Advice after binging on meat and vegetables page 2

[Drumroll]

My MBR is about 1,800 calories. And I'm short, skinny, and not as active as I once was. I mean I weightlift once or twice a week, and go for long walks, but that really doesn't burn many calories overall.

I find it hard to believe your basal metabolic rate can be BELOW 1,200 calories. MAYBE 1,500, but come on... 1,200? Sometimes if you eat less than your body needs on a long enough basis your body clings more to fat and you actually GAIN weight. Sometimes you actually need to reintroduce your body to a decent amount of calories to rev that metabolism back up again.

[emmie]

Please don't lecture people on how many calories they should be eating. Small women have much lower caloric limits than young, healthy, muscular males. And even among women, the differences in those of a similar physical size can be dramatic.

The notion that anything under 1200 cal a day is too low for any individual is silly. I happen to be a post-menopausal, small, woman who is hypothyroid. When I was losing weight (just a pound a week), I checked with my endo because I worried that my apparent 900 cal limit was too low for my health. He did some testing and told me that my estimate was accurate and that he believes that I happen to have a 'genetically slow metabolism.' He also told me that he has patients who, because of genetics and medical issues, cannot lose weight unless they restrict to 750 cal a day (which is done under close medical supervision).

[Leida]

Oh, gods, that sucks. Did you consult about supplimenting with something like L-carnitine or is it just going to screw things up even worse?

[Drumroll]

Please don't lecture people on how many calories they should be eating. Small women have much lower caloric limits than young, healthy, muscular males. And even among women, the differences in those of a similar physical size can be dramatic.

The notion that anything under 1200 cal a day is too low for any individual is silly. I happen to be a post-menopausal, small, woman who is hypothyroid. When I was losing weight (just a pound a week), I checked with my endo because I worried that my apparent 900 cal limit was too low for my health. He did some testing and told me that my estimate was accurate and that he believes that I happen to have a 'genetically slow metabolism.' He also told me that he has patients who, because of genetics and medical issues, cannot lose weight unless they restrict to 750 cal a day (which is done under close medical supervision).

I'm skinny. I may weightlift, but to call me muscular is totally off base. I am actually clinically diagnosed with "low muscle tone" so I will probably NEVER be muscular. For most guys my age, my metabolism IS slow. VERY slow.

I have had to work harder for my weightloss than have most of my friends. *sigh*

And we don't know if she's post menopausal, she hasn't really offered any indication on her metabolic speed other than "it's this number accept it." We can't really help her out unless we're given some solid information to work with. Cronically under consuming calories CAN lead to fat retention and weight gain in many cases, so one would have to be able to diagnose whether this was the case. The only way to know for sure was to look at all of the factors that could have an effect on her metabolism such as age, activity level, family history, ect.

I am sure that women (and men) such as yourself exist, and that's fine, I am not trying to deny that they do. But I imagine your situation is not exactly common. I would like to know what else may be a cause here before I just base assume "it is because it just is." Call me a skeptic if you must, but I have found that questioning things and not making blanket assumptions such as "they wouldn't say it if it weren't true" has served me well.