Worried that my diet is starting to affect my health

Options
2»

Replies

  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
    Options
    My maintenance is 1350. I maintained for 4 months last year until I slipped a little and gained some weight back. I suspect it'll be 1350 for life, which is tough but is what it is. I'm 5'2" and 62.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,675 Member
    Options
    There are a lot of causes of low iron besides diet. Hopefully, your doctor will address some of them. If you are female, it can be because of heavy periods. It can also be internal GI or colorectal bleeding. Could be too many NSAIDs.

    I have had issues off and on with low iron for the past few years. I eat a fairly high iron diet and take a multivitamin. In December, I had serious energy issues so got tested and they found low ferritin/iron stores. I started taking iron supplements and it made a big difference. I also had a colonoscopy to see if there was something internal going on. That was negative, so I have no answers as to why, but I have been able to treat the symptoms, so I'm happy.

    So talk to your doctor about the cause and what next.
  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
    Options
    I had very low iron for a long time - I was on a low cal diet but the 2 causes were 1) I didn't eat any iron rich foods 2) I had a digestive disorder (celiac) so any nutrients I ate were not being absorbed anyway.

    I used to go to the hospital once a month to get infusions of iron, and took vitamin B shots weekly that helped with iron absorption. I was an extreme case but you should check these factors.

    You might find that even though people are saying 1300 is not too low, that it may be too low for YOU - everyone is different. If your body can't process the food (in whatever quantity) you are giving it something will stop or break - perhaps for you thats absorbing iron...

    Im not a doctor of course, just sharing my experience.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Options
    I agree with all of the suggestions to try a supplement and/or enriched food. I'm a vegetarian who has been eating 1200 cal/day for over two years and my iron levels are normal. Of course, your body is different, but my point is that a low calorie goal in itself may not be the problem.

    However, if you are in a situation in which you can find a different doctor, I'd recommend considering that. (I know that's not possible for everyone.) No one should feel like their concerns are being dismissed by their doctor. You deserve to have your medical concerns respected.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    Options
    I became anaemic for the first time in my life after losing weight rapidly on mfp, which is why I now choose to lose slowly. I think part of the issue was that calorie counting didn't make me eat more healthily, whereas other methods of weight loss always had, therefore not triggering the anaemia.

    I was also told I had to supplement, and that food wouldn't be enough, so I supplemented and took care with food. Annoyingly, a lot of foods prevent iron absorption, including spinach and dairy, but there are plenty of lists on line to help with that.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Options
    I doubt that the low calorie amount is the issue. All the charts are based on non-disabled people. When you are forced to sit all day, you aren't going to burn as many calories as someone who can walk around.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
    Options
    Sorry Timothy - this lady has an exercise bike which has been adapted for her. I think that is wonderful. She is way more active than myself.
  • VeroniqueBoilard
    VeroniqueBoilard Posts: 71 Member
    Options
    The heart palpitations should be check. Weight loss makes you loose muscle. Your heart is a muscle. There is a very real risk that your heart muscle was affected. Please talk with a doctor again just to be on the safe side?
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Options
    Well, the easiest thing to work out maintenance is just to work out your weekly losses for the last say two months you had consistent losses. And depending on those numbers you'll know your maintenance. I'd hazard it is more than 1300 even in your situation.
  • TheSkyBlushed
    TheSkyBlushed Posts: 153 Member
    Options
    Lushchicken wrote: »
    Hey you guys, bit of a special case here. I'm a 35 year old woman and a wheelchair user. I got disabled 10 years ago and the pounds started piling on. This made me incredibly miserable and after a long search I found something that worked: My Fitness Pal at 1200 cals per day. I ate like that for a whole year and finally ended up with a body I can accept. However, I also knew that staying on such a low cal diet wouldn't be healthy (MFP suggests 1700 cals per day, based on height, activity levels etc.) So I went to 1300. 6 months ago I went to my doctor for a routine blood test and my iron levels showed up as too low. This has never happened to me. He was dismissive when I suggested it might be related to my diet. I'm going in for another blood test in a couple of days and am petrified of my iron levels still being too low. I've done a lot of reading and some experts seem to suggest that diet does not affect iron levels? I know that I should up my iron intake but find it hard to do so on 1300 cals. A couple of weeks ago I started getting heart palpitations (I also suffer from anxiety, so this might be related) and I now worry that the amount I eat is really screwing up my body. This makes me miserable because I want to keep my figure and I'm not sure I can go much past 1300-1400 cals without gaining weight due to my disability. It's very hard to find any kind of calorie intake suggestion for a person in my situation.
    I move as much as I can. I have an adapted exercise bike for arms and legs which I use daily to get at least SOME cardio.

    So yeah, I'm a bit stumped. I will address all of this with my doctor, of course. But do you think that eating 1300 could really affect my iron levels/heart? And how do I find the courage to eat more? I know it's too little because I start every day feeling nauseous because I'm starving.

    Include a few grass fed beef items per week... loads of iron.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Options
    @fiddletime
    fiddletime wrote: »
    My maintenance is 1350. I maintained for 4 months last year until I slipped a little and gained some weight back. I suspect it'll be 1350 for life, which is tough but is what it is. I'm 5'2" and 62.

    You're 62? Holy Cow -- you look more like 30.

    Agree with beef + spinach. Add some blue cheese and walnuts and you have a delicious salad!
  • Lushchicken
    Lushchicken Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    Thanks guys! Timothy: I am as active as possible and am certainly burning more than I eat, otherwise I wouldn't have lost any weight. I'm well aware that the charts aren't targeted at disabled people, that's why I am not planning to eat anywhere near 1770 cals for maintenance as suggested by MFP. My base metabolic rate is around 1400 so I think that I shouldn't be gaining much weight eating around that many cals.

    Tons of good food suggestions, thank you! I don't think the 1300 cals were the issue, but simply what I ate. I maybe had beef or darker meats once a month, if that and didn't supplement with iron rich veggies or pulses. Had another consultation with my doctor and my iron levels are still a bit low but stable. He might put me on supplements for a short time but I'm determined to sort out my nutrition. My doc was kind enough to refer me to a nutritionist for a couple of sessions just because my situation is a bit out of the ordinary.
  • red99ryder
    red99ryder Posts: 399 Member
    Options
    one thing to remember is you wont undo all your weight loss at once ,, so if your over a little on calories the scale will catch it and you can correct , i have heard alot look at a 5 pound range for weight

    Good luck
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Options
    It's your choice of calories, not the total qty. Eat iron rich foods or get a good multi vitamin (?)
  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
    edited January 2017
    Options
    If you've arrived at a body you can accept then why stay with a reduction diet? You ought to be able to move to maintenance, and eat a little more. That ought to help with all your nutrition, not just your iron levels. You'll have to experiment a little, since your actual calorie needs are going to be different from someone with no mobility issues, bit you can still do it.

    I say that because if you were losing on 1200, and only added 100 calories a day, that's unlikely to be your maintenance level and it sounds as if on some level you still intend to lose. Even my totally disabled son, about 5'8" and 145 lbs and who cannot get even the limited amount of exercise available to you, more or less maintains on 1500 calories. (We know exactly how many because he's tube fed, and that's how much formula he gets.)

    That sense of "heart palpitations" may well be stress or anxiety -- it sounds similar to my stress symptoms when they show up -- but you'll want to rule out a serious issue anyway.
  • Lushchicken
    Lushchicken Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    Thank you Ccsernica! I agree, my maintenance will be higher than 1300. I also feel like I'm still losing weight so yes, I need to up my calories for sure. Will take it slow, as everyone suggested and experiment a bit. I did talk to my doctor about the heart palpitations yesterday and he attributes them to the lowered iron/blood levels. I'm on supplements now and feel like they've already improved a bit. I also suffer from generalised anxiety disorder and have trouble managing stress, so that could be a factor.
  • sugaraddict4321
    sugaraddict4321 Posts: 15,720 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Lushchicken wrote: »
    ...I was discouraged by my doctor telling me that it's usually not possible to up your iron levels with food...

    I also have issues with low iron. My doctor told me our bodies have two iron levels. One of them is your baseline that should be in the body all the time, sort of like your reserve you need to function. The other is the one that fluctuates based on what you eat, etc.

    If your reserve iron level is too low then you may need medical intervention such as an injection or prescribed supplements to bring it back up. It's hard to get that level back to normal quickly with just diet. If your doctor is recommending medical intervention then please consider it in addition to adding high-iron foods to your diet.

    As someone else said, iron is best absorbed along with vitamin C. It's also best on an empty stomach, although that can lead to nausea. When I need them, I take my supplements with orange juice. Good luck!
  • Lushchicken
    Lushchicken Posts: 7 Member
    Options
    Ah fab, that makes sense! I am currently taking an over the counter iron supplement but he might prescribe stronger supplements. I'm totally fine with that.

Categories