Quantity vs. Calories?
 

I'm trying to seriously lose weight for my wedding in a few months- and I've been counting calories, trying to keep them low. Reading around in the forum, I think they might be TOO low. By a lot.

I'm definitely not starving myself. I'm not stuffing my face either- I'm eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a snack here or there, but I'm checking the label and keeping the calories low.

My question is- if I'm eating enough that I don't feel hungry, but I'm still eating under 700 calories, will it still make it hard for me to lose weight?

Example of what I've been eating:

Breakfast: 3 egg whites with half a cup chopped tomato, grease the pan with I can't believe it's not butter

Lunch: Salad with salmon, lemon juice instead of dressing

Dinner: A can undiluted veggie beef soup.

Snack- a whole pickle, cup of yogurt, or jell-o.

It seems way low to me. Your body is probably in starvation mode. This is what I ate today:

100-calorie whole grain flatbread with cream cheese and coffee-breakfast

Banana-midmorning snack

Lean cuisine and salad (dark leafy greens, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, vinagrette dressing)-lunch

Afternoon snack would have been a protein shake, but got busy at work and forgot

French bread pizza, unsweetened iced tea and fudgesicle-dinner. Was going to make chicken and green beans, but really needed a shower instead.

Even with the dinner substitution, I'm at 1450 calories for the day. That's 200 calories lower than I should be.

Your metabolism will slow down eating so few calories. From what I have read, you need to eat at least 1200 calories a day eating small 400 calorie meals. Add walking to your routine.

Yes, 700 is way too low...
 

This calculator worked for me to get me to a point where I knew how much I could eat and still lose steadily...plug your numbers in and see. It gives you calories per day for fat loss and then for extreme fat loss:

Calorie Calculator - Daily Caloric Needs

It has nothing to do with whether you are hungry or not...700 calories a day will force your metabolism to slow down to conserve, and it will be extremely difficult to lose weight. In fact, you may even find that if your body gets used to 700 for a very long period of time, you will put on weight more easily when you go above that. I can't imagine eating 700 calories a day forever just to prevent that from happening.

You have some months, you said, so you will be able to lose a good amount and do it in a healthy way that will leave your eyes and hair and skin glowing on your wedding day...and that will look much better than what 700 calories a day would give you!

Very informative, everyone! I'll definitely re-work what I've been eating. Thank you!