[ladypeanutj]

Okay I am curious if it is possible to eat enough to sustain you but not have a high enough caloric intake.

So here is the deal. I have slowly but surely been overhauling my diet. Eating a ton of veggies, fruits, whole grains. Switched to ice tea from coke.

The thing is I have not been calorie counting but just reducing the amount I eat and "eating consciously". The thing is after cruising the boards I thought I would check and see approx. how much I was intaking on average a day. So I have monitored the last few days and I am only intaking about 1000-1200 calories.

Mind you I am not hungry. I eat multiple times a day it is just not calorie dense foods.

Is this an issue? Should I be concerned? Any advice would be great.

[juliastl27]

i am no expert, but for your height and weight, i think that is pretty darn low. i eat more than that and im 5'8. try using an online calorie calculator to determine your daily needs.

consider that if you hit a plateau, how are you going to reduce your calorie intake? you're basically at bare minimum now!

[SunnyP]

It's hard to experiment with caloric intake, and what works best, because (at least for me), we all want weight loss NOW, and the thought of UPPING calories to lose weight contradicts everything we think is true about losing. However, while I've never had the patience or courage to do this experiment on purpose, I have noticed that if I'm stuck at a plateau, and I travel or otherwise eat a bit more than usual (I usually get a bit lax with calorie counting when I'm not at home), the scale never fails to budge within a week of this 3/4/5 day break in the restriction. So I suspect, though again I haven't taken the time to prove it, that upping calories, at least every now and again, is actually a good thing to do. Still make healthy food choices, but more of them. And if you try to do this, don't weigh yourself DURING the higher-calorie days! You may add some water and food weight, and it may be too discouraging to continue if you think you're gaining (even though you know you're not). Wait a week, then get on the scale and see what happens.

We all DO know that it's possible to eat so little that your metabolism slows way down and so does the scale. So the opposite would seem to be true - eat a bit more to get the scale moving again, and also to make sure you're getting all the energy and nutrients you need.

Them's my thoughts

[Eumie]

Some ideas for adding calories without adding junk and without feeling like you're forcing yourself to eat more:

Add beans to your salads.

Add flax seed to your salads.

After you've cooked your rice, add in a can of diced tomatoes (or fresh) and a can of garbanzo beans or cannellini.

Dip your healthy bread in flavored/seasoned olive oil instead of using a butter substitute.

Add nuts to...well, whatever!



Take a look at which macronutrients you're consuming too little of and up that a bit. From what you say, dollars to donuts (sorry) you could use with some more healthy fats on a daily basis. Also, make sure you're getting enough fiber!