Diet Advice?

[unforth]

Okay, so I've been dieting since August, and I've lost 15 pounds or so. That's good, and it pleases me immensely.

HOWEVER. I've been eating 1200 cal/day for like 3 months. According to online calculators, this should equal about 2 lbs/week in weight loss. Instead, I've been holding pretty much steady except for in January, when I lost a bunch. This is starting to piss me off pretty seriously, mostly because it takes constant control to eat that little and it's maddening that it's not really producing results. I'm starting to think that it's too little. I'm walking 30 min/day now with the Jonie dog, and I'm really starting to think that my body is hoarding calories instead of burning them because I'm eating too little. Does that actually happen, ya think? According, again, to online calculators my body should be using about 1900 a day; I'd have to have no metabolism to speak of to not lose weight eating as little as I do.

So I've been thinking that I should up my intake to about 1400 per day. If it doesn't work, I can always go back down, right? I'm just worried that I'm running out of patience and won't give it enough time...it's not that I'm running out of patience for dieting, it's that I'm running out of patience for giving changes I make enough time to really settle in...

Right. Anyone have any thoughts on any of this? I'm not sure what I'm really trying to say, I'm just frustrated and I want to be 140 lbs again, dammit!.

Comments

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

I don't know what's normal. I always thought 2000 or under was, unless you were very active, and people who go onto calorie-restricted diets often say they're in the 1200-1500 range. And they're trying to drop 30-40% of their calories, not 60%. And when I was thinking about CR and counting my calories I seemed to find myself at 1800 a day (less than that and I'd usually be too hungry to sleep). But I found the online calculators will claim we should be eating 2500-2800 calories. Eh?! (Your 1900 seems reasonable; somehow I thought at first you had a bigger number.)

But people who try CR diets for longevity are careful to get all the nutrients they need (another name is CRON: Calorie Restriction, Optimal Nutrition). Lots and lots of veggies, a multivitamin for backup, things like that. And at 1200 they're not necessarily doing a whole lot of exercise.

And yeah, you need some fat (people can starve to death on lean game) and protein (don't want your body breaking down your own muscles. Especially heart muscle.)

[unforth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the online calculators aren't necessarily the most reliable; they don't account for individual metabolic things of any kind. Thanks for the tips! :)