Eating 1200 calories a day?

AntWrig

Before I started eating over 1500 calories a day, I didn't loose any weight.

Just look at things like nuts, which are in high in calories and other good nutrients.

Good luck

There is no difference between a handful of nuts and a chocolate bar.

monicalosesweight

i'm 5'3" and about 124lbs, i've got quite large 'assets' but a slim torso

it is my thighs that i really hate but they are almost totally muscle

my legs are big because of lots of sprinting and long jump at school so I have massive sprinters thighs.

my arms are also very muscular...so even just tying my hair gives me biceps most people work hard for, but i really don't like it.

i want to lose muscle without gaining fat.

i'm bigger than all of my friends when i wear jeans and i really hate how i look in shorts and vest tops, like some kind of body builder.

so if any of you have any tips on how to lose muscle (without immobilising) or making it less big/thick then i'll take all of that on board but believe me, toning is not going to make me look any thinner

I would recommend getting professional help to deal with your self image. You shouldn't be comparing yourself to others as everyone has a different body and muscle structure. My sister is taller than me by an inch and yet she's super slim and a size 2. I've got a curvy style build (buxom) and exercising tends to make my muscles look bulkier because they are short style muscles. Tying your hair up is not going to get you muscles...if anything, that's not an activity that builds anything. If anything, there is a good chance that what you're interpreting as muscles would be seen as normal muscular build on a girl your height. You didn't describe anything that sounds like Conan - you're normal.

I think you need some help to see who you really are as a person. You've got an image in your mind of what you want to be and it's not realistic - I'd say you're on the verge of developing a serious eating disorder considering you keep saying you hate muscles....well...that's part of being healthy and accepting who you are and loving yourself. I would definitely talk to a nutritionist and/or doctor that deals with eating disorders as you need to make some big changes and you definitely need to start eating more. I'm 5' 3" and I eat anywhere from 1200 calories to 1600 if I exercise. I've been losing weight like crazy and eating at that level. You may be causing physical harm by skipping food. Eat!

Monica

Sarauk2sf

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0

excellent advice!! this is all you need to know

In this case, no it is not. The OP has an unhealthy relationship with food and cannot even face eating 1,200 calories a day. A calculator telling her to eat even more is not the answer.

pastryari

Please speak to a professional about this....

^^ This.

This.

frando

Before I started eating over 1500 calories a day, I didn't loose any weight.

Just look at things like nuts, which are in high in calories and other good nutrients.

Good luck

There is no difference between a handful of nuts and a chocolate bar.

One is alot tastier then the other ;D

justarandomperson

i'm 5'3" and about 124lbs, i've got quite large 'assets' but a slim torso

it is my thighs that i really hate but they are almost totally muscle

my legs are big because of lots of sprinting and long jump at school so I have massive sprinters thighs.

my arms are also very muscular...so even just tying my hair gives me biceps most people work hard for, but i really don't like it.

i want to lose muscle without gaining fat.

i'm bigger than all of my friends when i wear jeans and i really hate how i look in shorts and vest tops, like some kind of body builder.

so if any of you have any tips on how to lose muscle (without immobilising) or making it less big/thick then i'll take all of that on board but believe me, toning is not going to make me look any thinner

I would recommend getting professional help to deal with your self image. You shouldn't be comparing yourself to others as everyone has a different body and muscle structure. My sister is taller than me by an inch and yet she's super slim and a size 2. I've got a curvy style build (buxom) and exercising tends to make my muscles look bulkier because they are short style muscles. Tying your hair up is not going to get you muscles...if anything, that's not an activity that builds anything. If anything, there is a good chance that what you're interpreting as muscles would be seen as normal muscular build on a girl your height. You didn't describe anything that sounds like Conan - you're normal.

I think you need some help to see who you really are as a person. You've got an image in your mind of what you want to be and it's not realistic - I'd say you're on the verge of developing a serious eating disorder considering you keep saying you hate muscles....well...that's part of being healthy and accepting who you are and loving yourself. I would definitely talk to a nutritionist and/or doctor that deals with eating disorders as you need to make some big changes and you definitely need to start eating more. I'm 5' 3" and I eat anywhere from 1200 calories to 1600 if I exercise. I've been losing weight like crazy and eating at that level. You may be causing physical harm by skipping food. Eat!

Monica

no, not that tying my hair builds muscle, just that it makes the muscle stand out and i look like a man haha

justarandomperson

the thing is guys, i dont restrict.
i've posted what i eat, it's a normal amount, i have two full meals a day and snacks during the day and treat myself at weekends.
yes, i do hate how my body looks and i've tried coming to terms but it isn't happening.
what i worry is that if my body's used to eating about 700 cals a day, surely eating more than twice that means i'll start gaining weight because at about 1000 i find that i maintain my weight and i have never been diagnosed with an eating disorder, looked slim, fainted through lack of food or anything. i don't suffer from how little i eat, i never have.

justarandomperson

@frando
haha agreed! and believe me, i'm no stranger to chocolate bars when i probably should be eating nuts!

iorahkwano

Seriously what kind of food are people eating that they can't get to 1200 calories? Are you like, eating a tomato and calling it a day? An apple alone has about 130, put some food in your mouth! Peanut Butter, nuts, meat, they're all calorific.

I agree too. If you're only getting 700-800 calories a day (and most of those calories are from sugary tea), chances are you're not getting the protein, energy, vitamins and minerals your body needs. When you become deficient in something like that, you get a range of symptoms and could harm the way your body metabolizes food. Do you follow a "food puramid" or a recommended amount of food groups by your country?

AntWrig

the thing is guys, i dont restrict.
i've posted what i eat, it's a normal amount, i have two full meals a day and snacks during the day and treat myself at weekends.
yes, i do hate how my body looks and i've tried coming to terms but it isn't happening.
what i worry is that if my body's used to eating about 700 cals a day, surely eating more than twice that means i'll start gaining weight because at about 1000 i find that i maintain my weight and i have never been diagnosed with an eating disorder, looked slim, fainted through lack of food or anything. i don't suffer from how little i eat, i never have.

Eating 700 calories a day is a eating disorder. I would bet my life that there is no visible muscle on your body at all. The comment of you having muscular thighs is comical. At your level of calorie consumption it's impossible.

I suggest you go seek help regarding your body image and not here asking questions.

AntWrig

Before I started eating over 1500 calories a day, I didn't loose any weight.

Just look at things like nuts, which are in high in calories and other good nutrients.

Good luck

There is no difference between a handful of nuts and a chocolate bar.

One is alot tastier then the other ;D

Then eat the chocolate bar. People assume nuts are healthy... they assume.

Game8

I would talk to a doctor, you do have all the symptoms of disordered eating.

sunshine_gem

Honestly, yes, you may gain weight for a little while as your body reacts to the change. It'll be holding on to everything it can as storage because it thinks it's not going to keep getting that. But once your body adjusts to the new calorie intake everything should level out and go back to normal. I understand hating things about your body (I am fat) but instead of focusing on all the things you hate about it ask yourself what you like about it and why. But I also second what others have been saying. You seem to have disordered thinking towards food which is a step towards an eating disorder. You need to talk to a dr and have your health checked and to a proper dietician who can give you all the info you need on what that amount of cals will do to you and what you need for optimal nutrition. We can give you advice and offer opinions but we're not professionals. Please talk to someone. Good luck.

EvgeniZyntx

It's likely that you either do have an eating disorder and body dismorphia or it could be that you are all muscle. I'm doubting the second. Post a picture. Prove us wrong.
Even if you have not been diagnosed and have never fainted eating that little day in day out is going to have a big impact on your health. You know ths, you posted the question.

stacybrs

Okay, I am living proof that you can eat less than 1200 calories and still be obese. I weight 175. I just ate one huge meal from wendys a day, every day at 1000 calories or so and I thought I was good. It wasn't until I started tracking that I realized that I wasn't eating 1200 cals. I always assumed I was eating way too much food. Now that I eat three meals a day, I'm doing much better. I was just really busy and so I only ate after I got home from work or school, and then was so exhausted that I went straight to sleep. I wasn't trying to restrict or anything, I'd get a large order of fries, dr.pepper, medium frosty,baconator and I still wasn't at 12,000. And after that I just basically fell asleep because of tiredness so I didn't eat anything else.
It was hard for me to get to the point where I was eating healthy meals multiple times a day. I had to really put effort into it and remind myself to eat at multiple times, or else I'll fall back into that unhealthy pattern. I didn't realize I wasn't eating enough calories (although I was over on fat and sugar) so, not everyone has a disorder if they eat under 1200. Sometimes your lifestyle just makes things difficult. I have to really try hard to eat over 1200. It's just not a pattern that I'm used to.

RainxPain

Aww dear Try eating more calorie dense foods, like pasta, bread, peanut butter, things like that.

It sounds to me like you have disordered eating habits and fear of weight gain. Those are huge signs of people developing an eating disorder. I think you should talk to someone about it and get help before this goes too far. Trust me, I'm recovering from bulimia and it's done damage to my body. I still have urges to go back to my old ways everyday. Please, please get help.

EvgeniZyntx

@stacy

Baconator is 970 calories
Fries is 430 calories
Dr pepper 230 calories
Frosty 650 calories

This is well above 1200.

At 2200 calories you are not even close to the OP!

butterflymarks

I'm currently recovering from an eating disorder, anorexia, and let me tell you. This is where I started. I skipped breakfast because I was lazy. I skipped lunch at school because it was gross. Then I ate a decent amount at home. I slimmed down to 106lbs at 5'7. I realized I started liking the way I looked, I had always been self conscious like you. So I decided I would keep going with it until I only ate about 100calories a day. And you know what, your body stops sending "I'm hungry" signals (like growling stomach and such) because there's no point. You're not feeding it. It was super hard to bump up my calories to 1800 (and it still is) like I should be eating. Mentally and physically, I really was used to eating so little.

I bumped up my calories slowly, added 100 every week or so and eventually I kick started my metabolism and now I'm hyper-metabolic. I can eat over 2000 calories and not gain weight right now.

Anyways, a little off track, all I'm saying.. Is get help now, while you can.

AntWrig

Okay, I am living proof that you can eat less than 1200 calories and still be obese. I weight 175. I just ate one huge meal from wendys a day, every day at 1000 calories or so and I thought I was good. It wasn't until I started tracking that I realized that I wasn't eating 1200 cals. I always assumed I was eating way too much food. Now that I eat three meals a day, I'm doing much better. I was just really busy and so I only ate after I got home from work or school, and then was so exhausted that I went straight to sleep. I wasn't trying to restrict or anything, I'd get a large order of fries, dr.pepper, medium frosty,baconator and I still wasn't at 12,000. And after that I just basically fell asleep because of tiredness so I didn't eat anything else.
It was hard for me to get to the point where I was eating healthy meals multiple times a day. I had to really put effort into it and remind myself to eat at multiple times, or else I'll fall back into that unhealthy pattern. I didn't realize I wasn't eating enough calories (although I was over on fat and sugar) so, not everyone has a disorder if they eat under 1200. Sometimes your lifestyle just makes things difficult. I have to really try hard to eat over 1200. It's just not a pattern that I'm used to.

I doubt this.

AntWrig

I'm currently recovering from an eating disorder, anorexia, and let me tell you. This is where I started. I skipped breakfast because I was lazy. I skipped lunch at school because it was gross. Then I ate a decent amount at home. I slimmed down to 106lbs at 5'7. I realized I started liking the way I looked, I had always been self conscious like you. So I decided I would keep going with it until I only ate about 100calories a day. And you know what, your body stops sending "I'm hungry" signals (like growling stomach and such) because there's no point. You're not feeding it. It was super hard to bump up my calories to 1800 (and it still is) like I should be eating. Mentally and physically, I really was used to eating so little.

I bumped up my calories slowly, added 100 every week or so and eventually I kick started my metabolism and now I'm hyper-metabolic. I can eat over 2000 calories and not gain weight right now.

Anyways, a little off track, all I'm saying.. Is get help now, while you can.

Fantastic post! Good job on the metabolic rehab.

I did something similar coming out of contest mode.

Keep up the good work!