what if you dont...?

caroltina

Read a lot of this and think the key is eat better, move more! I am sure you won't find it as much of a problem as I would eat the world, always a starver!! You probably know what to do, but try to eat little, often and well if you appetite is low, it will help you to keep your metabolism going.

plantgrrl

RayRay Everyone's bodies are different. What has worked for me is to make sure I eat over 1200 cals per day--but ONLY in the food calories consumed category. I don't worry about eating back up to 1200 in the net calories. This is the best way for me to lose consistently. I read somewhere that for a good gradual weight loss just make sure you don't have a net caloric deficit greater then 500 cals per day. If that doesn't work for you try playing around with it. You should lose some even if you do eat back up to 1200 net, but see how your body responses.

I don't think people on here mean to be hurtful, but they can be sometimes. True of all forums everywhere I think. Sometimes as we get closer to our goals and it gets easier to maintain our diets we can lose perspective of what it was like starting out. When we begin a journey like this 8 out of 10 people IMO need encouragement toward there goals and not "Jillian" style tough love. That's for later, maybe the last 20lbs or so, when we get complacent and think about quitting before we reach our goals. Most people on the over weight side of things are really good at being hard on themselves...that's sometimes why we turned to food to begin with. Starting out is really hard and it's easy to give up, but you need to remember that YOU ARE WORTH THIS.

Not eating can really hurt your metabolism. Case in point, one of my best friends in the world has an issue with taking time for herself. Often she'll say things like "This is the first thing I've had to eat all day!" at dinner time. She wonders why she's not losing weight because she "never eats." She is obese and I worry that she's slowly killing herself. I love her to death and if I thought she would listen to me I would tell her that when I started trying to eat better it was really hard to make myself have breakfast (didn't feel hungry), but I started with a small snack when I got up, and eventually I worked up to a larger, but healthier, meal. I noticed that when I have a larger breakfast I end up not eating late (part of why I probably wasn't hungry!), so maybe breakfast really is one of the most important meals of the day!

My go to mid afternoon snack is a packet of trader joe's "Just a handful" no salt dry roasted almonds, 210 calories, but full of "good fats" fiber and protein. Could be just the boost you're looking for! I'd say "good luck" but luck has nothing to do with it! You got this thing, hang in there, it'll get easier over time.

flutterqueen04

I'm a little baffled by this, at the moment you are 190lbs, presumably you got to that weight by being able to eat far more than 1200 calories a day, so why do you feel unable to eat more now?

My first reaction was this too. I always think this when I see someone say they can't eat 1200 calories a day and yet they are "over weight" There is no way they can get over weight purely on starvation mode.

I had discussed this on my profile once because I got on one day and saw all these people making this comment...all over 200+ lbs. I was perplexed. Like not in a jerk way - please don't think that - but I just didn't get how NOT eating can make someone over weight. But I had an awesome friend on MFP explain that sometimes its their thought process. When they go into a "diet" its all or nothing. They either eat all healthy all the time or they don't. They can't just throw in a cookie or two and be fine. They had to eat all fruits, veggies, etc to get their calories or they think they'll fail. In her words "200 calories is a ****load of carrots!" Haha :laugh:

First with your exercise question: Yes exercise still!! It is not just to get more calories to eat, it is for over all health. It is for your heart. It is for your muscles. That is always a good thing :-)

Now with foods: Are you eating any low fat/no fat versions of stuff. If so maybe see about going to full fat versions (depending on the foods and the fats in them). Sometimes full fats aren't that bad. Me personally can't eat a lot of full fat stuff, like dairy because of a medical issue. But I would start there to see where you can sneak in more calories there. Also as some said earlier, saute veggies in olive oil. New taste, healthy calories. You can also add in calories through drinks, not just foods. Get some 100% juices to sip on through the day. Drink milk for calcium and vitamins. If your a salad eater consider topping your salad with avacodo, nuts, sunflower seeds, etc, good healthy proteins. Top apples with natural peanut butter.

Good luck to you on this journey. In time you'll get it figured out, just don't give up :bigsmile:

fteale

Exercise aside, there is no way that you can be eating under 1000 cals a day and not lose weight unless you are already severely underweight or 4ft tall.

Either you aren't logging accurately, or you haven't been going at it long enough to have made a difference yet. I didn't have any weight loss for the first month or more. That is totally normal.

dls06

Why can't you eat 1200 cal a day?
You need to eat to lose weight. Your body can not function on less than 1200 cal a day and if you exercise you need to eat them too. You will not be healthy or lose if you don't do it the right way. Enter your question into the search section above to learn more.