Bare Minimum Calories I Should Eat?

November 10, 2006

I am not counting calories, I could stand to lose some weight so its nice I'm losing it but I think this is too fast.

Over this week and last week I lost 10.3lbs. Since Im having problems with corn, dairy, soy, and gluten. I only eat plain veggies, fruit and meat. So not getting in alot of calories. Today and yesterday I counted calories, yesterday was about 850 and today was about 900. I dont crave anything, my appetite has dropped off completely. Especially since I dont eat sugar.

Im afraid Im going to lose muscle. I work out about a half hour a day. What is the minimum amount I should strive for?

Edited to add- Grains are bothering me so I cut them out and nightshades, Im beginning to wonder if I have leaky gut?

emcmaster · November 10, 2006

AutumnE said:
I am not counting calories, I could stand to lose some weight so its nice I'm losing it but I think this is too fast.

Over this week and last week I lost 10.3lbs. Since Im having problems with corn, dairy, soy, and gluten. I only eat plain veggies, fruit and meat. So not getting in alot of calories. Today and yesterday I counted calories, yesterday was about 850 and today was about 900. I dont crave anything, my appetite has dropped off completely. Especially since I dont eat sugar.

Im afraid Im going to lose muscle. I work out about a half hour a day. What is the minimum amount I should strive for?

Edited to add- Grains are bothering me so I cut them out and nightshades, Im beginning to wonder if I have leaky gut?

Not only are you losing muscle, your metabolism is slowing down in response to the fact that you're starving your body. It doesn't matter that you're not hungry, you still need to eat.

Most adults have basal metabolic rates between 1300-1600 calories a day. That's how many calories your body burns if you lie in bed all day and not move. If you were to sit up in bed all day, you'd need at least 100 more calories on top of your BMR. Add another couple hundred if you actually move at all, and even more if you are working out.

The minimum caloric intake recommended for active (which would be you) adult women is 1800 - to lose weight. If you're not looking to lose, add more than that.

Sure, you might not be hungry and you might still be losing weight, but in the long run, you'll eventually start to gain on 900 calories a day. Not pretty.

I was in the same boat as you when I was doing the elimination diet. It's really hard to get in enough calories when your options are limited. But it's REALLY important to make sure you get in an adequate number of calories per day or you will be doing major damage to your already damaged body.

Just some friendly advice.

November 10, 2006

Thanks Elizabeth

I figure I should eat some more fruit and meat. Hopefully a few bananas a day with my other fruits and some meat will kick in some more calories. I have been having "D" from grains and potatoes lately, I wonder if thats where a few of the pounds went. Im almost afraid to eat anymore I am so sick of feeling yucky.

Well Im off to eat dinner again Man food is so boring nowadays!

jayhawkmom · November 10, 2006

I agree with everything just said. I used to work for Weight Watchers, and one of the biggest complaints of people who were eating "less" than their daily required number of points was that they could not understand how they were gaining weight.

People would seriously cut back on the number of calories taken in, while working out to the point of excess - only to continuously gain, gain, gain! Your body has to have a certain number of calories just to WORK, and if it doesn't get it, it s l o w s down and holds on to everything you put in it, for dear life.

I can just imagine how difficult it is for you to get all the calories you need when you are working so hard to identify and remove foods that offend you. But, somehow....some way, you simply have to eat more.

November 10, 2006

Thanks Kris

I do not need to gain weight thats for sure I have quite a bit to take off. Im trying to get my body absorbing foods again since I know it hasnt for awhile. I'm scared of losing my vision from it since I have glaucoma and if I dont receive the proper nutrients it will get worse regardless of my medicine for it.

plantime · November 11, 2006

It is most interesting to read this thread. I am glad that I am not the only one that knows that cutting calories too much actually leads to weight gain!

tarnalberry · November 11, 2006

Your basal metabolic rate depends on your age, height, and weight, not to mention your genetics. You can find a number of online calculators to estimate your BMR using a variety of different estimations (Google will get you a number). For instance, for me, at 5'2", 118lbs, 28 years old, my BMR is 1328 calories/day. Going below that is not healthy. Not to mention it's very difficult to get the nutrients you need even on that much.

November 11, 2006

Thanks

Well, I tested my bmr on a calculation google came up with, it said 2165! How am I going to eat that much food with the kind of foods Im allowed to eat?? Im very tall at almost 5'11 and very overweight. I need to do a little figuring out today regarding meal planning.

I was underweight as a kid and teenager. Eight years ago I weighed 130lbs at my height, probably a little too thin but I have a tiny bone structure. My wedding ring size is a 4 3/4. Does a tiny bone structure take into account for bmr?

November 11, 2006

I had a similar problem when I tried to go on a candida very low carb diet. I started dropping weight very fast, but I didn't have any to lose. I was then underweight and it wasn't a good thing. You may need to add something like rice back into your diet.

I liked the low glycemic index type of diet that I tried when I thought carbs, not gluten was my problem. They mention carbs that don't spike your blood sugar and are better for you. Maybe things like sweet potatoes or some rices would work. The absolute minimum calories anyone should ever have is 1200, you don't want to go below that.

Almonds might be good as well. They have calories and good fat and if you don't have an appetite it usually isn't that hard to get a few of them down, and you only need a few since they have so many calories.

November 11, 2006

Well I see ground beef and bananas in my future, ground beef is packed with calories. I have been mainly eating cauliflower, strawberries and watermelon with a bit of chicken (not much at all). It's just not enough calories that way or balanced, I was just getting bored of the food Im eating and it was the only thing that sounded good. Meat just turns me off nowadays.

Thanks Everyone Again

cassidy- Thanks I cant tolerate rice it gives me diarrhea now. I do have some unsalted sunflower seeds here that would help get in some fat especially. I havent tried sweet potatoes. I wonder if those would be ok for me? I cant imagine doing a candida diet with lack of fruit eating would be very hard. I set up a fit day membership hopefully that will help me regulate it better.

Thanks for the tips!

emcmaster · November 11, 2006

Have you tried cooking your meat in olive oil or vegetable oil? Nuts are packed with healthy fats, as are avocados, which would be a nice break for you.

When I did the elimination diet, I ate loads of dates. They pack a sweet, dessert-like punch, but are safe to eat (for me at least). I also ate a lot of canned fruits to up my calories. Fresh fruits are, of course, better for you, but if you're like me, you can only eat so many bananas in one day.

Good luck!

Nancym · November 11, 2006

You're eating essentially a low carb diet and one thing that happens in the first week is you lose a lot of water weight. All that glycogen (basicaly excess carbs) you were storing bind up a lot of water. Have you noticed you're peeing like a race horse? That won't continue long, your weight loss will slow once you get rid of the extra water.

As long as you're getting sufficient protein you don't have to worry about muscle loss, it's one of the nicest parts of a lower carb diet, you tend to preserve muscle mass versus the low-fat/high-carb diets. Just make sure you're eating plenty of high quality protein. A lot of muscle builders have caught onto this fact and use low carb for cutting.

Another side-effect of low carb, at least at first, is it tends to kill your appetite. You should probably try to get a minimum of 1200 calories (if weight loss is your goal). I'd suggest eating nuts (if you can) and things like avocados, maybe some peanut butter (natural only) or some fattier cuts of meats. Have some good veggies with some butter or olive oil. We've been so terrified of fat and now a lot of research is proving they're actually good for us.

Sounds like you're on a paleo sort of diet, is that what you're shooting for?

I can PM you the web address of a very good support/education site for this sort of thing if you'd like it.

BRUMI1968 · November 12, 2006

Hi. I went on the Paleo diet for a while - all meat, nuts, seeds, fruit, vegetables...yeah. No grains, no starchy veggies really, no beans.

At first it went well...but I lost about 8 pounds. I didn't mind that, though that definitely put me at the way low end of acceptable, what I hated was the lost energy.

Now I've added SMALL amounts of grains, in the form mostly of tea lattes. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I have two or three lattes each day made of rice milk, hazlenut milk, black tea, and spices. Ever since then, I started to gain back the weight. Now I weigh about 130 again (5'9) which is way more normal for me. AND, I have legs on my hikes, and some wind when I walk. It's actually really exciting to imagine being able to exercise again. I'm still going easy - focusing on dog walks and dog hikes and the like...but I was feeling too too weak.

If you are feeling strong and energetic, then losing weight is probably great.

When you did the calculator - did you put in your height/weight, or did you put in your height/desired weight? Just curious. I'm off to do the calculator myself.

Sweet potatoes, by the way, are not a nightshade, so give them a shot. (They're in the marigold family)

November 13, 2006

Elizabeth- thanks, for some reason butter gives me "D" right now even without corn so unfortunately thats out but I love olive oil. I dont think I have ever eaten dates as a plain fruit, I'll have to try them. I did use to eat date filled oatmeal cookies and loved them.

Nancy- Essentially I am on a paleo diet, I didnt really choose it since that is the only thing that doesnt give me diarrhea. I have been on it before but it was too strict for me but its my only choice now. Everything else is upsetting my stomach. Even when I think it will be fine it isnt. I cant eat anything processed anymore.

I'm glad to know that I wont be losing muscle mass, I dont have much to begin with. I started an exercise routine not too long ago to try and help also. Im glad to know this might be fine just eating this way. My family is having a hard time with it for some reason my mom thinks I must have sweets Odd thing is she rarely eats them. I'll pm you for the web site info. Thanks

Bully4you-Thanks, so far I'm ok. I am out of breath here and there but I think its more due to my asthma. This is my tough season for it because of the cold and Im avoiding my inhaler as best as I can. I'm glad your feeling better, I wouldnt mind eating a little rice but there is not much I can tolerate well right now. I think a huge part of it is the corn intolerance it limits me alot since Im so sensitive to it. When I did the bmr calculator I listed the weight I am currently. I used this one Open Original Shared Link I went to my first trip to whole foods saturday, its about an hour away. I bought quite a few vegetables and some sweet potatoes. I'm hopeful to try them but I'm going to wait till I come back from the dr's office just in case.