HELP! I feel like I am starving to death!
Well... sorta. It sure felt that way.
On my doctor's advice I recently reduced my calories to 1,000 per day, which broke my weight loss plateu. Today I went over my goal by 350 calories, but on the other hand, I also worked a twelve hour shift on a med-surg floor. I was absolutely starving at the end of my shift and indulged in some Chick-Fil-A, (piping hot fried goodness... mmm. And fruit.) But when I logged 'three hours of standing' and 'three hours of walking slowly', much less than the actual shift, it counted it at 611 calories. Yes? No? Maybe? I can tell you that I absolutely am not going to be able to maintain a thousand calories on days when I work like this. Maybe I should up my calories to 1400 on days when I work? Any advice from nurses or anyone who knows what I should do?
1000 calories a day is too low to maintain for almost everybody. It may have been okay to break the plateu but you already see that you cant continue. I recommend adding back 100 calories every couple days and seeing if you end up gaining. If you gain or hit a plateu again then undercut it by a few calories. Your doctors recommendation worked for breaking the plateu, but it is hard to imagine he meant for you to continue that way. You would be losing weight from breaking down your own needed body tissues for energy along with losing some fat.
I'm shocked that a doctor told you to reduce to 1000 calories. I assume the doc. just meant that to be a short term goal. Long term, that is not sustainable. No wonder you are starving!!! Anyone would be, especially considering you have such an active job. I would probably kill someone out of hunger.
I would recommend going to 1200 but then I'm no doctor, nor an expert on health but I have probably read every fitness book and diet book out there. You should definitely make sure that that 1000 calories is filled with protein and fiber, low sugar fruits and vegetables. Definitely don't waste any of those calories on liquids or juices and certainly not alcohol. Almonds and apples are my two favorite snacks that keep me from getting hungry. Absolutely be sure to drink 80 ounces of water a day. You'll burn 40 calories just from doing that.
I have found that if I have a higher calorie day every 4 days or so, it really does help jumpstart the weight loss. Good luck!
No doctor should ever tell a patient to have a low-calorie diet. It sounds as though he wants you to crash diet. I don't think that's a good way to break a plateau? He should have told you to exercise more or something.
Hey you are not eating enough I lost 100 pounds and i did it eating every two hours you have to fuel your body to loss wieght if you strave yourself what you eat will store as fat
What in the hell was your Dr thinking?No one should go to a 1000 calorie diet. I watch a lot of these weight loss shows, and I don't think.. None of those Dr. ever put someone on a low caloire diet like that. No-One should eat under 1200 calories.. Not even a child... It's not good. Your problem could have been too much of something in your diet. I once went on a low carb diet and lost a lot of weight. All at once the weight loss stopped... You know what I heard from my trainer.. Who told you a low carb diet is right for you?I know I gain when I eat too many carbs, and had to learn.. What carbs was good for me, and what carbs was bad. My trainer also told me. It's easy to toss a book in someone face and say read this.. But do they understand what they are reading. 9 times out of 10.. They don't understand... Or! They choose to do this.. Like most Doctor's.. They don't listen to there patients and they tell them to do this anyway. Something easy and simple just to shut the patient up. If you are working 12 hour. On top of that you are in the health care field. I know your gut was telling you. This isn't right. Please up your calories, and start eating more, and look at your sodium, fat, and any other intake before you start cutting your calories way back. I eat around 1400-1600 calories a day now.. Because I'm a very active person, and that's still to low for me. At night.. I find myself tossing a hand full of almonds in my mouth, and that works for me. I work harder in the gym, and watch my fat intake, carb intake, soduim intake to break a plateau. I don't cut down to nothing. Who ever told you that needs a good kick in the A.
Heavier, active people need more calories to maintain their weight than lighter, less active people. A 250lb woman that works a 12 hour shift on her feet all day needs significantly more to eat than a 150lb woman that sits at a desk just to maintain her weight. A woman under 20 needs more energy than a woman over 25. To lose weight steadily you only need to reduce your intake by 500 cals a day. So a larger, younger, active person losing weight needs more food than a smaller, older, less active person. Sadly, most GPs get about three hours training in dietary matters so they can get it very wrong....
If you hit a plateau and you're 100% sure that you've not been overeating then the usual explanation is that your body has got used to living on less food and your metabolism is slow. The answer is not to eat less but to eat more for a couple of days. In your case probably about 2200 cals. Give your body the confidence that there is regular food so it will start burning fat again.
If you undereat all that will happen is that you'll have more chick-fil-a moments (or worse) and you'll end up not losing an ounce. If you eat the right amount for your height, weight, activity level and age you'll lose weight steadily. If you choose good quality, nutritious foods you'll feel very satisfied with what you eat and not hungry at all.
If you use the CC calculator enter your activity level as 'moderate'. If you do extra work or more exercise add it in separately. Aim for a 1 - 2lbs loss per week for your target date and then see what calorie intake is suggested. I would be willing to bet that it isn't 1400 and it very certainly won't be 1000.
Why would you Dr. say that? 1,000 calories a day and you are starving to death. You should not go below 1,200 and I even question that number. Look more at what you are eating. Type of food, is it quality and nutritious. I would get a second option. That Dr. does not know what he/she is talking about. See a nutritionist or at least a Dr. educated in nutrition.
I'm not shocked at all that a doctor would suggest a very low calorie diet. Doctors spend almost no time on studying nutrition in medical school and they don't know beans about how to lose weight.
For years, I'd go to the doctor and get handed the same lame, 900 calorie, printed diet/meal plan. I'd follow it, lose a little, hit a plateau, starve, then give up and gain it all back plus more.
It wasn't until I found CC in January, 2006, that I was given the advice to eat more on a consistant basis. That made no sense to me until I tried it and got results. It's called starvation mode. Go to Ask Mary in the CC Advice section, scroll down and type Starvation Mode in the archive search. Read everything she has to say about it. It's a real eye opener.
Also in the Advice section, look up everything you can read about balanced diets and nutrition. You should be able to come up with a plan that you can live with. Never think of it as a temporary diet that you'll go off of as soon as you lose the weight!
Good Luck
Well, honestly, Doctors aren't there to guide you through a diet. If you need help i would go to a nutitionist or even a physical or occupational therapist. You're right, doctors do not get a ton of training in nutrition unless they specialize.. but then again... they don't get a lot of education on ANY topic unless they specialize, which is why you don't want to go to a DO for surgery or why you should ask a PHARMACIST if your medication is right.... Anyhow, off my soapbox, but I would not go to a 1000 calorie diet.. you'll get over the hump.
