Cutting calories causes no weight loss?

Okay, I've got a question for all you folks out there that say not to cut your calories too much.  If cutting your calories too much causes you not to lose any weight because your body goes into starvation mode, then how come anorexics are so thin?

It is really important to remember that you need to develop an eating style that you can maintain the rest of your life, not just until you get those pounds off.  So you have to ask yourself, "can I go the rest of my life on 1200-1400 calories a day?"  I know I can't. 

Metabolism is an amazing thing--it does slow down and speed up with changes in intake.  If you are hungry and refusing to eat, think about the message that sends to your body.  Your body is thinking, "Hey, I just told the brain that I'm hungry, and I'm not being fed.  The brain's job is to make sure I get the nutrients I need, so if I'm not getting food, that must be because food is scarce.  I don't want to starve to death, so I'm going to slow down the ol' furnace and try to conserve as much fat and calories as I can."  If you feed your body when you are hungry and work out, your body never thinks that food is scarce and so maintains a healthy metabolism.

(Too bad this is the internet.  I do a really phenomenal puppet show featuring Brain, Stomach and Banana. )

I'm 43, I work out for 30-45 minutes 3-5 times a week, and I'm losing a pound to a pound and a half per week eating 1850 calories a day.  PLUS I get one "bad meal" per week, in which I get fried food, dessert, a margarita, or whatever food I want.  I think this is possible for me because I eat when I'm hungry, and my metabolism reflects it.

Hope that helps.

1850 calories?  Are you kidding me?  That to me is like a buffet.  How do you get it all down?  Boy if this is the way to do it, I've been doing it all wrong.  I feel so guilty for going over 1200 calories.  This is freaking me out a little thinking about eating all that food.  I work out hard, lifting four days a week.  I started working out about three months ago, started with all cardio and now I am into the lifting more.  I keep myself fairly active on a day to day basis.  But have had no change in my weight not even a little.

Bravo phylbean. Well put..lol Hey I want a front row seat to the puppet show..lol

I am totally serious.  I, too, have done 1200 calories in the past.  I lost weight,  And I put the weight back on, because it wasn't something I could maintain.  I can definitely live with 1850 calories a day.    I eat, like, 6 times a day.  I LOVE it!

BTW, Tickets to the puppet show go on sale next week through TicketMaster. 

Yeah I eat around that too lemme tell you it was hard at first I had a hard time but it works. What is your bmr?

Well Ill have to buy mine by way of phone because its suppose to snow saturday thru monday Im not going out in that mess..lol

Original Post by lotsafoodgirl:

1850 calories?  Are you kidding me?  That to me is like a buffet.  How do you get it all down?  Boy if this is the way to do it, I've been doing it all wrong.  I feel so guilty for going over 1200 calories.  This is freaking me out a little thinking about eating all that food.  I work out hard, lifting four days a week.  I started working out about three months ago, started with all cardio and now I am into the lifting more.  I keep myself fairly active on a day to day basis.  But have had no change in my weight not even a little.

i have the same problem. clearly 1200 calories isnt right...if its not working, then why do we insist on sticking to that amount?!? lol, we must be crazy.

LOL, so true, I think its just what we've been told for so many years.  Food makes you fat!!!  So silly!

Cutting calories is a good way to lose wieght. eating too little will make you lose wieght (yes, just like anorexics get skinny when they don't eat) beacuse your body is actually feeding off of itself, and burning muscle into food. BUT your metabolism also goes WAY down. because you aren't eating, you don't have the energy to expend yourself in a way that someone that does it. same for cutting calories. if you eat too little, your body goes into hibernation mode (a moderate form of it) and your metabolism slows down to conserve energy. so, in the short term you will lose wieght. but long term you will actually hurt your metabolic rate. SO what we need to do is eat about 1200-1400 calories a day to lose wieght and maintain a healthy and/or faster metabolism. (ALSO, BURNING more calories than you take in will of course help. because not only are you burning the calores, but after those are burned, you will start to burn off that fat!!) (BTW 3500 calories are stored in a pound of fat.) AND (a pound of muscle burns 75-100 calores a day just by BEING.

(my sister is a nutritionist)