Hello I'm new to the Forum. I'm on a new drug that I'm taking for a non weight related issue. Well long story short this drug has been a miracle and allows me to eat as much or as little as I want without getting too hungry. I'm rather overweight 5'7 and 238. I've lost 15 lbs in the past couple of months. I've been limiting myself to 1000 calories or less a day. Most of the calories are from healthy foods.

I've been reading sites and all say that a woman shouldn't be eating less than 1200 calories a day. Is this still true if you are as overweight as I am? Am I hindering my weight loss by eating to little? Please be honest as I'm looking to lose this weight as fast as possible.

Thanks.

PS I'm not exercising all that much.

You are hindering your health by eating so little. You are cutting yourself short on needed nutrients. I would think 1600-1800 would be more like it, you may need to experiment a little to find the right amount, but 1000 calories a day is too little and so is 1200 .

I have read that aslo. 1200 is the lowest you can eat in calories ( if i remember correctly, somone correct me if im wrong) Ive been sticking to 1300 calories a day ive been exercising, Exercising really helps with losing weight. I was 210 I messured what i ate, counted calories and exercised.. Now im down to 160. At that time i think i was eatting 1500 calories a day..Im wanting to lose more weight so doing 1300 this time. Im also starting to run on a treadmill everyday! Cause i want to lose weight asap to Maybe try 1300 for a bit? Or even 1200 but that would be pusing it. Good luck!!!

I was told by my Doctor and the people at weight watchers that the more over weight you are the more calories your body needs to keep itself going. What you should do is have a limit of 1600-1800 calories per day like bargoo said, then decrease the amount as you lose weight. The less you weigh the less calories your body needs. If you limit yourself to only 1000 per day your body will go into starvation mode and actually retain fat, trust me, eat more and you'll find the weight will come off slowly and healthily, and its more likely to stay off in the long term. Good Luck!!

That doesn't sound right. You should have lost way more than 15 lbs in a few months consuming only 1,000 calories a day if you are 238 lbs. Personally I would get my metabolism checked out if I were you. I'd also definitely try to eat more than 1,000 calories a day, that is way too little.

Well to be honest I've been afraid to weight myself for so long, it could be more. I guess I've just never had control over my appetite, now that I do I want to go at it as hard as I can. Knowing I need more food to lose more weight is helpful. I guess I was looking for someone to tell me that they lost weight eating so little but that doesn't seem to be the case. The last thing I want to do is to ruin my metabolism. Considering I"ve never dieted successfully it should be in pretty good shape. Well thanks for all of the prompt responses.

I'd bump yourself up to at least 1500 calories. See how you feel. You can do a good protein shake (not a weight loss type shake) and get some calories that way if you are not hungry. I use a chocolate protein powder from Costco that is 26 g of protein and 150 calories, and I mix it with non fat milk 8 oz for 80 calories (sometimes I'll do 12 oz for 120 calories). Like a milkshake and great vitamins and well balanced!

Good luck!