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People are eating too few calories

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24

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  • deckhogan1
    deckhogan1 Posts: 9 Member
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    I’m 55, 5’2”, and work out almost every day for an hour and I definitely would not lose weight eating 1800 calories a day.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Considering that it appears my maintenance (exclusive of exercise) is around 1500... kind of not a good fit for me. Realistically, even eating back half my exercise calories, I'm usually coming in around 1700 now to lose 1/2 lb per week. And I'm not cutting any further.
  • WillingtoLose1001984
    WillingtoLose1001984 Posts: 240 Member
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    Tabbeobit wrote: »
    Having gone through both periods binging and periods of starving as well as working with many health professionals in recovery I've learnt a lot about how the body functions. Personally i think part of the problem with people diets and physiques today is a result of both overeating AND undereating. Hearing so many people eating 1200-1500 calories a day sickens me. And that's because i used to eat like that and i was miserable. my body was unwell and everything inside was messed up. I now eat twice that amount and my weight has decreased, my muscle mass has increased noticeably, my mood has improved, and my energy levels are through the roof.
    I want to hear what other people think about this because honestly i believe eating any less ( as an average woman) than 1800 calories, yes even to lose weight, is too little. I want to hear others peoples opinions on this

    For me, outside of surgery, eating 1200 calories a day does make me miserable. I am 5'5.5'' and a woman. Naturally I seem to only be able to lose around 1.5 lbs a week with heavy exercise and around 1800-2200 calories. I am not unwell eating 1200 calories but I definitely do not enjoy it.
  • jenroh1984
    jenroh1984 Posts: 1 Member
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    I completely disagree. There is not a "one size fits all" when it comes to calorie intake. Height, weight, activity level, medical issues, etc can be a factor in determining how many calories you should take in and what your end goal is. I have been following a 1200-1400 calorie meal plan since April 2018 and have never felt better! I'm full after each meal, I have way more energy than before....I feel amazing. 1200-1400 calories a day isn't for everyone, but it works perfect for me!
  • erjones11
    erjones11 Posts: 422 Member
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    I am just a hair under six foot. I hit my goal of 165 pounds about two months ago.

    I do mild weight lifting three days a week, cardio three other days and one day off. I started adding calories back about every three weeks until I stopped losing.

    It looks like at about 1550 calories a day is maintenance for me, which to me seems a bit low but I have been the same weight for three consecutive weeks, yes with some daily fluctuations but generally right between 160 and 165. If I hit below 160 for three straight weeks I will add another 50 calories a day and keep tracking. Of course if I go the other way for three weeks I will cut 50 calories a day.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    cqbkaju wrote: »
    Another one-post wonder with misguided opinions.

    What a surprise...

    What's interesting is that they've been here since Oct. 2017, and have obviously been reading the forums by the way the post is worded, so they must have read thread after thread where sweeping generalizations are shot down in the first response.
  • Zodikosis
    Zodikosis Posts: 149 Member
    edited October 2018
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    Well...

    I think there's a really indirect noncausal correlation between undereating and poor physical health. There is not a chance I could eat 1500 calories every day for the rest of my life unless I was extremely sedentary. And if I was extremely sedentary, then I should eat 1500 calories. But also I should not be that sedentary, because that's not good for your body in other ways. You should exercise more than that.

    However, none of that adds up to actual weight gain, if that's what you mean. I probably wouldn't gain weight eating 1500/day forever, but I'd probably have other physical issues from the sedentary lifestyle.

    And yeah I mean if you're at a healthy weight and you're still undereating long term, it's probably not the best for you, same as overeating. Eat what your body needs to be healthy.
  • erjones11
    erjones11 Posts: 422 Member
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    But how do you know exactly what your body needs to be healthy? It this not where you are eating the right amount to not gain or lose any weight over a measured period of time at you then current general activity level?
    Zodikosis wrote: »
    Well...

    I think there's a really indirect noncausal correlation between undereating and poor physical health. There is not a chance I could eat 1500 calories every day for the rest of my life unless I was extremely sedentary. And if I was extremely sedentary, then I should eat 1500 calories. But also I should not be that sedentary, because that's not good for your body in other ways. You should exercise more than that.

    However, none of that adds up to actual weight gain, if that's what you mean. I probably wouldn't gain weight eating 1500/day forever, but I'd probably have other physical issues from the sedentary lifestyle.

    And yeah I mean if you're at a healthy weight and you're still undereating long term, it's probably not the best for you, same as overeating. Eat what your body needs to be healthy.

  • queenoscots
    queenoscots Posts: 44 Member
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    I'm 58 and just under 5' tall, with arthritis. I'm losing nicely on 1200 healthy food calories per day, with lots of water daily, and exercise several times a week. I had LOTS of weight to lose, and have received input both from a doctor and dietitian. I'll increase my calories when I'm ready to maintain.
  • wefts
    wefts Posts: 183 Member
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    I think OP is full of bull . I am 59 and over 1500 cal I gain even working out . not all of us are burning off 1800 a day . OP has an opinion but it is wrong .
    I have been staying between 1300 and 1600 and weight loss has been very slow . I am ok with slow as 1200 cal was faster but left me hungry .
  • Ezza280900
    Ezza280900 Posts: 11 Member
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    I know for me it’s important that I eat 1200-1500 calories mainly because I do weights and cardio every day. To some it may seem to little but I’m not very big in size and I don’t need as much as say a man needs. But I mostly eat a lot of calories now because I always used to fail years ago. I used to eat under 1000 calories while doing exercise and I didn’t realise that my body was actually hungry, so all that led to was binge eating.

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