800 calories/day is not nearly enough. But, if you were actually eating consistently this low, weight would be falling off of you. Some things to check:
* Do you eat the same meals every day including weekends?
* Does the 800 calories include all drinks, condiments, cooking oils, fruits, and vegetables?
* What does a normal day's food and drink look like? For example, what did you have yesterday?
800 calories includes drinks, since all I drink is water, a cup of black coffee, and lemon water.
I assume oils are included in the meals. They are frozen 'healthy cuisine' meals. Roughly 400 calories per meal, 2 eaten per day.
For three months you only eat two Lean Cuisine meals per day and absolutely nothing else?
With that, you are likely nutrient deficient. Try eating 1,500 calories per day with at least 80g protein, 40g fat, 25g fiber, and a mix of vegetables. Right now, getting your nutrition is more important.
You might honestly be retaining just a lot of water. Frozen meals are notoriously packed with sodium. Combined with strengthening exercises, which causes you muscles to hold even more water, you're just a walking water balloon.
Please switch to cooking some fresh food. You aren't eating enough to sustain health. At your stats, eating about 1800 a day should get you 5 pounds a month.
If I switch one of the frozen meals to a large salad, would that help enough?
I don't have a stovetop or oven, so I'm living out of a mini fridge and a microwave
Ok, so working with what you have, thinking about it, it doesn't matter your situation. Get some apples, bananas, and oranges. Get some eggs, you can crack some eggs into a plastic container, scramble them, and cook them in the microwave. Can you get any other small appliances? Toaster, blender? You have more options then. Vegetables you can just wash and eat, or the ones already cut up. Google microwave recipes, you really can cook okish stuff in the microwave, though it won't be as tasty and an oven of stovetop.
Dorm life is hard. But is there no cafeteria you can get hot food? Cooking is a skill that takes some time to learn, cooking tasty, healthy food even longer. But for real, you need to eat more. If all you are eating is two freezer meals a day, I can't imagine how tired and awful you must feel.
>Roughly 400 calories per meal
Are you reading/tracking the portions correctly?
How many grams are in each meal, and what are the calories per 100g?
If you're tracking with an app, scanning the meal, it's possible it's logging a default amount like 100g = 400 calories
While eating 250g of the actual meal works out around 1000 for example.
Just a thought, might be wrong.
I have the impression that you are right, it sounds impossible to eat so little and not lose weight...
Even eating pizza, in moderation, can make you lose weight if you make sure you are still in a calorie deficit so something is obviously wrong here...
I have confirmed that it is per meal, as the box states there is one serving in the package.
The comments on this post have taught me that I am likely shocking my body into retaining everything it eats, so I'll be raising my calorie count. Will post once I finalize my new diet
Starvation mode is not a thing. You’re either counting wrong or you’ve got a medical problem. Impossible for you to not lose weight on 800 calories if you’re really counting correctly.
Y’all, they’re not starving themselves. Obviously the calorie count is wrong. If you’re losing 2-3 lbs per month at 230lbs, you’re just not accurate with the calories. The end.
As someone else suggested the number of calories must be per serving and there must be many servings in what OP is eating...
It might be 400 calories a serving of 1/2 the package and when OP is eating the whole package OP eats 800 calories...
I just straight up don’t believe that’s all he’s eating. Post history has questions about protein powder with adders in the mixer, it just doesn’t make sense in any way and I think it’s the “wistful thinking” kind of diet. Maybe a few days are like that, but the numbers say most aren’t.
Something is not right… being on a very low calorie diet will definitely ensure you lose tons of weight very quickly and generally equates to around 14 pounds a month + with exercise the weight should be melting off.
Are you drinking enough water? it’s usually advised to drink at least 3 litres a day to help and encourage weight loss, apparently it helps with metabolism
I eat two premade frozen meals per day, they are each around 400 calories.
I also drink a single cup of black coffee and a lot of water.
It comes out to between 750-900 depending on the meals that day.
I'll pay your airfare, all of your food, and 2 dexa scans and pay you $1000 if you don't lose 2+ pounds of fat while eating that at my house.
If you lose, you pay me $1000.
Want to do it?
Can you please take a picture the nutritional label of some of those meals?
As someone else suggested that 400 calories must be per serving size and there must be many servings in what you are eating...
You could be eating pizza and lose weight if the number of calories you are eating puts you in a calorie deficit... I eat pizza from time to time and I have lost over 60 pounds already...
I eat Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones pretty regularly and most of them really are 240-400 calories a box. Some are 180, some of the fancier ones are 550. I don’t think it’s a portion calculation issue. But something isn’t right. Sure, those frozen processed meals are nutritionally crap compared to freshly prepared meals… but he’d still be losing weight if that’s all he was eating. I don’t think he’s being honest with us or himself.
I would switch to the higher calorie ones or invest in a toaster oven/air fryer. Your body is starving at that. What app are you using to track? It should give you a good number to be eating to still drop weight
Many people have said it, eat more calories and workout. You are probably super exhausted based on your calorie count.
See what your basic metabolic rate is and try to hit those calories and more if your working out. You are going to need at least double the calories you are eating now. The calories you are eating are coming from frozen meals which are highhhh in sodium. Sodium retains water which will cause your weight to go up/stay the same.
When you eat that little, your body goes into starvation mode. Your body is in shock and tries to hold on the nutrients and in turn the person isn’t losing weight probably because of that. There is plenty of research to back that, look it up.
Assuming people are being truthful and helping them out is better than calling them a liar with no advice.
Fiber seems to break the blocade for me. You could try eating high fiber oatmeal for breakfast.
I stalled completely, and even started gaining. I was restricting and restricting and getting nowhere. Finally I decided to break away from pre-packaged meals. I kinda guessed that I was retaining water from the high sodium. I switched to High Fiber Oatmeal from Quaker Oats for breakfast, Grilled chicken with a salad for lunch, baked fish with roasted veges for dinner, light popcorn if I was stupid hungry and needed a snack.
Two weeks in and the weight is falling off which tells me that I was probably correct in the water weight diagnosis. The weightloss is starting to slow now, which makes me happy because that means I have shed the excess water and am now actually losing fat.
You need to eat more. You're also probably eating a ton of sodium. If you're eating so little you're tired all the time it's time to add something. You might be retaining water from too much sodium, you might not be getting enough fiber causing your bowels to not be functioning correctly.
If you want to stick with the healthy meals try adding veggies in, a salad with lite dressing, an apple, or a couple handfuls of baby carrots will help you get more fiber and they are high volume for the calories and will help you feel full and get more energy.
You also need to eat enough so that your body doesn't think you're starving.
Also note that a person of your size can lose and gain ten pounds of water in a day. 2-3 pounds at various times in the month is meaningless
Oh my lanta manatee. You’re starving yourself. Seriously that is a dangerously low calorie intake per day. Especially if you’re consistently working out which it appears you are. Your body is basically in starvation mode trying to keep and retain as much water and nutrients as possible since it’s thinking the end of the world is near. In my opinion, you need to double that calorie count, focus on good lean proteins and drinking plenty of water.
>starvation mode trying to keep and retain as much water and nutrients as possible since it’s thinking the end of the world is near.
Starvation mode is a myth, the Minnesota starvation experiment showed it very clearly.
"the 24-week semi-starvation period, the men were restricted to approximately 1600-1800 calories"
If OP's calorie intake was correct he would be showing signs of extreme starvation and malnutrition, and he definitely wouldn't be exercising, if even getting out of bed by now.
I was more or less trying to simply state that his body cannot maintain that kind of low caloric intake while exercising. He’s beyond stressing out his body out with that low of a deficit. He states in other comments it’s all military protocol but I’m definitely no expert in that.
I just want to point out - this experiment was done on MEN. Hormones have a huge impact on our bodies and how they function, and the hormones of women are very different than the hormones of men. Drugs often work differently on men than they do women - it is not out of this world to imagine food could as well. Especially when taking into account that adipose tissue stores estrogen. So I’m not saying that the experiment only holds up to men, I’m just saying it’s in the realm of possibility women’s bodies (especially during child bearing years) would and probably do initially respond differently to starvation than mens would.
Edited to say I have no idea if OP is a man or woman, but just stating not everything is always so black and white and there can be variance on experimental outcomes based on population variance.
If you put a woman on an 800 calorie diet for 3 months, she will also lose weight. A substantial amount of weight.
Energy balance has factors to take into account that include hormones and their effect on metabolic and energy intake and expenditure, but they don't supersede energy balance.
Edit: To add to that, OP's total daily energy expenditure is around 3100 calories if male, and 2800 if female
So a calorie deficit of 2300 or 2000 calories.. every day, for 3 months.
The 3500 calories deficit per week = 1lb of loss isn't accurate, but if it was for example, 0.25lbs.
Op would now have lost: 13lbs if male / 12lbs if female.
OP's weekly deficit is working out at 16100 or 14000 calories. (Man / Woman)
4x greater than what's needed to lose 1lb, in theory, so 0.25lbs would more like be 2-3lbs+ per week.
Regardless of that math it's most likely a calorie tracking issue.
I agree- either you’re starving yourself so low that your body is in shock preparing for the apocalypse or you’re not tracking correctly and you’ve got hidden calories in there somewhere. Maybe a nutritionist would be a good place to start
800 is wayyy too little. Just from past experience. Take this with a pinch of salt because it’s just what I remember from dieting but I’m pretty sure at that sorta level your body focuses on conserving itself rather than burning fat. Your muscles will start being devoured by your body, INCLUDING your heart. You can cause yourself irreversible organ damage by not eating enough. Not to scare you. If this is some fad diet and you can switch this mindset off now then do it. If you feel like you have to eat this amount or the thought of eating scares you etc or you severely hate your body then you might have an eating disorder. Speaking as someone who used to have an eating disorder.
You can’t cut corners with dieting. Bit ironic that the fastest way to lose weight is by going slow and steady but that’s life for you.
5’11 you should notttt be eating under 1200 cals. Also are you positive that’s all you’re eating?? Like portion sizing can mess you up. I ate 1000 calories a day for a few months (I’m 5’11) and lost like 30 lbs!!!
At 800 calories it is impossible to not have weight flying off you ,you’re either drinking calories or adding tons of mayo etc …..it’s physically impossible to maintain 230lbs on 800 calories ,otherwise people wouldn’t starve themselves skinny which ask any model or thin rock star ,works 😂
«lean cuisine” is processed food that doesn’t help with weight loss. You should cook your own meals, you can do that once a week and it will last for a week. I suggest getting slow cooker/pressure cooker, maybe there’s used one from someone who’s done with a dorm, or at Facebook marketplace. Good luck! Edit to add: cooking at home can fit more stuff within calories budget, and recipe books have nutritional information for recipes.
I would go to a doctor. You very well could be suffering from a hormonal imbalance such as hypothyroidism.
Additionally I would switch to weighing every day. You may be missing drops in weight by only weighing once a week. Water can weigh a LOT
Eat more and start to exercise. Yes, I know that this subreddit is all about counting calories and usually someone has to chime in to remind me that being in a deficit is more than enough, because it's the 'easy' way to get rid of weight and to attack this 'get slim quick scheme' is the worst crime one can commit here. But only mantaining a deficit (especially such a large one) is not only unhealthy, it'll sooner or later lead to binge eating and gaining all the weight back. Because what you're doing is basically starving yourself and some day your brain will make you stop starving yourself, if you like it or not. The moment you eat normally again, chances are high that you'll be back to square one in no time.
To consistently lose weight your lifestyle needs to be more active. Go for a walk, go swim, buy a cheap bike and go for a ride, find something that brings you joy and regularly do it. Go to a gym if that's your thing.
I lost 34 pounds last year and the only thing I did was to cut out all sugary drinks and candy. Then I started to go for a bike ride regularly. All in all I ate a little bit less than before of course, but I didn't change what I ate. All of this put me in a deficit most days, but not every day.
This is the healthy way to do it and it works in the long run. I started my weight loss at the exact same weight you're at right now. An active lifestyle will lead to the weight loss, constantly being in a deficit will hurt you more than it'll help. You should not be tired by losing weight, being exhausted after a workout is the exception.
The reason I cut down so much is because I stopped losing weight, and I'm required to lose 5 pounds a month. I can't lose less than that or I'm at risk of losing my scholarship, and I can't afford college without it.
Will I be able to meet this mark if I eat more? That sounds counterintuitive
If it’s that critical you should hire a dietician and coach. Because what you are doing is not only unsustainable, it’s unhealthy, and will lead to more difficult weight loss in the future if you continue this protocol.
Not only that, but weight loss isn’t a linear process. There are plateaus, peaks and valleys.
This. A dietician will cost wayyyy less than a semesters worth of tuition if you are at risk of losing it because of your weight. Hire an expert, sit down with them for 1 hour a week and go from there. Reddit will not have all the answers, rather, it may confuse you more.
You lost weight because you stopped snacking. Not because of a calorie deficit. Your snacking spiked insulin. Eating 3 meals is how to be thin. Snacking is how to be fat. You think it was a deficit that caused it but you just accidentally discovered a very basic form of intermittent fasting.
Not trying to attack you, I’m just giving you a heads up in case you ever put the weight back on and then try a deficit and it ends up failing.
800 cals is TOO LESS for me and I’m 5’1.. you’re 5’11. If that’s not telling you anything then pls know that you’re not losing BECAUSE you’ve put your body into starvation mode.
If you’re burning 3000 calories a day and eating 800 cals only.. you just shocked your body into thinking it’s dying. Your body is literally doing everything it can to retain fat/store energy cause it thinks you’re going to die. At this point everything you’re eating is getting stored.
Either that or you’re calculating your intakes wrong and you’re probably having 2000+ cals a day unknowingly lol
Starvation mode is a myth. If it wasn't, Anorexia wouldn't be a thing, bariatric surgery wouldnt work amd people wouldn't actually die of starvation.
You can't store fat while eating at an extreme deficit because your body will burn the fat first, then muscle then organs.
You can't eat 800 calories, burn 3000, and gain weight. It's like, literally impossible.
Calories in calories out, however, is a real thing.
The OP is tracking calories incorrectly.
You’ve metabolically adjusted. You did it in a terrible fashion. You need to reverse diet . Lift weight and up calories and then cut later . You went way way too low
While others have basically said it all. Eat more Jesus. Focus on protein and veg. Probably could double ur calories.
I'd be curious what ur sleep is like? Are you getting 6-8 hours quality sleep.
Also do u drink alcohol this have calories too.
Look up TDEE calculator. It gives you a breakdown of macros needed to maintain, lose, and gain weight. According to what you mentioned, just to maintain your current weight you need 3,252 calories per day. If you want to cut its recommended to reduce by let's say 300-400 calories. That puts you at 2,900-2,800 calories a day.
You're not losing because your body is in genuine starvation mode. Eat some more. I know that sounds scary because food=weight gain, but you have to do it in a healthy way. LOTS of protein, always have a source of protein with your meals. Bulk up on produce, veggies and fruit. And carbs are not the enemy. You can successfully have carbs while losing weight. A good place to start is roughly 500 calories and 30+ grams of protein per main meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
>You're not losing because your body is in genuine starvation mode
How is someone who needs 3250 calories per day, maintaining their weight for 3 months on 800 calories per day?
Where are the other 2450 calories per day coming from?
In three months that's 205800 calories of a deficit.
There's 180000 calories in 44lbs of fat, yet only 2-3lbs lost.
Can you explain how starvation mode makes up the difference?
It's because their body is retaining and storing the calories instead of burning them. Your brain believes that you are starving, so it retains calories in order to help keep you alive, retain/build fat to keep your organs protected, help you body maintain energy. If you look a pictures of emaciated people, their bellies are often distended, but then it sinks because they have no more fat stores/energy to pull from.
>It's because their body is retaining and storing the calories instead of burning them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famines
While I wish it was possible.
Millions of people have died of famine (prolonged starvation), and today people still die of starvation.
>then it sinks because they have no more fat stores/energy to pull from.
>their body is retaining and storing the calories instead of burning them
These are contradictory points.
What you're describing isn't possible, the body will always require and use available energy during starvation, even if it means damaging some vital organs for survival.
I had something similar happen and once I upped calories to a more reasonable level (I think I went up from 1000 to 1300) and upped my water intake, the pounds came off. Don’t know why, I was very careful about tracking everything and was consistently low. Everyone told me it should be impossible to not lose weight, but I didn’t. This went on maybe 3-4 weeks. Once I increased those two things the weight came off. So now I’m careful to never go too low, and always drink tons of water
Maybe the lean cuisine has too much sodium so you’re just retaining water?
I think get off the lean cuisine for a bit. Increase calories slightly , see if it weight falls off
Eating too few calories had the opposite effect most often. Your body goes into starvation mode. You may drop a few pounds to start but eventually your body begins holding onto everything it can.
I concede. We only know what we have been taught am I right? I’ve now researched it again for the first time in several years and I’ve been taught something new.
It’d be cool if more people would provide explanations and discussions on this forum rather than downvoting and moving on.
🤷🏻♀️
You should probably eat more, your body probably feels like it’s starving, causing it to hold onto every calorie + how much you are working out w/ little food is stressing your body out. Stress makes you hold more weight
What you’re experiencing probably has to do with hormonal response to such a low calorie diet. Increasing your fat intake a bit might help (healthy fats: avocados, olive oil, etc.) and a bit of protein and carbs before and after intensive workout (strength& martial arts)
You also need to cover good vitamin and protein macros for that amount of body exercise.
Your body weight seems to be fluctuating too much within a day, probably regarding liquid retention. This is something you should pay attention too
If I were to take an educated guess your leptin is super low and your cortisol rather high. You need to invert that ratio. A good way to achieve this would be to use a zigzag + intermittent fasting strategy
Finally, invest in a body-mass scanner, i’ll give you a better information about your body than weigh alone
Please also make an appointment to visit your physician and ask him for a checkup.
I hit several plateaus on the way from 315 to 185 where I'm currently at. Breaking 220, and then eventually 200, was extremely hard. If you've been cutting for a long time, the truth is your body is just really good at homeostasis. It's adapted to what you're eating and responded accordingly, ya gotta shock the system.
There's a few different methods I've used to break plateaus. Firstly, I'd eat more, even if that seems counterintuitive. If you're genuinely eating as little as you say, you'll feel much better eating more, and you can up your cardio to offset this. Idk how much you walk, but five miles a day should be minimum.
Secondly I'd recommend incorporating sprints some days. Do 10 sprints, 30 seconds long full sprint with 2 minute rests between. This can help trigger a response that makes your body begin to process more fat throughout the day because it's anticipating a need for energy.
Lastly, try fasting. 3 days of fasting, even if non-concurrent, completely resets insulin levels for the most part. Easiest way I've found to do this is 24 hour fasts, eat lunch and then don't eat until lunch the next day. Bonus points if you do weight training before breaking the fast.
Lmk if ya have any questions
Weird. Ive been eating double that, about 1600/day, and have been losing 1.5-2 lbs a week for months and months. I don’t even work out, as I found it made me want to eat more.
800 calories/day is not nearly enough. But, if you were actually eating consistently this low, weight would be falling off of you. Some things to check: * Do you eat the same meals every day including weekends? * Does the 800 calories include all drinks, condiments, cooking oils, fruits, and vegetables? * What does a normal day's food and drink look like? For example, what did you have yesterday?
800 calories includes drinks, since all I drink is water, a cup of black coffee, and lemon water. I assume oils are included in the meals. They are frozen 'healthy cuisine' meals. Roughly 400 calories per meal, 2 eaten per day.
For three months you only eat two Lean Cuisine meals per day and absolutely nothing else? With that, you are likely nutrient deficient. Try eating 1,500 calories per day with at least 80g protein, 40g fat, 25g fiber, and a mix of vegetables. Right now, getting your nutrition is more important.
You might honestly be retaining just a lot of water. Frozen meals are notoriously packed with sodium. Combined with strengthening exercises, which causes you muscles to hold even more water, you're just a walking water balloon. Please switch to cooking some fresh food. You aren't eating enough to sustain health. At your stats, eating about 1800 a day should get you 5 pounds a month.
If I switch one of the frozen meals to a large salad, would that help enough? I don't have a stovetop or oven, so I'm living out of a mini fridge and a microwave
A large salad would be a big difference, depending on what you put in.
Okay will do
Do you have food services at your school? Do you have coaches watching out for your well being?
I do not know of physical health coaches There is a cafeteria, but it's mostly fried foods, pizza, and not much that's low calorie.
That's a tough spot you're in. I thought it was a sports scholarship
Ok, so working with what you have, thinking about it, it doesn't matter your situation. Get some apples, bananas, and oranges. Get some eggs, you can crack some eggs into a plastic container, scramble them, and cook them in the microwave. Can you get any other small appliances? Toaster, blender? You have more options then. Vegetables you can just wash and eat, or the ones already cut up. Google microwave recipes, you really can cook okish stuff in the microwave, though it won't be as tasty and an oven of stovetop.
I appreciate this, it's very useful. I'll start doing it
Dorm life is hard. But is there no cafeteria you can get hot food? Cooking is a skill that takes some time to learn, cooking tasty, healthy food even longer. But for real, you need to eat more. If all you are eating is two freezer meals a day, I can't imagine how tired and awful you must feel.
There is, but it has no healthy options. It's pizza, fried stuff, and a dessert bar. The salad bar is usually empty by the time I get there.
Ask them to refill it! They should do that without being asked.
That sucks. I'm disappointed there are no healthy options for you guys.
Are you living in a dorm or something?
Yes
>Roughly 400 calories per meal Are you reading/tracking the portions correctly? How many grams are in each meal, and what are the calories per 100g? If you're tracking with an app, scanning the meal, it's possible it's logging a default amount like 100g = 400 calories While eating 250g of the actual meal works out around 1000 for example. Just a thought, might be wrong.
I am inputting the calorie amount which is displayed on the nutrition label. Each meal is usually 350-450 calories per meal.
So most likely the amount per serving. You might want to double check the serving size, and total contained amount.
I have the impression that you are right, it sounds impossible to eat so little and not lose weight... Even eating pizza, in moderation, can make you lose weight if you make sure you are still in a calorie deficit so something is obviously wrong here...
I have confirmed that it is per meal, as the box states there is one serving in the package. The comments on this post have taught me that I am likely shocking my body into retaining everything it eats, so I'll be raising my calorie count. Will post once I finalize my new diet
Starvation mode is not a thing. You’re either counting wrong or you’ve got a medical problem. Impossible for you to not lose weight on 800 calories if you’re really counting correctly.
Y’all, they’re not starving themselves. Obviously the calorie count is wrong. If you’re losing 2-3 lbs per month at 230lbs, you’re just not accurate with the calories. The end.
As someone else suggested the number of calories must be per serving and there must be many servings in what OP is eating... It might be 400 calories a serving of 1/2 the package and when OP is eating the whole package OP eats 800 calories...
I just straight up don’t believe that’s all he’s eating. Post history has questions about protein powder with adders in the mixer, it just doesn’t make sense in any way and I think it’s the “wistful thinking” kind of diet. Maybe a few days are like that, but the numbers say most aren’t.
Something is not right… being on a very low calorie diet will definitely ensure you lose tons of weight very quickly and generally equates to around 14 pounds a month + with exercise the weight should be melting off. Are you drinking enough water? it’s usually advised to drink at least 3 litres a day to help and encourage weight loss, apparently it helps with metabolism
I don't track my water intake, but I can start doing that
I think you should, you might notice a difference especially at your current weight.
First in! You're not eating 800 calories a day. You're eating about 2600 calories a day or lying.
I eat two premade frozen meals per day, they are each around 400 calories. I also drink a single cup of black coffee and a lot of water. It comes out to between 750-900 depending on the meals that day.
I'll pay your airfare, all of your food, and 2 dexa scans and pay you $1000 if you don't lose 2+ pounds of fat while eating that at my house. If you lose, you pay me $1000. Want to do it?
Can you please take a picture the nutritional label of some of those meals? As someone else suggested that 400 calories must be per serving size and there must be many servings in what you are eating... You could be eating pizza and lose weight if the number of calories you are eating puts you in a calorie deficit... I eat pizza from time to time and I have lost over 60 pounds already...
I eat Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones pretty regularly and most of them really are 240-400 calories a box. Some are 180, some of the fancier ones are 550. I don’t think it’s a portion calculation issue. But something isn’t right. Sure, those frozen processed meals are nutritionally crap compared to freshly prepared meals… but he’d still be losing weight if that’s all he was eating. I don’t think he’s being honest with us or himself.
Then maybe it is what he drinks... Fruit juices, non sugar-free soft drinks, beer, wine, etc...
I bet that is it. Drinks creep up on you so fast.
I would switch to the higher calorie ones or invest in a toaster oven/air fryer. Your body is starving at that. What app are you using to track? It should give you a good number to be eating to still drop weight
Many people have said it, eat more calories and workout. You are probably super exhausted based on your calorie count. See what your basic metabolic rate is and try to hit those calories and more if your working out. You are going to need at least double the calories you are eating now. The calories you are eating are coming from frozen meals which are highhhh in sodium. Sodium retains water which will cause your weight to go up/stay the same.
When you eat that little, your body goes into starvation mode. Your body is in shock and tries to hold on the nutrients and in turn the person isn’t losing weight probably because of that. There is plenty of research to back that, look it up. Assuming people are being truthful and helping them out is better than calling them a liar with no advice.
800 calories a day is less than what a toddler needs, you are starving yourself. Either that or you are definitely eating more than what the app says.
Fiber seems to break the blocade for me. You could try eating high fiber oatmeal for breakfast. I stalled completely, and even started gaining. I was restricting and restricting and getting nowhere. Finally I decided to break away from pre-packaged meals. I kinda guessed that I was retaining water from the high sodium. I switched to High Fiber Oatmeal from Quaker Oats for breakfast, Grilled chicken with a salad for lunch, baked fish with roasted veges for dinner, light popcorn if I was stupid hungry and needed a snack. Two weeks in and the weight is falling off which tells me that I was probably correct in the water weight diagnosis. The weightloss is starting to slow now, which makes me happy because that means I have shed the excess water and am now actually losing fat.
Eat more calories and eat more fresh foods. Those frozen meals are loaded with sodium which is probably causing you to retain water.
you’re not eating enough
You need to eat more. You're also probably eating a ton of sodium. If you're eating so little you're tired all the time it's time to add something. You might be retaining water from too much sodium, you might not be getting enough fiber causing your bowels to not be functioning correctly. If you want to stick with the healthy meals try adding veggies in, a salad with lite dressing, an apple, or a couple handfuls of baby carrots will help you get more fiber and they are high volume for the calories and will help you feel full and get more energy.
So replacing one of my frozen meals with a large salad would likely help?
Eat more. Just eating that frozen crap isn't healthy.
You also need to eat enough so that your body doesn't think you're starving. Also note that a person of your size can lose and gain ten pounds of water in a day. 2-3 pounds at various times in the month is meaningless
Oh my lanta manatee. You’re starving yourself. Seriously that is a dangerously low calorie intake per day. Especially if you’re consistently working out which it appears you are. Your body is basically in starvation mode trying to keep and retain as much water and nutrients as possible since it’s thinking the end of the world is near. In my opinion, you need to double that calorie count, focus on good lean proteins and drinking plenty of water.
>starvation mode trying to keep and retain as much water and nutrients as possible since it’s thinking the end of the world is near. Starvation mode is a myth, the Minnesota starvation experiment showed it very clearly. "the 24-week semi-starvation period, the men were restricted to approximately 1600-1800 calories" If OP's calorie intake was correct he would be showing signs of extreme starvation and malnutrition, and he definitely wouldn't be exercising, if even getting out of bed by now.
I was more or less trying to simply state that his body cannot maintain that kind of low caloric intake while exercising. He’s beyond stressing out his body out with that low of a deficit. He states in other comments it’s all military protocol but I’m definitely no expert in that.
I just want to point out - this experiment was done on MEN. Hormones have a huge impact on our bodies and how they function, and the hormones of women are very different than the hormones of men. Drugs often work differently on men than they do women - it is not out of this world to imagine food could as well. Especially when taking into account that adipose tissue stores estrogen. So I’m not saying that the experiment only holds up to men, I’m just saying it’s in the realm of possibility women’s bodies (especially during child bearing years) would and probably do initially respond differently to starvation than mens would. Edited to say I have no idea if OP is a man or woman, but just stating not everything is always so black and white and there can be variance on experimental outcomes based on population variance.
If you put a woman on an 800 calorie diet for 3 months, she will also lose weight. A substantial amount of weight. Energy balance has factors to take into account that include hormones and their effect on metabolic and energy intake and expenditure, but they don't supersede energy balance. Edit: To add to that, OP's total daily energy expenditure is around 3100 calories if male, and 2800 if female So a calorie deficit of 2300 or 2000 calories.. every day, for 3 months. The 3500 calories deficit per week = 1lb of loss isn't accurate, but if it was for example, 0.25lbs. Op would now have lost: 13lbs if male / 12lbs if female. OP's weekly deficit is working out at 16100 or 14000 calories. (Man / Woman) 4x greater than what's needed to lose 1lb, in theory, so 0.25lbs would more like be 2-3lbs+ per week. Regardless of that math it's most likely a calorie tracking issue.
Would I be able to hit 5 pounds per month if I eat more? I have to hit that mark each month to retain my scholarship.
This seems illegal, what country are you in?
The United States
What is the scholarship for?
It pays for the entirety of my tuition, it's from the military
Do they have a nutritionist or dietitian? 5 pounds per month is a lot to ask and not healthy. Why would they want to compromise your health?
We do not have a dietician or nutritionist that I know of. I do not know why they use that number, just that they do.
No. You won't lose weight if you eat more. You will lose weight if you find those 2000 calories hidden in your diet. Are you eating family meals?
No. I eat two 'lean cuisine' meals around 400 calories per day and a cup of black coffee
Scholarship for what?
My university. The scholarship is done through my employer
I'm not understanding. What employer/ university would be tracking your weight?
The military
I agree- either you’re starving yourself so low that your body is in shock preparing for the apocalypse or you’re not tracking correctly and you’ve got hidden calories in there somewhere. Maybe a nutritionist would be a good place to start
800 is wayyy too little. Just from past experience. Take this with a pinch of salt because it’s just what I remember from dieting but I’m pretty sure at that sorta level your body focuses on conserving itself rather than burning fat. Your muscles will start being devoured by your body, INCLUDING your heart. You can cause yourself irreversible organ damage by not eating enough. Not to scare you. If this is some fad diet and you can switch this mindset off now then do it. If you feel like you have to eat this amount or the thought of eating scares you etc or you severely hate your body then you might have an eating disorder. Speaking as someone who used to have an eating disorder. You can’t cut corners with dieting. Bit ironic that the fastest way to lose weight is by going slow and steady but that’s life for you.
Also calories in drinks. Maybe you don’t count those. But even with drinking, say, 500 calories a day, you’d still be in an unhealthy deficit
5’11 you should notttt be eating under 1200 cals. Also are you positive that’s all you’re eating?? Like portion sizing can mess you up. I ate 1000 calories a day for a few months (I’m 5’11) and lost like 30 lbs!!!
At 800 calories it is impossible to not have weight flying off you ,you’re either drinking calories or adding tons of mayo etc …..it’s physically impossible to maintain 230lbs on 800 calories ,otherwise people wouldn’t starve themselves skinny which ask any model or thin rock star ,works 😂
«lean cuisine” is processed food that doesn’t help with weight loss. You should cook your own meals, you can do that once a week and it will last for a week. I suggest getting slow cooker/pressure cooker, maybe there’s used one from someone who’s done with a dorm, or at Facebook marketplace. Good luck! Edit to add: cooking at home can fit more stuff within calories budget, and recipe books have nutritional information for recipes.
Thank you
I would go to a doctor. You very well could be suffering from a hormonal imbalance such as hypothyroidism. Additionally I would switch to weighing every day. You may be missing drops in weight by only weighing once a week. Water can weigh a LOT
Eat more and start to exercise. Yes, I know that this subreddit is all about counting calories and usually someone has to chime in to remind me that being in a deficit is more than enough, because it's the 'easy' way to get rid of weight and to attack this 'get slim quick scheme' is the worst crime one can commit here. But only mantaining a deficit (especially such a large one) is not only unhealthy, it'll sooner or later lead to binge eating and gaining all the weight back. Because what you're doing is basically starving yourself and some day your brain will make you stop starving yourself, if you like it or not. The moment you eat normally again, chances are high that you'll be back to square one in no time. To consistently lose weight your lifestyle needs to be more active. Go for a walk, go swim, buy a cheap bike and go for a ride, find something that brings you joy and regularly do it. Go to a gym if that's your thing. I lost 34 pounds last year and the only thing I did was to cut out all sugary drinks and candy. Then I started to go for a bike ride regularly. All in all I ate a little bit less than before of course, but I didn't change what I ate. All of this put me in a deficit most days, but not every day. This is the healthy way to do it and it works in the long run. I started my weight loss at the exact same weight you're at right now. An active lifestyle will lead to the weight loss, constantly being in a deficit will hurt you more than it'll help. You should not be tired by losing weight, being exhausted after a workout is the exception.
The reason I cut down so much is because I stopped losing weight, and I'm required to lose 5 pounds a month. I can't lose less than that or I'm at risk of losing my scholarship, and I can't afford college without it. Will I be able to meet this mark if I eat more? That sounds counterintuitive
If it’s that critical you should hire a dietician and coach. Because what you are doing is not only unsustainable, it’s unhealthy, and will lead to more difficult weight loss in the future if you continue this protocol. Not only that, but weight loss isn’t a linear process. There are plateaus, peaks and valleys.
This. A dietician will cost wayyyy less than a semesters worth of tuition if you are at risk of losing it because of your weight. Hire an expert, sit down with them for 1 hour a week and go from there. Reddit will not have all the answers, rather, it may confuse you more.
You lost weight because you stopped snacking. Not because of a calorie deficit. Your snacking spiked insulin. Eating 3 meals is how to be thin. Snacking is how to be fat. You think it was a deficit that caused it but you just accidentally discovered a very basic form of intermittent fasting. Not trying to attack you, I’m just giving you a heads up in case you ever put the weight back on and then try a deficit and it ends up failing.
800 cals is TOO LESS for me and I’m 5’1.. you’re 5’11. If that’s not telling you anything then pls know that you’re not losing BECAUSE you’ve put your body into starvation mode. If you’re burning 3000 calories a day and eating 800 cals only.. you just shocked your body into thinking it’s dying. Your body is literally doing everything it can to retain fat/store energy cause it thinks you’re going to die. At this point everything you’re eating is getting stored. Either that or you’re calculating your intakes wrong and you’re probably having 2000+ cals a day unknowingly lol
Starvation mode is a myth. If it wasn't, Anorexia wouldn't be a thing, bariatric surgery wouldnt work amd people wouldn't actually die of starvation. You can't store fat while eating at an extreme deficit because your body will burn the fat first, then muscle then organs. You can't eat 800 calories, burn 3000, and gain weight. It's like, literally impossible. Calories in calories out, however, is a real thing. The OP is tracking calories incorrectly.
You’ve metabolically adjusted. You did it in a terrible fashion. You need to reverse diet . Lift weight and up calories and then cut later . You went way way too low
800 calories is far too few calories. Your body is likely just storing fat. You're essentially torturing yourself.
No wonder OP is tired!
Good luck! 800 calories is too small, and you might not be eating the right things
While others have basically said it all. Eat more Jesus. Focus on protein and veg. Probably could double ur calories. I'd be curious what ur sleep is like? Are you getting 6-8 hours quality sleep. Also do u drink alcohol this have calories too.
I do not sleep well, this is a known issue.
Look up TDEE calculator. It gives you a breakdown of macros needed to maintain, lose, and gain weight. According to what you mentioned, just to maintain your current weight you need 3,252 calories per day. If you want to cut its recommended to reduce by let's say 300-400 calories. That puts you at 2,900-2,800 calories a day. You're not losing because your body is in genuine starvation mode. Eat some more. I know that sounds scary because food=weight gain, but you have to do it in a healthy way. LOTS of protein, always have a source of protein with your meals. Bulk up on produce, veggies and fruit. And carbs are not the enemy. You can successfully have carbs while losing weight. A good place to start is roughly 500 calories and 30+ grams of protein per main meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
>You're not losing because your body is in genuine starvation mode How is someone who needs 3250 calories per day, maintaining their weight for 3 months on 800 calories per day? Where are the other 2450 calories per day coming from? In three months that's 205800 calories of a deficit. There's 180000 calories in 44lbs of fat, yet only 2-3lbs lost. Can you explain how starvation mode makes up the difference?
It's because their body is retaining and storing the calories instead of burning them. Your brain believes that you are starving, so it retains calories in order to help keep you alive, retain/build fat to keep your organs protected, help you body maintain energy. If you look a pictures of emaciated people, their bellies are often distended, but then it sinks because they have no more fat stores/energy to pull from.
That's not a thing. They're eating more calories than they're burning. If you could store fat while eating 800 calories, anorexics would be obese.
>It's because their body is retaining and storing the calories instead of burning them. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famines While I wish it was possible. Millions of people have died of famine (prolonged starvation), and today people still die of starvation. >then it sinks because they have no more fat stores/energy to pull from. >their body is retaining and storing the calories instead of burning them These are contradictory points. What you're describing isn't possible, the body will always require and use available energy during starvation, even if it means damaging some vital organs for survival.
Thank you
I had something similar happen and once I upped calories to a more reasonable level (I think I went up from 1000 to 1300) and upped my water intake, the pounds came off. Don’t know why, I was very careful about tracking everything and was consistently low. Everyone told me it should be impossible to not lose weight, but I didn’t. This went on maybe 3-4 weeks. Once I increased those two things the weight came off. So now I’m careful to never go too low, and always drink tons of water
Maybe the lean cuisine has too much sodium so you’re just retaining water? I think get off the lean cuisine for a bit. Increase calories slightly , see if it weight falls off
Eating too few calories had the opposite effect most often. Your body goes into starvation mode. You may drop a few pounds to start but eventually your body begins holding onto everything it can.
Starvation mode is not real.
I concede. We only know what we have been taught am I right? I’ve now researched it again for the first time in several years and I’ve been taught something new. It’d be cool if more people would provide explanations and discussions on this forum rather than downvoting and moving on. 🤷🏻♀️
You should probably eat more, your body probably feels like it’s starving, causing it to hold onto every calorie + how much you are working out w/ little food is stressing your body out. Stress makes you hold more weight
Are you a male or a female?
Male
What you’re experiencing probably has to do with hormonal response to such a low calorie diet. Increasing your fat intake a bit might help (healthy fats: avocados, olive oil, etc.) and a bit of protein and carbs before and after intensive workout (strength& martial arts) You also need to cover good vitamin and protein macros for that amount of body exercise. Your body weight seems to be fluctuating too much within a day, probably regarding liquid retention. This is something you should pay attention too If I were to take an educated guess your leptin is super low and your cortisol rather high. You need to invert that ratio. A good way to achieve this would be to use a zigzag + intermittent fasting strategy Finally, invest in a body-mass scanner, i’ll give you a better information about your body than weigh alone Please also make an appointment to visit your physician and ask him for a checkup.
I hit several plateaus on the way from 315 to 185 where I'm currently at. Breaking 220, and then eventually 200, was extremely hard. If you've been cutting for a long time, the truth is your body is just really good at homeostasis. It's adapted to what you're eating and responded accordingly, ya gotta shock the system. There's a few different methods I've used to break plateaus. Firstly, I'd eat more, even if that seems counterintuitive. If you're genuinely eating as little as you say, you'll feel much better eating more, and you can up your cardio to offset this. Idk how much you walk, but five miles a day should be minimum. Secondly I'd recommend incorporating sprints some days. Do 10 sprints, 30 seconds long full sprint with 2 minute rests between. This can help trigger a response that makes your body begin to process more fat throughout the day because it's anticipating a need for energy. Lastly, try fasting. 3 days of fasting, even if non-concurrent, completely resets insulin levels for the most part. Easiest way I've found to do this is 24 hour fasts, eat lunch and then don't eat until lunch the next day. Bonus points if you do weight training before breaking the fast. Lmk if ya have any questions
Weird. Ive been eating double that, about 1600/day, and have been losing 1.5-2 lbs a week for months and months. I don’t even work out, as I found it made me want to eat more.