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People are eating too few calories

13

Replies

  • nojunkstuff1776
    nojunkstuff1776 Posts: 1 Member
    I recently learned that my A1C level is 6.1, and I am overweight. My doctor put me on a 3-month "change your lifestyle or else" regime, including a 1200 calorie diet/ reduce carbs. I am not starving myself, but I am losing the weight I need to lose, and am in the process of lowering my A1C (I hope). Not everyone that has a lower calorie diet is "under-eating". As others have said, "each person is different" and there are a myriad of reasons for how each handles health issues.
  • AlexisH1996
    AlexisH1996 Posts: 9 Member
    Being someone who is short (5'2"), and who has a very slow metabolism due to hypothyroidism, and sedentary, I would not lose weight on 1800 calories. Everyone's body is different, and everyone body needs different calorie amounts. I've been on 1200-1300 calories the past several weeks, and some weeks I barely lose at all. I would increase my calories if I was exercising too.
  • hikinggal11
    hikinggal11 Posts: 59 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    sgriska wrote: »
    Um, my BMR is round about 1300, and I have a desk job that has me working long hours. Eating 1800 calories is pretty much how I wound up morbidly obese in the first place.

    So, no.

    Your BMR is the amount of calories you’d need to sustain your body if you are in a coma, essentially. You don’t need to eat below your BMR to lose, and having a desk job with long hours doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t be more active. I have a desk job and work probably 50+ hours a week yet still manage to get in 10-12k steps a day, by doing so my TDEE (which is what your calorie deficit should come from) is around 2100.

    Again, this is just another opinion. None of us know what another one is struggling with and should not make judgements. What is good for me may not be good for another person. I weight train 3 times a week and do strenuous cardio 3-4 times a week for 40-60 minutes, and walk my dog every day for 60 minutes/3 miles (averaging over 16,000 steps a day) and maintain at 1700. I really don't know why 1700 is the magic number for me, but it is. Maybe my age (50), maybe my natural metabolism, maybe just being wacked by an unlucky stick, but whatever the case it works for ME.
  • christianabigail28
    christianabigail28 Posts: 4 Member
    Different people will require different calories to maintain, lose weight, or gain weight. There are a lot of factors we should know. The person’s age, height, weight, activity level, and what type of workouts this person do. I’m 5’1 and weigh around 119 lbs and my maintenance is 2000 cals. It’s pretty high because my activity level is way up there. I move a lot (walking my dog 3-4 miles twice per day), lift heavy, and do cardio from time. People who shares the same stats like I do will probably have different calorie intake. Why? Our bodies respond differently to things.
  • lcoulter23
    lcoulter23 Posts: 568 Member
    I'm at 600 calories a day max, but I just had gastric bypass surgery 10 weeks ago. I'm living on mostly protein shakes and cheese and sometimes chicken or hamburger meat. you are probably going to say I eat too few calories, but I am just following my doctor's plan. Eventually, if I'm lucky, I will get up to 1200 calories, but my stomach is only the size of 3 baby fingers put in a fist.
  • FitAndLean_5738
    FitAndLean_5738 Posts: 90 Member
    I eat 1,400 calories a day and I feel fine. But that's because I grew up eating 1,300 to 1,400 calories a day. I've always been slender and I've only recently put on weight. So when I go back to eating 1,400 a day I don't feel like I'm starving myself, I actually feel a lot better than when I eat 1,900 calories a day (the amount I need to maintain). When I eat 1,900 calories a day I don't typically eat healthy foods because it would be very difficult for me to eat that much healthy foods (think vegetables, lean meats, etc.). I would just be stuffed and miserable. I don't like feeling stuffed so I wouldn't want to eat that way. So for me, in order to get to 1,900 calories without feeling stuffed all day long, I'd have to eat unhealthier or at least calorically dense foods. Either way, I'm miserable.

    I personally don't like feeling full; I like feeling satisfied, feeling like there's still some room in my stomach for more, I just choose not to eat anymore because I've had enough.
  • makkimakki2018
    makkimakki2018 Posts: 414 Member
    I eat 1550-1800 a day on average.... but im not miserable. I actually function at endurance sports better than most people. I think it comes down to what you're eating and volume not so much calories but im no expert everyones different.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    makkimakki2018 wrote: »
    I eat 1550-1800 a day on average.... but im not miserable. I actually function at endurance sports better than most people. I think it comes down to what you're eating and volume not so much calories but im no expert everyones different.

    Given that most people don't do well at endurance sports at all, I'm not sure this is much of a recommendation. The real test would be, how do you do in endurance sports against people with training that is similar to yours but are eating enough to nourish themselves properly (assuming that 1,550-1,800 is lower than you need).

    Or, how do you do when dieting vs. not dieting.

    I ran a PB 5K a few weeks back. Not fast but fast for me. Time was 27:33. That was a full 45 seconds faster than 2 weeks prior when I put in (what I think) was similar effort. Difference was it was the end of a 2 week diet break so I had been eating at maintenance and not at a deficit. Now that I'm back to trying to lose, I'm putting in ~28:30 - 29:00.

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