Controversial topic.. Sorry if I offend anyone! Not eating Enough!

I am here to loose weight and encourage people to do so... I have been searching for 8 years... YES 8 YEARS for a SIMPLE way to get rid of this fat, and I finally went back to what EVERY doctor says.. Diet and Exercise.. Its a Math problem.. you have to burnmore than you EAT! Simple sounding, not quite so simple to do. I Understand that we all struggle with this or we would not be here... but there are certain facts that apply to all.... one being this:

1. You have to eat AT LEAST 1200 CALORIES a day for you body to be healthy.... More if you weigh more.  If you weigh 250 lbs, you need atleast 1800 CAL.

If you dont eat this #, then your body is starving, its stores fat to protect it from starving, and YOU WILL NEVER GO ANY WHERE UNLESS you keep starving yourself. If you choose to loose weight like this.. YOU WILL GAIN IT ALL BACK! I am sorry for you....

People ask for my help, and I am the first to say SURE... I wish I could explain how good I feel.. how much better will I feel when I loose another 50- 60-70-80-100 lbs, whatever I decide is best for me... I want to be HEALTHY... pants size and weight by # is not the LEADING factor in this math problem, however it is a FACTOR, only ONE of Many other more important ones that are more important to me like living longer for my children, I am their mother, I owe them that! 

 I wish someone would have sat with me and explained it the way I feel I explain how I did it.... That is why I am on here hoping to touch just ONE person. ONE nutritionst explained it to me, and not only changed my life, but changed my husbands, my childrens, my parents, my sisters, and the list goes on....  Please listen to me when I tell you, this..

IF YOU DONT WANT TO LISTEN THE THE FACTS ABOUT YOUR BODY, I CAN NOT HELP YOU LOOSE WEIGHT.. WE ARE JUST WAISTING TIME!

I know I am not the only one that feels this way, I read the boards, I see tons of people telling others they are not eating enough.... Please sit and think about this, use your time researching it on the net.. ITS A FACT!

Thanks for your time,

Trisha

You're so right. But have you found that magic number yet? I find that 1200 is too little but 1600 is too much -- is there somewhere to figure out that magic number where the scale starts moving?

lulu - there is no "magic number" consult your physician.

Trisha - YOURE RIGHT YOURE RIGHT YOURE RIGHT... however, dont let it upset you, because it looks like it may be.   As long as YOU know what you need to do for you, thats all that matters.  :)  Hang in there...   It'll be okay.

Good luck ladies!

Here is my success story.. pics and all.. I have lost 87 lbs now... since January.... the pics are here:

http://www.wkkx.com/contests.shtml

I am not upset.... I just figured this would be a hot topic, because I will help ANYONE that asks.. But I ILL NOT waste my time listening to people who say, I CANT EAT more than 900 cal a day.. guess what.. then I cant hlp you.. you have to learn to eat more calories by learning to eat more times a day, and then your metaboism will balance itself out to work to the best of its ability. WE ARE the only ones that can CONTROL what goes in our mouth,.... 

 LETS SHOW THE WORLD HOW MUCH CONTROL WE HAVE!!!!

ps: for the magic #.... Have you ever looked into what yoru BMR is? Click on my profile and look at the form I posted about loosing 85lbs and this is how!, I can help if you need it.. Let me know!!

Thanks Ladies.... As I expressed to my friends on here... I dont need the internet to loose weight, I havent yet, BUT if I can use it as a toll to better myself, so be it!

It is really hard for some people to accept that starvation is just not the way - I know that starvation may sound like a strong way of saying it so I'll call it "deprivation" instead ...

The mindset some have (and I can see where they are coming from) is that if my body burns 1800 in a day and I am only eating 900 a day then that's a 900 cal deficit and if I do that for a while, well I'll lose a lot quickly because 3500 cal deficit = 1 pound lost ... 

But the thing is, while the body is just like a massive adding machine (calories in - calories out =  x amount lost), you also need to think of your body as a big coal fire -

The more fuel you throw in there, and the more air it has (like exercise) the bigger the fire is going to get.  Eat more within reason, exercise loads and your body will get the picture.

When you are consuming 900 - 1300 cals your body thinks "oh ok - we must be lost out in the desert or something, I better hoard what I have and be really economical about giving up my stored fat/energy".

Regardless of your weight - even if you are just trying to lose 5 -10 stubborn "last pounds" - if you eat more calories (within reason), say around 1500 - 1700 for most slightly overweight to overweight people

or 1800 - 2000 cals for obese people ... AND you are exercising (REALLY THOUGH NOT JUST KIND OF), your body will think "wow, loads of good healthy food around, we're moving every day, guess I don't need all this fat - time to clean house".

And you know what?  That is the secret of revving up the metabolism.  That is all it is.

As long as you are exercising, eating the calories calculated in your BMR - or your resting metabolic rate will increase your metabolism and you will lose without feeling groggy, without feeling hungry all the time and it will be consistent.

Like anything though, you will have to recalculate your BMR as you lose and adjust your calories from there.  You will also hit plateaus and then you'll have to knock off 100 cals here or do a little bit more weights or maybe even just incorporate more hills, etc into your plan.

At the end of the day, it's about eating lean protein, healthy carbs like raw fruit and veg, steamed veg, and whole grains (in moderation).  AND LOADS of water.  If you want it to come off consistently and in decent chunks, you have to accept that exercise is a part of the deal.

It just is.

I do agree that eating too little results in your body thinking that it's starving- but I have to say this.

I am eating roughly half of my BMR and it's working for me- i'm not hungry and I'm losing 4-6 pounds a week. 

I saw a nutritionist a few months ago and I was told that the general rule is:  women should eat not less than 1300 a day; men 1500.  So, I've followed this principle- I eat no less than 1300 a day- most days I consume 1500.

- I know that this seems extreme to some but I started out being 160 pounds above my recommended weight- that's serious and has a harsh health related price tag.  So, I'm doing it the healthy way- no weight lose meds- all diet and excercise. 

I sincerely think that it varies for everyone- ultimately I think it's best to consult with a professional.

Right on, Danielle.

The thing is, it really does depend on how much you have to lose. 

Calorie Count has great tools that will help you figure it out, if you can't see a pro like Danielle did.

1500 is a really healthy number!

For a lot of very overweight or OBESE people though, 1500 cals will feel like starvation to them, so that is why they suggest 1800 to 2000 for heavier persons (which is their range really with regard to BMR).

A lot of people are genuinely surprized when they log everything they eat (really everything like including the tea and coffee, the gum, the butter, the jam, things that get missed out).

I used to think I was eating about 1800 cals but when I logged it, I realized that when I was a lot bigger, I was really eating like 2200 -3000 cals!!  Talk about a reality check!

Everyone's body is different so listen to your body, play with things a bit, and make sure you're healthy and it will happen.

Uh huh. This is a very good topic.

You sure have touched me, you explained so much to me, that no one else has.

I have been overweight since probably 1st grade (now I am going into 10th) and I want to be smaller. I want it more than anything, and you showed me it is possible. If you lost almost 100 pounds I sure can loose 14.

I was wondering though, if I burn 2,200 calories daily (as this site said I do), if I eat 1200 that give me a 1,000 deficit, and over a week, obviously I get 7,000 which is 2 pounds a week. Is this healthy? Because I sure do need to loose just 14 pounds, and by August. I don't want to hurt my body, but I want this so bad. If this will work it'll only take 7 weeks.

Is that possible?

It is said by most professionals that 1-2 pounds a week is considered a healthy weight loss rate. Yes it is possible. Also when people first start on a weight loss plan, usually the pounds come off more rapidly, don't get scared as long as you're eating enough healthy food, and you're only exercising in moderation. For more specifics, please go and consult a professional. I get frustrated when people give medical advice in these forums to people they don't know, and act as if they know everything. We need healthy food, and we need to exercise to be healthy, but as far as "magic" numbers are concerned, never EAT less than 1200 cals a day. You can still exercise moderately and eat only 1200 cals, but as your activity level increases, your calorie intake should go up a little as well. Also drink water. When are bodies are dehydrated we will tend to retain not only water weight, but fat as well.

Good job ladoes... We all I think have the same thing in mind, just different ways of saying it. Hopefully some people will  be able to get what we are trying to say by on of our anologies....

Danielle.. I believe every word of yours, and that is what I was in reference to...

1. You have to eat AT LEAST 1200 CALORIES a day for you body to be healthy.... More if you weigh more.  If you weigh 250 lbs, you need atleast 1800 CAL. 
 

When I typed that line.. it was because people say, I only eat 900 cal a day.. I'll feel fat if I eat more... Or I eat 70- 800 cal a day and I still have no energy to exercise... Well I wonder why! the coal thing Michelle is a great way to explain it.... And Danielle. Im not saying you have to eat your BMR.. But I am saying that you need atleast 1200 cal a day. I had and still have serious weight to loose. I started this at 357 lbs and Im not at 269.. 87 lbs lighter... I exercise EVERYDAY.. 1200 cal  I burn in an hour... I feel I am in this for the haul.. I have so much more energy.. its a life style change with exercise.. once you start it everyday... you thrive it. How many 269 lb woman do you know that can run 3+ miles in an hour... I CAN! Because I want too.... Its a great way to live HEALTHY! Thanks ladies!

kristicro .... when I  was posting the last comment and you must have posted before me as I didn't see it. You are correct about all, even the 1-2 lbs a week being healthy. Thanks for bringing up the fact that you can loose it faster and no to be alarmed. I forgot that factor .....  In case this was aimed at me..... I am not giving medical advice,, ( or at least I am not trying to) What I was makingthe fact of here, in hopes people would agreed, respond, and make people who eat LESS than 1200 cal a day for women.. yes its 1500 for men... Know that you will not obtain your goal this way.... Its a quick fix for maybe a week.. at that wedding your trying to fit into that gress for... whenyou eat at the reception, you'll be packing on the pounds x 2 because you have starved your body for so long.. UN HEALTHY!!! This is about being Healthy... not skinny! You have to agree there?

Sorry for the miss spelling of Loose to LOSE..... I had to make my name this cause the other way was taken.. and now I'm stuck spelling it this way.. I'll work on it..... :-)

okay people, it's possible and easy to lose weight by restricting your calories a whole lot, but do that for a while and the weight you lose will just be muscle, and fat will be stored! so when you read the scale and it's still dropping after a long time of restricting so many calories, it's not necessarily body fat you're losing! after a while doing that, you won't even like the way you look, just flabby and scrawny.

It's so funny. Those people that you say "you can't help"
don't want your help. Seriously, now. Everyone should stop ranting at others. About THEIR Way. Do what works for you. To each their own... Reading a rant just makes me roll my eyes. I'm tired of fifty people typing the exact same rant. Take care of you. Change the world one body at a time, and START with YOU.

If YOU aren't complete... DON'T start on Others! Woot woot. Sounds fairly logical.

Annnd you aren't complete yet.

This can be taken as negatively or postively as you like.

I agree that we must eat more to lose weight. My doctor also told me that today when I was complaining to her about my plateau. I have been consuming about 1200 to 1300 calories a day. I haven't really lost anything, and I work out A Lot. I figured if i at least ate 1200 calories a day then I would be fine but that wasn't the case, I didn't really lose any weight. Now I am 194 lbs. I highly agree with eatting the required amount of calories need for weight lose but how exactly are you suppose to eat that many calories. Even though I weigh a lot I can not fit that much food in my tummy. How do you do it? Even when I have those days that I pig out I still can not consume more then 1500 calories. I am not trying to stave myself but what if I feel really full already, do I still keep eating just to consume a certain amount of calories per day?

I was wondering about this one. I usually stay between 1200 and 1400 calories because according to CC math I should eat around 1400 calories a day. But some days (not often) I'll end up with somewhere between 1000 and 1200, usually because I feel too full to eat any more or because I get so busy during the day that I don't realise I'm not eating enough until after I've logged it all. Is this bad if I only do it maybe once a week or even less? I don't want to be unhealthy or do any permanent damage to my metabolism, especially since once in a while I go above recommended calories. Should I force myself to eat more to get up to 1200?

enchantingimage......

Your right they dont want my help.. They wantto be told over and over again that they need to eat more.. they are attention getters... This is an OPIONION of mine... as what a forum is for. If you dont want to read fifty people on one topic, what the HELL are you doing reading a thread about ONE TOPIC? Just curious... They reason I wrotethis is because some people out there look to other people for help, guidance, and most people should.... and I have received probably 20 emails from people who say that 1200 cal is JUST TOO MANY calories for them. SORRY, The I CANT HELP YOU! That is why I wrote this forum. MY THREAD! to EXPRESS MY VIEW, I dont mind critisism at all, I actually like it to better my self, BUT, THE facts are the facts, and the fact is EVERY BODY of an adult starture requires AT LEAST 1200 calories a day.. If you dont eat that, your only harming you.

I can only express my way onhere.. hey its working, something finally is after 8 years of trying, I guess I wasnt trying hard enough... I may not be complete, but I  WILL BE and no one,not even you will de-ter me.... Anyone else ere to loose weight and learn new ideas JOIN IN!

This is an opinion.. ( I guess I need to state this each time)

For both of you that ask what to do if you cant eat enough or cant reach your calorie goal... If you are having problems, eat foods that are healthy for you just higher in calories.. Slivered Almonds.... In 1/3 cup there are 330 cal. or Peanuts, walnuts... good fats.... and I suggest as my nutritionst told me ( I meet her 2 times a week) I need to eat 6-9 times a day.. the weekend I actually eat less, BUSY BUSY woman...( this is a usually rule) but I skip my snack times cause Im busy, not hungry,.... I wasnt loosing weight on the weekends... here it was because my body needed that snack to keep me metabolism regulating to burn fat. If it slows down with no fuel...... then so does your fat burning process. Eat smaller meals more times a day, you'll get more calories in that way too. Ieat like this:

6:30 - 7:00 breakfast

9:30 - 10:00 - snack ( 250 cal or less)

noon - lunch

2:00- 2:30 - snack ( 250 cal or less)

4:30- 4:45 - Dinner ( only because I leave work at 5 and I go to the gym by6 work out for an hour, and get home around 8 ... too late to eat a dinner then, so I eat before I leave work)

8:00- 8:30 snack ( 250 cal or less)

Hope this helps. :-)

 You aren't trying to do anything but rant. It's not even your way of deiting. It's the sites system to healthy eating. You didn't put anything into your post that was insightful. All you did was state something that everyone already read. You want facts... Here one is for you. I wouldn't have to deter you.. it's obvious you don't need someone to stand in your way. You're your own block. Eight years? Annnd finally, you're listening to things your doctors said. Wow.  " I have been searching for 8 years... YES 8 YEARS for a SIMPLE way to get rid of this fat, and I finally went back to what EVERY doctor says.. " Did it ever occure to you that someone that doesn't agree with you has the same block YOU HAD YOURSELF. Yet, you need to rant on here and be the superior captain of Diet. Guess what? You aren't. The fact that suddenly after eight years, you've reverted back to what every doctor says.. Only proves the point that... Everyone will find their answers in their own good time. YOU nor any doctor are going to SHOVE THEM down YOUR PATH.  All you've done is rant and rave. Learn that others have the same weaknesses as you. You aren't a superior human being.

 Everyone doesn't have to agree with you. Or pat your back. Give people their eight years to catch up. Or focus on yourself. God knows you need to. - ignores the rest of your nonesense posts. -

I am not going to arue with anyone on here.. Again MY FORUM, MY IDEAS, MY OPIONIONS!!!

However, youhave to want to, and for 8 years I never ewanted too EVERYONE has a wak eup calling... whatever it may be...

YOU WEIGH 105 lbs.. ain't no one on here even listening to you! What do you know baout being fat? so SHHHHHHHH !

For everyone out there that cares... I only came to this site as someone who can help others if they want it. I didnt have a buddy system, I have a great suport system, famnily, TONS OF REAL FRIENDS, and a wonderful hubby!

I am not perfect, I still have alot of weight to losem but Im ha;lf way there, and I thought, " why wait until Im all the way there, if I can help someone now" If you want my help JUST ASK, if not.. Get out of MY THREAD!

I think that it's really easy to jump all over the people who say they can't eat a lot and don't meet the 1200+exercise calories.. but for a lot of these people it is very hard to get past the old habits that they may be in.. especially people dealing with disordered eating issues, its more than just ignorance or wanting a quick fix, some people mentally and physically cannot make themselves eat more food bc they know if they do they will feel so awful afterwards...

it is a really hard thing to get past and for people who easily get past it don't often see the other side. its hard to go from eating very little to saying 'okay, i'm going to make myself eat a whole lot more and lose weight'... it seems simple enough but it's all mental for some people

i just think that there is always two ways to see something and everyone who pushes 1200+ should just think that maybe it isn't as easy for some people to just accept that advice as fact and do it... that's all .. :)