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Originally Posted by triplestep
I'm bumping up this old thread to ask a similar question: Should I be worried about not eating enough calories?
Some background: I've always struggled with my weight, lost and gained most of my adult life. (I actually logged on here tonight and saw my last log on was in 2013!) I had pretty good success using MyFitnessPal and just counting calories, but I started to put the weight back on even before I was done losing, and fast forward to now - I started IP this past Monday.
On MyFittnessPal, the mantra is "don't eat fewer than 1200 calories a day" so I've actually been adding splashes of olive oil here and there to get my calories up. I am afraid to eat as few calories as I've been tracking. (I'm still tracking on MFP). Here the mantra is "Just work the program, don't worry about calories" but I am really afraid that I'll just regain whatever I lose doing this plan. I do not intend to eat so few calories forever - what happens when I start to eat "normally" again?
I would love to hear from some people who have reached their goal and maintained ... how many calories are you eating a day now that you're "there"?
ETA: I should mention that I exercise. I have some circulation issues and exercise brings some relief to legs that would otherwise by tired and achy. This diet is so high in sodium compared to how I normally eat, I really have to exercise a few times a week, even if I just walk on a treadmill. (I used to do elliptical, but I don't think I'm eating enough to support really high intensity exercise.)
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MyFitnessPal just uses 1200 cal. for a baseline number. Yes, this is a low calorie, low carb, moderate protein diet. P1 is only one stage, and it is necessary to take the supplements to be certain all nutrients are covered. Remember, you are on this diet because you have an abundance of stored calories on your body already. As long as you are getting the vitamins and minerals and adaquate protein with minimum necessary fats, your body will need to take fat out of storage to make up the shortfall in energy (calories). That's what we want. There's a big fallacy out there that's quite popular: 'starvation mode.' There's much more to the story. Ideal Protein actually suggests walking for exercise, if we have the energy for it - which usually happens when our bodies start to switch over to using our fat after a couple weeks. It doesn't encourage heavier exercise as that would be asking too much from our bodies at this point. If you do exercise briskly, you should be adding another packet or extra eggs as a protein snack, or using the Athletes and Diabetic protocol instead. I used this protocol to lose my weight over 4 years ago.
I have maintained my weight loss within a few lbs despite going thru menopause. I don't count calories any more - I just pay attention to portion sizes, and keep my carbs relatively low (under 100 g/day). I weigh a couple times a week and if the trend is up or my clothes start to get tighter, I just cut back a bit on my higher carb or higher fat items that I have been eating. BTW, I generally find that it's the higher CARB foods that make me gain, not the higher fat ones. These days I eat quite a bit of cheese, full fat Greek yogurt, nuts, and avocados, along with a good amount of butter and olive oil. A bit more keto-ish. It works fine for me, but we are all individuals and once you reach your goal your choice in maintenance may be different. The important part is continuing to keep the carbs down once you've reached goal. Unless you have kidney disease we actually need more sodium than what is commonly recommended. Google "Phinney & Volek sodium requirements" for the science studies explained - they are low carber PhD MD's. I believe there's a video out there from them too from the Low Carb DownUnder conference a year or two ago.
Once you've lost the fat weight, you move into P2 which takes a packet out and replaces it with real food at lunch. That bumps your calories up a bit and then you move into P3. P3 adds a full breakfast instead of a packet, again back to a normal but still low carb food plan. P4 (maintenance) teaches you how to separate your higher carb meal from your higher fat meal (they are both 3g:1g ratios approx.) and of course by then you should already know to stay away from a Standard American high carb Diet. It goes without saying that if one goes back to old eating habits, the weight will come back on.
Cheers,
Keep on keeping on.
Liana
PS. If you want some idea of what I eat in maintenance there's a 'Maintainers What Are You Eating?' 3FC IP thread. I've posted a ton of days on there and some of the other gals did too. Haven't been on there for a while though, you'll have to do a search for it, it'll be several pages back.
