Question re: calories and nutrition

supercpa999 · October 2022

So I am in the process of losing quite a bit of weight. I have been restricting my calories to between 1200-1400 or so and doing a lot of exercise so my “net calories” are usually quite low.

The question is, from a nutrition standpoint, can I ignore the fact that I may be burning off much of these calories since my body still has the opportunity to extract needed nutrients from the food I eat.

I should add that the quality of what I eat is generally very good.

Many thanks.

Lietchi · October 2022

How tall are you and how much do you weigh? And how much are you exercising?

My concern is: low net calories is essentially starving yourself. There's a limit to how much fat your body can metabolize in a calorie deficit, the rest will come from muscle, which is not something you want to lose (it's a lot easier to lose muscle mass than to build it back up).
Being in a high calorie deficit increases health risks: gallstones, heart problems (the heart is a muscle...),...

supercpa999 · October 2022

@Lietchi
Right now I am 311 and 6 ft. I have lifted most all my life except for the last several years so I have plenty of muscle. I have also been doing 16/8 intermittent fasting if that makes a difference.

Lietchi · October 2022

As someone if 6ft and 311 lbs, you are eating a 'ridiculously' low amount of calories, even if you were sedentary.

I lost all of my weight eating 1700 calories (plus exercise calories) and I'm only 5ft5 and my starting weight was just over 200lbs.

I'll repeat myself, especially knowing your stats: you are risking your health, you're starving yourself. It doesn't matter that you still have muscle mass left from lifting in the past, nor the fact that you're doing intermittent fasting.

You must be losing weight quite rapidly, if your logging is accurate?

supercpa999 · October 2022

Yes I am losing quite a bit of weight but confused about the logging question. We are not friends on this app so it is my understanding that you can’t view my diary.

Lietchi · October 2022

No, i don't have access to your diary. I'm referring to the 1200-1400 calories you mentioned, which is too low if your logging is accurate.

supercpa999 · October 2022

Ok yes that is accurate.

neanderthin · October 2022

Generally nutrient deficient diets cause nutrient deficiencies. Essential macros like protein for the amino acids and fats for EPA and DHA the omega 3's should be considered over carbohydrates which are not essential for the bulk of your calories. You can get blood work done by your Dr. over the course of your weight loss specifically for deficiencies. Common deficiencies are iron. iodine, Vit D, B12, calcium and vitamin A and you can take a look and see which foods are best to address these, but like I said get your blood work done a few months out and see what you might need.

AnnPT77 · October 2022

@supercpa999, we are friends on MFP . . . but without even looking at your diary, Lietchi is right.

At your size, depending on age and other details, your TDEE is probably 2600-3300 or more calories now. 1200-1400 is aiming at loss of at least 2+ and maybe up to 4 pounds a week. At 311, you can maybe afford to be a little aggressive with weight loss rate - as long as you're healthy, relatively young, fairly resilient, with few/no other sources of stress in your life.

Going for more than 1% of current body weight per week as a weight loss rate is risky (0.5% is often a better idea). There's risk of losing unnecessarily much lean mass alongside fat loss, i.e., it's at cross-purposes to your lifting. At 1200-1400, odds are good that you're not getting enough protein, even if you're getting a good percent - a good percent of a too-small number is too little in absolute amount, y'know? (At 5'5", I'm going for a minimum of 100g protein daily, and that's 400 calories right there. I don't know what your goal weight is, but it's hard for me to believe that at 6', with strength training goals, that you wouldn't benefit from something above 150g daily.)

Is fast lost guaranteed to cause health problems, muscle loss, unnecessarily high adaptive thermogenesis (depressed basal metabolic rate), maybe hair loss, low energy, etc.? No, no guarantee of bad outcomes. But materially higher risk. Consider this, at an extreme:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10761904/under-1200-for-weight-loss/p1

I get that you're eating over 1200, but she was smaller, and female, with likely lower calorie needs than yours.

Please be cautious, consider your long term health. Strive for a path of long-term thriving, over a path of quick short-term loss.

supercpa999 · October 2022

Thanks all

neanderthin · October 2022

I would also suggest that a focus on protein and getting back into doing some weight training will help to maintain lean mass when calories are low. Also giving yourself a break periodically for a week or two helps as well in the long run.

Question re: calories and nutrition

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