Negative effects from too few calories

Hello!  I'm fairly new to this.  I'm 49 for a few more days..  :(   and I'm trying to get to a weight that I feel pretty good at.  I'm 6' 2" and with a fairly small frame I feel great at about 180.  I'm pretty active in that I run about 40 MPW.  The suggestion from the site was that I eat 2,600 calories.  I have found that I can eat pretty well and get a good mix of proteins and carbs on about 2,000 - 2,100.  I started with 15 to lose and have about 11 to go.

Am I hurting myself by only getting that many calories?  I don't want to "train" my body to exist on an unnaturally low amount.  In other words, would be I better off in the long run by trying to get the full 2,600 even if I don't feel hungry for it???

Thanks!

Probably.  As a general rule, you should keep your daily deficit between 500 and 1000 calories.  Basically, you want your body to keep from catching on that it's not getting enough energy to sustain it.  For most people, if they restrict calories too much, eventually their bodies try to conserve energy as much as possible, and weight loss slows.

Try adding in the calorie dense healthy stuff that most of us tend to cut out a bit when we're restricing calories, like healthy oils as nuts.

Thanks!  That makes sense and it would pretty easy to add calories!  I want to get to my goal weight as quickly as possible but I don't want to make maintenance difficult.  I'll target about a 750 deficit.

Ways to get healthy calories

• avacado is great in place of mayo and has omaga 3 
• hummus for snack 2 tbsp = 70 healthy calories.  Every flavor is different even in texture as with every brand.
• Fat free Ritcotta cheese with a sprinkle of sugar/honey/sub.  stir in some raspberries.    1/2 c w/ fake sugar and 10 raspberries = 100 cal.
• Angel food cake, 2tbsp  light whipcream, strawberries / raspberries / blueberries  yummy dessert. maybe 150ish depending on brand.
• add shreded cheese to salads. or hard boiled egg whites.
• I use fiber cereal as croutons (the kind that looks like bunny food)  1/4 = 50 cal.

Hope that gives you a few new options that you can add.  and if your low one day your body will be ok just like if your over a bit another.