Is it possible to not lose weight because you are not eating enough?

Hi, I am new to this site, but have been actively trying to lose weight for a while. It has been almost two years now. I did great at first the weight just flew off because I watched what I ate and exercised frequently. I went from 190 to 154 in a matter of months. Mostly the weight was post baby weight, so I think that is why it came off so fast. I was careful not to starve myself because I know that is bad for your metabolism, but I never really counted calories or limited carbs. I feel that I have a very clean diet, I do not eat out much, and I prepare most of our meals from raw foods. Therefore, I did not see a need for the other stuff. But last summer when I hit my lowest of 149 I started to see some weight gain, gradual at first and then it poured on during the holidays even though my diet and exercise routine did not change. Now I am back up to 165 and I am miserable since I have to squeeze myself into my size 10's just when they where starting to get loose. Not knowing what is going on I found this website just a few days ago and started keep a food journal. I was surprised to see that on the first day even though it was a normal day for me I barely made my calorie count reach 900. I have been trying to reach the 1400 caloric mark in the days since then and it has been a stretch. I am also a bit hesitant about adding a lot more calories than 1400 because I have tried eating 5 to 6 times a day before on the AB’s diet and gained weight, which came right back off again when I stopped that particular diet. I must emphasize the fact that I am not starving myself, I eat when I am hungry until I am not hungry. Moreover, I never feel lightheaded or dizzy after a run or when I go to the gym. Therefore, to see my calories intake was so low was really a shock.  

What do you guys think? Could my metabolism be so slow that I burn so few calories that the rules of average daily calories intake do not apply to me?

yup, you need to eat to lose weight.

have the 1400, by all means necessary.

I also gained weight on the Slim Fast Diet, which I though was very bazaar!!! Now I see that I was actually taken in more calories on that diet than if I ate regularly.

Yeah, you need to be the one to keep track of your caloric intake and such-never rely on some fad or gimmick diet to do that for you.

I have played around with my calorie intake for the last 3 months, and I found when I ate too few calories, my weight stalled, or went the wrong way!!   As soon as I upped my calorie intake to match my excersise level, the extra wait I gained started to slowly come off.  You want to lose weight at a slower pace.  1-2 lbs. per week max.  If you do it right you have more of a chance to keep it off for good!  But yes, eat to lose weight, otherwise your body just thinks your never going to feed it, so it's never going to let go of the stored fat!

Definitely eat more. It doesn't make sense until you understand that your body will lower your metabolism to match your calorie intake. That's why you don't feel hungry.

I did the exact same thing you did. I lost 40 lbs in three months by restricting calories, but without really counting them. I was hungry every day, but I enjoyed the hunger because it meant I was burning excess calories.

After four months and recovering from the holidays, I stalled. I kept eating about the same (I thought) but, I was seldom hungry anymore. I also started exercising several days per week. This was probably my downfall.

I didn't gain weight, but I didn't lose much either. 12 months later I started counting calories and realized that I was only taking in about 1400 cals/day. I need 1700 to be safe, and that's before I exercise. With my 3000 calorie exercise burn every week, I need to be eating about 2200 cals/day!

Here's the good news. I started eating more, and within a week the calories started going down again.

Now I spend my days answering posts like this. Spread the word!

I did good on the Abs diet also till I stalled and then the holidays came.

I could not figure out how I was eating about 1500 calories a day, working out 1.5 to 2 hours a day and stuck at 260 lbs.

260 has always been the point were I stop loosing and surrender!

I was 343 5 years ago and it came off nice and smooth until I hit 260 to 270 and every year since I have gone up and down between 295 and 270.

A very low calorie diet gives good results at first until your body thinks your starving and adjusts your metabolism accordingly (you burn less calories)

Next you get hungry! on the abs diet there are lots of high calorie items like rice, nuts and beans. If you are not careful to match your intake of those things with exercise, your calorie intake very quickly overtakes the calories burned.

I have also tried the rice diet solution, same thing.

The goal is to do everything you can to keep the calorie burning higher than the intake. This is difficult on most fad diets as there successes are usually counted in 10, 20 or 30 pounds.

This is the kind of Diet my Doctor has talked about for years and naturally I seem to have done everything else.