Calories? (Kinda long)

So I have made mention of this in other posts, but would really like input from all my lightweight friends.

I have read several articles lately that say no one should eat less than 1200 calories a day for any reason unless on a weight loss program supervised by a dr. They all say that keeping calories lower than that is horrible for the body and if you work out you are more prone to injury, etc. Plus my dietitian and exercise specialist are on my case about not getting enough calories. They e-mail me and even call me to monitor me because they are concerned.

I have not lost a pound since October 1st, which is the longest period of non-loss I have had since before the pre-op diet. So in my mind, my body is happy where it is, and happy with the 800-900 calories I have been eating. However, I have noticed I am getting sore after working out, which I have never had before, and I am falling asleep on the couch at 7pm every night.

How many calories do you eat? For those in maintenance, did you have to up calories to mantain or did your body just stop like mine has?

In the past when I was on a stand still, I upped calories a little (around 100) and dropped a few pounds quick, then would keep at those calories for awhile.  I don't know what I should do. I do not want to gain weight, as a matter of fact, I would like to lose 4 pounds then maintain.

Kinda long.....yours is short compared to most of my posts....LOL

When I met my personal goal of 125 I upped my calories to about 1000 (by adding another Protein drink), thinking I was going to work on maintinace but to my surprise my body decided that my weight wasn't low enough and I immediately started losing again.  After my body stayed at the same 2 pounds for about a month I figured that was probably as low as I was going to go so I started increasing again to see how I'd do. 

I was perfectly content with what I was eating, but 1000 calories a day did seem pretty low. My NUT wanted me to get up to 1800 which I think is a crazy amount of food (for someone as tiny as me) so I have been upping my calories gradually and I am maintaing at about 1300 a day and feel good and satisfied. 

The other day you replied to my post that you felt good at 104 (?) but I know that at 106 I didn't feel so good.  I felt tired and run down and I don't even exercise.  You wouldn't think a couple of pounds makes much of a difference but I feel much better between 109-111. 

Jus****ch what kinds of foods you increase with.  You definitely don't want to increase your "bad" carb totals.  And you definitely don't want to start any bad habits (I snack to much).  Try eating a couple more ounces of "good" food each meal and that should raise your calories.

It is all about experimenting and seeing what works for you.  We can all give advice and tell you what works for us but that might not be what's best for you.

(((HUGS)))

Thanks! I know that we are all different, I am going to try to up the calories. I just feel like I eat all the time already. I added fruits and veggies back in, but they don't add many calories. Most days I am going to be doing 3 shakes, maybe I will have to add a 4th.

And I have felt great at this weight until the other day when I started getting sore and tired. But I also have a lot of stress right now. I'm going to up them a little again I think.

I don't have a clue how many calories i eat but no way no how can they be any lower than at least twice what U are eating Shannon is my guess . And thats being 100 % sedentary .

I do think calorie restriction's a slippery slope because U accustom Ur body to a certain efficiency calorie wise and then when U DO eat normally U blow up .... also there are inevitably long term nurtitional deficiencies associated with very low calorie levels ....unless Ure SUPER careful.

I personally prefer not to diet EVER ...

I think if U eat fresh ,fat free to very lowfat and high fiber U can actually eat a lot more volume and a lot more calories than U can if U eat dense calorie packed tiny amounts of processed foods ....

I understand that people are scared to put weight on if they eat more .

Another way not to put weight on is simply to build a little more calorie burning muscle too.... which is very easy for us to do lightly pumping a little iron in any gym . I think i did that naturally through my many years in sports actually thats why i can get away with eating so much more .

Ive often wondered how ANY of U liteweights manage to work out and study and work long days on HUNDREDS of calories when i eat that for LUNCH lol...... allright im exaggerating a little but seriously .... eight hundred calories isnt enough to feed a MOUSE .

I'd just worry about anorexic side effects long term frankly ..like my heart muscle size decreasing permanently ., my brain size shrinking permanently , osteoporosis , ....organ weakness and frailty ...... a shortened lifespan ..

I used to think about all these things when i was fasting to stay model weight frankly...... its still a VERY real concern and i take a half a handful of vitamins a day to try to avoid it ....but are they ENOUGH ( even with the 1400-1600 calories a day I get ? )

I definitely think my body is feeling the effects of low calorie. I never eat processed foods, and now go to the store every 3 days for fresh fruits and veggies. I can definitely eat more, and they keep me full (I also do not have to take fiber supplements anymore). I'm going to up to 1000 for awhile, then try to go up from there. I'm definitely building muscle and at my last check up, I only had 13% body fat.

Hi Shannon,

I truly believe that your body will go into starvation mode if you continue at 800 calories.  When I got to my first goal, I upped my calories to about 1200 then started losing again.  I am almost at my second and probably final goal and am now probably eating close to 1500 calories a day and still losing slowly.  I am almost 5'8" and would think that at your height, eating less calories than I do, would make sense, except for the intense workouts (of which I do none ).

Good luck on whatever you decide!

I do think that is what's going on. I just went through and re-vamped my menus for the next few days to be at 1000. I'll stay there for a couple of weeks, then try to go up a little more. It's really hard to do without eating bad foods. I'm going to add a few nuts or something higher calorie so I don't have to eat constantly or eat total junk.

 I just want to ad that there is GREAT benefit in taking some time off of excercising...(Sp)...REST is as important or more than working out...if your body is sore it needs to recover and you are not giving it time...hence the sleep...I have no idea how often you excercise but try resting two days or three consecutive in a week and see how you do...You will feel less tired and I'll bet you'll lose weight...
When we don't rest and eat so few calories our bodies do not lose they go into starvation and
freak out....when we rest our bodies go "hey we are not in crisis any more...no need to hold onto
the weight " and you will probably lose...eating so few calories...I know it doesn't sound like what you're used to hearing but it's scientifically acurate....best of luck...SEAVIEW

Thanks! Just this week I am starting to take two days off. I have been working out hard 6 days a week for a long time. I know my body needs more time off. Also, I was staying up too late and still getting up between 4 and 4:30a.m. to work out, so I definitely need more sleep.

 I'm glad to hear that...I think that also we need to start thinking or resting as work as well...It takes discipline to let yourself take a day or two off even when our compulsive selves think we are being lazy and of course fear gaining weight again...it's a slippery slope...and it's all new...but it's a way to take care of ourselves...what a journey this is..learning all these new behaviors and trying to rewire our brains....i'm completely overwhelmed sometimes by doing all of this new stuff...SEAVIEW