Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Not getting enough calories?

Hi Ruchie!!!

We haven't talked in a while but thought I'd "weigh" in (pun intended! lol)

Anyway, I think I've told you this stuff already before, but I'm going to write it out again, because I've been browsing this new board a little and to be honest I'm getting a little freaked out at how few calories some people are eating. I saw one post yesterday from someone who's aim it was to eat no more than 1200 calories a day!!! Unless you're 12 years old, that's NOT healthy...

Getting not enough calories can actually be bad news. Lots of studies have shown that extreme calorie-cutting diets are not only pretty bad for your health, but can also lead to fat-GAIN!

This is because your body starts to think it's starving, and starts storing up fat reserves to, well, to keep you alive through the famine so to speak.

What you need is NOT just your BMR. Yes your BMR is how much you burn if you didn't do anything all day - this would mean you were bed-ridden though. Even if you all you do is loaf around the house all day, that probably adds about 600 calories, and if you do some walking around, about 900 calories, depending on your body type and weight. For women over 20 in the 120-150 lbs range, their BMR ranges from about roughly 1400-1600 calories. Plus even minimal activity, what a woman in this range would be burning every day would thus be AT LEAST 1900 calories, and probably more. If you're also exercising as part of your weight loss plan, say you burn an extra 200-400 calories a day.

It's safe to cut NO MORE THAN 500 calories each day (which adds up to ABOUT a pound a week - though everyone's a little different there.) If you cut much more than that, and you're not going to be losing weight (especially fat in the cells) very easily. So if your BMR is 1400 say, and you do some movement to add up to a lifestyle burn of say 500, plus 200 of exercise - that's 2200 calories! You could cut UP TO 600 from that and safely eat 1700 calories a day, and lose about a pound a week. Again, cut much more than that and you're body is going to go into starvation mode.

So please, please, PLEASE - get enough calories! Don't starve your body - it will NOT lead to healthy weight loss. Sure over time eating very little will inevitably make you lose weight. But you coud take diet pills too to lose weight - there are LOTS of unhealthy ways to lose weight. Plus, doing it that way will lead to fat getting stored up in your cells - and all you'll be losing is (mostly) muscle tissue. Personally, I don't think that's the attractive look people are going for with their weight loss goals.

Sorry I've gone on so long here, this is just one of my huge pet peeves.

Thanks for listening!

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