can eating too few cals slow down weight loss?

I eat between 850 and 1100 calories a day and I seem to not be losing as much weight as I would hope. Could that possibly be because Im not eating enough?

Yes - if you don't eat enough for your body, you metabolism will slow down, and you will not lose weight. In fact, you'll usually gain. 1200 calories is seen as the "bare minimum," but that is also for a completely sedentary, older, middle-weight woman.

If you do a search, many can, and have, explained this more in-depth than I. And I'm sure someone else will as well on this thread!

If that's a recent photo of you I think it's a safe bet that you're still growing and need well over 1500 calories a day if you're at all active.

EDIT: Not eating enough not only causes all sorts of malnutrition problems but can stall weight loss as your body fights to keep it's fat reserves.

Oh I have the same question... :S I'm so confused over this whole calories thing, so I'm trying to eat NO more than 1500 cal./day~ then again, I also weight 292 & have JUST started to walk daily for 1 hr...I noticed the first two days I had a headache at night that wouldn't go away...I was feeling hungry and ate an apple and IMMEDIATELY felt better. Is this because I'm not eating enough for my weight & activity level?

rzody0001: You are definitely not eating enough! How old are you what do you weigh. How tall are you?

if you are under 21 then look here http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html to work out what you need! Other wise use the tools at the top under Tools to work out your caloric needs (the ones on this site are for 21+).

shellybelly_pr: You also need to use the Tools to work out a sencible limit 1500 sounds low you can plug in your weight height and activity level there.

Im 21 but im only 5'2" and I weigh 181 pounds. Ive already lost 19 pounds so Im wondering if im just stuck now but I shouldnt be.

If you are consuming less than 1200 calories a day, you are starving yourself. A woman is not take in less than 1200 calories a day for health reasons. The body will begin to think you are starving it, and hold onto anything you give it as fat. Fat is what we want to reduce in weight loss. You need more calories a day if you are exercising. I started out with about 1500, and the more fit I have become I have had to add 200 or 300 calories to keep up with the demands of my body. Food is not the enemy, the types of foods we consume determine whether they work for us or against us. Talk to a nutritionist if you can, tell them what your goals are, the amount of current exercise, and they can customize a plan for you. Keep up the great work, and eat! Your body needs fuel to do what it needs to do.

Your BMI is 33  (severely overweight), so you should be able to lose weight pretty easily with diet alone.  But target a bare minimum of 1200 calories a day.  Get your deficit from exercise instead of eating low calories.  It doesn't have to be aerobic, but you have to put in the time.

ahh thanks for pointing out the severly overweight part lol. jk jk. thank you for your help.

I wasn't being rude.  That's where I started too, and I called myself obese.....

Whatever you call it, it was really easy to lose weight at 33 BMI just by controlling my eating.  But that ended after losing 25 lbs and I had to up the exercise a lot.  I'd forgotten how it felt to be moving all the time.

yes both of you are eating too little.  Shelly belly you probably got dizzy because you where evry hungry and your blood sugar dropped.  This can happen during starvation, or if you have hypoglycemia.  I would guess since this is unusual for you it was due to lack of food.  Though if it begins to happen often see a doctor.

For an older, short, completly sedentary woman 1200 calories is the abre minimum.   Also your deficit should never be more then 1000 calories.

Rzody - at lightly active you burn approximately 2250 calories a day not including any exercise.   Your deficit is over 1000 calories and you are eating less then 1200 calories a day.  So you need to eat more.  to lose about 1 lb a week I would suggest eating 1600-1700 calories a day.

Shelly belly you didn't include your height or age so I can't help with calculations.  But if you post them I'd be glad to.

if either of you want I can also provide the formula.  It's generally pretty close to CC's.  So ladies please use your burn meter!!

Get back to real healthy eating!  Good luck!