over-eating much?

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danalevins19
danalevins19 Posts: 5 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi, I was wondering if I could get on a touchy subject about over-eating and under-eating. Ok, so long story short I’ve been dieting for about a month now. My calorie deficit is 1,200 I eat a lot of clean foods with high protein and greens. (Which surprisingly I’m learning to enjoy lol) anyways, I eat breakfast around 10am and lunch around 3pm, and I have 2 snacks in between meals. I also drink about 100oz or water to 160oz of water a day. When I log my foods in my diary for the whole day it comes up to about 970 calories, and surprisingly I don’t feel hungry or deprived, light headed etc. I actually feel lighter and energized! I was wondering if this is normal after a few weeks of dieting? I don’t have the same appetite as I used to, and I feel like MFP makes me eat more calories because it constantly asks me to log my food. And it also sucks that it won’t tell me my 5 week weight expectancy because they think I’m trying to starve myself.... I get why they have that because many people have a eating disorder, which is awful, and of coarse they don’t want to promote eating disorders. But I don’t feel deprived, I feel great! I just want to know if anyone else on MFP feels like they’re over-eating because MFP tells them they need to eat even though they’re not hungry? Any advice? I always thought that you shouldn’t eat if you’re not hungry?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Your calorie deficit is 1200, or your calorie goal?

    Do you weigh your food with scales?
  • danalevins19
    danalevins19 Posts: 5 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    Your calorie deficit is 1200, or your calorie goal?

    Do you weigh your food with scales?
    Yes 1200 was my goal originally but I keep going under it but I feel really good physically and mentally. I feel like I could afford to skip a meal if I would like and feel perfectly fine. And yes I do use a scale since measuring cups aren’t very reliable for me. I make sure I take account for everything I consume, even if it’s a piece of gum or a spray of olive oil on my pan so my eggs won’t stick to it lol I’m just worried I may be under eating but how can one under eat if they’re not hungry?
  • danalevins19
    danalevins19 Posts: 5 Member
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    pandood wrote: »
    I’m trying IF so most times I go under the limit (1200). I asked my doctor and he oked it. When I go to ketosis the body can manage by it own
    Oh ok, this is interesting. I don’t know much about the foods that are good to eat on a keto diet, but isn’t it low carb? I wonder if my body is going into ketosis or my stomach has gotten smaller? I don’t eat many carbs throughout the day, I eat a lot of greens and protein, I choose between a either 1 pear or a banana to count as my carbs for the day. I will do more research on keto in the near future, lol I don’t know enough about it right now.

  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
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    This is actually pretty common I think, but it's a question of "you feel fine until you don't" and like Tavistock says, the damage is already done. Feeling lighter and more energized on minimal food will probably be a temporary thing, (it's one reason people fast for spiritual reasons because that is a thing that happens) but your body can't keep that up long term.

    I can do pretty okay on 1200kcal or slightly under but only for a certain amount of time, a few weeks maybe, and then I'm at a huge risk of a week-long eat-everything-in-sight food bender. Which is really counter productive and really bad for mental health. Not saying this happens to everyone but it's not uncommon to hear about either.

    There's no need to eat as little as possible to function, if you want to maintain your loss long-term then it makes logical sense to start building sustainable habits as soon as possible.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    The 5-week weight prediction is notoriously innacurate, so I wouldn't worry about that if I were you.

    As far as eating so few calories, a lot of people feel fine doing it for quite a while, but it catches up to them over time, in the form of exhaustion, uncontrollable bingeing (sometimes leading to cycles of overrestricting, then bingeing), and a whole host of potential health problems.

    It's really easy to add a few hundred calories by eating small amounts of calorie-dense foods, like oil, peanut butter, nuts, cheese, even the odd serving of ice cream.
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,464 Member
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    Look at your macros. If you aren’t eating enough fat or protein it will catch up with you.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited February 2019
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    Over-eating is not defined as eating more than you feel like eating, it's eating more than your body needs.

    If you are a young, adult woman who is not bed-ridden, there is little if any chance you are getting enough protein, fat, and nutrients as your body needs eating less than 1000 calories per day for any extended period of time.

    As others have said, you'll feel fine until it hits you like a truck, and it can take some time to recover. Add more protein and fat to your diet, and hit at least that 1200 calorie goal.

    Food is fuel, and hunger signals are often out of whack. Going from one extreme to the other is unfortunately a recipe for disaster. Give your body the fuel it needs, lose weight (if that's your goal) at a moderate pace, and set yourself up with a healthy relationship with food now. :smile:

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