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

124

Replies

  • ditsyblond17
    ditsyblond17 Posts: 155 Member
    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?

    It sounds to me like you're in a binge eating cycle. You wait too long to eat. Everyone is different and intermittent fasting/ skipping meals works for some people... but its clearly not working for you. I believe you when you say you have no appetite for breakfast- because youre training your brain to get high on waiting for a big caloric payoff at the end of the day. Pretty classic ED symptoms. Eat protein, fats and carbs sometime earlier in the day. Then some more. Then at dinner time... you wont feel ravenous. You wont binge, regret, guilt, shame cycle... but the new habits may cause feelings of depression... you're not getting the intense reward anymore. See a therapist or counselor if that happens! Good luck

    That's what I think as well. It took time for me to change my eating habits to once per day (at night time) I'm sure my body is trained for that caloric pay off at the end of the day. I must retrain it. But Like a few people have said, I seriously think 1,700 is too little for someone my size. Even at sedentary, It still means I have no room to go any lower. I would much prefer to eat 2,200 and lose weight than 1,700 and struggle. I think I may just bump up for about a week and see if that does anything. Eating roughly 500 each meal until dinner where I'll eat more until I can gradually keep it at about 500-700 calories. I think Its all in my mind as far as bingeing goes. Out of habit. But the actual physical part is due to restrictive caloric intake. Far too low for my large size.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    I know this thread is already past this, but I just wanted to offer my support.

    It's better to lose slower and have a calorie goal you can stick to, than to lose faster while being miserable and binge eating because your goal is too low.

    Slow and stead wins the race. You CAN eat 1700 calories and lose two pounds a week. Does that mean you SHOULD? The answer is "whatever will help you stick with it in the long run". Some people will stick to it longer if they see quicker results. Some people will stick to it longer if they can eat a little more and feel more satisfied. It's ok to lose slower, it really is.
  • ditsyblond17
    ditsyblond17 Posts: 155 Member
    I know this thread is already past this, but I just wanted to offer my support.

    It's better to lose slower and have a calorie goal you can stick to, than to lose faster while being miserable and binge eating because your goal is too low.

    Slow and stead wins the race. You CAN eat 1700 calories and lose two pounds a week. Does that mean you SHOULD? The answer is "whatever will help you stick with it in the long run". Some people will stick to it longer if they see quicker results. Some people will stick to it longer if they can eat a little more and feel more satisfied. It's ok to lose slower, it really is.

    Thank you for that advice!! I definitely agree. I should be able to lose more, but Maybe I'm just not one of those people that lose 10 pounds the first week. I'm okay with that. I've bumped up my calories to 2,200 to see if anything changes. I already feel less stressed about hitting that goal which means I feel less OBSESSED too. Which for people that tend to binge, is a great thing.
  • RossinMaine
    RossinMaine Posts: 3 Member
    I won't spend a lot of time, I just wanted to say to Ditsyblond that I've had the same exact problem and I've researched it (I'm a scientist) and discovered some new health studies that show that artificial sweeteners can cause the same insulin surge as sugar. In other words, if you drink a 16oz+ of diet soda for dinner, your body reacts by producing insulin, which lowers your blood sugar dramatically (because you did not drink sugared soda) and therefore your body goes into a low-blood sugar state which causes you to intensely crave carbs and feel ravenously hungry. This subject has been covered by Purdue University and the John Tesh radio show. I cut out diet soda, added more protein and fixed my problem, and so can you. Good luck. Here's some info and links:

    Diet soda is making us fat. That’s the news from Purdue University neuroscientist Dr. Susan Swithers, who says that artificial sweeteners make it tough for our brains to regulate our calorie intake. It’s a complicated process, but it works something like this: When you taste something sweet – even a sugar-free sweetener – your body preps for a surge of incoming calories. Your insulin levels rise, your body begins to release hormones that trigger fullness, and your brain gets a rewarding blast of feel-good dopamine. But when you don’t get the expected calories, your system stays flooded with chemicals that it now needs to get rid of.

    Eventually, if you consume a lot of artificial sweeteners, your body starts to treat your taste buds like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. And it stops paying attention when you taste something sweet. Which means, when you take in real sugar, your body can’t properly metabolize the calories. Because it doesn’t bother to produce enough insulin or hormones to do the job. More importantly, your brain no longer gets a full-strength dopamine jolt from eating something pleasurable.

    So, you don’t feel satisfied, and keep on eating, which can really pack on the pounds. To make matters worse, artificial sweeteners cause something psychologists call cognitive distortion. Simply put, we fool ourselves into believing that the calories we save by ordering a diet drink make it okay to supersize everything else. Which, again, leads to overeating.

    Bottom line? Soft drinks - both regular and diet - are NOT good for you. So, skip the soda pop, and stick to Dr. Swisher’s “go to” beverage: Plain old water.
  • All1971
    All1971 Posts: 89 Member
    Think about whether or not you have any behavioral triggers for binge eating. for me the worst spot in the entire house is at night at the kitchen island with the TV on - if i'm there something bad is going to happen.

    Also, do you have a plan for what the do when you are feeling like binging so you don't do too much damage. For me its having baby carrots, sliced cucumbers and celery readily available at all times and then adding either low fat greek yogurt veggie dip or some tuna fish. Its not as good as sticking to your normal eating plan, but its a good way to avoid a calorie explosion.
  • zoezoekende
    zoezoekende Posts: 27 Member
    Have you calculated your BMR and TDEE? Never go under your BMR< thats just the minimum to breathe and sleep, Go 15% under the TDEE and try to eat protein rich food in the morning, Eat 6 meals daily incl nuts , fruits, dried fruits, no sugar added. Oats full fat yoghurts and you will succeed.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I'm 5'7. 25 And 325 pounds. I will open my diary now. Please be nice, I'm very sensitive tonight :(

    If you are a light office worker (Sedentary by MyFitnessPal, Lightly Active by CalorieKing), you need to eat 1900 calories to lose 2 lbs/week, 2100 calories to lose 1 lb/week. Can you try staying in that range, instead of 1,700 calories? You'll lose weight a little slower, but you'll be more comfortable.

    As for hunger, I find that exercise (specifically cardio) helps me with hunger. I am less interested in food right after a run and I get more calories through exercise for later in the day.
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    edited March 2015
    I'm glad you're eating more. Slow and steady wins the race! My first week here, I ate a whopping 3,000 kcal, which sounds crazy except it was already a small improvement over what I usually ate! Today you may not be ready for 1700 kcal. Next month you may be! Or perhaps you'll start walking 30 min/day, allowing yourself to continue eating more while losing. :)
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Keep in mind, too, that you can always change your intake as you go. Maybe right now, losing one pound is a better goal for you. Try that intake for a month and see how you feel. I'd bet money that your appetite will adjust as you get used to the lower intake, and you'll have time to break the habit of eating a lot after dinner. After 4-6 weeks, reassess how you feel. Maybe start adding in some exercise so you have more calories to play with, or if you've adjusted just fine, think about increasing your rate of loss to 1.5 pounds per week. (Or both, if that appeals to you).

    Weight loss isn't about how fast you go at the beginning. In fact, lots of people try to go balls-out from Day 1 and end up burning out and giving up. Weight loss is about how long you can keep going. It's okay to start out slower if it means you can sustain your changes in the long run.
  • ditsyblond17
    ditsyblond17 Posts: 155 Member
    I won't spend a lot of time, I just wanted to say to Ditsyblond that I've had the same exact problem and I've researched it (I'm a scientist) and discovered some new health studies that show that artificial sweeteners can cause the same insulin surge as sugar. In other words, if you drink a 16oz+ of diet soda for dinner, your body reacts by producing insulin, which lowers your blood sugar dramatically (because you did not drink sugared soda) and therefore your body goes into a low-blood sugar state which causes you to intensely crave carbs and feel ravenously hungry. This subject has been covered by Purdue University and the John Tesh radio show. I cut out diet soda, added more protein and fixed my problem, and so can you. Good luck. Here's some info and links:

    Diet soda is making us fat. That’s the news from Purdue University neuroscientist Dr. Susan Swithers, who says that artificial sweeteners make it tough for our brains to regulate our calorie intake. It’s a complicated process, but it works something like this: When you taste something sweet – even a sugar-free sweetener – your body preps for a surge of incoming calories. Your insulin levels rise, your body begins to release hormones that trigger fullness, and your brain gets a rewarding blast of feel-good dopamine. But when you don’t get the expected calories, your system stays flooded with chemicals that it now needs to get rid of.

    Eventually, if you consume a lot of artificial sweeteners, your body starts to treat your taste buds like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. And it stops paying attention when you taste something sweet. Which means, when you take in real sugar, your body can’t properly metabolize the calories. Because it doesn’t bother to produce enough insulin or hormones to do the job. More importantly, your brain no longer gets a full-strength dopamine jolt from eating something pleasurable.

    So, you don’t feel satisfied, and keep on eating, which can really pack on the pounds. To make matters worse, artificial sweeteners cause something psychologists call cognitive distortion. Simply put, we fool ourselves into believing that the calories we save by ordering a diet drink make it okay to supersize everything else. Which, again, leads to overeating.

    Bottom line? Soft drinks - both regular and diet - are NOT good for you. So, skip the soda pop, and stick to Dr. Swisher’s “go to” beverage: Plain old water.

    Very interesting concept. Makes complete sense. Thank you for sharing. I will DEFINITELY be getting rid of the Crystal light int he house now. thanks!
  • ditsyblond17
    ditsyblond17 Posts: 155 Member
    AliceDark wrote: »
    Keep in mind, too, that you can always change your intake as you go. Maybe right now, losing one pound is a better goal for you. Try that intake for a month and see how you feel. I'd bet money that your appetite will adjust as you get used to the lower intake, and you'll have time to break the habit of eating a lot after dinner. After 4-6 weeks, reassess how you feel. Maybe start adding in some exercise so you have more calories to play with, or if you've adjusted just fine, think about increasing your rate of loss to 1.5 pounds per week. (Or both, if that appeals to you).

    Weight loss isn't about how fast you go at the beginning. In fact, lots of people try to go balls-out from Day 1 and end up burning out and giving up. Weight loss is about how long you can keep going. It's okay to start out slower if it means you can sustain your changes in the long run.

    Thank you :) I so hope you're right. I stuck to 2,200 today abd didn't feel deprived or hungry at all. Maybe I should do it in slow increments. I appreciate all of the insight. Slow and steady wins the race.
  • chris2365
    chris2365 Posts: 76 Member
    It's been mentioned before in this thread, but pre-planning my snacks/meals is really a game-changer for me. I budget my calories based on when I want to eat. For me, it's breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack (3 pm is a killer for boredom eating), dinner, and dessert.

    Once I allocated my calories amongst those, I sat down and figured 3-5 'go to' meals/snacks. Things that are delicious, fit in my budget, and have a good amount of protein/fiber. So I've got choices without a whole lot of thinking necessary. Now time to check out the freezer/fridge and figure out what's for dinner tomorrow.

    Now the fun part - figure out what I'm going to have, plug it into MFP and juggle things around until I'm where I need to be.

    This worked for me like a charm several years ago when I lost a LOT of weight. I then had a few years where everything went to heck (husband died, raising my kids as a solo mom, dealt with other crises at home, blah, blah). I'm back trying for good self care and I will lose the weight. We can do this!
  • ditsyblond17
    ditsyblond17 Posts: 155 Member
    chris2365 wrote: »
    It's been mentioned before in this thread, but pre-planning my snacks/meals is really a game-changer for me. I budget my calories based on when I want to eat. For me, it's breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack (3 pm is a killer for boredom eating), dinner, and dessert.

    Once I allocated my calories amongst those, I sat down and figured 3-5 'go to' meals/snacks. Things that are delicious, fit in my budget, and have a good amount of protein/fiber. So I've got choices without a whole lot of thinking necessary. Now time to check out the freezer/fridge and figure out what's for dinner tomorrow.

    Now the fun part - figure out what I'm going to have, plug it into MFP and juggle things around until I'm where I need to be.

    This worked for me like a charm several years ago when I lost a LOT of weight. I then had a few years where everything went to heck (husband died, raising my kids as a solo mom, dealt with other crises at home, blah, blah). I'm back trying for good self care and I will lose the weight. We can do this!

    I am so sorry for your loss Chris. I couldn't imagine going through that. Life just knows how to make us fight even harder, huh? Great advice, thank you. Its nice to pre-plan things. Doing my next days diary ahead of time is helping. I just thought I would let everyone know, despite my "binges" , I still lost 5.2 pounds in a week. Extremely pumped. Now, if I could get my overeating down pat, I'm sure I would lose 2 a week. good luck to everyone! Thank you all for the advice.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I'm 5'7. 25 And 325 pounds. I will open my diary now. Please be nice, I'm very sensitive tonight :(

    If you are a light office worker (Sedentary by MyFitnessPal, Lightly Active by CalorieKing), you need to eat 1900 calories to lose 2 lbs/week, 2100 calories to lose 1 lb/week...
    Math error or typo in that -- 2400 to lose 1 lb/week, I'm thinking.

  • GoalWeight165by2018
    GoalWeight165by2018 Posts: 48 Member
    Decrease your weight loss to 1 lb per week. Much easier and then you can be pleasantly surprised when you lose 2 lbs. Add a little exercise and eat those calories. Just be careful that you aren't over estimating the burn! Most people eat back half of what they burnef because estimates can be high. Good luck and you can do this!
  • karenrich77
    karenrich77 Posts: 292 Member
    I'm 284 pounds and on 1430 a day :)
  • jwells62
    jwells62 Posts: 6 Member
    The thing about counting calories is, to me, you have to budget. Don't run out of the ability to eat before your body is done for the day. Once you do run out of calories, you have two choices: 1) Drink a bunch of water, suck it up, and go to bed. 2) Exercise so you can eat some more. It's a process to train your body and it's important to have a couple small snacks during the day. This means, however, the big 3 meals need to be a bit smaller to account for the snackage. Something that helped me was removing food from my home. I keep about 2-3 days of fresh food on hand and when it's out I go to the store again. I save money by not throwing away rotted foods and have nothing to binge on. Snack foods in the house are carrots and hummus. Work to get past your mental block. Your body will fall in line with your goals.
  • Brenda703
    Brenda703 Posts: 9 Member
    Oh, you will be hungry. There is not an easy way out of that. But if you want to drop a lot of weight, eat once per day. Pick a time (any time), fill up one plate with anything you prefer (but don't do junk food or you will feel rotten), and give yourself one calorie beverage. You will be averaging 1,300 calories if you fill the plate.

    After the meal, allow yourself only calorie-free beverages, but have as many and whatever kinds you want (water, coffee, tea, diet sodas, etc). Give yourself one splurge day once every week-and-a-half to two weeks. You will drop the weight sure enough, but this will take some adjustment, mind you. There is no way around that. This is OMAD (one-meal-a-day) in a nutshell.

    Don't worry about exercise for now. Sedentary is okay and it seems to be the biggest mistake people make by working out while significantly obese. For more info, hit up the OMAD forums here or PM me. I dropped 173 lbs in just over ten months on what I just laid out for you.

    This is beyond stupid.

  • Brenda703
    Brenda703 Posts: 9 Member
    This is NOT stupid. It works for a lot of people. If it doesn't work for you, then don't do it, but don't say that it's stupid!
  • itstimeRK
    itstimeRK Posts: 112 Member
    Brenda703 wrote: »
    This is NOT stupid. It works for a lot of people. If it doesn't work for you, then don't do it, but don't say that it's stupid!

    Crashing your metabolism everyday is exactly how my grandmother ended up with diabetes.
  • jigglyjessica
    jigglyjessica Posts: 58 Member
    Old thread but at 330 5'7 my calories set to 1,860
  • dolliesdaughter
    dolliesdaughter Posts: 544 Member
    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?
    You need to make a plan on what to do at 5p, so you won't binge.

  • ditsyblond17
    ditsyblond17 Posts: 155 Member
    Thanks everyone, just to update! I've since started Intermittent fasting. It's incredible how satiated I feel eating within a small time window. The thing is, when I ate breakfast (like I was supposed to do via what "they" say to do) I always felt hungry. So by 5pm, I've eaten most of my calories and the only thing I could eat was chicken and veggies. SO NOT SATISFYING! So, now I go all day without eating (resting my stomach energy AND increasing metabolism) and eat all my 2,000-2,200 calories in one sitting. It's been shown to HELP increase metabolism and insulin resistance. Also, it's been a life saver for me to not binge anymore because NOTHING is off limits. Thanks again for all the support guys.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    Uhh....that's not really the best long term plan. (Eat nothing all day and then binge on one 2000 calorie sitting.) You need to talk with a professional to help you develop a healthier relationship with food.
  • melodicraven
    melodicraven Posts: 83 Member
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    Uhh....that's not really the best long term plan. (Eat nothing all day and then binge on one 2000 calorie sitting.) You need to talk with a professional to help you develop a healthier relationship with food.

    All day long in here, people say CICO, CICO. If calories are the only thing that matter, and of course they are the basis of all weight loss no matter how a deficit is achieved, then it doesn't matter what time of day she's eating her calories. :p

    She says it's working for her, so why tell her to seek professional help? That's a little rude I feel.

    Ditsy, if it works for you and you're happy, stick with it. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Thanks everyone, just to update! I've since started Intermittent fasting. It's incredible how satiated I feel eating within a small time window. The thing is, when I ate breakfast (like I was supposed to do via what "they" say to do) I always felt hungry. So by 5pm, I've eaten most of my calories and the only thing I could eat was chicken and veggies. SO NOT SATISFYING! So, now I go all day without eating (resting my stomach energy AND increasing metabolism) and eat all my 2,000-2,200 calories in one sitting. It's been shown to HELP increase metabolism and insulin resistance. Also, it's been a life saver for me to not binge anymore because NOTHING is off limits. Thanks again for all the support guys.

    Congratulations on finding a dietary plan that works for you.

    However, no diet increases metabolism or has any magic properties. It's all about calories in/calories out, and it sounds like you are simply choosing to eat all your calories in one sitting. It works for some, not others. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited September 2015
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    Uhh....that's not really the best long term plan. (Eat nothing all day and then binge on one 2000 calorie sitting.) You need to talk with a professional to help you develop a healthier relationship with food.

    Intermittent fasting is not bingeing, it's a way of life for many people. I think your comment about speaking to a professional is not appropriate.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    The key isn't to starve. So I'd shoot for 2100 calories and just lose a little slower. Suffering through 1700 calories a day then binging at night isn't how you're going to maintain your weight once you get there.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Bshmerlie wrote: »
    Uhh....that's not really the best long term plan. (Eat nothing all day and then binge on one 2000 calorie sitting.) You need to talk with a professional to help you develop a healthier relationship with food.

    There's not a thing wrong with IF or one meal a day.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    Perhaps before you guys judge my response so harshly perhaps you should look back at the history of this OP. My comment was not meant to be rude but actually as a course of action that the OP should consider to help her deal with her over eating issue. Overeating is often just a manifestation of other issues in a person's life. The OP Is 25 years old and 320 pounds. She's had serious issues of binge eating in the past. Now her solution is to starve herself all day so that she can sit and pound 2000 calories in one sitting. And you guys really think this is solving her problem long term? We've all had a disfunctional relationship with food at some point or we wouldn't be on this forum. Honestly I just don't think she's addressing the real problem and talking with someone about it would probably really help her out. Sorry to offend but believe it or not it wasn't meant in a rude way. I was just trying to get to her avoid the cycle of crazy Yoyo diets that many of us went through in our younger years.
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