eating intuitively...but under 1200 calories?

skinnylove00

here i have a simple question that i do not want to turn into a massive ugly starvation mode debate. (I REPEAT. I DO NOT WANT THIS TO TURN INTO A STARVATION MODE DEBATE I AM ASKING FOR SIMPLE ADVICE!) i want to begin eating intuitively (which means, eating ONLY when i am hungry.) and i am worried that my intake will be below 1200 calories because i rarely ever feel hungry. i find that about 80% of the food that i eat is to get myself to at least a healthy 1200 net, but it just sucks that i am not actually hungry for the food in the first place. i hate to sound like one of `those girls` but i dont like eating when my body is not sending me hunger signals, and eating calorie dense food would be okay but i really dont want to be eating spoonfuls upon spoonfuls of peanut butter in order to meet my cal goals, you know?

my question is, is this safe? what do you recommend? if i JUST eat according to my hunger levels and not according to my calorie goals, would this be okay?

yarwell

1200 is not a magic number, 2200 calories worth of crap would leave you malnourished so it's all about what you eat. Get enough protein for your lean weight and don't be scared of fats - no lean versions or diet foods - and your calorie intake will be fine. Variety of foods will get the complete range of things you need, or add a minerals & vitamins supplement if you're short.

I played around with a nutrient calculator yesterday, at 1200 calories I was meeting 90% of nutrition goals but short on calcium, magnesium and a couple of other things. Adding more of what I had on the menu would not have fixed that.

lulabellewoowoo

Once I started eating healthy, I was having the same problem, as my cravings for sugars and junk carbs lessened. So now, when I am hungry, I make the meals count with high protein, decent healthy fat, and good calories. Things like avocados, cheese, a WHOLE egg are great sources of protein and nutrients, calorie packed in a good way, and keep your body going until you use that energy up. It has helped me to keep my calories at a safe number without feeling like I have to eat ALL DAY LONG. Just my personal experience.

toothfairy79

I think that this is what everyone should be doing. If we all ate when we were hungry and ate the right food, there would be no obesity problem. I read the book "Women food and god" by Geneen Roth and this is exactly what she recommend. Listen to your body. Don't deprive yourself and give your body what it need and your healthy weight will definitively follow..The key is to eat nutrient rich food (good fat, protein and healthy carbs)

MrsAgi

I think that this is what everyone should be doing. If we all ate when we were hungry and ate the right food, there would be no obesity problem. I read the book "Women food and god" by Geneen Roth and this is exactly what she recommend. Listen to your body. Don't deprive yourself and give your body what it need and your healthy weight will definitively follow..The key is to eat nutrient rich food (good fat, protein and healthy carbs)

Hah - I'm hungry ALL THE TIME. I'm hungry straight after finishing a 3000cal meal! If I only ate when I was hungry I'd be even bigger than I am now.

The biggest thing I have discovered about myself by using MFP is that I am just as hungry just as quickly after eating a 200 cal meal as I am after eating a 2000 cal one, regardless if how healthy or otherwise the meal was!

Hunger is a very weird sense and doesn't work for a lot of people. If it works for you, great, but feeling hungry doesn't mean you should eat, and not feeling hungry doesn't mean you shouldn't eat. It depends on the individual.

yarwell

The biggest thing I have discovered about myself by using MFP is that I am just as hungry just as quickly after eating a 200 cal meal as I am after eating a 2000 cal one

Yeah, carbohydrates do that to me too.

PayneAS

i want to begin eating intuitively (which means, eating ONLY when i am hungry.) and i am worried that my intake will be below 1200 calories because i rarely ever feel hungry. i find that about 80% of the food that i eat is to get myself to at least a healthy 1200 net, but it just sucks that i am not actually hungry for the food in the first place. i hate to sound like one of `those girls` but i dont like eating when my body is not sending me hunger signals, and eating calorie dense food would be okay but i really dont want to be eating spoonfuls upon spoonfuls of peanut butter in order to meet my cal goals, you know?

my question is, is this safe? what do you recommend? if i JUST eat according to my hunger levels and not according to my calorie goals, would this be okay?

I had the same problem as you. When I started out (end of February), I believe I was logging 900 cal/day on average. Previously, my diet consisted of a pot of coffee from 8 am till about 2 pm, then some sort of bad food to tide me over until I ate some overly processed dinner at 6pm. And I do mean this quite literally. One of the first things I did was stop drinking the pot of coffee and forcing myself to eat something for breakfast. But I was still only eating about 900ish calories a day (as well as working out for an hour or two everyday). It wasn't until I started educating myself via this site (among others) that I learned that it just wasn't healthy. I discovered what my TDEE was and my BMR is (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr is a good site) and started out just trying to eat my BMR at least. Up your calorie intake just a little at a time. 100 or 200 calories a week if that is all you can do. Your body will wake up and realize you are feeding it again. If you are eating good foods then start cutting any low-fat, low-calorie foods from your diet. I have been where you are. I'm speaking from experience. It is hard to wrap the head around but once you make the switch you will be much happier! Generally I'm now eating every 2 to 3 hours and I'm eating my BMR at least most days. Hope this helps!

(Pretty sure my diary is open to the public, you can scan mine from Feb 28th iirc till May 9th and see my eating habits change. Please ignore the last few weeks as I was out of town because my grandmother is dying and I'm just now getting back on track logging everything)