Marcomat

I am now at BMI 18,5 and I am eating an average of 2400-2700kcal a day, my body is really stuck here because I cannot seem to gain more. I went from my calorie restriction regime where on average I ate 1800-2200kcal a day and maintained a bmi of 17-18 to now eating about 2500kcal daily average, some days less some days more. Well BMI 19 would be most ideal but since my body really wants to stay here, I guess I am fine? I don’t count calories I just started now because I noticed a few weeks ago that I was underweight after I didn’t weigh myself for hover a year, I just ate listening to my body, about until I am 80% full and I ended up underweight so now I count calories to make sure I hit the minimum range of 2200-2400kcal minimum . So no I didn’t use to count calories . My doctor said I look “quite” healthy and all my blood work is excellent in terms of blood sugar, blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol etc. I didn’t check DEXA tho probably I should. Thank you for your input my relationship with food now is a bit more controlled compared to before, I count calories to make sure I eat enough but I don’t like it, I would rather return to intuitive eating . But since I ended up underweight with intuitive eating now I am counting a bit. Anyway, I am a runner and as such, even if I eat a lot I always stay thin, I run very long distances and have a very active lifestyle . I guess my BMI is the result of my training, because my diet calorie wise and nutrient wise is very sound as of now.. I also think BMI 18,5 is fine but I didn’t check dexa

Yes that’s the point- I don’t have a healthy relationship with food, thank you for your help but both the therapist and me failed to help with my eating disorder. I am just sorry for myself that I relapsed , to be honest at the moment I am unable to increase my calories, I maintained an underweight body almost all my youth so my body is used to be undernourished and it’s a real challenge to consistently eat to gain to BMI 19, which was my goal. I will see what I can do, that’s my best guess

Hi, I thought to update you about my situation… it’s been a couple of weeks I managed to eat between 2200-2500kcal daily, that’s a lot more compared to my previous intake, which ranged from 1700-2000/2200max but very rarely over 2200. I gained from about 49.4kg. To a 50.1kg. Now my BMI is just 18,5, however weight gain has stopped and weight has stabilized. Do you know what should I do? Is BMI 18,5 ok? I run and walk such long distances and find it difficult to eat more than I do, in some days I need to intermittently decrease my calories from 2500->2200kcal to feel better. I am considering booking a time with a nutritionist, because I feel “just eating more” isn’t so easy for me. My goal was to reach a BMI of 19 but now weight has stabilized, and won’t increase more than 50kg. Maybe I should wait months and see how it goes? I mean, 2500kcal even for a runner and an active person, even if it’s not a lot I feel it’s more than enough to support a good state of health, now I am trying to go for 2500kcal every day

Thank you! I really am not used to feel so full, I find on some days 2500kcal is too much, its like I am stuffed. When I train I can easily eat it but on rest days I find it a struggle. Let’s see how it goes with the scale, with some trial and error I find then the right amount but it will take weeks to find out. Eating same amount of foods is easier like same amount of grains, veggies and proteins like you said

Yes I feel now counting calories is a way to get to know on average what portion sizes I should be eating to maintain a healthy weight with a BMI 19, then I c an just get accustomed to eat the right portion sizes everyday so I just measure what food to prepare. I don’t eat the same thing every day, but I can calculate to match 2500kcal. I find it difficult to eat so schematically, it doesn’t make sense that on a day where I sit in the couch, I eat the same amount of calories when I run a marathon let’s say, that’s why I think using our own hunger and fullness signals is a more sustainable approach during the long term. For now, since I ended up underweight by listening to my body, I will stick with a more schematic approach, but I hope for the future, I can switch back to intuitive eating if I will be able to maintain my desired weight of 51-52…

Thank you for your reply. I can also consider my body’s hunger and fullness signals, if today I had planned to eat 2200kcal I can establish that as a range intake then if I am more hungry I will increase the calories to 2400-2500kcal:ish, now weight has stabilised at 50.3 and not increasing further but if I continue to eat 2500kcal when I train, over the months it will increase I guess. For now do you suggest I keep my intake at 2500kcal also when I don’t train? I am so afraid of my weight gain redistribution and also I am afraid to stimulate mTOR, and damage my metabolism so I am keeping protein to the absolute minimum. Maybe you are right, I just find it too uncomfortable and slip into old habits is so much easier. If my hunger allows, should I keep my intake constant at 2400-2500kcal a day do you think? Then if I am not hungry to eat 2500kcal I can make myself eat the 2200kcal when I don’t train I was thinking… I always end up borderline underweight I think I might be dealing too with some eating issues like the other guy here

Just as an update I have gained during this week about to 50.3 kg. , my body responded quickly I know it’s mostly water weight and salt but some of it is also body mass I guess. I have been thinking to continue eating 2200kcal. On rest days, and increasing energy intake to 2500kcal on training days where I run long distances. Considering my current BMI of 18.7, and my goal weight of BMI 19-19.5, I think I can take it slowly, I can see my body has maintained my weight of 50.3kg./BMI 18.7, over the last few days with no further weight gain , but I think to ensure the most optimal distribution of weight I want to take it slowly so instead of eating 2500kcal every day, I prefer to eat 2200kcal. On days of no exercise and then I will eat 2500kcal only on training days. I will see how my body responds during the month and if of course I don’t gain to BMI 19 then additional changes might be needed. What do you think? I did make changes, before I ate 1700-2200maximum on training days, now my range is 2200-2500kcal. I am not underweight anymore so I can afford to take it slowly

I completely agree with you, no doubt that strength training is especially good for thin people like me, I don’t wanna become old and frail, and weak. Ageing and getting older is literally my nightmare which is also part of the reason I got into calorie restriction in the first place. I am now eating 2200-2500kcal daily, if I don’t gain weight I will need to adjust with trail and error until I maintain a healthy, lean BMI of 19-19.5. The problem is I really hate the gym, it’s something I need to force it through, there is nothing I can do to make myself like it. I would rather just run and do aerobic sports, if I don’t work myself to like the weights I don’t know how I can sustain my health and strength as I will age which is worrying considering my weight

Yeah, easier said than done… but I am working on it, I am eating 2500kcal daily see what happens if I gain weight and then adjust my intake to my desired weight once I get there, and I started again the gym, hated every moment but spent an entire session today to strengthen hips and glutea. 40kg. Squats, weights as heavy as me almost, then other exercises and concluding with the machines. It was a long time I didn’t do weights I felt I was gonna break myself almost but I wanna see results so I am not gonna waste my time with light weights. I totally hate gym culture and would rather run, and I plan to stop completely my membership when I get to my desired weight. Protein wise I am extremely restrictive with this macronutrient because I don’t wanna activate mTOR, and usually choose vegetable sources like whole grains and beans. I eat now 250grams of Greek yoghurt in the morning, 100g of lean fish at lunch and 80g of beans at dinner. The rest of calories comes from carbohydrates and healthy fats. Thank you again all for the support , I guess I am not alone. I got carried away with a too severe calorie restriction, while running 5 times a week long distances, eating as low as 1600-1700 on some days it was too much. I remember my intake rarely exceeded 2200kcal, with average about 1800-2200. Now I should gain with 2500

Yes I am trying to find out my calorie intake needed to maintain my desired weight of 51-52kg. Basically my former healthy weight when I had BMI and 19-19.5, I will write down what I eat and see where I am headed , then adjust my intake accordingly until I maintain my desired weight and keep it constant. It’s hard because I am used to eat intuitively, but if I listen to my body I will end up with a BMI of 17. So I need to eat in a controlled manner to ensure a sufficient intake. As of now I am eating 2500kcal a day, and see where I am headed. I worked my ass off in the gym so I can gain strength and bones , not only fat, I hate the gym , I would rather only run but until I gain to my desired weight I need to do the gym. Anyway, I don’t believe any centenarian counts calories and is so obsessed like we are, so I don’t have to agree with what you say. I believe if your body is at a healthy point , at its set point , like BMI 19-21, then listening to your body and eating using common sense is a much more sustainable way to go. Of course this doesn’t work for underweight or overweight individuals, but I think it works when you are at a healthy weight

Yeah, thank you Dean

I am now in the gym, i had to make myself go, I lost so much strength I have difficulty even walking to be honest and running with long runs because I don’t have the energy. I think I need to fix a bit of my bone and muscle strength in the gym so I forced myself to go, I don’t like it but it’s a health issue here not really a choice of like or not. I targeted myself to eat 2500kcal but then once I start to eat it’s like I am even hungrier so ended up eating 2800kcal but it wasn’t a binge, it was just eating 🍽 ut of hunger. It’s like my body is trying to catch up. But yes you are right. With intuitive eating I got to BMI 17 and I actually cannot see that I am underweight, so it’s only because of the scale that I know I need to fix the issue. I will eat on a controlled way to avoid both ends of the problem, I don’t want binging, neither undereating. For now I know that numbers never lie so, chronometer and scale, to eat all vitamins and minerals and ensure 2500kcal daily average. I am so sorry intuitive eating has gotten me to this point

By weight bearing exercise I get running, but I really hate strength training and gym. I do it in my off season a few months per year only. But do you think that running is enough to keep my bones healthy and will running direct my weight gain to muscolare strength rather than fat? I heard that to gain weight healthily you should strength train because otherwise all you gain is fat. But since I run will I still gain a proportion of muscle and bone mass do you think? If you have experience feel free to share. I am worried about my bone health to be honest because I have seen an increase in my fragility recently, and in overall strength even when running and doing other daily activities . I hope I can maintain a BMI of 19 with intuitive eating and intuitive calorie restriction but it seems I need to count calories now to make sure I am gaining at least 18.5-19 BMI then from there let’s see how to continue. Problem I hate strength training and want to invest my time in running, my sport of passion, and do with my time what I love to do

Thank you, I am actually catching up, my body actually asked for more food than I intended to eat for weight gain and ended up eating 2800kcal yesterday and I was still feeling hungry and unsatisfied. I think my body realised it’s below its set point and will ramp up my appetite until I get back to my set point, like BMI 18-19. Thank you all for your advice, I hope i can continue to do CR once I get back to a healthy BMI

Yeah thank you… sounds very hard for me