Eating, Starvation Mode, and the Reality of it all

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  • khlewis85
    khlewis85 Posts: 13
    I am very grateful that you shared your story. i am suffering right now with the whole under-eating thing, and have been for 9 years of my life and i'm trying really hard to fix things and stories like yours really give me a kick in the butt to remind me how even though i feel like i'm this dark hole i can't crawl out of, that i need to try harder than i am and not give up and go back to starvation mode because i am at risk of death. and it's just a fact and it scares the crap out of me, so thank you for giving me the kick in the butt that i needed today to get back on track and not ignore my rumbling tummy.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    I am very grateful that you shared your story. i am suffering right now with the whole under-eating thing, and have been for 9 years of my life and i'm trying really hard to fix things and stories like yours really give me a kick in the butt to remind me how even though i feel like i'm this dark hole i can't crawl out of, that i need to try harder than i am and not give up and go back to starvation mode because i am at risk of death. and it's just a fact and it scares the crap out of me, so thank you for giving me the kick in the butt that i needed today to get back on track and not ignore my rumbling tummy.

    Oh honey........my heart aches for you. Ppl do not understand that the longer you go without, the less your body will request food. You can do this!!

    Little bits, right? I remember my mom gagging at the 1st breakfast of eggs and toast! :noway: I cannot eat that!!

    Then she looked at her daughter and said .........OK. LOL.......I remember I took a bite and she took a bite. Holy cow, I have not thought of that in YEARS!! (thanks to great counseling :wink: )

    It took her about a month to eat a normal days food, and that was prob 1200 cals now that I think back.

    Keep working towards a healthier body! God Bless:flowerforyou:
  • tcac
    tcac Posts: 211 Member
    Thank you for sharing your story, it hits a lot closer to home when someone's life is involved. I lost my own Mom in 2005, but to cancer (but I still remember her always struggling with her weight and she never seemed to eat very much... and this probably had a lot to do with her body's inability to be healthier, diagnosis to death in 10 months). This only brings me to my own battle, I hit a wall about 6 months ago and have not been able to lose a single pound since, I have exercised HOURS and hours a day and I have even (just being honest) tried for weeks at a time to see how closely I could come to exercising all or even more calories than I ate... long story short, I am still at the same weight and the mental part behind it all is even more torturous than the physical b/c I was counting every single calorie of every single thing I put into my mouth day in and day out and obsessing every minute of every day about how I could work in every possible calorie to Burn and nothing was working, I feel Broke and like a failure... I am just destined to be Fat.... UNTIL I read your Post!!!! This just REALLY hit home for me!! I am 35, I have 3 children, didn't I start losing weight and quit smoking and everything else to be healthy For them!! So, from now on I eat (starting today), I am going to set exercise goals... NOT weight goals... I used to be Fat, I am Not any more, it's OK Not to be a size 5... I am MUCH healthier than I was in my 20s and that is the Point!!! I had a goal to ride 15 miles on my bike this morning and I rode 20, I am very proud of myself... and now I am enjoying a great big fat egg white and cheese omlet, I intend to try to eat healthy (for cholesterol and things like that) but if I am hungry I Will eat and often!! Thank you for potentially saving me!!!
    '
    You are going to do this the right way. I know because you are here and you have posted. Now find friends, people who will keep checking in on you. People you can share your heart with. If you want, add me as your friend. I have girls and a soft heart of mothers. It is hard being a mom. Let people come along side of you. Know this most of all you are loved and very important to God.
    linda
  • tcac
    tcac Posts: 211 Member
    I am very grateful that you shared your story. i am suffering right now with the whole under-eating thing, and have been for 9 years of my life and i'm trying really hard to fix things and stories like yours really give me a kick in the butt to remind me how even though i feel like i'm this dark hole i can't crawl out of, that i need to try harder than i am and not give up and go back to starvation mode because i am at risk of death. and it's just a fact and it scares the crap out of me, so thank you for giving me the kick in the butt that i needed today to get back on track and not ignore my rumbling tummy.
    I notice you have not added any friends yet. Do that. Find people on here who will commit to walking this walk with you. You do not need people telling you what to do, you need people to encourage you and you will find them here. If you want, add me as a friend. I am much older, but I am a good encourager.
    linda
  • Crickks
    Crickks Posts: 94
    BUMPED
  • suckitup
    suckitup Posts: 95 Member
    I'm so glad you mentioned your 1200 diet and hitting a wall at 145lbs. I was quickly losing the weight with 1200 "healthy" calories each day, but not eating more for the exersice either. Once I thought I was happy with the weight and chose to maintain, the computer gave me a TON more calories to eat each day. I can't manage that unles I go hog wild. I did slack off and made lots of those extra calories unhealthy yet tasty ones and saw a quick 3lb jump! I'm going back to around 1400 and staying away from the taboo food again.

    Thanks again for sharing all of your experience. It will help people! :happy:
  • peacock1234
    peacock1234 Posts: 4
    Really interesting topic. I knew that I wasn't supposed to go under 1200 calories but didn't really know why. Thanks to everyone who has posted - I have learnt a lot!:flowerforyou:
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    I am so thankful I was healthy when I had a congenital heart defect diagnosed and surgery to repair it. I was told my good health was a factor in how well everything went!

    Take care my friends!
  • OIPRD
    OIPRD Posts: 4 Member
    excellent posts, food is for energizing our body, mind, and to be enjoyed. Eat meals with friends and family, focus on feeding hunger, not feelings, listen to your body, and make 80% good choices. the 20% you eat something that has no nutritional value helps keep life sweet, real, and managable.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Jeannie,

    Sorry to hear about all this, I know it can't be easy to share it. But I think it's important to show real life consequences to an unhealthy lifestyle. And I congratulate you for your strength and ability to share your story.

    Sometimes I get the feeling, when I write about organs shutting down because of starvation, people see the abstract and think "well, that's the EXTREME, it won't happen to me." But they would be wrong. The liver is the most obvious organ that can be affected (and the worst, people don't realize that the liver is JUST as important to life as the heart) But there are other things too. I think sometimes people think we say this stuff to shock folks, and maybe the thought is that we exaggerate to make a point, but we aren't, and stories like this, as sad as they are, can help people to understand, this isn't necessarily a worst case scenario, it's a common outcome for people who consistently eat well below the level of nutrients they need long term.

    So again to you Jeannie, thank you for being strong enough to share. And to everyone out there that doesn't understand why we say to stay within the Deficit that MFP gives you, read the newbie posts, they give a clear and concise reasoning as to why it's important.
  • DancingYogini
    DancingYogini Posts: 377
    Amazing post...I am so sorry about you mom, and that it took her death to show the reality of starving yourself in order to achieve so called perfection. I struggle myself, and have to constantly remind myself that it is much, much better to be healthy and not what I feel is my "ideal" weight, than to starve myself and be sick and underweight, but fit into a size that is too small for my frame and height. Loving yourself is the only way to true happiness...
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