From eating too much to eating too little... HELP!!!

jonielena

Before I started really focusing on improving my lifestyle, I had a very unhealthy diet. I ate upwards of 2,000 calories/day (I'm a 5'6 woman, 150lbs, moderately active), and a lot of those calories came from fried foods, processed foods, and alcohol.

About a month ago I made some very serious changes to my diet. I've pretty much eliminated gluten, am eating only homemade, fresh foods, and am trying to stick to a 1,200/day calorie diet.

The problem is, for the past week or so I haven't been able to eat more than 1,000 calories a day! I can't figure out why. By the end of the day I feel so physically full that I can't finish my food, no matter how hard I try. A few minutes ago I tried to eat a clementine - a tiny clementine! - and I couldn't get through more than half.

I'm really concerned because I'm on my second week of Insanity, which burns a lot of calories, and I am loosing weight way too fast. Last week I lost 7lbs! At first I thought it was a lot of water weight, but I've been weighing myself every day since I first logged the 7lb loss, and it has stayed consistent... I'm concerned because, as much as I want to lose weight, I am more interested in teaching myself to lead an overall healthy lifestyle, and eating less than 1,000 calories a day is NOT a healthy lifestyle.

Also, I've been getting most of my calories from liquids - juices, smoothies, soups. If I eat something more substantial like rice or meat I can only finish a few bites... If you take a look at my food log from today, you'll notice that I've eaten some soup, fruit, etc... I have 900 calories left! It is 7pm and I am so full that there is no way I'll be able to eat those 900 calories... seriously, I'm terrified. I know that this isn't good for my body.

Please don't send me hatemail or anything (haha) - I know if I'd read a post saying "I can't eat enough!" a month ago I would've been pretty annoyed. But, I'm very very concerned because I am not getting enough nutrition and I can't figure out why this is happening! I literally cannot force food into my body. By the time I finish half a bowl of soup I feel like I just ate a whole pizza or something... like I'm on the verge of throwing up!

Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice at all would be appreciated... this is literally the LAST challenge I thought I was going to face when I started trying to live a healthy lifestyle!

agilityvizlsagirl

Perhaps try eating some calorie dense foods (that are also healthy) like almonds, peanuts, etc ,,, you can get the calories you need without the bulk. Also try calorie dense protein bars - same reason. You certainly want to avoid your body going into starvation mode and 7 pounds in 1 week is alot - you really want to try and slow down the losses if you want to do it in a healthy, lifestyle way.

Good luck in your journey. Feel free to friend me if you need support.

EatClean_WashUrNuts

Why are you trying to stick to 1200 calories? Is that a calculated target for living healthier? If not, do the math, set the realistic goal, make the right choices and win.

SairahRose

I noticed a few threads like this. It's basically your body's way of adjusting to the change in diet. A lot of high calorie foods are processed junk, and your body feels empty within an hour of eating it, so your response is to eat more.
Then when you change to eating cleaner and healthier, your body just wants to say thank you.. I'm full on nice stuff.
It will ease out over time, but I'd add in some more dense foods like nuts/seeds, peanut butter, even cream cheese and such.

I want to say congrats on the 7lb a week loss, but certainly if it goes on longer than 3 months, you might want to see about getting bloodwork done for deficiencies, or lower the amount of exercise you do until you can find a way of increasing the cals.

Good luck! And I'm here if you want support too.

marycmeadows

an oz of almonds is healthy and has 160 calories (RAW ALMONDS)
add avocado, a couple tbsp natural peanut butter or almond butter.

it's pretty easy to get in extra calories if you really think about it.

Veronikitta

Have you tried replacing some of your liquids with a high calorie meal supplement like Ensure for example. Until your body has time to adjust to eating more.

LadyFlux

I did a diet before, and that is how I felt.... I felt sick.... it's probably due to the fact that your body is adjusting to the change in your diet... it's detoxing and your stomach has also probably shrunk due to your liquid/low food diet.
Try adding uncooked olive oil to something you are eating, even on bread it's yum. Put avocados into smoothies or soups.... or even adding granola to porridge or something... there's many high calorie, non filling foods out there.... even Google them if you have to!! hope your situation improves, because your diet doesn't sound healthy in the long run!

nc90

The following link has a lot of useful information about setting calorie goals. Mind you, it's not necessarily for everyone, but you may want to give it a try. (Warning: the post is long!) http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/710742--starvation-mode-exercise-calories-dillema

Additionally, I agree with eating more calorie dense foods. Chances are you're body just isn't used to eating so clean, and after cutting back on calories so much for how active you are with insanity, you may have just had too much of a deficit for too long. Just try adding more calories slowly would be my advice! Hang in there, it's a journey, and I commend you for the desire to be healthy about it!

maryjboom

Like someone said, your body will balance out. Try nuts, cheese, protein bars. Eat smaller meals more often.
Good luck.

Bee93__

I am in the exact same position as you! I use to eat in excess of 2000 calories; being young and ignorant, I lived off soft drinks, full cream dairy products, pasta and take away food every single day!

However, I woke up to myself about 6months ago and changed every dietry habit I'd developed. In the strictest sense, I became food wise. At first I cut back to 1200 calories a day, then all the excess weight I had gained over the last 12months literally dropped off, I was so impressed I pushed it further to 1000 calories a day. I'm 19yo and 167cm tall and in less than 5 months I have lost 20kgs. I too, struggle fiercely with consuming a full days worth of calories, every single day I can't eat any more then 800-900 at the most! I'm trying to introduce more calorie dense foods but they either feel unhealthy or I just don't like them... As it stands, everything I eat is light or healthy and I feel so full all the time, I would only imagine if I started replacing them with heavier products I'd only feel worse and would eat even less then I do now!

I'm terrified that one day my apetite will change and I will start consuming my recommended daily caloric intake then my body will go in to shock overload and I'll gain all the weight again. For the time being this feels healthy, and it's not a diet for me anymore, it's just every day life. But like you, I''m worried that it's unhealthy and eventually one day will be non-sustainable.

Have you come to any conclusions since you posted this blog? I would love some advice from someone going through similar circumstances.

smokinjackd

Just wondering why you have eliminated gluten from your diet? Have you been diagnosed with celiacs disease?, if not get those wheat products back in your diet, they are great for calories.

jonielena

I eliminated gluten from my diet at the suggestion of my doctor. I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (I'd never even heard of it before!), and doc recommended cutting back on gluten to help with treatment. I definitely feel much better now that I'm off gluten - my energy levels are a lot higher than they were before. But I definitely miss pasta and bread... !

Thanks for the great suggestions everyone! I'm hoping that my body just needs to adjust to my new, healthy diet. For those who asked, I'm following a 1,200 calories/day diet as per the recommendations of a dietician. I needed to lose some weight 'cause my BMI was a bit high, and they recommended 1200-1500 calories/day. I'd personally like to be at 1500/day, but if I can't even get to 1000 then it doesn't really matter at this point!

This morning I had some oatmeal and a handful of almonds. For lunch I had a smoothie with almond milk, almond butter, and half an avocado... couldn't finish it! Ugh. So frustrating.

Hopefully this is just my body adjusting to a more protein-rich diet... if not, I may check in with my doctor next week.