weight is 118 and according to many websites that is the high end of the weight chart for my height. So I appreciate you guys trying to help me, my thing is I just don't understand why I gain weight when I DO eat 1200 cals. if MFP says I SHOULD be losing it. Also my metabolism is slow it always has been.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I'm five two and according to MFP they give me a 400 calorie deficit, I don't exercise every day I don't have the time. I am lucky if I get to once a week. I don't want to lower my goal I want to continue to lose weight. My goal weight is 118 and according to many websites that is the high end of the weight chart for my height. So I appreciate you guys trying to help me, my thing is I just don't understand why I gain weight when I DO eat 1200 cals. if MFP says I SHOULD be losing it. Also my metabolism is slow it always has been.

    You gain because you have been under eating for too long and have damaged your metabolism. You need to eat more to get your metabolism working again. This may cause a short term weight gain, but once your metabolism returns to normal you can lower your intake to 1200 and start losing again, just don't weigh yourself for the first 2-3 weeks of increasing your caloric intake.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,442 MFP Moderator
    Here is the thing, to get to your weight goal and to make sure you are maintaining muscle mass, you have to eat more. I have had to increase my caloric needs 2 times to keep losing weight. Food is fuel. The more muscle you develop and the closer you get to your goal, the more you have to eat to maintain that weight lose. When I started, i was 210 and 18% body fat. I was doing p90x which fairly extreme (you burn on average 600-800 calories per workout). First round, I lost 16lbs and 3% body fat. Great!! Second round, I was till eating 2000 calories a day so you would think I woudl lose more. Couldn't have been more wrong. Didn't lose anything. So i changed my diet, and started eating more after I did some research. I eat 2600 calories and started doing chalean extreme ( a less intensive and not as long workout where I burn 400-600 caloires a time) and I lost 3% body fat again and 6 lbs. But I also lost 6" around my abs hips and waist. The bigger thing is, I plateau 2 times while I did this workout over the past 90 days. Each time, I increase my calories and started losing again.

    Morale of the story, you need to feed your body to lose fat and not muscle.
  • JustMichelleB
    JustMichelleB Posts: 290
    A quick peak at your diet reveals a lot of fairly unhealth food choices.
    Have you thought of adding more lean protein, fruits and veggies? Less carbs, sweets/processed stuff?
  • mericksmom
    mericksmom Posts: 222 Member
    START EATING MORE.. Try 1200 then 1800 cals (YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT AT FIRST) but this is due to your body is now trying to HOLD onto everything. I did this to myself and sadly I have had to RESTART the process to start losing the weight. If you dont do this now it will take LONGER to lose the weight and harder for you in the long run.
  • mericksmom
    mericksmom Posts: 222 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/208407-how-to-repair-a-damaged-metabolism-stavation-mode?hl=repairing+starvation


    this article here tells you why you are gaining and what you need to do to fix it. I dont want you to make the same mistakes I made for 8 years. I wish you luck and hope your weight loss is a LOT better than mine.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,442 MFP Moderator
    A quick peak at your diet reveals a lot of fairly unhealth food choices.
    Have you thought of adding more lean protein, fruits and veggies? Less carbs, sweets/processed stuff?

    Agreed, a lot of processed and unhealthy foods..


    i would suggest getting some eggs, chicken, turkey, lean beef and fruits/veggies. It is suggested to stay away from refined sugars as they tend to spike insulin and store to fat quickly.
  • kellicarter11
    kellicarter11 Posts: 178 Member
    My only choice of eating are what I can cook in a microwave or what the caf makes for dinner.......
  • jllipson
    jllipson Posts: 646
    Add in salads, if you can with meat, hard boiled eggs and cheese (will add protein), get some beef sticks or something like that to increase your protein also. I see a lot of sugary cereals, are there alternatives for that - maybe frosted mini wheats (while it has carbs, it also has fiber), Special K, or others that advertise fiber, or something else that might be higher in fiber and lower in carbs? Another snack or breakfast alternative can be a granola bar or fiber 1 bar.

    I would also suggest adding at least 1 additional meal/snack per day, that could add 200 - 300 calories, depending on what you choose. You need to find some way to add onto your calorie intake.
  • DrawnToScale
    DrawnToScale Posts: 126 Member
    I just took a look at your food diary over the last week or so. You're consistently not eating enough protein, and also consistently overeating on sugar by 200% - 300%. That can't be healthy! Why all the sugary snacks?
  • PlanetVelma
    PlanetVelma Posts: 1,223 Member
    A quick peak at your diet reveals a lot of fairly unhealth food choices.
    Have you thought of adding more lean protein, fruits and veggies? Less carbs, sweets/processed stuff?

    Agreed, more fruits/veggies & less processed stuff. If you can only eat certain stuff because that's what they serve in the cafeteria than you should evaluate your choices.

    As an example - instead of having french toast - have scrambled eggs & plain wheat toast (egg sandwich anyone?). Or go buy a loaf of wheat bread and have a peanut butter sandwich in the AM. Order a hamburger but ditch the bun and ask for extra veggies.

    Or go to the store and buy lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado, etc...and make yourself a nice salad. There is a lot of stuff that you can buy that can be a healthy w/out having to cook it.
  • Jaradel
    Jaradel Posts: 143 Member
    Based on what you've said and a peek at your profile I'm guessing you live on campus. While you are at the mercy of the dining hall, it is still possible to make healthy food choices. I lived on campus for my first year of college and ate D-hall food, and while I didn't make the best choices, even back then in 1994-95 there were healthy options to be had. Is there a salad bar? Do they offer veggies with the daily entree at supper? Whole wheat bread in addition to white? Any fresh fruit available at breakfast?

    It's not just about quantity of calories, it's also the quality of the food you eat. That's not to say that you can't have your Dove chocolates and the occasional snack bag of chips, but you do have to hit the basic food groups - lean proteins, fruit and veg, whole grains, and some healthy fats too (e.g. olive oil).
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