No appetite but I'm supposed to eat more?

kendranicolecuster1994

CW: 131 lbs
HW: 146 lbs
GW: 120 - lbs
Height: 5 ft 1 in
Age: 19

Hey everyone, I have 2 parts to my problem:

The food side:
On my food goals I have set 1200 cal/day. But unless my family takes me out to eat fast food or something like that, I rarely even eat that much. I have been told under 1200 cal/day crosses over into starvation and doesn't let you lose weight. I don't have very many healthy foods at my house to eat. I have canned vegetables (not too good for you and not many calories), bananas, and stuff like that. I don't know what and how much I should be eating to lose this weight. I also drink sodas, because we have no bottled water at home and our tap water isn't the cleanest right now. Either I eat a lot or I don't eat very much at all most of the time.

The exercise side:
I cannot get a gym membership due to the cost and transportation. I know I need to work out if I want to lose any weight. But how do I do this at home if we have no fitness equipment? I have tried workout videos on youtube before but I always get lost and fed up with them.

My family does not support me well in this effort and they are all very overweight. I know that I need to do something because I don't like how I look. Please give me some advice?

joshdann

you've been told wrong. Eating less does not prevent you from losing weight. It risks shorting you of nutrients, and possibly causing a bit of a metabolic slowdown... and potentially hurting your body composition, but it in no way stops you from losing weight. As long as you meet sensible macros and maintain a net deficit that can be safely supported by your fat stores, you will lose weight and do it the healthy way.

AmyRhubarb

Can you get your own bottled water? Or purchase a water bottle that has a filter in it, so you can use your tap water. Soda is a lot of empty calories (unless it's diet, and then it's no calories, but still not great for ya. ).

Any nuts or peanut butter in the house? Cheese, eggs, full fat dairy, avocados - all things that pack good calories into small portions, so you don't have to eat a ton to get closer to goal.

Diet for weight loss, exercise for fitness. You don't need a gym or equipment to get a good workout. Go for a brisk walk, do some body weight exercises - lunges, squats, push ups, planks, dips - look online for body weight workouts. Got a smart phone? There are many apps, plenty of them are free, that have workouts in them - Nike Training Club is my fave, and while some use dumbbells or other equipment, not all of them do, there are good body weight circuits in there too.

As for healthier groceries - ask your mom if she could pick up some Greek yogurt, raw almonds, string cheese, avocados, etc when she does the shopping - or go with her and start adding the good stuff to the cart! :bigsmile:

mrsamanda86

If you are 19 then if you have a job, start spending some money on your own food. I'm very sorry that your family doesn't support you(my Mom is heavy, says she want to change, but still hasn't at all) but you need to worry about you. If the food isn't good at home, then make your own little stock pile and eat from that. Maybe ask if you can plan a meal for everyone once a week, and show them they don't have to eat like garbage to have great tasting food?

DancingMoosie

You rarely eat a full meal, and when you do, it is fast food. you're getting very little nutrition. Cut the soda and drink bottled water or milk. Buy some fresh fruit and veggies, or even frozen is ok, and they last longer. Lean cuts of meat and yogurt are good sources of protein. Go to the store with mom and help pick out the groceries. Do you go to school? If so, there should be a gym available to students. If not, working out at home is easy. See the above post by amyrhubarb:)

QuietBloom

If you are a small person, eating under 1200 might be OK. The dangers that arise are possible malnutrition, possible muscle loss, and possible slowed metabolism.

I think it is a VERY individual thing and should be taken case by case.

Edited to add I just took a peak at your diary. You are courting malnutrition. Your primary source of calories is fast food and soda. You would be malnourished on that diet even if you were eating 3,000 calories a day. You would be surprised at the number of obese people who are actually malnourished. Focus on being healthy rather than being thin.

silken555

Solutions:

For the Diet:

I'd LOVE to know who told you that canned veggies aren't good for you. They're veggies that have been canned. They are just fine. In fact, frozen veggies are also wonderful and a great solution to not being able to keep fresh stuff around because they go bad too quickly. In fact, they retain MORE nutrients because they're flash frozen almost as soon as their picked whereas fresh stuff travels for several days before getting to your super market.

The soda thing is an excuse. You're water isn't good? Get a filtered pitcher or water bottle. There are tons of those about in Walmart, Target and just about anywhere.

If you don't have a job, I highly suggest getting one so you can buy your own food and label everything that is yours. Whether your family supports you or not is irrelevant. Take control of your own weight loss. Also, if they take you out for fast food and you know you don't have anything healthy at home to compensate then choose the healthier options on the menus and don't drink soda, either take juice, a water bottle or coffee/tea. I'm ALL for moderation and I have nothing against fast food at all. It's just that when I eat it, I know when I get home I'll be eating something home-cooked, delicious and nutritious to balance it out as my next meal. Also, the person above who suggested you cook a nice healthy meal for your family once a week is a genius.

For the exercise:

You don't need a gym. There are tons of ways to create perfectly functional and useful exercise routines at home. Just do a Google search for home-based exercise routines and go to town. I'm sure you could even search the MFP forums and find some. There's also YouTube for free vids. In fact, Jillian Micheals' 30 Day Shred is accessible on YouTube. If you have no way of working out at home, that's fine. Go for walks. Outside in the summer. In public places if you hate being outside in winter. Exercise is not for weight loss. You could do none at all and still lose so long as you are in a calorie deficit. However, it IS for fitness and health and it helps affect your body composition as you lose.

Instead of finding reasons you can't, start finding reasons you CAN!. Good luck on your journey!

KingRat79

Exercise is free and you do not need to go to a gym. if your unfit start with walking a brisk walk for an hour every day is a good start. You can also do some body weight exercises. You could start with squats, push-ups, pull ups and dips, crunches, leg raises. depending on your strength levels there are adjustments you can make to most of these to make them easier harder.

in regard to the calories. 1200 calories is just a guide, its not exact. However you probably need to eating at least 1200 well balanced calories to be healthy. If you are struggling to hit this number there are things you can eat that are healthy but high in calories. As an example nuts are high in calories, and healthy fats.

healthy food does not have to be expensive either. vegetables are relatively cheap, rice is cheap, dried beans and pulse are very cheap, and you can get cheaper cuts of meat. As an example have just made a vegetable stew its probably cost less the $1 per serving. Tomorrow I’m making an Ox tail soup again it is dirt cheap but very health and filling.

mrsamanda86

Also, the person above who suggested you cook a nice healthy meal for your family once a week is a genius.

I keep telling people I am, but no one is taking me seriously

Mokey41

When I read your post what I saw was excuse, excuse, excuse, excuse. You're 19, take control of your life. You either want to do this or you don't.

Love4fitnesslove4food2

It's really quite simple..example:

Breakfast-Green Eggs and Toast = 310 calories
2 eggs (140) and 1 cup spinach (10) cooked in 2 tsp olive oil (80) w/ 1 slice hearty bread (80) or 1/4 cup oatmeal (dry) cooked in water with cinnamon.

Lunch-Pb&J with Milk = 390 calories
2 slices bread (160) w/2 tbsp pb (190) and 1tbsp all fruit preserves (40)

Snack -Baby Carrots and Hummus =210 calories
2 servings baby carrots (70), 1/4 cup hummus (140)

Dinner-- Sauteed Green Beans w/ Grilled Chicken = 470 calories
Green beans (30) sautéed w/ 1 oz slivered almonds (160) and 2 tsp olive oil (80)
4 oz chicken (120) grilled or pan cooked in 2 tsp olive oil (80)

TOTAL: 1380 calories, it's not a lot of food (in the slightest).

CamillaHerold

Bless your pea-pickin' heart! Your main concern is apparently how you look. If you don't change your eating habits and start exercising, you will have health problems, and how you look will be the least of your worries. Be objective and face up to the excuses you are making, because no one can fix this situation but you. Dig deep and find your self-respect, and do this for the right reasons. Educate yourself using the internet and you will find the answers you are seeking. Best of luck to you!

Deipneus

I know I need to work out if I want to lose any weight. But how do I do this at home if we have no fitness equipment?

I lost 40 pounds with no equipment except for shoes (walking and then working up to running) and a floor for pushups. You don't need a lot of money to get fit.

YesIAm17

I've taken the info you provided and filled out the BMR calculator at http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ , using your CW as both your current and goal weight there.

According to this your Sedentary TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is 1834 calories. In order to lose weight you need a deficit of that #. Generally you will find people around here, and other sources, will recommend a 10% to 20% deficit of your TDEE. The less weight you have to lose the smaller the typically recommended deficit is.

You want to lose 11lbs so most will agree that you should be going for no more than a 10% deficit. 1834 minus 10% equals 1650.6 calories. So 1200 is definitely too low for you to lose weight in a healthy sustainable fashion.

There are many stories floating around these forums of people who had too big of a deficit, exercised a lot, and just could not lose weight but as soon as they upped their intake to a more reasonable deficit they started losing again. Some of these people reported feeling horrible and or other side effects at the larger deficits and feeling better/getting better at the smaller deficits

If I were you I would make my MFP (MyFitnessPal) daily net target calorie goal 1650 and eat back my exercise calories. You can learn more about this approach at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

For clean water $4 for 24 pk of bottled water at most places (often less), you should be drinking the equivalent of 4 bottles a day, so that 24pk will last you 6 days. $4 dollars divided by 6 equals about $0.67 per day. Alternatively a filter water bottle/cup is probably less than $10-$12 most places.

For food and nutrition I highly recommend a multivitamin, based on your current diet you likely are not getting all the most basic nutrition that you need and it sounds like it may take a little time and adjustment before you do so, so this would be a good step. For less than $20 you can get a months supply of a decent multivitamin most places. You are also going to have to do whatever it takes to build a healthier diet.

For exercise you don't need a gym, you have everything you need. Do some searching on YouTube and you can find lot's of great free videos to workout with, or to teach you different exercises so that you can build your own routine.

You are 19 years old, are low on money(?), have no transportation, and have no support from family. You need to rise above your current situation. You can do this!

Where do you want to be 6 months from now? Financially? Physically? Etc? You need a vision, a strategy, and ACTION.

You've got obstacles but you have no excuses. This is your chance to turn your life around, get healthy, and build your future... don't let anything stop you!