Question:
If I'm burning 2000-2500 calories per day, but only eat maybe 600......

then why am I not losing weight faster? I keep track of my weightloss on Fitday.com and seem to always burn a tremendous amount more than what I eat, but though the scale only 'nudges'.....help!    — richarro (posted on July 31, 2003)

July 31, 2003
I would say its because your body is starving and is holding onto every calorie for dear life. Eat more calories!!!
   — tn683

July 31, 2003
Up your calories. You're in starvation mode.
   — mom2jtx3

July 31, 2003
I was going through the same thing. Per fitday.com I am burning an average of 3200 calories a day, and only taking in 600-700 per day. For the past couple of months it seemed like I was not losing as quickly as I should so I upped my calories some. That didn't change a thing, so I talked to my surgeon. He said I should not be eating more than 700-800 calories at this point (three months out at that time). So, I quit stressing about getting more calories now all of a sudden the weight seems to be falling off again. I'll admit I'm a gym junkie and probably the slow weight loss there for a while was due to building muscle mass. I think sometimes our bodies just need to slow down so to rest and catch up with all the weight we have lost so quickly. Sometimes it is difficult no to see that darn scale budge when I know I have been busting my butt daily at the gym and following all the other guidelines for successful weighloss. Barb Open RNY 4/07/03 235/171/126-130
   — Barbara C.

July 31, 2003
At my last post-op appointment my surgeon told me that once I get down below 200 Lb., I should expect to struggle with the scale. I thought no way, not me, not at this pace. Well, I hit 199 this month and lost 9 pounds even with 3-4 days of an hour on the elliptical machine, plus weight training and I do leisurely swimming every night. I eat about 700-800 calories depending on the day, but some days I eat about 600. I've found that I do have to trick my body and give it more healthy calories, but stay a way from starches they can hinder your weight loss. Best Wishes, Heather 3/12/03 280/190/135
   — Heather S.

July 31, 2003
I don't know how far you're out, but 600 calories is going to make you keep your weight on.. eventually... you do have to bring those calories up.. I see a lot of 800 calorie people... I guess it depends how far out you are.. I'm further than these folks who have answered.. I'm out more than a year.. and get between 1000 - 1200 a day. I too keep track on fitday, but you have to remember.. its not perfect in terms of calories, its only as good as the input AND I don't think that calories burnt info is all that good.. I stopped using it. Besides.. doing those kindsof numbers and not losing weight as you think the numbers say you should will make you crazy... do your stuff.. daily.. stick to the program.. and you'll get there. just keep exercising.. and make sure that burn you're doing includes some good cardio heart pumping exercise for more than 20 minutes in order to burn fat.
   — Lisa C.

July 31, 2003
According to my nutritionist the fitday scale of what we burn in a day is really off. I am down to 175 lbs. and my basal metabolic rate is about 1600 calories and if you add even 50% to that for daily activity (and that would be if I were jogging every day which I am not) I would still only be at 2400 calories to maintain my weight. I am probably closer to 2000-2200 per day and so if I eat 800 calories per day that puts me at a weekly deficit of 8400 calories max. I would then lose about 2.5 pounds per week which is close to what I actually do. Exercise and low carbs and plenty of water seem to support that well and speed it up a bit. I personally find that the water does more than almost anything else to aid my loss.
   — Carol S.

July 31, 2003
I forgot to add that you seem to be losing 2 pounds a week which makes sense based on your intake and output. Don't forget that slow and STEADY really does win the race and will keep you feeling better all the way through. When I lost weight faster (3-4 per week or more) I just did not feel great.
   — Carol S.

July 31, 2003
The beauty of fitday is that you are building a much better database than they have -- your own record of weight loss versus calorie intake! I ignore their "one-size-fits-all" guidelines, and use the ones that pertain to me. Over time, you'll have a record of how much you lost versus how many calories you were eating, and you'll learn from that how much you can eat. Having said that, yep, you could very well not be eating enough.
   — Suzy C.

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