I keep coming out under!

WhispDoll

I've been very delinquent with my MFP account, but I recently decided to actually use and record things on it.

Anyway! My daily goal is 1,200 calories, but I usually end up somewhere around 800-1000. Trust me, I'm not starving myself! I'm just not truly hungry that often, and I'm the type of person who can't even think about food unless I'm actually hungry. I think part of this might be because I am on break from school, and not working, therefore spend the better part of my days sleeping.

Usually it goes like this: Go to sleep between 2am and 4am. Wake up around 11, 12 or 1 (depending on how much sleep I need, unless I'm going somewhere I don't set an alarm, I just let myself wake up naturally), drink one or two tall glasses of cold water (my fave!), and eat about an hour after I wake up (I can't eat first thing). My breakfast is usually somewhere around 300-400 calories - I'm always ravenous in the morning. Then I go out and do stuff with friends or whatever - continuous drinking copious amounts of water and snack here and there on fresh veggies or have an apple or something (a whole apple makes me feel very full, as I am a small person with a small stomach. Sometimes I can't even eat an whole apple, I just get too stuffed.) Then maybe around 5 or 6 I'll make myself some lunch/dinner/whatever (usually around 400, sometimes less depending). And by then I'm pretty satisfied. I don't feel overly full, but I'm not by any means hungry. Sometimes I snack on espresso beans (call me crazy, but they don't hinder my sleep) or have an apple around bedtime.

Regardless of whether or not I'm actively using MFP, I always count calories, and I'm nearly always around 1000 or less. I'm wondering if this is bad or not. But, the thing is, I don't want to eat for the sake of fulfilling a calorie goal. I don't want to get in the habit of eating because I'm supposed to, or whatever, and not because I'm hungry.

Thoughts?

niki87lewis

Don't really understand your question? Are you eating enough. No. But you know that, are you trying to lose, gain, or maintain?
Your body is probably not getting all the nutrients it needs, do you have bad skin/hair/nails? You tired alot? Down to poor nutrition.

WhispDoll

What I'm wondering is if it's really going to damage my body. I feel like if my body wanted more food, it would tell me that, but it doesn't. I'm always satisfied with what I eat throughout the day, and I never let myself go hungry. I'm trying to lose, as I put on a bit of weight after starting college, although I still live at home.
My hair is thick, down to my waist and shiny. My nails grow quickly, although break a lot (I just have weak nails and can't have them very long), and my skin is soft, never flaky and completely pimple free. I'm more tired now than I was in summer, but I also suffer seasonal depression so that's a big part of it.

Aquarii

I have the opposite of your problem... I'm always hungry, lol. Anyways, 1,200 calories is the safe number to make sure your body isn't going into "starvation mode." If that happens, your metabolism basically slows down a bunch. Thus, if you were to eat normally again, you would probably gain more weight than a person who has a normal metabolism.

I sort of had your problem when I just started dieting/exercising. I went from 242 to 215 pounds in about 2 months, but found out I was starving myself (saw via blood/urine tests, where MANY things were not within normal ranges). So, I was losing weight, but obviously not in the best way. It took about 3 weeks of increasing my daily caloric intake for my metabolism to get back to normal.

Also, like niki said, you're probably not getting enough nutrients. Though, if you're really comfortable with how you're eating now and don't want to change, then I would suggest seeing a physician and getting some blood/urine tests done to see if your body is okay. If it is, then don't change what you're doing. If not, then make changes.

toriaenator

eat higher calorie foods. avocado, nuts etc. your stomach may be full which is why u arent hungry. but this does NOT mean that your body doesnt need more energy.

have u calculated your BMR? this is the absolute minimum u should be eating (its what ur body needs just to function properly) eating below this for too long could leave to serious issues, with your organs and stuff too. and hormonal issues.

Jessi_Brooks

I usually net around 1000. Really I dont think thats less than I used to net years ago when I was pretty fit, but I didnt track calories and exercise then, so who knows for sure. I gained weight from waayy too much drinking, then bad food choices while drunk.

Now that I cut back on the booze, eat healthier, and track calories, Ive been losing weight on my 1200 goal. Im rarely hungry, and if I am its usually because I didnt pick very healthy choices earlier that would've filled me up. Those days I get maybe even slightly over 1200, rarely more than 1300. On days I eat healthy, and work out, I sometimes only net 800.

I dont feel weak. My hair and skin is as healthy as its been. My nails actually seem healthier. I do get tired often, but Ive had sleeping issues since I was very young.

Anyways, thats just my experience. I am in no way suggesting other people do the same, because that is not going to work for everyone. And to be fair I havent been doing this for THAT long. Just my 2 cents.

Jessi_Brooks

Make sure to eat healthy foods, get all your nutrients, and pay attention to your body. Get lots of protein, and lift weights.

Eating at a deficit causes your body to use your fat stores for energy. Once you are at a very low body fat % then you're body will use elsewhere for energy. But I believe the %s of that are quite low.

WhispDoll

I usually net around 1000. Really I dont think thats less than I used to net years ago when I was pretty fit, but I didnt track calories and exercise then, so who knows for sure. I gained weight from waayy too much drinking, then bad food choices while drunk.

Now that I cut back on the booze, eat healthier, and track calories, Ive been losing weight on my 1200 goal. Im rarely hungry, and if I am its usually because I didnt pick very healthy choices earlier that would've filled me up. Those days I get maybe even slightly over 1200, rarely more than 1300. On days I eat healthy, and work out, I sometimes only net 800.

I dont feel weak. My hair and skin is as healthy as its been. My nails actually seem healthier. I do get tired often, but Ive had sleeping issues since I was very young.

Anyways, thats just my experience. I am in no way suggesting other people do the same, because that is not going to work for everyone. And to be fair I havent been doing this for THAT long. Just my 2 cents.

That's exactly how I feel. Foods I tend to eat a lot are apples, oatmeal, turkey and lettuce wraps, almonds, eggs, and green bell peppers (I eat a metric ****-ton of those... and now I kind of want one lol).
I think the lack of calories might be from not drinking hardly anything apart from water - I hate soda, it feels gross on my teeth, I drink tea occasionally, sometimes black coffee, rarely juice. But if given the choice, more often than not I prefer water.
I actually recently took a trip to the doctor because eating was making me feel nauseated, and they did a full work up - everything came back normal.
I'm not that worried, but I keep seeing all over the forums "omg you're not netting enough calories! You're going to starve and as soon as you treat yourself to a piece of cake you'll balloon up to 300 lbs and there will be no hope!" (Maybe that's an exaggeration...?), so I started to think "Well.... I net around 800-1000 on a given day, I feel fine, look fine, my labs have shown that I'm normal and I'm dropping weight at a reasonable, but not shocking rate."

Jessi_Brooks

I also dont drink calorie drinks. I only drink water and tea, and all I put in my tea is a packet of splenda. I have a water bottle beside me most of the time too, so I drink quite a bit of water. I eat alot of spinach, tuna, oatmeal, I love bell peppers too lol. I find if I eat all healthy foods, by the end of the day Im not hungry at all. If I am hungry one day, then I dont starve myself, I'll eat and even go over, but I am never hungry enough to go over by more than 100.

Ive been doing this for about 2 months I think and have lost 7 lbs. So that is pretty close to a healthy 1 lb a week. I havent felt deprived, and its working, so I dont plan on changing what Im doing.

nikilis

What I'm wondering is if it's really going to damage my body. I feel like if my body wanted more food, it would tell me that, but it doesn't. I'm always satisfied with what I eat throughout the day, and I never let myself go hungry. I'm trying to lose, as I put on a bit of weight after starting college, although I still live at home.
My hair is thick, down to my waist and shiny. My nails grow quickly, although break a lot (I just have weak nails and can't have them very long), and my skin is soft, never flaky and completely pimple free. I'm more tired now than I was in summer, but I also suffer seasonal depression so that's a big part of it.

yes it will damage your body.

VLCD - very low calorie diets = 800ish

CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS
Weight loss from very low-calorie diets in severely obese people has been associated with sudden death from ventricular arrhythmias. Major or rapid weight loss may damage the heart by decreasing muscle fiber size. In addition, deficiencies of protein, electrolytes and micro-nutrients, such as copper, magnesium and potassium, may contribute to a myofibrillar damage. "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" reported the findings of a 1992 study by Janis S Fisler suggesting that weight loss from very low-calorie diets provoked electrocardiogram abnormalities and precipitated acute and fatal arrhythmias in the obese subjects studied.

GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
Very low-calorie diets have been shown to affect gastrointestinal and cardiac organ systems. A 1988 study by Eleanor A Young, Ph.D., RD/LD used rats divided into two groups, one of which was fed a low-calorie diet with 23 percent total calories from protein, carbohydrate and fat. Final weights of total body, the liver, small intestines and heart were lower in the diet group and revealed a protein depletion of the gastrointestinal system with a decrease in body nitrogen stores, specifically cardiac muscle, as published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

GALLBLADDER STONES
Gallstones, which often develop in obese people, are most common after rapid weight loss. Weight loss may increase cholesterol levels in the gallbladder, which inhibit its ability to contract and expel bile. There may be a correlation with fat intake and gallstone formation as investigated in a 1998 study published in "Digestive Diseases and Sciences" using 272 moderately obese subjects with normal gallbladders who were given 900-calorie per day liquid diets for 13 weeks. The findings were that 17 percent of the group eating 16 g of fat daily developed stones with a weight loss of 18 kg , and 11.2 percent of the group eating 30 g of fat daily developed stones with similar weight loss. The experiment showed that substantial fat for rapid weight-reducing diets resulted in gallstone formation.

so your heart, guts, internal organs in general, your nails, teeth, skin - pretty much everything is in the firing line.

you need to eat more. your body isn't always right.


but hey, if all you really want is people to tell you that eating less than a 2 year old child is good for you, high five! you have nothing to worry about!*

*the above statement is false.

Jessi_Brooks

Im sorry but 1992, 1988, and 1998 studies are sorta old in my opinion. I read in a more recent study that your body, with proper nutrients, does not use other stores for energy until your body fat gets around, I believe the number was 12% body fat for women.

WhispDoll

What I'm wondering is if it's really going to damage my body. I feel like if my body wanted more food, it would tell me that, but it doesn't. I'm always satisfied with what I eat throughout the day, and I never let myself go hungry. I'm trying to lose, as I put on a bit of weight after starting college, although I still live at home.
My hair is thick, down to my waist and shiny. My nails grow quickly, although break a lot (I just have weak nails and can't have them very long), and my skin is soft, never flaky and completely pimple free. I'm more tired now than I was in summer, but I also suffer seasonal depression so that's a big part of it.

yes it will damage your body.

VLCD - very low calorie diets = 800ish

CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS
Weight loss from very low-calorie diets in severely obese people has been associated with sudden death from ventricular arrhythmias. Major or rapid weight loss may damage the heart by decreasing muscle fiber size. In addition, deficiencies of protein, electrolytes and micro-nutrients, such as copper, magnesium and potassium, may contribute to a myofibrillar damage. "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" reported the findings of a 1992 study by Janis S Fisler suggesting that weight loss from very low-calorie diets provoked electrocardiogram abnormalities and precipitated acute and fatal arrhythmias in the obese subjects studied.

GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
Very low-calorie diets have been shown to affect gastrointestinal and cardiac organ systems. A 1988 study by Eleanor A Young, Ph.D., RD/LD used rats divided into two groups, one of which was fed a low-calorie diet with 23 percent total calories from protein, carbohydrate and fat. Final weights of total body, the liver, small intestines and heart were lower in the diet group and revealed a protein depletion of the gastrointestinal system with a decrease in body nitrogen stores, specifically cardiac muscle, as published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

GALLBLADDER STONES
Gallstones, which often develop in obese people, are most common after rapid weight loss. Weight loss may increase cholesterol levels in the gallbladder, which inhibit its ability to contract and expel bile. There may be a correlation with fat intake and gallstone formation as investigated in a 1998 study published in "Digestive Diseases and Sciences" using 272 moderately obese subjects with normal gallbladders who were given 900-calorie per day liquid diets for 13 weeks. The findings were that 17 percent of the group eating 16 g of fat daily developed stones with a weight loss of 18 kg , and 11.2 percent of the group eating 30 g of fat daily developed stones with similar weight loss. The experiment showed that substantial fat for rapid weight-reducing diets resulted in gallstone formation.

so your heart, guts, internal organs in general, your nails, teeth, skin - pretty much everything is in the firing line.

you need to eat more. your body isn't always right.


but hey, if all you really want is people to tell you that eating less than a 2 year old child is good for you, high five! you have nothing to worry about!*

*the above statement is false.

I just went to the doctor and had a full work up - blood/urine/chem lab and a short psych. eval. ... Everything came back normal, with the exception of psych (I've had depression my whole life, so that I am not concerned about), and I've been eating this way for most of my adult life. What's your explanation for that....?

kelly_e_montana

If you've already had a doctor evaluate you, then why are you asking us, out of curiosity? This question is asked so much that sometimes I wonder if it's just for fun so someone can tell everyone they can't eat 1200 calories.

nikilis

kelly, I agree with you, a, because you are right, and b, because you are smokin hot. just sayin.

Fozzi43

kelly, I agree with you, a, because you are right, and b, because you are smokin hot. just sayin.

:laugh:

WhispDoll

If you've already had a doctor evaluate you, then why are you asking us, out of curiosity? This question is asked so much that sometimes I wonder if it's just for fun so someone can tell everyone they can't eat 1200 calories.

Well, I'm curious about why there's this mentality that you if you eat 1000 or under you're body is automatically going to go into starvation mode. And, I'm curious because if everyone thinks this, there must be some kind of truth to it, or some rhyme or reason why. I'd think it'd be because its true, but my seems to think contrary wise.

jesz124

This thread highlights everything that is wrong with this site on occasion. Young, already very thin girls encouraging each other to net lower and lower amounts of food. If you wish to net dangerously low amounts of food (800) then do it in private please, you do not need to influence young girls by giving them bad advice.

OP you need to eat more, hungry or not. I do not know of ANYONE who feels full after an apple. That in itself should tell you something is wrong. I'm not saying go away and start stuffing yourself, but try and fit in a few more healthy snacks as your calorie count is very low.

nikilis

What I'm wondering is if it's really going to damage my body. I feel like if my body wanted more food, it would tell me that, but it doesn't. I'm always satisfied with what I eat throughout the day, and I never let myself go hungry. I'm trying to lose, as I put on a bit of weight after starting college, although I still live at home.
My hair is thick, down to my waist and shiny. My nails grow quickly, although break a lot (I just have weak nails and can't have them very long), and my skin is soft, never flaky and completely pimple free. I'm more tired now than I was in summer, but I also suffer seasonal depression so that's a big part of it.

yes it will damage your body.

VLCD - very low calorie diets = 800ish

CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS
Weight loss from very low-calorie diets in severely obese people has been associated with sudden death from ventricular arrhythmias. Major or rapid weight loss may damage the heart by decreasing muscle fiber size. In addition, deficiencies of protein, electrolytes and micro-nutrients, such as copper, magnesium and potassium, may contribute to a myofibrillar damage. "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" reported the findings of a 1992 study by Janis S Fisler suggesting that weight loss from very low-calorie diets provoked electrocardiogram abnormalities and precipitated acute and fatal arrhythmias in the obese subjects studied.

GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS
Very low-calorie diets have been shown to affect gastrointestinal and cardiac organ systems. A 1988 study by Eleanor A Young, Ph.D., RD/LD used rats divided into two groups, one of which was fed a low-calorie diet with 23 percent total calories from protein, carbohydrate and fat. Final weights of total body, the liver, small intestines and heart were lower in the diet group and revealed a protein depletion of the gastrointestinal system with a decrease in body nitrogen stores, specifically cardiac muscle, as published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

GALLBLADDER STONES
Gallstones, which often develop in obese people, are most common after rapid weight loss. Weight loss may increase cholesterol levels in the gallbladder, which inhibit its ability to contract and expel bile. There may be a correlation with fat intake and gallstone formation as investigated in a 1998 study published in "Digestive Diseases and Sciences" using 272 moderately obese subjects with normal gallbladders who were given 900-calorie per day liquid diets for 13 weeks. The findings were that 17 percent of the group eating 16 g of fat daily developed stones with a weight loss of 18 kg , and 11.2 percent of the group eating 30 g of fat daily developed stones with similar weight loss. The experiment showed that substantial fat for rapid weight-reducing diets resulted in gallstone formation.

so your heart, guts, internal organs in general, your nails, teeth, skin - pretty much everything is in the firing line.

you need to eat more. your body isn't always right.


but hey, if all you really want is people to tell you that eating less than a 2 year old child is good for you, high five! you have nothing to worry about!*

*the above statement is false.

I just went to the doctor and had a full work up - blood/urine/chem lab and a short psych. eval. ... Everything came back normal, with the exception of psych (I've had depression my whole life, so that I am not concerned about), and I've been eating this way for most of my adult life. What's your explanation for that....?

you asked a question. science answered. sorry its not the one you wanted.


*pat on the head* your totally doing it right. you only want to see the for argument, no worries. your 18. you haven't really had any adult life. perhaps you will be totally fine, or perhaps you will get to 30 with depleted muscle mass, osteoporosis and a heart murmur.

moral of the story? dont ask of you dont want to know. capiche?

geekyjock76

But, the thing is, I don't want to eat for the sake of fulfilling a calorie goal. I don't want to get in the habit of eating because I'm supposed to, or whatever, and not because I'm hungry.

Thoughts?

That's actually what you should be doing, especially when assuming a calorie deficit. You never want to base caloric intake on hunger signals while in said deficit because the satiety hormone, leptin, decreases during calorie restriction. When you adequately eat enough to meet daily energy demands, leptin signals that you have done so and are full. However, when leptin concentration levels decline, it sends the signal you are full when you have not truly provided enough energy in the form of calories to meet demands. Thus, leptin levels - in particular - the decline of, drives calorie restriction. In short, you will end up eating less and less and less if you purely listen to hunger signals when chronically assuming a caloric deficit.

Helloitsdan

OP has no clue what shes doing.

You arent hungry because of hormonal imbalances.

Take care of your body while you are young!
Take advantage of your hormonal state!
these girls have no clue the damage they are doing to their bodies now by restricting calories 1k+ below TDEE when they probably dont have the energy stores to compensate.

They think "I'll be fine! i'm young!" only to find out in their late 20s that they cant have children or they have newly acquired adrenal or CNS issues.

To get in shape you need to force the body to change using proper stress!
If you want a sleek sexy toned body you need to build lean muscle and lose fat.
To build muscle you need building blocks in the form of food or drugs.
you eating the way you do is only going to make you skinny-fat!
Then youll make a post like "Skinny-fat! How do I fix this?!"
And we say "Eat you dummy!!! And lift heavy stuff!"
But instead youll probably tell me i'm crazy and dont know what i'm talking about.
Meanwhile you spin your wheels while we get in shape.

c2111

This thread highlights everything that is wrong with this site on occasion. Young, already very thin girls encouraging each other to net lower and lower amounts of food. If you wish to net dangerously low amounts of food (800) then do it in private please, you do not need to influence young girls by giving them bad advice.

OP you need to eat more, hungry or not. I do not know of ANYONE who feels full after an apple. That in itself should tell you something is wrong. I'm not saying go away and start stuffing yourself, but try and fit in a few more healthy snacks as your calorie count is very low.

Bravo !