Am I eating to little?

Hi, i'm new here

I am a 30 year old male 6'1, 200lbs who is fairly inactive,  and I am just beginning to look into calories and general physical health :)..

I've read a few articles saying if you eat too little, your metabolism slows down and you dont burn calories.  I'm not sure if this is the case.

On an average day,

I drink: a few coffee's, about a litre of water

I Eat: skip breakfast, sandwich for lunch (turkey, or organic pb&j on multigrain), and for supper i eat chicken and baby green salad or mixed veg (normally chicken breast, or chicken thighs)

Using the calorie tools provided on this site, i've calculated that I only eat about 1000-1200 calories per day.. and that doesn't sound right to me.. it sounds very low.  But I think i've done the calculations correctly.

I dont go to the gym, although I have 3 levels in my house with about 16 stairs per level, which I scale on a regular basis (it is annoying yes, but its where I live.) .. I also walk alot, stretch from time to time, and do sit-ups.

I am not necesarrily muscular, but not fat either (just my belly), i could use some toning! ...

and I'm just wondering,  Is this just a case of me being lazy?, not enough cardio? or am I eating so little that my metabolism has gone completely dormant? ..

Well, I read articles about losing weight before I stated dieting. They say that as a rule of thumb do not skip meals and eat small meals up to 6 times a day, which keeps your metabolism working. Having only lucnh and dinner is not a good idea. I actually read that it prevents losing weight. In addition, you need to exercise regularly so that your body will be in shape. You can start with walking, or use one of the netflix DVDs to exercise at home. Hope this helps!

alright so I guess, I need to eat more, and be more active.  Which is what i figured.. But i didn't want to put on more weight either.

and for the record, this is not me dieting, this is just how I've always eaten, maybe on a saturday I will eat a breakfast, but still that is very rare.

I will take into consideration your points about eating 6 meals a day, I will use my own common sense and assume a healthy 6 meals.

thanks again.

I think you are not eating enough.  Like ncelik said, skipping meals is not a good idea.  Go to the Tools section on this site and use the Calorie Target section to figure out how many calories you need.  Spread those calories out throughout the day to prevent being too hungry.  If you are trying to lose, then you should eat less than you burn.  This site has a few nice tools to give you a general idea of how many calories you burn and how many you take in.  This site general recommends that if you are planning to lose weight, that you do it at a nice slow pace....1 to 2 lbs. per week...which is approx. eating 500 calories less than you burn each day.  But you need to make sure that you eat enough calories so your metabolism isn't just storing up everything.  The tools section on this site will take into consideration your weight, your age, your height, your activity level...etc...it's different for everyone, depending on many different factors. 

Good Luck and I am sure you'll get more good info. from people.  There are many people on here who know a lot about the process of losing weight in a healthy way.

so, when you mentioned you need to eat more, you should try eating snacks between meals like raw nuts (be careful about the amount I do not exceed 160 calorie), yoghurt (I like new dannon light&fit yoghurts), or fruits (one apple, one banana, etc). I always click on analysis button during the day to see if I consume enough healthy food (% for vitamins, sugar, and try not go beyong approx %50 carbs, %20 protein, 15%fat on general and get %calcium, vitamin A and C). I even drink a glass of red wine sometimes at nights. Still, all these adds up around 1340 calories a day. I feel healthy and more motivated to see I am taking enough nutrients.

As an adult male you should eat no less then 1500 calories a day.   Yes seriously.  The small number ((1200)) if for women.

If you are running up and down stairs, walking, streching, and doing sit ups you also do not count as sedentary.  Sedentary is like.... ultumate couch potatoe.  The guy who sits at a desk and does tech support all day and comes how and watches tv all evening.  This does not sound like you.

Please please look over and try to use the CC tools to figure out what your actually burning.   Since you have been undereating for so long, your metabolism probably is effected.

I would suggest eating at maintaince for a few weeks.  Yes your will gain a little bit of weight.  Since your eating at maintaince and not above that will mostly be water weight and will even out.

Then once your weight stops fluctuating stay there another week.  This should start to get your metabolism repaired.   Then take your burn and subtract 500.  Never have a deficit bigger then 1000 calories.

I know that's a lot, but it sounds like you have developed some unhealthy habits with out realizing it.   I wish you the best of luck!!!

I am having the same problem: I've got 3 days of information on my food intake and every day I'm 100-300 calories below the 1950 this site says I should be.

I am eating fairly what I eat all the time if I'm not on vacation or away from home. I just can't imagine that i need to **eat more**. That seems crazy because I think I eat a lot.

The calories seems low to me too but I add them up and it comes out right.

I did weight watchers 3-4 years ago and lost 30 lbs, and then stopped losing. In the last 18 months they have revised their program and said that men weren't getting enough calories. When I stopped I was at 26 points a day (on the old system) and there was no way I could go to 24.

So, I'm not sure what to do. I guess next week I'll have a better idea if this works or not by the scale. Losing weight has been so tough in knowing the *right* thing to do at the *right* time.

8 years ago I was 265. I lost 50 lbs on Atkins and then I stopped losing. Then I maintained for a few years and then 2-3 years later lost 30 on weight watchers and have been maintaining 2-3 years and I'd like to get the last 30-40 off, but haven't had much luck.

I can always do the program but I don't always know what the program is that will work for me at that time and I do believe it changes. The good thing is that I have lost 85 pounds and I have kept them off for almost 10 years and I don't have a lot of fear of gaining it back. I'm concerned about how to move forward though.

there are a LOT of people on this site who are afraid to up thier calories for fear of gaining. and even though in the short term, first week or so you do gain a few lbs, its quickly drops back off when your metabolism resets itself. so they find that they up thier calories and they drop weight. so do yourself a favor, when you adjust your calories for the recommended amoutn dont weigh yourself for the first week, maybe even two weeks. you will have water fluctuations and all that.

your body will adjust to new eating habits. start small, have a piece of fruit for breakfast, or some egg whites with a little cheese and juice. its not a heavy breakfast meal and after awhile your body will adjust and when you wake up in the morning it will say "feed me, I like breakfast!" lol. i usually aim for about 250 cals. which you can squeeze in egg whites, a couple of slices of turkey bacon and a little paper carton of skim milk. that is plenty for me in the morning. i skipped breakfast for years as well. even if you feel really full at first, give it a week. Your body WILL adjust.

Start putting snacks in also. even if its just a granola bar. i stay away from anything with aspartame in it (usually yogurts, puddings etc.) these products usually have another additive called ace k and it breaks down into some really nasty crap. some people are more sensitive to it than others but if you can afford it opt for an organic yogurt, even if it has a bit more sugar. oh, i should mention stevia is okay as far as sweetners go. If you're a regular user it can be hard to just stop using and artificial one in coffee, tea etc.

Definitley up your cardio, it doesnt sound like you have much to lose so i'd say focus on building yourself (if thats what you want) and visit the excersise forums for more advice for that. I have never been a gym rat and the most i ever do inside is the elliptical or a fun class like yoga. I prefer to be outside and have my mind engaged when im "working out" riding my horse 4x a week seems to suffice. lol. just find what works for your body and what you think is fun, becuase if it isnt fun you won't stick with it.

sorry i wrote a novel. i hope it helped though! :)

Original Post by lunaripyros:

As an adult male you should eat no less then 1500 calories a day.   Yes seriously.  The small number ((1200)) if for women.

If you are running up and down stairs, walking, streching, and doing sit ups you also do not count as sedentary.  Sedentary is like.... ultumate couch potatoe.  The guy who sits at a desk and does tech support all day and comes how and watches tv all evening.  This does not sound like you.

Please please look over and try to use the CC tools to figure out what your actually burning.   Since you have been undereating for so long, your metabolism probably is effected.

I would suggest eating at maintaince for a few weeks.  Yes your will gain a little bit of weight.  Since your eating at maintaince and not above that will mostly be water weight and will even out.

Then once your weight stops fluctuating stay there another week.  This should start to get your metabolism repaired.   Then take your burn and subtract 500.  Never have a deficit bigger then 1000 calories.

I know that's a lot, but it sounds like you have developed some unhealthy habits with out realizing it.   I wish you the best of luck!!!

actually an adult male should not eat less than 1800 cals a day, and thats for a male who does no exercise at all.

hey, i started at 200lb.s and was eating 2800 cals a day and losing without exercise, so i think a good number for you to start on is around 2500, certain that you will lose weight, remember start high at first, you dont want to be eating as low as 1500 when you stall, etc, keep your metabolism in order. do cardio, search HIIT, do it 2-3 times a week, and no more, eat above 2500 cals a day, you should lose over 1lb a week, easily. dont listen to these people who say eat 1500, blah blah, theyve already ruined their metabolism, some people on here are eating like 1400 cals to maintain, thats a joke, theyve ruined their metabolism from undereating for a long period of time, dont make that mistake.

ok, the general consensus seems to be, EAT MORE!.. and way more.

I will up my healthy calorie intake, and hope i dont put on too much weight.

I will also pay more attention to cardio.

and I'll keep you all posted.

Original Post by webt:

I dont go to the gym, although I have 3 levels in my house with about 16 stairs per level, which I scale on a regular basis (it is annoying yes, but its where I live.) .. 

Bet you anything that after upping your calorie intake to the amount you SHOULD be eating (instead of maybe less than half that), you will find this fun rather than annoying. :) I for one would love to have stairs inside my house, I find it hard enough to consume all the energy I have throughout the day as it is.

Original Post by yaza:

Original Post by lunaripyros:

As an adult male you should eat no less then 1500 calories a day.   Yes seriously.  The small number ((1200)) if for women.

If you are running up and down stairs, walking, streching, and doing sit ups you also do not count as sedentary.  Sedentary is like.... ultumate couch potatoe.  The guy who sits at a desk and does tech support all day and comes how and watches tv all evening.  This does not sound like you.

Please please look over and try to use the CC tools to figure out what your actually burning.   Since you have been undereating for so long, your metabolism probably is effected.

I would suggest eating at maintaince for a few weeks.  Yes your will gain a little bit of weight.  Since your eating at maintaince and not above that will mostly be water weight and will even out.

Then once your weight stops fluctuating stay there another week.  This should start to get your metabolism repaired.   Then take your burn and subtract 500.  Never have a deficit bigger then 1000 calories.

I know that's a lot, but it sounds like you have developed some unhealthy habits with out realizing it.   I wish you the best of luck!!!

actually an adult male should not eat less than 1800 cals a day, and thats for a male who does no exercise at all.

Your right I forgot the part where I usually say that that is "the minimum for a very short, very sedentary male". 

However no need to be rude, the rest of my posts clarifies that he should use the tools to figure out him maintaince level and try for that for a while.

Thanks for catching my ommision.  but trust me I haven't "wrecked" my metabolism.  I'm a woman and eat 1700 a day to lose.  I think I eat quite well.