Weight Loss
Moderators: duke3522, devilish_patsy, topanga1485, nycgirl, spoiled_candy, cmillington, coach_k



So I have a question...I'm pretty active, working out for 1.5-2 hours 5-6 days a week (biking, cardio, hiking, yoga), but I feel like I might not be eating enough to keep my metabolism up and running.  I'm fairly small but trying to lose around 5 pounds and tone up.  I have IBS and ending up losing A LOT of weight two years ago due to digestive problems and got down to 91 lbs which was much much much too small for my 5'4", 19 year old body.  I gained the weight back (and then some) and would like to get down to 110 lbs and sustain that.  

According to CC, I burn anywhere from 1700-2200 calories a day, but I don't think that I'm consuming much more than 1200 or 1300.  Problem is that I'm just not hungry and if I eat more, it triggers a lot of intestinal issues.  I don't want to cancel out the weight loss, but I also don't want my body going into starvation mode.  

Thoughts?

4 Replies (last)

Eat higher calorie foods.  Use full fat salad dressing instead of that light garbage.  Eat fully fat dairy instead of the non fat stuff.  Get skin on your chicken breasts instead of going for skinless.  Grab a handful of nuts for a snack.

This will help you get more calories in you without adding much volume of food.

Triggers intestinal issues??? Please elaborate how calories cause this, as opposed to food choices.

http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html  Enter your stats into this chart and read off the number for 'very active' and you'll see that you really need 2760+ cals a day to maintain your weight and be in good health. 

If you have digestion problems preventing you from eating normally then you should talk to your doctor and ask to be referred to a gastro-intestinal specialist or a dietician.  Keep a food and symptom diary to establish if certain foods are making matters worse.  1200-1300 cals is providing you with insufficient energy putting you at serious risk of malnutrition - a much worse problem than 'starvation mode'.  If you've lost your appetite (you're not hungry) there's a serious issue. 

At 115lbs your BMI is already sub 20.  Any lower and you're risking complications.  Do talk to your doctor about how you feel and what's happening.  I think you need some professional medical help.

 

 

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Thank you all for your input, but perhaps I should have clarified.  

First off, I've been vegetarian and lactose intolerant for the past 4 years, so upping my dairy and meat isn't an option.  I eat high protein foods such as tofu, plenty of beans and legumes, soy and quinoa.  Secondly, I'm 21 years old which I don't think qualifies as a child so I really don't think that I can eat 2700 + calories and not gain weight.  I have a small frame and really felt best when I was at 110 lbs. 

I will try to add in more nuts as those don't seem to upset my digestion but very creamy and 'fatty' foods always trigger an episode.  I have to eat a diet very high in fiber in order to be 'regular' as I have the constipation subtype of IBS. I feel like the high fiber and my heavy fruits and vegetables are probably contributing more to my fullness and lack of appetite than anything else. 

Is there anyone on here with comparable digestive problems?

4 Replies (last)
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