How many calories do you consume daily?

[nini]

I have just done my first real day on the IG diet with skipping breakfast and I am shocked that I consumed just 970 calories. I am on the upper end of the bmi scale since my dd has arrived (I had 2 babes in 16 months and have now more than 20 pounds more than when I conceived ds2 :( ) so loosing weight before conceiving again is great, but I am sure I cant stick it out for that long....

[atomic sagebrush]

I REALLY think you need to bump it up a little, at the very least to 1200-1500. Cutting back too far can backfire on you in a few different ways. Firstly you can stop ovulating due to lack of calories and secondly, if your body perceives it as too much of a crisis/threat to survival, it may start to produce testosterone (using your stored fat) as a way to help you have enough testosterone to compete for food.

You will still lose weight at 1200-1500 cals but it is a bit more slowly and so your body doesn't get quite as shocked by it. You want to be "declining" in condition without causing your body to go into crisis mode and decide you are going to have to fight just to survive.

[zanacal]

I had 1200 calories a day on the LE diet and lost 3 stone in 3 months - I had the weight to lose (and wanted to lose it to get to my lowest pre-conception weight), but it demonstrates that you don't need to go too low!

[HopeandDreamG]

I REALLY think you need to bump it up a little, at the very least to 1200-1500. Cutting back too far can backfire on you in a few different ways. Firstly you can stop ovulating due to lack of calories and secondly, if your body perceives it as too much of a crisis/threat to survival, it may start to produce testosterone (using your stored fat) as a way to help you have enough testosterone to compete for food.

You will still lose weight at 1200-1500 cals but it is a bit more slowly and so your body doesn't get quite as shocked by it. You want to be "declining" in condition without causing your body to go into crisis mode and decide you are going to have to fight just to survive.

Can you stop Ovulating even if you have quite a bit to lose?

[nuthinbutpink]

I don't think you stop ovulating until you are so thin you know you're too thin IYKWIM. I ate around 1000-1200 calories when having my girls. You can eat lots of 100 calorie snacks throughout the day if you skip breakfast which I tended to do as well.

[HopeandDreamG]

I do know what you mean. Thats what I thought. Just wanted to be sure because I have been so strict a few days I was at 950 cal. I know I can't do that long term and I don't want to go off the deep end! I mostly have been averaging 1000. Trying to be like 1000-1200.

[nini]

Thats what I was worried about - to go too low and actually sway boy! I think I will aim at 1200 calories. That is still such a huge amount less than what I usually consume (I am the typical boy mum I think ;)

Thanks for all your replies. Can I ask the people who posted, what diet they are on, a cal/mag one (like IG) or the LE diet?

[HopeandDreamG]

Nini- do you think it would sway boy because you would increase testosterone? if not, what do you mean?

[atomic sagebrush]

Can you stop Ovulating even if you have quite a bit to lose?

Not usually UNLESS you are exercising like a madwoman (2 hours or more a day - like maybe Serena Williams or something)

[atomic sagebrush]

Nini- do you think it would sway boy because you would increase testosterone? if not, what do you mean?

I think she's saying, because your body could perceive it as such a life crisis that it starts using whatever resources it can get hold of to make testosterone, to assist your survival should you have to fight for food.

We don't KNOW that this can happen, but I do think it's a possibility that we need to keep in mind.

There is a kind of surprising subset of women with lots of boys who are rail thin and are in recovery from eating disorders and I believe testosterone plays some part in that. Firstly that a higher t personality ~might~ be more likely to develop an eating disorder to begin with, but also because their bodies may have been perpetually reset to crisis mode and "thinks" it will have to fight for every scrap of food it receives.

For TTC pink I think it's safest to aim for the point where we are in declining condition WITHOUT triggering that crisis mode.

[atomic sagebrush]

I don't think you stop ovulating until you are so thin you know you're too thin IYKWIM. I ate around 1000-1200 calories when having my girls. You can eat lots of 100 calorie snacks throughout the day if you skip breakfast which I tended to do as well.

Thank you that is good to know!

I do want to make sure everyone understands I'm not talking about 1200 or even 1000 cals (altho I don't want anyone going below 1200!!!) being perceived as too much of a crisis, but I have seen some people going as low as 500-700 and I REALLY think that's a risk, esp. if you have a lot of weight to lose becos your body just uses your stored fat to make whatever it thinks you need for surviving.

[nini]

I think she's saying, because your body could perceive it as such a life crisis that it starts using whatever resources it can get hold of to make testosterone, to assist your survival should you have to fight for food.

We don't KNOW that this can happen, but I do think it's a possibility that we need to keep in mind.

There is a kind of surprising subset of women with lots of boys who are rail thin and are in recovery from eating disorders and I believe testosterone plays some part in that. Firstly that a higher t personality ~might~ be more likely to develop an eating disorder to begin with, but also because their bodies may have been perpetually reset to crisis mode and "thinks" it will have to fight for every scrap of food it receives.

For TTC pink I think it's safest to aim for the point where we are in declining condition WITHOUT triggering that crisis mode.

That is indeed what I meant :) I always feel anything too extreme doesnt feel right...