<3 support group for women eating 2000+ calories per day <3

Oishii

Quick question: Do you need to eat more or less than the men in your lives?

My dh isn't much taller or heavier than me (think slight, Japanese build) and I have a sneaky suspicion that I actually need to eat more than him! He's been complaining that his trousers are getting tighter, despite his light breakfasts and lunches (comparatively) and eating the same supper as me. He is more sedentary than me, at work and at play, so it makes sense.

My dad, on the other hand, swims enough to be able to eat like a pig!

psych101

lucyhoneychurch: I know what you mean! I SO know what you mean! I have a MFP who nets about 700 a day but she's so sweet I don't feel like I can say anything without offending her. And I don't open my diary so I don't like to comment on those who do! Another MFP friend eats all her calories every day but GEEZ where are the veges?!? No vegetables ever, any day!
But I will wait until one of them asks for help then discuss it with them.

Well ladies I took the plunge today and enrolled for 2012 into a nutrition bridging course here at Uni. First step to a Masters! Eek! Decided that I've taken charge of my life in so many areas, it was about time I did so in my career too!

As they say "a year from now you will have wished you started today"

Xx

caveats

I guess I'm just glad that this group of ladies WILL EAT and fuel their bodies. I'm glad this group of ladies is open and helpful, not critical and are just being real about how weight loss is hard... but not impossible.

I think it's easy to let MFP do all the work for you. And when you do that, MFP can be really deceptive. But when you've been conditioned by society, marketing, the USDA, your gym teacher, etc. etc. etc. to focus on calories in/calories out, I think it's easy to accept MFP's advice because it looks and sounds familiar.

I was really surprised when MFP recommended I restrict myself to 1200 cal/day to lose weight. I'd never been on that drastic of a diet or lifestyle change, whatever you want to call it. The only thing I've ever really tried prior to this was Atkins, and that was only because the guy I was dating at the time was doing it, and I wanted to be supportive. And then Atkins was drastic in the sense that carb-cutting was painful, but at least I got to eat as much steak as I want -- and I LOVE steak. But 1200 cal/day was HARD.

I guess with busy lives and all, I got lazy and didn't do my research into WHY MFP was telling me 1200 calories. Took about a week, and then I started looking into alternatives. I couldn't handle 1200 calories. When I recognized the linear logic MFP was using to arrive at 1200 calories, I started using the custom method to raise my calories and reorganize my macros. I'm much better off now, and winging toward my goal of dropping BF% and some of these love handles.

Anyway. Just my long-winded way of agreeing with the above quote. While I appreciate all of the tools MFP offers, I'm being more diligent about re-educating myself on nutrition and fitness rather than accepting all of MFP's guidance. I guess I just wish some of the ladies at 1200 cal/day would be more open into listening to other viewpoints more than getting focused on the magic 1200 number. It is painful to read sometimes.

caveats

Also, quick catch-up:

-- No, I don't work out so I can eat more. I am consciously engaging in a more active lifestyle, which is making me more productive mentally at work and my relationship with my bf stronger (we do a lot of outdoorsy stuff together). I want to keep those habits for life. So I think I average out to a fairly consistent calorie burn over the week. So I go by that rather than daily count.

-- I'm a 1 and a 2.

-- I eat more than my brother (2 years younger, lives with me right now to share housing costs) who is 6'1" and probably like 150 lbs. Skinny lad. I eat about the same as my bf (3 years old, 5'8" and 180 lbs.) when you average out the week, but he tends to binge (most of his calories in one meal during weekdays) because he's the type that forgets to eat when he's busy. And being that he's a PhD student, that means he's always busy. I tend to eat more than him at buffets though. It's my mother's training -- we never left a buffet without her making sure we were all stuffed to the gills.

scarletleavy

I think I started in #2. I had about 15 pounds to lose, but once I had lost that I refocused my attention on getting stronger and fitter.

I don't really workout more to eat more, unless I know I'm going out for a big dinner somewhere, then I'll try to make sure I get a good workout in so I don't feel too too guilty indulging.

I have some friends on my friend list who are eating 1200 calories and it's just so wrong for them. But there's only so much you can say, because they just don't want to hear it. I can't believe the number of people eating 1200 calories of just processed junk food. It's actually unbelievable and then wondering why they aren't seeing the results they want.

fimm

Morning all!
Its a lovely sunny autumn morning here in Scotland :-) I've got club run and swim sessions later.

To answer questions - I'm definitely a 1 - I don't think I've ever weighed as much as 10 stone (140 lb) and when I came on here I was already into triathlon training and logged my starting weight at 62kg. (That is 137 lb, apparently, which is interesting as I was quite a bit thinner then then when I was at my fattest - I bought a suit then and had to have the trousers majorly taken in because my waist had changed in size so much.)

I (try to!) eat less than my boyfriend. I'm actually taller than him, and when we met I weighed more too. Not any more (the weight, that is, not the height!). He's very muscular, especially in the legs because he's been a keen cyclist all his life. When he's down to "racing weight" he's got a nice six-pack, but he normally runs a little above that. He doesn't track calories on a regular basis - his problem is usually trying to eat enough!! We're both trying to eat more healthily (not that we do badly, but there are areas where we could improve).

Hope the rest of you have a good day (when it's your turn ) )

hannydee

Hello ladies! I also LOVE food!
I'm 24 years old, 5'8" and currently at 152 lbs. My calorie goal is actually set to 1400 but since I spend a lot of time at the gym, I end up eating in excess of 2000 cals most days and am still seeing losses of up to 2lbs per week from it. Would love to keep in touch with likeminded ladies who spend all their free time chowing down on snacks, haha. All friend requests welcomed.

robin52077

questions:

No, I don't ever exercise more "just to eat more". Usually I am having to eat more just to keep up with my TDEE and still falling short.

I am between a 1 and 2. I joined and quit smoking at the same time, wanting to start jogging at get more fit, but I did have about 20 pounds I wanted to lose, which I did, although I have never been above the "normal" category on the scale.

I eat more than my 11 year old son, does that count?:laugh:
My 14 year old can put it down, but he's taller than me and growing. And my honey is growing even though he shouldn't be because he eats insane amounts of horrible stuff every night.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Sooo happy every time I come to this thread and read the posts. You are all a fabulous group of ladies the part that I hate the most when you try to help some people is that you get labeled as "jealous and unsupportive" and that is simply absurd. I would just rather nourish my body and train hard than to starve myself. Quite simply...it isn't worth it.

So at the gym this morning I'm running beside a girl who comes daily...we like the same treadmill and I used it yesterday so since I got there before her I just left it open for her. We talked about running a marathon together. How fun...it would be my first .

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

calorie wise I think I eat as many as most of my female peers but they eat less volume and more crappy stuff. 3 slices of thick pizza in a sitting that's dripping with oil. I simply won't do that. To me it's important to get a nice volume of food.

I definitely could out eat my ex but I feel like he had an eating disorder...fortunately I helped him realize that a footlong sandwich shouldn't last 4 meals. He gained weight to get to a healthy place but his food behaviors were still odd.

Quite a few girls in law school clearly have eating disorders as well. That breaks my heart because one of them I thought would be a good friend but I can't have toxic relationships because in my world health is more important than thinness.

savvystephy

Clearly I haven't been as active in this thread as I wanted, you all are chatty ladies. :laugh: I am just tagging this thread so I can follow you when you open a new thread. :laugh:

I have been having a hard time lately with an injury, but I am getting back on track. Hope you all are well!

savvystephy

Hi all, I am just posting to tag and follow this post.. you all are an inspiration to me. I have been having a tough time with an injury, but am going to start recovering soon and getting back into the swing of things.

Love all that you guys support!

TluvK

psych101 - congrats! That's wonderful!

As for the 1,200 cals: I've always struggled with figuring out how many of the women on here seem to struggle with eating more than 1,200 cals when the reason they came here is because they were obviously eating more than 1,200 cals. One gal put it perfectly - once she cut all the crap out and started eating healthy, she couldn't reach her 1,200 calories. It comes down to education. They don't know enough about nutrition and macros, to know what they should put in their bodies for fuel. They lost their initial weight eating 1,200 or less, but now most of them are stuck and are scared and uneducated about to do it right. I think most of them are just paralyzed by fear of even putting on one more pound Also, just visiting the recipes board, shows that a lot of people just don't even recognize common, healthy ingredients in food. It's like, oh, I can add all this stuff to this stuff and it might still taste like a double cheeseburger and fries? Not getting down on all processed foods and artificial stuff, but I just think that just eating whole foods and knowing WHY you are eating them is a tough lesson to learn....that it's not ALL about cals in and cals out, but about the quality of those cals.

As for out-eating my hubby - I did when I was pregnant! Not anymore though - he's 6'1" and 175 and lifts heavy and plays basketball 3 days a week. He's a good eater. I went to his office the other day after having to deal with some annoying drama - I just wanted something satisfying (in a bad way) and he offered me almonds, cottage cheese or raisins. I was like, "don't you have an Oreo?" :laugh:

TluvK

psych101 - congrats! That's wonderful!

As for the 1,200 cals: I've always struggled with figuring out how many of the women on here seem to struggle with eating more than 1,200 cals when the reason they came here is because they were obviously eating more than 1,200 cals. One gal put it perfectly - once she cut all the crap out and started eating healthy, she couldn't reach her 1,200 calories. It comes down to education. They don't know enough about nutrition and macros, to know what they should put in their bodies for fuel. They lost their initial weight eating 1,200 or less, but now most of them are stuck and are scared and uneducated about to do it right. I think most of them are just paralyzed by fear of even putting on one more pound Also, just visiting the recipes board, shows that a lot of people just don't even recognize common, healthy ingredients in food. It's like, oh, I can add all this stuff to this stuff and it might still taste like a double cheeseburger and fries? Not getting down on all processed foods and artificial stuff, but I just think that just eating whole foods and knowing WHY you are eating them is a tough lesson to learn....that it's not ALL about cals in and cals out, but about the quality of those cals.

As for out-eating my hubby - I did when I was pregnant! Not anymore though - he's 6'1" and 175 and lifts heavy and plays basketball 3 days a week. He's a good eater. I went to his office the other day after having to deal with some annoying drama - I just wanted something satisfying (in a bad way) and he offered me almonds, cottage cheese or raisins. I was like, "don't you have an Oreo?" :laugh:

PS - look what I woke up to this morning! Guess an outdoor run is out of the question.

dawnemjh

Sooo happy every time I come to this thread and read the posts. You are all a fabulous group of ladies the part that I hate the most when you try to help some people is that you get labeled as "jealous and unsupportive" and that is simply absurd. I would just rather nourish my body and train hard than to starve myself. Quite simply...it isn't worth it.

So at the gym this morning I'm running beside a girl who comes daily...we like the same treadmill and I used it yesterday so since I got there before her I just left it open for her. We talked about running a marathon together. How fun...it would be my first .

\

All the running you do, a marathon would be a cinch You should go for it!! I have done a couple and their is nothing better than that accomplishment!!!!

Good morning all!! Yesterday I hit 2000, and today I did a 5 mile run (HIIT) and so I plan on at least 2100 calories!

I definately eat more than my husband who is 6' and 190lbs. At least as far as quantity, but as far as calories not sure. He eats standard 3 meals per day and maybe snack at bedtime where as I graze all day.

Hope you all have a great day!

scarletleavy

As for the 1,200 cals: I've always struggled with figuring out how many of the women on here seem to struggle with eating more than 1,200 cals when the reason they came here is because they were obviously eating more than 1,200 cals. One gal put it perfectly - once she cut all the crap out and started eating healthy, she couldn't reach her 1,200 calories. It comes down to education. They don't know enough about nutrition and macros, to know what they should put in their bodies for fuel. They lost their initial weight eating 1,200 or less, but now most of them are stuck and are scared and uneducated about to do it right. I think most of them are just paralyzed by fear of even putting on one more pound Also, just visiting the recipes board, shows that a lot of people just don't even recognize common, healthy ingredients in food. It's like, oh, I can add all this stuff to this stuff and it might still taste like a double cheeseburger and fries? Not getting down on all processed foods and artificial stuff, but I just think that just eating whole foods and knowing WHY you are eating them is a tough lesson to learn....that it's not ALL about cals in and cals out, but about the quality of those cals.

I totally agree with this! I used to check the recipe boards, but I can't stomach it anymore. Some of the "recipes" there are just horrendous in terms of all the fake, low-fat, low-calorie, reduced-whatevers they have in them. Also the amount of people wanting to replicate the same meals that got them overweight in the first place is just beyond me. Maybe we shouldn't be eating tator tot or cheeseburger pies at all, regardless of all the lower calorie lower fat things you put in them. I like to cook real food with real ingredients, not all sorts of frankenstein foods that have low calorie or low fat counts.

There are just so many things wrong with a lot of the attitudes toward food on this site, so I'm really happy we have this thread here and can stay away from some of the craziness.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I think that the "I can't reach 1200 calories" is quite simply bull crap...I completely agree with you that it does come down to a lack of knowledge but these people are crazy.

If they think they'll be "too full" eating "THAT much" I think it's just fear being pseudo-replaced with this excuse...If they somehow gained a considerable amount of weight then they definitely CAN fit the volume of food in their stomach. It's not as if they were eating all cheesecake or something, taking in 1000s of calories but only 1 pound of food for example. They were eating meals that simply contained too many calories.

So, for example...they might eat a breakfast of pancakes with butter, breakfast sausage, and juice...800 calories. Now, if you replace that with whole grain waffles spread with pb and topped with fruit, and milk...you might cut 300 calories but the volume is comparable. That's a 500 calorie meal that's much healthier but not going to make them "too full." They could do the same thing at lunch/dinner...eating 2-3 slices of thick crust pizza or a hamburger and fries...1000 calories at each meal. So, if you could eat 2-3 slices of pizza back then..then replacing it with a whole grain thin crust pizza and cutting 400-500 calories from that meal shouldn't all of a sudden become so hard because it can't fit. The problem is that pizza becomes a "bad" food...and the person eats a lean cuisine instead...taking in 200-300 calories total for lunch and dinner. combined with a 200 calorie breakfast and a couple 100 calorie packs for snacks. It's so so so bad.

The problem is they cut out all things high calorie, regardless of nutrient value. So when you're eating low cal/nearly low cal foods you would have to eat a lot of them to get your calorie intake up....it's the lack of knowledge that healthy foods aren't always low calorie coupled with a fear of eating more because of what we've been programmed to think that leads people to say this absurd thing.

Sorry, I clearly have some feelings about this. Rant over. HAHA. Thanks for bringing it up! I pity these people and also get angry about it because usually there's no helping them. They don't want to hear anything you have to say.

scarletleavy

And then the same people wonder why they suddenly can't sustain this "lifestyle change" for more than a few weeks and then go binge on the old high-calorie foods. It's a terrible cycle.

Food is such a twisted and difficult subject and really emotional for a lot of people. What I'm most horrified by is the number of women who end up cooking at least 2 dinners because their husbands and children won't eat healthier. Or the people who complain about binging on high-calorie foods just because it was in their house and ask for advice about resisting temptation. I'm not sure what to say other than "just don't put the cookies in your mouth".

Yeah I can rant about this for hours. It's super frustrating for me because I see a lot of these behaviors in my own family and they drive me nuts.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

haha...love it.."just don't put the food in your mouth" sigh...sometimes I wish it were that simple. I often "put food in my mouth" that i wish I didn't.

jomatho

"just don't put the food in your mouth" is right. Yesterday when I was cleaning out the kids snack cupboard (they leave empty boxes in there and I never know how much we have left), I noticed 3 vanilla wafers had fallen out of the box and before I knew it, one of them was in my mouth! WTH? I proptly spit it out and threw the other two away, but seriously, why did that cookie find its way into my mouth? Not something I would normally spend calories on, that's for sure, but it was like I was just in autodrive, not even thinking about what I was doing.

jomatho

I have a few questions for you guys.

Do you have your diaries open? Why or why not?

Do you look at other's diaries? Why or why not?

I have mine open, but didn't initially. At first I didn't want people making opinions about the food I ate and thought it was none of their business, but then thought, what do I have to hide? Nothing, it's just food, everyone eats, no biggie. I do have days that I am not as proud of as others, so I think that when someone looks, they may not see the bigger picture that I know is happening, kwim?

I personally don't usually look at other people's diaries, I just think we all like such different foods, I may get a few ideas, but what one person thinks sounds good, I may not. I do think it is easier to pick out problems in someone else's diet then your own though because your own diary gets so familiar looking day after day.
What do you guys think?

ETA: you know the more I think about this, I think I avoid hitting the "complete this entry" button at the end of the day because I don't want it to show up in the updates, lol. I think I am trying to avoid showing how much I eat to my low cal/carb friends? Maybe I should just hide it again. Interested you hear your takes on this.

SatelliteCrush80

Hi everyone :flowerforyou:

So nice to see a group of other women who are incredibly active and also EAT! A little about me...I am 5'8, weigh 145ish (yay for fluctuation), and am a distance runner who also does P90X. This is actually my second attempt at it, as I got frustrated during the first round with my lack of results...likely due to not eating enough. My calorie totals vary by day, but I try not to go any lower than 1800 on easy/active rest days. Other days, depending on whether I am lifting, running, or both I shoot for 2000-2400.

Look forward to talking to you!

MrsRipdizzle

I have a few questions for you guys.

Do you have your diaries open? Why or why not?

Do you look at other's diaries? Why or why not?

Mine is open so my friends can see it, but not the general MFP public. I leave it open because I really don't have anything to hide. People are going to judge you for one thing or another...who cares. Most days I eat pretty good but there are the occasional days where I am craving something salty or crunchy or whatever and it's processed food that hits the spot. We're all human and I don't claim to eat "clean" so it is what it is. Now, I leave it open in case I do have questions about stalls/gains/whatever and people can check it out and tell me what they think might be causing it. Maybe they're right, maybe not...but really, it all boils down to I just don't care what someone else thinks about my choice in foods. ) And, I don't want to contribute to any unhealthy relationship with food I may have had in the past (like hiding that I ate something because I know it was bad).

I do look at other diaries every so often. Not very often but sometimes...to get some new ideas or see how other people (who are successful) are combining foods and snacks. )

Also, I think you can set up your feed so that when you complete your food diary, you can hit that button but the "news" won't show up on everyone's feeds. It's in the settings somewhere, I think? I get tired of seeing all the posts showing who is friends with who...so I removed that from my feed so that when I pick up a new MFP friend, my whole MFP friend world doesn't see it on their feeds (I kinda wish others would do the same so my home page wouldn't be riddled with those posts). ;o)

_GlaDOS_

Well ladies I took the plunge today and enrolled for 2012 into a nutrition bridging course here at Uni. First step to a Masters! Eek! Decided that I've taken charge of my life in so many areas, it was about time I did so in my career too!

As they say "a year from now you will have wished you started today"

Xx

This is AWESOME! Good for you. I'm still trying to "study" for the math placement test. Yes, I am that terrible at math. I really only cared to learn it to pass the class, then forget it. But, for a nutritional sciences degree, I need it, and I want to make sure I don't waste money on a really low level math class if I don't need to. Anyway, so glad to hear you enrolled!!

_GlaDOS_

I have a few questions for you guys.

Do you have your diaries open? Why or why not?

Do you look at other's diaries? Why or why not?

I have mine open to my friends. I used to have it open to the public, but I feel like if people go back and look through my diary and see that it looks like there are weeks where I'm way under or way over, they will be confused. I've changed my calorie goals so much over the past few months to try and break through this plateau, but my friends are really the only ones who care what it looks like anyway.

I look at other diaries all the time! Especially my friends' diaries. I love to look at what people are eating. :flowerforyou:

lucyhoneychurch

Do you have your diaries open? Why or why not?

Do you look at other's diaries? Why or why not?

Yes, my food diary is open. I don't care who sees what I eat.

Yes, I look at other's diaries, when I have the time. I like to get food ideas because my knowledge of food, nutrition and recipes is growing. I'm not a good cook; unfortunately, I hate cooking. Seeing other people's meals inspires me. I rarely comment on an mfp friend's food choices because it is THEIR food choice, not mine. I assume that people keep their diary closed because they don't want others commenting on their choices, especially their poor choices. In actuality, it can be helpful to open it because a fresh pair of eyes can spot trends in one's diet, either helpful or harmful.

If you keep your diary private, that's fine, but it really makes it harder for me to offer support on just one's exercise posts alone. Food and exercise seem to go hand in hand around here.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I don't have my diary open...that's because I just find my food choices kinda personal/private. I don't want people to use my choices as "gospel" because I know I'm not perfect but it doesn't mean that I cannot identify problems with my own/others' eating.

I could open it, I've thought about it. I just don't know..I hesitate to open it because I don't want my every move under scrutiny. I also hate it that people see my workout update and say "wow, 3 hours!" ....no, it's not 3 hours. It includes walking, meaningful cleaning, etc. So it's misleading.

I look at others' journals to see how many calories they eat and whether or not they are engaging in healthy weight loss. If not I usually unfriend them. Thats my only real reason for looking. I don't like when people are being unhealthy and down the path to develop eating disorders so I remove them.

scarletleavy

My food diary is open, but I don't log in it at the moment. Logging was making me an obsessive, crazy person, so I stopped.

dawnemjh

Hi everyone :flowerforyou:

So nice to see a group of other women who are incredibly active and also EAT! A little about me...I am 5'8, weigh 145ish (yay for fluctuation), and am a distance runner who also does P90X. This is actually my second attempt at it, as I got frustrated during the first round with my lack of results...likely due to not eating enough. My calorie totals vary by day, but I try not to go any lower than 1800 on easy/active rest days. Other days, depending on whether I am lifting, running, or both I shoot for 2000-2400.

Look forward to talking to you!

wELCOME!! I am 5'8" as well and I am also doing p90x for the second time, and run on cardio days instead of plyo/kenpo. I am wondering if you net 2000-2400 of your total daily intake is 2000-2400??? I didnt have any results after a full 12 weeks doing round 1 of p90x, although I felt stronger my weight and measurements are essentially the same. I am in week 5 of second round. I am 164ish and my goal is 148, but I have been fluctuating 162-166 for the past 8 mos!!

dawnemjh

I have a few questions for you guys.

Do you have your diaries open? Why or why not?

Do you look at other's diaries? Why or why not?

My diary is open to friends, and I dont care if they look or not. If they dont like what they see, too bad. I have a bodymedia and usually track there so i dont even track here all the time, although lately I have been tracking here.

I will occasionally look at someones diary if they are asking for advice, or if someone is close to my goals and is having success, but I dont go in regularly just because I see the post on my wall that says "so and so is below their intake..."
i will also check out someones diary if they are trying low carb/high protein or something along that line just to see what they are eating. I have never commented on someone elses diary unless they asked for a critique.