Maintaining on very low calories

marilynbeth2 · November 2018

I want to start a maintenance diet. I've just started using MFP. I'm barely eating 1000 calories a day and not losing weight. I lost my twenty plus pounds eyeballing my food. I'm certain that I was eating many more calories than I'm doing now.

Am I on a weight loss plateau? Should I keep at this low level or try to eat a little more? I'm not hungry. I'm actually having trouble eating the minimum that MFP wants for charting. I weigh all my meat and measure my other food by volume. Since I lost more than twenty pounds by eyeballing, I don't think my counting is off.

I'm embarrassed to list the tiny amount of food that I eat. Today, I ate one chicken sandwich, a slice of roast, and orange. That is it. That's how it's been for over the last week.

CharlieBeansmomTracey · November 2018

marilynbeth2 wrote: »

I want to start a maintenance diet. I've just started using MFP. I'm barely eating 1000 calories a day and not losing weight. I lost my twenty plus pounds eyeballing my food. I'm certain that I was eating many more calories than I'm doing now.

Am I on a weight loss plateau? Should I keep at this low level or try to eat a little more? I'm not hungry. I'm actually having trouble eating the minimum that MFP wants for charting. I weigh all my meat and measure my other food by volume. Since I lost more than twenty pounds by eyeballing, I don't think my counting is off.

I'm embarrassed to list the tiny amount of food that I eat. Today, I ate one chicken sandwich, a slice of roast, and orange. That is it. That's how it's been for over the last week.

you are eating more than you think, using measuring cups for solids and semi solids are going to be inaccurate. weigh EVERYTHING solid and semi solid in grams on a food scale. and liquids in cups and spoons. you wouldnt think your counting is off but trust me you will be surprised.

Ive been there and done that in the past. if you arent hungry then yeah I was say that you are eating more than 1000 calories.start weighing everything for a week or so and see how far you off in either direction.you also arent fueling your body accurately with 1000 calories. if you are finding it hard to eat what mfp gives you for calories then how did you get to the point you needed to lose weight?

How long has it been since you lost any weight?

marilynbeth2 · November 2018

I gained weight after I started eating more since my son moved in with me. I learned to eat more than I was comfortable with before that due to be underweight due to illness. I lived with my parents for awhile so I was blackmailed into eating more than I wanted since my mother insists on regular meals. I just moved into my own place last year. My first winter here I gained weight due to inactivity and eating very high calorie dense food.

Since spring, I've been losing weight. First, it was just losing the winter weight gain without any intentional effort. Then, I noticed and decided to keep it going so I wrote down what I was eating. I eyeballed it. I lost around fourteen pounds after the easy lose recently gained weight. Under stress or pain, I eat very little. I'm currently under a bit of stress. I'm really eating as little as I say. I'm not hungry.

I wish my counting was off. Since I lost over twenty pounds without measuring a thing, I doubt that is the case. I can look back at my written notes and see that I ate much more while losing those twenty-three pounds. I have a notebook full of notes that prove that I lost that weight eating much more than I'm eating now.

The plateau has only been a little more than a week so it could just be water retention from a change in my exercise routine. I just was wondering if I needed to stay at this low level or if eating a little more would be a better idea.

Maxxitt · November 2018

Since you want to maintain, eat more. You may gain a couple of pounds right off the bat (your gut is processing more bulk, your body also retains fluid to process) but that won't be fat. One thing that can happen with severe under-eating is that non-exercise activity level drops precipitously which affects the "calories out" side of the equation.

Lillymoo01 · November 2018

marilynbeth2 wrote: »

I gained weight after I started eating more since my son moved in with me. I learned to eat more than I was comfortable with before that due to be underweight due to illness. I lived with my parents for awhile so I was blackmailed into eating more than I wanted since my mother insists on regular meals. I just moved into my own place last year. My first winter here I gained weight due to inactivity and eating very high calorie dense food.

Since spring, I've been losing weight. First, it was just losing the winter weight gain without any intentional effort. Then, I noticed and decided to keep it going so I wrote down what I was eating. I eyeballed it. I lost around fourteen pounds after the easy lose recently gained weight. Under stress or pain, I eat very little. I'm currently under a bit of stress. I'm really eating as little as I say. I'm not hungry.

I wish my counting was off. Since I lost over twenty pounds without measuring a thing, I doubt that is the case. I can look back at my written notes and see that I ate much more while losing those twenty-three pounds. I have a notebook full of notes that prove that I lost that weight eating much more than I'm eating now.

The plateau has only been a little more than a week so it could just be water retention from a change in my exercise routine. I just was wondering if I needed to stay at this low level or if eating a little more would be a better idea.

You admitted in your first post that you weigh all your meat and measure other food by volume. If you are doing this then there is every likelihood that your counting is off. If not then you really should be seeing a doctor because there is no way you could be maintaining weight unless you are really short, stuck in bed all day or there is something medically wrong with you.

DvoycY · November 2018

I believe that the minimum guidelines for men are 1500 and women are 1250 per day, likely putting you in the latter category

We need more information like your age, gender, height, body fat percentage, activity level to estimate your TDEE

1000 should do the trick to at least lose a pound per week, unless you are calculating wrong ("eyeballing" instead of tracking properly with scales) or anorexic (BMI less than 19-18 where your body stops you from acting stupid)

Finally I heard anecdotes that some women tend to gain weight more easily, especially with connection to the menstrual cycles, although I cannot comment much here expect for water retention (for men to mitigate this (water, lol) just stay hydrated, and limit sodium and carbs (don't go too much))

sijomial · November 2018

" I don't think my counting is off"

I think it is.
Ditch the measuring cups and weigh instead - cups are such a common theme in the many threads from people not getting the expected results or reporting calorie levels that are not credible. The trouble with inaccurate logging is that it can reinforce the feeling that you are special and weight loss is complicated, neither is likely to be true!

But one week is not a plateau. give yourself a month for the change in exercise routine and any possible inflammation/soreness/water retention settle down.
Don't be a slave to your bathroom scales, they are just a dumb measuring device.

marilynbeth2 · November 2018

I'm losing inches. I'm eating a little more the last two days. My weight is going up. Even if my measuring is off, it doesn't change the fact that I lost weight eating much more. I think it's just short term water retention or that I had a very low weight a week ago due to dehydration and this weight is more accurate. I haven't had a 26 inch waist for a very long time so something is working. I look very lean and my pants are falling off.

I reported average less than a thousand it's more like 1200. Now, I'm eating 1380 my sedentary goal, but I'm far from sedentary. With my eyeballing, I was eating more than 1500 calories a week and losing almost a pound a week. The clothes getting lose only happened this week or last.

collectingblues · November 2018

marilynbeth2 wrote: »

I'm losing inches. I'm eating a little more the last two days. My weight is going up. Even if my measuring is off, it doesn't change the fact that I lost weight eating much more. I think it's just short term water retention or that I had a very low weight a week ago due to dehydration and this weight is more accurate. I haven't had a 26 inch waist for a very long time so something is working. I look very lean and my pants are falling off.

I reported average less than a thousand it's more like 1200. Now, I'm eating 1380 my sedentary goal, but I'm far from sedentary. With my eyeballing, I was eating more than 1500 calories a week and losing almost a pound a week. The clothes getting lose only happened this week or last.

You're not weighing your food. You have no idea what you're eating.

Don't insist that you were eating more before when you have no idea what you're eating now.

cmriverside · November 2018

collectingblues wrote: »

marilynbeth2 wrote: »

I'm losing inches. I'm eating a little more the last two days. My weight is going up. Even if my measuring is off, it doesn't change the fact that I lost weight eating much more. I think it's just short term water retention or that I had a very low weight a week ago due to dehydration and this weight is more accurate. I haven't had a 26 inch waist for a very long time so something is working. I look very lean and my pants are falling off.

I reported average less than a thousand it's more like 1200. Now, I'm eating 1380 my sedentary goal, but I'm far from sedentary. With my eyeballing, I was eating more than 1500 calories a week and losing almost a pound a week. The clothes getting lose only happened this week or last.

You're not weighing your food. You have no idea what you're eating.

Don't insist that you were eating more before when you have no idea what you're eating now.

This and:

As you get smaller, your maintenance calories do decrease. That's what happens. It's like a Volkswagen takes a lot less gas than a Cadillac...less mass to move.

Tighten up your logging. There's nothing else that is going to be any better advice.

GottaBurnEmAll · November 2018

marilynbeth2 wrote: »

I gained weight after I started eating more since my son moved in with me. I learned to eat more than I was comfortable with before that due to be underweight due to illness. I lived with my parents for awhile so I was blackmailed into eating more than I wanted since my mother insists on regular meals. I just moved into my own place last year. My first winter here I gained weight due to inactivity and eating very high calorie dense food.

Since spring, I've been losing weight. First, it was just losing the winter weight gain without any intentional effort. Then, I noticed and decided to keep it going so I wrote down what I was eating. I eyeballed it. I lost around fourteen pounds after the easy lose recently gained weight. Under stress or pain, I eat very little. I'm currently under a bit of stress. I'm really eating as little as I say. I'm not hungry.

I wish my counting was off. Since I lost over twenty pounds without measuring a thing, I doubt that is the case. I can look back at my written notes and see that I ate much more while losing those twenty-three pounds. I have a notebook full of notes that prove that I lost that weight eating much more than I'm eating now.

The plateau has only been a little more than a week so it could just be water retention from a change in my exercise routine. I just was wondering if I needed to stay at this low level or if eating a little more would be a better idea.

In addition to what everyone else is saying regarding your logging inaccuracy (trust me, if you are not weighing your food, you have no idea what you're eating)... you're thinking of entering maintenance because weight loss has stopped for a WEEK?

Am I following you correctly? Or are you wondering if because your weight stayed stable for a week at what you think is a low calorie level that you need to keep eating a low level?

Weight is dynamic. Especially maintenance weight. It's not one number on the scale. It's a range, and you fluctuate within it. A lot of things will effect your weight, and it's a big picture sort of thing that you need a good chunk of data to get a hold of. A week isn't enough data.

Start logging accurately and using a weight trending app (Happy Scale, Libra) to get a handle on what your weight is doing and focus on longer stretches of time than just a week.

DougBobrow · November 2018

marilynbeth2 wrote: »

I want to start a maintenance diet. I've just started using MFP. I'm barely eating 1000 calories a day and not losing weight. I lost my twenty plus pounds eyeballing my food. I'm certain that I was eating many more calories than I'm doing now.

Am I on a weight loss plateau? Should I keep at this low level or try to eat a little more? I'm not hungry. I'm actually having trouble eating the minimum that MFP wants for charting. I weigh all my meat and measure my other food by volume. Since I lost more than twenty pounds by eyeballing, I don't think my counting is off.

I'm embarrassed to list the tiny amount of food that I eat. Today, I ate one chicken sandwich, a slice of roast, and orange. That is it. That's how it's been for over the last week.

During maintenance, you will want to actually eat MORE than what you were previously eyeballing. I think much of the other advice given here will help you find the right amount of food to maintain your weight.

apullum · November 2018

What is your height and current weight? You are not maintaining on 1000 calories unless you are extremely short, sedentary, AND already underweight. I'm under 5 feet tall, have a sedentary job, and maintain in the optimal BMI range for my height on 1400 plus exercise.

Use a food scale for all of your solid food. Measuring cups and spoons don't count unless you're measuring a liquid.

Maintaining on very low calories

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