still hungry after 1500 calorie breakfast, what am i doing wrong?

135

Replies

  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    edited January 2016
    Hey, I'm glad you came back. I hope you take my advice, especially since we have similar stats.

    This is happening to you because you aren't eating enough. If you're running five miles almost every day, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories because that means you're only netting around 900 or less after that run. Your body is screaming at you for food. When you deny it that fuel, you get sick, cold, tired, your hair can start falling out, your period is delayed, etc. Based on the full picture you provided above, you keep going in these cycles where you see immense progress due to overrestricting, then you lose some of that progress with out of control eating.

    You don't need to go down to 800 to 1000 calories, you don't need Slimfast; you need sustainable eating habits. I started here at the end of June at 139 pounds and I was 120 by September. I would run 3+ miles several days a week, walk 5 miles almost every day, and I was doing resistance training, pilates, and cardio at home as well. During this time I would only eat 1200 to 1400 calories. "I'm fine. I'm full. I have energy. I can afford two pounds per week easily." The weight dropped off. Some weeks I even lost 3 pounds. My Fitbit always said I could eat more but it had to be wrong. More calories really? No, that will make me gain weight.

    One day I woke up and couldn't get out of bed. I tried, but my body said no. I spent the entire day eating food and sleeping which I was angry at myself for. Then I came to these forums and I read. I read a lot and kept seeing that at 120 I should only be aiming for half a pound per week and my goal was too aggressive. So I trusted that and I trusted my Fitbit and I started to eat more. I kept losing weight and yes it was at a somewhat slower rate, but my skin got clearer, my hair stopped shedding and, most importantly, I felt better physically. At our size, losing weight at a rate of half a pound per week means a sustainable deficit and fat loss with the biggest preservation of muscle mass.

    In October I was 118. From Thanksgiving until Christmas I took a much needed maintenance break. Now I'm 114 and I'm still losing weight on 1600 to 2100 calories per day depending on my level of activity. 1600 is on a rare sedentary weekend day where I workout but don't get in many steps. I exercise five to six days per week and I'm a teacher so I walk at least 10000 steps per day by the time I get home from work. You said you're sedentary aside from the running, so why don't you try eating closer to 1600/1700 on your running days and 1300/1400 on the days you don't. Give it a month because a few weeks isn't enough time for your body to adjust and temporary water weight gain could freak you out. Your hunger issues will level out; I promise. If you lose more than half a pound per week, you can afford to eat even more. Do not exceed a pound per week as much as you want to. I promise you it will become a detriment to you and you will go through the same cycle again. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me/add me. Please take care of yourself.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    Hey, I'm glad you came back. I hope you take my advice, especially since we have similar stats.

    This is happening to you because you aren't eating enough. If you're running five miles almost everyday, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories because that means you're only netting around 900 or less after that run. Your body is screaming at you for food. When you deny it that fuel, you get sick, cold, tired, your hair can start falling out, your period is delayed, etc. Based on the full picture you provided above, you keep going in these cycles where you see immense progress due to overrestricting, then you lose some of that progress with out of control eating.

    You don't need to go down to 800 to 1000 calories, you don't need Slimfast; you need sustainable eating habits. I started here at the end of June at 139 pounds and I was 120 by September. I would run 3+ miles several days a week, walk 5 miles almost every day, and I was doing resistance training, pilates, and cardio at home as well. During this time I would only eat 1200 to 1400 calories. "I'm fine. I'm full. I have energy. I can afford two pounds per week easily." The weight dropped off. Some weeks I even lost 3 pounds. My Fitbit always said I could eat more but it had to be wrong. More calories really? No, that will make me gain weight.

    One day I woke up and couldn't get out of bed. I tried, but my body said no. I spent the entire day eating food and sleeping which I was angry at myself for. Then I came to these forums and I read. I read a lot and kept seeing that at 120 I should only be aiming for half a pound per week and my goal was too aggressive. So I trusted that and I trusted my Fitbit and I started to eat more. I kept losing weight and yes it was at a somewhat slower rate, but my skin got clearer, my hair stopped shedding and, most importantly, I felt better physically. At our size, losing weight at a rate of half a pound per week means a sustainable deficit and fat loss with the biggest preservation of muscle mass.

    Now I'm 114 and I'm still losing weight on 1600 to 2100 calories per day depending on my level of activity. 1600 is on a rare sedentary weekend day where I workout but don't get in many steps. I exercise five to six days per week and I'm a teacher so I walk at least 10000 steps per day by the time I get home from work. You said you're sedentary aside from the running, so why don't you try eating closer to 1600/1700 on your running days and 1300/1400 on the days you don't. Give it a month because a few weeks isn't enough time for your body to adjust and temporary water weight gain could freak you out. Your hunger issues will level out; I promise. If you lose more than half a pound per week, you can afford to eat even more. Do not exceed a pound per week as much as you want to. I promise you it will become a detriment to you and you will go through the same cycle again. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me/add me. Please take care of yourself.

    Excellent post
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    Hey, I'm glad you came back. I hope you take my advice, especially since we have similar stats.

    This is happening to you because you aren't eating enough. If you're running five miles almost every day, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories because that means you're only netting around 900 or less after that run. Your body is screaming at you for food. When you deny it that fuel, you get sick, cold, tired, your hair can start falling out, your period is delayed, etc. Based on the full picture you provided above, you keep going in these cycles where you see immense progress due to overrestricting, then you lose some of that progress with out of control eating.

    You don't need to go down to 800 to 1000 calories, you don't need Slimfast; you need sustainable eating habits. I started here at the end of June at 139 pounds and I was 120 by September. I would run 3+ miles several days a week, walk 5 miles almost every day, and I was doing resistance training, pilates, and cardio at home as well. During this time I would only eat 1200 to 1400 calories. "I'm fine. I'm full. I have energy. I can afford two pounds per week easily." The weight dropped off. Some weeks I even lost 3 pounds. My Fitbit always said I could eat more but it had to be wrong. More calories really? No, that will make me gain weight.

    One day I woke up and couldn't get out of bed. I tried, but my body said no. I spent the entire day eating food and sleeping which I was angry at myself for. Then I came to these forums and I read. I read a lot and kept seeing that at 120 I should only be aiming for half a pound per week and my goal was too aggressive. So I trusted that and I trusted my Fitbit and I started to eat more. I kept losing weight and yes it was at a somewhat slower rate, but my skin got clearer, my hair stopped shedding and, most importantly, I felt better physically. At our size, losing weight at a rate of half a pound per week means a sustainable deficit and fat loss with the biggest preservation of muscle mass.

    In October I was 118. From Thanksgiving until Christmas I took a much needed maintenance break. Now I'm 114 and I'm still losing weight on 1600 to 2100 calories per day depending on my level of activity. 1600 is on a rare sedentary weekend day where I workout but don't get in many steps. I exercise five to six days per week and I'm a teacher so I walk at least 10000 steps per day by the time I get home from work. You said you're sedentary aside from the running, so why don't you try eating closer to 1600/1700 on your running days and 1300/1400 on the days you don't. Give it a month because a few weeks isn't enough time for your body to adjust and temporary water weight gain could freak you out. Your hunger issues will level out; I promise. If you lose more than half a pound per week, you can afford to eat even more. Do not exceed a pound per week as much as you want to. I promise you it will become a detriment to you and you will go through the same cycle again. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me/add me. Please take care of yourself.

    OP b please listen to @synacious . She's given you great advice.
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
    I think I may have had a 1500 calorie breakfast once or twice during my MFP journey, and my calories at the end of the day were still kinda ok. (A little bit over 2000 for a semi active day.) I'd say it's ok to eat a high cal breakfast.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    Hey, I'm glad you came back. I hope you take my advice, especially since we have similar stats.

    This is happening to you because you aren't eating enough. If you're running five miles almost every day, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories because that means you're only netting around 900 or less after that run. Your body is screaming at you for food. When you deny it that fuel, you get sick, cold, tired, your hair can start falling out, your period is delayed, etc. Based on the full picture you provided above, you keep going in these cycles where you see immense progress due to overrestricting, then you lose some of that progress with out of control eating.

    You don't need to go down to 800 to 1000 calories, you don't need Slimfast; you need sustainable eating habits. I started here at the end of June at 139 pounds and I was 120 by September. I would run 3+ miles several days a week, walk 5 miles almost every day, and I was doing resistance training, pilates, and cardio at home as well. During this time I would only eat 1200 to 1400 calories. "I'm fine. I'm full. I have energy. I can afford two pounds per week easily." The weight dropped off. Some weeks I even lost 3 pounds. My Fitbit always said I could eat more but it had to be wrong. More calories really? No, that will make me gain weight.

    One day I woke up and couldn't get out of bed. I tried, but my body said no. I spent the entire day eating food and sleeping which I was angry at myself for. Then I came to these forums and I read. I read a lot and kept seeing that at 120 I should only be aiming for half a pound per week and my goal was too aggressive. So I trusted that and I trusted my Fitbit and I started to eat more. I kept losing weight and yes it was at a somewhat slower rate, but my skin got clearer, my hair stopped shedding and, most importantly, I felt better physically. At our size, losing weight at a rate of half a pound per week means a sustainable deficit and fat loss with the biggest preservation of muscle mass.

    In October I was 118. From Thanksgiving until Christmas I took a much needed maintenance break. Now I'm 114 and I'm still losing weight on 1600 to 2100 calories per day depending on my level of activity. 1600 is on a rare sedentary weekend day where I workout but don't get in many steps. I exercise five to six days per week and I'm a teacher so I walk at least 10000 steps per day by the time I get home from work. You said you're sedentary aside from the running, so why don't you try eating closer to 1600/1700 on your running days and 1300/1400 on the days you don't. Give it a month because a few weeks isn't enough time for your body to adjust and temporary water weight gain could freak you out. Your hunger issues will level out; I promise. If you lose more than half a pound per week, you can afford to eat even more. Do not exceed a pound per week as much as you want to. I promise you it will become a detriment to you and you will go through the same cycle again. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me/add me. Please take care of yourself.

    OP, please listen to these wise words. It's wonderful advice.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    Hey, I'm glad you came back. I hope you take my advice, especially since we have similar stats.

    This is happening to you because you aren't eating enough. If you're running five miles almost every day, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories because that means you're only netting around 900 or less after that run. Your body is screaming at you for food. When you deny it that fuel, you get sick, cold, tired, your hair can start falling out, your period is delayed, etc. Based on the full picture you provided above, you keep going in these cycles where you see immense progress due to overrestricting, then you lose some of that progress with out of control eating.

    You don't need to go down to 800 to 1000 calories, you don't need Slimfast; you need sustainable eating habits. I started here at the end of June at 139 pounds and I was 120 by September. I would run 3+ miles several days a week, walk 5 miles almost every day, and I was doing resistance training, pilates, and cardio at home as well. During this time I would only eat 1200 to 1400 calories. "I'm fine. I'm full. I have energy. I can afford two pounds per week easily." The weight dropped off. Some weeks I even lost 3 pounds. My Fitbit always said I could eat more but it had to be wrong. More calories really? No, that will make me gain weight.

    One day I woke up and couldn't get out of bed. I tried, but my body said no. I spent the entire day eating food and sleeping which I was angry at myself for. Then I came to these forums and I read. I read a lot and kept seeing that at 120 I should only be aiming for half a pound per week and my goal was too aggressive. So I trusted that and I trusted my Fitbit and I started to eat more. I kept losing weight and yes it was at a somewhat slower rate, but my skin got clearer, my hair stopped shedding and, most importantly, I felt better physically. At our size, losing weight at a rate of half a pound per week means a sustainable deficit and fat loss with the biggest preservation of muscle mass.

    In October I was 118. From Thanksgiving until Christmas I took a much needed maintenance break. Now I'm 114 and I'm still losing weight on 1600 to 2100 calories per day depending on my level of activity. 1600 is on a rare sedentary weekend day where I workout but don't get in many steps. I exercise five to six days per week and I'm a teacher so I walk at least 10000 steps per day by the time I get home from work. You said you're sedentary aside from the running, so why don't you try eating closer to 1600/1700 on your running days and 1300/1400 on the days you don't. Give it a month because a few weeks isn't enough time for your body to adjust and temporary water weight gain could freak you out. Your hunger issues will level out; I promise. If you lose more than half a pound per week, you can afford to eat even more. Do not exceed a pound per week as much as you want to. I promise you it will become a detriment to you and you will go through the same cycle again. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me/add me. Please take care of yourself.

    +3 :)
  • BeckyDaniels16
    BeckyDaniels16 Posts: 15 Member
    Your "natural body system" is a liar.

    Of course you feel too sluggish to exercise...you ate a day-and-a-half worth of calories in a single sitting!

    I think that you need to get real with yourself and exercise some discipline.

    38829637f334e627c0ed5bb3fe020361.jpg

    A DAY AND A HALF'S WORTH?
    Not being funny but that's wildly inaccurate. Yes 1,400 calories is a lot for breakfast, but you're suggesting OP should eat 900 calories a day, which is just as bad!
    Think before you post aggressive things like this on people's questions please, you never know how it'll affect someone.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Two things i would lime to piint out. First i know you said 90 lbs is your natural weight but that is also about 10 lbs under weight. I would maybe suggest that you are more unhappy with you body composition which is why you believe you need to cut that low. And like many people when they first start out, you are only doing cardio. I would suggest that you start resistance/weight training. Everyone i know would suggest they saw much more changes in their body when they started it. That is mainly because resistance training is what helps maintains lean body mass (all things not fat), and that is what drives your look. That means you could start with body weight programs and then add weights. By doing this, when combines with adequate protein (for you that would be around 80g per day) and the slower weight loss, you will probably see much better results at a higher weight.
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    Larissa_NY wrote: »
    Well I don't need to feel full but I felt hungry and I hate that feeling. Is it supposed to be like that? I was trying to let my natural body system guide me to eat until j was full if I am eating healthy and I Feel like I am doing something wrong

    If you want to let your "natural body system" guide you, fine, but that means you have to let go of whatever emotional issues you have about feeling hungry. You ate 1400 calories for breakfast, with an enormous volume of food. Nobody physically needs to eat that much.

    Being hungry is not some terrible thing. It's just another bodily sensation, like having to use the bathroom. No one exactly lives for bathroom time, but nobody's on the toilet every fifteen minutes to make sure they never have to feel like their bladder's full, either. If they were, you would probably think that was pretty odd behavior, and yet here you are eating 1400 calories at a time so you don't have to feel like your stomach might not be full. Whatever it is that's making you do that, that right there is what you're doing wrong.

    I saw some videos on youtube about "intuitive eating" where your body will let you know when to stop eating, but I guess it doesn't always work the way it's supposed to.

    How do I know if it's real hunger or not? It really felt like I was hungry and I can't distinguish it from "fake" hunger.

    I don't know, to be quite honest. I've never had the kind of not-real hunger people on here talk about. A lot of other people have, though, so you should get some good advice.

    When I'm hungry, my stomach growls, I feel light-headed and tired, and my midsection feels sort of hollowed out. I also don't have a strong food preference, as opposed to when I'm just thinking "Man, I could go for some chips."

    I think intuitive eating is fine if you're able to put your emotions out of the way and go purely by the physical signals your body is sending you. The problem is that a lot of people aren't able to do that, either because their emotional issues are too entrenched or because they've been eating non-intuitively for so long that they've impaired their response to the hormones that are supposed to tell you when you're full. If eating intuitively leads you to binge-eat, you may just not be able to do it until you've regulated your intake for a while.
  • tara_means_star
    tara_means_star Posts: 957 Member
    edited January 2016
    synacious wrote: »
    Hey, I'm glad you came back. I hope you take my advice, especially since we have similar stats.

    This is happening to you because you aren't eating enough. If you're running five miles almost every day, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories because that means you're only netting around 900 or less after that run. Your body is screaming at you for food. When you deny it that fuel, you get sick, cold, tired, your hair can start falling out, your period is delayed, etc. Based on the full picture you provided above, you keep going in these cycles where you see immense progress due to overrestricting, then you lose some of that progress with out of control eating.

    You don't need to go down to 800 to 1000 calories, you don't need Slimfast; you need sustainable eating habits. I started here at the end of June at 139 pounds and I was 120 by September. I would run 3+ miles several days a week, walk 5 miles almost every day, and I was doing resistance training, pilates, and cardio at home as well. During this time I would only eat 1200 to 1400 calories. "I'm fine. I'm full. I have energy. I can afford two pounds per week easily." The weight dropped off. Some weeks I even lost 3 pounds. My Fitbit always said I could eat more but it had to be wrong. More calories really? No, that will make me gain weight.

    One day I woke up and couldn't get out of bed. I tried, but my body said no. I spent the entire day eating food and sleeping which I was angry at myself for. Then I came to these forums and I read. I read a lot and kept seeing that at 120 I should only be aiming for half a pound per week and my goal was too aggressive. So I trusted that and I trusted my Fitbit and I started to eat more. I kept losing weight and yes it was at a somewhat slower rate, but my skin got clearer, my hair stopped shedding and, most importantly, I felt better physically. At our size, losing weight at a rate of half a pound per week means a sustainable deficit and fat loss with the biggest preservation of muscle mass.

    In October I was 118. From Thanksgiving until Christmas I took a much needed maintenance break. Now I'm 114 and I'm still losing weight on 1600 to 2100 calories per day depending on my level of activity. 1600 is on a rare sedentary weekend day where I workout but don't get in many steps. I exercise five to six days per week and I'm a teacher so I walk at least 10000 steps per day by the time I get home from work. You said you're sedentary aside from the running, so why don't you try eating closer to 1600/1700 on your running days and 1300/1400 on the days you don't. Give it a month because a few weeks isn't enough time for your body to adjust and temporary water weight gain could freak you out. Your hunger issues will level out; I promise. If you lose more than half a pound per week, you can afford to eat even more. Do not exceed a pound per week as much as you want to. I promise you it will become a detriment to you and you will go through the same cycle again. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me/add me. Please take care of yourself.

    +1000. OP your slim fast plan is setting you up to continue your restrict-binge cycle. Continue this plan only if you want to continue yoyoing. The plan outlined above will set you up for the long term success you are looking for.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You're underfeeding yourself in general...thus you binge.
  • Clarewho
    Clarewho Posts: 494 Member
    @cwolfman13 pretty much sums it up. Stick to a proper sustainable diet with a decent amount of calories and take up weight training. The binge/fast cycle won't do any good.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    Hey, I'm glad you came back. I hope you take my advice, especially since we have similar stats.

    This is happening to you because you aren't eating enough. If you're running five miles almost every day, you shouldn't be eating 1200 calories because that means you're only netting around 900 or less after that run. Your body is screaming at you for food. When you deny it that fuel, you get sick, cold, tired, your hair can start falling out, your period is delayed, etc. Based on the full picture you provided above, you keep going in these cycles where you see immense progress due to overrestricting, then you lose some of that progress with out of control eating.

    You don't need to go down to 800 to 1000 calories, you don't need Slimfast; you need sustainable eating habits. I started here at the end of June at 139 pounds and I was 120 by September. I would run 3+ miles several days a week, walk 5 miles almost every day, and I was doing resistance training, pilates, and cardio at home as well. During this time I would only eat 1200 to 1400 calories. "I'm fine. I'm full. I have energy. I can afford two pounds per week easily." The weight dropped off. Some weeks I even lost 3 pounds. My Fitbit always said I could eat more but it had to be wrong. More calories really? No, that will make me gain weight.

    One day I woke up and couldn't get out of bed. I tried, but my body said no. I spent the entire day eating food and sleeping which I was angry at myself for. Then I came to these forums and I read. I read a lot and kept seeing that at 120 I should only be aiming for half a pound per week and my goal was too aggressive. So I trusted that and I trusted my Fitbit and I started to eat more. I kept losing weight and yes it was at a somewhat slower rate, but my skin got clearer, my hair stopped shedding and, most importantly, I felt better physically. At our size, losing weight at a rate of half a pound per week means a sustainable deficit and fat loss with the biggest preservation of muscle mass.

    In October I was 118. From Thanksgiving until Christmas I took a much needed maintenance break. Now I'm 114 and I'm still losing weight on 1600 to 2100 calories per day depending on my level of activity. 1600 is on a rare sedentary weekend day where I workout but don't get in many steps. I exercise five to six days per week and I'm a teacher so I walk at least 10000 steps per day by the time I get home from work. You said you're sedentary aside from the running, so why don't you try eating closer to 1600/1700 on your running days and 1300/1400 on the days you don't. Give it a month because a few weeks isn't enough time for your body to adjust and temporary water weight gain could freak you out. Your hunger issues will level out; I promise. If you lose more than half a pound per week, you can afford to eat even more. Do not exceed a pound per week as much as you want to. I promise you it will become a detriment to you and you will go through the same cycle again. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me/add me. Please take care of yourself.

    Wow, you knew something was hinky and got to the bottom of it. Very good job!
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    I was wondering, what is the lowest # of calories that I can eat/day that isn't unhealthy?

    If I do 1000 calories/day is it too little? Is 800 too little? For me 1200-1400 worked before but I wonder if I can eat less by cutting out more empty calories (on the 1200/day I would eat cookies, coke, etc. still and everything was fine)
    Assuming I am still getting all my nutrition through the foods I eat, is there a certain # of calories I must eat a day so I don't have issues like my period stopping, etc.

    At 110 you are at a pretty healthy weight for your height. You mentioned that you might have had an eating disorder because of so much restrictiveness and are having issues with missing your period. Maybe 90lbs or 100lbs just isn't really healthy for you and your body is trying to tell you this. Maybe at this point, you should consider talking with a counselor and your doctor? Especially seeing as you seem to still be trying to be restrictive and eat very low despite knowing that this has caused you issues before.

    Just going to this link out just in case anyone might need it.

    http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1575987-eating-disorder-resources
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    edited January 2016
    I remember having a similar discussion with my dietician once. She suggested I increase my fiber intake. Once I did that, that helped A LOT. I get Chocolite protein bars from www.healthsmartfoods.com. They have about 100 calories, about 10g protein and 10g fiber, sugar free, gluten free. I usually have a total of 1 or two a day as a snack.
  • Nicolery9
    Nicolery9 Posts: 37 Member
    Thanks for all the responses I will try to lose weight more slowly maybe around a pound a week or less.

    If my base metabolic rate is 1200 and I eat 1700 calories a day without excercising won't I gain weight?

    Why is slim fast so bad if I use it to help me keep my total calories to about 1200 a day? I was going to do slim fast for breakfast dinner and then eat a frozen meal or some other 400-500 calorie meal for lunch. What if I used slim fast with less running or no running?

    The only reason I run is for weight purposes I don't really run as purely an athletic goal or anything although I try to get better times sometimes but it's not a main goal. I don't run too fast maybe less than average like I did 6.5 miles in about 72 minutes which is difficult though. I'd say a 5/10 effort is like 5 miles in an hour. And 6 miles in 60 minutes is like 8.5/10 effort and I've only done that like 3 times and can't do it most of the times.

    Before when I was fine on 1200-1400 a day I was doing a similar structure myself just without the need for slim fast. I usually just ate a very small dinner. So my day would be like 200-300 calories before lunch, 400-700 calories for lunch, 200 calories in the afternoon. Sometimes I might have some oatmeal before lunch and I would adjust the meals so it would total about 1300 a day or so. Usually my breakfast was just nutritionally empty though like cake or something which helps me with my workout since I feel light headed if I don't eat carbs right before my workout. On weekends usually it was like a large brunch where I get like 80 % of my calories and then the rest in the afternoon. I don't know if that is normal but that always worked for me before. When I wasnt working before I did my workouts in the afternoon or evening and the split of calories was like 35/45/20. Basically I've been so used to not eating big dinners for over a year. It's like my food day ends around 1 pm and I was just used to it.
  • JoJean12
    JoJean12 Posts: 29 Member
    kiara1066 wrote: »
    You should see a doctor and ask about why you feel the need to eat all day. I eat about 1200-1500 for the whole day.

    I think it may be out of boredom. This is how I got so overweight. I would snack on junk all day. I would go into the kitchen to find something to eat out of something to do. I even felt hungry doing it but it was really emotional eating

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited January 2016
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    Larissa_NY wrote: »
    Well I don't need to feel full but I felt hungry and I hate that feeling. Is it supposed to be like that? I was trying to let my natural body system guide me to eat until j was full if I am eating healthy and I Feel like I am doing something wrong

    If you want to let your "natural body system" guide you, fine, but that means you have to let go of whatever emotional issues you have about feeling hungry. You ate 1400 calories for breakfast, with an enormous volume of food. Nobody physically needs to eat that much.

    Being hungry is not some terrible thing. It's just another bodily sensation, like having to use the bathroom. No one exactly lives for bathroom time, but nobody's on the toilet every fifteen minutes to make sure they never have to feel like their bladder's full, either. If they were, you would probably think that was pretty odd behavior, and yet here you are eating 1400 calories at a time so you don't have to feel like your stomach might not be full. Whatever it is that's making you do that, that right there is what you're doing wrong.

    I saw some videos on youtube about "intuitive eating" where your body will let you know when to stop eating, but I guess it doesn't always work the way it's supposed to.

    How do I know if it's real hunger or not? It really felt like I was hungry and I can't distinguish it from "fake" hunger.

    I feel like I am hungry when I first get up, but have a few cups of tea and don't feel real hunger for a few hours. This may not at all be applicable in your case - my weight loss goals are less aggressive than yours and I have a bedtime snack. But still, try having some liquid in the AM.

    Also, my appetite spikes up premenstrually and I eat my normal foods at maintenance level calories for a few days. If your appetite spikes premenstrually as well, ignoring that could have triggered the binge.

    A third thing to try is more fiber with breakfast, as someone mentioned up thread.
  • Nicolery9
    Nicolery9 Posts: 37 Member
    cebreisch wrote: »
    I remember having a similar discussion with my dietician once. She suggested I increase my fiber intake. Once I did that, that helped A LOT. I get Chocolite protein bars from www.healthsmartfoods.com. They have about 100 calories, about 10g protein and 10g fiber, sugar free, gluten free. I usually have a total of 1 or two a day as a snack.

    Well most of my life I was in the 90 range and everything was normal. Middle school high school etc. I might have even been at 88 and did not lose my period, also I looked normal and no one said I was "too skinny" or anything that's why I thought it was my natural weight. I don't have much muscle and the 20 pounds shows up a lot on a small frame. I rarely go to the doctor and didn't get sick much, I tend to have low blood pressure (I think 70/110) and get light headed rather than the other end.


    Now I'm almost 30 and over 5 years out of school and over the years had gained some weight due to not excercising eat out a lot etc and not really caring to do anything about it. I lost some weight since 2014 but then in October 2015 was too aggressive and thats probably why I started having the issues.

    I want to get to a more natural weight in a healthy way but I feel a bit upset about the weight gain recently and in my mind I am having some mental battle and I keep thinking I should have controlled myself to not let that binges happen and eat so much. At work I have been wearing kind sleeves and trying to hide my weight gain because I didn't want people to think or see I was getting "fat". There isn't difference in my face like on the corner of my cheeks it's a little puffy and when I gained the weight so fast I could feel a difference in my face and some tightness in my legs since I gained most of the 5 pounds in a week with the massive binges. I've been feeling kind of upset about it and I've been a little withdrawn lately at work and not talking to people because I feel fat and I know I won't feel normal again until I drop back down. The other day we went out to eat and I tried to get a group photo but I couldn't get myself to smile because I just didn't feel confident. I thought I put in a lot of effort for those 5 pounds and then I gained it all in a week. And there is a fear that I'll put in a lot of effort and it won't stay. So yeah a lot of battle in my mind I guess part of this is a mental thing for me.

    Today I started slim fast I drank a shake at 9 am and right now I feel good and not hungry. I think they are decently filling. I'm going to try to workout today. Since I don't have any outside events planned my day isn't really structured and it's hard to get myself to go workout at a specific time I usually aim for after a meal with carbs, for a 200 calorie breakfast probably within an hour or I don't have enough carbs to have the energy to workout. I am tempted to restrict my calories today if I don't feel hungry to maybe just another meal even though maybe I shouldn't but I am thinking the slim fast is ok nutritionally (probably better than what I was eating before anyways since I used to eat cake) and maybe it's ok if I do 800 calories-1000 today, but then I think I should probably do 1200. I always want to do a run longer than 5 miles but usually give up at that point so I probably won't be able to do more than 5 today.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the responses I will try to lose weight more slowly maybe around a pound a week or less.

    If my base metabolic rate is 1200 and I eat 1700 calories a day without excercising won't I gain weight?

    Why is slim fast so bad if I use it to help me keep my total calories to about 1200 a day? I was going to do slim fast for breakfast dinner and then eat a frozen meal or some other 400-500 calorie meal for lunch. What if I used slim fast with less running or no running?

    The only reason I run is for weight purposes I don't really run as purely an athletic goal or anything although I try to get better times sometimes but it's not a main goal. I don't run too fast maybe less than average like I did 6.5 miles in about 72 minutes which is difficult though. I'd say a 5/10 effort is like 5 miles in an hour. And 6 miles in 60 minutes is like 8.5/10 effort and I've only done that like 3 times and can't do it most of the times.

    Before when I was fine on 1200-1400 a day I was doing a similar structure myself just without the need for slim fast. I usually just ate a very small dinner. So my day would be like 200-300 calories before lunch, 400-700 calories for lunch, 200 calories in the afternoon. Sometimes I might have some oatmeal before lunch and I would adjust the meals so it would total about 1300 a day or so. Usually my breakfast was just nutritionally empty though like cake or something which helps me with my workout since I feel light headed if I don't eat carbs right before my workout. On weekends usually it was like a large brunch where I get like 80 % of my calories and then the rest in the afternoon. I don't know if that is normal but that always worked for me before. When I wasnt working before I did my workouts in the afternoon or evening and the split of calories was like 35/45/20. Basically I've been so used to not eating big dinners for over a year. It's like my food day ends around 1 pm and I was just used to it.

    At 1200 calories, you are not aiming for slow weight loss and not providing your body with much nutrition. You should probably try 1500 to start. Also, the fact that you keep on binging would suggest that its not a good goal. And since you are going through these cycles of weight loss and gain would indicate its wasnt effective in the past either. So going back to the plan that didnt teach you how to sustain, would be the definition of insanity (doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result).

    The problem with only doing cardio is you are only burning calories and only working your cardiovascular system. Unfortunately, its also very important to work your skeletal system (through resistance training)the latter is directly tied to things like body composition, immune system, and all metabolic functions. The latter, will determine yout basal metabolic rate (calories burned if you slept all day). When you only do cardio, and then pile on a low calorie diet with little protein, you will increase muscle loss and cause an increase in metabolic adaptation. This in turn will cause you to have a lower tdee (or calorie level you maintain at), which is one reason when people gain back after weight loss programs, they end up gaining more.

    Ultimately, if your goal is to be lean, the dedicate as much time, if not more, to resistance/weight training.
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member
    edited January 2016
    It really sounds like at root here are some issues that a therapist would be helpful with. Having minor fluctuations in weight cause distress/change your behavior and self-esteem and responding to them with a cycle of bingeing and restricting is not a problem that will resolve by restricting your calories further.

    You are well within normal range for your height and desire to go lower than normal. This is not a realistic or sustainable goal, even if it's a weight you had as a teenager. Very few people are the exact size and shape at 30 that they were at 16. In your teen years you are still growing and your metabolism is at a lifetime peak- that you will not remain in a teenage body for your entire life is a function of normal human biology.

    Further restricting calories and increasing cardio will give you temporary weight loss, but it will be followed by the extreme hunger and binges you've already experienced. It will also damage your body and metabolism and there is ample evidence that this cycle of rapid weight loss and gain ends in a gradual net gain over time.

    Lots of people have already given you solid advice on changes to your nutrition and exercise plan that might be effective, but you've ignored the core of their explanations, which is that you are simple eating too little to sustain your body most of the time. Everything else flows from that.

    I hope you will follow the link an earlier commenter provided to the eating disorder help page. The physical and emotional problems you you are experiencing will not be solved with slim fast or cutting down to sub-survival levels of eating. They aren't insurmountable, though, and the sooner you address them, the happier and healthier you will be.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    cebreisch wrote: »
    I remember having a similar discussion with my dietician once. She suggested I increase my fiber intake. Once I did that, that helped A LOT. I get Chocolite protein bars from www.healthsmartfoods.com. They have about 100 calories, about 10g protein and 10g fiber, sugar free, gluten free. I usually have a total of 1 or two a day as a snack.

    Well most of my life I was in the 90 range and everything was normal. Middle school high school etc. I might have even been at 88 and did not lose my period, also I looked normal and no one said I was "too skinny" or anything that's why I thought it was my natural weight. I don't have much muscle and the 20 pounds shows up a lot on a small frame. I rarely go to the doctor and didn't get sick much, I tend to have low blood pressure (I think 70/110) and get light headed rather than the other end.


    Now I'm almost 30 and over 5 years out of school and over the years had gained some weight due to not excercising eat out a lot etc and not really caring to do anything about it. I lost some weight since 2014 but then in October 2015 was too aggressive and thats probably why I started having the issues.

    I want to get to a more natural weight in a healthy way but I feel a bit upset about the weight gain recently and in my mind I am having some mental battle and I keep thinking I should have controlled myself to not let that binges happen and eat so much. At work I have been wearing kind sleeves and trying to hide my weight gain because I didn't want people to think or see I was getting "fat". There isn't difference in my face like on the corner of my cheeks it's a little puffy and when I gained the weight so fast I could feel a difference in my face and some tightness in my legs since I gained most of the 5 pounds in a week with the massive binges. I've been feeling kind of upset about it and I've been a little withdrawn lately at work and not talking to people because I feel fat and I know I won't feel normal again until I drop back down. The other day we went out to eat and I tried to get a group photo but I couldn't get myself to smile because I just didn't feel confident. I thought I put in a lot of effort for those 5 pounds and then I gained it all in a week. And there is a fear that I'll put in a lot of effort and it won't stay. So yeah a lot of battle in my mind I guess part of this is a mental thing for me.

    Today I started slim fast I drank a shake at 9 am and right now I feel good and not hungry. I think they are decently filling. I'm going to try to workout today. Since I don't have any outside events planned my day isn't really structured and it's hard to get myself to go workout at a specific time I usually aim for after a meal with carbs, for a 200 calorie breakfast probably within an hour or I don't have enough carbs to have the energy to workout. I am tempted to restrict my calories today if I don't feel hungry to maybe just another meal even though maybe I shouldn't but I am thinking the slim fast is ok nutritionally (probably better than what I was eating before anyways since I used to eat cake) and maybe it's ok if I do 800 calories-1000 today, but then I think I should probably do 1200. I always want to do a run longer than 5 miles but usually give up at that point so I probably won't be able to do more than 5 today.

    Restricting on the days when you aren't hungry is probably contributing to the problem. Underfeeding yourself is going to lead to excessive hunger on subsequent days.
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    cebreisch wrote: »
    I remember having a similar discussion with my dietician once. She suggested I increase my fiber intake. Once I did that, that helped A LOT. I get Chocolite protein bars from www.healthsmartfoods.com. They have about 100 calories, about 10g protein and 10g fiber, sugar free, gluten free. I usually have a total of 1 or two a day as a snack.

    Well most of my life I was in the 90 range and everything was normal. Middle school high school etc. I might have even been at 88 and did not lose my period, also I looked normal and no one said I was "too skinny" or anything that's why I thought it was my natural weight. I don't have much muscle and the 20 pounds shows up a lot on a small frame. I rarely go to the doctor and didn't get sick much, I tend to have low blood pressure (I think 70/110) and get light headed rather than the other end.


    Now I'm almost 30 and over 5 years out of school and over the years had gained some weight due to not excercising eat out a lot etc and not really caring to do anything about it. I lost some weight since 2014 but then in October 2015 was too aggressive and thats probably why I started having the issues.

    I want to get to a more natural weight in a healthy way but I feel a bit upset about the weight gain recently and in my mind I am having some mental battle and I keep thinking I should have controlled myself to not let that binges happen and eat so much. At work I have been wearing kind sleeves and trying to hide my weight gain because I didn't want people to think or see I was getting "fat". There isn't difference in my face like on the corner of my cheeks it's a little puffy and when I gained the weight so fast I could feel a difference in my face and some tightness in my legs since I gained most of the 5 pounds in a week with the massive binges. I've been feeling kind of upset about it and I've been a little withdrawn lately at work and not talking to people because I feel fat and I know I won't feel normal again until I drop back down. The other day we went out to eat and I tried to get a group photo but I couldn't get myself to smile because I just didn't feel confident. I thought I put in a lot of effort for those 5 pounds and then I gained it all in a week. And there is a fear that I'll put in a lot of effort and it won't stay. So yeah a lot of battle in my mind I guess part of this is a mental thing for me.

    Today I started slim fast I drank a shake at 9 am and right now I feel good and not hungry. I think they are decently filling. I'm going to try to workout today. Since I don't have any outside events planned my day isn't really structured and it's hard to get myself to go workout at a specific time I usually aim for after a meal with carbs, for a 200 calorie breakfast probably within an hour or I don't have enough carbs to have the energy to workout. I am tempted to restrict my calories today if I don't feel hungry to maybe just another meal even though maybe I shouldn't but I am thinking the slim fast is ok nutritionally (probably better than what I was eating before anyways since I used to eat cake) and maybe it's ok if I do 800 calories-1000 today, but then I think I should probably do 1200. I always want to do a run longer than 5 miles but usually give up at that point so I probably won't be able to do more than 5 today.

    Please eat more. 1200 is what doctors give coma patients to keep them alive; I daresay you are more active than a coma patient.

    With 800 to 1000 calories, you are starving yourself. Got that? You are starving yourself. Say it to yourself a few times so it sinks in.

    Please, please, talk to a doctor about being seen for an eating disorder. Your so-called natural weight is technically underweight as far as BMI is concerned. Some of your wording about "control" is really worrisome.

    Now, if you want to drop body fat and build muscle (while keeping the same weight, which is healthy for your height), you're going to need to eat even more. You cannot starve yourself and build muscle at the same time.

    But first, talk to your doctor. Please.
  • Nicolery9
    Nicolery9 Posts: 37 Member
    edited March 2016
    People who are average or large frames go on 1200 calories/day to lose weight (e.g., that is how many calories slimfast is) and it is considered safe right? So for a smaller person wouldn't it be safe to go even less than that?


    Anyways to give you an idea of what 108 pounds on my frame looks like:
    Current weight: 108 (a few days ago with some bloating it was 118)
    Goal: to look fit with no stomach fat (and from experience this means less than 95 pounds)

  • I am in my first week of a ketogenic diet - 3 key concepts that have stopped me feeling any hunger at all:

    1. There are foods that make you gain
    2. There are foods that make you lose
    3. There are foods that PREVENT you from losing

    Most women who are not naturally thin seem to have insulin resistance. To force your body to relearn how to burn fat (and release ketones that suppress hunger) it takes about 2-3 days of no sugar and very low carbs while eating lean proteins and UNLIMITED vegetables.

    Yesterday I had an omelet with 2 cups of raw spinach, mushrooms and green onion, cucumber/fennel/celery snack, huge salad with bbq soy nuts and hard-boiled egg whites with olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing for lunch, a gluten free protein lemon bar and cup of coffee with 1 oz cream and Splenda for another snack, grilled chicken breast with huge bunch of asparagus for dinner and for the first time I can remember could not imagine eating anything else before bed.

    Research:
    Ideal Protein
    Ketogenic Diet
    Ketone strips (to know you are still fat-burning anytime)

    It is only for weight LOSS, and after you are at goal weight the new habits make maintaining it pretty doable if the women who are helping me with this program are evidence.

    Good luck!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited March 2016
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    People who are average or large frames go on 1200 calories/day to lose weight (e.g., that is how many calories slimfast is) and it is considered safe right? So for a smaller person wouldn't it be safe to go even less than that?


    Anyways to give you an idea of what 108 pounds on my frame looks like:
    Current weight: 108 (a few days ago with some bloating it was 118)
    Goal: to look fit with no stomach fat (and from experience this means less than 95 pounds)


    But the amount of exercise you do is also key. Running five miles is a lot of exercise. In order to control your hunger and maintain your wellbeing, you don't want to eat like someone who isn't doing much exercise.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited March 2016
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    People who are average or large frames go on 1200 calories/day to lose weight (e.g., that is how many calories slimfast is) and it is considered safe right? So for a smaller person wouldn't it be safe to go even less than that?


    Anyways to give you an idea of what 108 pounds on my frame looks like:
    Current weight: 108 (a few days ago with some bloating it was 118)
    Goal: to look fit with no stomach fat (and from experience this means less than 95 pounds)


    I don't want to offend you, but you might want to look into building muscle more than trying to lose more weight at this point... just doesn't look like you have a lot of muscles, looking at your arms.

    And 1200 can be too low regarding on your size, it 100% depends on your activity level.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    edited March 2016
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    People who are average or large frames go on 1200 calories/day to lose weight (e.g., that is how many calories slimfast is) and it is considered safe right? So for a smaller person wouldn't it be safe to go even less than that?


    Anyways to give you an idea of what 108 pounds on my frame looks like:
    Current weight: 108 (a few days ago with some bloating it was 118)
    Goal: to look fit with no stomach fat (and from experience this means less than 95 pounds)


    I don't want to offend you, but you might want to look into building muscle more than trying to lose more weight at this point... just doesn't look like you have a lot of muscles, looking at your arms.

    And 1200 can be too low regarding on your size, it 100% depends on your activity level.

    I have to agree.

    I think this thread may be helpful for you. Rather than tons of running and low calories...focus on body composition. I see you have goals. But you have to eat and train the proper way in order to attain them.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
  • Nicolery9
    Nicolery9 Posts: 37 Member
    Is it better for weight loss to eat more and workout more? (e.g., eat 1600 calories a day, run 5 miles)
    Or eat less and work out less (eat 1200 calories, dont work out)
    If my base metabolic rate is about 1200 (maybe 1250), how much can I expect to lose in a week?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Nicolery9 wrote: »
    Is it better for weight loss to eat more and workout more? (e.g., eat 1600 calories a day, run 5 miles)
    Or eat less and work out less (eat 1200 calories, dont work out)
    If my base metabolic rate is about 1200 (maybe 1250), how much can I expect to lose in a week?

    Weight loss is based on your calories in versus your calories out. Exercise, however, can be really beneficial for your health, mood, and fitness (assuming, of course, that you're eating adequately).

    Your BMR is less important to your weight loss than your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). If your BMR is 1,200, you will want to consider this number along with the calories you're burning from exercise and other activity to determine how much you should eat. You should create a deficit based on your TDEE -- not your BMR. The BMR is what you burn just from being alive.

    There isn't a "better" for weight loss. If you enjoy working out and enjoy the benefits, then you should eat to fuel your activity.