Dear "I don't associate with those who eat under 1200 c"...

x_JT_x

I am relatively new to MFP (after a short stint of giving MFP a try last year and then stopping) and have spent quite a bit of time these last couple of weeks reading posts here and trying to educate myself as to the best approach to lose weight and become healthy and fit. I have learned a great deal and truly appreciate those who work in the health and fitness fields or those who have done research in that area that are kind enough to post and share their knowledge. I have benefited from that information and I thank you.

But there is one recurring theme that I've seen in a number of posts that I'd like to address. I've seen a lot of " I don't associate with people who eat well below the 1200 or net below 1200" or 'Don't 'friend' me if your calorie intake is under 1200.'

Please try to remember that not all folks who eat below 1200 calories do so intentionally. Nor are they all doing it as a means to quick weight loss. Sure there are those that do so for that reason but generally they are simply uninformed and don't know any better. Unless they've spent time researching the issue, it makes total sense to believe that the fewer calories consumed results in weight loss. Another point to consider, many folks have mitigating factors that results in a low calorie intake. I'm one of those people. Until I started spending a great deal of time reading the posts here I had no idea and thought I was doing the right thing. I thought that all I needed to do was restrict my caloric intake and exercise. I now know that isn't true. However, try as I might, I have a hard time eating above 1200 calories. Why? A number of years ago I had abdominal surgery (not gastric bypass but surgery to repair a true medical issue). The result of that surgery prevents me from eating large amounts of food at one time so my caloric intake is limited. If I space small meals throughout the day - my surgeon told me to eat 6 mini meals rather than the customary 3 meals a day - I might be able to reach 1300 calories. But I don't always have the time to devote to stopping to prepare food and eat 6 times a day. Sure, I could eat junk and reach that goal but is that healthy? No. So I choose to eat healthy and be resigned to the fact that many days I will fall under my calorie goal. It isn't because I want to, nor do I believe it is a good thing.

For those of you who might feel envious that I have a natural calorie restriction, don't. I am no different than you. If I eat junk, I gain weight. In fact, despite being limited in the amount of food I can eat, I am still overweight. Partially due to prior poor food choices and partially due to my metabolism having slowed significantly due to underfeeding (I am a classic example of the 'Starvation Mode' thread Banks posted a couple of weeks ago). So much so that even with my limited calorie intake, I still gain weight. It's incredibly frustrating to physically not be able to eat, yet still be over weight and continue to gain weight even though I eat relatively little. I am no different than all of you struggling to get healthy. I must still be very selective about what I eat. I must still exercise and work my body to see results.

I am trying very hard to up my calorie intake while still making healthy choices, but it's hard. Very hard. So please don't pass judgment and make blanket statements about how you don't associate with or befriend people who eat under 1200 calories. While there are certainly those that are informed about the dangers of underfeeding and stubbornly continue to ignore documented fact of the harm they are doing themselves, many of us realize the detriment to our bodies that low calorie intake causes and are doing our best to become healthy, just like you.

Whitezombiegirl

I agree with most of this but i don't believe in starvation mode and i don't belive that a low-calorie lifestyle is particulary bad for health if those cals are made up of nutrient dense food.

EllieMo

I agree with most of this but i don't believe in starvation mode and i don't belive that a low-calorie lifestyle is particulary bad for health if those cals are made up of nutrient dense food.

Hallelujah!!

JesterMFP

One thing to bear in mind is that people who don't want MFP friends who eat under 1200 calories aren't necessarily passing judgement. There are a lot of people on this site who are either recovering from full blown eating disorders, or who have simply spent their entire adult life going from one very low calorie fad diet to another and are trying to do things differently. For some of those people, seeing people on their friends list who are on a very low calorie diet can be a massive trigger for their own behaviour. That's not the case for everyone, but it might explain some of the "no friends eating under 1200" statements.

IveLanded

It seems like most of those folks also tend to believe that THEIR way is the ABSOLUTE RIGHT WAY and don't understand that not everyone starts from the same points. What works for someone isn't what works for everyone else.

erickirb

I agree with most of this but i don't believe in starvation mode and i don't belive that a low-calorie lifestyle is particulary bad for health if those cals are made up of nutrient dense food.

Pro ED???

not getting enough cals can be detrimental even if you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. For one it is very difficult to get enough fat and protein on an extremely low caloric intake (<1000), and not getting enough of these 2 can have serious side effects.

zealousmissjj_wechange

I agree with most of this but i don't believe in starvation mode and i don't belive that a low-calorie lifestyle is particulary bad for health if those cals are made up of nutrient dense food.

/\/\/\ This. I see some people easily meeting their calorie goals but often those foods contain half the nutrients that my calorie low foods contain. I eat small meals all day long and try to keep it as clean as possible. This last week wasn't a very good example :laugh: but hey. I believe people can net below 1200 and still be healthy. It depends a bit on what they eat to compensate.

To add: I also believe you shouldn't be eating far below 1200 cals for a long period of time. And always listen to your body.

x_JT_x

I agree with most of this but i don't believe in starvation mode and i don't belive that a low-calorie lifestyle is particulary bad for health if those cals are made up of nutrient dense food.

Hallelujah!!

You may not, and that's up to you to decide what to believe. But I've lived it, and I know first hand what it did to me.

californiagirl2012

I agree and well a set calorie like 1200 is just silly because the number is relative to you body size.. While that would be way to low for a big person, for me it's barely below my BMR? So am I in starvation mode for eating at BMR. Since we tend to actually eat 100-200 calories more than we THINK we do, I log less on purpose because really it's just an estimate and serving sizes can legally go OVER in calories but not under, so they always error in the OVER direction.

The whole thing is just silly.

x_JT_x

One thing to bear in mind is that people who don't want MFP friends who eat under 1200 calories aren't necessarily passing judgement. There are a lot of people on this site who are either recovering from full blown eating disorders, or who have simply spent their entire adult life going from one very low calorie fad diet to another and are trying to do things differently. For some of those people, seeing people on their friends list who are on a very low calorie diet can be a massive trigger for their own behaviour. That's not the case for everyone, but it might explain some of the "no friends eating under 1200" statements.

You may well have a point there. Thank you for bringing that up.

Yanicka1

I won't take people that eat 1200 or less because I would not be a very good support.

I believe it has long term negative side effects. Do what ever you want and I will do whatever I want. It is not because we are not a good match that it make me a bad person.

HeinzPrincess

One thing to bear in mind is that people who don't want MFP friends who eat under 1200 calories aren't necessarily passing judgement. There are a lot of people on this site who are either recovering from full blown eating disorders, or who have simply spent their entire adult life going from one very low calorie fad diet to another and are trying to do things differently. For some of those people, seeing people on their friends list who are on a very low calorie diet can be a massive trigger for their own behaviour. That's not the case for everyone, but it might explain some of the "no friends eating under 1200" statements.

That is also true. I don't have a problem with anorexic, but I am a (recovering?) binge eater.

kater8er

I love what you said about how people who are new here might not know and will do this thinking its right....This is so true! Also, it's usually pretty easy to tell if people are eating low caloric content bc of an eating disorder or not...Based on the type of posts they have, anyway.

virichi08

I agree, and for those who dnt believe in starvation mode that's all great but I have experienced it. Once i started "dieting" in middle school i started eating healthy and barely eating (my family ate out maybe once a year, and that was through ordering pizza, and i was overweight because i just ate alll the time even wen i was not hungary) and what I did eat i was throwing up. I must have been taking in about 900-1000 calories a day and working out 2-3 times a day everyday. yea i lost weight but then hit a wall. I increased my workouts for months and nothing happened, not to mention I felt weak and SICK all the time.
And if starvation mode dsn't happen, then I guess those who are anorexic are healthy.

lydia_the_tattooed_lady

I agree with most of this but i don't believe in starvation mode and i don't belive that a low-calorie lifestyle is particulary bad for health if those cals are made up of nutrient dense food.

Pro ED???

not getting enough cals can be detrimental even if you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. For one it is very difficult to get enough fat and protein on an extremely low caloric intake (<1000), and not getting enough of these 2 can have serious side effects.

^^^AMEN

imchicbad

I think WHAT THEY MEANT was eating disorders.:huh:

Carfoodel

One thing to bear in mind is that people who don't want MFP friends who eat under 1200 calories aren't necessarily passing judgement. There are a lot of people on this site who are either recovering from full blown eating disorders, or who have simply spent their entire adult life going from one very low calorie fad diet to another and are trying to do things differently. For some of those people, seeing people on their friends list who are on a very low calorie diet can be a massive trigger for their own behaviour. That's not the case for everyone, but it might explain some of the "no friends eating under 1200" statements.

You may well have a point there. Thank you for bringing that up.

It is absolutely the reason I have had to remove from my FL - I used to binge and purge and I can get very obsessed and extreme and have to keep my competitive edge under control - the people om my list are all taking a healthy approach with a good attitude towards food and I have been called out when my calories dip a bit - and I appreciate that a lot - but if I had someone on a VLCD it makes me very uncomfortable as I start thinking "hmm wonder if I could drop mine a bit" I appreciate we all have different approaches, but for me I want to stay focused on a healthy balanced approach - this is the first time I have felt happy with the way I am choosing to lose weight.

erickirb

I agree and well a set calorie like 1200 is just silly because the number is relative to you body size.. While that would be way to low for a big person, for me it's barely below my BMR? So am I in starvation mode for eating at BMR. Since we tend to actually eat 100-200 calories more than we THINK we do, I log less on purpose because really it's just an estimate and serving sizes can legally go OVER in calories but not under, so they always error in the OVER direction.

The whole thing is just silly.

Unless you have a lot to lose you should be eating below BMR anyway, and even if you have a lot to lose there is no reason to eat under BMR as you will lose eating that amount of calories, as long as it is under TDEE.

firstsip

I'm one of those people: I dealt with anorexia for nearly a decade, requiring medical treatment and hospitalization when I was 15. On top of that, I have no thyroid, so permanent hypothyroidism.

Between the two, I generally go by the rule: there IS such a thing as starvation, but not what people on IF, or even JUDDD or AF, do. And I have many issues with my metabolism.

That being said, I'm in the same boat. I get full very easily, I have trouble eating 1200 or above unless I'm eating out or literally forcing myself to eat. But I try, because I know quite a bit from my stints in medical treatment.

I've been defriended when I point out to people, "you know 700 calories EVERY day isn't a benefit because of a., b. and/or c." If those people defriend me, I don't think it's because they "didn't know better." I think they don't want to know better.

And it's triggering. Once you have an ED, it never goes away. It's just "in lapse," "in treatment," or "recovering." It's hard to be fully recovered, and I don't know a single person who feels he or she truly can have a relationship with food without moments of guilty, panic, and anxiety. So when I see someone eat like that, and they're caustic about it, I'm going to get out of there. I tried JUDDD to try and "control the control," but even that was too triggering.

So, I approve of this post, and understand it. But I also know that there's quite a few people on here that deal with triggers, and looking at one of the FIRST replies to this post, you can clearly see someone that's probably pro-ana/mia.

This site gets frustrating when you're looking for health, and you get met with, "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels" or "everybody's different, so that means I can buck standard scientific knowledge when I myself have no scientific, medical, or researched background."

Whitezombiegirl

Pro ED???

not getting enough cals can be detrimental even if you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need. For one it is very difficult to get enough fat and protein on an extremely low caloric intake (<1000), and not getting enough of these 2 can have serious side effects.

Pro Ed- Good greif no. I can only talk about my experience - I'm petite- 5ft0 and small framed. I don't think you can have a blanket figure for every body shape/ type/ weight/ gender. I prefer to listen to my body- if I'm hungry (whatever time it may be) I'll eat, and try to ensure that something i eat is healthy (e.g. celery sticks and nut butter, cubed porkloin steak, big bowl of berries etc.). I'd never force myself to eat if I wasn't hungry just to meet a target. That way if i do want something unhealthy now and again its okay- I won't beat myself up over it.

mhouston2011

I'm on MFP stricly for myself...not for other people's ideas or judgements on what or how I should be doing it. Each person is different and what works for one might not work for someone else. When it comes down to it, we are all here on a journey to better ourselves. For those that constantly judge if what you are doing is right or wrong,..they have no impact on my daily life so I just let it blow through one ear and out of the other. I can appreciate good advice, but in the end it is up to me on whether or not that advice will help me out or not. I see people who like to criticize caloric intake but when you take a look at their food diaries, they eat alot of crap to get their numbers high. If you are eating alot of vegetables and lean meats, your calories will not be high yet you are still eating healthy and clean. Just do what makes you feel good and keep on moving!