Scared to eat!!!!

kmjgrant

Since I started my diet 5 days ago. My fiancee keeps telling me that I need to eat. I am just to scared o eat. Like my calorie intake is at 1,540. And I don't even eat a thousand a day. I just have this big fear that if I eat a little more, I will gain a whole lot of weight back. I have always gained weight from eating even a little bit of food. He( my fiancee) thinks that I am trying to starve myself. But, I am not. I just don't want to eat if I ain't hungry. Some one have any advice on these feelings?

kmjgrant

Since I started my diet 5 days ago. My fiancee keeps telling me that I need to eat. I am just to scared o eat. Like my calorie intake is at 1,540. And I don't even eat a thousand a day. I just have this big fear that if I eat a little more, I will gain a whole lot of weight back. I have always gained weight from eating even a little bit of food. He( my fiancee) thinks that I am trying to starve myself. But, I am not. I just don't want to eat if I ain't hungry. Some one have any advice on these feelings?

TamTastic

You have "the fear" that so many of us have or think about.

Don't eat too few though, that is really bad for you. Very few people need to eat as little as 1200 (though I know a lot do that!)....your body needs the calories to fuel and probably the reason a little bit of food will make you gain is because you are in starvation mode and any calorie your body gets is being held on to. Your body isn't letting it go because it is trying to keep you alive.

You need to work up to eating the 1500 or more calories a day and your body will adjust and be fine.

auntkaren

I have a lot of weight to get off, and when I first started the calorie counting and exercising and eating the calories I worked off. I was very sceptical of it working. It does work:flowerforyou: I have read others testimonies that have been doing this longer then me and they have lost amazing amounts of weight, and claim to be more healthy. With me I am a diabetic, and already they have had to cut my dosage of insulin due to the more healthy foods I am consuming now. I use to diet like you are now, and I would get tired of it or loose just so much and would go back to my old ways of eating and gain it all back on and more. This is a lifestyle change now, not just a way to loose weight. I hope I have been of some help to you.:flowerforyou:

Birdy

I have a lot of weight to get off, and when I first started the calorie counting and exercising and eating the calories I worked off. I was very sceptical of it working. It does work:flowerforyou: I have read others testimonies that have been doing this longer then me and they have lost amazing amounts of weight, and claim to be more healthy. With me I am a diabetic, and already they have had to cut my dosage of insulin due to the more healthy foods I am consuming now. I use to diet like you are now, and I would get tired of it or loose just so much and would go back to my old ways of eating and gain it all back on and more. This is a lifestyle change now, not just a way to loose weight. I hope I have been of some help to you.:flowerforyou:

It is a help to me. I was a skeptic and now I am just trusting the site. I hope it works. Thanks!

teetsel4

I totally understand your feelings. You just dont want to mess up, fall off the wagon, and start all over again. So you choose not to eat beacuse it's easier. The truth is you are not helping yourself at all. Most people, I would say, who are overweight are that way because of some "addiction" to food. But we do not have the option to just quit eating, like a drug addict would quit drugs. We have to learn to CONTROL. I think it is so much harder to learn. All that being said... You have to eat darlin! You have to look at this as a new adventure in your life. And the journey and adventure you are on can be very exciting and fun! I'm sure you are learning new things every day. So enjoy yourself. Also scientifically if you dont eat your BMR in calories your body will go into starvation mode and you wil not loose fat, you will loose lean muscle mass. That is not good or healthy.

Anyhow, sorry to ramble. Just saw a familure feeling. Good luck, and start enjoying food again, but in a healthy way! :flowerforyou:

doglvr_75

Check the message boards and locate "THE answers to THE questions"... it was very helpful to me...I, too had a fear of eating, but was actually in starvation mode...since upping my calorie intake and eating "mini meals" every 3 hours, I started losing....Good Luck to you!!

lotusfromthemud

I too, have done the starvation mode thing. I know that it is a controversial subject, but according to both my doctor and my dietician, one of the main symptoms is you are not hungry!

So, at first you need to eat "when you're not hungry". Go slowly and add your calories gradually. One word of warning is that you may actually gain a few pounds as your body adjusts to more food. They will come off,on their own, but you must "keep the faith" while that is happening.

I still get "the fear" sometimes.

banks1850

I'm not sure I follow.

I'll break it down. If you don't eat for a while, your stomach will shrink, and you will feel full with less food. Also, if you starve yourself your body will start to tune out the feeling of hunger, it's just the same as not noticing a smell after you have been someplace for a while.

So, basically, if your not eating enough to satisfy your basic requirements and you haven't been for a while, you've basically trained your body not to tell you when you need food.

You need to break this, you need to stretch out your stomach a little; and you need to listen closely to your body and eat your calories. Stretching out your stomach should be done over weeks, not all at once. Otherwise you'll probably just get sick or feel overfull. You may have fear over this, but you need to think about it from a logical perspective. If you don't eat enough, your body can't work right. It's the same as someone having an asthma attack. Their lungs don't get enough air, so, rapidly, their body can shut down. Return the airflow, and the return to normal is just as fast. Eating is a much slower process, but it's still the same thing. You don't eat enough, and your body doesn't have the energy to function correctly, eventually it will start shutting "non-vital" parts down. The body considers metabolism a part that can be slowed down without immediate failure.

auntkaren

I just wanted to add, that I eat 5 small meals a day and have two snacks. They are mini meals as well . Perhaps if you tried it that way you won't be overwhelmed with trying to eat all your calories in three meals.

catlover

Since I started my diet 5 days ago. My fiancee keeps telling me that I need to eat. I am just to scared o eat. Like my calorie intake is at 1,540. And I don't even eat a thousand a day. I just have this big fear that if I eat a little more, I will gain a whole lot of weight back. I have always gained weight from eating even a little bit of food. He( my fiancee) thinks that I am trying to starve myself. But, I am not. I just don't want to eat if I ain't hungry. Some one have any advice on these feelings?

Feelings are always valid and no one can deny them. Your boyfriend is right, you need to eat to live. The internet is full of healthy food menus and plans. I use an old tip from WW and made a little sheet with all the things I am supposed to eat for the day and put a little box for each serving. Then as I ate each item, I check them off. I laminated mine, but you can copy it. For example, put water--with 8 little boxes, as you drink one, mark it off. Do the same for fruit, veggies, protein, dairy, starch and fats. The people here can give you all kinds of resources on what is considered healthy choices if you don't know them.

You can try your way, less than 1000 calories, do it diligently and consistently for a month and if you loose fat and not muscle, let us know. On the other hand, if you're not happy with your results, try our suggestions for a month. Often the problem is not how much we eat, but what we eat. I was having 5 to 6 or more grain and starch servings a day, staying with my guidelines, but not losing. I cut it to two and went from two fruit servings to one and lost 5 pounds last week. I continued it this week and am expecting to see another small loss. Keep coming back and talking to us and we'll help you.