I know starving yourself is not a good thing, and eating too many calories is bad too... so here is my situation... on any given day i eat between 1000 and 1200 calories, it seems low for my weight, im 5'6" 276 lbs, but it seems if i allow myself to eat more, I crave more... 1000 calories seems to be my magic number to satisfy my hunger but not make me want more... any suggestions? Should I make myself take more calories in? I do about 30 minutes of walking/biking or jogging 3-4 days a week for exercise. Thanks in advance for the help!!

1000-1200 Calories is incredibly low for your current weight... and it's only going to hurt your weight loss progress in the long run...

you might not want to add in 1000 calories overnight, but absolutely increase the amount you're getting over time - maybe add in 200 -400 calories a day for a week - then when you stabilize at 1200- 1400 then add in more.

I'm not expert, we've got a few of those floating around but I'd be willing to bet that you shouldn't be below 2000 calories a day and probably even higher.

The lower your weight goes the less calories you will need so you want a higher starting point and gradually cut back.

Hi I have been having the same trouble! If I ate more than around 1000 I got super munchy, I am slowly adding in more healthy calories and I havent stopped losing weight from it, I am up to about 1500 now and still slowly adding more, so far so good...Good Luck, have a great day!

Yes, you are eating too few calories. Your body will go into starvation mode and probably store some fat to compensate. Try eating more calorie dense foods and make sure to get some good essential fats like in fish and nuts. I don't think any adult person should live on 1000 calories per day.

The type of food you eat has an enormous effect on how much you want to eat. For example, if I have oatmeal in the morning, with a cup of fresh fruit and some nuts, I'm totally full until lunch.

Sugary foods and those made from highly processed carbs will generally cause you to be much more hungry, even though they're high in calories.

At your weight, eating 1200 calories a day is definitely NOT the answer!

I’m having pretty much the same issue. I find that if I only eat when I’m actually hungry I end up at 1000 calories or less, which I realize is not good, so the answer is to eat even when I’m not hungry then?

Not only will going into starvation mode (1000 caloires a day is in fact starvation mode for most here) hamper your weight loss efforts, there are also far more serious consequences which can come over time. For example, once in starvation mode you will not only burn less fat, but you will lose more muscle. Bottom line. So you are making your body weaker. Perhaps you could boost your appetite a little more with some healthy exercise spread through the day, or eat a few more calorie rich foods.....

I went down that path many times before, and always paid a high price for it. I have never been hospitalized due to it, but continued starvation could lead to serious malnutrition and hospitalization, as has happened to many people I know personally. Even now I find it hard to eat 2200-2500 calories a day, usually hitting my "full" point around 2000. But I try to work up an appetite by doing some light cardio on those days and it seems to work. Somedays I feel i couldnt force myself to eat more than 1200, but I just spread the meals out and pick at higher calorie snacks.

Under eating has been much more of a factor in my 30 year weight loss battle than over eating ever was. Something to very seriously consider. I believe whole heartedly in my case it was purely psychological because I had been brainwashed into thinking that eating as little as possible was the key to getting skinny. Here I am at 37 years old and I have NEVER been skinny.... Funny that. I eat more per day now than I have in a decade, and I am lighter now than I have been in 20 years.... Coincidence?? I think not.

Good luck and keep eating!!!

thanks for asking the question... and thanks to all who answered it. I am young,22, and way overweight...I also dont eat. I eat just here and there and not real healthy... just joined today and I am ready for a change. this helps me understand ALOT about my body weight , why I havent lost the baby weight, why i keep getting bigger etc. thank you to all of you

You should eat some fruit.

When I started my journey I was on a similar path. I was eating less than 1000 calories on any given day but I was not hungry (probably a product of starvation mode) and I was terrified of eating too much. My problem area was sugar. I was resistant to add carbs to my diet because I thought they were the enemy. What I learned is that you need carbs to function and not all carbs trigger uncontrollable eating. I am now eating around 2000 calories a day and still loosing about 1# a week. What I did not understand at the time is that prior to changing my eating habits I was probably consuming 3000-5000 calories a day. It was a tough concept for me to understand that I could eat over 2000 calories (at that time) and still loose weight. You are heading in the right direction. Add calories slowly and you may be amazed to find the weight falling away. Good luck.

The starvation mode and very overweight people (50+ lbs) really don't go hand in hand. Your body does not shut down nor does weight loss stop, just because you are in a "big" deficit relative to your maintenance level.

Your body is smart. It will only invoke the starvation response mechanism once it knows that your energy reserve (read fat) is getting low. Leaner individuals have to worry about starvation mode. Bigger people, not so much.

That said, I would never advocate 1000 calories to anyone, let alone someone who is big. It is true, the fatter you are, the more weight you can lose on a ratable basis and have that weight consisting mostly of fat, opposed to muscle.

However, eating such at extremely low amount (for the original poster, 4 calories per pound) I assume would lead to muscle loss for someone with such a high maintenance caloric level.

There are a host of other variables that come along with eating so little: Namely, is it really sustainable over the long haul? Most likely you think yes. But your body is a very adaptive mechanism. If you are not giving it what it needs, it will change you (hormonally) to increase appetite and make you eat more.

Tom was right, above. Our food selection plays a major role in how hungry we will feel. I would be willing to bet that you are eating the wrong things.

Even if you aren't, I would be willing to bet you are not getting enough of the macro and micronutrients someone of your size needs.

Maybe you could provide a sample of how you eat?

Since posting, I have tried really hard to eat more of better calories.. here is a sample of how I am eating...

Breakfast - Dannon Light 'n Fit yogurt - (60 calories)

Snack - Pretzel Rods - (100 Calories maybe?)

Lunch- -Tuna with Light Miracle Whip, and Whole Grain Crackers (235 Calories)
- An apple (80 Calories)
- Water (0 Calories)

Snack- Carrot Sticks (80 calories)

Dinner- Healthy Choice Turkey on Whole Wheat bread, one slice cheese and light miracle whip (360 Calories)
- Peas and carrots (60 Calories)
- Skim Milk (90 Calories)

Snack- Fruit and Nut Bar (120)



That is a little under 1200 calories... this is a day that i am never hungry, and i feel satisfied... I drink water all througout the day while i work, and i dont do much activity at work (kind of an office job). I have tried adding a protien bar in my day somewhere recently so it brings me up another couple hundred calories.

Your breakfast looks very low at only 60 calories. My breakfast is over 350 calories, and I still worry sometimes that it's not enough. I figure that after not eating all night, your body needs a decent breakfast to get ready for the day ahead.

If you can't make yourself eat more, can you drink some more calories? A glass of milk, fruit and veggie juice, etc.

I've been working out EVERYDAY at the gym, weight training and aerobics and when unable to workout at the gym, Hip Hop Abs and Billy blanks at home..., so the scale should show some signifcant movements, right? People are telling me I'm looking slimmer, my face, my clothing is starting to fit differently. The trainer knows about the fitday.com program I'm using and I told him the amount of calories I've been eating on average is about 550 calories short which is causing my metabolism to slow down.

Here is the forumla to calculate the amount of calories you should be eating:

Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

I upped my calories since last friday (not with junk, but fruit, fiber, nuts, wise choices and maybe a small donut or two) and I have lost two pounds in one week.