Contradictions EVERYWHERE

FormerFatSlob

Okay, I have to start this post with a disclaimer. I am really cranky, really hungry and ready to go eat 20 Big Macs and wait for the hearse.

I am a firm believer that no one loses weight by measuring every little thing that goes into your mouth - it is not sustainable, not practical and just not possible if you plan to lead any type of lifestyle outside of your home.

I believe it is more important to research each type of food and to decide if it is good for you to eat it or not. Here's my dilemma - for every food item, someone tells you that it is the worst thing you could possibly eat while trying to lose weight and someone else tells you that you should eat as much of the same food as you want. Bananas are a great example, but I found this with EVERY food I have tried to research in the past week. It is impossible to make any food decisions beyond kelp/seaweed and water.

I am also morbidly obese and can't afford the cost associated with doctor fees, bypass, WW, supplements, etc. For the past 4 days, I have managed to get by on 500-900 calories per day and have lost 8 pounds. When I say manage, I mean that I am pisssed off for most of the day, I go to bed and try to sleep by 8 PM and stay in bed til about 9 or 10 AM as the only time I am not hungry is when I am sleeping. I have 4 different family members telling me that they don't want me to die of a heart attack and then they all have different ideas about how I should lose weight. I lost about 75 pounds 15 years ago by cutting out fats and most fried foods and it worked for about 5 months. I still wanted fast food, junk food and high calorie food all the time - I got upset with people who say that their craving for "bad" food went away or that they got sick when they ate fast food - that never happened to be and never will.

As I write this, I realize that I am probably not ready to diet or make any lifestyle changes - if I was, I would probably not be so negative.

vickilm1976

Why are you trying to go on 500-900 calories a day? That may be why you're so pissed off.

ironanimal

Just log in what you normally eat for a couple of days. Don't make special adjustments. That should be an eye opener for you.

LishieFruit89

You so cranky because you're not eating NEARLY enough.
I'd be a wretched ***** if I ate 500 cals a day.

There's really no need to cut anything out unless you're allergic (gluten, nuts, etc) to lose weight.
You can still eat pizza, fried chicken, etc.
In fact, I made calzones for dinner tonight and I found a healthy version for fried chicken.
There are ways to replicate your fave "bad" food in a healthy way so you're not cranky all day and staying in bed for 12+ hrs

chlorisaann

No one should be trying to live on 500-900 cals... no wonder you are pissy!!! I would be too!! I am over 300 and am losing on 1500 and am almost never hungry on it.... I do still eat out too, had an in and out burger day before yesterday!

JoshuaL86

Okay, I have to start this post with a disclaimer. I am really cranky, really hungry and ready to go eat 20 Big Macs and wait for the hearse.

I am a firm believer that no one loses weight by measuring every little thing that goes into your mouth - it is not sustainable, not practical and just not possible if you plan to lead any type of lifestyle outside of your home.

I believe it is more important to research each type of food and to decide if it is good for you to eat it or not. Here's my dilemma - for every food item, someone tells you that it is the worst thing you could possibly eat while trying to lose weight and someone else tells you that you should eat as much of the same food as you want. Bananas are a great example, but I found this with EVERY food I have tried to research in the past week. It is impossible to make any food decisions beyond kelp/seaweed and water.

I am also morbidly obese and can't afford the cost associated with doctor fees, bypass, WW, supplements, etc. For the past 4 days, I have managed to get by on 500-900 calories per day and have lost 8 pounds. When I say manage, I mean that I am pisssed off for most of the day, I go to bed and try to sleep by 8 PM and stay in bed til about 9 or 10 AM as the only time I am not hungry is when I am sleeping. I have 4 different family members telling me that they don't want me to die of a heart attack and then they all have different ideas about how I should lose weight. I lost about 75 pounds 15 years ago by cutting out fats and most fried foods and it worked for about 5 months. I still wanted fast food, junk food and high calorie food all the time - I got upset with people who say that their craving for "bad" food went away or that they got sick when they ate fast food - that never happened to be and never will.

As I write this, I realize that I am probably not ready to diet or make any lifestyle changes - if I was, I would probably not be so negative.

So, I would have sympathy for you, but it probably won't do any good, so I am just going to give you a swift kick in the backside here. Quit groveling over what you can or cannot eat, if you're going to do this, do it, if not, then don't. If you all you ever make are excuses, all you ever will have are excuses. I measure everything that goes into my mouth, it's not hard, and it really doesn't consume that much time. Honestly, how much time do you waste in front of a tv? A computer? Probably hours! If you can sit in front of a TV or computer, you can take a little time and measure your food. If you want this bad enough, you will do it.

I use to be like you, that's why I am responding the way I am. Quit whining, shape up, and do what you need to do to get yourself healthier.

taso42

I am a firm believer that no one loses weight by measuring every little thing that goes into your mouth - it is not sustainable, not practical and just not possible if you plan to lead any type of lifestyle outside of your home.

Your belief system governs what you can and cannot do...

Bakkasan

Why are you trying to go on 500-900 calories a day? That may be why you're so pissed off.

I know I get really pissy when I go below 1600.

If you are morbidly obese, a 2000 calorie, even 3000 could provide meaningful results. Going down to 800 is something a person who has gastric bypass does.

luvs2teachincali

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I recommend reading this. It has a lot of GREAT points.

I just found out my body fat is 43.3% :noway:
I also used the calculators to find out that my TDEE is 2122/day and my BMR is a little under 1400/day.
I have been trying to eat 1200/cal day to lose and it's not coming off like I'd like. So... using the calculations given I found I should be eating around 1600 cal/day, but.... naturally, I am afraid to go from 1200 to 1600 and play the WAIT AND SEE game. So, I changed my settings and bumped myself up to 1400/day. Time will tell. Nervous? YES. But, I am tired of being tired and lacking energy and hoping this helps.

Good luck to you! You can do it!!

cmriverside

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAT! Man, you have to eat. Weight loss shouldn't be miserable! If it is, you're doing it wrong.

linda1243

Breathe! If you are morbidly obese then you can cut your calories to 1600 and still lose weight. You do not have to go to such an extreme. As you lose weight you will need to cut more calories, but at the beginning it's not necessary. Don't make it this hard now, you are still in the honeymoon stage. You should start with cutting back. Try to eat less junk (fast food, candies, chips, etc) and eat more fruits and vegetables. Then start to cut back on pre-prepared foods (they have way more sodium and excess junk in them). Then when you start to feel confident and you have taken off some weight, you might not feel so overwhelmed jumping in on the "what's healthy, what's not" controversy.

Cut yourself a break. Start by crawling before you start running. You can do this but it doesn't have to be in one day.

FinallyFindingLisa

Why are you not eating? I'd be a horrid person if I ate that low. You have to make small changes one at a time until they become habits. I started with adding water, lots of it and logging everything I ate. You can't tackle it all like that, you'll fail. You can look at my diary (it's public) and you can see that I eat real food and I've done pretty good so far.

PipBnz

I would murder people if i had less than 1300 a day. I am currently over 100kgs and am losing weight at 1780 a day plus eating back most of my exercise calories. (12 lb in 31 days)

foleyshirley

How could you NOT be negative only eating 500-900 calories. That is absolutely the WRONG way, and is not sustainable nor healthy. You need to find a reasonable number of calories to target. And I am sorry, but if you are morbidly obese, you should measure the foods you eat until you become better at portion control. I'm going to post a link that should help you determine a good number of calories to target. But you need to eat more. You will feel better, and it will make a huge difference.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Junken_Diraffe

There is no need to cut down to 500-900 calories! That is not sustainable! What are you going to do when you lose all you want and have to eat normal again? Gain the weight back. Again.

Do not cut out ALL fats or ALL fast food or ALL of anything. Eat reasonably and healthfully. You're here, so you have the tools. You should absolutely believe that people can lost and maintain by counting and recording everything that they put in their mouths. It is was most of the successful people here do. I've lost 60ish lbs and have maintained for a year now. Just give the program here a chance, eat within your calorie goal mfp sets for you, exercise a bit, and see what happens.

Losing 8 lbs in 4 days is not listing fat. It's losing water weight. Do not go that route. There is no reason you need to be hungry and angry and tired all the time. I lost all my weight eating about 1600 calories a day.

Please do not stick with your 500 calorie plan. You're slowly killing yourself, just as surely as you are by being overweight and stuffing your face with those big macs you want.

toaster6

That is too low of a caloric intake for you-- if you aren't feeling well then you need more food. And while you absolutely CAN cut out the junk foods, you don't have to but do decrease how much you'll have. Make smarter choices for now and go for smaller steps right now. Later you can make bigger changes.

LokiOfAsgard

Here's the first step to getting anywhere.

Don't worry about WHAT you eat, worry more about how much you eat.

Now, obviously, it IS important to eat healthy, and that is something to work for. Mostly that just means, cut out the pop sugar and grease. I am obese as well and when I got started on this, I had more intention of losing weight, before getting healthy. And you CAN eat nothing but chocolate all day and still lose weight, as long as you don't go over your calories. Once you get portion control in order, it's a lot easier to eat healthier.

And I agree with you, there are too many contradictions. But I think the most important thing to remember when eating healthy are- Cut down the red meat, pop, sugar and grease.
And remember, if it isn't Baked, Boiled, broiled or raw. Don't eat it. (Or don't eat too much, because you can't deprive yourself sometimes.)

And please up your calories O.O A person who is at a healthy weight needs at least 1,200, someone who weighs more (like us) need more
And I think uping your calories will give you more energy to sleep a decent amount of time too

xxvogue

If you're a firm believer that you can not measure everything that goes into your mouth, may I recommend "Eat to LIve." You're supposed to eat 1 pound of raw veggies, 1 pound cooked veggies, 3-4 servings of fruits, and 1 fat a day. Most people don't manage to eat all that food. Also, no salt, no starchy veggies (if you're very overweight), no dairy, no meat, etc. However, you might not find THAT sustainable either.

So, you really have to think about it as forming new habits. You just have to pick the habit that you want to form.

You will likely not go wrong with fruits/veggies period. But starchy vegetables and fruits are more calorie dense. It's really hard to over eat lettuce or spinach, but you could over eat bananas and potatos theoretically. Bananas are like.. 100-150 calories a pop, but they're not bad for you.

500-900 is too low, and that is unsustainable and unhealthy. Hence why you're so miserable. You lost the weight once, and you can do it again, but part of it is finding new favorites.

But, you know what, heres the tough love: either you want to be healthy or you don't. So, what if you ALWAYS have cravings? Learn to indulge them once in a while in a healthy manner (100% possible, you can lose weight only eating junk if you don't eat that much of it), ignore them, or fall off the wagon again. Only you can take care of you.

Cynduck

I'm not an expert by any means but living on 500-900 calories isn't sustainable, practical or healthy. I can tell you what works for me. I don't get caught up in "good" or "bad" foods. There is no off limit foods for me and there are no "magic" foods. If I tell myself I can't have something, I will obsess about it. Knowing I can have whatever I want within my calories makes me ok with it. Most of the time it allows me to eat good healthy unprocessed food because I don't feel deprived. I know if I want

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that I can have it and fit it ino my day. It is practical for me. It is sustainable for me because I am not oing to get to goal and go nuts eating foods I haven't allowed myself to have. It is healthy for me. I am still morbidly obese even after a 45 pound loss but my BMI is going down and I am getting there. It is one step at a time. Check your MFP tools for a healthy calorie range, that's what I follow. Don't give up and don't let all the information on the web get you down. Losing weight is less calories in than out.

Danni3ll3

Breathe! If you are morbidly obese then you can cut your calories to 1600 and still lose weight. You do not have to go to such an extreme. As you lose weight you will need to cut more calories, but at the beginning it's not necessary. Don't make it this hard now, you are still in the honeymoon stage. You should start with cutting back. Try to eat less junk (fast food, candies, chips, etc) and eat more fruits and vegetables. Then start to cut back on pre-prepared foods (they have way more sodium and excess junk in them). Then when you start to feel confident and you have taken off some weight, you might not feel so overwhelmed jumping in on the "what's healthy, what's not" controversy.

Cut yourself a break. Start by crawling before you start running. You can do this but it doesn't have to be in one day.

Great advice in this post and other posts! You are not eating enough! I don't do hunger ever! I cut back on my portions, count my calories and make wise choices but if I want a treat, I eat a very small piece because I know that if I deprive myself, it isn't sustainable. Being French, you don't eat to live, you live to eat as eating is a great pleasure in French people's lives. You just have to really watch portions and the quality of what you are eating. The advice above is a great way of getting there. Now go eat something healthy before you do some harm to someone.

manderson27

500-900 cals is not sustainable. Up your cals so you are not so hungry. You are getting too bogged down in good food v bad food at the moment. You can gradually change foods as you go if you feel something is not as healthy as you would like.

Set up your goals on MFP for a weight loss of a pound per week and see what calorie allowance MFP gives you then log everything you normally eat for a week or so. You can then see where you can make changes or low cal substitutions to get your cals down to the MFP advised level.

You don't have to starve, you don't have to give up all your favorite foods you just have to adjust them to fit in with your calorie and nutrition goals.

As long as you are eating at a deficit you will lose weight. Throw in some excercise and you will get fitter and stronger as well.

Read the forums, check out peoples diaries, look at the success stories. This is not impossible this is very very doable.

Start with the basics. Small steps to change your eating habits.

Good luck :flowerforyou: