Not eating enough to lose weight !!!

BigAl · Jan 7, 2010

You have got to be kidding me ! I started on my new eating lifestyle in November and have been doing quite well at losing weight .

I enjoy my new lower calorie intake now and have adjusted nicely . I really do like eating less :smile:

.

And then I hit a wall ! I have remained the same weight for about 1 1/2 weeks even though I been comsuming about 1000 calories a day total .

Now I am being told I need to eat more ! This is what got me in trouble in the first place . Now they want me to consume about 1800 - 2200 calories a day ! I honestly do not think i can do that . I really like eating less and this just seems crazy to start eating more !

!! I am not hungry between meals and do not think I am starving myself .

So tonight I joined a online diet group call Sparkpeople.com to see if they can help me out . They are suppose to be pretty good at what they do . Anybody else tried them ???

I guess time will tell, but I sure don't see how eating more is going to work . For the first time in quite a while , I have no heartburn ,sleeping better , stopped snoring and am moving better .

pirate_girl · Jan 7, 2010

You have to have the calories in order to burn in the old furnace to drop the extra pounds.

Or maybe your body said "hey, I like it here, I refuse to change."

BigAl · Jan 7, 2010

pirate_girl said:
You have to have the calories in order to burn in the old furnace to drop the extra pounds.

Or maybe your body said "hey, I like it here, I refuse to change."

OK Fine ! I can be just as stuborn as my body :w00t2:

. I'll just start eating tofu until it says "Its sorry " and wants my old diet back . :w00t2:

I have gotten very use to losing 1/2 to 1 pound a day and this 0 weight loss is really pissing me off ! :sad:

muleman · Jan 7, 2010

You need to keep the roughage up as well. It is kinda like the manure pits with gravity feed systems. You have to put enough in to keep it flowing. I dropped back to 223 today but have not really been pushing hard at losing. I was down to 218 before Christmas but too many goodies and a couple big meals bounced me up to 227 quickly. My blood work came back good so I don't worry about it. Hang in there Al.

pirate_girl · Jan 7, 2010

BigAl said:
OK Fine ! I can be just as stuborn as my body . I'll just start eating tofu until it says "Its sorry " and wants my old diet back . I have gotten very use to losing 1/2 to 1 pound a day and this 0 weight loss is really pissing me off !

Al, your body knows where it's most comfortable.
You said yourself how much better you feel.
If you like the way you're moving and breathing and functioning daily, who's to say you need to lose more?

BigAl · Jan 7, 2010

pirate_girl said:
If you like the way you're moving and breathing and functioning daily, who's to say you need to lose more?

I need to keep losing to make me happy .For the first time this is something I really want to do and have really enjoyed doing so far . I wonder if I loaded up on veggies and roughage if that could trick my stomach and brain into burning more fuel ???

pirate_girl · Jan 7, 2010

BigAl said:
I need to keep losing to make me happy .For the first time this is something I really want to do and have really enjoyed doing so far . I wonder if I loaded up on veggies and roughage if that could trick my stomach and brain into burning more fuel ???

Over time, yes.
If you went totally vegan, it would drop right off.
But, I don't think I'd advise it.
I feel like crap when I eat 100% vegan after a while.
The initial feeling of lightness is a rush, but you'll crash sooner or later, unless you spend a ton of money at a health food store buying all sorts of supplements and things to keep you going.

Stick to your fruits and vegs, pasta and rice and lean meats.
Stay active. It'll come off. :smile:

BigAl · Jan 7, 2010

pirate_girl said:
Over time, yes.
If you went totally vegan, it would drop right off.
But, I don't think I'd advise it.
I feel like crap when I eat 100% vegan after a while.
The initial feeling of lightness is a rush, but you'll crash sooner or later, unless you spend a ton of money at a health food store buying all sorts of supplements and things to keep you going.

Stick to your fruits and vegs, pasta and rice and lean meats.
Stay active. It'll come off.

Thank you Obe Wand . I shall follow your enlightened advice . May the force be with you ............. :w00t2:

pirate_girl · Jan 7, 2010

BigAl said:
Thank you Obe Wand . I shall follow your enlightened advice . May the force be with you .............

Thank you sir.
I need somethin' :yum:

BigAl · Jan 8, 2010

We started walking more and doing the execising routine too . Today I got my butt kicked helping my son install a new landscaped wall using railroad ties . I could only use one arm but I am willing to bet I may have dropped some weight .I have not worked that hard in a long time . Maybe getting more physical and the walking will get me kicked into gear again .

I honestly hate "THE BIGGEST LOSER" show now . I can't believe how much weight they lose in a week . Thats crazy !!!I can only wish .........

fogtender · Jan 8, 2010

BigAl said:
We started walking more and doing the execising routine too . Today I got my butt kicked helping my son install a new landscaped wall using railroad ties . I could only use one arm but I am willing to bet I may have dropped some weight .I have not worked that hard in a long time . Maybe getting more physical and the walking will get me kicked into gear again .

I honestly hate "THE BIGGEST LOSER" show now . I can't believe how much weight they lose in a week . Thats crazy !!!I can only wish .........

All diets have a quick loss point, then you stop for awhile after you have lost the easy water weight, then the rest comes off a bit slower, but you are on the right path!

jpr62902 · Jan 8, 2010

If your body's used to 2500 or more calories\day and you cut back to 1000\day, it eventually slows your metabolism down to conserve energy. No more weight loss. Also, if you're not getting enough protein, it will start to burn muscle to replace what it needs. Not the kind of weight loss you want.

Whenever I need to lose 20+ pounds (it seemes to happen every 2 or 3 years :doh:

), I'll go on a pretty disciplined diet based on the Weight Watchers' point system. But every weekend to 10 days, I'll allow myself a super high calorie meal (for some reason it's usually LaRosa's stuffed pizza). I might feel like a bear in need of hibernation that night, but my body seems to respond as if it's got a fresh reserve of calories to burn for exercise, work, etc. The weight continues to fall off once I return to my "diet."

I agree with Fogtender, too. The first 20 -30 lbs. drops off quickly because your body is shedding a lot of water it was unnecessarily storing (probably in response to too much Sodium and not enough activity).

VeraBlue · Jan 16, 2010

Your body thinks you are starving and is conserving. Increase your activity. For now, it's probably the only way to break through.

Keltin · Jan 16, 2010

The problem is, when you drastically reduce caloric intake, your body responds by reducing your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This is the amount of calories your body will burn during a day for general maintenance. If your RMR is 1,200 before a diet, and you begin taking in only 1,000 calories, you will lose weight at first as you have a 200 calorie deficit.

However, your body will soon respond to this starvation technique and will reduce your RMR to below your current caloric intake. The only way to keep losing weight with the starvation method would be to drop your caloric intake even further…..which is a very bad idea.

Instead, you need to eat more (sounds crazy) to convince your body that it is not starving and it will increase your RMR. To counteract the increase in calories, you’ll need to increase your exercise and activity so that you are burning more calories on a daily basis.

Here are some good studies on the matter.

http://www.exrx.net/Questions/StarvationEffect.html

SShepherd · Jan 17, 2010

jpr62902 said:
If your body's used to 2500 or more caloriesday and you cut back to 1000day, it eventually slows your metabolism down to conserve energy. No more weight loss. Also, if you're not getting enough protein, it will start to burn muscle to replace what it needs. Not the kind of weight loss you want.

Whenever I need to lose 20+ pounds (it seemes to happen every 2 or 3 years ), I'll go on a pretty disciplined diet based on the Weight Watchers' point system. But every weekend to 10 days, I'll allow myself a super high calorie meal (for some reason it's usually LaRosa's stuffed pizza). I might feel like a bear in need of hibernation that night, but my body seems to respond as if it's got a fresh reserve of calories to burn for exercise, work, etc. The weight continues to fall off once I return to my "diet."

I agree with Fogtender, too. The first 20 -30 lbs. drops off quickly because your body is shedding a lot of water it was unnecessarily storing (probably in response to too much Sodium and not enough activity).

you're pretty much spot on

protien, and green leafy veg.-- stay away from the bread and pasta :wink:

Ironman · Jan 17, 2010

SShepherd said:
stay away from the bread and pasta

agree.
might wanna cut back on the booze also. :whistling:

pirate_girl · Jan 17, 2010

SShepherd said:
you're pretty much spot on

protien, and green leafy veg.-- stay away from the bread and pasta

2 carbs together in any meal isn't a good thing for someone who wants to drop the poundage.

Keltin · Jan 17, 2010

SShepherd said:
you're pretty much spot on

protien, and green leafy veg.-- stay away from the bread and pasta

You can over eat on protein and leafy veggies. When calories in exceed calories burned, you gain weight. Period. Saying protein in is the answer is bogus. Cats are designed to metabolize protein primarily and have little tolerance to carbs (treat it as fiber) yet they get fat. Basic rule, Calories In > Calories out = weight gain. Reverse that for weight loss. Protein has 4 cals per gram and fat has 9 grams. This simply means you can eat more than 2x protein as compared to fat for the same caloric intake.

jpr62902 said:
If your body's used to 2500 or more caloriesday and you cut back to 1000day, it eventually slows your metabolism down to conserve energy. No more weight loss. Also, if you're not getting enough protein, it will start to burn muscle to replace what it needs. Not the kind of weight loss you want.

Not at all. Only one organ in your body requires pure glucose for energy, and that is your brain. All other organs and tissue can run on other forms of energy. Fat deposits (lipids) are converted to glycerol (which your brain can't use) for energy, which is fine for most of the body, but the brain needs glucose. Only protein can be broken down to glucose. However, if your diet contains even a modicum of carbs, it will be used to fuel the brain first (with glucose).

Further, before excess energy is stored as lipids, you first refill your glycogen stores, and glycogen can be converted to glucose. So in 99% of most active people, there is no reason to burn lean muscle tissue for glucose unless you are absolutely starving yourself for days on end (or athletically pushing the envelope 2k or more calories beyond your stores).

If you DO burn protein as a fuel source, a side affect is the production of ammonia. So unless your sweat smells like cat pee, you aren't burning protein in any measurable degree.

You only need substantial protein intake to BUILD NEW MUSCLE. If you take in plenty of calories from carbs and fats such that glucose is available for the brain, you don't NEED protein. Your muscle tissue will be fine and simply sit there. It won't get any bigger, but it certainly won't shrink either.

In a nut shell, protein is used to build new muscle IF the muscle has been challenged and suffered trauma (workout and micro tears). Other than that, it gets converted to glycogen, and then to glycerol. If you're sedentary, you need very little protein. If you workout a bit, then you need a very modest amount of protein for muscle repair.

I agree with Fogtender, too. The first 20 -30 lbs. drops off quickly because your body is shedding a lot of water it was unnecessarily storing (probably in response to too much Sodium and not enough activity).

20 to 30 pounds in water weight? You can't be serious. :w00t:

That is utterly ridiculous. The most you can hope for is 2-3 pounds, and those are seen in the first few days of a new diet. This is why so many people believe a new diet is working….you drop 2-3 pounds immediately from water weight. From there, you have to dip into your lipid stores to see weight loss.

Keltin · Jan 17, 2010

pirate_girl said:
2 carbs together in any meal isn't a good thing for someone who wants to drop the poundage.

That is a very misleading statement.

You can easily have a portion of pasta and a portion of potatoes. Two carbs. Each coming in at 300 calories each.

Then you hit the heavy bag for a 20 minute workout and burn 800 calories.

The two carbs you ate were 600 calories, yet you burned 800. A deficit which means weight loss.

Misguided fear over carbs and belief that protein is the answer is only making things worse. Carbs are not Evil. Protein is not magical. Understand how your body works and uses each food source, and stick to the basic rule of Cal Out > Cal In, and you’ll always lose or maintain your weight. Fact.

pirate_girl · Jan 17, 2010

Keltin said:
That is a very misleading statement.

You can easily have a portion of pasta and a portion of potatoes. Two carbs. Each coming in at 300 calories each.

Then you hit the heavy bag for a 20 minute workout and burn 800 calories.

The two carbs you ate were 600 calories, yet you burned 800. A deficit which means weight loss.

Misguided fear over carbs and belief that protein is the answer is only making things worse. Carbs are not Evil. Protein is not magical. Understand how your body works and uses each food source, and stick to the basic rule of Cal Out > Cal In, and you’ll always lose or maintain your weight. Fact.

Experience tells me that proper food combining is the key to losing weight and keeping it off.
Fact.
Gosh, I didn't even have to get all wordy with that either.
Imagine that.

Keltin · Jan 17, 2010

pirate_girl said:
Experience tells me that proper food combining is the key to losing weight and keeping it off.
Fact.
Gosh, I didn't even have to get all wordy with that either.
Imagine that.

So you combine ice cream with potatoes, and build up 1200 calories and only burn 600 that day. Guess what happens? You gain weight.

Oops, I made you think about math and not the magical feel good of "what I want".

pirate_girl · Jan 17, 2010

Whatevs...

Keltin · Jan 17, 2010

pirate_girl said:
Whatevs...

BigAl · Jan 17, 2010

Are you guys done arguing ??? If anybody cares I started losing weight again :w00t2:

. Just picked up the calories a bit . :flowers:

jpr62902 · Jan 17, 2010

BigAl said:
Are you guys done arguing ??? If anybody cares I started losing weight again . Just picked up the calories a bit .

Told ya.

Keltin · Jan 17, 2010

jpr62902 said:
Told ya.

Take a Physiology class! :w00t2:

pirate_girl · Jan 17, 2010

BigAl said:
Are you guys done arguing ??? If anybody cares I started losing weight again . Just picked up the calories a bit .

"Obi Won" wubs you.. :yum:

Keltin · Jan 17, 2010

pirate_girl said:
"Obi Won" wubs you..

Do or do not, there is no C-n-P!!!! :yum:

jpr62902 · Jan 17, 2010

Keltin said:
You can over eat on protein and leafy veggies. When calories in exceed calories burned, you gain weight. Period. Saying protein in is the answer is bogus. Cats are designed to metabolize protein primarily and have little tolerance to carbs (treat it as fiber) yet they get fat. Basic rule, Calories In > Calories out = weight gain. Reverse that for weight loss. Protein has 4 cals per gram and fat has 9 grams. This simply means you can eat more than 2x protein as compared to fat for the same caloric intake.

Not at all. Only one organ in your body requires pure glucose for energy, and that is your brain. All other organs and tissue can run on other forms of energy. Fat deposits (lipids) are converted to glycerol (which your brain can't use) for energy, which is fine for most of the body, but the brain needs glucose. Only protein can be broken down to glucose. However, if your diet contains even a modicum of carbs, it will be used to fuel the brain first (with glucose).

Further, before excess energy is stored as lipids, you first refill your glycogen stores, and glycogen can be converted to glucose. So in 99% of most active people, there is no reason to burn lean muscle tissue for glucose unless you are absolutely starving yourself for days on end (or athletically pushing the envelope 2k or more calories beyond your stores).

If you DO burn protein as a fuel source, a side affect is the production of ammonia. So unless your sweat smells like cat pee, you aren't burning protein in any measurable degree.

You only need substantial protein intake to BUILD NEW MUSCLE. If you take in plenty of calories from carbs and fats such that glucose is available for the brain, you don't NEED protein. Your muscle tissue will be fine and simply sit there. It won't get any bigger, but it certainly won't shrink either.

In a nut shell, protein is used to build new muscle IF the muscle has been challenged and suffered trauma (workout and micro tears). Other than that, it gets converted to glycogen, and then to glycerol. If you're sedentary, you need very little protein. If you workout a bit, then you need a very modest amount of protein for muscle repair.

20 to 30 pounds in water weight? You can't be serious.

That is utterly ridiculous. The most you can hope for is 2-3 pounds, and those are seen in the first few days of a new diet. This is why so many people believe a new diet is working….you drop 2-3 pounds immediately from water weight. From there, you have to dip into your lipid stores to see weight loss.

Actually, your body is in a constant state of tissue regeneration. It needs protein to do this and it can't synthesize protein from carbs or fats. If it doesn't get enough protein, it harvests it from muscle tissue.

And I'm dead serious about the water weight thing. I didn't say it's ALL water weight. But the dramatic initial weight loss is because it's supplemented by large amounts of excess fluid loss. Heck, I can lose 5 lbs. in 24 hrs. Just gimme 2 pots of coffee and about 40 mins. on the treadmill.

Keltin · Jan 17, 2010

jpr62902 said:
Actually, your body is in a constant state of tissue regeneration. It needs protein to do this and it can't synthesize protein from carbs or fats. If it doesn't get enough protein, it harvests it from muscle tissue.

And I'm dead serious about the water weight thing. I didn't say it's ALL water weight. But the dramatic initial weight loss is because it's supplemented by large amounts of excess fluid loss. Heck, I can lose 5 lbs. in 24 hrs. Just gimme 2 pots of coffee and about 40 mins. on the treadmill.

Seriously.......take a Physiologly class!

Not eating enough to lose weight !!!

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