Not eating enough=Not losing

Generally anorexics not only eat not enough...they don't eat hardly at ALL. We're talking 300 cals a day is high for bonafide anorexics. Because of this, their body starts breaking down any fat they have to fuel their body, and when that's done, it's starts getting the amino acids from their muscle stores, hence they literally become skeletons.

Your body needs sufficient amounts of fat, protein, carbs, vits and minerals to keep your physiological processes in good, homeostatic boundaries. You need cholesterol and protein to sustain many of your hormonal balances, which consequently play key roles in your metabolism. If you deprive yourself of these enough, your processes are going to slow down as much as possible to survive on what little you are giving it. So basically, if you don't eat enough (hopefully good) calories, your metabolism rate will slow down so that it can run on what little stores you've provided it. Slow metabolism = slow caloric burn = slow/no weight loss.

Sorry, I took anatomy and physiology of the human body last semester and am taking the second part currently...we're going over endocrinology (hormones) right now haha.

Very good explaination.

I think what happens when you're on extremely low calorie diets you just don't have the energy and unconsciously are less active throughout the day which translates into a significant reduction in your calories burned even if you're able to maintain your exercise schedule. It's also pretty common for people to under estimate the calories they eat to begin with (up to 30% I think they say) so it wouldn't surprise me if that's even more likely if you're hungry. So I think it's probably a combination of burning less calories and eating more without being aware of it which makes it seem like you're not losing weight because you're not eating enough.

Wait. What?

You want to rethink that? Granted, correct calorie calculations are important, but we aren't talking about that here.

I agree with the physiology poster above.

Well. there is a different view regarding this subject all over the world. In Europe people eat around 1000-1200 and workout not really eating back exercise calories and they are skinnier I am from Europe and I've tried both system must tell you that it didn't work when I was eating more and also ate back my exercise calories so I say just eat until you are satisfied, but stay around 1000-1200 calorie a day. Drink more then 64 oz of water and workout at least 30-45 minutes a day 5-6 times a week.

If you are interested about what I eat check my site.
I believe I eat around a 1000-1200 calories a day and I am not hungry but always full It matters also what you eat if you eat junk you will get hungry always, if you eat healthy your body won't empty as fast and you won't feel hunger.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-ideasHomemade-Healthy-Foods/179121125503371

I guess I'm an example for this situation. I've plateaued for 30 days now and my calories are under 1000. This is all I can eat without being uncomfortable. The only way I could take in more calories would be to eat more (volume), or eat food full of fats and sugar. I'm against both. What to do?

You could just add "good" fats to whatever you are eating.

As an example - nuts are a great source of protein and you can consume a lot in calories for a very little portion.

2 tablespoons of fresh ground almond butter is about 170 calories, again good fats....there's lots of little things you can do to bump up your calories....Olive oil, butter, 2% or full fat milk, avocados....stuff like that.

Good luck!

Generally anorexics not only eat not enough...they don't eat hardly at ALL. We're talking 300 cals a day is high for bonafide anorexics. Because of this, their body starts breaking down any fat they have to fuel their body, and when that's done, it's starts getting the amino acids from their muscle stores, hence they literally become skeletons.

Your body needs sufficient amounts of fat, protein, carbs, vits and minerals to keep your physiological processes in good, homeostatic boundaries. You need cholesterol and protein to sustain many of your hormonal balances, which consequently play key roles in your metabolism. If you deprive yourself of these enough, your processes are going to slow down as much as possible to survive on what little you are giving it. So basically, if you don't eat enough (hopefully good) calories, your metabolism rate will slow down so that it can run on what little stores you've provided it. Slow metabolism = slow caloric burn = slow/no weight loss.

Almost word for word what I was going to say. :bigsmile:

I guess I'm an example for this situation. I've plateaued for 30 days now and my calories are under 1000. This is all I can eat without being uncomfortable. The only way I could take in more calories would be to eat more (volume), or eat food full of fats and sugar. I'm against both. What to do?

Look for good calorie dense food. You should not be avoiding good fats. Start to eat nuts, eggs etc... They'll not only boost your calories but all provide your body with the healthy fats it needs.

Also, like with so many other person-to-person differences, not every "body" is the same. Some people can and DO keep burning and losing when eating under <1200, some don't. There are a lot of variables that go into it all.

Wait. What?

You want to rethink that?

I have thought about it; I wouldn't have posted otherwise. So no, I don't want to rethink it.

"In regard to metabolism, if you are overweight/overfat, you can not cause your metabolism to decrease below a level needed to lose weight while you have extra weight/fat on you, and you can not "lose more weight by eating more calories/food." This is a misunderstanding of the principles of metabolism that does not apply to overweight people trying to lose weight."

http://www.healthscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=512:are-you-in-the-starvation-mode-or-starving-for-truth&catid=102:jeff-novicks-blog&Itemid=267

I was eating 1200 calories a day and was stuck at a plateau. I started eating 1400 a day and the weight started falling off..... So adding calories helped me out and sped up my metabolism.

I think what happens when you're on extremely low calorie diets you just don't have the energy and unconsciously are less active throughout the day which translates into a significant reduction in your calories burned even if you're able to maintain your exercise schedule. It's also pretty common for people to under estimate the calories they eat to begin with (up to 30% I think they say) so it wouldn't surprise me if that's even more likely if you're hungry. So I think it's probably a combination of burning less calories and eating more without being aware of it which makes it seem like you're not losing weight because you're not eating enough.

And less calorie intake stifles metabolism.
No study says otherwise - no, not one.
And the ratio of fat to lean body mass is also affected.

Was your point that low calories do not effect metabolism?
I hope not; that would be quite absurd.

I think what happens when you're on extremely low calorie diets you just don't have the energy and unconsciously are less active throughout the day which translates into a significant reduction in your calories burned even if you're able to maintain your exercise schedule. It's also pretty common for people to under estimate the calories they eat to begin with (up to 30% I think they say) so it wouldn't surprise me if that's even more likely if you're hungry. So I think it's probably a combination of burning less calories and eating more without being aware of it which makes it seem like you're not losing weight because you're not eating enough.

^^This is the correct answer^^

Too few calories can often lead to a spontaneous reduction of NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis). When calories are raised, this can lead to an unconscious increase in activity, thus accelerating fat loss.


http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/286/5/E675.long

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11360139

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2001.tb06975.x/abstract

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2001.tb06975.x/abstract

Would you please define the word "enough" in this context. Your answer it does relate to anorexics and body functionality but not to people that want to lose weight therefore I believe it is not on topic.
How much enough?

Generally anorexics not only eat not enough...they don't eat hardly at ALL. We're talking 300 cals a day is high for bonafide anorexics. Because of this, their body starts breaking down any fat they have to fuel their body, and when that's done, it's starts getting the amino acids from their muscle stores, hence they literally become skeletons.

Your body needs sufficient amounts of fat, protein, carbs, vits and minerals to keep your physiological processes in good, homeostatic boundaries. You need cholesterol and protein to sustain many of your hormonal balances, which consequently play key roles in your metabolism. If you deprive yourself of these enough, your processes are going to slow down as much as possible to survive on what little you are giving it. So basically, if you don't eat enough (hopefully good) calories, your metabolism rate will slow down so that it can run on what little stores you've provided it. Slow metabolism = slow caloric burn = slow/no weight loss.

Sorry, I took anatomy and physiology of the human body last semester and am taking the second part currently...we're going over endocrinology (hormones) right now haha.