Calories too low??
KristaCatherine87
Posts: 56 Member
I'm 5'11 298.5 lbs (was 324.8 09/24/16) 29 years old. I usually eat between 1,000-1,300 cals a day. I've lost roughly 26 lbs eating this way. Am rarely ever hungry and work out (DVDs walks or elliptical) about 5 times a week. Is this okay? If I up my calories will I gain or will my loss slow down? I'm in no rush to lose it just wanna do it safe and for long term. My diary is opened if that helps. Any feedback would be great. Thanks 
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Replies
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I measure everything yup. I'm just afraid that upping my calories will put the bit of weight I've lost creep back on or stop me from losing.
But I've heard eating too little can stop you from losing too. That's why I'm trying to fix it now rather than later.0 -
Yes, assuming your logging is accurate, and many people who are new to this are not accurate in their logging because they estimate serving sizes, use volume measures that are meant for liquids (cups, measuring spoons, ml) for solids rather than weighing them with a kitchen scale, or use incorrect database entries here than have incorrect calories, then you are eating too little. 1200 calories a day is considered the minimum for the average woman to get the nutritional requirements she needs. Since average is about 5'4" or so, you are substantially above that, and so you calories are way too low.
This is not in terms of weight loss, because that is a function of eating less calories than your body burns, but primarily in terms of what you lose as a very large deficit will result in losing more lean body mass like muscle along with the fat which is not a good thing.
Also, in terms of nutrition, eating so little will result longer term in nutritional deficiencies because you are simply not eating enough to provide what your body needs as vitamins and minerals are all provided by what you eat.
Finally, such a huge deficit will result in a far higher likelihood of failing to maintain your deficit long term. Yes, you feel fine now, personal experience tells me that won't continue.
My personal suggestion is to set up your goal with Myfitnesspal for a 2 pound per week loss since you are currently 298 pounds. Then seek to reach that goal logging calories as accurately as possible. Remember, the goal of this whole process is to learn to eat properly to maintain a healthy weight long term. Right now, again assuming your calories are correctly logged, you have went from the disordered eating pattern of eating too much, to a disordered pattern of eating way too little.4 -
funeraldirector87 wrote: »I'm 5'11 298.5 lbs (was 324.8 09/24/16) 29 years old. I usually eat between 1,000-1,300 cals a day. I've lost roughly 26 lbs eating this way. Am rarely ever hungry and work out (DVDs walks or elliptical) about 5 times a week. Is this okay? If I up my calories will I gain or will my loss slow down? I'm in no rush to lose it just wanna do it safe and for long term. My diary is opened if that helps. Any feedback would be great. Thanks
Given your stats, your TDEE is likely close to 2600 calories, give or take depending on exercise. That means it would take you about 2600 calories per day to maintain your current weight. Anything under this will allow for weight loss.
At your current weight, you can afford to eat a bigger deficit. I would start with eating around 1800 calories. 1,000-1,300 calories is quite low for you, and you will likely burn out eating this way for an extended period of time.
Make sure you are logging everything accurately, and adjust your calorie goals after about every 10 lbs lost.
Eating too little will not make you hold on to weight. It just is not sustainable, and if you eat more to begin with, you can always adjust down little by little if you need to.
Congrats on your weight loss so far!3 -
funeraldirector87 wrote: »I measure everything yup. I'm just afraid that upping my calories will put the bit of weight I've lost creep back on or stop me from losing.
But I've heard eating too little can stop you from losing too. That's why I'm trying to fix it now rather than later.
You say you measure everything.. but do you WEIGH everything. What you get with spoons and cups can be WAY off the serving size in WEIGHT. There are videos floating on this site about it.
But if you don't weigh - you should start.. you will be surprised.
with the weight you have to lose though, I wouldn't think that it would be that important right now... more when you are closer to goal... so either you are really ingesting more than you think.. or perhaps there is something medically?
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Great job on your loss but it is not sustainable to lose this fast long term. Plus loose skin and muscle loss. Eat your TDEE -1000 to lose 2 pounds a week. they say to lose no more than 1% of your bodyweight a week. Good luck!
Edit TDEE-1000 seems more reasonable actually.0 -
funeraldirector87 wrote: »I measure everything yup. I'm just afraid that upping my calories will put the bit of weight I've lost creep back on or stop me from losing.
But I've heard eating too little can stop you from losing too. That's why I'm trying to fix it now rather than later.
To be honest, if you don't think eating how you're eating now is going to be maintainable for ever, you're probably going to gain it back anyways. The only way the weightloss will stay off, is if you can make it a lifestyle change. And also, I'm not surprised you've lost that much weight only eating 1100 calories a day. I was losing at 1500 and I'm 6'0" so close to your height. I recommend checking out a weightloss calculator online or following mfp's guidelines. At 5'11", mfp shouldn't have put you at 1000 calories a day. For one, I don't even think mfp allows you to complete your diary under 1200.
Good luck!1 -
funeraldirector87 wrote: »I'm 5'11 298.5 lbs (was 324.8 09/24/16) 29 years old. I usually eat between 1,000-1,300 cals a day. I've lost roughly 26 lbs eating this way. Am rarely ever hungry and work out (DVDs walks or elliptical) about 5 times a week. Is this okay? If I up my calories will I gain or will my loss slow down? I'm in no rush to lose it just wanna do it safe and for long term. My diary is opened if that helps. Any feedback would be great. Thanks
PS, I just checked and your diary isn't open.0 -
tracymayo1 wrote: »funeraldirector87 wrote: »I measure everything yup. I'm just afraid that upping my calories will put the bit of weight I've lost creep back on or stop me from losing.
But I've heard eating too little can stop you from losing too. That's why I'm trying to fix it now rather than later.
You say you measure everything.. but do you WEIGH everything. What you get with spoons and cups can be WAY off the serving size in WEIGHT. There are videos floating on this site about it.
But if you don't weigh - you should start.. you will be surprised.
with the weight you have to lose though, I wouldn't think that it would be that important right now... more when you are closer to goal... so either you are really ingesting more than you think.. or perhaps there is something medically?
I have one of those videos you reference. Watch this, OP, it's eye-opening.
https://youtu.be/XpHykP6e_Uk 4 -
5'4 my goal is 1790 but i eat about 1500 w/ loosing 2lbs a week sw: 295.5 cw: 266.1 in 64 days w/ 5 days of zumba
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OP lost 26 pounds in 3 weeks. I don't think inaccurate logging is the issue here0
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IMO, you are losing way too fast. I'm pretty sure MFP says your calories should be in the 1400s - before exercise. While it's fun to see the numbers drop fast - it isn't sustainable for the majority of people. My advice is to back off the throttle - eat the number of calories MFP gives you and aim to lose 1-2 lbs per week.1
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If you're losing weight and feeling good, then your plan is fine.
Remember that on MFP, you'll have many many people tell you that you are wrong simply because your approach differs from theirs!
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TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »If you're losing weight and feeling good, then your plan is fine.
Remember that on MFP, you'll have many many people tell you that you are wrong simply because your approach differs from theirs!
You can feel fine and have medical issues that crop up from losing too fast. Your body needs food for fuel.4 -
Chef_Barbell wrote: »TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »If you're losing weight and feeling good, then your plan is fine.
Remember that on MFP, you'll have many many people tell you that you are wrong simply because your approach differs from theirs!
You can feel fine and have medical issues that crop up from losing too fast. Your body needs food for fuel.
Yep. Like hair starting to fall off in huge amounts due to bad nutrition and your hormones going out of whack.
Tested those - not fun3 -
Wait, you've lost 25lbs in less than a month, I'd up it a bit, that is fine at first, but not sustainable IMHO. Set a reasonable goal when you're this heavy, say 1.5lbs/week, stick to that until you are within 20-30 lbs.1
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When I see new users and choose to add advice or answer their question, I try to keep it simple.
She says that
She's feeling fine.
She's exercising and active.
She's losing weight.
Going from almost 325 pounds to 298 in three+ weeks is a lot of weight quickly, BUT, it's not an insane amount.
Based on my own experience, there doesn't seem to be anything for her to worry about, especially since this is the first month.1 -
Three weeks is not long enough to know if you're "feeling fine".
When you first start out on a lifestyle change with diet and exercise, you're running on adrenaline.
Usually when people start to feel like crap, they are further into their new program. Then they see that what they're doing is not sustainable and is wearing them down.
Fast weight loss, and 25 lbs in less than a month is very fast, can cause substantial muscle loss, which long term will lower your BMR and mean you have to eat less and less each year to maintain your loss.
Keeping what muscle you already have, as best you can, while losing weight should be paramount to anyone, no matter your size, sex, or age.0 -
OP lost 26 pounds in 3 weeks. I don't think inaccurate logging is the issue here
She is eating at a huge deficit. The issue with logging, at least for me, is more a matter of right now even if here logging is way off, she will still have a huge deficit since her goal with deficit would probably be close to 2000 calories a day. Eating at 1000 a day means about a 1000 calorie buffer for any inaccuracies which is why I bring it up. If she is accurately logging, the point remains, she is eating far to little.1 -
TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »When I see new users and choose to add advice or answer their question, I try to keep it simple.
She says that
She's feeling fine.
She's exercising and active.
She's losing weight.
Going from almost 325 pounds to 298 in three+ weeks is a lot of weight quickly, BUT, it's not an insane amount.
Based on my own experience, there doesn't seem to be anything for her to worry about, especially since this is the first month.
No one is saying that she has to stop what she's doing right now. Many clinically obese patients do well on a lower intake (that is monitored by a doctor) to lose weight quickly, since they are at a greater risk being clinically obese than they would be eating a low calorie diet for a short period of time. I would still not recommend less than 1200 calories, though, unless she is being advised by her doctor.
What we are trying to tell her is that she can lose weight eating more, so that when she does burn out on this low amount (which she will), she can up her calories to a more sustainable number and still lose weight.2 -
TheLegendaryBrandonHarris wrote: »If you're losing weight and feeling good, then your plan is fine.
Remember that on MFP, you'll have many many people tell you that you are wrong simply because your approach differs from theirs!
How one feels is not an indication of whether they are eating enough. The issue here is sustainability and health.1 -
funeraldirector87 wrote: »I measure everything yup. I'm just afraid that upping my calories will put the bit of weight I've lost creep back on or stop me from losing.
But I've heard eating too little can stop you from losing too. That's why I'm trying to fix it now rather than later.
Eating less cannot stop you from losing weight, that doesn't actually make sense. What eating too little can do is cause uneccesary muscle loss and overall damage your general health and wellbeing through lack of nutrition and extreme fat content of your diet (understanding that your body makes up those calories by consuming fat, your fat, but fat nonetheless.
Eating extremely low amounts you will eventually have to stop doing that and when you stop chances are you will put much of the weight back on. Its much better to take it slow with a smaller deficit. If you have a lot to lose you can safely lose 2 pounds per week or a deficit of 1000 calories per day. If you are eating 1000-1300 a day you are way way past that.0 -
Honestly, at 5'11, even with your current weight, I feel 1200 is too low a base to shoot for. I mean, I can't even net 1200 for any period of time before I need to eat all the things and I'm 5'5.
Sure, when you're bigger your body is better able to handle a large deficit but there is a point where it's foolhardy from a long term health perspective. And also from the perspective that you have to be in this for the long haul and when you start at the bottom where do you go? I'd slow the losses, up your intake a bit and settle in to adjusting to your new normal.0 -
funeraldirector87 wrote: »I'm 5'11 298.5 lbs (was 324.8 09/24/16) 29 years old. I usually eat between 1,000-1,300 cals a day.
I'm 5'10", 280 pounds (started at 397 02/01/16) and 28 years old. I eat up to my calorie goal of 1640 (2lbs per week loss) nearly every day. I could take another 500 off pretty easily. I imagine I'd 'feel' fine. But my feelings can't really be trusted as accurate considering they led me to weighing 400 pounds.3 -
VintageFeline wrote: »Honestly, at 5'11, even with your current weight, I feel 1200 is too low a base to shoot for. I mean, I can't even net 1200 for any period of time before I need to eat all the things and I'm 5'5.
Sure, when you're bigger your body is better able to handle a large deficit but there is a point where it's foolhardy from a long term health perspective. And also from the perspective that you have to be in this for the long haul and when you start at the bottom where do you go? I'd slow the losses, up your intake a bit and settle in to adjusting to your new normal.
I completely agree.
I personally would not put myself through the torture of eating 1200 calories if I didn't have to. And OP certainly doesn't have to.
In the short time that she's been doing it, it has probably not caused her harm, and she is probably overestimating her intake anyway. Though, moving forward, I would push for a more sustainable deficit, since long term I think 1,200 calories at her height is neither healthy nor sustainable. I would say 1600-1900 calories would be a good range for her to shoot for, as long as she's focusing on logging as accurately as possible.0 -
funeraldirector87 wrote: »I'm 5'11 298.5 lbs (was 324.8 09/24/16) 29 years old. I usually eat between 1,000-1,300 cals a day. I've lost roughly 26 lbs eating this way. Am rarely ever hungry and work out (DVDs walks or elliptical) about 5 times a week. Is this okay? If I up my calories will I gain or will my loss slow down? I'm in no rush to lose it just wanna do it safe and for long term. My diary is opened if that helps. Any feedback would be great. Thanks
I'm going to take your stats from your description and use a TDEE calculator to predeict what your deficit would be averaging 1150 calories a day. I'm using the following calculator:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
And entering your stats selecting 3-5 hours a week of moderate exercise. I'm also selecting to lose fat at the fastest rate of -25% off TDEE which even then is above what is recommended
It predicts your TDEE to be 3,320 calories which seems about right. Given that it suggests that for the fastest weight loss you should be eating 2500 calories per day. You are eating half of that.
So to answer your question, no you aren't eating enough. Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is 2150 calories and you are eating almost half of that and exercising. That isn't good for you.
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I tried putting my own stats into http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and what it says is spot on what I am doing. Putting in my stats and 5-6 hours strenous per week my TDEE is 3100 and it recommends at the safe -20% TDEE to eat 2400 a day which is what I am doing for 1.2 pounds lost per week which is the rate I am currently losing at.0
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I'm 6'0", 27 years old, and 296lbs, so almost your exact stats. I've lost over 70lbs so far and I eat all the way up to my calorie goal of ~1700kcal before exercise, and often above 2000kcal with exercise. There's no reason for you to be eating so little. You have a lot to lose, just like I do, and starving yourself to do it will cause you health problems and a lot of unhappiness.
Eat sustainably and you'll be more likely to stick with the journey. I'd advise against "listening to your body" in most hunger cases. My body got me up to almost 400lbs, I don't really trust it.3 -
I weigh myself on monday mornings and then type that new weight as my starting weight so that the calorie allowance on mfp adjusts accordingly, then put my original starting weight back in. I have only ever consumed the cals that this app suggests and havent deliberately dropped them lower than necessary. If youre struggling then you need to up them. If youre not then you probably wouldn't have posted this 0
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As mentioned above OP you do need to eat more. There may be a short term adjustment period due to the additional calories where you have a gain or no weight loss at all, but once the adjustment period is over, weight loss should kick in.
Better to have the short term adjustment period over long term compromising of health due to consistent significant under eating.0
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