People claiming to be full in tiny calorie amounts

DeguelloTex

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?

It sounds a little defensive.

I'm 6'9" and still a couple of pounds over 300 (down from 335 at the beginning of May, so I have that going for me, which is nice). I usually "have to" eat ice cream at night to get over 1500, and sometimes to get over 1200 so MFP doesn't nag me when I close out a day. I get my energy, presumably, from the food I eat and the 350,000 or so stored calories I had when I started dieting. I walk 6.5 miles a day, 6 days a week. I concentrate just fine, or at least it appears that way to me. Granted, I've only been doing this a little less than eight weeks, so that may change.

Now, to be clear, I'm not one of those claiming to be full on tiny calorie amounts. There are definitely times when I'd like to eat more. I don't know that there are times when I needed to eat more, though. I'm merely pointing out that it's more than possible for a big guy to manage relatively easily on 1500 a day... at least if he's motivated and likes grilled chicken with spicy salsa and corn and rice.

None of this is to say that you, or anyone in particular, have to view food in the same way or that there's something wrong with you if you don't. I'm just saying that I can be just fine on 1500 whether you believe it or not. That doesn't mean you have to be, because thermodynamics isn't the only thing in play here.

LaneB89

A lot of it is hormones. Constantly stuffing your face and becoming obese will throw your hormones out of whack, including hormones that regulate hunger and satiety. When I first started cutting calories, I couldn't fathom not eating huge footlong subs and fries for dinner - how was I going to survive?! After pushing through the "hunger" for a few weeks, everything settled down, and now I'm pretty satisfied on 1700 calories a day as a 5'11" man.

sabified

But the thing is.. that's them and you're you.

You can convince yourself they're lying if you want, but the truth is you know nothing about them.

It doesn't mean that either of you are wrong, or that one of you are lesser than the other, it just means you're different people, who have different bodies and have led different lives.

Don't let what other people do discourage you- it has nothing to do with you.

kk_140

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!

This exactly for me! I've gotten so used to 1,100-1,300 calories a day while losing weight that it doesn't bother me much anymore. That isn't to say I'm stuffed though by any means.

spara0038

I'm sometimes satisfied on as little as 800 calories, sometimes still hungry after 1600. It just depends on what I have to eat, when I eat, wake up, go to bed, etc. There are sometimes I've eaten an entire club pack of lettuce with a little dressing on it, which is about 200 calories total, and totally filling. And I have oatmeal for breakfast, which if I happen to have oatmeal (160 cal) and the big salad (200 cal) and a 500 cal dinner, that's about 850 calories. I did that mostly in college and I've learned better since then. No, it's not healthy... no, I don't advocate doing it... but that's how it worked. I now try to get at least 1200-1400 calories but sometimes I struggle.

I suppose IBS also contributes to it too though... If I have high fiber or lots of greens then I bloat out like crazy and feel like I can't face any more food. Damn stomach, I wish it would behave sometimes.

lemurcat12

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.

Exactly!

I also do think that people must vary somewhat in how the volume of food affects them. If I eat moderately low carb and with plates filled with veggies plus a decent amount of fat and protein I can be satisfied (not stuffed) at 1000 calories, although I agree it's not healthy and while it wouldn't cause me to binge I'd end up getting bored and not sticking with it. When people claim to be full I think for most it's not that they are stuffed and couldn't eat more, but that they don't feel like they are hungry and are bothered by the idea that they should eat when not actually hungry when on a diet. Plus, they are trying to avoid those foods that they are most used to eating when not really hungry, like dessert or chips, etc.

moij0

i cant speak for anyone else, i just know that i used to eat smaller portions and fewer meals but blow my calorie intake out of the water

i.e. a mcdonalds meal would be consuming around 1200 plus calories or just a couple of slices of toast on white bread , white coffee with sugar was around 500 calories ....and you could times the coffee cream and sugar by 8 at least every day...
im not eating much but the calories are huge!

so consuming 1200 cals of healthy food, low sugar, low fats etc. i have to eat alot more and i do find this hard since my body isnt used to it. Any tips id appreciate

LC458

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.

You are the exception, not the rule, that being said I am so sorry for your medical conditions you have described here. My aunt developed an ed after being on prednisone because it caused moon face and a whole bunch of weight gain. She needed the medicine to keep her body from rejecting her newly transplanted kidney but she seriously put her looks before her health and stopped taking her meds. Her new kidney was shot almost immediately. She finally grew up a bit or got over the weight gain and received another kidney and is taking her meds like she should and she's doing wonderful. I have never been on the meds myself but as someone with a previous history of anorexia I can certainly sympathize with what your going through. It seems you now have the right frame of mind now, better to be alive than fit, 100% yes!!! I hope the absolute best for you regarding your health. Best wishes :flowerforyou:

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

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.

All of this except the part about being able to be satisfied on 1000 calories.

AllonsYtotheTardis

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.

95% of the time I think this is what's going on

ShellF415

I eat 1200 calories a day and I am never hungry. I load up on fresh veggies and high protein foods which fill me up. Sure, it didn't start out way but I'm used to it now and if I do splurge, I feel crappy.

Siannah

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.

Definitely this.
Problem I have though, is that a large plate of vegetables doesn't satisfy me, not the way a big sandwich or a chocolate bar does...
At the moment I'm trying to stay within 1500 cals, and that's a HUGE struggle for me. I can easily eat 2500 or more.

hookilau

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.

Have you considered people who do stuff like that aren't right in the head? :laugh:
Who gives a rat's @ss what they say, do what you need to do for you.
There are tons of factors that could either make what they say true or not, besides...it's the internet.
Try not to overthink it.

CleanUpWhatIMessedUp

I think the OP is projecting her insecurities onto others. Everybody is different. People eat different things in their diets. Some foods are more filling than others and some people feel full faster than others. That's just life. Just because you eat 1800 calories and feel fat and hungry doesn't mean that, just because someone else eats 1500 calories and feels full, they have to be lying. That is your insecurity about your own feelings coming through. The problem is with you, not them.

srslybritt

I think it would surprise you how easy it is to be satisfied on that few calories, especially if the person is a "grazer" and doesn't split their eating into meal segments. I know the timing of your food doesn't matter for weight loss, but it will matter for satiety.

That being said, most of the time, yes, it is a load of carp and the person is lying to everyone including themselves and trying to force themselves to eat less because they think it's an insta-cure for being overweight.

ETA: Don't ever feel insecure or guilty about what you eat. Eat what fuels you, what works for you, and what makes you happy. Eat for results, not because you have anything to show.

Tatyanne

Hi you all,

I'm putting myself out there...and I'm feeling you gonna beat me.... :bigsmile:

So, I'm 5´4´´, sedentary work (all day at a desk in front of an computer), 144.8lbs.
MFP tells me to eat 1450cal a day, with 6 workout/week for a total of 1200cal minimum/week.
Additionally I avoid to use the lift and choose the stair (work in a 5th floor).

My weekly routine:
I wake up every day at 6:15 to do my exercises.
After that, shower, breakfast time and at 8:15 I'm on my way to work .
I have a morning snack around 11:00 and around 14:00 I have lunch.
Afternoon snack around 17:30 and dinner at 20:00

Some days I have difficulty reaching 1450cals a day....and I mean...without eating back my calories...
What I aim for its the net above 1200.
For today, without the dinner I already had 1136 (and I ate 1 square of Nestle Chocolate)
However the NET is only 854, so I have to eat at least 346 at dinner, and that will be 1482 in total.... It seams doable to me...but there is no way I will be able to eat all my calories back (around 200cals will remain), and I'm not worried about it...or hungry

I plan my snacks in advanced, I take my lunch to work and I dinner at home (mine, mother or mother in law)
I only drink water (85oz/day) and natural juices. No sodas. Alcohol only in special occasions.
Usually
Breakfast: Boiled Egg+dark bread+turkey sausages+fruit+coffee or Greek yogurt+fruit+muesli+coffee
Morning snack: 25g nuts + 1 or 2 pieces of fruit
Lunch: soup+raw vegetables+7oz meat+some carbs+fruit
Afternoon Snack: Greek yogurt+fruit+muesli or 1 or 2 pieces of fruit
Dinner: soup+cooked vegetables+7oz fish+fruit

I try to follow some rules that my grandma taught me, because they apply to my lifestyle:
1. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper!"
2. Main meals: first the fruit and the soup, then the main course. She used to do this to guarantee that we ate our vitamins and that we felt full by the end of the meal

I still have some day's where I eat all my 1450 and My exercise cals - I'm a Human - but usually that happens in the days we go out to dinner, or go out with some friends to lunch on weekends.

I eat fries and fried food! Just don't cook them in oil, like my grandma used to do, I use a healthier alternative:
http://tfalactifry.com/

Being hungry and crave for something is different. I'm never hungry, but sometimes I crave for something and I indulge when I can :happy:

DonnaMarieS87

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.

I'm the same. I started MFP in March this year and was given a goal of 1,200 calories per day. I hit that every day and eat back my work out calories when required. I eat more now, than when I was being fat and unhealthy and I don't feel hungry at the end of it either. Different things work for different people, I would never want to judge how people lose weight, so long as it works for them and they are happy.

healthygreek

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!

Brilliant, concise, clear answer!

fit_gal

I don't know how many calories I used to eat. I'm not overweight anyway, but my weight was moving in the wrong direction. I used to constantly eat crisps, biscuits, chocolate etc. Now that I'm conscious of what I eat, I have an eating routine. The last two days i havent managed to quite eat the 1500 cals I was supposed to. And I did feel full. I think as you learn to eat less your stomach shrinks a bit. Also, you change the way you eat so you're eating more filling foods and not just empty cals like choccy or crisps.

cwoyto123

Same. Even hungry on 5500 calories.