Have I hurt myself?

kimmy.j

kimmy.j

New member
Hi,

I was going through my food journal and realized that I eat less than 1000 calories much more often than I thought, probably 5 days out of the week.

I like to think that I keep my calories between 1250 and 1400 (which is my goal), but when I'm completely honest with myself, I'm not.

I know I should 'eat more'. I've been eating this way for about two months now. Has it hurt me in any way? If I start eating a few hundred calories more everyday, will I gain weight?

If I have one day where I eat significantly more calories, does it make me fatter than it would if I were eating more on a daily basis?
 
I can't say for sure, but I would guess that you are hurting yourself more when you are eating under 1000 kcal/day then you would if you started eating more.

I would think that when you eat that little, you are putting your body into starvation mode - slowing your metabolism and actually being less likely to lose weight because your body is fighting to maintain itself.

I would think that, at this point, a sudden increase in caloric intake would get stored as fat.
I think you would need to eat more and keep eating at a higher intake to smooth out your body's responses. Increasing your food intake may well help you _lose_ weight.

Not that I actually know anything for certain. :)
 
Here is what I have been told: Eating such a minimal amount of calories often will slow down your metabolism, thus making it so you generally burn less calories while doing.. well anything; consequentially making it more difficult for you to lose weight. So, when you think you're doing well by eating a very low calorie diet, you're actually being counterproductive by making it even harder for yourself.

If it is given that the above statement is true, I'm not sure how much damage you could have done in two months, if any. Either way, I believe you should gradually increase your calories to a more healthy, sustainable level... because with damage to your metabolism or not, 1,000 calories a day simply isn't something you can/should be doing for any extended period of time. It just isn't healthy.

Don't quote me on any of this, though, because I'm not an expert.
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I am no expert by any means whatsoever, but I just wanted to post my experience with eating 800-1000 calories a day.

I researched ALOT over the internet about the Very Low Calorie Diet, and from what I read, it is fine for people with a BMI over 40, which would classify them as Morbidly Obese. When I started the 800 cal per day diet, I was 274lbs, at 5'5, which made my BMI 45.6. I ate a significant amount while on the diet...4-5 small meals/snacks per day, and I also exercised 7 days a week at the gym. The first month, I lost a total of 20 pounds, and gained alot of muscle from the exercising I did. So far, it has been 4 months, and I've lost 55 pounds, so I'm down to 219lbs. I probably could have lost more, but I stopped dieting and exercising for awhile, but still managed to lose 35 more pounds. There was a months time in between January, and Now, that I ate whatever I wanted basically, and the most I gained back from that was 3 pounds. The weight stayed off, and I've never had a problem with it.

So, I'm not saying it will work for everyone, but it did for me =)
 
Thanks for your input...

If I started eating more calories (say 1300....) will my metabolism adjust? Haha, I just don't get it, I guess...

I know not eating enough is bad..slows metabolism...makes it easier to gain back weight etc...

But is there a way to get out of it without gaining?
 
kimmy.j said:
Thanks for your input...

If I started eating more calories (say 1300....) will my metabolism adjust? Haha, I just don't get it, I guess...

I know not eating enough is bad..slows metabolism...makes it easier to gain back weight etc...

But is there a way to get out of it without gaining?
Click to expand...

no if you stay active. if you burn the ''extra'' calories in an active lifestyle.
I have the same problem, adjusting to calories :p I can't seem to get pass the 1000 mark and not because I am starving I just went high on my veggies an fruits which keep me full but without much calories.
I say 1300-1500 is pretty much the ideal for a weight loss plan combined with 30-40 minutes of exercise.

good luck hun!
 
My "trick" to loosing my first twenty five pounds was to eat less than 1000 calories a day, while spacing the calories out. I'd have several snacks (ranging from 100-200 calories each) 5-10 times a day.

The weight slipped off. It's what I've started again, to drop another fifteen. I am, however, seventeen. So, I may have a naturally higher metabolism. Not sure on that, though.
 
I think that it would slow your metabolism and that you should slowly go up on your calorie intake very gradually.
 
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