can you gain weight with to few calories?

alison66
alison66 Posts: 5
edited November 2023 in Health and Weight Loss
According to this site I should be eating about 2000 cal a day with my activity level. I don't think that i have ever eaten that much in a day. Can I be doing my body more harm then good? I'm not hungry, but I have not lost any weight for a while. I'm really confussed. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • alison66
    alison66 Posts: 5
    According to this site I should be eating about 2000 cal a day with my activity level. I don't think that i have ever eaten that much in a day. Can I be doing my body more harm then good? I'm not hungry, but I have not lost any weight for a while. I'm really confussed. Any suggestions?
  • LadyZoe
    LadyZoe Posts: 36 Member
    I'm not sure if it's any help..
    but I didn't eat even close to what it says before I joined here. I was way under the recommended calories, and apparently my weight troubles were because I had set my body into starvation mode.

    In the beginning I did gain weight initially, as my body adjusted to the 'normal' eating...

    It was hard to keep eating what was recommended here when I signed up. I'd get full feeling and have so many more calories left to consume. But I stuck with it.. Sure, my weight yo yo'd while my body adjusted, but I kept eating my recommended calories every day. Working at having the remaining calories needed at end of the day as close to zero as I could get it with out getting a big negative number.

    And I'm so glad I did, because now I think I've over come the starvation shut down my body was in and I'm actually losing weight while eating the recommend amounts!! It's soo cool..

    I even feel better (healthier) than I have in like forever.. and I'm at 179 right now, today ...

    When I joined I was about 191ish... dropped to 186 after a month and a half.. and then yo yo'd between those numbers until just recently.. It's well worth it if you just stick it out.

    *hugs*

    Good luck
  • alison66
    alison66 Posts: 5
    thanks, that does help. I'll try to add more food, but where to start!!
  • coffee39
    coffee39 Posts: 3
    I am really confused with that too. My doctor and the nutritionist say to eat 1200 - 1400 calories a day. This board tells me to eat 2200. That is almost double.
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    it all depends on what you should be normally taking is.

    most experts recommend no more then 500 calories lower then your
    average, at-rest caloric intake.

    For example, my average is 2395 calories a day base rate at rest.
    I usually try to keep my intake under 2000 but no lower then 1800 or so.

    If I were to consistantly be below 1500 a day, my body would most likely go into
    starvation mode after say a few weeks, and I would probably gain weight and I would become
    extremely unhealthy because my body doesn't burn through things correctly,
    storing fat when ever it can (in the worst possible spots too) and I would become
    lethargic.
    Is it possible your doctor was telling you what you SHOULD be taking in if you were at your goal weight? I would check with a nutritionist if you aren't sure, sometimes doctors don't see the forest for the trees, with the state of health care these days, they can be overworked and (through no fault of their own), recommend things that might not be exactly right.
  • alison66
    alison66 Posts: 5
    so if you are trying to loss weight then you should not follow the suggested intake from the board? You should stay at what your resting rate is?Confussed
  • LadyZoe
    LadyZoe Posts: 36 Member
    Don't forget that your estimated calorie intake is determined by what you've entered in as your current weight , and also the goal's you (personally) set up,

    Specifically the sections that ask these questions....

    "How would you describe your normal daily activities?"

    "How many times a week do you plan on exercising?"

    and "How quickly would you like to lose weight?"

    Each one of the choices you make in this section determines your own personal calorie consumption goal.

    If you have it set too aggressively, or not aggressive enough, you can go into the goal section again and re-adjust until it's more suitable to your activity and weight loss desires.
  • LadyZoe
    LadyZoe Posts: 36 Member
    I'm curious coffee39... Are your fairly active through out the day? Or was it assumed by your doctor (and the nutritionist) that you're on a more sedentary activity level and so they suggested the 1200-1400 caloric intake to you because they didn't know your activity levels?

    Have you asked them specifically if you need/should increase your calories accordingly with any activities outside your norm? They may not have taken into account exercise routines and such if you haven't mentioned them.

    I think the rule of thumb for most Dr.'s is "assume a sedentary lifestyle unless told otherwise."
    I'd say that if you have professionals out there giving you advice then you should listen to them... but make sure they have all the information, too.

    Lots of luck!
    ((HUGS))
    Christina

    P.S. I've been here since August 2007, and I'm losing weight slowly, so eating what is recommended does work. And adding food to make up for burned calories is a good thing. *grins*
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