[Sojodave]

I've been using Myfitnesspal to track my food intake and I can also see what the nutrition is on foods in restaurants before I order them. Last night, I put my food in for the day and it said it was only 880 calories and 30 grams of fat. It gave me a warning that I was in starvation mode and my body needed more carbs and calories.

Breakfast:
2 Jack Link sausages and almond milk with heavy whipping cream.

Lunch:
Chicken salad with ranch dressing.

Dinner:
Bonless spare ribs(with lots of fat) with salsa on top with a salad and some ranch dressing.
(tested a 101 after 2 hours)

I know your body doesn't need carbs, but can there be a problem if I eat too little calories?

 

[Janknitz]

Too few calories can be a problem imho, though many disagree. In my first months of low carving I had little appetite and my calorie intake ranged from about 900 to 1000. The result was no weight loss and my thyroid went low. My endo swore up and down that diet has nothing to do with thyroid function and wanted me to start supplements. Instead I increased my calories, and by the next TSH I was back in a normal range, and losing weight again at about 1200 calories. My doctor started to take credit for the thyroid supplement and didn't believe me when I told her I never took it.

I believe too few calories slows our metabolism to a crawl. Our body's job is to maintain, and it will do everything possible to maintain protective body fat. Once starvation overwhelms this system, you will lose muscle before fat. Extreme low calorie diets are dangerous, imho. Now if this is intermittent, mixed with higher calorie days, that may bea different matter. But consistently hypocaloric diets are not beneficial.

I know some will disagree, but at the very least, when eating that little it's impossible to get all the nutrients our bodies need that don't always come in supplement form and may not be bio available if they do.

 

[Shanny]

I agree with Jan . . . too few calories causes the body to believe we're starving and it will take measures to conserve every scrap of energy. As she says, metabolism slows to a crawl, and weight loss comes to a screeching halt.

The essence of LCHF is that we can eat until we're full but not stuffed, and then we shouldn't need to eat again for hours. I think those sausages you're eating are good-size, so maybe that's all you need for satiety. I can eat six or even eight strips of bacon, one egg, and then with a 16oz cup of coffee or tea, I feel full. How much chicken salad are you eating at lunch? I think your choices are good, so you shouldn't have to reduce portion size so much that you risk a metbolic slowdown.

 

[Sojodave]

Great, I ate too much and got diabetes and now that I have diabetes I'm not eating enough...

 

[Shanny]

You Did NOT Eat Your Way to Diabetes. The REAL Causes.

 

[Sojodave]

I know, I know, diabetes is like diarrhea, it runs in your jeans/genes...

 

[silvertiger]

Everyone is so individual. I lost weight without counting calories, but some people may need to pay more attention. My weight loss has slowed now, so I may need to at least look at how many calories I'm eating more closely. Eating too few is as bad as eating too many metabolism-wise.

 

[Mary]

Dave - I do have to caution you because I think you're on metformin, right? I did find that when my calories dropped below 1,000, metformin upset my stomach. As long as my calories were a little higher, I didn't have any stomach issues. I'm just saying, if you start having stomach aches, it's something to think about if you're on met.

 

[Sojodave]

I brought my heavy whipping cream concoction to work and I brought some nuts to snack on. My calories should be closer to 2000 today with about 36 carbs.

I wondered about Metformin and low calories.

 

[Roxanne0312]

I brought my heavy whipping cream concoction to work and I brought some nuts to snack on. My calories should be closer to 2000 today with about 36 carbs.

I wondered about Metformin and low calories.

What is your heavy whipping cream concoction. I'm looking for something with the cream but not the coffee.

 

[Mary]

I know that others don't experience the same issue but for me personally, I tend to get horrible cramping if I eat really low calories and take met. Just something to watch for.