Daily calorie intake

I joined the site and started filling-in my nutrition log yesterday as I really struggle to keep my weight down although last year I lost nearly 2 stone and got down to a UK size 8 / 123 lbs (I am 5’4").

I mainly lost the weight before by counting calories religiously for at least 3 months but after losing the weight and keeping it off for 4 months I then went on holiday and Christmas came along and before I knew it I was up to 140 lbs.

For the last 2 months I have been trying to lose weight by eating healthily 80% of the time and exercising 5-6 days a week but I can’t lose more than 2-3 lbs and then I put it straight back on the minute I start to relax my diet again.

So – my question is, has anyone on here of my approximate current size/weight lost weight by eating a vlc diet of under 1000 calories per day and how quickly did you lose the weight?

I am currently trying to stick to a diet of 700-900 calories per day including all the essential food groups but keeping my carbohydrate intake to breakfast only. I know that there are even lower calorie diets but realistically I wouldn’t be able to eat any less than that and I think that 700-900 calories is a sustainable amount.

I know this will work for me again but it says I should be eating at least 1200-1400 calories per day on my daily log but if I did this I know from past experience I would put on a lot more weight and would end up even bigger than I am now. Unfortunately I just have a very slow metabolism.

Is there anyone who permanently follows a diet of under 1000 calories per day long-term and how do you stay on track with it? I know that I am going to have to make this a lifestyle choice if I want to stay a size 8 forever but unfortunately I love food too much so I think it will be quite hard! I am 36 by the way.

Hi Joiat, While I’m a little taller than you I can sympathise completely with your predicament- it is exactly my problem too. I’m 46, 5’10", so I’m trying to hold my calories under 1200- sure that’s more, but I’ve the same situation. I also exercise about 5 times per week, have a metabolism that is completely stagnant and balloon once I stop recording everything I eat.
I’ve tried juggling the type foods I eat. I’ve tried low carb and that, hard though I find it seems to work for me best in controlling my weight . I did try low fat too, but I found I was ‘allowed’ less to eat and just put weight on.
The other thing that has helped at times to shift the weight is what type of exercise I’m doing. I swim a lot, but I don’t really get my get rate up and burn the cals, even swimming, (in which I compete, so I’m not just paddling up and down) . Running on the other hand- which I needed an iPhone app to get better at, really makes a difference to me, as does sessions with my personal torturer. I’ve got a heart rate monitor watch and this really helps in getting you to understand what exercise you are getting real value out of in terms of burning calories and pumping that asleep metabolism up on. Maybe you need to look more closely at that side of the equation?
Like you I want to stay a size 10-12, and it’s a tough thing to have always be so careful with food when you love it- even worst when you’re married to a man who got all your metabolism’s get -up-and-go-and he’s a stick!

Hi Brindabella

Thanks for the reply, I have so far lost 2 lbs in 2 days which is a good start. I have been recording everything religiously and it’s obviously working, as is the 8 glasses of water per day which I normally struggle to drink.

While I’m at home like this week it will be relatively easy to stick to I think (although eating out is a little harder which I do a lot living here in Spain) but I go over to the UK to work once or twice per month as a live-in carer so I have to live in other people’s houses and my routine is different and that’s where I struggle. Often I am out having my 2 hour break over lunchtime and although I try to wait until I am back in the house to eat more often than not it doesn’t work out that way and there are never any low-carb options when you want a cheap/low calorie lunch.

I think what I will have to do is stick to a light breakfast of something like yogurt and maybe a piece of fruit, save the majority of my calories for lunchtime so that way if I am out and about I can grab a low-calorie sandwich and a snack like ww crisps or similar and then in the evening have just a small salad. That way I will be within my calorie limit.

I agree, I think low-carb is probably the best option but it’s not always practical unfortunately as I’m not always at home and able to cook.

The real test will come when I go away on a family holiday in July for a week but by then hopefully I will be at my goal weight of 119 lbs and will be a lot more used to eating less. I also think that in terms of training and exercise I will have to do a bit less than I am used to to stop me from getting too hungry because I think that’s when I overeat.

Ladies, eating too little will damage your metabolism in the long run. Eating under 1000 calories per day will slow down your metabolism as your body starts to conserve energy. If you lose weight, part of that will be muscle. Muscle is your metabolically active tissue and losing it will slow down your metabolism long term.

Are either of you doing any strength training?
Pamela

www.ThrivePersonalFitness.com

Thanks for the input but I have a diploma in health, exercise and fitness and am aware of what the ‘official’ line is, however everyone is different and I have been struggling with my weight now for nearly 20 years and know what my body does and does not respond to. I definitely don’t lose muscle on a low-calorie diet as I always ensure to keep up my protein intake and I strength train 2-3 times per week.

I use the online calculators to find out what I should be eating according to scientific calculations but my body would balloon if I every ate the 1200-1400 calories I have been recommended to (I know this because I have been eating around 1100-1200 calories a day since Christmas and have put on an average of 3 lbs per week for the past 5 months).
Personally I am unable to eat any more than 1000 calories if I want to sustain my weight and I find that if I eat more than that I will gain weight and therefore in order to lose weight whether I train or not I need to reduce my calorie intake to around 800 calories per day ideally.

I know that there are not many people who would publicly condone eating what they consider to be so little but everyone is different and I have found that while other people are able to eat a lot more than I can and still lose weight I personally cannot.

Some very lucky people can simply switch from eating a lot and eating very badly plus undertaking no exercise to eating well and exercising and the weight will drop off but in my case I eat well a lot of the time and exercise and still put on weight unless I am very strict.

I could switch to a protein only diet and probably eat a bit more calorie wise but I would not be able to sustain that and the weight would go back on. I need to find a sustainable way to eat good foods that are readily available everywhere but reduce my calories so that I can lose weight and then when I reach my target weight I will re-evaluate things and look at the best way to eat in order to keep it off.

I think if you increased your protein intake and ate vegetables at regular intervals during your day in conjunction with intensive strength training you would not swell up like a balloon eating 1200 calories. Perhaps you are underestimating the amount of calories you are eating?
I personally am a firm believer in increasing your muscle mass to increase your basal metabolic rate. I am 5’5, 135lbs, a size 4 and if I am looking to maintain my weight I can get away with eating about 2400 calories a day in conjunction with running a total of about 35km a week.

I suspect you may not be incorporating enough strength training or daily movement into your day? Because for any adult, regardless of gender or size, you should not go under 1200 for an extended period of time…

Calories don’t really matter if you exercise, what really matters is the Saturated Fat and Trans Fat
You can see that 3 grams is a whopping 16% of your daily intake, so try not to eat foods with Saturated, or Trans fats

Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated is good healthy fat!!

http://www.astermeds.com/

Marklee99, in addition to spamming us, you’re giving out bad advice. Calories matter whether you exercise or not.

Joiat, look up Leigh Peele.

what about going on how your body feels instead of what you weigh and how many calories you feel you need to take in? exercise for tone and body fat reduction not for weight loss – not being dictated to by the scales? I’m 54 now and actually regret the day I decided to ‘diet, – probably around the age of 17’. What I would give to have that toned and healthy body now and an attitude to life which was not measured on what the scales told me each day. I swear the minute i started dieting I really did mess up my metabolism for good – the more I dieted and cut back to insane calorie levels the more body fat I stored over time – ie each decade! I’m 54, 5ft 5, into menopause and feel I have alot of body fat – which i also don’t like (38% on body fat monitor!! – despite exercising 4-5 times per week). What about eating a healthy amount of nutritious food ie from all the food groups, cutting out all white sugar or sugary type foods etc and not delving too much into the sciene of nutrition, numbers and body weight – lets face if – over the past 80 years the whole industry is still ‘confused’ about this subject and has not ‘cracked’ it otherwise there wouldnt be a million forums on the topic and more ‘new sensational diets’ being published. Be happy with your body. Bodies are very clever things and you need to treat them carefully. I say the more we ‘diet’ the fatter we become!

I agree with asw52 on listening to what your body needs and if you’re pushing it too far consistently you will have negative results. I don’t think dieting will make us fat, but I think to maintain a healthy body size you need to make a lifestyle change, you can’t just ‘diet’ for three months and return to your previous habits and expect to maintain your weight. Make a commitment to eating healthier, smaller portions and exercising more!

Hi, I´m back.

Thanks for all the replies. In my first week last week I lost 2.5 pounds and so far this week have gone down another 1lb so am now 135.5 lbs at 5´4". I know that´s not huge and I agree it should not be about scale weight but in my case I am carrying a huge amount of body fat, in the region of 35% according to my home scales and around 30% on other scales I´ve tried. I have taken my measurements and I have quite a small frame (or at least I would have if you could see it!). My waist is currently 27 inches to give you an idea so really I think that I would be more like 119lbs if I lost the fat and this is therefore my goal. I am monitoring my measurements especially around my thighs and arms primarily as this is where I carry a lot of fat in addition to my rear! When I start losing pounds I generally find that my waist and bust (currently 36") get smaller in addition to my middle even to the point of my ribs starting to show sometimes and at one stage my waist was 25" but my thighs and arms were still quite fat which was frustrating. I am an hourglass shape.

I don´t always have access to a gym as I split my time between my home where I do have a gym and working away all over the UK. When I am home and also when I am away like I am now I am very careful about my calorie intake and at the moment I am eating between 750 and 950 cals per day. I have decided to get my calories from all food groups including bread and other carbs in the hope that I won´t be tempted to cheat that way especially as I am out having my break often at lunchtimes so that way I can make low calorie choices on the go. I only eat carbs before 3pm however and always have protein only or protein & veggies for my evening snack/meal. This is also usually a low calorie meal of under 250 cals.

I always make sure to exercise wherever I am although I am not a big fan of running so I either use the xtrainer, treadmill (fast walking) and rower when at home or swim in summer and combine that with weight training using free weights or do a lot of walking combined with either bodyweight exercises or exercise bands in addition to some aerobic and dance related workouts I have on my laptop when I am away but the work I do is mostly sitting down inside a house and the same when I am at home.

Believe it or not I am quite toned and my muscles are quite hard and I´m strong (usually lifting much heavier weights than other women I see at the gym) but I must just be very unlucky because no matter what I do I can´t lose the fat very easily at all. I think that if I didn´t exercise consistently I would probably be smaller in terms of the way I look because my thighs are very chunky and so are my arms which I think is partly due to muscle.

I have even invested in books about what exercises you should do for your body type to avoid bulking my problem areas up further but it is really frustrating for me that I can´t lose the fat without eating such a low calorie diet and I tend to put on weight if I eat more than 1000-1200 cals per day.

I would give anything to find a way to lose the fat because that´s all I really want. I would be more than happy if I was lean and looked toned rather than just being fit but looking chunky/chubby like I do now.

Any other tips or advice would really be appreciated because it makes me really depressed at times.

Hi i would like to know how much calorie intake in day is suitable for fit body?And how many calories we need to burn to maintain our body weight?

Roger, this is the point I am making. Everyone is different and in my experience what works for others doesn´t necessarily work for me in terms of the number of calories I can eat.

I would suggest in your case fill in your statistics in Daily Burn. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now filling in my nutrition and activity level and although it tells me that I should be eating more, it seems to be quite accurate in terms of my weekly weight loss predictions based on what I am actually eating.

WOW! This thread is so shocking!
JOIAT, are YOU kidding me???? You say “I have a diploma in health” I say NOT unless it’s on the DEAD!

YOU will remain FAT until you pull your head out of the sand! Good Lord!

You can’t build muscle & or lose fat on 950 calories not even on 1200 calories!!!!

“FEED the muscle, burn the FAT” sound familiar????
People you need a defecit in order to lose FAT sometimes the scale does not equate to fat loss.
Aim for a 10-20% defecit the LEANER you are the harder it is to get rid of your fat but then JOIAT with your Health Diploma you already know that right? LOL

Consult qualified people from this site or others, seek out a personal trainer, a nutritionist but do NOT take advice from someone claiming to be a “health professional” who claims eating under 1000 calories is how to lose weight!

I’m just now getting back into trying to stay fit. It has been awhile to say the least.

Anyway, years ago when I was about 22 or 23 I went for a summer eating nothing but low-fat or no-fat foods while exercising at the gym 5 days a week. I tried to limit myself to under 1500 calories a day to go with about 10-15g of fat a day. This was before I knew anything about all the different types of fat.

I ended up losing about 30 lbs. that summer. I’m not sure if this was the right way to go about it, but it seemed to work for me.

I don’t think you can lose weight by reducing your calorie intake that low. I am no health professional but have a few pro NFL player friends that helped me understand diet and fitness. It is almost like a science. I was able to lose 34 lbs in about 6 months.

The main thing about my science is to understand how your body functions:

Muscle burns Fat – Muscle needs Protein to grow and recover – Muscle needs Carbs for Fuel

So with this I basically I want to build muscle that burns my fat, but at the same time I have to fuel it with some carbs so that I have the energy to work out and your muscle don’t cannibalize itself for fuel. I made sure I take Whey protein right after a work out and then I would use a slow burning type protein when I went to sleep like Casein which helped me recover faster.

In the morning I would eat more carbs and some protein, then lots of veggies and some protein like chicken breast, tuna, salmon, etc. I would also make sure I eat every 3 hrs but small portions. My calorie intake was about 2100 for weight lost and 2400 for maintenance. A lot of times I would be under at about 1800 calories because when you eat healthy it requires a lot more to get the calorie count up.

I would do cardio and strength training but I would switch my cardio up all the time not to get used to it. I would watch my heart rate. I would do about 1 – 2 minutes at 150 beats per seconds and then reduce the level to recover to about 125 – 130 and then do this 4 times in a 20 minute interval. I found that monitoring the heart rate helped me a lot so I would know when I am in the intense zone.

Whatever anyone thinks I am losing weight and am remaining healthy by eating a balanced diet.

The current number of calories I am eating which now ranges from 800-1000 calories per day is working for me and I am now 133lbs so I am losing weight relatively quickly but not dangerously fast (so far by the end of the 3rd week it will be around 7lb in total). I am also starting to lose body fat which is great as I have very high body fat given my size.

Yes I have got a diploma and am aware of the textbook recommendations which say you should not go below particular calorie levels but I do not believe this applies to everyone as our bodies are all different.

Just because others may be lucky enough to eat a lot more and either lose or maintain their weight and even more so when partaking in regular exercise I personally have found that if I eat any more than 1000 calories on a day when I do not exercise and more than 1200 calories if I do then I will WITHOUT EXCEPTION gain weight on a steady basis. Therefore in order to lose the weight that I want I have to adjust my calorie intake accordingly.

I am of course ensuring to eat food from all the main food groups and have been generally sticking to eating carbs earlier in the day so for anyone who is interested my calories and food intake have generally been spread as follows:

Breakfast at 8.30-9am – Fruit and 1 Rivita or Fruit and low fat yogurt plus coffee made with skimmed milk = approx 150 calories

Snack at 11am – 1 piece of fruit or low-fat cottage cheese or few nuts = up to 100 calories

Late lunch at 2-3pm (main meal of the day) – protein, vegetable and carb meal (wholegrain carbs only) = approx 400 calories

Dinner 6pm – Protein only or protein + green salad vegetables only = 150-350 calories

In addition I have been making sure to get my Omega 3s and have also been drinking 8-10 glasses of water daily.

I have also been doing light cardio in the form of walking on a daily basis for 30 mins to 1 hour in total. In addition I have been doing body weight exercises regularly such as tricep dips, squats, press ups, crunches, the plank, lunges etc.

My point is that this is what works for me and I have spent the last 20 years finding the winning weight loss formula FOR ME. Do all of you out there who listen to what you are told but who want to look great really believe that everyone, including people in the public eye really stick to the medical recommendations? Come on, if that was the case then there would not be VLC diets out there.

My intention is to continue with the current nutritional programme until I reach my goal weight and then work out what I have to eat to be able to maintain that long-term (which will hopefully be a little more). I will probably experiment a bit more with eating certain foods at particular times of the day and see if that makes a difference.

I am not saying by any means that everyone is the same. A friend of mine is dong WW in the UK at the moment and started off at around 138lbs. Even at that weight she was eating in the region of 1800-2000 calories per day but gaining weight steadily as she doesn´t exercise. Due to the number of points she is eating on WW which I believe is 18 at present this means that her calorie intake has now dropped to around 900-1000 calories per day. She is seeing DRAMATIC weight loss results with this of approximately 5lbs per week which I think is too much. If I was her I would be far more sensible about it and probably reduce my calorie intake to around 1200-1500 and see how I got on with that.

Unfortunately for myself this would be far too much food for me to take in and I would simply balloon. There is no getting away from this as it is the reality for me and how my body processes food. Maybe if I was an athlete and had several hours per day to spend on training I would be able to eat a lot more but currently with only 1 hour per day to exercise and a generally sedentary lifestyle added to a very slow metabolism there is not much else I can do.

Hi there Joiat,

Firstly congratulations on losing the weight you have lost so far – well done.

You’re right you will continue to lose weight following your current plan BUT it is inevitable that you’re body will adjust to the food/calories you are eating and the weight loss WILL stall! The only way to kick start a further loss would be to either reduce your calories further or increase your level of activity. At 800 calories a day I doubt you have enough energy to do any real exercise which means cutting your calories and then a few weeks down the line the weight loss will stall and what happens then, a further reduction in calories?

You mention your metabolism is slow, do you ever ask the question as to why this is? Do you think this is anything to do with your restricted diet and exercise level? Years of yo-yo dieting has a detrimental effect on our metabolisms (believe me I know) and the ONLY way to speed this up is to eat reguarly and exercise.

An hour a day is ample time to do enough exercise to lose fat but what determines how much we lose is the type of exercise you do. For example low level cardio done first thing in the morning for an hour is great for fat loss. Alternatively high intensity interval training for just 20 mins is the most effective way of losing fat and boosting the metabolism!

At the end of the day, you don’t have to take my advice but I am speaking from experience. I have struggled with my weight for most of my life but it was only until I started really looking at my food, understanding nutrition and doing regular exercise that the weight/fat started coming off. I have to date lost over 4 stone and whilst I still have a way to go I know that I will continue to lose and will reach my goal of being a much healthy and fitter me!

Thanks but I am already doing these things! That´s the problem I´ve got you see hence why I am taking the current course of action.

To give you my history I used to eat a lot of crap in my late teens and early 20s plus I drank alcohol every day (student years) but have never been someone who can eat what they like and avoid putting on weight. I tried dieting a couple of times back then and tried to half heartedly exercise once a week and got down to around 148 pounds (from about 157) but it always crept back up.

Eventually after a break up when I found myself at my heaviest which was a whopping 175lbs very big for my size but I met a new man who was a fitness fanatic and with his help and encouragement I started eating much healthier food and exercising 3-4 days a week and the weight literally dropped off. I got down to 123 lbs in the space of around 5 months in 2003 and looked and felt great. Back then I probably ate around 1500 calories per day consistently and was able to lose weight easily with exercise on this diet.

The real problem started after I managed to keep to my new weight for around 1 year. I continued to exercise sometimes 5-6 days per week doing a combination of cardio and strength training and never stuck to the same workout for more than 4 weeks at a time and I have exercised this way continuously for the past 7 years or so.

However the weight started to come back on in 2004/2005 and I went up to around 140 lbs which is where I have been + or minus 7lbs for the past few years since then.

I really want to get back to being lighter and studied for a diploma in Health, Exercise & Fitness around 3 years ago as I thought it would help me if I was more knowledgeable on the subject and I would also be able to help others, which I have.

Last year I decided I really had to concentrate on getting my weight back down to a healthier level, mainly because of my high body fat percentage and my general unhappiness with the way I look and I achieved this last year.

The problem I´ve had then and now though is that it is impossible for me to eat more than 1000-1200 calories per day without my weight creeping up again hence why I am now eating what some consider to be so little.

I know that at some stage I am likely to hit a plateau but if I eat any more than I am now the weight goes on daily, I am not joking. This is with daily exercise whether I spend an hour in the gym (which I do at least 5 times per week) or just simply walking my dog, running up and down the stairs in my house (I have 3 flights), cleaning or doing one of my workout DVDs.

I am doing everything right and the weight is coming off but in my case I think I am just unfortunate in that my body will not allow me to eat more than I am. Last year after losing the majority of my weight I noticed a change in my metabolism after a few months and was able to increase my calorie intake slightly and my weight loss continued. Hopefully this will happen again this time after a while but I want to get down to at least 119 lbs so I will monitor things and adjust them accordingly until I reach that goal.

My past experiences have told me however that I probably will never be able to eat more than 1000 calories a day with the odd ´day off´where I have 1200 even when I am trying to maintain my weight after losing all the weight I am hoping to. That´s just the reality for me.

For the record my mother has EXACTLY the same problem. She´s a little taller than me at 5 foot 7 but unless she eats very little she too gains weight and she is also a gym bunny at the age of 67! She has recently gained 10 pounds which she is trying to lose because she too likes her treats and relaxed her normally very strict diet.

I do believe that a lot of people out there are kidding themselves and if you want to stay the size and shape you believe you should be it involves making some lifestyle changes and sacrifices for the long-term not just the short term and I have vowed that for me this will be the last time I will battle my weight problems. I just have to accept I can´t get away with eating as much as others can.

Hi Joiat

Firstly, well done on the weightloss so far. This is my first visit to the forums here so I’ve decided to chime in on your post.

From what you’ve descibed based on the information you’ve posted here; your problem is fairly typical of most people who “diet”.

To start with it’s important to differentiate between weight loss and fat loss. For most people, these terms are used interchangeably which in my opinion and my experience is where the problem starts for most people.

Keto diets, Carb Cycling, Paleo, Carb back-loading, Vegan, South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, Blood Type Diet. Atkins Diet. Vegetarian, Raw Food Diet, Macrobiotic Diet. The pH Diet……the list is endless and it’s no wonder why so many people get totally overwhelmed and confused.

In my experience with people and their nutrition, there seems to be a common problem.

Most are eating too many carbs, not enough protein, and oftentimes, in your case for example, too few calories overall.

Cutting calories leads to lean muscle wasting (catabolism) which in turn leads to metabolic slow down and consequently faster weight gain of what is likely to be more poundage than you lost. Here are two equations you’ll want to become familiar with:

Your Body – Too Few Calories = Muscle Loss + Slower Metabolism

Less Muscle + Slower Metabolism + Previous Eating Habits = Easier and Faster Weight Gain

Cardiovascular exercise is great for the heart and lungs and a great way to burn calories, but if you combine that with minimal calories all you’re gonna do is catabolize any lean muscle tissue you have.

More often than not, people who follow some of these ridiculous fad diets out there do indeed lose weight, but if you were to actually look at their body composition (muscle – fat ratio in other words)….the scales may show they weigh less, but in a lot of cases their bodyfat percentage remains pretty high. In other words, they may lose some body fat but ALOT of muscle aswell. This is one of the worst things anyone can do for their metabolism…catabolize (eat away) their lean tissue.

When you combine these factors along with too much cardio and not enough protein or weight baring/resistance training, you become what is sometimes known as skinny-fat, aka: flabby.

Now this isn’t to assume this is the case for you, but I will try to explain this a little further.

Talking about nutrition is a tough thing. Everybody wants to overanalyze and argue over every detail which is why we see some many different “fads” as mentioned previously.
Everybody wants a quick fix, or the latest diet trend.

I can only tell you one thing with absolute certainty, and that is: different things work for different people.
However, it’s important to mention that despite our physiological difference (bodytypes, genders, activity level, skeletal structure)….we are all bound by the same scientific laws of nature.

How do you determine what your caloric needs are or where they come from?

This can be tricky. Firstly, IMO it’s better to overestimate rather than underestimate this.

It’s better to shoot high and then have to back your calories down, rather than shoot too low to begin with.

If you underestimate your caloric needs, you risk frying your metabolism and stalling fat loss (remember there is a difference between fatloss and weightloss).
That means when you hit that inevitable weight loss plateau (and everybody eventually will unless you’re planning to starve to death), you won’t be able to decrease calories any lower and you’ll be stuck. Stuck, hungry, and still not lean. That is a frustrating combo! and is why so many people end up spinning their wheels forever.

You mentioned your caloric intake, but where are you getting those calories from? This is important because more often than not people become obsessed with calories and put little emphasis on macronutrients or actual nutrition they need.

Typically most people get the bulk of their calories from carbs and fats.
Protein is usually pretty minimal coming from a few bits of cheese, yogurt, and a serving of meat or so per day.

The point I’m getting at is, while you may think you’re eating the correct number of calories, or possibly even less calories than you need, if you’re not eating the correct amount of protein, carbs and fat, you are going to be spinning your wheels all the way into Skinny Fat Town with a comprimised metabolism.

We’ve all heard that weight loss is simply a mathematical equation: “A calorie in versus a calorie out.” Yes, if you want WEIGHT LOSS. But for Fat loss this theory is seriously flawed.

Allow me to give you some personal experience in regards to the “a calorie in versus a calorie out” theory. I knew a lady who was what could be described as a cardio queen, doing about 4 – 5 hours of cardio per day! group fitness classes plus doing individual workouts.
According to the numbers she was burning around 3,000 calories per day. According to the food log, she was consuming around 1,800 calories per day. That techically puts her in a caloric deficit of about 1,200 calories per day.
She kept that up for over a year and guess how much weight she lost over the course of that year?…..2 pounds.
Now according to the old calorie in versus calorie out theory, this person should have lost every pound of her being and disappeared into thin air.

I won’t go into the science behind why this theory is actually flawed because I’ve rambled on too much already, but essentially it comes down to the fact your body is very adapt to survival and will do everything it can biologically to keep you alive as long as possible during a famine.

The first thing I suggest you do is find out what you are currently consuming…not calories but actual amounts of protein, carbs and fats.
A lot of people have absolutely no idea. The only way to know for sure is to start a food log, which is why this site is brilliant.

Without knowing more about what you’re actually eating in terms of macronutrients, it’s difficult to give exact advice to help you.

However, from what you’ve described I would be fairly confident in assuming the issue is simply down to a metabolic crash due to severely restricting your caloric intake.

“I do believe that a lot of people out there are kidding themselves and if you want to stay the size and shape you believe you should be it involves making some lifestyle changes and sacrifices for the long-term not just the short term and I have vowed that for me this will be the last time I will battle my weight problems. I just have to accept I can´t get away with eating as much as others can”

I’m sorry to say this Joiat, but I think that statement is nonsense! Yes, we are all different physiologically in that we have different bodytypes, muscle fibre ratios, quantity of mitochondria cells (sciencey stuff)….but don’t settle in that negativity in thinking you can’t eat the same as others can based on a long battle you’ve had with your weight.
From what you’ve said it really sounds like a typical case of someone who has comprimised their metabolism by crash dieting on low calories …which never works in the long run and actually end up making things much worse.
There are 100’s of people in the same boat who quite often get stuck there and end up giving up and convincing themselves they’re different.
Convincing yourself that a severely calorie restricted diet is a good way to jump start your progress is a recipe for failure.

All the best

I just thought I’d mention a book I read recently by Jillian Michaels called Master Your Metabolism. I have some issues with some of what Jillian says/promotes, but I did think that this book had some interesting insights on metabolism and how we can sometimes screw ours up through diet. Don’t know if it might interest you, but I read this thread and thought that some of what she covered sounds like issues you may be dealing with.

Joiat
You will continue to struggle with weight as you have been “all of your life” until YOU get into a proper diet & exercise routine

You’re “weight gain” as you call it is not from FAT when you increase your cals from 1000 to 1200 it is water… I just lost the 4.4 lbs of water I had retaining for almost a week due to a surplus of carbs I had consumed :)

Will you or can you lose weight on 1200 calories? YES, is it the right way, NO…

I eat 1700/1800 calories (sorry YOU are not as “special” as you think you are, when it comes to calories)
I lift HEAVY weights 4X week & do cardio for 20 mins 4X week & I am LOSING weight

Get on a good weight lifting routine to BUILD muscle mass New Rules of Lifting for Women is a good place to start or visit Bodybuilding.com for great exercise & diet plans

You will need to accept a slight gain in weight in order to repair your metabolism that you have spent your life destroying

This will be a long & arduous process but one well worth it! :)

Eat more, Lift Heavy = Great Body!

Oh Jwushu, EXCELLENT post!

I feel it as well as mine will fall on deaf ears :(
But very well said!

Thanks again for the replies & advice. I am definitely taking on board what everyone is staying but unfortunately I think other people aren´t really listening to me so much.

Firstly in terms of calorie intake I have no desire whatsoever to eat as little as I am but am unable to eat any more, believe me I have tried!

Secondly, I always try and eat 4-5 meals or snacks per day at regular intervals and for the past couple of weeks have cut out the majority of carbs in my diet. I have also been increasing my protein intake and avoiding eating too much fruit except for early in the mornings and despite this have barely lost more than 1-2 pounds.

In total I lost around 7 lbs which is ok to start with and I can promise you I know that this is not all water as my body fat has dropped a couple of percent from 35/36 to 33.5 currently. I know this is still very high and this is what worries me.

Another point I want to make is that I DO exercise in the ways suggested as I have already mentioned in several of my other posts. In any normal week when I have access to my home gym I work out with the heaviest weights I can manage on all body parts at least 3 times per week and don´t do cardio for more than 35 minutes at a time. When I am not near a gym it just happens to be the case that I walk for 1-1.5 hours daily due to circumstances and do only body weight exercises as that is all I have access to. I have SEVERAL weight training and books on training in general for both men and women so I know what works and what doesn´t in terms of supposedly burning fat and building muscle.

I would love to be able to eat more in general and in turn increase my calories but I simply cannot physically eat a larger quantity of protein than I am currently and don´t want to reduce my carb intake further by cutting out fruit and veg. altogether as I don´t think it´s healthy.

Yes admittedly there have been days when I have been in a situation when all I have had a chance to eat for breakfast or lunch has been for example a carb based meal or snack like a piece of toast or a rivita or cereal bar etc. and this has been due to being away from home and away from any shops so I have had to eat these things from time to time as I didn´t want to eat even less than I am already but on the whole I will have an egg based breakfast or a low-cab yogurt for breakfast instead.

I am planning to switch to protein shakes as a quick low-carb alternative for breakfast and if I eat protein at mealtimes I eat all that I physically can and finish what is on my plate whether that´s a chicken breast, piece of fish or piece of meat. I don´t want to eat a lot more protein as I have a history of kidney disease in my family and don´t want to put too much of a strain on my kidneys by doing this but as it is I eat plenty and it is ALWAYS lean protein.

I don´t know based on this what else I can do so if someone out there actually wants to help me based on the information I have given you not tell me I am doing everything wrong without even reading what I have written then that would be great.

I am currently reading a book called ´Why we get fat and what to do about it´by Gary Taubes who is a scientist and who has looked at many different studies on weight gain, obesity and diet and hopefully that will help but I will have to wait and see.

Joiat,

Firstly, I just want to say my post wasn’t meant to be taken as dismissive towards you in any way so I apologies if perhaps it came across that way here.

From what you’ve described so far it really does sound as if perhaps you’ve been overloaded by information and are confused as to what steps to take in order to rectify your situation.

While exercise is important as part of keeping a healthy, balanced lifestyle…this again is something which can be confusing as there are also a lot of exercise “fads” out there.

My advice to you would be -

1) LEARN TO CYCLE YOUR CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE BASED ON YOUR DAILY NEEDS
Arguments over recommended carbohydrate intake have been debated for a long time.
Typically, the ASCM/mainstream recommend a carbohydrate intake of about 50% or more of your total calories while many low-carbohydrate advocates suggest far fewer (ranging from the 40% of the Zone diet to close to zero for ketogenic/atkin diets).

Carbohydrates are important, despite the fact that there is actually no physiological requirement for them. In other words, protein and fat are the only nutrients your body actually needs for survival as your body can use ketones to fuel the brain as an alternative to glucose (carbs in other words).

So while you can actually survive on zero carbs, I wouldn’t recommend this for a few reasons; namely the affects carbohydrates have on insulin and leptin. When eaten at the right times they are actually a useful nutrient to help aid you with losing bodyfat.

As you probably know from your studies, insulin is a storage hormone released in response to eating – carbohydrates having the largest impact on insulin secretion, protein having the second greatest and fat having little to no impact on insulin secretion.

Insulin sensitivity refers to how well or poorly the body responds to the hormone insulin. Individuals who are insulin resistant tend to have higher baseline insulin levels because the body is releasing more in response to try and overcome the resistance. Diabetes and Hyperglycemia are both conditions which relate to insulin resistance. In other words, the body tends to secrete more insulin at baseline levels which leads to high or low blood sugar..etc.

For most part insulin resistance is determined by lifestyle (training and diet play a huge role, as does body fat levels), but so do genetics.
For example, for some people at the same bodyfat level (for example, take 2 people who both have 15% bodyfat), insulin sensitivity can vary nearly 10 fold for genetic reasons. So it’s possible that even lean athletes could have some degree of genetic insulin resistant.

The point is, some people are more pre-disposed to developing conditions such as hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes than others.

To get to the point -
If you have good insulin sensitivity and low insulin secretion, odds are you will do well with a traditional balanced type of diet of 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fat.

If you’re not insulin sensitive and/or have high insulin secretion, a diet lower in carbs and higher in fat (don’t forget that protein can raise insulin as well) is a better choice.

A good starting place might be 40% protein, 20-30% carbs and 20-30% fat. A further shift to a near ketogenic (or cyclical ketogenic) diet may be necessary for brief periods of times in order to shift the stored bodyfat tissue out of the fat cells. In this case I would recommend 40% protein, 10-20% carbs and the remainder of your calories from dietary fat.

2) DON’T STRAVE YOURSELF OR DROP CALORIES TOO LOW FOR TOO LONG
I talked above a little bit about insulin and it’s effects on blood sugar..etc. but there is also one other hormone in the body which needs to be considered when dieting and that is Leptin.

Leptin is a protein hormone released primarily from fat cells (although skeletal muscle, the gut and the brain releases it too). Fat cells are the primary place where leptin is synthesized and released.

The higher your body fat levels are, the higher the leptin level and vice versa. This makes perfect sense when you think that this hormone is primarly synthesized in the fat cells.

Women generally have 2-3 times as much leptin as men at any given level of bodyfat primarily for hormonal reasons.

In my experience and from what I understand, this is one reason why women generally have a harder time losing fat bodyfat than men.

However, leptin doesn’t only scale with body fat percentage, it is also related heavily to food intake, specifically carbohydrate metabolism in the fat cell.

In response to both over and under eating, leptin levels change quite rapidly.

When someone starts a diet, leptin may drop by 30-50% within about a week, obviously they haven’t lost that much of their body fat in that time (if anyone thinks differently they are seriously kidding themselves).
In other words, after that rapid initial drop within the first week or so, the drops in leptin are much slower scaling with body fat loss.

By the same token, even with short-term overfeeding, leptin can come up far more quickly than body fat is gained.
This fact is part of the basic idea behind carb cycling or cyclical dieting – short term very high carbohydrate/caloric intakes can raise leptin without causing significant fat gain.

In the short term, only carbohydrate intake affects leptin levels; fat overfeeding has no effect. In addition, changes in fat mass per se don’t regulate leptin in the short-term (less than 48 hours).

Rambling aside…..

In essence, leptin tells your body two different things:

1) how much you’re eating
2) how much bodyfat/weight you’re carrying

From the standpoint of bodyweight regulation, these are important things for the body to know about.

Both leptin and insulin are two elements to have some understanding of as these are the hormones which essentially send a signal to the brain about body fat levels and food intake, making them largely responsible for bodyweight regulation.

3) BE MORE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR DIET

OK, so I’ve rambled on about a few of the reasons why some people struggle to lose weight..etc.
The first thing I would say to you Joiat is learn to be more flexible about what you’re eating.

This is the number one area most people don’t do and if more often than not what derails their progress IMO.

Any diet which restricts you for long periods of time, sucks.
What would you do if I told you you could never have something again?….assuming it’s something you like or want, how would you react? Odds are you’d want it that much more and lots of it. It’s human nature, we want what we’re told we can’t have.

Unfortunately, the reality is….that’s dieting or should I say that’s how most dieters approach dieting.
Many diets are controlled on some food being bad, off-limits or resticted. Dieters go into the diet thinking “I can’t ever eat carbs/fats/sugar or whatever it is, again in my life” which just makes them want that much more. Almost like they put that food on a pedastall.

Of course, the followup to this is that when dieters do eventually eat the food they’ve been deprived (and they will), then they just feel guilty and miserable. They then feel sorry for themselves, convince themselves they’ve blown it and eat the entire bag or box of whatever it is and abandon the diet altogether feeling frustrated and unhappy.

It’s truly a damaging approach to dieting and research has clearly shown that the type of rigid dieter I’m describing here and there are many on this site, (who expect absolute perfection from their diet or it’s failure) do worse than more flexible dieters.

The reality is, if you’re sensible, even small deviations don’t really do much harm (unless the person goes berserk and makes it harmful).
Say you’re on a diet and you eat a couple hundred calories of cookies because you really wanted them. If you’ve dieted the past 6 days, that’s no big deal….don’t derail yourself, move on and stay focused. Unfortunately, in most cases people punish themselves, they convince themselves they’re a worthless piece of **** with no willpower and eat another 1000 calories of cookies. This is where the problem starts.

I personally recommend strategies like free meals (non-diet meals, preferably eaten out of the house), refeeds (extended periods of deliberate high-carbohydrate over-consumption) and full diet breaks (periods of 10-14 days where the diet is abandoned for maintenance) when they diet.
It keeps people from falling into the rigid dieting trap that, invariably, backfires and makes you miserable.

4) PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
This is what I’d recommend you do in basic terms (obviously without knowing you it’s difficult to give exact details on quantities/foods..etc.).

1. Eat between 1g – 1.5g of Protein per lb of bodyweight
Consume lean sources from chicken, turkey, lean cuts of beef, eggs, fish….avoid ham, processed meats, cheeses..etc.

2. Cycle carbohydrates based on your daily requirements
On the days you are training, going to the gym, consume around 1-1.5g of carbohydrates per lb of bodyweight. Try to consume the bulk of your carbs pre, during and after workouts.
On the days you’re not training or particularly active, keep your carbohydrates low. 0.5-1g per lb of bodyweight. Consume the bulk of these first thing and taper off througout the day.

Carbs sources: wholegrains, unprocessed sources – oats, rice..etc. You can consume some sugars post workout, but this doesn’t mean high sugar and high fat sources (cheesecake, doughnuts)….but feel free to have something sweet (but low fat) after an intensive workout.

A couple of portions of fruit on the higher carb days is a good idea.

3. Fats
On the days you’re eating more carbohydrates (e.g: training days), keep fat intake as low as possible (for you you’re probably looking at around 30-40g maximum). On the days you’re eating less carbs, you can afford to up your fat intake.
In other words, carbs go up, fats come down and as carbs come down, fats go up.
Keep protein at around 1-1.5g consistantly.
Fat sources should come from primarily mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats. In other words; nuts, fish oils, fatty fish (salmon), olive oils. This doesn’t mean cheese, butters or processed or saturate fats. A small amount of saturated fat is OK, for example 5-10g of organic butter or 20g cheese, but keep the bulk of your fats from mono and poly unsaturates.

4. Fill up of fiberous vegetables
Brocolli, green leafy vegetables, asparagus..etc.

6) DONT TRY TO DROP WEIGHT TOO QUICKLY
1-2lb each week is ideal, any more than that and the weight you’re losing is likely to be lean body mass. Don’t rush it. What you’re trying to do isn’t gonna happen overnight and may take up to a year to achieve, BUT it will be worth it in the end believe me.

If you need more detail/help, I am more than happy to try and offer more advice or help you put a plan together based on your needs.

At 123lbs and 30+% bodyfat it suggests you have quite a low level of lean body mass/muscle which is something which can be rectified through diet and exercise.

I hope some of what I’ve written here is of some use to you.
All the best