spoke to nutritionist

So I visited a nutritionist....
Ive been trying to eat 1200 cals(most days, then i would have 2000+ days) and I have been working out at least 5 days a week(30 min running minimum). I have net been able to lose any weight... i thought i just plateaued

She told me that :
1.) I've not been eating enough cals
2.) the reason I sometimes had candy/food binges aka large meals was because my body was starving and not getting what it needs.
3.) As someone that works out, when she did calculations, it said that I should be consuming 2200 to maintain!

Dilemma.....
There is no way I am going to consume 2200. She told me to start off slow and increase to raise my metabolism (I asked her to measure it and she said NO. She told me if she was to measure it and show me now I would get discouraged). So, Ive been eating around 1700 cals. I have been doing this for a week and I have gained 2lbs. It's become more stable now.
She also told me not to buy fat free, reduced fat or anything like that.....

Its so hard to get over that mentality though. I had a bagel, cream cheese and an apple this morning.... It just made me feel so weird. I felt like I was eating too much for one meal. I also kept thinking, well if I got ff cream cheese I could have saved 50cals... but im trying to deal!

I hope upping my calories works!!!! What do you guys think?

I'm confused please help me why did the Dr tell you not to buy "low fat" items?

Fat free or low fat items tend to have a lot of "other" stuff in them that can be detrimental to good health. I.E. artificial sweeteners, more sugars, more filler, chemicals...etc. Better to use portion control than add all the artificial stuff in there.

Depending on you're height, and bone structure, sure 2200 is reasonable. Your nutritionist sounds like he/she is giving you solid advice. Don't worry about the weight gain, that happens when you up your calories, until your metabolism catches up to your eating, this will be the case, most of it will drop back off in a few weeks though. Remember, because you had a depressed metabolism, you needed less calories to maintain. It takes many weeks and sometimes months for your metabolism to ramp back up, during that period you can gain. That doesn't mean you should eat less, on the contrary, you should stick to the plan, that weight will come off easilly once your body settles into the new weight.

This is a very common issue I see on here. People always seem to underestimate their metabolic rate because they have had a depressed metabolism so long, they just don't think they can eat a "normal" amount of food (between 1800 and 2500 calories) and still maintain their weight. Well, you can, you just need to give your body time to recover it's metabolic functions. Assuming no chronic health conditions, and a consistent, healthy diet, your metabolism will ramp back up, not only allowing you to eat more, but giving you more energy, allowing your organs to function as they should, and reducing stress on your heart and brain (among other organs).

stick it out, you'll be pleasantly surprised!

I don't think the problem is necessarily with products that are naturally or inherently low fat such as your skim milk or yogurt...the problem is with products that are created as low fat substitutes for the real thing - ranch dressings...cream cheese...mayonnaise, for example. The problem is that in order to create the same taste/texture of the regular fat versions, other things such as starches, gums and sodium are added. Even from a caloric standpoint, if you compare some low fat options to the full fat versions, the calorie content is similar,,,it's just the fat grams are lower. As long as the fat is lowered without processing or substituting, I think it is just fine. Kind of like choosing a pepper vs an avocado - one is lower in fat but naturally so.