Afraid to eat over the magic 1200, binge anyway?

Well, when you're eating that few calories, it's gonna be hard to maintain it in the long run. Regardless. 1200 calories is hard to sustain forever. Slow and steady is really important!

It works for some people, but I know that when I ate 1200 in the past, I was more likely to binge. I've noticed when I increase my calories, I binge less. You might feel like you're full, but still feel deprived. If that makes any sense.

Okay so in March I started trying to lose weight on here and I would usually eat 1200 or less calories a day and burn up like 300-400 calories. I lost weight pretty fast but I hit a plateau after losing 9 pounds and last month in August I gained it all back.

I also developed binge eating habits, which is why I gained it back so fast, basically I go downstairs at around midnight and just eat..and eat.. and eat.

And now I'm terrified to eat over the magic 1200 calories because it worked so well before and I binge at night so that's more calories anyway. Also, if I eat what I'm supposed to during the day at my BMR or whatever my number would be I'm scared that I'll binge and just gain more weight.

The obvious answer would be; stop binging, and well, I'm working on it but I just need some advice.
Also, when I binge at night it's just cravings and habit, I never really binge at night because of hunger so I'm pretty sure I'm eating plenty..

Stop avoiding fatty foods.
Fats is what makes our body feels full longer.
Yes, trans and saturated fats are evil so avoid those the best you can! But foods with polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats are actually GREAT for your body since they allow more fat to escape fat cells and be burned throughout the day! The best sources of these fats are: fish, nuts, and flax/canola/olive oils.

Also, stop wasting your calories on S.A.D. staple foods. No more buns, breads, crackers, or pastas. From now on, stick to burgers on the plate, sausages cut up and dipped, chicken NOT breaded or deep fried, and tacos ONLY in the form of a salad (minus shell).

Also, cheese is real bad for you. It loses most of it's dairy benefits through processing, so just avoid that saturated fat trap the best you can.

If you need ideas on how to stay under 1200 calories and lose weight, check my diary. I lost 64 lbs since April.

Okay so in March I started trying to lose weight on here and I would usually eat 1200 or less calories a day and burn up like 300-400 calories. I lost weight pretty fast but I hit a plateau after losing 9 pounds and last month in August I gained it all back.

I also developed binge eating habits, which is why I gained it back so fast, basically I go downstairs at around midnight and just eat..and eat.. and eat.

And now I'm terrified to eat over the magic 1200 calories because it worked so well before and I binge at night so that's more calories anyway. Also, if I eat what I'm supposed to during the day at my BMR or whatever my number would be I'm scared that I'll binge and just gain more weight.

The obvious answer would be; stop binging, and well, I'm working on it but I just need some advice.
Also, when I binge at night it's just cravings and habit, I never really binge at night because of hunger so I'm pretty sure I'm eating plenty..

Judging from your profile pic you should be eating way more to lose the fat.
I can help you if you want custom numbers run.

PM me but be ready to eat and lose fat.

My first question to you is why do you want to be 120lbs when you are 5ft 7½? I've just had a look at your profile and fed your ideal weight into the BMI calculator and it comes up with 18.5 which is right at the BOTTOM end of healthy, i.e you are trying to get into the UNHEALTHY range by dieting to 120.

Your current weight of 136 comes up as 21.0 and 145lbs comes up as 22.4, both of which are in the healthy 18.5 - 25 range.

OK, now I am the first to say that BMI is a rather crude measure that dietitians and doctors use to determine if you are a healthy weight but it is a good rough guide.

So, first answer the question - why are you trying to starve yourself to the UNHEALTHY end of BMI?

Once you have answered that, then be thankful that you are in the healthy range!

If you are worried that you perceive the odd blob that you consider to be fat, I am more inclined to believe that you need to get more muscle tone to your body. I would seriously question why you need to lose weight.

I'm on 1200 per day but that's because I'm shooting for a 2lb per week loss. That IS too low under normal circumstances (I have an event I want to look good for at the end of sept). If you're on more of a long-term goal, maybe bump the calories up a bit.

Personally, I allow myself to "eat normal" on the weekends, this means, I eat how I normally eat when not trying to lose weight. Not sure if this will be effective or not. We'll find out during my weigh in next Monday.


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As long as you are ending the week in a deficiency, it shouldn't matter if you had "normal days". Of course that assumes your "normal days" aren't binge days where you eat 4500 calories and eat primarily processed foods instead of clean.

Make sure you eat back alllll your work-out calories! The magic 1200 is like a charm for me too, when I go past it it's so disappointing.

Switching workouts to the morning can help the calorie counting management sometimes, since you know how many "spare calories" you have up your sleeve for the day. It's depressing if you crave and eat a donut at 11am, and then have that awful thought of "You will have to go to the gym tonight instead of doing activity X because of that donut." If you run off 300cal at 6am, then you can have an extra egg with your breakky, or some cheeky carbs at night!

To stop the binging I think you have to start addressing why you binge. Start writing down your thoughts before, during and after a binge, and see if they are simple things you can identify and fix. ie "I'm hungry" is an easy trigger to fix! But, "I feel like *kitten*" is not. If you can know why you are doing it (which is nooooo easy task!) then you will hopefully be able to brainstorm some alternative things to help you with it.

xx

DustinLeeSamp - Naturally occurring saturated fat is not 'evil'.

It will not harm the heart or kidnap the kids.

Fat-phobia, restricting calories too far and eating nutrient-poor food like rice cakes/whole grains/'low fat' processed junk and then wondering why we feel the need to 'binge' is what got us yo-yo dieting here. The body is starving, give it what it needs.

Eat whole, natural, nutrient-rich foods (protein and, yes, fat) and you will not want to binge on anything.

Not sure if you're really looking for advice. Sounds like you have eating issues.

I honestly don't get this site at all. I made a loosely similar topic and the replies here are saying 1200 caloires for anyone is too low.
I made a thread asking if it was normal and every reply with EAT MORE PROTEIN. I CAN BARELY EAT 1000, yadda yadda yadda.

I'm starting to wonder if MFP will just trigger my eating disorder?

it sounds like your binging is just habit that you need to break - you already recognise that you are not hungry.
maybe try having a big glass of water when you get to binge and try reading or something else But DO NOT go to the kitchen.

attach a bell to the fridge/cupboard door so that when you open it, it will ring and remind you to stop what you are doing and go back to bed.

you need to keep away from the temptation for at least 21 days to break your habit.

Good luck