Physical side effects of under eating

[PROfb03]

I'm new here. I have been lurking around reading for months, but now I need to ask for some advice.

I read somewhere that under eating (anorexia) can cause low testosterone, and low white and red blood counts. My doctor diagnosed me with all three of those things after my last physical. How few calories would a guy need to eat to cause these symptoms? I am 23, 5'9", 135 lbs. I have a desk job so I sit around a lot at work. I work out6 days a week. I do MHPT with three days of HIIT. I also do about 45 miles per week on a stationary bike while my knee rehabs. I do monitor my intake, but I want to hear unbiased opinions about a calorie requirement so I won't post my diet at this point. Please advise on this topic, I want my problem to be as easy as changing my diet, not some of the alternatives. Thanks guys.

[AFI82]

It seems that at 5'9" and 135 lbs you could maybe stand to put on some mass. Hard to say without a picture though.

Just a rough guess, I'd say you shouldn't be eating anything less than 1800 calories per day. It's probable that you need more than that.

[Frank.S]

Are you female?

if not.. at your weight the last thing you need is HIIT, 6 workouts per week, and SS cardio. Most people could not gain weight with that much activity if they tried.

[PROfb03]

I am a male.

[kfisherx]

At that weight and with all that cardio, I would put you on a 4K plus a day diet just to maintain. If you are eating less than this you are probably undereating and your size is showing that. You should eat as much as you can eat AND then add a few gainers a day. Personally if you were to come to me for training advice, I would take away a bunch of that cardio, put you on a 4K plus a day diet (macros about 35, 35, 30) and teach ya to lift to build a little bit of mass on that skinny little frame. In about 7 months you will be ready to reassess your calories I would guess.

[Lost Dog]

You didn't say it, but if you've been diagnosed with anorexia, then the unbiased opinions you are looking for should be from other doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, and dietitians who specialize in that condition, not us.

[missjane]

You need to be more specific. Do you have anorexia or do you just undereat. There is a difference. Can you give us a sample day of your eats? And, where is your resistance training to build some muscle, dude?!

[PROfb03]

I'm not anorexic. I think i may under eat though. I am wondering if the under eating is extreme enough to cause hormonal imbalance. I eat (in my opinion) plenty. I don't feel like i need to list all the foods, but a typical day of eating ends up with roughly the following macro's: Carbs: 250 grams (70 grams fiber), Protein: 220 grams, and Fat: 65 grams. I eat lots of fruits and veggies. Also MHPT is (mens health power training) a program put together by Coach Dos. I do the 3 day full body routine so I'm lifting weights 3 days per week.

[PROfb03]

you really think I should be eating 4k per day? I have lost a lot of weight (75 lbs) in the last year and have since been hesitant to such high caloric intakes out of fear of regaining. I hated being fat!

[Lost Dog]

I used a calculator and came up with maybe 3000 a day as maint (estimating the activity based on how much exercise you listed). So your 2500 a day might be a deficit. You're not underweight by the BMI scale, but you're on the verge.

It might be too little food, but it also might be that you've been eating at a deficit, with a lot of activity, for a long time. You may not be recovering properly anymore and suffering for it.

What made you decide to have those tests done?

What are your goals? If you're doing Dos's program, I'd think it would be power and strength, and you're not likely to get those with that level of cardio AND that little bit of food.

If those are your goals, or maybe adding some muscle, then you might eat about the same and start cutting back on some of the non-lifting activity. That's too much HIIT, for one thing. Three days of lifting and three days of HIIT is too CNS intensive to do for long.

[PROfb03]

I got the tests done at a full physical. I decided to get the physical, honestly, because of my decreased libido. More tests came back today and I have a low LH count (still need to do some research). I will start to bump the calories up and cardio down and see if maybe I see some better results. Also I have a call into my doctor to ask the same question. I appreciate your advice, and I am open to any more you could possible throw my way. Thanks again everyone.

[tkinsley]

Originally Posted by PROfb03

you really think I should be eating 4k per day? I have lost a lot of weight (75 lbs) in the last year and have since been hesitant to such high caloric intakes out of fear of regaining. I hated being fat!

I think to tell you how many calories you "should" or "should not" be eating daily would be pretty premature based on the limited information you've given. Beware the internet experts. LOL!

Here's what I would suggest--hire someone who specializes in sports nutrition (standard RDs are stuck in the food pyramid era). As a physician, I can tell you--avoid the regular primary care doctor's advice. They don't teach us jack shyte in medical school about nutrition--just a couple of days on biochemistry and vitamin cofactors, but other than that, stuck on the old AHA low fat guidelines for health.

My two cents.

Oh yeah, another option to assess your baseline metabolic rate--you can always contact Leigh Peele (google her on site, she's a moderator here and a fantastic resource) and rent a bodybugg to get a pretty good estimate and adjust from there.

HTH.

[PROfb03]

Bodybug? What is this contraption all about?

[L'ilJ]

Hi PROfb03, welcome to de-lurk mode. Sounds like you've got more than just not eating enough going on according to your various lab tests. I think it's a lot more complicated than just hey dude, eat 4,000 calories following these specific macros and lift some heavy weights. . It's great that you continue seeing a doctor to get to the root of your problem. Just looking at what you wrote, I would say that you can definitely lighten your workload until you find out what's ailing you. Your body doesn't need the added stress from the Dos workouts, HIIT AND biking. Try to de-stress a bit. Eat healthy and enjoyable food in amounts that make you feel full, do your MHPT workouts and maybe do some additional walking or "light" cardio for a while. Once you get a diagnosis you can increase your workload.

I hope you get an answer soon!

[kfisherx]

Okay, okay I give. These guys are right.

It isn't enough information for us to say specifically and 4k might be too many but only if you don't want to get up to a healthier weight. I think it is very clear that you are under-eating and now that I learn you are a former heavy person it makes it even more clear. You do need to find out what your maintenance cals are at the very least. I said 4k because it is obvious to me that you could use to put on some pounds and if you are going to continue to lift and do cardio the 4K would do that for you. Actually I doubt you could make it to 4K but the point is that you eat as much as you can and then jam more in there in order to gain. You can put on muscle as opposed to fat if you eat A LOT and lift HEAVY. If all you want to do is maintain than find your maintanence by eating more until you start to gain a bit then cut back.

Don't worry about getting FAT again. Just eat and eat very cleanly. Pick your macros or have your nutritionist help you to pick them. It is nearly impossible to accidently get fat if you are eating cleanly and monitoring your progress.

I am a former heavy person and also a former under eater. I did 1400 cals a day for a year and a half or more. I am sure my body was in some sort of disarray too when I started to turn it around. I was able to turn it around only by dropping my fear of being fat and learning how to eat. I learned how to eat by picking a ratio for my macros and then eating within those macros and upping my calories a few hundred every couple of weeks. Over time I learned about carbs and fats and other finer points of good eating. At first it felt like crap to eat so much but after a few weeks it feels normal and hunger comes again and that was my trigger to up cals again.

I burn cals today at a rate of about 2370 a day. This is obviously up significantly from where I was when I was eating just 1400 cals a day. I am also 10 lbs heavier but yet I look better than I did before.

[tkinsley]

BODYBUGG :: HOW IT WORKS

Originally Posted by PROfb03

Bodybug? What is this contraption all about?

[AFI82]

Hmmm, that bodybug looks really interesting. Would be way cheaper than getting a BMR test done a couple times a year. Anyone have first-hand experience using one?

[tkinsley]

Yes.

It's very interesting. From what I understand, it's often off (over) by appx 10% but it gives you a number and you can tweak it from there. If nothing else, it shows you how much a little extra activity can do in re: increasing caloric expenditure.