Scared to net 1,200

honu18
honu18 Posts: 294 Member
edited October 2 in Health and Weight Loss
i legitimately am scared to net 1,200. When I eat back all/most of my exercise calories, I feel fat. I know I need to eat that much. But I'm sure I've slowed my metabolism down, as I've been netting below 1,200 for 3 months now. Haven't lost in awhile. Been trying to eat more and really eat more protein/fiber, but I feel like my stomach has gotten fatter and my weight up a pound or two. I know I shouldn't focus on the scale, but I legitimately feel fatter. I don't know what to do. I know I need to eat more likely to break the plateau and to get back into a sustainable & maintainable eating habit. But I'm legitimately fighting this battle with myself that going over calories is going to make me fat. Is this a sign of an eating disorder? I'm concerned this is going too far. I feel like I post this stuff a lot but I need legitimate advice. Thanks so much.

Replies

  • corsayre8
    corsayre8 Posts: 551 Member
    Legitimate advice...

    Make a concsiouse decision to get over, we all have the strength to make change. If you honestly don't think you do, seek professional help.

    The issue is not with 1200 calories, the issue is a skewed thought process.

    Sorry to sound harsh, but it is true.
  • katemanning3
    katemanning3 Posts: 42 Member
    I so understand. I am on a 1260 cal diet and yesterday I was super busy all day working on my kitchen, when I put in the exercise from it I ended up with 2017 calories I needed to eat for dinner. I had forgotten to eat all day because of how busy I was. I made enchaladas for dinner to see that would take up that many without having to eat alot but I was wrong. I forced myself to eat 4 of them and still had over 1000 calories left. I couldn't eat another bite without throwing up. But today on the scale I was a pound lighter than yesterday.
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    I'm no professional, but I do think you are doing yourself harm by not eating more, especially since you are relatively close to your goal. Stroutman has some good posts to help you estimate what you should be eating, since mfp will give you a goal of 1200 and "cheer you on" for being below it, even if that's not healthy for you.
  • JamesonsMommy
    JamesonsMommy Posts: 771 Member
    I've wondered about that myself. I don't eat my exercise calories (some days there are as much as 900). I'm seriously considering consulting a nutritionist. I am eating 1200 a day too... It feels like with the exercise i do i need some :( I feel like i've been going to bed hungry for the last week or so :(
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
    As a girl with an ED history this is my advice (unprofessional and personal)

    I upped my calories, because I know I won't hit them most days, and I know I need 1200. I only ever ate back half of the MFP exercise calories bc I know the are too high, I don't actually burn what they claim. Upping my calories caused a hiccup, I ate way under (and lied about it, sorry friends) for about a week. It wasn't good, but now I hit my calories.

    Don't be scared. What has helped me most is thinking about food as fuel and nothing else, if I want to get to my goal weight I have to eat enough to prevent my body from ruining its metabolism. It will get me there faster than starving myself.

    Best of luck!
  • MrsGreenTea703
    MrsGreenTea703 Posts: 300 Member
    Can I ask what kind of diet you are on? I have suggestions that have worked for my husband and me and do you exercise on a regular basis?
  • katemanning3
    katemanning3 Posts: 42 Member
    Are you getting the amount of water you need? It would be bloat. You should drink your weight cut in half in ounces per day to keep from retaining.
  • skinnyjeanzbound
    skinnyjeanzbound Posts: 3,932 Member
    I read an analogy someone posted on here that really made sense to me. She said think of your metabolism as a fire. You can stop putting logs on the fire and it will continue to burn, but it will just barely smolder and won't give off much heat. This is your body when you don't give it enough calories (logs). Your metabolism slows down due to the lack of fuel. If you throw a log on that smoldering fire, it will flare up--the fire will burn stronger and hotter b/c you've added the fuel it needs. This is your body when you feed it the calories it needs. Your metabolism will speed up and help you to shed more weight.

    I know this is simplistic, but I hope it helps clarify why you should eat an appropiate amount of calories for your weight and activity level.
  • eidalac
    eidalac Posts: 11 Member
    Eating less than 1,200 for a prolonged period can be bad, as eating that little can trigger your body to go into 'starvation mode', during which time it'll store as much energy as it can as fat rather than burn it.

    The exact amount varies from person to person, but I will add in a snack to avoid going under 1300 myself, unless I'm trying to break out of a platue, but that only takes a day or two.
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    I completely understand where you are coming from.

    I've been using MFP for the last 5 weeks. I began excersizing fairly regularily after my first week and I showed 12lbs lost at around 4 weeks. I was so thrilled!

    Then my period hit and I gained weight. I chalked it up to water retention. I figured all I had to do was drink some more water and it would drop back off once my period was over. Well, it hasn't yet and its been a week since it ended. Even with my getting heat exhaustion Tuesday and feeling too bad to work out until tonight, I still haven't been able to do more than yo-yo a little. Frustrating!

    This morning, after talking about this whole weight loss thing with my stepmom and how MFP says to eat a certain number of calories and stuff, I actually checked my log. Guess what my log said? The weeks my daily goal lines were closest to the line were the weeks I was losing. The week where I had days that didn't even net 1000 per day? Thats the week I gained. Sure, maybe its muscle or maybe its still water retention, maybe its something else. But just maybe its my body conserving for the starvation days again.

    Try it for a week or two. If it doesn't work, then don't do it anymore.
  • tn92
    tn92 Posts: 12
    i was eating 800 calories a day max for the last month. On top of that i go to the gym for treadmills/ellipticals for an hr 2x a week AND i was doing 30 day shred. I think i was netting at about 300-500 cals a day. I stopped losing weight for a whole month. I knew i was killing my body by not eating. I was scared about netting 1200 and gaining weight. But i said "lets try eating more for 2 days" so I told my mom about it and asked her to make sure i at least eat 1000 cals a day plus half of my exercise calories. I have been netting at about 1100 cals for the last 2 days and i stepped on the scale this morning. i lost 3 lbs! I dont know if it was cause i upped my calories or what but i say try netting 1100-1200 a day for a few day and see if it works for you. If not you can always go back to your old plan or try a new one. good luck to you.
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