Not enough calories???

Just a quick question.. if I am allowed 1400 calories per day in order to lose some weight, is it bad if at the end of the day I have only eaten 800-900?  I'm not trying to come in that much under my daily allowance, but it has happened several times now.  I'm not sure if that's just going to make my body think I'm starving it & therefore not burn the fat, or if that will make me lose the weight quicker.

Any info/advice would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Yes, it's bad. Assuming you are counting correctly, try adding some peanut butter to your day - it's an easy and tasty way to add some calories. And just plan ahead - know how much you need to eat, so that you don't find yourself short at the end of the day.

Thanks.  I will add some PB & crackers to my afternoon snack.  :)

Another question-- Like I said before, my daily allowance is 1400 calories; how many of those are mandatory?  In other words, at what point is it safe to stop eating because I'm "close enough" to my allowance?  For instance, today I've had around 1150... is that enough?  Most of the time, I come within the range of 1200 or so.. should I keep going until I hit 1400, or just stop?

I'm so confused!!!  :(

I'm curious about this too. Because a couple times I've been about 250 calories under and honestly I just was NOT hungry. So what happens in that case?

I am new here and would have NOT posted  except that this is such a great question.

I exercise...I either walk outside or with a walking DVD...everyday.  I have lost over close to 40 lbs in the last 2 years (weight watchers) My weight is still considered to high. My weight has not changed in a long time....

I decided to count calories (and points) to see if it would help.  I lost 4 gain 2 (my period did that) and have not been to a weigh-in yet.  However, on my home scales, it shows no weight loss.

 CC says I can have 1500 cal.....I eat on a daily basis 1100-1300 .   Is that ok?  or am I not eating enough??? I think I would gain weight if I ate 1500 calories a day....lol

*bump*  :-)

Sorry - I didn't see this thread was still alive.

It's really not ok to eat under the guidelines. 1200 is the absoute daily minimum for a very small, inactive female.  Most of us are not that, and should not eat as if we are. Undereating can lower your metabolism, and just make it that much harder in the future to lose weight, so when you stop being careful, the weight will come back faster and you'll have to eat even less to lose it again - it's a horrible cycle that so many women find themselves in because they believe the goal is to eat as little as possible, and let me tell you - that's the wrong goal.

Make sure you are counting accurately (measure EVERYTHING), but the one thing I've learned for sure on this site is that eating too little can be just as bad as eating too much.

Usually a tbsp of peanut butter will bring you up to the right number of cals. Or a small handful of nuts - it doesn't have to be much. If you plan ahead, and know that you'll be low, add some olive oil when you are cooking dinner.

camelgal - What was your daily caloric intake BEFORE you started dieting??

Assume you were previously eating 1800 cals/day

(don't lie girls, many of us do it)

In order to lose weight you must eat 500 cals less per day than you originally would. So, 1200 cals/day will make you lose weight. Include cardio and weight exercises, you will lose 10 times faster. Drink LOTS and LOTS of water. Sip it, dont gulp!

If you only eat 800-900 cals/day but should be meeting the recommended 1200, your body WILL go into starvation mode eventually. SURE you may lose a few to begin with, but you will plateau and your body will store any fat you do have or are consuming.

Why doesn't anyone get it. The healthiest, fittest, and more often skinniest athletes eat 2200 cals/ day. FIVE small meals. They eat all day long. They don't starve themselves. It depends on your intentions. Do you want to be skinny and unhealthy? OR do you want to be fit, healthy and able to look at the scale with a smile.

Original Post by dolphynne:

 

Assume you were previously eating 1800 cals/day

(don't lie girls, many of us do it) Why would someone lie about this - that's a perfectly respectable number of calories to eat per day.

In order to lose weight you must eat 500 cals less per day than you originally would. So, 1200 cals/day will make you lose weight. Include cardio and weight exercises, you will lose 10 times faster. Drink LOTS and LOTS of water. Sip it, dont gulp! 1200 could be too low for some people, it depends on their size.

If you only eat 800-900 cals/day but should be meeting the recommended 1200, your body WILL go into starvation mode eventually. SURE you may lose a few to begin with, but you will plateau and your body will store any fat you do have or are consuming.

Why doesn't anyone get it. Lots of people get it - but the people who posted here asking questions are new, and they haven't learned yet - give them a break. The healthiest, fittest, and more often skinniest athletes eat 2200 cals/ day. Unless they are Michael Phelps and eat 12,000 calories a day. FIVE small meals. Or big meals, if they are  active enough - generalizations get us nowhere. They eat all day long. They don't starve themselves. It depends on your intentions. Do you want to be skinny and unhealthy? OR do you want to be fit, healthy and able to look at the scale with a smile.

 

 

Dolphynne-  I never stated I was an athlete; I'm fully aware that athletes require many small meals to maintain their peak physical condition.  I also never stated I wanted to get "skinny".  I'm trying to lose 10 lbs for swimsuit season.. that's it.  I'm not starving myself, but many times at the end of the day, I find myself under my daily allowance.  It's not intentional; I just stop eating when I'm not hungry anymore (like pureluvs and justbeachy61 both said) and I make my snacks as low calorie as possible.  I also drink 64 oz of water daily.  My only question was, IF I do happen to come in under my allowance, how does that affect my outcome.

Anyway, thanks to all those who gave helpful information & advice.  :)

thanks for the post.   I have such a hard time thinking I need to eat more!!!!  I think for me its going to be about eating the small *meals* through out the day and drinking that WATER!!  WW alwayssssss go on and on about the water.....which btw, I gain weight everytime I drink what they say to drink.

Thanks for all the info.......

Life goes on   one day at a time.

You can't gain weight from drinking water. Water has no calories - if you weight yourself in the morning, after you've emptied your bladder, then water doesn't have anything to do with weight.

Unless we're talking about water retention, which is a completely different issue that isn't at all related to how much water you drink. If you suffer from water retention, you should keep an eye on your sodium intake and lower it. Very often, that'll solve your issue and make you lose a few pounds just of water weight.

But again - no matter how much water you drink, it won't make you gain weight.

Thanks for the tip, emilie!  :)

I'm coming into this one pretty late by the dates that are showing up.

Anyway, oddly enough I came onto the forum section for just this reason! I'm like most that posted here,( I have to eat the 1200 calories, but my "eat meter" shows that I should be eating 1800 calories? I don't know which one to go by so I try to stay with the 1200 due to the test we take to show what amount of calories we should have according to our height/weight/age ) I have good intentions, spend a lot of time trying to figure out healthy meals and snacks only to come in at 800 or 1000 calories at the end of the day. I'm absolutely NOT trying to not eat, seems like that's all I do is eat, work and exercise. I drink a lot of water each day, again..due to being on WW. I also eat lots of veggies, fruit and I eat breakfast everyday..usually a bowl of oatmeal or cereal.  I will try the peanut butter to get me up to the daily required amount. Hopefully I will get the scale to move again!! I'm not stressing too much about the "scale" as my clothes are fitting looser and I've dropped from a size 10 to a size 8 and they are loose, but it's always nice to see the numbers go down on the scale as we all look forward to this happening.  Thanks for letting me jump in here and if anyone has any other ideas to get the calories up and the pounds off, please let me know.