Too few calories? Really?!?

I was eating my 1200 calories, excercising, and eating back most of thosse calories without much weight loss (1 pound every 2-3 weeks!) for several months. So I figured that for me, 1200 was too high, and I started eating 100-200 less per day, with high protein and low fat and carbs, and weight is coming off much easier now. I did do a protein shake cleanse (shakes, lean protein and veggies for one week), for a few days that helped jump start my diet and now that I see some results, I feel like I can keep doing it. Due to surgery and illness, I have not been to the gym in over a month

Yes - it worked for me. Last September, I didn't loose any weight at all. I was keeping my calorie intake around 1600, if I remember right. After the advise of a friend to "eat more for a few days" I did just that. I didn't count calories, just ate my fill of healthy foods for three days. Then I started tracking calories again, but ate closer to 1750 a day. It worked! I began loosing a pound a week again.

Lately, I've tried the "zig-zag" method, but it's too new to know if it works, and I'm honestly not really doing it right. Trying to do it did get me loosing again after a plateau in March, though.

My friend, who is 5'6" and 160 lbs recently had her BMI professionally done. Turns out she has lots of muscle mass, and it was recommended that she eat 2000 cals a day to loose a pound a week. Previously, she had been on a 1200 cal diet for months and doing lots of exercise and the weight just wouldn't budge. I hope the 2000 cals a day works for her!

Just this past month I've been plateau-ing. I kept fluctuating 2-3 pounds. Then the other day I started reading this website and learned about eating your workout calories back and starvation mode. Since then, I've been making sure to meet my 1200 calorie goal, making sure I wasn't under (I've been under a lot previously, didn't know it was counterproductive) and eating my workout calories. Just in the past few days of eating more, I've lost 3 pounds and they've stayed off.

Your post helps answer the question I had today. I'm thinking that my calorie goal is too low. I'm on my 8th day and have come in just under 1200 all but one day, and that one was 200 over. I know there's that danger of starvation mode but I figured since I'm so sedentary I'd be okay (weighed in this morning and have lost an ounce). I woke up unbelievably cranky and weepy today (partly PMS, I think) and didn't feel better until about now at the 746 calorie point. There are still 10 hours left in my day (and I'm still hungry), so I think I'm going to have to go significantly past 1200 today.

I haven't done any exercising yet (sad with a gym in my building) but I was almost worried to because I knew it would make me hungrier and probably send me over my limit. I think what I'm reading is that if I work out I can eat back those calories I burn, so I feel like I should run upstairs and kick my own butt, then come back down here and go to town on some healthy calories until I'm full.

How did you settle on your revised calorie count? My metabolism has always been high so I think that my gut (pun intended) is right about needing more than the standard 1200.

Recent experience (may or may not be relevant): I was losing weight steadily for six or seven weeks, then I had a few days where I didn't eat all my exercise calories and the scale stuck. It stuck for two weeks and then some. I got so upset on Saturday I bought a chocolate cake and some cashews from the grocery store and pigged out on Saturday (you can see my diary, it's open). I didn't exercise for two days, either. I just sulked and drank coffee and sat at my computer yesterday. Then I had a big dinner (100 calories over my daily goal all total).

Today I got on the scale expecting disaster and instead I dropped two pounds.


Past experience: After I had my son I dropped weight by starvation and diet pills. When I got into the 130s and then 120s, it required extreme starvation to move the scale. I'm talking 500-ish calories a day even though I worked out regularly and worked a very active warehouse job. I was starving myself to death and the pounds eventually did come off, but it certainly wasn't at a normal rate. Of course as soon as I stopped starving myself I put it all back on and then some.

When I joined MFP I was eating around 900 cals per day and my weight loss was totally stalled. I took a leap of faith here and upped my calories to 1200. I gained for two weeks and then lost significantly after that. I upped my calories to 1470 and maintained for awhile without gaining anything. Now I eat around 1300 and am losing again. The only thing with eating so close to 1200 is that you have to be really careful to eat real food (non processed) and get enough nutrients. If you find that you're hungry you should increase your calories. 1200 is not a magic number, but it is considered the minimum safe intake for a reason. I'm not saying *no one* should eat less, but for me personally eating less was not good and I think there are WAY too many people undereating on this site. Starving yourself is not a sustainable or happy lifestyle.

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When I was losing my initial 89 pounds, I hit three major plateaus. All three times, what got me off that plateau was increasing my calorie intake.

I can honestly say that I have experienced this. There are times I go stretches without eating at least 3 times a day and usually that is when I stop losing and start gaining a lot of weight. But every time I start eating at least 3 times a day the pounds start falling off. I told my doctor and she had said that its because my body goes into starvation mode and hangs on to the foods that I do eat when I eat because it never knows when it will get more nutrients. So I believe it whole heatedly.

Good responses!