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

I Sincerely hope I'm not tried to g what someone has all ready stated here but, when you start to deprive your body of food and this calories your bodies have been conditioned over hundreds of years that the body behind to feel that the lack of food is indicative of the body being deprived of food due to famine or inability to feed itself. Therefore the body goes into "starvation mode" and begins to hold onto all of the calories it can! Just in case good becomes scarce!

Sphinxesnest wrote: »

I am struggling. My doctor placed me on a diet of 800 to 1000 calories a day with carb restrictions as well. And I have gained 7 lbs. And that is with exercise. But it hasn't been a full week yet. I saw some posts said wait 3 weeks to see results.

If you're pre-menopausal, at the right point in your monthly cycle, and just started that exercise program besides, not to mention in the throes of excessive calorie restriction (a significant physical stressor), then 7 pounds of added water weight isn't out of the question. If that's what it is, it isn't fat and you shouldn't worry about it.

Do you have a serious medical condition that is known to decrease calorie needs? If so, your doctor should be monitoring your nutrition carefully (possibly via a registered dietitian or other skilled practitioner, but monitoring closely nonetheless).

If you don't have such a serious medical condition, or are not being monitored closely, your doctor should not have told you to eat 800-1000 calories and exercise on top of that. Sometimes cynical doctors do that, thinking there's no way the person will be compliant with the program, so if they're told 800-1000, they might actually eat more like 1500-2000. (1500-2000 is likely to result in weight loss for a severely obese woman. I lost most of my weight on 1400-1600, and that was after I was out of the obese zone entirely so needed fewer calories just to live.)

So, yes, people need to wait more than a week to see results. Premenopausal women, ideally, should wait for a full menstrual cycle plus a bit to get a true picture, perhaps 6 weeks. (I'm not saying it will take 6 weeks to see any loss; I'm saying it will take 6 weeks to see how fast, on average, your loss is going.) In your case, I'm not sure it's practical to wait that long. Another piece of the standard advice about waiting patiently is that if you start to feel fatigued or weak before the 6 weeks, you should eat more . . . before even worse symptoms show up.

I'm very sorry if this all sounds harsh. It's not meant to be harsh. I'm concerned about you, truly. I'm probably old enough to be your granny (am for lots of folks around here), and I tend to behave this way when I'm worried about someone's health. Be careful!