I need to eat more but I am scared!

I just read a great article about this in Women's Health magazine. The thing is, when you eat that little and lose weight, the second you go back to 1300 calories a day (or any other small increase), you WILL gain the weight back. Get your daily intake to what this site, or other reputable site, suggests and stay there. While losing weight is great, you don't want to whack out your metabolism so that you have to continue eating that way to maintain the loss. Look for the article in this month's edition of Women's Health.

Trisha- You will definitely need to up your calories... 800-1000 calories is not enough, let along when you are exercising a few times during the week. Your body needs the fuel. You may gain weight initially, but I would try adding maybe 50-100 calories more per week until you get to your goal. If you do gain weight you will have to just work harder and exercise more (keep eating your exercise cals or this will happen again) and go from there. A slow, steady weightloss is a good thing...and you will be able to keep it off longer. I know for me..I have exercised 5 days a week for as long as I can remember...... And I have been watching my calories since Sept 2009 and I have only lost 22 pounds since then. But, I am doing it the healthy way. I am eating my calories, exercising and doing everything correctly. You NEED to force yourself to eat more, otherwise this is going to be a really hard road to travel for you. And you CAN do this. Don't get discouraged if you gain a little weight at first, because if you keep eating healthy & exercising you will be able to get to where you want to be. Do your body good and do this the healthy way. Only you can make that decision for yourself.

There are some articles that are "bookmarked" under General Diet & Weightloss help that will definitely help you understand why you need to eat your exercise calories.... Good luck!!

Trisha - please don't forget that health is more important than waistline! Above all you need to be healthy. Eat good healthy wholesome foods that include natural fats - like nuts and nut butters. Eat whole grains like brown rice, not flour products - even if they're whole grain flour. Sweet potatoes are healthy - just don't put sugar or honey on them, and don't load them with butter - just the plain sweet potato with a little salt is delicious. Our bodies need fat - just make sure they're natural, healthy fats. So, I advise you to eat more calories - definitely - but just make sure they're healthy calories. Those 30 pounds lost (congratulations) won't help you if your body is starving for nutrition. Good luck!

youre not alone!
ive been like this for a while! and now im hypoglycemic. my body used up all its stored glucose and i kept burning everything i ate. its not a good situation. its not common so dont worry
i still havent gotten over the fear of over eating. and ive NEVER been one to over eat. I just used to make unhealthy food choices. Ive convinced myself that i'm never hungry (part of low blood sugar is loss of appetite). and yesterday I ate less than 50 cals and burned over 400. by the end of the day i was literally too tired to move. I fell asleep in my work clothes and i slept for a solid 14 hours. doesnt sound like anything you want for youself does it? maybe we need to start a support group. Im sure there are plenty of people on here that could benefit

For the past three months I have been dieting really hard. I have lost 30 lbs. But I can't say I have exactly done it the right way...I exercise three to four times a week and eat nothing but low fat low calorie foods. I usually stay between 800-1000 calories...it is too low. But psychologically I feel that if I eat more I am going to put the weight back on. I won't even have an occasional piece of pizza. What should I do...I can't force myself...I have tried and have no success. I have maintained my weight of 140 lbs for a while now which is healthy for my weight.

Please help me out!!

Tricia:

I totally get it. In order to keep my psyche from flipping out over eating 1400 cals (and believe me, it does! Sent me into a depressive tailspin for a couple of weeks!!), what I've decided to do is not worry too much about how many cals I *consume* but rather how many cals I end my day with!!! Yesterday, I ended with around 950, I think... but I ATE over 1400! My daily goal has been to close my log with less than 1000 cals (burned-consumed). So, if I eat 2000 calories in a day.. so what? Just means I have to burn 1001 calories to put me at 999. So, I'm forcing my body to burn whatever it doesn't need in order to maintain and it's using the nutrients from my consumption to do it. I'm not starving myself, I'm not neglecting my dietary needs... I'm not going to burn off the zinc that was in my diet for the day! My body is going to use that stuff though to help me burn the fat, cholesterol and sugars off that my body ISN'T using and doesn't need!

Best part - my mental will stay in tact. When I calculate the numbers straightforward adn I see I'm ending on a note of 800 - my brain is happy... but I've eaten alot more than that - so my body is happy too. Win win. :-) So, if your comfort number is 950.. go ahead.. eat those 1300 in cals.. just be sure you burn 350 of them. Oh, and as far as "eating my exercise calories" - I do... sometimes... I just burn them again... :-) Now, this may not work forever but it's what I'm using to get me over my pscychological slump, keep me from freaking out and get me going on my weight loss. I'm sure things will alter as I go - just no idea what that will look like yet.

Good luck!

Try sneaking some extra cals in here and there... a small handful of walnuts on your salad, maybe sliced avocado on a turkey wrap... try greek yogurt, it is higher in cals but high in protein also... if you like milk, even adding a glass of milk each day would be a good step.

80 calories in 12 almonds. They're a good, healthy snack for you! Eat them plain, on a salad...however you want!

I understand though. I've battled too many issues with food and my weight (when I didn't need to) and when I started here I set my calorie goal high to prove to myself that you can eat 1500 net calories a day, get fit and lose weight. You can do this! Body image issues are the bane of my existence