im 233 pounds, and 18 years old, right now im on a 1000 calorie diet, and im not loose much weight, so i was thinking about going to a 1500 cal diet. what do you think? have you tried it? what was your results?
If you consistantly go under 1200 (I think it is) calories a day, your body goes into starvation mode. It wants to hold onto those calories. With that said, not all calories are created equal. 1500 calories of junk versus healthier choices makes a huge difference too.
I eat about 1350, and it's worked perfect for me (120lbs lost the first time, 15lbs lost so far this time). You're probably not losing much weight because your body is in starvation mode from eating under 1200.
The whole "anyone who goes under 1200 will go into starvation mode and not lose a pound" thing is a bit of a myth, but as with all myths, there's a core of truth at it. Everyone has a maintenance range, a weight loss zone, and a range below that where they won't be healthy due to insufficient nutrients or calories. For most women, below 1200 is too low, and for many women, even 1400 or so is too low as well. (I'm losing happily and steadily on 1050, but I'm 4'11, 122lb and more horizontal than sedentary. It's very much an individual thing.) At your height and weight, 1000 is definitely too low, and 1500 sounds like a good amount to try.
Could you tell us how long you've been dieting, how much you're losing per week, and how certain you are that you are consuming exactly the number of calories that you think you are? Some people have unrealistic expectations and don't realise that 1-2lb per week is a fantastic rate of weight loss, while others aren't losing because they're consuming more calories than they think, for instance through inaccurate measuring or alcohol.
If you consistantly go under 1200 (I think it is) calories a day, your body goes into starvation mode. It wants to hold onto those calories. With that said, not all calories are created equal. 1500 calories of junk versus healthier choices makes a huge difference too.
False, false, false. This is not borne out by scientific research (e.g. the Minnesota Starvation study). The less you eat, the more fat you lose, as long as you have a supply of fat for the body to draw on. As long as you have fat reserves on you, your body will primarily turn to it - not muscle - for its energy needs until one reaches approximately 5%-6% bodyfat.
I'm not advocating eating nothing; just stating how the body works. Like I mentioned before, my wife lost weight just fine on 750 calories a day for six months and looked great afterward. A nutritionist carefully monitored her stats to make sure she was getting the proper input of nutrients, which is essential on a low-calorie diet.
1500 calories is a pretty comfortable range for me. It's not that I don't loose on 1000 calories, just that I'm grumpy and miserable doing it! I'd rather eat 1500 calories, so I do, and I still get results with eating around that amount.
You might not be accurately counting your calories. You have to count every bite, every taste, every morsel of food when calorie counting. Most people underestimate how much they are eating, especially if you are calorie counting for the first time. It's important to weigh and measure food as well. It's unlikely at at 1000 cals a day, you're not losing. So maybe you are underestimating how much you are eating.
1500 normally works pretty well for me. I'm currently losing pretty well on 2000, but I exercise a lot and am also breastfeeding, which uses up a bunch of calories. A few things that have helped me:
Remember that WHAT you eat is important, too - you'll feel better and probably see better results eating 1500 calories worth of veggies and meats and nuts and beans than you will eating 1500 calories worth of ice cream and french fries (and you'll feel a lot more satisfied, too).
It's easy to underestimate how many calories you're eating if you don't measure things. Don't rely on just estimating how much a serving is - get some measuring cups ($2) and a digital food scale ($25) and make sure your 1500 calories isn't actually 2500.
It's fine to not exercise (ie, you'll still lose weight) if you don't want to or don't have time to, but I find that I feel much better (tighter, fitter) and am more motivated to eat correctly when I'm also exercising.
i count and measure everything, i tipical day for me on a diet is
B: apple (110 cal)
L: Healthy Steamer meal (250 cal)
D some chicken or fish with veggies ( 350 cal)
De: watermelon 1 cup (50 cal)
so i do know exactily what i eat i wright everything down, and i keep a calorie limit for eat meal. also i exorcize 30 mins a day, i day cardio the next day weight training and so on.
does the 1500 calorie diet work?
