Dr's recommendations seem too low!

Posts: 24,638
6/17/11 5:54 P

I am going to also address another issue in your post that I feel is greatly connected to all this.
Your energy level and your caffeine intake. You say you stay awake by drinking coffee and taking caffeine pills. How long have you been doing this? Are you having difficulty sleeping at night and that is why you need this stimulate to stay awake during the day. Sleep deprivation is also related to energy level, food consumption patterns, and weight gain issues. Can you share more about your situation.
Dietitian Becky

Posts: 33,304
6/17/11 5:09 P

BMR is not correlated with recommended eating levels. It is not the minimum your body needs for you to eat.

Yes, you're eating less than your body requires for basic body functions. That's one of the ways you're encouraging it to lose weight. At your current weight, just under 1,000 calories deficit daily is probably okay verging on being perhaps a little ambitious.

Bottom line - it's healthy to eat under your BMR. The important figure is maintenance level - deficit level. BMR is only used to calculate maintenence level, it should not then feature in comparison to intake level.

Posts: 1,416
6/17/11 3:36 P

Yes, the Dr's advice seems generic, but it's right in line with the range SparkPeople gave you.

I'm 5'11" and have gone from 350 to 165 lbs and I can tell you that range worked for me. It does take a while to learn a whole new way of cooking and eating so be gentle with yourself.

Posts: 376
6/17/11 3:27 P

I agree that your doctor's answer seems awfully generic. If you are tired all the time and not feeling well, that's a pretty good indicator that something is wrong. Would it be possible for you to meet with a nutritionist instead? That would get you the answers you're looking for.

Also, good for you for being so proactive with your weight loss journey and for taking the time to learn all about it with your weight management class! That's really cool. :)

Posts: 270
6/17/11 2:39 P

I hate to go against what a doctor told you but it seems he gave you a very generic answer instead of looking at your specific situation. I'm 5"3 weighed 131.2 this morning and I've lost weight this week eating between 1300-1500 calories each day. I feel best and lose the most weight when I stay between 1400-1500 calories a day. That being said and knowing everyone is different I think you should be eating towards the top of your Spark range, not 1500. My 2 cents.

PS. I do workout very regularly which allows me to eat more.

Edited by: RALLEN75 at: 6/17/2011 (14:43)

Posts: 11
6/17/11 2:33 P

I know I just posted a huge post on low carb low calories, but please take the time for this one too. I have a lot of questions, and the only way to find the answers is to ask.

Anyway, when I went to the Dr and asked him to help me lose weight, he didn't ask my any questions like : What do you normally eat in a day? How many calories would you say you eat? How active are you? He just said, ok eat 1500 calories and walk 20 minutes a day. At first, that seemed like good advice. But, I am currently taking an online weight management class through my local library, and we recently discussed BMR and calorie needs (BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate for those who don't know). BMR is the amount of calories your body burns on just living, such as breathing, heart beating, etc. There is a formula you figure out your BMR with and the minimum number of calories I need per day just for my body to function normally is 1691.6. And in order to maintain my current weight I need to consume about 2325 calories per day. Of course, I want to lose weight, so I need to consume less than 2325 calories per day, and/or burn off calories. I noticed the second week of my diet that I am extremely tired. I can't seem to do anything (let alone exercise) without getting completely wore out. I need to take a nap at least once per day (and I am only 21!). I keep myself awake by drinking coffee and taking caffeine pills.

So, I am consuming nearly 1000 calories less than the number of calories it would take for me to maintain my weight, and 100 calories less than my body needs to function properly. Could this be why I am exhausted so quickly? SparkPeople recommend I have between 1340 and 1690 calories per day, but I have been shooting for 1500 because that is what the dr said. I really need some advice here. Should I increase my calorie intake at least a little? I know I gained weight this week because of eating out, so it has nothing to do with this post.

Please offer me some advice. Thank you in advance!