People claiming to be full in tiny calorie amounts

candistyx

When people post things on here saying they only eat 1200/1000/800 etc calories a day and they are soooooo full and they just can't seem to find ways to eat more than that while at the same time claiming to be fat (how did they get fat eating so little?) are they just lying. When I eat 1500 calories a day, even if I eat masses of bulk through non starchy vegetables, I am utterly ravenous, obsessed with food until I've eaten at least 1800-2000 calories. I'll feel lightheaded, unable to think properly, tired, demotivated and obsessive. But there's people claiming to regularly eat way below that and to feel like they've eaten TOO much, while being fat... It's really discouraging, it makes me feel like if I eat a normal day's worth of food (1800 calories to 2000) I am a disgusting un womanly pig because clearly I seem to be unable to eat less. But I kind if suspect it's just one of those internet lies, I think those people are either eating more or are not fat and have not been fat recently.

dotcomee

I bet they have room for a wafer thin mint... just a tiny little thin one.

neandermagnon

I need to eat that much food too.

They're not lying, if people regularly undereat, their appetite signals can become switched off, so they don't feel hungry even if they're not eaten enough (this is not a good thing and often the hunger comes back with avengence at some point and triggers binge eating) ..... also, some people are trapped in a cycle of undereating and rebound overeating, and that's why they're fat, i.e. not just plain overeating... they restrict their diet, get used to eating less, then have days where they're very hungry and overeat enough to make up for the deficit on those days and then some... and so gain weight. Another thing that can happen is that someone can get fat eating very calorie dense foods, so they never actually ate a huge volume of food, but the high calorie density of those foods still put them in a surplus and they gained weight... then they go on a diet and that includes switching to eating healthy... well the same volume of food that they're used to, if they switch to low calorie density, high protein/high fibre/low fat/low carb foods then that volume of food probably will only add up to 1000 calories if that... quite a lot of people when switching to eating healthy, calorie controlled balanced diets do end up eating a greater volume of food, because the calorie density is much lower.

Anyway, your intake 1800-2000 cals seems very healthy and reasonable, and I lose weight on 1800 cals/day and 1500 cals/day would have me chewing my arm off and being hangry at the whole world. This isn't a huge amount of calories IMO... while the people who say they're full on 1000 or similar calories, they're not lying, it's just one of the things listed above going on........ OR some of them may be underestimating portion sizes so what they're eating is actually closer to 1500-1600 calories but they don't realise it.

neandermagnon

I bet they have room for a wafer thin mint... just a tiny little thin one.

waffer theen....

gmallan

I can be satisfied (not necessarily stuffed) on 1500-1800 calories per day of mostly whole foods with a small treat thrown in. I tend to think the overweight people claiming they can't get to their calorie limit because thy're stuff are a bit full of crap. Keep in mind the higher your weight is the higher your BMR because you use more energy just moving around and doing day-to-day tasks. I think 2000 is often quoted as an average maintenance figure for women so you're well in the healthy normal range of what you're eating daily (nothing gross or pigish about it at all).

If you're feeling unwomanly or pigish because of the amount you're eating maybe you need to look internally and adjust your attitude. SmetimesI get self-conscious when I'm eating a big meal with friends because I eat a lot compared to some of them but then I justthink f*&k it. It's probably unlikely that they're even thinking about the amount I'm eating at all or if they are they're probably thinking I wish I could be able eat that much and stay in shape (I've actually had a friend say that to me when we were eating Italian). I've earned the right to eat big meals because I IF, lift weights and stay active.

Own it and down with the whole perception that women need to eat rabbit food

catb58

Another thing that can happen is that someone can get fat eating very calorie dense foods, so they never actually ate a huge volume of food, but the high calorie density of those foods still put them in a surplus and they gained weight... then they go on a diet and that includes switching to eating healthy... well the same volume of food that they're used to, if they switch to low calorie density, high protein/high fibre/low fat/low carb foods then that volume of food probably will only add up to 1000 calories if that... quite a lot of people when switching to eating healthy, calorie controlled balanced diets do end up eating a greater volume of food, because the calorie density is much lower.

That ^^

Alatariel75

I *can* be perfectly satisfied, hunger-wise on 1000 calories. I choose not to be because I know it isn't good for me and I like to have more taste and variety in my diet and know I can lose on much higher.

I think a lot of people are actually used to not eating a lot, volume wise, and instead have gotten where they are by eating very highly calorie dense foods, even in small amounts. Someone who only eats a couple of small meals a day but those meals are in the thousands of calories can gain weight the same as someone who is able to get their money's worth at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

So when someone who got overweight eating 4000 calories a day in,for example, fries, cheese, ranch sauce and deep fried chicken (a combo with which you could reach 4000 in quite a small volume of food) then decides to eat "healthy" they go to the opposite extreme, cut fats, cut carbs, go nuts on the veg and all of a sudden there is a higher volume of food in their gut than they have even been used to, but at a very low calorie expenditure.

I can really see how it happens, and I don't think it's a lie (most of the time). It's important to remember not everyone got overweight from eating a crazy amount of FOOD, many got here by eating too many calories which didn't actually equate to a huge amount of food.

matthehat

I have found that when I eat healthy and clean, its TOUGH for me to consume 1500 calories in a day (and I'm 6'0 270). Its very easy to feel like your starving when you eat crap foods with little to no nutritional value. I know a lot of people on here praise the fact they can eat whatever they want as long as it fits their macros. Thats just not for me! That being said, some people just can eat 1000 calories in a day and be completely satisfied, if you cant well then you cant. No need to knock people for being different

SomeGirlSomewhere

Or like me they are fat but on their way to becoming thin. I feel satisfied on 1200-1300 calories a day as long as I make sure I eat lots of protein. Then again you'll never find me in a forum *****ing about how I'm not losing any weight.

Erinelda

Sometimes I eat a lot less than my calories because I am not hungry. I don't think my body wants to be this fat. For me the drive to eat kicks in at about 160lbs. As for how I got fat.. loads of junk. You don't need to be hungry to eat junk. And I binged because my body barely ever seen a fruit or vegetable.

You just do you. We all have different bodies and not one diet is best for everyone. Mine took a couple months to get comfortable with, longer than it should of because of traditional nutritionist garbage. I now start with a big fruit breakfast and I don't care what people think.

SnuggleSmacks

This happens to a lot of people when they first begin tracking calories, and there are a number of different reasons for it:

1. They don't track accurately. They are way underestimating the calories they're eating, and are astonished that the feel full on so little, when really it's not so little at all.

2. They're suddenly eating all low calorie/high bulk foods like salad and veggies and super lean meats so they're getting far fewer calories for the same volume that they're used to eating when it was all burgers and pizza, and they're astonished at how full they feel after eating so few calories when the reason is that they've just eaten 5 large salads and a chicken breast.

3. By eating these healthy foods, they aren't sending their blood sugar on a roller coaster, so they aren't spending half the day crashing, and they're astonished at how little it takes to stay on an even keel when it's all more nutritious, lower-GI foods.

4. They're paying attention to the point that they're hyper-aware of their body's signals, including satiety, and they're not mindlessly shoveling food in their mouths like they usually do, and they're astonished at how few calories it actually takes to not feel like they're starving when they pay attention and eat proper foods and only when they're hungry.

But regardless of the reasons, I agree it's super annoying. The only thing I find more annoying is the "We're all different" crowd. Apparently each of us is a unique snowflake with our very own unique set of laws for thermodynamics, chemistry and biology. Our bodies work in such wildly divergent ways that it's pointless to even look at things like studies, or give advice which has worked for large populations of humans. Because we're all different. What works for you cannot possibly work for me. Harrumph!

Alyssawinter1221

I stay full on small amounts bc I have lived that way forever. When I went to college and started to gain and eat/drink a lot, it would hurt my stomach and when I tried to go back down to small calories I was hungry all the time. Now I'm pretty used to it again (I kinda like being hungry).

I really think it depends on each person and your lifestyle

I will say that those posts are irritating, if you're full... Cool. No need to announce to everyone. No one is impressed with your low intake, haha. Sounds harsh but it's honest!

Alatariel75

But regardless of the reasons, I agree it's super annoying. The only thing I find more annoying is the "We're all different" crowd. Apparently each of us is a unique snowflake with our very own unique set of laws for thermodynamics, chemistry and biology. Our bodies work in such wildly divergent ways that it's pointless to even look at things like studies, or give advice which has worked for large populations of humans. Because we're all different. What works for you cannot possibly work for me. Harrumph!

QFT. Unless there is a medical issue at play, across the board bodies are bodies.

VitaminAmy

Everyone's body is different... there's no point in comparing yourself to anyone else and beating yourself up.

Focus on what works best for you and stick with it.

galprincess

Im overweight and I only need 1 calorie x2000 to feel full I too am a piggy but im losing weight while being a piggy so its all good

gemmamummy

I think you can train your body to survive on less.....however when I did this it was unpleasant for me and I starte obsessib bout the next meal. Here I am now though, 4'11 and 101lbs and loving every single one of my 2000 kcal diet and still not even putting any weight on, even though I'm just preparing for a bulk.

candistyx

I have found that when I eat healthy and clean, its TOUGH for me to consume 1500 calories in a day (and I'm 6'0 270). Its very easy to feel like your starving when you eat crap foods with little to no nutritional value

See to me this feels like a suggestion that the reason I can't is because I am not eating "healthy and clean". But even if I eat nothing but non starchy vegetables and something with protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, beans whatever). Even when my stomach is full to the point of being a bit uncomfortable, my head is still feeling dizzy and I'm still obsessed with food unless I get enough calories in.

Maybe I'm just being defensive and you weren't suggesting that at all, but I find it really hard to believe a 6 foot male finds it super easy to coast through life on 1500 calories. Literally where do you get your energy (so sure we all hope some of it is from our fat stores)? Do you do nothing all day? When you need to do some hard mental or physical work how do you concentrate given you are basically eating the same level as the participants in the Minnesota Starving Experiment?

Or like me they are fat but on their way to becoming thin. I feel satisfied on 1200-1300 calories a day as long as I make sure I eat lots of protein. Then again you'll never find me in a forum *****ing about how I'm not losing any weight.

Losing weight is pretty easy, I've lost and gained more weight than I currently weigh (and I weigh a LOT). It's not deciding one day that it's just too damn hard to live like this that I find hard, thinking to yourself "what good is being thin if the price is to never think about anything but diets and nutrition and exercise and never get to take an interest in other things because all you can focus on is food and avoiding food and how to get rid of the calories it comes with" and deciding your hobbies and your relationships matter more than the numbers on the scale. That's where I've gotten in trouble.

I think I can avoid that if I eat enough, of course it means I won't lose so fast but at least I'll get to have a life I can actually live for the rest of my life.

I'm still getting kind of obsessive because it's my personality but I'm not having the physical drive to obsess about food so long as I eat enough calories (and carbs to be fair, trying to cut those out makes me just as obsessive).

GreatDepression

Yeah, I'm jealous of those people. Having trouble eating more calories? Ever thought of nuts? A handful could run you 300-400 calories. I think some of them are showing off as well. If you feel full at 1000, 800 or 1400 calories, then don't eat. Most of us aren't lucky to be born with such golden appetites.

SnuggleSmacks

Everyone's body is different... there's no point in comparing yourself to anyone else and beating yourself up.

Focus on what works best for you and stick with it.

Do you even know how badly I want to Rick Roll you right now??

Wilhellmina

I need to eat that much food too.

They're not lying, if people regularly undereat, their appetite signals can become switched off, so they don't feel hungry even if they're not eaten enough (this is not a good thing and often the hunger comes back with avengence at some point and triggers binge eating) ..... also, some people are trapped in a cycle of undereating and rebound overeating, and that's why they're fat, i.e. not just plain overeating... they restrict their diet, get used to eating less, then have days where they're very hungry and overeat enough to make up for the deficit on those days and then some... and so gain weight. Another thing that can happen is that someone can get fat eating very calorie dense foods, so they never actually ate a huge volume of food, but the high calorie density of those foods still put them in a surplus and they gained weight... then they go on a diet and that includes switching to eating healthy... well the same volume of food that they're used to, if they switch to low calorie density, high protein/high fibre/low fat/low carb foods then that volume of food probably will only add up to 1000 calories if that... quite a lot of people when switching to eating healthy, calorie controlled balanced diets do end up eating a greater volume of food, because the calorie density is much lower.

Anyway, your intake 1800-2000 cals seems very healthy and reasonable, and I lose weight on 1800 cals/day and 1500 cals/day would have me chewing my arm off and being hungry at the whole world. This isn't a huge amount of calories IMO... while the people who say they're full on 1000 or similar calories, they're not lying, it's just one of the things listed above going on........ OR some of them may be underestimating portion sizes so what they're eating is actually closer to 1500-1600 calories but they don't realize it.

Totally this! + it depends what you eat. Mainly protein and you will feel full. Eat a huge salad, little calories but stuffed to the ears. You just can't assume because you don't feel full with 1000 to 1200 calories no one will.

fatcity66

I bet they have room for a wafer thin mint... just a tiny little thin one.

LOL But really...is a thread about this really necessary? Seems about as valid as those overweight people complaining they can't eat enough...

gmallan

Another thing that can happen is that someone can get fat eating very calorie dense foods, so they never actually ate a huge volume of food, but the high calorie density of those foods still put them in a surplus and they gained weight... then they go on a diet and that includes switching to eating healthy... well the same volume of food that they're used to, if they switch to low calorie density, high protein/high fibre/low fat/low carb foods then that volume of food probably will only add up to 1000 calories if that... quite a lot of people when switching to eating healthy, calorie controlled balanced diets do end up eating a greater volume of food, because the calorie density is much lower.

That ^^

I was wondering about this in reverse. When people give up on their "healthy" diets that involve a high volume of low calorie food and go back to their previous "bad" diets involving mostly calorie dense foods would they actually start eating more because they've become used to a higher volume of food and more nutrients thus exacerbating the re-gain of weight

Erinelda

People bashing people because they know people are all different are being silly. We ARE all different, My diet would make some people gag. I am not saying we have a whole lot of difference fuel in to fuel out, but we all have different diets that make us happy and not miserable. So some of the women complaining either need to be comfortable eating less calories until their body gets the drive to eat and screw the haters or find more calorie dense foods. Regardless, they are unhappy because they are eating someone else's diet, probably main stream stuff (low fat, low sugar, low salt, low flavor, low energy, small portion size). And only a few people are happy eating that way.

Alatariel75

I have found that when I eat healthy and clean, its TOUGH for me to consume 1500 calories in a day (and I'm 6'0 270). Its very easy to feel like your starving when you eat crap foods with little to no nutritional value

See to me this feels like a suggestion that the reason I can't is because I am not eating "healthy and clean". But even if I eat nothing but non starchy vegetables and something with protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, beans whatever). Even when my stomach is full to the point of being a bit uncomfortable, my head is still feeling dizzy and I'm still obsessed with food unless I get enough calories in.

Maybe I'm just being defensive and you weren't suggesting that at all, but I find it really hard to believe a 6 foot male finds it super easy to coast through life on 1500 calories. Literally where do you get your energy (so sure we all hope some of it is from our fat stores)? Do you do nothing all day? When you need to do some hard mental or physical work how do you concentrate given you are basically eating the same level as the participants in the Minnesota Starving Experiment?

I'm casting a vote for defensive. You have a thread full of well thought out answers, this being one of them, and you managed to find a way in which to take one as potentially a personal slight.

SnuggleSmacks

Another thing that can happen is that someone can get fat eating very calorie dense foods, so they never actually ate a huge volume of food, but the high calorie density of those foods still put them in a surplus and they gained weight... then they go on a diet and that includes switching to eating healthy... well the same volume of food that they're used to, if they switch to low calorie density, high protein/high fibre/low fat/low carb foods then that volume of food probably will only add up to 1000 calories if that... quite a lot of people when switching to eating healthy, calorie controlled balanced diets do end up eating a greater volume of food, because the calorie density is much lower.

That ^^

I was wondering about this in reverse. When people give up on their "healthy" diets that involve a high volume of low calorie food and go back to their previous "bad" diets involving mostly calorie dense foods would they actually start eating more because they've become used to a higher volume of food and more nutrients thus exacerbating the re-gain of weight

I imagine that's entirely possible, which is why most people on here recommend eating the exact same diet you plan to eat for life, without cutting out foods or food groups, just at a deficit.

coboltpunch

I only cant keep the food down when I take metformin, that stuff kills my appetite.

matthehat

I have found that when I eat healthy and clean, its TOUGH for me to consume 1500 calories in a day (and I'm 6'0 270). Its very easy to feel like your starving when you eat crap foods with little to no nutritional value

See to me this feels like a suggestion that the reason I can't is because I am not eating "healthy and clean". But even if I eat nothing but non starchy vegetables and something with protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, beans whatever). Even when my stomach is full to the point of being a bit uncomfortable, my head is still feeling dizzy and I'm still obsessed with food unless I get enough calories in.

Maybe I'm just being defensive and you weren't suggesting that at all, but I find it really hard to believe a 6 foot male finds it super easy to coast through life on 1500 calories. Literally where do you get your energy (so sure we all hope some of it is from our fat stores)? Do you do nothing all day? When you need to do some hard mental or physical work how do you concentrate given you are basically eating the same level as the participants in the Minnesota Starving Experiment?

Or like me they are fat but on their way to becoming thin. I feel satisfied on 1200-1300 calories a day as long as I make sure I eat lots of protein. Then again you'll never find me in a forum *****ing about how I'm not losing any weight.

Losing weight is pretty easy, I've lost and gained more weight than I currently weigh (and I weigh a LOT). It's not deciding one day that it's just too damn hard to live like this that I find hard, thinking to yourself "what good is being thin if the price is to never think about anything but diets and nutrition and exercise and never get to take an interest in other things because all you can focus on is food and avoiding food and how to get rid of the calories it comes with" and deciding your hobbies and your relationships matter more than the numbers on the scale. That's where I've gotten in trouble.

I think I can avoid that if I eat enough, of course it means I won't lose so fast but at least I'll get to have a life I can actually live for the rest of my life.

I'm still getting kind of obsessive because it's my personality but I'm not having the physical drive to obsess about food so long as I eat enough calories (and carbs to be fair, trying to cut those out makes me just as obsessive).

I have a desk job, however I go to the gym six days a week. Five days of lifting at the gym a week and six days of cardio. I also do hiking on the weekends. I wasn't personally attacking you in any way. As I stated before, everyones body is different.
Heres my usual meals. Breakfast: Protein shake, three rice cakes 200 calories. Lunch: Grilled chicken and brown rice, 500 calories. Dinner, Broccoli, tomatoes, chicken and rice 700 calories. For snacks I will have some type of fruits throughout the day.
So you see I am not starving myself, this isn't some type of magic. I went from eating pizza and fast food (usually about 1500 calories per meal) to having nutritional dense food.

russkiballerina

I find it extremely hard to ever eat 1200cals or even reach 1000, though I have been doing a good job lately - I have to force myself to.

I'm not lying and never would. I'm also on steroids for panhypopituitarism (my pituitary is shot from a brain tumor - I produce absolutely no cortisol and no hormones whatsoever), coumadin (blood thinner), synthroid (because my thyroid, while healthy, doesn't respond to hormones since they don't exist), klonopin, sodium bicarb for tubular acidosis, and topamax for seizures. I happen to also have had anorexia nervosa a few years back, so that ghost is always with me.

I'm almost 1,71cm (5'7"?) and I weigh right now about 56kg, but until two weeks ago, in hospital for an adrenal crisis - I was almost 70kg from the IV corticosteroids and still couldn't eat more than 600cals and had to be fed by tube, with doc's threats and everything, i just couldn't eat, everything went up - it got dangerous so they put the tube in. Some things you just can't control. I've done damage to my body in years of ED and other illness and things I couldn't control, if you don't produce cortisol and you're always underweight from it (because no cortisol means extremely low blood pressure and blood sugar, vomiting up everything you eat from extreme nausea, extreme fatigue, extreme abdominal pain, collapse, etc) and you're a dancer and you can't stomach food - any food - because it makes you sick, how do you even BEGIN to try and eat, even consciously knowing you have to? And when you gain a lot of weight from finally being diagnosed and getting better, and you have to lose it to go back to your normal, healthy weight, and you gain it out of nowhere but you STILL can't magically make your stomach any larger to accommodate larger amounts of food or your brain any more wired to process the signals that a normal person gets in relation to hormones and hunger signals, then what? What do you do? Other than hope that somehow someday some doc is going to figure out the right concoction and you're going to be a normal human able to eat?

Am I lying when I state I honestly find it hard to go past 800-1000 cals? Sometimes I have to force feed myself. Sometimes I have to get my boyfriend to do it for me. My endocrinologist and my hematologist both have links to this diary here on MFP because I gave it to them for supervision and they were interested. And I do love food, I honestly love it. What I hate is how it makes me feel afterwards - tired, nauseus, sick, crying, in pain sometimes, it's hell.

And you know the funny thing, I am not fat now, but in a year or two if I keep having adrenal crisis, no matter how much restriction, if they up my hydrocortisone enough or switch me to prednisone, I might as well become fat or overweight and there will be very little I will be able to do about it because the steroids have very specific side effects that I won't be able to control. And I have to replace this for the rest of my life because my pituitary is 100% shot.
That scares the **** out of me but then again, I'd rather be alive than fit.

Don't assume things about people because frankly you don't know their medical history and their struggles. I don't understand why anyone would lie about anything, especially on forums where people go to support each other through journeys that are often painful. But maybe I'm just naive.

neandermagnon

I have found that when I eat healthy and clean, its TOUGH for me to consume 1500 calories in a day (and I'm 6'0 270). Its very easy to feel like your starving when you eat crap foods with little to no nutritional value

See to me this feels like a suggestion that the reason I can't is because I am not eating "healthy and clean". But even if I eat nothing but non starchy vegetables and something with protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, beans whatever). Even when my stomach is full to the point of being a bit uncomfortable, my head is still feeling dizzy and I'm still obsessed with food unless I get enough calories in.

You need to stop comparing yourself to other people... yep what you describe is totally normal and natural, and maybe it's because you've always eaten a healthy balanced diet so you're used to eating a larger volume of food. Or maybe it's just how your body's hunger/full system works. Really, you're telling all of this stuff to yourself in your own mind, and you need to stop doing that. Just because you experience hunger and fullness differently to *some* people (emphasis on some, because in all honesty I think most people are more like you in how they experience hunger etc) does not mean there's anything bad about you.... you seem to be putting a moralistic slant on this, maybe you think that wanting to eat more is sinful or shameful or something? If that is what's behind this issue, then you need to make that part of your brain realise that normal human appetites are not bad or shameful or sinful or anything like that...... they're just normal appetites and they're there for survival purposes, because until recently, people didn't know how much to eat, they just ate when they were hungry and stopped eating when they were full.

What you describe with your hunger/fullness is pretty much exactly the same as me, the difference is I take it as totally normal and not any kind of reflection on myself as a person... it's just my body's survival instincts.

what you said about low calorie volume food... I find the same, if I eat nothing but salad, even if it's my normal volume of food, I'm still hungry and hangry - I don't get dizzy so much but I don't feel right if I haven't eaten enough calories, which for me is around 1800 cals, which is a bit less than I burn off. Really this is totally normal.

oxers

For a lot of folks, the magic ticket to fatland wasn't stuffing their gobs indiscriminately, but actually not eating much of anything at all during the day and making up for it by overeating calorie-dense foods at night. It's a weird pattern our society seems to have developed, and it's a problem. Taking time to sit down and eat a well-portioned, calorie-controlled variety of meals all day can be intimidating or difficult for someone used to that fast-feast rhythm, and there are a lot of other factors as well. Those folks are usually newbies, and I think it's best to be kind to them until they figure out which way is up.

Bella_12356

I am obese and I went through a long period at the beginning of the year where I lost my appetite. I had thyroid issues and adrenal exhaustion. I was only eating around 500 calories per day, forcing myself to eat a couple of spoon fulls of food. It literally seemed impossible to eat 1200 calories or more. During this time, I didn't lose any weight at all, if anything I gained weight. 'Starvation mode' existed for me. Only when did I begin to eat regularly again did the weight start to come off. It's very possible for a fat person to keep themselves fat by not eating enough if their metabolism has been damaged enough.I'm just sayin there are a lot of factors that contribute to apetite, and it's very possible that people can be full on tiny amounts of food.