Too few calories?

Sue8822 wrote: »

Hi folks - I've been on MFP now for a few weeks and I was hoping to lose at least 2 pounds per week. I'm 5'2" and currently weigh 204lbs (have lost 17 so far!). I have been following a pretty strict 1200 calorie/day plan and have been trying to eat pretty much just whole foods, nothing processed. I drink about 4-6 glasses of water daily (no diet soda or anything other than the odd glass of 1% which I count). For some reason, this week, I only seemed to lose 1 lb! I know, better than gaining and I'm reaping the benefit of eating healthy but I wondered if maybe I'm eating too few calories? I'm not hungry based on what I'm eating but feeling a little discouraged I will be joining our local gym in a week or so but other than that, I have an office job and don't really get any exercise. Sorry to be so long winded but I know some of you have been on here for a while and thought you may be able to offer me some advice! Thanks in advance.

Exercise is great, but you might actually gain some weight from it although it is unlikely with so few calories being eaten. If you expect weight loss to be linear, the exercise might be a disappointment as far as weight goes, but it will really help reduce the fat over the long run and will help in many other ways.

I actually think you are trying to lose weight too fast. Running such a deep calorie deficit for a long period runs the risk that your body might just adapt to it. You might be only eating 1200 kc but your body might adjust your metabolism lower so that it isn't burning anywhere near 1000 kc a day of fat. When that happens you likely feet tired, or cold or just generally crappy.

It is good that you are trying to eat healthy foods. In my own case I wend from 103 kg to 92 kg in about a year and then up to 94 kg over the next two years. I was exercising very hard during those two years and did lose fat. In those two years my waistline (Over the belly button) went from 106 cm to 103 cm. Then a little over 4 months ago I cut deserts and after experience a large reduction in hunger I cut way back on refined sugars to about a quarter of what I was eating. Since then my weight has dropped to 86 kg and my waist line to 88 cm. For me refined sugar was worse than calories. I'm currently eating around 2400 kc a day average. However I do exercise more than 500 kc worth a day. Some days I eat a lot less, some a lot more. If you exercise really hard it is difficult if you don't eat more.

The point of this is you have to find what works for you. If massive calorie restrictions work for you, then more power to you. Just keep in mind that things may change from time to time on what works. Also if you mix things up don't expect consistent results. What is important is the long term trends.