Cutting calories: how much is too much?

[Anonymous]

I have substantially reduced my caloric intake in an effort to kickstart my need to lose a good chunk of weight. So far so good. I don't know what my average daily caloric intake is at this point because I haven't been keeping track.

My only conern is that I might be cutting back too much, especially given the amount of exercise I get. I run 15-25 miles per week as well as 2 days per week of strength training.

Thoughts or advice on this?

[Anonymous]

Why do you feel this way? Are you super hungry or exhausted? Its hard to say if its too much. If you're looking for weight loss then you really don't want to add calories to make up for your exercise. Basically, the rule is try to eat at least 1200 calories to meet nutritional needs, but you should really make sure you eat enough fruits/veggies, then protein/calcium, then whatever you have left add in some healthy whole grains.

[Anonymous]

I track my calories pretty diligently and have been losing an average of two pounts per week when I keep a 1000 calorie per day deficit. The amount of calories I eat relates to how many calories I burn working out. But I never dip below 1100.

And honestly, if you are fit enough to be running that amount, can you really have an urgent need to lose a bunch of weight?

[Anonymous]

OP here. No, I'm not really any more tired than usual, I just want to be sure I'm getting enough nutrients and that my body is using my stores of fat for fuel, not muscle. I also want to be sure I have enough energy for an upcoming endurance race.

To the PP who asked if I could possibly need to lose that much weight, the answer is yes. Over about 18 months I lost 50 lbs. For the past year though I have not lost any weight. I have maintained my workout schedule but I have not been cutting back enough calories to lose. I have another 50 lbs to lose, and yes, I can run 5, 10, 15 miles at this weight.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you get proteins in first. They are the most important in terms of maintaining health. Try not to dip below 1200 as a rule of thumb.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that 1200 is just this side of starvation. A lot of more reputable/sane trainers and nutritionists will suggest more like 1500.

[Anonymous]

Go onto livestrong.com. They have a calorie tracker and weight loss calculator. Put in your weight, height and level of activity and it calculates how many calories a day you need to consume to maintain your weight. If you want to lose x pounds per week, you can put that in, and it calculates it for you. You also track your calories and workouts on the My Plate feature of the website. The website lists zillions of foods on its database as well as activities so you can get a pretty good estimate. For me, at my weight and height & activity level, I'm supposed to consume 1047 calories to lose one pound per week.

[Anonymous]

What are the possible repercussions of cutting too many calories for someone who is overweight and has a lot to lose?

[Anonymous]

My weight, height, age and activity level...I am supposed to consume 1600 calories to lose 1 lb per week.

I run 5 miles at a 8-9 min mile pace about 5X per week and do 45min of cardio the days I don't run. I weight-lift 30 min 5 days per week.

I have about 5 lbs of slack, holiday, mindless eating..and it has me losing it by mid-April.

The calories I am eating are all veggies, fruits, and fish. I am really trying hard to avoid the alcohol---occasional glass of wine here and there until goal is reached.

I've been the same weight (barring the 45lbs I gained for each child) for the past 25 years. For me--I don't do 'diet' because I believe you will just gain it back later. It is about healhty choices and exercise and slow and gradual wt loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are the possible repercussions of cutting too many calories for someone who is overweight and has a lot to lose?

Organ damage, including heart; general poor health due to overstressung your body; electrolyte imbalances, nutritional deficits, bone density loss, muscle damage, and you screw up your metabolism to boot. Your body will conclude that it is starving and will readjust your metabolism to cling to every bit of every calorie that goes in, so it will ele much harder to ever lose weight in the future.

In a nutshell, it is just stupid to do that to your body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I track my calories pretty diligently and have been losing an average of two pounts per week when I keep a 1000 calorie per day deficit. The amount of calories I eat relates to how many calories I burn working out. But I never dip below 1100.

And honestly, if you are fit enough to be running that amount, can you really have an urgent need to lose a bunch of weight?[/quote]

New poster here who can relate to the OP.

I have a good 20lbs to lose and I exercise 5xs a week, sometimes a 4mi run in the AM and then strength at the gym at night. HOWEVER, I love to eat, so as far as fat goes, I'm "running on a treadmill of weightloss" basically I'm exercising and going nowhere because of my eating. I could probably easily run a half-marathon. If I could just take this layer of fat off I'd look at good as I feel.

I'm strong, have excellend endurance and I have great bloodwork, but I carry extra weight around due to my love of good food.

[Anonymous]

Go get your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) tested, most all med-spas do it and it costs around $120. That will tell you what your body needs to "maintain" you just adjust down from there, probably shaving off 500 calories a day to lose 1lb a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I track my calories pretty diligently and have been losing an average of two pounts per week when I keep a 1000 calorie per day deficit. The amount of calories I eat relates to how many calories I burn working out. But I never dip below 1100.

And honestly, if you are fit enough to be running that amount, can you really have an urgent need to lose a bunch of weight?[/quote]

New poster here who can relate to the OP.

I have a good 20lbs to lose and I exercise 5xs a week, sometimes a 4mi run in the AM and then strength at the gym at night. HOWEVER, I love to eat, so as far as fat goes, I'm "running on a treadmill of weightloss" basically I'm exercising and going nowhere because of my eating. I could probably easily run a half-marathon. If I could just take this layer of fat off I'd look at good as I feel.

I'm strong, have excellend endurance and I have great bloodwork, but I carry extra weight around due to my love of good food.

I am one of the pp..and I also have an extreme love of food!! Fortunately, I like to exercise...but I prob wouldn't need to exercise half as much as I did if I had more self-control on the eating side.

[Anonymous]

I would never go below 1500 calories per day, and honestly when I was counting calories to lose weight I probably ate around 1700-1800 on a really good day (my "normal" intake is probably more like 2000-2200). I am 5'8 and have an average frame. I know people who ate more like 1200 calories a day and lost weight, but I think if you go too low your body thinks you are starving and adjusts your metabolism downward, making you that much more likely to regain the weight. If you have to diet, slow and steady is the way to lose weight, IMO.

[Anonymous]

All of this "your body thinks it's starving and you won't lose weight if you cut calories too much" is BS. How do you think people who get gastric bypass lose so much weight? It's simple math. The less you take in, the more you're going to lose. Yes, your metabolism will slow slightly. But it certainly won't slow to a rate where you suddenly start holding on to every calorie you eat. If that were the case, gastric bypass wouldn't work.

Cut as many calories as you can while you're dieting, but also make sure you're taking a multivitamin, drinking enough water, getting enough calcium (try dannon lite and fit, very low in cals) taking a potassium supplement (talk to your Dr or a nutritionist about this) and eating enough protein.