Need articles to help friend eat more

Seajolly
Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have a friend who is just starting to get into fitness, which is awesome because she is overweight, but she still has the unfortunate mentality that she should be basically starving herself to achieve weight loss, even if she is putting in 1+ hours at the gym everyday.

She has an unhealthy relationship with food. She'll go all day without eating, then have a large meal at night, and do it all over again the next day. She gets headaches and can't sleep without a sleeping aid, which I think is related to her bingeing and starving cycle, at least partially. Both of her parents have type 2 diabetes and I think she is headed in that direction if she doesn't change the way she eats.

So I'd love to share some articles with her, just so it's more reputable people giving her advice than myself. I really care about her and want to help give her a wake-up call. Does anyone have any articles or websites that explain WHY we need to eat more and regularly throughout the day in order to lose weight? Really appreciate it! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • Snakey74
    Snakey74 Posts: 276 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

    This has a bunch of great information! Best of luck to your friend and to you! :)
  • lizsquish
    lizsquish Posts: 14
    http://www.thehealthyeatingguide.com/6smallmealsaday.html

    i am a big fan of eating small meals. and if your friend is super worried about calories... then suggest small soups and salads. I like Lipton cup-a-soups, they have calories ranging from 35-70 calories each (hardly anything!) and i might have 2 or 3 of those throughout the day. Walden Farms also makes a zero calorie dressing.... really. and so your friend can make a BIG salad with dressing that is also really low in calories. hopefully that helps. best of luck.
  • crazynay96
    crazynay96 Posts: 99
    I'm afraid that even though your intent is to help her you may be hindering her even more. Instead what I would encourage her to do is to seek out a nutritionist who can get her on a plan that is specific to her and her body based on her height, weight, ideal weight, and any medical issues she may have. Make it sound fun, suggest you do it together and each hold each other accountable. Tell her you can be work out buddies and can sign onto MFP and share your meals and give each other ideas. Negativism with these types of people only drives them further into their "holes" and this is where eating disorders occur. Also tell her you can take cooking classes together it'll give y'all quality time to spend together and you'll learn how to cook healthy meals appropriate for your specific caloric intake values.

    I am a nurse and going back to school currently for my masters in social work, and what I'm worried about is your friend feeling like you are backing her into a corner and worsening her issues. She believes in her mind she has the answers, and it may even be that she is getting results with this but that'll only be temporary. However she needs to learn, from a professional, what the long term damages are but she needs to hear that from an independent person who isn't bias and can come in and assess her simply based on facts, not a friend (even though you have her best interest at heart).
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    There's nothing wrong with eating one meal a day if she's getting enough calories and nutrients out of it. Meal timing is a myth. The body only cares about totals, it doesn't matter if you split your calories into 20 meals a day, or eat them all at once. I'd focus on the actual nutrition, and not the eating schedule itself. There are many people who practice intermittent fasting (basically what your friend is doing) who live perfectly healthy lives and have no issues with nutrition or weight control.
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
    There's nothing wrong with eating one meal a day if she's getting enough calories and nutrients out of it. Meal timing is a myth. The body only cares about totals, it doesn't matter if you split your calories into 20 meals a day, or eat them all at once. I'd focus on the actual nutrition, and not the eating schedule itself. There are many people who practice intermittent fasting (basically what your friend is doing) who live perfectly healthy lives and have no issues with nutrition or weight control.

    I doubt her 1 meal a day gives her all the nutrition or even all the calories her body needs. I think these nightly binges probably don't go over 1000 calories. Plus with her family history of type 2 diabetes, she shouldn't be letting her blood sugar get that low throughout the day, as it would if she's only eating 1 meal a day!
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

    This has a bunch of great information! Best of luck to your friend and to you! :)

    Thank you! :smile: I've just shared this article with her, which I think will be helpful! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    I personally think she will take me giving her this article positively, not negatively. She is looking for my guidance with working out and keeps telling me "You should be a personal trainer!". So I know she sees me as someone to aspire to be more like already. I just wanted some solid facts to hand her from a reputable source.
  • Seajolly
    Seajolly Posts: 1,435 Member
    I just shared that article with her and this is what she said -

    "That's EXACTLY why I don't lose weight!!! You see that I don't eat a lot... But when I'm hungry I over-eat and it's always not the right stuff. Very cool article. Thanks for sharing. I saw my name all over it! I really need to start eating breakfast for starters. I'm so happy I'm starting to take care of myself! I feel great about myself, all thanks to you".

    BEST REACTION I COULD EVER EXPECT!!! :smile: I'm so happy I said something to her and I hope this inspires a change!
  • Snakey74
    Snakey74 Posts: 276 Member
    I just shared that article with her and this is what she said -

    "That's EXACTLY why I don't lose weight!!! You see that I don't eat a lot... But when I'm hungry I over-eat and it's always not the right stuff. Very cool article. Thanks for sharing. I saw my name all over it! I really need to start eating breakfast for starters. I'm so happy I'm starting to take care of myself! I feel great about myself, all thanks to you".

    BEST REACTION I COULD EVER EXPECT!!! :smile: I'm so happy I said something to her and I hope this inspires a change!

    That is awesome!!! :)

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