I’m trying to lose weight and was told that hwo I eat about 800-1000 calories a day is too low and lowers my metobolism which will prevent weight loss. I’ve looked up some meal plans and can’t really afford stuff like chicken breast, steak, or salmon every week. So that is why I’m wondering how I can eat 1500 calories a day. Are there some alternatives that I can do?
Also I’d like to ask, say I exercise and burn say 500 calories would I have to eat those calories back or no? I ask cuz I’ve been told yes and told no.
As far as I know: forget this thing about the lowered metabolism. Your body needs the energy it needs for basic functionality.
You may feel less active, lowering the energy used above the basics, but still your heart, lungs, brain, temperature management and all the other stuff need roughly the same energy. If your body does not get it from food then it will use up the fat.
But eating this low level of calories you must make sure that you consume all needed vitamins, minerals and enough protein.
And being less active may end up in a decline of muscle mass. In the end that may lead to lower basal metabolsk hastighet, but not your metabolism shutting down.
So then that lower metabolism stuff isn’t true? I was told that because I’ve also lifted weights to get muscle and was told that since the calories i eat will lower my metabolism I won’t gain the muscle and lose the weight I want.
So then that lower metabolism stuff isn’t true?
No, it’s not. Just a coping mechanism for people to feel better about not being able to stick to a diet necessary for weight loss. Calories in, calories out. Maintaining a calorie deficit (i.e. consuming less than you burn) is what results in weight loss.
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Ik when I tend to use fat loss and weight loss interchangeably
There is a great book in German called " Fett Logik überwinden" ( Overcome fat logic) that scientifically clears up a lot of the myths around gaining and losing weight. What you write about are the classics mentioned in this book.
You need the protein and minerals as building blocks for the muscles. That is why you need to take special care to ingest enough of them with that low calories.
More muscles burn more energy even when idle, that helps losing weight. Looks like you did that right.
I see, looks like the book is available in English.
Conquering Fat Logic
How to Overcome What We Tell Ourselves about Diets, Weight, and Metabolism
Nadja Hermann
Metabolism does play a part, but people of all metabolisms can lose weight.
If you’re running on a deficit it will inhibit muscle growth yes because your body won’t have the materials it needs to build new muscle as quickly (this could also be the case if you weren’t on a deficit but eat a garbage diet) but that doesn’t mean you won’t make gains at all. Whoever’s telling you this metabolism stuff probably doesn’t know what they’re talking about and it shouldn’t be what you’re focusing on. Start with lowering your calorie intake and go from there. I’d suggest getting a calorie tracking app to help you figure out a diet plan that keeps your carbs/protein/fat in order and do moderate workouts while you’re dieting. I’ve used myfitnesspal in the past but I’m sure there are other options.
See if you can track down Weight Watchers stuff. The plan itself is expensive, but the basic approach is to simplify doing exactly what you describe. They formalize food categories, portion size, and simplified tracking. Alternatively, they have recipes meeting specific calorie goal, while also having good nutrient value
I second this, and they have a digital only plan that is just $10/month. You can use their app, which is actually very good, to track your food. They use a point system to simplify the process.
Weight loss advice is nearly a religion. You’re going to have a million different people telling you that something absolutely is or isn’t a certain way. They’ll claim science isn’t science, that the body is magical and mystical and you won’t achieve your goals if you don’t do exactly X or y.
The body does some weird things when you start going into starvation mode but it’s not magic.
If you maintain a calorie deficit, eventually you will lose fat. You’ll also lose muscle.
The calculations for how many calories you actually burn doing something are kind of voodoo, they vary wildly per individual.
You create a calorie deficit so that your body will burn the fat. You work out so that your body will put more energy into building the muscle you’ll be losing. The only way you lose weight is through breathing out carbon dioxide. If you sit around sedentary that’s going to take a very long time.
Pick a target for how much weight you want to lose over a month. Pick a calorie deficit that makes sense to you. Weigh yourself every couple of days and calculate a sliding average. Tune the number of calories you’re eating after the first couple weeks to maintain your weight loss target.
You do need to be careful with extremely low calorie diets. You want to be monitored by a doctor and have regular blood tests to make sure stuff isn’t going awry.
If you want to go cheap, use a free intake monitoring app, eat eggs, beans and rice, try to cram some vegetables in there where you can. Don’t go out of your way to avoid fat but don’t guzzle it either. Shy away from processed carbs like bread and noodles. Don’t necessarily go keto, but keep your carbs in check.
Best advice in this thread. OP please read.
On apple there is an app called mynetdiary. HIGHLY recommended to help answer your questions. It sounds like finances are an issue, but the paid version really helps you dial in nutrition with detailed nutrient info and meal plans. The key feature of this app for me was the predicted weight loss trend line… and then seeing my results line up perfectly. It’s almost like they knew what they were talking about.
DO NOT go below bmr…
If you are going into deficit, stave off the full effect of adaptive thermogenesis (“starvation mode”) with weights and higher levels of protein.
Poor advice, IMO. Going below BMR is ok, starvation mode is largely a myth, and, while nutrition is important, it is not necessary for caloric-deficit weight loss.
No the poor advice is to go below bmr by some rando who says, “No it’s cool. Nutritionists don’t know what they are talking about.” But go for it. Do like everyone else who is in a rush and turn your diet into a roller coaster and put your health at risk.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body needs to perform basic functions while at rest. Consuming too few calories, also known as severe caloric restriction, can cause a number of health problems, including:
-Slowed metabolism: Your body slows down your metabolism to conserve energy when you don’t consume enough calories. This can make it harder to meet your daily nutrient needs and cause fatigue.
-Weakened bones: Consuming too few calories can weaken your bones.
-Reduced fertility: Restricting calories too much can negatively affect fertility.
-Muscle loss: Going below your resting metabolic rate (RMR) for an extended period of time can cause you to lose muscle mass, which can lower the number of calories you burn each day.
-Nutrient deficiencies: Eating fewer calories than your body needs can make it harder to meet your daily nutrient needs.
-Other health problems: Other health problems associated with severe caloric restriction include anemia, menstrual disturbances, and decreased mucosal immunity.
That’s not quite what I said. You have strong convictions, and I wish you well.
xoxo -rando
As is always the case when people say it’s on Apple/iPhone, it’s also out on Android
Here’s their website with buttons to both stores: https://www.mynetdiary.com
It’s cheaper and easier to release on Android, and almost twice as many people use it, of course every single Apple iTunes app is going to be on the Google Play Store as well
Learn how to make alfredo sauce. Put it on everything. That will solve your lack of calories.
🤌
Hi op, how has the journey been going? Are you still trying to lose weight?
It’s a struggle but working on it :)
Glad to hear! It really is a struggle but it’ll be worth it.
My brother.
Do not eat before 11am and do not eat after 7pm.
Drink water.
Weigh yourself daily, in the morning, right after you piss and shit, and then look at yourself in the mirror.
Eat as you please during your open window, don’t lie to yourself about what you are eating. Trash is trash.
Let this truth wash over you as you buy your food. The shame will drive you to make better purchases.
To be successful, you must hate yourself as you are and love yourself as you want to be.
Good luck.
My sifu gave us this advice.
Eat colorful foods. Don’t eat white foods. Take 1 or 2 less bites of everything. Leave the table just a bit hungry. Drink plenty of water. Don’t eat before bed.
Can you give an example of what you currently eat? I… doubt you aren’t losing weight if you are really eating 900 calories a day.
I do eat some sugar which I’m working on cutting back bgut like my other comment it’s not easy lol.
I usually have a fruit smoothie with two scoops of peanut butter every morning or sometimes an egg and english muffin
a turkey, chicken, or roast beef sandwhich for lunch along with some fruits
And dinner my mom usually cooks so I ahve what she makes which usually ranges from fish, steak, pasta, or chicken
but sadly it isn’t every day some days I end up skipping lunch and dinner and just eat a snack
If you are serious about losing weight, what I would suggest you do is start recording what you are eating in detail to see where the calories are actually coming from. Make a spreadsheet and track it. Also if you aren’t already active, pick up some activity to become less sedentary. Doesn’t need to be working out, could be a sport, could be going for more walks.
Maybe I’ll try getting into my fitness pal again. But my trouble is still getting that 1500 calories.
I exercise 5 days a week.
My work has a gym which I use both days I’m in office and when I’m not I walk or run
You’re eating way more than you think if you’re not losing weight on less than that.
Watch secret eaters on YouTube…tons of people don’t realize how much they actually consume.
I lose probably 1-2 pounds a week which isn’t too bad I just don’t want to eat less if it’s unhealthy.
The whole “starvation is bad for you” is bullshit. No one is saying eat so little that you get headaches. You eat yourself into a calorie deficit and once you get to it, your body gets used to it.
TL:DR: be more hungrier
I don’t recommend making significant changes to activity levels at the same time as making diet changes. Weight loss comes from changing what you eat. Exercise is absolutely necessary for a healthy lifestyle, but it is not the major factor in weight loss. And increasing exercise behaviors can destabilize eating habits, making it harder to stick to any good changes you do make with either diet or exercise.
Hi, I must agree with others that you’re eating more than what you think. I was underweight for over 20 years, so the opposite problem, and I’m one of the few people here who read “I struggle to meet 1500 calories” and nodded. For the vast majority of humans, weight loss is entirely based on energy deficit, so something must be up.
Calories are deceptive. Two days ago I had one sub sandwich (the bread I use, Schär ciabatta, comes in half sized so two of them make up one sub). It was 850 calories, far more than I expected the first time I had one— it’s not even large. That plus an Arizona tea made for 1040 calories in a single pretty volumetrically small meal.
I track the calories of every single thing I eat. I use an accurate to 0.1g scale to measure every ingredient I use in meals and to track serving size for snacks. I pour drinks into a measuring cup. It was some work at first but by now it’s basically second nature. You don’t need to go that far, but I’d highly recommend doing something. Every ingredient must be considered: are you accounting for butter or oils in pasta or even steak? Those add hundreds of calories.
The fruit smoothie sounds almost like bulking food to me. Peanut butter in a smoothie is great for weight gain. How much is two scoops? What’s in the smoothie itself? If you have vague measurements of ingredients and amount, I’d be happy to calculate a caloric estimate. It won’t be exact, but would be a good start.
I don’t account for butter or oils cuz I didn’t think much of it but think I should start.
And the fruit smoothie is some I get from Costco, one is a blend of (pineapple, kale, peaches, spinach, and something else) the other is a blend of (berrires and bananas). I add 2 table spoons of peanut butter cuz it’s too bitter without it and I keep forgetting to buy honey since Ik that’s better.
Hm the only one I can find on the Costco site is 110 cals per serving + about 190 for the peanut butter, making for a pretty light breakfast. If the peanut butter is curbing appetite and this is the whole breakfast, it doesn’t necessarily need to be removed.
And yeah, definitely account for butter and oil. I was advised by a dietician to add tablespoons of oil into food (I use olive oil or avocado oil) for additional calories, which I do sometimes. It often makes the difference.
Are you losing any weight? I’m seeing a TDEE (calories per day to maintain) of 3300~3700 depending on much you work out on the five days a week I think I saw earlier. The formulas aren’t always accurate but they’re rarely that far off, and I think it’s somewhat unlikely that your count is off by 1500+ calories a day. It definitely is possible, I’ve read weight management stories like that, but if you start weighing your food and adding calories from oil + butter and see no weight loss I’d consider asking a doctor.
Feel free to ask if you have any questions, I’ve been counting calories and measuring my weight every day for a very long time now. I have my weight management down, and while my experiences may not be applicable for you, I’m happy to elaborate on anything. Weight management is difficult and sometimes a truly long term commitment.
This furthers my suspicions you’re not tracking properly. That’s over the 500-1000 kcal you’re claiming. You’re well over it if you consume any liquid sugar (even juice) throughout the day that you haven’t listed.
Hope my answer doesn’t get buried and I hope you don’t feel too overwhelmed by all the responses you’re getting. But something I found really useful is frozen veg. If you’re struggling to plan healthier meals that are higher calorie, frozen veg is a game changer. It doesn’t go bad, it’s cheaper than the fresh stuff, and the most important thing is you can add it to your existing diet. I have a soft spot for ramen and box mac and cheese for example, and it’s so easy just to throw handfuls of whatever I’ve got in the freezer into a pot of pasta or ramen to make it just a bit healthier. Hell, you can even forget the ramen altogether and just use the soup base (it’s just stock!) to make lazy soup. Add a chopped onion if you’re feeling fancy and that’s that.
You also list a lot of protein sources that you can’t afford to add to your diet. Protein is a necessary nutrient, but it’s not the end all to a healthy diet. I say that as a lifelong athlete. It’s very easy to get an appropriate amount of protein from plant based sources, and they tend to be a lot cheaper. Plus, they tend to be higher in other macros and nutrients. Soy milk, for example, has the same protein content as dairy milk (but might be more expensive depending on your area). Beans and other legumes are fantastic and tasty. Chickpeas are my favourite. If you have a blender or food processor, you can make hummus very easily. Lentils are also amazing if you are able to cook. Cheap as hell if you buy them in bulk and insanely filling. Indian dhaal is a lentil stew that’s fairly easy to make and very tasty. If you can afford it, snack on nuts and seeds. Add peanut butter (look at labels to find some that doesn’t have sugar in it) to your diet. Both those things are higher in calorie while also being high in nutrients. If you eat rice, try getting brown rice instead of white rice. It’s higher in protein and fiber and will likely keep you full for longer. Potatoes and other root vegetables are also awesome. Versatile, cheap, relatively high calorie, easy to cook, and keep for a long time if stored properly. I like to make a huge pot of potato stew with beans and frozen vegetables and keep it in the fridge for easy meals for like a week. If you’re looking for animal protein, check your local grocery for frozen fish. Its usually half the price of the fresh stuff.
I’m not your doctor, but personally, 800-1000 cal/day was terrible for my health. Yeah, it’ll make you lose weight, but for me it made me really lethargic and gave me brain fog. It just wasn’t enough to keep my body going. Maybe try slowly lowering your calorie intake and see how your body feels. I’ve also found that in the past, calorie counting was actually counterproductive to my health because what ended up happening was it became a “game” to eat fewer and fewer calories a day. Luckily I saw that and stopped counting calories before it turned into an eating disorder. My point here is just that it’ll take some work figuring out what works for you and don’t get discouraged if a method doesn’t fit your body or your lifestyle.
In terms of exercise, I know it’s not a satisfying answer, but it’s really going to depend on your body and what type of exercise you’re doing. If you’re exercising, you should definitely be eating more than 800-1000 cal/day unless you’re like, a toddler. It’s dangerous in my non-professional opinion to exercise when you’re under eating by that amount particularly if you’re lifting weights or doing high impact cardio.
I wish you luck on your journey and I hope it all works out for you :)
Instead of trying a bunch of different conflicting methods for weight loss from these comments, I would recommend you instead first understand the science of it with:
I have found that after doing a 5 day water fast, it was much much easier to limit myself to whatever daily calorie goal I was aiming for.
I’d be cautious stating that these videos represent science. People are free to make their own dietary choices of course, but ‘water fasting’ and ‘low-carbohydrate high-fat’ diets are questionable. Also, FYI, Dr. Jason Fung is a Kidney doctor.
Man, I gotta be real with you. You aren’t going to be able to crowd source this. There’s just too much outdated information, well meaning but flawed advice, and outright bullshit online. Finding the up to date, good answers among the junk would only be possible if you already knew it.
The only reliable way to get good answers about bariatrics is going to specialists. Seriously, you can’t even totally rely on a general practitioner to be caught up, though you might get lucky with an internist. You can make do with nutritionists if they’re either fairly newly graduated, or you know they keep up on their subject.
Hell, there’s some specialists that lag behind in terms of proper, evidence driven best practices.
And the thing nobody online will likely admit is that there isn’t a single, complete answer because part of how fat loss and gain works is governed by individual circumstances regarding hormones, metabolism, and capabilities, which still ignores external factors in making a prescribed weight loss plan work. If your broke ass lives in a food desert, and you’re limited to the corner store for the majority of your supplies, the task gets much harder, just as one example of what I mean by that.
Any medications you’re on, that’s got to be factored in to an overall plan, even OTC meds, supplements, etc.
Now, there are strategies that are fairly reliable in helping manage calorie intake, like going predominantly plant based. You’ll have to study up and make sure that whatever plan you set up has the whole gamut of nutrients you’ll need, but as long as a food desert isn’t in play, that’s usually easy enough. The good news about that is that the core foods tend to be very affordable, and easy to buy in bulk as long as you have storage space.
Another piece of good news is that if you’re using exercise as part of your overall plan, not only will you give yourself a wider space for intake, but it improves your health no matter what weight you’re at along the way. I mean, losing excess fat is great, but it isn’t going to magically make your cardiovascular system work at its best.
And, again, you can only take this comment with a grain of salt because you have no way of knowing that I’m up to date on the interrelated subjects to a degree high enough to be useful. For all you know, I’m thirty years behind on things. And, truth is that the general subject matter isn’t a high priority for my reading time. I do put a bit of time every week into digging through journals and publications with a focus on medical shit, but bariatrics isn’t something I’m into for my own curiosity. So I have to be at least a little behind as default because I’m always behind even on my favorite subjects because I can’t devote enough time to it all.
Weight management is something you have to take on as a long term project where you adapt along the way. You can’t look at it as weight loss either, because just losing excess fat is only part of the project. You have to keep it off and improve your overall health.
I can attest from a personal anecdote that eating plant-based makes it enormously easier to cut calories. Provided you don’t decide to take the costliest, least healthy route of basically living off heavily processed plant-based substitutes or the cheapest, second-least healthy route of living off pasta, ramen, and cereal, you’re likely on a diet with plenty of healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats (and pretty minimal saturated), a high amount of proteins from nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes, a moderate amount of carbs in the form of cereal and simple sugars from fruits, and an absolute abundance of fiber (of which 95% Americans don’t get enough).
Even just incorporating something like tofu into your diet helps a bunch, because it’s basically all protein and good fats while having just a small amount of carbs. Per calorie, it does the best job I’ve ever seen of making you feel full for a long time.
Most realist comment here.
Well CICO is always true, but what modern professionals would help with is the other stuff: mental health, planning, long term, etc.
So in the lab, CICO wins, it’s thermodynamics. In real life, people need more support, and they (rightfully, realistically) can’t maintain CICO.
True.
CICO it’s what is called a bounding condition. It’s true but the CO half is almost impossible to know or predict long term outside of being in a 24 - 7 lab.
Hormones, types of calories, activity, and biology all have a huge effect. And long term even small errors in these numbers can have big impacts on weight.
While being accurate about it is hard outside the lab it is very easy to tell where you are on the balance and how much out you are. Just count the calories you consume and weight yourself regularly. If you are gaining weight then you are eating too much, so lower the number of calories you are consuming, if you are losing weight then you are eating less than you are burning. If you weight remains stable then you are in balance. And the amount you are gaining/losing tells you how much of a surplus or deficit you are in.
Over time you can then change the amount you eat by I few hundred calories at a time and you will see yourself move on that balance point. If anything else changes but your intake remains the same then it is likely your calories out that has changed. But even if technically you are digesting less for some reason it does not really matter - the bigger/easier leaver you have to pull is the number you are eating.
Because you are measuring the final output - your weight - it is fairly accurate over time and helps you track actual progress. There is no need to get super accurate about how much your body adobes, shits out or you burn off at rest or through exercise - those might be important in the lab but in real life the far easier to measure weight and how much you are eating is more important.
Eating healthier is not nearly as complicated as this post makes it sound, unless you have unusual underlying medical issues or are aiming to sculpt your body in a very specific way.
- To lose weight, eat about 5-10% less than your daily caloric requirement (there are tons of free calculators and counters online). Water helps to feel full. Increasing exercise can help if changing dietary habits is a struggle.
- To eat healthier overall, eat less processed foods, more fresh stuff.
That’s it. This is all the advice most people realistically need to lose weight/eat better. The hard part is being disciplined about it. Now, discipline, on the other hand, that’s a very personal matter.
And that right there is the kind of comment I was talking about. Well meaning, I’m sure, but so damn general and vague as to be useless to anyone that’s asking what the post is asking.
And, the whole “underlying medical issues” part is key there. Obesity is an underlying medical condition that changes how your body works. It messes with insulin, cortisol, serotonin, and after a point resists weight loss.
Dude is over 250 lbs at approximately six feet tall. If he isn’t a fairly regular weight lifter, he’s into at least overweight BMI, which is absolutely in the range where it counts as a medical condition that can be resistant to casual methodology, and that’s something that bariatric specialists deal with regularly. It’s part of the reason that people have so damn much trouble sustaining weight loss, and maintaining it long enough for the underlying changes to shift back to a healthier cycle.
Discipline is not a significant factor when the patient is at the point where OP is. Claims that it is are empty headed, outdated claptrap that does nothing useful for the patient.
Frankly, your comment is the kind the kind of jackassery that I was talking about.
Dry beans, rice, oatmeal, eggs and milk. Buy the plain bulk containers if you want the best unit cost. While eggs and milk have gone up in price, they can still be found cheap enough at the warehouse stores.
Don’t skimp on a variety of greens and fruits!
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but don’t beans and rice have carbs which should be avoided for weight loss? And same with pizza lol
You don’t need to avoid all carbs. Try to chose those that don’t absorb so quickly. Whole grain products are better for this reason (appart from the obvious fiber content). Also starch in rice or wholegrain pasta is better than regular sugar, because it takes the body more time and energy to break down.
Too many carbs is bad, but zero carbs is counterproductive too. The goal is to get some protein and some carbs, but fewer carbs when you are losing and not exercising enough for your body to turn them into energy right away.
If you are eating a lot of fruits & vegetables and exercising, then a serving or two of rice and beans eat day will be used as your body needs to and the calorie reduction will take care of the weight loss.
As long as calories in < calories out, the source of those calories matter much less (within reason). You could lose weight eating nothing but oreos and hostess snack cakes as long as calories in < calories out. Not great for you for obvious reasons, not least of which vitamin deficiencies, but you’d lose weight.
While strictly speaking calories in < calories out is the most important factor in weight loss, what you eat can drastically affect your hunger and thus indirectly affect your calories in - or at least make you far more miserable in sticking to lower calories. Eating more protein can help but I also find blander food helps as well - which typically means avoiding sugars and sweet foods. You are going to find it extremely hard to stick to a calorie limit eating nothing bot oreos and hostess snack cakes.
I low-key hate the “calories in vs calories out” mantra because I believe it tends to disregard an important source of “calories out:” the ones that don’t get absorbed in the intestines and that you poop out instead. It’s still somewhat early days for the science, but there’s increasing evidence to suggest that a lot of the difference between skinny people and fat people isn’t necessarily that their calorie intake or calorie burn is wildly different, but that fat people’s digestive tracts are better at absorbing all the calories.
“Calorie in” means what your body absorbs. If it absorbs more, then the number is higher for the same amount of food, and vice versa.
How do you measure that for weight loss?
You cannot accurately measure just that. But measuring calories you eat is a good enough approximation to help you control how much you eat. You can estimate you calories out by your weight, if you are gaining weight you are eating (and adsorbing) more then you are using, if you are losing weight then you are eating less - and that is the most important part.
There is also water weight to account for, but realistically there is an upper and lower bound to that and over several weeks you can get a pretty good idea for what level of calories you ingest leads to weight gain or loss. And if that changes for any reason you can adjust the amount you eat in correspondence. We are just looking for averages over time and the overall balance here, no need to be super accurate with exactly what you adsorb and what you have accurately used during an exercise. I never even measure calories burnt as it does not give much value vs just weighting your self over time.
Of course, which is why I said within reason. As long as you’re making an effort to make your diet varied, I find trying to religiously track macros tends to be fairly counterproductive for most people, as it makes the whole process far more of a pain in the ass.
A high carb diet isn’t healthy, but you will still very much lose weight if you count calories and stick to around 1500/day. At 1500 calories, you can eat nothing but twinkies and lose weight.
This helped me: https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/what-should-you-eat/
Nice resource. I get good exercise and eat a lot of raw or unprocessed foods, but my portions are whack and there’s not a lot of consistency day to day. I’ve been wanting to clean up my diet for a while and I’m gonna add this to my planning document.
