So, I calculated my BMR and it says I need about ~1500 cals for maintenance. Now since I still wanna drop a few, I've been eating 1250 cals.. the only problem is I've noticed my health not being where it used to be. I'm starting to get really worried because obviously my health comes first. I was just wondering how is it most people eat when they get smaller and don't eat as many calories? I've been taking multivitamins and other types of vitamins (like magnesium which apparently I was greatly lacking) but it makes me scared because I feel like I'm missing out on way more naturally and that to me doesn't feel right.


Is it the way I eat or is it just natural to be missing out on a few nutrients when you have to eat so little?

I think that if you ate really balanced meals and payed close attention to what nutrients you were getting through food, took a multivitamin, omega 3&6 supplement, then you should be fine. You may want to talk to your doctor though since you may need more of something than most. Good luck, and congrats on your weight loss so far!

What did you use to calculate your BMR? Did you factor activity level into the math? My guess is 1500 is your in-a-coma BMR, i.e. what it would take to maintain your basic bodily functions if you were bed-ridden.

Try this site to get your baseline BMR, and then take your number and choose a multiplier for your activity level from this site.

For example, using the information from your signature and assuming that you are a 30yo female, I calculated a baseline BMR of 1459.65. Then, assuming that you are lightly active, I used the multiplier of 1.375, getting a total BMR of 2007 calories.

ETA: Many believe that it's not a good idea to regularly eat below your baseline BMR. Using the numbers above (they will obviously be a little different when you plug in your actual stats), I'd aim to eat somewhere between 1500 and 2000 calories per day for the healthiest rate of loss.

What's wrong with your health, exactly?

Your BMR is the baseline for your energy needs, meaning that's the minimum your body needs to function metabolically. You really shouldn't be eating below that line. You probably aren't getting enough. Seriously, you probably burn at least 2000 cals a day and should probably lose weight fine with a few hundred more.

People always go for 1200 b/c they want that fast loss but for an average height, fairly active person, that's not enough and your body is sacrificed for quick loss. I am just a tad taller and lose 4.6 pounds a week on 1200 cals but feel horrible after a month of that...1200 is the amount of energy required by a person's body to run metabolic processes if they do nothing all day, not the number to shoot for, which is what most people do out of desperation for rapid loss but for many that's counterproductive.

How's that explanation? Clear as mud?

Try this calculator, it always worked for me...it calculates cals needed for maintenance, loss, and extreme loss. For me, 1800 a day is loss and 1560 cals a day is extreme loss.

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Yeah I'm a 20 yo female, and it said 1500 cals. Since I'm a student, there are some weeks here and there where I can't get any exercise in because I'm cramming for exams, and that's when I would consider myself not really active at all since I sit on a chair all day. The entire thing gave me 1800 cals. Maybe I will try upping it a bit more but when I was losing the 30 lbs, I ate 1500 and the weight loss was really slow, that's why I'm thinking maybe my BMR really is a lot closer to 1500 than 2000.

thanks It gave me 1590 for loss and 1193 for extreme loss. Maybe I should do 1400, somewhere in between?


I've been feeling super tired and weak and have been more prone to getting sick. Ontop of it all, my anxiety attacks have come back after YEARS of me not getting them and we think it could be linked to a lack of magnesium in my diet and obviously stress.

Yes, I think you could lose fine on 1400-1600 and feel better b/c that's a whole meal's worth of calories you're missing right now.

BTW I have had problems with low magnesium and my doc had me switch from Tums to Maalox so I was taking a magnesium based antacid that would also act as a supplement. It was life changing for me to get my magnesium balanced. I was almost diagnosed with Fibro before I found out about magnesium deficiency and got myself to a better Doc!

You might want to do a little bit of research on different multivitamins. I was feeling tired and extremely sluggish on 1200 calories, it was -awful- and I thought it was just normal to feel that way. At the time, I was taking 2 gummy vitamins a day. After a little research, I learned that the quality of the nutrients in those vitamins were less potent and sometimes compromised entirely by the gummy-making process. I found a respectable brand of multi-v, and on the first day I could feel the different. So much energy, all day, and my skin, hair, nails...all of it is better. Not to say that you may not also need to bump up your cals a bit, but you might find you feel much better with a good vitamin added in .

I do food and supplement demos at work, and I found that those gummy vitamins are VERY little more than sugar and vitamin C. Of course we still had to sell them, but I felt awful doing it. This was just the brand I was doing, but I am assuming they are all similar. Especially when they are for kids, kids need real vitamins not placebos. So steer clear! If you hate real vitamins that you have to swallow go for the Flintstones ones or something similar and read the bottle. One a Day and Centrum are the best I've come across. Just thought I'd share.
I know what you are saying on being tired. I would sleep minimum 12hours a day. All because I had a vitamin D deficiency. It's still low though I take supplements (idk why) some bodies are strange.

Oh gosh, and who knows how many bottles I bought before I decided to invest in some actual vitamins.

yeah my sister buys the gummies for the entire family but I never thought they did much. I'm going to look into buying a different one.