Why eating too little calories is a bad idea.....

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

jasummers76 wrote: »

Excellent read and info. I do question the 1 to 2 pound weight loss for individuals who are obese meaning over say 50 pounds. I for example started at 350. I lost weight in the early stages of my journey at around 15 to 20 a month. Then I would maintain to insure I could embrace the new changes in eating. Then I would eat in deficit and lose more, then maintain and so forth. Of course in the beginning I would gain some back as I was still learning my bodies needs. I am now at 270 with a average weight loss of 3 to 4 pounds a week. I do not undereat and some weeks the scale will go up as like anyone but the 1 to 2 pound thing in my opinion can not be the rule for all body types.

@jasummers76 that's an average 1-2 pounds per week over a longer period, my own weight swings up and down with water retention up to 5lb but those are normal fluctuations, the trend over time is still around 1lb per week. Some people who are extremely obese can lose more and I think it's recommended no more than 1% of your body weight as a weekly rate. Either way the 1-2lb rate is a general recommendation for your average person. Those who have less to lose need a lower weight loss rate, those have more to lose can get away with a bit more.

if I would have continued with the calorie deficit in the beginning I would have lost more then the two pounds per week with.some exceptions. But as a former yo yo Dieter when I had lost the intial weight of I think it was 38 pounds in two months I decided that I wanted to eat at maintenance to see if I had really changed my eating habits. I was under the care of my doctor and nutrionist who advised me along my journey. They are the ones that advised me to do the maintenance calories for several months, and for me it was the right choice. I like many would go on crash diets lose a bunch of weight to only gain it back plus more. This time around it is not a race for me as it has been in the past. I still am averaging more then the two pounds per week which my doctor and nutrionist said is common for a man of my size with the increase of activity that is becoming a part of every day life for me. I know it will lesson as I get closer to my goal but the "recommendation" of this or that is in my opinion to generalized as each person is very different.

I'd like to expand in the hair loss issue, just to help people who may be experiencing some, and wondering what's behind it. Having completely lost my hair during chemotherapy some years back, I kind of understand the mechanics.

Think of your hair as a cylinder of protein being extruded from your scalp. (This is a little bit metaphorical, but close enough.) When you consume too few calories, too little protein, or insufficient amounts of certain other nutrients, your body can decide that hair is a lower priority than other body functions more essential to continued life. The rate of extrusion slows, and the cylinder may be narrower, or less strong. This creates a weak point in the hair shaft.

If the situation is borderline, some hair strands may be weaker than others at that scalp-level point of new growth. Brushing, or the weight of the strand, makes some break.

If you're doing chemotherapy, this stress is abrupt and general. My hair started falling out in big clumps about 3 weeks after the first chemo - the effect is not subtle. But, if the problem is caloric/nutritional, it can happen more gradually - it won't be instant, it may not be all at once.

It's not that your hair falls out - not that it literally ejects from the hair follicles. It's that it weakens/thins, and breaks off.