Dieting the wrong way, please help!

Hi Guys,

I'm new to CC and I think I star dieting the wrong way. I trend to eat less calories than the meter says. That's very wrong right? So if I start eating about 1300 cal again, will it reset my body? So far, I have lost about 5 lbs and I just read in the forum that you should eat what the meter suggests. I don't really understand why do we have to eat that amount a day. If we eat less, shouldn't our body use the storage fat as our energy, hence lose weight? Could anyone explain this to me or point me to the right article? I'm so scared that I wont lose anymore weight if I don't eat enough calories a day. I have been eating lots of fruits, vegs and lean meats. I also do 30 mins jog a day too. Can anyone suggest the right way to do the calories count and use the meter.

Thank you!!!

Make sure you've set your activity level appropriately and then increase your intake to the recommended level.  if you've only been doing this a few weeks you shouldn't have too many difficulties.

The article you're probably looking for is one on 'Starvation Mode'.... tends to happen when people try to crash-diet themselves thinner.  They lose quite a lot initially but then it can slow down ... or worse... they start to feel ill, anxious, or exhibit signs of malnutrition.  People who crash-diet can also find it very difficult to maintain the loss.... they find it very easy to gain.  And bingeing also is more of a problem for crash-dieters because bodies generally don't like being starved.

If you aim to lose weight at the rate of 1 - 2lbs a week average by doing exercise and having a sensible calorie target you'll feel a lot better and be much more successful than if you crash-diet.

your body can only convert a certain amount of fat to energy in a day. So if you are not eating enough, then your body turns to muscle for energy instead.

That's why you should aim for 500-700 calorie deficit - difference between how many calories you are eating and how many calories you are burning. It keeps you in the fat burning but out of the muscle burning.

Original Post by crazydiamondchrysalis:

your body can only convert a certain amount of fat to energy in a day. So if you are not eating enough, then your body turns to muscle for energy instead.

That's why you should aim for 500-700 calorie deficit - difference between how many calories you are eating and how many calories you are burning. It keeps you in the fat burning but out of the muscle burning.

 I'm curious about this. What is the certain amount of fat that your body can convert into energy in a day? Also I thought the maximum caloric deficit we can have a day is 1000? If there is a link to an article I'd love to check it out thank you. 

Thank you all for the advice. Lucky, I read the topics in this forum. They've been very helpful.

"What is the certain amount of fat that your body can convert into energy in a day?"

Believed to be about 68 calories per kilogram of body fat. So you need to know your BF%.

I'm 110.7 kg, 37.7% BF = 42 kg BF, which means a theoretical maximum of 2856 kcal/day. That is vastly in excess of my "safe" limit of 1218 kcal/day =1% of total body weight per week. For me a sensible deficit is in the range 600-900 and I aim for a rough average of 750 (September actual 729, month to date 835) with a daily variation from several hundred 'negative deficit' to a couple of thousand deficit. [My deficit is almost entirely from exercise, average exercise figures: Sept 672 kcal/day, month to date 832]

Original Post by foiegras:

"What is the certain amount of fat that your body can convert into energy in a day?"

Believed to be about 68 calories per kilogram of body fat. So you need to know your BF%.

I'm 110.7 kg, 37.7% BF = 42 kg BF, which means a theoretical maximum of 2856 kcal/day. That is vastly in excess of my "safe" limit of 1218 kcal/day =1% of total body weight per week. For me a sensible deficit is in the range 600-900 and I aim for a rough average of 750 (September actual 729, month to date 835) with a daily variation from several hundred 'negative deficit' to a couple of thousand deficit. [My deficit is almost entirely from exercise, average exercise figures: Sept 672 kcal/day, month to date 832]

 Thank you can you post a link so I may plug in my figures? I'd really appreciate it thank you.

www.phord.com/cc 

is the best calculator I know of and has a slot to input your BF% which your local gym can probably measure for you.