320 pounds on 1,700 a day?????

ditsyblond17

Am I doing this right? I'm sedentary and a female. I'm 25 years old. I can't lose no matter how hard I try. I am just STARVING at the end of the day. I binge only at night since starting my diet. Its a ravenous hunger. No matter if I eat 3 meals or 6 a day. Please help!!!!

kathrynrf89

Maybe try upping your protein? Not sure what you are doing now, but I know that works for me.

ditsyblond17

I actually am eating roughly double what I used to. I'm up to Maybe 90-100g a day. Is that good?

determined_14

What exactly do you mean by "binge"? Are you sticking to your calorie goals? The timing of the meals doesn't matter, only the calorie count each day (or weekly average). That said, what kind of foods are you eating? Some foods will fill you and help you stay full longer while contributing fewer calories. Protein (like chicken breast, cottage cheese, and eggs) will help fill you, as well as things like rice and beans.
Finally, what is your targeted weight loss? 1lb a week? 2? If you're too hungry, set a less aggressive goal (perhaps a half a pound a week?) so you can eat more each day and still loss (albeit slower). Hope this help!

Ellaskat

You're not eating enough. Up your calories so you don't feel the need to binge. Consider making sure you have enough protein+fat, many people feel it helps them stay satiated longer- me included. Maybe try 2000 a day?

AliceDark

If you're 320 pounds now, 1700 calories sounds really low. If you tell MFP you want to lose 2 pounds per week, what does it give you?

FWIW, I'm 125 pounds and I eat 1500 calories when I'm trying to lose. Granted, I'm losing 0.5 pounds per week, but you should be able to eat way more than 1700 calories and still lose just fine.

Kida_Adeylne

You might want to up your calories if you are starving enough to binge. You shouldn't feel deprived if you have enough of the right food. A lot of people on here don't eat below their BMR, which at 320lb is over 2000cal a day.

What are you eating during the day? You need a good mix of quality carbs (whole grains, veggies), fats and protein to make sure you're feeling full. This can go both ways - if you're eating 'junk food' during the day, you're getting lots of sugar which burns off fast and not enough protien. If you're eating nothing but veggies and lean meat, you need more fat.

ditsyblond17

Thank you for the advice. I can afford to lose aggressively since I'm obese. But sadly, I can't overcome my binge at the end of the day. During breakfast and lunch I'm not hungry. I feel I can go strong for days. Then 5:00 hits and I am so ravenously hungry (only a few hours after eating a high protein lunch) that I accidentally go over my calories by 500-800 each day. I almost feel like my body is telling me 1,700 isn't right. But May be I'm wrong. Does 1,700 sound like the right number for me?

RodaRose

Change your goals to 1 pound a week for now. Also, add veggies to your day -- such as broccoli, zuccchini, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers. They help you feel better.

caress_elesase

It depends on what your eating!
If you eat the right foods and drink at least 2L of water a day you won't free staving by night time.
I've starting eating healthy again on Sunday and I always make sure I am full after a meal and that my meals are high in fibre.
In the morning I have porridge with a cup of green tea. Before I head to work.. (depends on my shifts, I'm on the lates this week.) I have swede and carrot mash with some chicken and an apple. At about 4 ish I have a some soup and at about half 8 I have a tuna salad and some strawberries and blueberries with low fat geek yogurt and a little chocolate sprinkles. But the main thing is... you have to tell your worth it'll be worth it in the long run and your body doesn't need the food.
I nearly caved at work today, I work in a supermarket and im surrounded my junk food and chocolate... but I walked away had a glass of water and some fruit tea.
I know it's hard but like I said before it'll be worth.
If your eating because you'd bored find something to do! I've notice I now have energy when I get in from work at 11.30 so do some cleaning, sort out my meals for the next day, watch a bit of Netflix and then head to bed.
Hope this helps

ditsyblond17

I'm eating a pretty well balanced macro diet. Today, my protein was 111g. Carbs was high only after my binge. That's mostly what I crave in evening. So glad to see Maybe I should up them. Its funny, I knew my BMR was closer to 2,200 BUT MFP said 1,700 to lose 2lb a week. And just to eat back exercise calories. Maybel I will bump up to BMR and see What happens. you guys have No idea how much I appreciate the insight. I just cried for about 15 minutes to my boyfriend about how I'm going to give up. His suggestion, bump up calories You guys rock.

Ready2Rock206

Can you open your diary so people can see what you are eating and give you suggestions? Sounds like you might need to eat more filling foods during the day.

Maybe an evening hobby would help take your mind off of the desire to binge.

Liftng4Lis

Open your diary.

ditsyblond17

And FWIW, my fiber was 25 GRAMS today. So right on track with my goal. between fiber and protein, there's No reason I should have been this hungry. Its almost not even me doing it if that makes sense. My stomach calls the shots in the evening. Maybe BMR and or TDEE x20%?

Forty6and2

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Open your diary.

^^^ This. We can help more if you open your diary

blossomingbutterfly

I'm 253 losing on 1870 a day currently, set to lose 1 lb a week, sedentary. I want to lose slowly though. But I usually lose more than the 1 lb it states a week. You definitely can.

Change your settings to lose 1 lb a week if 2 lbs is too aggressive if you're hungry still. It's not a race.

Kida_Adeylne

What is your height?

You might be able to loose aggressively according to a calculator, but if you're binging it might be better to try for 2000 cal a day.
Some tips for make taking a cut easier:
-don't skimp on breakfast. It's tempting to eat a banana and nothing else for breakfast to save calories, but having a balanced breakfast in sufficient amount can make you less hungry later. I eat 400-500cal for breakfast (cereal, milk, fruit, almonds) every day, and it usually has around 10g of fibre.
-allow yourself small treats. For a while, I was having a few high quality chocolates a day. If I take out sweets completely, I'm desperate to stuff my face with them.
-Before you eat food, especially when you're used to binging, ask yourself if you're actually hungry. Sometimes you're thirsty, stressed or bored. Dealing with non hunger cravings with a cup of tea, or a short walk is a good way to go.

ditsyblond17

I'm a little too ashamed to open it up, quite honestly. I feel horrible about it and don't even want to look. Lol I had healthy lean proteins all day, lower carbs and healthy fats. I did all the right things. Except For the eating 1,000 extra calories part

Liftng4Lis

ditsyblond17 wrote: »

I'm a little too ashamed to open it up, quite honestly. I feel horrible about it and don't even want to look. Lol I had healthy lean proteins all day, lower carbs and healthy fats. I did all the right things. Except For the eating 1,000 extra calories part

Why should you feel bad about it? We all have one and we all eat. By opening it, we can see where the problems are.

999tigger

Tbh you dont ive enough information so it will be hard for people to *kitten* what you are doing and a possible solution/ suggestion.

It would help if you opened your diary so people can get a better understanding of whats going on.

If it were me then id be looking at what you are eating and look to see if there were better alternatives that provided nutrition as well as satiety.

The only way you are going to lose is by being in a calorific deficit, if you cnat cut your food consumption, then your only other alternative is to burn more. Start with consumption. You need to get this sorted in the next week or you will be going round in circles.

ditsyblond17

I'm 5'7. 25 And 325 pounds. I will open my diary now. Please be nice, I'm very sensitive tonight

ditsyblond17

999tigger wrote: »

Tbh you dont ive enough information so it will be hard for people to *kitten* what you are doing and a possible solution/ suggestion.

It would help if you opened your diary so people can get a better understanding of whats going on.

If it were me then id be looking at what you are eating and look to see if there were better alternatives that provided nutrition as well as satiety.

The only way you are going to lose is by being in a calorific deficit, if you cnat cut your food consumption, then your only other alternative is to burn more. Start with consumption. You need to get this sorted in the next week or you will be going round in circles.

Precisely why I'm beating myself up for it. Something isn't right here. I'm trying to get to the root of it. Maybe eating below BMR is bad news???

Original_Beauty

Why are you eating so little? You need to eat more!!! You do not need to be hungry to lose weight.

ditsyblond17

BMR = 2,244. TDEE is 2,692

So 2 pounds a week would mean I should eat 1,700 a day maybe it's just all in my mind. I am at a loss. Seriously feel like crying again. I've never been so sad.

debubbie

I eat about 1600-2000 a day depending on if it is a rest day or exercise day for me. MFP dropped me down to about 1650 a few months ago to keep me at a two pound a week weight loss and I could not do it. I had headaches, lack of energy, and felt like I was starved all the time. Even though I was, and still am obese, I had to adjust my calories to 1800 until I could figure out the foods that helped to keep me full. In about 9-10 weeks, I have lost about 15 pounds and learned what foods are the best for me. I have been slowly lowering my calories to increase my weight loss.

I agree with other posters that encouraged you to eat more veggies (low calorie but help to fill you up), protein and fat to keep you feeling fuller longer. Drinking a lot of water helps me to feel full too. Especially if I drink a glass before a meal, during, and after. You may want to see of you are drinking some of your calories that you could be using for food. I have basically given up juices, Gatorades, pop, and milk because I would rather have solid foods for my calories.

Maybe you can start at a higher calorie goal for now until you find foods that help you feel fuller longer. Another option may be to eat lower calorie for breakfast and lunch and save more calories for dinner. I try to eat about 900 calories between my breakfast and lunch and eat about 800-900 for dinner.

Hope this helps.

ditsyblond17

Original_Beauty wrote: »

Why are you eating so little? You need to eat more!!! You do not need to be hungry to lose weight.

What's sad is 1,700 appears to be right for 2 pounds a day! So weird. I know a 170 pound woman eating more than me!!! Why is this backwards???

desirail

I'm 263 and MFP sets my calories at 2180 to lose 1 pound a week. If I set it for 2 pounds a week I go down to 1680. I would think you're not eating enough through the day which is why you're binging at night. I would suggest upping your fiber even more. I got around 59 g today. Easy to do when you eat chicken chili for lunch.

Forty6and2

My first suggestion is to change your weight loss goal to 1 pound per week and add in exercise. If you burn calories, you can eat more since you're already at a deficit.

Also, in the long run, having exact counts on your calories is going to help you out a lot. I would suggest getting a food scale so you can measure your food and not quick adding your calories.

Take it slow. Cut it down little by little until your body adjusts to eating less. I first started by cutting out 200 calories per week until I was down into a good range. You might do something similar until you get to your calorie goal for losing one pound per week

sarahann104

I have only looked at one day. If I have learnt one thing in my last couple of weeks here its that a food scale is your friend. Get a food scale and weigh everything. Estimating a cup here and a cup there is not accurate and you are probably eating way more than you think in calories.
My protein powder for example. I wasn't weighing it at the start and the 2 scoops was about 50g not the 40g it says is a serve.

gmallan

ditsyblond17 wrote: »

I'm eating a pretty well balanced macro diet. Today, my protein was 111g. Carbs was high only after my binge. That's mostly what I crave in evening. So glad to see Maybe I should up them. Its funny, I knew my BMR was closer to 2,200 BUT MFP said 1,700 to lose 2lb a week. And just to eat back exercise calories. Maybel I will bump up to BMR and see What happens. you guys have No idea how much I appreciate the insight. I just cried for about 15 minutes to my boyfriend about how I'm going to give up. His suggestion, bump up calories You guys rock.

You shouldn't be eating under your BMR even for weight loss. You BMR is the amount of calories your body would burn in a day if you did absolutely nothing (basically the calories needed to keep your vital functions like brain activity, breathing and pumping blood).

You've said your current weight but I don't think you've mentioned your height, age and activity level.

I see you've opened your diary now. I think you could definitely add more veggies in. Try to have 20-30g of protein, some veggies and some healthy fats with every meal and see if you feel fuller. Just as an example, I like to snack on veggies instead of fruit because you can have 4 medium carrots for the same amount of calories as a small banana.

I agree that you should drop your target to lose 1lb/week. Better to aim for a moderate weight loss and avoid the binging than to go for a higher loss and negate your deficit because you're starving and it causes you to over-eat. You do have a lot to lose and could get away with a larger deficit to begin with - but it doesn't seem to be working for you. Changing your deficit to 1lb/week will give you a higher target - you don't have to hit it every day if your not hungry but the option will be there if you are (so mentally you won't feel like you've blown the diet and want to give up). Little tweaks like this will help you with long-term loss

Cadori

Forty6and2 wrote: »

My first suggestion is to change your weight loss goal to 1 pound per week and add in exercise. If you burn calories, you can eat more since you're already at a deficit.

Also, in the long run, having exact counts on your calories is going to help you out a lot. I would suggest getting a food scale so you can measure your food and not quick adding your calories.

Take it slow. Cut it down little by little until your body adjusts to eating less. I first started by cutting out 200 calories per week until I was down into a good range. You might do something similar until you get to your calorie goal for losing one pound per week

Exactly what I was thinking. Listen to her...she's very smart.