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How many calories is too little?

Kimberly - posted on 03/26/2012 ( 4 moms have responded )

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When I was pregnant with my son, I gained over 40 lbs. I am just now (I know it's a little past due) trying to get back in shape. I give myself 1200 calories per day, but I have not been eating near that much. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, which I absolutely love. Like today I ate about 700 calories, plus the veggies like spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and asparagus. I am not hungry and I feel great. Is this okay? I don't feel like I am starving myself. I know about starvation mode, but I don't think that is the case. Any thoughts? I only eat when I am hungry and I eat low calorie healthy food.

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4 Comments

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Emily - posted on 06/04/2012

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There are various sites online (I love myfitnesspal.com) that you can go to and enter in your current weight, height, level of activity and your weight loss goals....based on that they give you the number of calories you should be consuming a day. You can also enter in the food you eat daily to keep track of what you are actually eating. People who write down what they eat actually have better success than those who don't:)

Jessica - posted on 03/27/2012

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It sounds like the foods you are eating are really healthy but I think you may need more calories during the day. If you don't eat enough calories, your metabolism slows, and your body goes into starvation mode. This means that every single thing you eat gets stored as fat. The nutrition products that I take don't really recommend portion control as long as it's "clean food" like what you're eating. They recommend more calories. Good luck :)

Kimberly - posted on 03/27/2012

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Thank your for your advice. I too have been dieting for about 6 weeks now. I have lost 16 pounds and am so happy. I was on weight watchers a couple of years ago, before the points plus, and it really worked for me. Good luck to you as well.

Amy - posted on 03/26/2012

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I would think that if you are eating when you are hungry and snacking healthy then I wouldn't be too concerned about not hitting 1200 calories a day. I'm currently doing weight watchers and I have to track points, the foods that you mentioned like spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, asparagus are all 0 points food which means I can eat as much of them as I want and they don't count towards my points. So all day long I'm constantly snacking on baby carrots, I've been dieting for 6 weeks and I'm still losing. Good luck on you journey!

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