I'm finding it difficult to eat 1200 calories.
Replies
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ivygirl1937 wrote: »SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »What are your current stats & goals, OP? What was the calorie count of an average day for you before?
Along with some of the points mentioned above (perhaps you are eating more volume of less calorie-dense foods and need to broaden your diet to include more calorie-dense foods), it is common for new ones to experience sort of a "dieter's high"- they're so excited about their new diet & initial weight loss, they feel like they don't hardly need to eat at all! This phase will pass soon enough.
But in the meantime, you need to fuel your body properly.
This reply is going to be long, sorry.
Stats are:
184lbs
165cm
28
Female
Health problems: Fibromyalgia, two types of anemia, Vitamin D deficiency and Calcium deficiency. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, Vitabiotics Osteocare and an Omega fish oil supplement.
I eat whole fish in the morning for the calcium and vitamin D in the bones along with the healthy fish oil and protein.
I eat 100g-200g of green vegetables with every meal to help one type of the anemia, and I eat 150g-200g beef heart steak (it contains more nutrients and iron than regular steak) in the evening for the other type of anemia.
My goal is to be a healthy weight; my overall goal for the next 2-4years is 126lbs, with no vitamin deficiencies; to do this is the reason why I chose the above food choices, and it's a lot more food than what I usually eat, but probably less calories.
I have limited energy due to the Fibromyalgia, I only ate one meal a day with a couple of milky coffee's because that's all I had energy to prepare, a lot of the time I don't have energy to do much at all although I do get some good days where I can do almost as much as I did before.
To the extent you can get some gentle exercise, this could help stimulate your appetite too (and help with the fibro).
I second this advice as someone who also has fibro (and I know several others on here that have it also) - do as much gentle exercise as you can and that will definitely help. I can always tell when I need to get out more because my fibro will be worse but if I get in a walk, even if it's slow, it gets a little better. If I work out regularly in some shape or form, it seems to be for the most part alleviated but then it gets very bad if I stop. So try that as well and see if it helps. Fair warning: it will hurt more at first but that's just when you are starting and is to be expected. If you can push past that, it does get better. Hope this helps!
What exercises do you do?
I try to walk more on the days I have more energy.0 -
SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »two types of anemia, Vitamin D deficiency and Calcium deficiency. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, Vitabiotics Osteocare and an Omega fish oil supplement.
One little side point to rest of thread - multi vitamins do not usually contain enough iron to effectively treat iron def anemia.
You would be much better off on a specific iron supplement - eg Ferrograd or FGF..
Look at the labels and you will see they have far more iron in them than the multi vitamins .
100g of beef heart contains 424% of daily recommend iron intake, I eat 150g-200g a day, do the math..
This message seems rude now that I've read it, wasn't my intention, sorry if it seems that way..3 -
Alatariel75 wrote: »SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »What are your current stats & goals, OP? What was the calorie count of an average day for you before?
Along with some of the points mentioned above (perhaps you are eating more volume of less calorie-dense foods and need to broaden your diet to include more calorie-dense foods), it is common for new ones to experience sort of a "dieter's high"- they're so excited about their new diet & initial weight loss, they feel like they don't hardly need to eat at all! This phase will pass soon enough. But in the meantime, you need to fuel your body properly.
This reply is going to be long, sorry.
Stats are:
184lbs
165cm
28
Female
Health problems: Fibromyalgia, two types of anemia, Vitamin D deficiency and Calcium deficiency. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, Vitabiotics Osteocare and an Omega fish oil supplement.
I eat whole fish in the morning for the calcium and vitamin D in the bones along with the healthy fish oil and protein.
I eat 100g-200g of green vegetables with every meal to help one type of the anemia, and I eat 150g-200g beef heart steak (it contains more nutrients and iron than regular steak) in the evening for the other type of anemia.
My goal is to be a healthy weight; my overall goal for the next 2-4years is 126lbs, with no vitamin deficiencies; to do this is the reason why I chose the above food choices, and it's a lot more food than what I usually eat, but probably less calories.
I have limited energy due to the Fibromyalgia, I only ate one meal a day with a couple of milky coffee's because that's all I had energy to prepare, a lot of the time I don't have energy to do much at all although I do get some good days where I can do almost as much as I did before.
Are you taking a vitamin D supplement? It's incredibly difficult to get vitamin D from food.
Yes, Vitabiotics Osteocare contains vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and zinc.0 -
paperpudding wrote: »Most Vit D intake is from sunlight - by all means take a Vit D supplement if your levels are low - I would take a combination Vit D/calcium one, given your calcium levels are low too, but also get enough sunshine
Hi OP, sorry to hear about your problems. Your post caught my eye as I am from Epping - hi!
As you know, we aren't getting much sunlight in the UK at the mo....hurry up spring! I sit in front of a light box during the winter. I don't think it actually helps you make vitamin D, but it does help regulate your circadian rhythms and is supposed to help with energy levels. I know it makes me feel happier and boosts my energy levels.
It has to be one of the proper light boxes, around 10,000 lux. Just a suggestion.
If you go to Holland and Barratt they have lots of yummy bars, with protein in some of them. On the website there is even more choice. Things made up with fruit and quinoa for example. Eating one of those a day might bump you up 300 cals or so. They wouldn't take any energy to prepare.
Good luck x
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All of those green vegetables you eat, how are you cooking them, just plain boiling them?
Maybe try roasting them with a little oil or adding butter.1 -
Making sure you get enough fat will help enormously with vitamin absorption. So you'll pee less of the supplements out! As above, add a little butter to your veg, cook with a little oil, eat some chocolate, make guacamole to have with your steak (just chuck it in a blender and done).
I get the cooking and eating is exhausting thing. Well, the cooking anyway......So I just keep things as simple as I can for myself. If it's in my budget I'll get the things I can just throw in the oven/microwave that I know will fit my calories for the day.
Whilst it's great you are trying to address your weight and nutritional deficiencies through your diet, you're not going to feel the benefit if you're exhausted even more than usual from too few calories.1 -
SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »two types of anemia, Vitamin D deficiency and Calcium deficiency. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, Vitabiotics Osteocare and an Omega fish oil supplement.
One little side point to rest of thread - multi vitamins do not usually contain enough iron to effectively treat iron def anemia.
You would be much better off on a specific iron supplement - eg Ferrograd or FGF..
Look at the labels and you will see they have far more iron in them than the multi vitamins .
100g of beef heart contains 424% of daily recommend iron intake, I eat 150g-200g a day, do the math..
I was going to say - you eat LIVER!!! You don't need an iron supplement!
God bless you though...I wish I could stomach the stuff. Blech! 0 -
m0mmymakeover wrote: »How do you check someone else's diary?
@m0mmymakeover Click on their username. When the box pops up, click on their username again. That will take you to their personal page. If their diary is public, there will be a green box that says "View Diary." Click on that.
That is for a desktop computer. Not sure how it translates if you are on a phone.1 -
SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »
What exercises do you do?
I try to walk more on the days I have more energy.
I take a water exercise class specifically designed for fibro. I don't have it but have other issues and the gentle activity in the warm pool really helps. Others in the class who do have fibro say it helps.
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SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »two types of anemia, Vitamin D deficiency and Calcium deficiency. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, Vitabiotics Osteocare and an Omega fish oil supplement.
One little side point to rest of thread - multi vitamins do not usually contain enough iron to effectively treat iron def anemia.
You would be much better off on a specific iron supplement - eg Ferrograd or FGF..
Look at the labels and you will see they have far more iron in them than the multi vitamins .
100g of beef heart contains 424% of daily recommend iron intake, I eat 150g-200g a day, do the math..
Not disputing that beef heart contains lots of iron and not sure why you want me to do the maths on it.
You mentioned that you were anemic and were taking a multi vitamin with iron.
My point that most multi vitamins do not contain sufficient iron to be effective for anemia still stands - and if you compare amount of iron in them to specific iron supplements like Ferrograd or FGF you will see that.
If you eat enough iron that you dont need a supplement at all, fine - but you did say you were taking one.
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fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »two types of anemia, Vitamin D deficiency and Calcium deficiency. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, Vitabiotics Osteocare and an Omega fish oil supplement.
One little side point to rest of thread - multi vitamins do not usually contain enough iron to effectively treat iron def anemia.
You would be much better off on a specific iron supplement - eg Ferrograd or FGF..
Look at the labels and you will see they have far more iron in them than the multi vitamins .
100g of beef heart contains 424% of daily recommend iron intake, I eat 150g-200g a day, do the math..
I was going to say - you eat LIVER!!! You don't need an iron supplement! God bless you though...I wish I could stomach the stuff. Blech!
Liver is also very high in vitamin A...0 -
crystalewhite wrote: »So this actually happened to me when I first joined this site. The first few days that I was on here and started tracking I was more aware of it and just not hungry. That quickly wore off, though!
It is common for new members. They go for high volume/low calorie foods and get filled up before reaching the calorie target. Usually doesn't take long to figure out.
Yep that used to be me too!
OP, I also agree to seek a RD or take some nutrition classes at your local VO-tech. And I hate these detox teas. Awful marketing, usually via MLM, and just plain crooked. They pay celebs big bucks to post a pic with their tea on social media. Usually stuff that really works is the stuff that doesn't get attention.0 -
On the whole, I felt a majority of these replies were patronizing and downright rude!-1
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amuslimahh wrote: »On the whole, I felt a majority of these replies were patronizing and downright rude!
The OP didn't give a whole lot of background in her initial post... and let's face it, most people didn't get to be in a position where they need to lose weight through struggling to eat enough. It's very common that people starting out here are not weighing and logging their food correctly, so it's often the first question asked. Perhaps some of the replies could have been a little kinder in tone, but most weren't that bad.
And now that the OP has explained her medical issues, people are trying to offer support and help her figure things out.4 -
Has your doctor not prescribed suppliments if you have confirmed deficiencies not just lower end of norm levels?
I have to take cholecalciferol, adcal, ferrous sulphate and they inject me with b12 every 12 weeks as im unable to absorb it orally0 -
ruqayyahsmum wrote: »Has your doctor not prescribed suppliments if you have confirmed deficiencies not just lower end of norm levels?
I have to take cholecalciferol, adcal, ferrous sulphate and they inject me with b12 every 12 weeks as im unable to absorb it orally
They did, but I forgot them in the hotel room when I took my girls away for the weekend, so I bought some when I got back.0 -
cerise_noir wrote: »fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »two types of anemia, Vitamin D deficiency and Calcium deficiency. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, Vitabiotics Osteocare and an Omega fish oil supplement.
One little side point to rest of thread - multi vitamins do not usually contain enough iron to effectively treat iron def anemia.
You would be much better off on a specific iron supplement - eg Ferrograd or FGF..
Look at the labels and you will see they have far more iron in them than the multi vitamins .
100g of beef heart contains 424% of daily recommend iron intake, I eat 150g-200g a day, do the math..
I was going to say - you eat LIVER!!! You don't need an iron supplement! God bless you though...I wish I could stomach the stuff. Blech!
Liver is also very high in vitamin A...
Liver is repulsive, the smell alone is enough to make me sick.0 -
fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »two types of anemia, Vitamin D deficiency and Calcium deficiency. I take a multi-vitamin with iron, Vitabiotics Osteocare and an Omega fish oil supplement.
One little side point to rest of thread - multi vitamins do not usually contain enough iron to effectively treat iron def anemia.
You would be much better off on a specific iron supplement - eg Ferrograd or FGF..
Look at the labels and you will see they have far more iron in them than the multi vitamins .
100g of beef heart contains 424% of daily recommend iron intake, I eat 150g-200g a day, do the math..
I was going to say - you eat LIVER!!! You don't need an iron supplement! God bless you though...I wish I could stomach the stuff. Blech!
I can't stomach liver, it's disgusting.
Heart however tastes very similar to steak..0 -
smotheredincheese wrote: »All of those green vegetables you eat, how are you cooking them, just plain boiling them?
Maybe try roasting them with a little oil or adding butter.
I steam my food, it's quick, easy and healthy.0 -
Update:
I went to my doctor yesterday and he says what I'm eating, I showed him my food diary, is the best for health and weightloss, he also said it's fine if I can only manage to eat 800-900 calories, after I mentioned that some people on this site have said that not eating close to 1200 calories is bad.
I was very close to vomiting halfway through my lunch yesterday, because I was so full, that I had to put the food in the fridge and eat it later.
My doctor also said the best foods to avoid are sugars, carbs, high gi foods, fatty meats and processed foods, he explained about insulin rises from sugars/high gi foods causing the body to gain more fat and water retention etc.0 -
Doctors on avg only get 4hrs of nutrition training in Med school which is why we recommend an RD to work with
That he seemed ok with you only eating 8-900 a day is concerning especially if he ignored the 'detox' teas that are an appetite suppressant8 -
SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »Update:
I went to my doctor yesterday and he says what I'm eating, I showed him my food diary, is the best for health and weightloss, he also said it's fine if I can only manage to eat 800-900 calories, after I mentioned that some people on this site have said that not eating close to 1200 calories is bad.
I was very close to vomiting halfway through my lunch yesterday, because I was so full, that I had to put the food in the fridge and eat it later.
My doctor also said the best foods to avoid are sugars, carbs, high gi foods, fatty meats and processed foods, he explained about insulin rises from sugars/high gi foods causing the body to gain more fat and water retention etc.
This is pretty concerning to me because it shows a lack of understanding of human physiology surrounding weight control and how the body gains fat. And it's because of insulin rises (totally normal).
That coupled with them being totally happy with your low intake, particularly for someone with chronic illnesses, would be sending me to a different doctor or insisting on a referral to a dietician.8 -
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JerSchmare wrote: »Pretty ridiculous. What did you eat before you ate "healthy"? Probably way more than 1200. I can eat 5,000 calories without even thinking about it. This is very silly.
No it isn't.
Many people have gradually put on weight so they weren't neccesarily eating very much above maitenance and they decide to go on a 'diet' and then they make drastic changes and change their food to volume-high, calorie- low things like vegetables and stop drinking calories in soda etc
Just because you can easily eat 5000 calories doesn't mean everyone can or even that they were doing so before deciding to lose weight.
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VintageFeline wrote: »SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »Update:
I went to my doctor yesterday and he says what I'm eating, I showed him my food diary, is the best for health and weightloss, he also said it's fine if I can only manage to eat 800-900 calories, after I mentioned that some people on this site have said that not eating close to 1200 calories is bad.
I was very close to vomiting halfway through my lunch yesterday, because I was so full, that I had to put the food in the fridge and eat it later.
My doctor also said the best foods to avoid are sugars, carbs, high gi foods, fatty meats and processed foods, he explained about insulin rises from sugars/high gi foods causing the body to gain more fat and water retention etc.
This is pretty concerning to me because it shows a lack of understanding of human physiology surrounding weight control and how the body gains fat. And it's because of insulin rises (totally normal).
That coupled with them being totally happy with your low intake, particularly for someone with chronic illnesses, would be sending me to a different doctor or insisting on a referral to a dietician.
I asked about a referral to a dietician but was told this is no longer provided by NHS due to cuts.0 -
Can you get a referral but pay yourself? You need this - prolonged 600-800 cal a day can hurt in the long run, working with someone and establishing sustainable habits. Ow can only help0
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I think your doctor is telling porkies. It may take a wait but if your GP feels there is need they can refer you.
Ask to see a different GP within your surgery, make a complaint to the practice manager or register at a different surgery.
And of course you can go private but that depends on how affordable it is to you.
Resources here: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/pages/1094.aspx?categoryid=68&subcategoryid=153
http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/find-a-registered-dietitian-or-nutritionist.aspx?CategoryID=51&SubCategoryID=1683 -
SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »Update:
I went to my doctor yesterday and he says what I'm eating, I showed him my food diary, is the best for health and weightloss, he also said it's fine if I can only manage to eat 800-900 calories, after I mentioned that some people on this site have said that not eating close to 1200 calories is bad.
I was very close to vomiting halfway through my lunch yesterday, because I was so full, that I had to put the food in the fridge and eat it later.
My doctor also said the best foods to avoid are sugars, carbs, high gi foods, fatty meats and processed foods, he explained about insulin rises from sugars/high gi foods causing the body to gain more fat and water retention etc.
See a new doctor because he/she seems to have no understanding of basic nutrition, which is not uncommon. Medical school does not teach nutrition, they teach how to handle diseases.
ETA: VintageFeline is in the UK so she can better advise you on how to handle the NHS and get the care you deserve.
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SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »ruqayyahsmum wrote: »Has your doctor not prescribed suppliments if you have confirmed deficiencies not just lower end of norm levels?
I have to take cholecalciferol, adcal, ferrous sulphate and they inject me with b12 every 12 weeks as im unable to absorb it orally
They did, but I forgot them in the hotel room when I took my girls away for the weekend, so I bought some when I got back.
Ask the doctor to prescribe more, regular ocer the counter stuff is alot lower dosage0 -
SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »SarahFromWalthamForest wrote: »Update:
I went to my doctor yesterday and he says what I'm eating, I showed him my food diary, is the best for health and weightloss, he also said it's fine if I can only manage to eat 800-900 calories, after I mentioned that some people on this site have said that not eating close to 1200 calories is bad.
I was very close to vomiting halfway through my lunch yesterday, because I was so full, that I had to put the food in the fridge and eat it later.
My doctor also said the best foods to avoid are sugars, carbs, high gi foods, fatty meats and processed foods, he explained about insulin rises from sugars/high gi foods causing the body to gain more fat and water retention etc.
This is pretty concerning to me because it shows a lack of understanding of human physiology surrounding weight control and how the body gains fat. And it's because of insulin rises (totally normal).
That coupled with them being totally happy with your low intake, particularly for someone with chronic illnesses, would be sending me to a different doctor or insisting on a referral to a dietician.
I asked about a referral to a dietician but was told this is no longer provided by NHS due to cuts.
Do you have a hospital consultant? Our community dietitians were axed ( nhs cut backs never hit managers huh ) but as im under the care of the hospital i can access the dietitian gotta say shes a chocolate teapot. Makes no suggestions just sends me for blood tests to work out what im deficient in this quarter, my community one was great0
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