Hard for me to eat all 1,200 calories a day?

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  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
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    . I've always been skinny fat, so now I'm lifting and trying to eat at a slight deficit, but see sometimes at the end of the day, I need more calories, but I really just don't want them.

    I hope you get some great advice. Don't let the negative bother you. Not all of us are designed to throw down 2000 calories a day. but like you, I would like to find a way to eat more without feeling stuffed.

    I'm sorry but what exactly is it that you're lifting? I lift and on the days I don't lift I eat 1800 - 2000 calories and on my lifting days I eat 2200 - 2400, sometimes a little more.

    I am not skinny fat, I never have been so I can't even start to understand it but I am, lets say, "thick fit" ha ha . . . I am a lifter and my body is not a thin body type - I can gain very quickly if my balance between calories in and calories out isn't looked after - like I am sure a lot of people on here experience. I just have a very hard time wrapping my head around the fact that you can lift anything other than an iphone on less than or around 1200 calories, especially on a lifting day.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    I really didn't know how little I was eating till MFP. Now I do understand why I haven't been able to reach my weight and fitness goals. Not enough fuel means I have little energy which results in poor workouts. Just wanted to thank the original poster for posting, as I have a low calorie diet issue as well. Thanks also to the helpful and positive tips posted, with a few changes this will be a fun adventure to health and fitness instead of a painful one.

    A smoothy in the morning and some nuts for snacks will really help my nutrition.

    Thanks everyone.

    Not meaning to pick at you, you just had the last of these posts at this time.

    Do people have selective reading as well as hearing, if you have weight to lose, it is NOT because you are not eating enough. That does sound great but it is not true. Consumption and calories is about weight. Working out is for fitness and to earn extra food.

    Too low of calories you are right equals poor workouts and fatigue among other issues...

    To every single person reading....If you have weight to lose and can't the issue is not that you are not eating enough, the fact is you are eating more than you burn. Even with a disorder, your TDEE gets distorted NOT THE MATH.

    Smoothies and nuts are great, over I liked your post, just don't understand people looking over facts and choosing what fits into their own misguided thoughts.

    It is math and laws of energy....it is science not old wives tales.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
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    I'm going to repeat myself because everyone keeps saying to eat more when

    1. The OP said she cannot always log because of limited access to the internet SO that leads me to believe she is actually eating more than she thinks and probably is not in a deficit.
    2. From looking at her diary it does not look like she is weighing her food also leading me to believe she could very well be eating more than she thinks which is a very common mistake, I made it. My tablespoon of peanut butter was only 8 grams, not the 16 grams I was expecting for example.
    3. She is not logging her exercise calories so she could be overestimating her burns, another common mistake that I also made.

    And she has only lost 1 lb since April. It is highly unlikely that there is an underlying medical condition but it never hurts to get tested an part of an annual physical.

    My recommendation to the OP is to get a digital food scale and start weighing all of the solid food that passes your lips (even when you eat out if possible if you bring it home), manually set your macros at 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat to start with, and start tracking your exercise calories, if you use MFP to get an estimate then only eat back 50-75% of those exercise calories. Set your goals to lose 1 lb per week for safe and healthy weight loss.

    If you feel sick from eating extra calories then increase your calories by 100 per day per week, the equivalent of about 16 grams of peanut butter or about a serving of ice cream, some olive oil. It's not hard to do.

    But before you do that you need to figure out exactly what you have been eating. When you don't have access to the internet write it down on a post-it note and put it in your pocket. Or pack your lunch and pre-measure everything so you already know what you are eating for the day.

    Good luck.
  • CCSavage88
    CCSavage88 Posts: 191
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    I can't always log my calories into MFP due to lack of internet, but I generally eat the same things everyday, and it's really hard for me to eat 1,200 calories. I usually end up eating anywhere from 600-1000 in one day. I'm 5'7 and 162 pounds. I'm having a hard time losing weight, but I'm eating and exercising well- just not enough eating? I actually feel like I'm going to throw up if I ever eat around 1,200 calories in one day. Is it true that if I eat more (of the healthy food) that I'll lose weight faster? How do I increase my appetite? I'm so confused on how much to eat to lose weight, because everyone says something completely different. Thank you!

    I don't eat that many calories in a day either but carbs will KILL my weight loss even if I'm very active.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
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    Just eat more food in general, not just more protein (where ever the hell this bullsh!t came from just please...please stop it...its stupid).

    Protein prevents you from losing muscle while eating in a deficit.
    Exactly, and it also keeps you fuller longer and uses more calories to digest it. It is not stupid, and if you are not up to date on a subject you should not outright call it stupid. Try learning more about it, so you don't look ignorant dissing people and cursing over something you do not understand.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
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    I can't always log my calories into MFP due to lack of internet, but I generally eat the same things everyday, and it's really hard for me to eat 1,200 calories. I usually end up eating anywhere from 600-1000 in one day. I'm 5'7 and 162 pounds. I'm having a hard time losing weight, but I'm eating and exercising well- just not enough eating? I actually feel like I'm going to throw up if I ever eat around 1,200 calories in one day. Is it true that if I eat more (of the healthy food) that I'll lose weight faster? How do I increase my appetite? I'm so confused on how much to eat to lose weight, because everyone says something completely different. Thank you!

    I don't eat that many calories in a day either but carbs will KILL my weight loss even if I'm very active.
    If you eat in a deficit, you will lose weight...if you are not losing weight, you are not eating in a deficit.
  • meghanevansaz
    meghanevansaz Posts: 12
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    Thanks for the answers everybody. To answer some of your questions, yes I have developed an eating disorder, but I'm not losing a lot of weight yet. I used to eat a lot due to a medication I was taking a while back. When I went off it was hard for me to eat, and still is. I'm also a vegan, so eating things with protein is a bit harder for me to access, though I'm going to a nutritionist tomorrow to see how I can up my protein intake. I think it's more of a mind thing as well. Reading a lot of your comments made me realize that I have a problem that I need to address. Thank you all :)
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    I can't always log my calories into MFP due to lack of internet, but I generally eat the same things everyday, and it's really hard for me to eat 1,200 calories. I usually end up eating anywhere from 600-1000 in one day. I'm 5'7 and 162 pounds. I'm having a hard time losing weight, but I'm eating and exercising well- just not enough eating? I actually feel like I'm going to throw up if I ever eat around 1,200 calories in one day. Is it true that if I eat more (of the healthy food) that I'll lose weight faster? How do I increase my appetite? I'm so confused on how much to eat to lose weight, because everyone says something completely different. Thank you!

    I don't eat that many calories in a day either but carbs will KILL my weight loss even if I'm very active.

    NO :noway: NO :noway: NO

    Most of those posting these things have less than 10 posts, so benefit of the doubt they don't know. Before you offer awful advice please read. Weight loss is calories in vs calories out. It really is that simple stop making it harder with false statements.
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
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    I'm also a vegan, so eating things with protein is a bit harder for me to access, though I'm going to a nutritionist tomorrow to see how I can up my protein intake.

    I would like to say I am not a vegan, so I really don't know much about the diet and I googled it - here is what I found

    Veganism is a type of vegetarian diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products and all other animal-derived ingredients. Many vegans also do not eat foods that are processed using animal products, such as refined white sugar and some wines.

    Therefore, when I look through your diary and see entries with animal products or by-products such as cheese and dairy it makes me think two things: you aren't really vegan and you're really just trolling.

    I get that eating disorders aren't a joke - I really do. I haven't gone through one but I have friends who have and it wasn't fun watching them do the things they did to their bodies. If you're eating eggs (April 12 for example) they are great sources of protein or cheese is another good full-fat option (April 13 and 16, for example).

    Also, I can see 11 days in April where you did eat over 1200 calories (many of them 1500, 1600, 1800 calorie days) and the remainder you didn't really log. I am not trying to start anything, I just think of you have a real, eating disorder or medical issue it should be looked at. Otherwise, accurately log everything and see a nutritionist.
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
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    If you are eating 600 calories a day and not losing weight, you are logging something incorrectly.

    (you are eating more than you think)
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
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    Before you started on MFP, how many calories were you eating in a day? I don't know, I find it hard to believe that all of a sudden someone can't eat to or above 1200 calories a day.

    Now maybe you have a fear of gaining weight or you're desperate to lose weight so you may be ignoring your hunger.

    It's easy to eat 3000 or 4000 calories a day when you are bingeing on donuts or something like that every day. It's much harder to do when you have cut all that out and only eat lean meat and steamed vegetables. I think people go overboard with cutting out foods that are perceived to be "bad" just because they are calorie dense and that's why they end up not eating enough.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
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    Thanks for the answers everybody. To answer some of your questions, yes I have developed an eating disorder, but I'm not losing a lot of weight yet. I used to eat a lot due to a medication I was taking a while back. When I went off it was hard for me to eat, and still is. I'm also a vegan, so eating things with protein is a bit harder for me to access, though I'm going to a nutritionist tomorrow to see how I can up my protein intake. I think it's more of a mind thing as well. Reading a lot of your comments made me realize that I have a problem that I need to address. Thank you all :)

    Happy to help anytime
  • chocl8grl
    chocl8grl Posts: 30 Member
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    wut1.gif

    Honestly, I know where you are coming from (don't mind my snark gif, it was more for myself, because I could have written this, but I KNOW I have disordered eating patterns, and I am working on it very hard). It's so hard to find the correct balance between what we need to eat, what we think we should eat, and what we want to eat. Ugh. I wish you all the best.
  • HerbertNenenger
    HerbertNenenger Posts: 453 Member
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    Yes, how did you get to a point that you needed to LOSE weight if you can't even stomach 1200 measly calories?
    And, haven't I seen this post before?
  • mk82gt
    mk82gt Posts: 4
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    If you can't even eat 1,200 calories a day, how exactly did you get to the point where you're now trying to lose weight?

    +1
    was thinking exactly the same thing
  • MizTerry
    MizTerry Posts: 3,763 Member
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  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    if you eat under 1200 your body will turn what you eat right into FAT - even if it is all veggies and healthy stuff. Maybe you can try to eat healthy things with more calories like fiber packed fruit (bananas, apples, pears) with peanut butter as a healthy fat. And full fat greek yogurts should help. What about carbs what kind are you eating? You can get some cals in with healthy carbs like brown rice and quinoa? Good luck!!!

    34o59pi.jpg
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Thanks for the answers everybody. To answer some of your questions, yes I have developed an eating disorder, but I'm not losing a lot of weight yet. I used to eat a lot due to a medication I was taking a while back. When I went off it was hard for me to eat, and still is. I'm also a vegan, so eating things with protein is a bit harder for me to access, though I'm going to a nutritionist tomorrow to see how I can up my protein intake. I think it's more of a mind thing as well. Reading a lot of your comments made me realize that I have a problem that I need to address. Thank you all :)

    If you really do have an eating disorder you also need to see a doctor as soon as possible, please get the help you need.

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