If your eating under 1200 (females) or 1600 (males) please r

dominarrygel

Just a bit of background I'm a young guy, 19 years old, and I got the idea to start counting calories to lose some weight. Started with 1600 per day but that number quickly dropped as I realized I could eat less and lose more (or so I thought). I went down to between 600-800 calories a day with lots of exercise. I ignored my family who tried to tell me I needed to eat more. I was forced to go to the doctor and she talked some sense into me and I realized I had a problem-my body was not being fed and I was hurting myself.

I upped calories to 1200, then to 1500 and now its between 1700-1800 calories- and I managed to keep my weight loss (cause I stopped under eating before it was too late). Looking back I realize I was crazy to starve myself- it made me moody, I took laxatives, I was obsessed with my battle against food and food even haunted my dreams! I'm not 100% now though I have hypothyroidism which I think is related to my undereating and my metabolism is still off but I am way better off than if I waited even longer to start eating!

So why'd I want you to read this?

Because I want you to know what I didnt know and to get help now. Dont kid yourself and say I can live off under 1000 calories per day forever (It wouldnt be fun or healthy just try eating more for a month). Will the first while of eating healthier be hard- HELL YEAH!!

But trust me when I tell you it IS well worth it in the long run!

dominarrygel

Well I hope this helps someone:)

chrisdavey

Thank you for sharing you're story mate. I hope people read this as it it's definitely true.

Saezimmerman

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad to know that you are on the road to good health.

DebbiesHardWork

Thank you for sharing your story. I've been frustrated this week because I didn't have a weight loss and have been very diligent in exercising and staying around 900-1000 cal. per day. Should I try to eat back the calories I've burned to obtain the 1200? Just wanting others opinions. My doctor is the best source, I'm aware.

KareninCanada

Thank you for sharing your story. I've been frustrated this week because I didn't have a weight loss and have been very diligent in exercising and staying around 900-1000 cal. per day. Should I try to eat back the calories I've burned to obtain the 1200? Just wanting others opinions. My doctor is the best source, I'm aware.

At LEAST 1200. Probably more like 1400-1500 at the low end. Find out what your BMR is, and make that be your absolute minimum.

pigwidgeon82

you are starving yourself. never eat below 1200. my dr told me to never eat below 1400, but even that is low.

geckofli

thanks man it gives me the ****s when people reccomend eating less then 1200cals aday, my understanding was thats what your organs need to function, im glad you've changed your ways i hate seeing people torture themselves on here. if everyknow and again people dont make it to the 1200cals thats cool itll balance out but aiming for less then that and then tearing yourself up is a waste of time and energy.

Im sure you've helped more then a few people by sharing your story, i know for every forum i actually comment on there is at least 8 more ive read but not been motivated or brave enough to comment on. you've done and are doing well (:

dominarrygel

Definitely make sure your net calories are at least that 1200- you should probably go even higher though!

chachita7

TY... not that I didn't know, but it worries me when I read things such as - fasting, eating only 1 meal to shrink the stomach, etc.

My calorie intake is between 1200-1500 - I am losing weight just fine!!!

skippyninja

Cheers for the post.... i find this interesting... with exercise etc I'm averaging about 750 a day intake with a target of 1500........ but im not starving myself :S

I could eat more or more cal heavy meals but I dont really need to or want to I'm surviving fine and not starving at all?

dominarrygel

I didnt think I was starving myself when I actually was...

I hope you start eating more before you regret it later

nixrun

I eat 4 to 5 times a day to where I feel full each time yet I'm always under my calories and I feel like I'm stuffing my face. I don't feel starved at all and if I try to eat more I feel like I'm going to throw up. So I'm not sure how I can reach my calorie goal, any suggestions?

BarbWhite09

Glad you shared your struggle. I've had the same type of problems in the past & still battle them each day.

anabell31

It was great to read this. Since I started tracking my food on here, I'm beginning to think that I've been under-eating for a good while. I'm actually eating more now just to get my net cals up. But some days (like today) I'm still about 500 calories short and I just can't eat anything else... Time to work on bigger meals or more frequent snacks ^^

moochachip

I eat 4 to 5 times a day to where I feel full each time yet I'm always under my calories and I feel like I'm stuffing my face. I don't feel starved at all and if I try to eat more I feel like I'm going to throw up. So I'm not sure how I can reach my calorie goal, any suggestions?

Are you eating when your body is telling you to, and you're eating over 1200 calories?


I'm glad you came out and said all of this. I too had this problem - There would be days where I would eat 800 calories, and end it there. I was so proud of myself, and felt good when I turned away from food...

..And then ended up in the hospital. Moral of the story, it's not worth it. It's still a struggle telling myself I'm fine with eating 1500 calories, but taking it day by day.

hagamivida

Definitely worth repeating and I am glad you changed your mental view of losing weight and got healthy.

I am struggling to eat enough but it isn't intentful calorie restriction. I think it may be a medication I am on that is severely reducing my appetite. I see my dr at the end of the month so hopefully I am not doing too much damage until then. :-/ I have managed to get a few hundred more calories jn for a few days this week so I am really happy about that.

Again, glad you are spreading the message of being healthy and not focusing on a certain number or the wildly inaccurate BMI. Good luck!

Mawskittykat

I was eating 1200 calories and lost for a little while, then when I reached a plateau I upped my calories to 1300 and started losing again. But then again I reached a plateau. I then upped it to 1400 calories and did really good for a while then I got stuck for a total of 10 weeks. I was so discouraged. I started reading and realized that even though I didnt feel hungry, I ruined my metabolism eating such a small amount. Will it work, maybe for a while, but not forever. You are absolutely right. We need fuel to go just like a car does. And 1200 isnt enough. I now eat 1500 to 1600 with 1650 being my BMR. SO far I havent had any more stand stills, I feel great, and when I am hungry I eat. It doesnt matter if it is 1700, which isnt very oftern, when my body is hungry I eat. Thanks for the reminder.

Babs540

I know someone that is crash dieting and taking in too few calories, and it's sad. The truth is that it's less efficient then a gradual decrease in your calories and increase in activity. If your not sure about whether your getting proper nutrition to sustain your activity level and general health, I insist it's vital to consult with a nutritionist or a doctor. Cutting back too many calories isn't just affecting your weight & energy level, it also puts other things at risk like the nutrients necessary for building bones, muscle, brain function, and proper nervous system function. Food lets us live, and to eat healthy is to be healthy. Don't starve yourself to lose weight, push your self in your exercise regiments to build a better body.

Seriously, i'm so glad this topic was posted. The health effects of improper nutrition can be detrimental to the rest of your life. And no 'Body' is worth risking your general health for.

whitcappen

Thank you for sharing this story! It is currently something I am dealing with now... I will only eat max 950 calories on a good day! My stomach has shurnk so much not from not feeding my body that is even harder to eat right and reach the 1200 calories. But thank you again for sharing I am glad to know I am not the only one who has/had this issue!

carolsohn

Thanks for sharing. I had less than 500 calories today because I'm going on vacation in 8 weeks. It's really stressing me out but I just don't think there's any way I'd allow myself to be happy/comfortable in my 8-week-ahead-future body if I consumed 1200+ per day. Ugh...

dancin2011

I'm recovering from an eating disorder and wanted to encourage you all to make sure you are eating enough. I have struggled lately to get enough calories in and started gaining weight, then eating less, gaining more weight. I recently started eating more and lost weight. Amazing how that works but goes to show that starving yourself isn't going to help on the journey to a healthy lifestyle, including long term weight loss. All it does is screw up your metabolism...and life eventually.

roro73

I eat 4 to 5 times a day to where I feel full each time yet I'm always under my calories and I feel like I'm stuffing my face. I don't feel starved at all and if I try to eat more I feel like I'm going to throw up. So I'm not sure how I can reach my calorie goal, any suggestions?

Eat more calorie dense natural foods like nuts, avocado, cheese etc. Those will boost you calorie level without filling you to the point of bein sick.

dancin2011

You can't be happy doing what you are doing either though, you know?

Sanvita58

I can totally relate to this as I was on 1200 calorie diet and worked average 200-500 every day and after losing 4 kgs in 3 months I hit plateau and got stuck for 4 months..was very frustrated..worked even harder..but no results..then I ran the report in MFP and realized my net was rarely 1200 and I stalled..I gained weight and then I upped my calories to keep it net to 1400 and I lost some..then again I stalled and friends took a look at the diary and said just being under calorie should not be the goal but we have to watch other components like carb,sodium and sugar...and now I am keeping a watch on them and lost 500gms in 1st week...keeping fingers crossed...wishing you all good luck and happy losing...

dancin2011

Thanks for sharing. I had less than 500 calories today because I'm going on vacation in 8 weeks. It's really stressing me out but I just don't think there's any way I'd allow myself to be happy/comfortable in my 8-week-ahead-future body if I consumed 1200+ per day. Ugh...

You can't be happy doing what you are doing either though, you know?

Sorry this posted twice...the quote didn't work the first time.

skippyninja

but the thing is... im not going to eat for the sake of eating... i'll eat 1200-1500ish a day but work off 700-800 each night so my intake is only 700ish a day...

I'm not starving myself at all... 3x protein shakes a day, big bowl of rice and teri chicken for lunch, yogurt, toast, so on so forth,

I'm going to keep an eye on it after seeing this cheers but... i don't come close to my target and its not that much a struggle... would take me more work to hit my target then to be under it.

carolsohn

I'm not happy /: but you gotta do what you gotta do. You know what?.. tomorrow, I'm gonna have at least 1200 calories and exercise a couple hundred off if need be. I don't want to go into starvation mode and retain (or worse, GAIN) weight.

dancin2011

In this case, what you 'gotta do' is stay healthy!! You can do this! So proud that you have that goal for tomorrow.

JoniBologna

but the thing is... im not going to eat for the sake of eating... i'll eat 1200-1500ish a day but work off 700-800 each night so my intake is only 700ish a day...

I'm not starving myself at all... 3x protein shakes a day, big bowl of rice and teri chicken for lunch, yogurt, toast, so on so forth,

I'm going to keep an eye on it after seeing this cheers but... i don't come close to my target and its not that much a struggle... would take me more work to hit my target then to be under it.

This is hardly sustainable. I hope you realize this and fix the situation sooner than later. You may not "feel" like you are starving, but you are. Please take care.

skippyninja

lol.... im not arguing for the sake of arguing... but i have been doing it pretty comfortably with out drama.... usually during the week when i dont go out after work its pretty easy to do it... but even when I go out for dinner I'll be lucky to break the 1100 mark... with a nice big juicy steak or pasta...