Appetite Issue(s) #worried

James_Bergin

Hey all,

I've posted a few times recently regarding strength training and CRON diets.

I'm trying to lose a bit of weight but also hold onto functional muscle while I'm at it. Recently, however, I've become increasingly worried about my apparent lack of appetite and my own inability to meet my daily calorie intake requirements.

I often under eat, relative to what I should be consuming. On MFP, my daily calorie intake is set at 1200, but I often find myself falling substantially short of this. Things for me have been this way for months, and I'm becoming a bit concerned that something might be wrong. Its not an issue of my own perception of my body, but more an issue of me simply not feeling hungry, and as a result not eating enough. I do try to eat regular meals, but since I'm vegetarian and relatively health conscious (limited carbs in the form of bread, pasta, etc), I am almost always below my calorie target.

I've been hitting the gym regularly over the past month, but have been scared to post my weight loss because I am scared by it. I've been primarily focused on cario exercises in preparation for a run I want to do next year, but I have been absolutely shocked by how much mass I've lost recently - it appears to be primarily loss of muscle tissue by the way.

I'm at the point where I've actually arranged an appointment with my gp (family doctor) to try to get a fix on whats going on. I was hoping that some of you might have some experience, knowledge, or advice to offer on the subject as I am at my wits end.

Cheers

James

PS: I know that 1200 is not healthy, but I'm tired of setting healthy targets and falling madly short of them. 1200 is the lowest setting on MFP and the only one I come close to achieving day-to-day.

TurtleTape

If you're having an issue meeting a calorie goal, then a simple solution is to add more oil when you cook. A little more olive oil adds a substantial amount of calories you won't even notice when you're eating. A spoonful of peanut butter or a handful of nuts also ups your calories without being super filling.

sexymamadraeger

Do you feel good? If you're really eating too little and your body isn't getting enough nutrition you'll feel lightheaded, tired, depleted. I get dizzy. I am just now this week starting to eat over 1200 calories. My calorie goal according to MFP is 1480 or something. I've been losing weight for 3 months now. In the beginning I usually ate 8-900 and actually felt just fine. After a couple weeks I added in some serious exercise and got hungrier. So I ate about 1000. Then it became 1100. I've lost 40 in 10 weeks this way. So that's about 4 lbs a week. What are you losing? Cutting out breads and calories will lead to really fast weight loss! The key I think is how you feel. I'm feeling so much better and healthier and my digestive issues are clearing up finally so I'm adding more calories and more exercise.

rosebette

Why are you eating so little? Is it related to a goal or is there some reason why you want to eat so few calories? What are your goals -- building muscle or weight loss? 1200 is very little for a male. I know you had posted before on the CRON system, but even on that system you would be eating more than 1200 calories. Most males on it are eating around 1700-2000. Also if you are preparing for an athletic event, unless you are overweight, eating as few calories as you can get away with might not be the way to go.