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eating 400-700 cal a day not on purpose-no weight loss

ok I started c-c just to see how many calories a day I am consuming. I eat 2 meals a day if I'm lucky, but I've usually been 175 lbs from 14 yrs old on. I'm 5'6".  I'm not eating alot and my weight is staying the same with no exercise. If I exercise I know I'll lose weight, here's the question.

Should I eat more while exercising or eat the same?

Also is anyone else eating this amount, not on purpose, and not losing weight?

Danielle

You need to eat more, especially when you are exercising.  Min calorie intake for women is 1200 and men is 1500.

Also eating something every four hours is helpful.

Well all i can tell you is what ive read previously posted on this forum as i am also new to this whole thing. One thing i do know is that, you are not consuming enough calories, you need at least 1200 a day maybe more - you will have to work that out using the tools on this website. I have also heard that if you dont eat enough calories your body thinks its going to starve and saves all the fat rather then using it up. So eat more!! And lets say you generally need 1200 calls a day and you excersize working off 400 cals, then for that day you would need to consume a total of 1600 calories so that you do not go under 1200. Does that make any sence?

One way to boost calories is to buy breakfast bars or bags of dried fruit and nuts - preferably with no added sugar and not salted. They are soooo convenient as you can take them anywhere.

At the moment i am eating around 1600 calories a day and losing 1 pound a week (when im good :P), which is healthy for me however i am 5 foot 10 and presently weigh 179 pounds. So do not be afraid of eating more food more then likely you will start losing weight if you do. 

julie_22 I was busy thinking about what i was writing and i didnt notice you posted, so yeh what you said basically! lol

damato, eating 400 - 700 calories a day is a starvation level diet.

is there a reason you are eating such a small amount? 

Did you know that your body needs much more to function and for your organs and muscles and brain to function well? 

Have you checked how many calories you need to eat just for you, your age, height, weight and activity level?

if you are an adult, the calculator here is ok

http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/calorie s-burned.php

if you are a teenager age 19 and younger, then the international guidelines and standards are different than for adults.  Here is a good calculator for teenagers:

http://www.kidsnutrition.org/bodycomp/bmiz2.h tml

before we can really give you more advice, do you mind saying how tall you are, your age and weight? 

Danielle,

I've found eating something small every 2 hours works best, and even though it sounds counter-productive when you're trying to loose weight, try upping your calorie intake by 100 calories a day until your scale starts to move.  Not to beat a dead horse, but when you don't eat enough, your body doesn't produce an essential peptide called leptin.  If there is not enough leptin in your system, your brain will break down muscle tissue into amino acids for fuel instead of your fat stores and you won't move the scale.  Your immune system will probably suffer if you continue eating your current amount, so even if you have to set an alarm on your cell phone to remind yourself to eat, you should probably do it.

Again, I've found that if I eat something small, say 100-300 calories every two hours, I can loose weight really quickly, it won't hurt to give it a try and if it works for me... who knows??? Maybe it will work for you too.

Good luck,

Kate

P.S.  You can check my references if you want more information on the physiology behind metabolism...  The book is Foundations of Physiological Psychology by Neil R. Carlson. (2005). Boston: Pearson. Sixth Edition.

Hi damato,

We were recently discussing stuff like this on a previous entry.

A diet like this won't work, long term. You'll lose weight but at a cost and you probably can't keep it off.

Let me start you off with this article, about how you can GAIN weight on a diet like that.

This isn't a diet this is how I eat every day. One to 2 small meals. I just don't feel hungry. I'm 5'6" feet tall, 21 yrs, and 175 lbs.   

yeah kateskillin, I've eaten a small snack every 3 hours before and when I did I lost weight quicker. It's just a pain to say oh i should eat something now when your not hungry.  Do you have suggestions on small calorie snacks other than fruit and granola bars?  

thanks everyone.

Danielle 

damato330 ~ I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. 

Are you saying that you intend to continue eating this much because you don't feel hungry?

• a piece of toast is only like 100 calories and fills you up. (whole wheat brown bread is better than white bread)
• yogurt
• soup really fills you up and is low in cals
• nuts

No I'll force myself to eat more even though I'm not hungry. In a weird way eating more makes me lose weight when combined with exercise.  

I'm saying the reason why I eat so little is because I don't feel hungry. However I got here by confusing I'm hungry with I'm upset.  

hkellick's article is exactly me, minus a few pounds.

thanks for the suggestion piecesofme_09. I was just thinking maybe yougurt is low cal. That will give me a break from apple slices and granola bars as snacks.

I'm so very glad to hear that damato :)  We can't help you figure out how to eat too little, but we can help with strategies to help you eat more ;)

Here's an updated list of 100 cal or less types of nutritious snacks :)

http://www.journeywoman.com/travel101/100_sna cks.html

wow thanks united2gether, certainly have my selection don't I.

:::nods:::

i understand that sometimes the appetite goes into hibernation or that sometimes our brain argues that we don't need to eat.... but they lie to us.  sometimes we need to ignore them and eat anyway so we don't undereat... 

other times appetite comes on like a bear and we need to ignore our brains and tummies for just the opposite reason, so that we don't overeat...

it's hard, but it really is healthier for us to learn to eat well and not hurt ourselves by undereating or overeating.

Hope this helped :)  Cheers, 

here's another little list i like, from WebMd

http://www.webmd.com/content/Article/94/10286 1.htm?pagenumber=2

100 Calorie Snacks: 20 Choices

Need some ideas? To get you started on the road to calorie-controlled snacking, our experts offer some suggestions for healthy 100-calorie munchies:

1. Half an apple with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter
2. An orange and a few dry-roasted nuts
3. 10 cashew nuts
4. 10 almonds
5. 2 ounces of lean roast beef
6. Half a small avocado
7. 3 ounces cooked whole-grain noodles with 1 fresh tomato and 1/2 ounce hard cheese
8. 1 seven-grain Belgian waffle
9. 4 mini rice cakes with 2 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese
10. 3 ounces low-fat cottage cheese and 3 whole-wheat crackers
11. 1/4 cup fat-free ranch dressing with mixed raw veggies
12. 6 Wheat Thins crackers with two teaspoons of peanut butter (or any nut butter)
13. 1 small baked potato with 1/2 cup salsa and 2 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream
14. 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce with 1 slice of whole-wheat toast, cut into 4 strips for dunking
15. 1/2 cup frozen orange juice, eaten as sorbet
16. 2 large graham cracker squares with 1 teaspoon peanut butter
17. 3 handfuls of unbuttered popcorn, seasoned with herbs
18. 4-6 ounces of no-fat or low-fat yogurt
19. A 5-ounce tossed salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and 1/4 cup fat-free dressing
20. Half a "finger" of string cheese with 4 whole-wheat crackers

damato, having such a small appetite, you should be eating calorie-rich foods, not low-cal.  You can eat the same amount of food but get more calories for the volume by not using low-cal foods, or low-fat foods. 

You can train yourself to eat more, by gradually increasing the volume.  Say you eat a 6 oz cup of yogurt.  Buy the 8 oz cups, the extra 2 oz won't be that much more volume, but you've increased your calorie intake, and nutrition intake, by 33%. 

Hi. I have been checking my calories since Wednesday since I just started a diet plan. I havent eaten more than 950 calories in one day. I cant eat any more I am totally full. This week I have lost 7 lbs. I never have been a big eater but I find eating more healthy I am getting fuller faster. If I had to eat 1200 calories a day I think I would be sick.. That is my opinon and what I find works for me.

damato - Why are you looking for low calorie foods if you are already eating too little?  You should eat more calorie dense foods that will provide needed calories without filling you up.  Instead of low fat yogurt, have the full fat.  Instead of salads, have a sandwich.  Drink 2% milk instead of skim.  You need fat in your diet to help your body absorb vitamins.  Eat nuts and dried fruits - higher in calories but not very filling.

The biggest concern is, you'll end up with malnutrition and some very hard to deal with diseases.  Your bone health will be the first thing to go, then your hair and finally, organ failure.

Hi rastababe,

I came back to this thread and saw your answer. I'm here to strongly suggest that you eat more. What you're doing does work.. for now, but it won't work forever. Your metabolism, probably even now, is slowing down. Soon, it'll be low enough that you can't lose any more weight on what you're eating, may even start gaining. At this point, you're borked. Your metabolism won't speed up again immediately and if you eat anything more than the 950 or so you eat now, you'll gain fat.

That's the story about what happened to this girl. I suggest you read that article.

What you're doing isn't healthy, and it won't work, long term.

Hi Damato,

You mentioned you've been at the same low calorie intake for quite some time.  That is probably why you don't feel hungry eating as little as you do.  Eating every 2-3 hours, even if you don't feel like it, might seem like a pain until you get your body on the new schedule.  It takes about 3 weeks to train your body in a new habit, so maybe try the new eating schedule for 3 weeks without weighing yourself, (so you don't panic if you gain a pound or two at first), and consider it a "trial run."  At the end of your "trial run" weigh in and you will probably be pleasantly surprised, and if not, you're not any worse off for trying, right?

It looks like you've gotten quite a few suggestions on healthy snack ideas already.  I like sweets, so I always have a few snack sized "yummy munchies" in my purse so when my phone alarm goes off I'll be prepared. (Yes, I forget to eat on schedule if I don't set an alarm, ha ha).  Some of my favorites are teddy grahams or animal crackers, a banana, and these little peaches and cream parfait things that you can find by the single serve applesauce cups at the supermarket.  (The pineapples and cream ones are good too).  I also really like the Healthy Choice sorbet and fudge icecream bars.  Of course you can't beat fresh fruit, so that's always a good one too.

Best of luck to you Danielle, and don't forget, it's not just about the number on the scale, we should eat to be as healthy as possible, not as skinny as possible.

Take Care!