Please Help Me

jordanhart
jordanhart Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
Dear MyFitnessPal Family:

Over the past 11 months I have dropped 140 lbs and my family is concerned that I am sliding into an eating disorder. I am 24 years old, male, 6 foot 1 inch. I currently weight 159 lbs. I am curious if I am eating enough. Any medical professionals or trained individuals please help by looking at my nutrition. It is pretty constant. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/jordanhart

Replies

  • djames92
    djames92 Posts: 990 Member
    bro i gotta say first off good job on losing the weight and dont worry about if you family thinks you have a disorder just because you lost a bunch of weight but by looking at your diary you should eat some more youve lost weight now so i know its a little scary to gain some of it back i sturggled with eating more and not seeing the number go down myself when i lost all my weight. you just gotta add some calories and see how it goes think of it this way you lost 140 pounds! try eating more and if you end up gaining it back you KNOW that you can lose it again! i went though this and now i eat roughly 2400 calories a day from the 1450 i was eating while losing and ive only gone up 4 pounds in 3 months! and its all muscle
  • DotPett
    DotPett Posts: 181 Member
    You need to eat more calories!
  • triggsta
    triggsta Posts: 140
    Yep. Start eating more. Eat at a maintenance level if you are at your end goal. You may see an initial blip on the scale but then your body will adjust and maintain at its current level.
  • mjrkearney
    mjrkearney Posts: 408 Member
    Yeah, man, you need to eat about double of what you do. You can keep it clean and healthy but if you're consistently eating what you put in your diary then your body is probably breaking itself down for fuel. Your daily goal is the minimum you should be eating to lose weight at the rate you put into the system.

    And lay off the sodium.
  • Energizer06
    Energizer06 Posts: 311 Member
    Congrats on the weight loss. That's the hard part. Now, depending on your goals, but if you want a rock hard physique with muscle.You are at the perfect starting point, 24, lean and hormones are at a peak for working out . If it were me, I would eat around 2700 cals a day and lift heavy...I'm mean heavy. If you haven't worked out for a while, start with Strong Lifts 5x5. You'll start to see muscles you never knew existed. Put on a good 10 - 15 lbs of muscle, which will inheritently add about 5-8 lbs of fat. Your physique would be awesome. SL5x5 3 times a week and easy on the cardio the other 3.

    Your diary always seems to be below your goal...so either way...you should probably eat a little more
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    I don't know how you are surviving on so little. Your body need more nutrients! Please eat a LOT more, it's rarely enough for a little old lady to eat like that. Not an expert but that is my opinion and I would guess you are losing muscle which is never a good thing but well done on slimming down!!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    i'm gonna have to side with your friends and family. you're coming up 1000+ light of your own diaries settings, and even the 2400 you have it set for it probably too low for a male of your height. Eat more. A lot more. Doesn't matter if it's pizza or burgers or chocolate shakes, you really have to get some more calories into your days.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Eating 1000-1200 calories as day as a 6'1" male is killing yourself surely but slowly. Your goal is 2400 a day, why aren't you eating that? Starving yourself does nothing but create problems. You're right in the healthy range, what are you aiming for anyway with your extremely dangerous diet? Even 5' tall women don't need to eat that little. I would suggest re-assessing your situation and your goals.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    Yes, eat to your goal of 2400.

    And lay off the sodium.
    Say what? I didn't go too far back but his sodium was under for like the last week. It's not a poison, it's essential to life. The last thing he needs to worry about at this point is sodium.
  • nornyb
    nornyb Posts: 224 Member
    You did a great thing for your body by losing all that weight, now do it a favor and feed it! Try slowly increasing your caloric intake to see what happens, I bet you will be very happy with what you see happening. The amount of calories you are consuming is barely enough to keep a tiny little lady going (sometimes not even that much) so remember that you are not a little lady. It would be interesting to see what your labwork would say about what is happening, it would probably tell you that your body is consuming your muscles (a simplified version of what happens) in order to feed itself.
  • Athena98501
    Athena98501 Posts: 716 Member
    I'm curious to find out how you feel about the replies you've received here. You very definitely need to be eating more than double what you are, but the question is does that frighten you? Is it something you can transition into without a significant struggle? Because of the degree of under-eating that you've been doing, it's best that you raise your calories and nutrients fairly quickly. I would suggest that you add maybe 500 minimum right away, and then another 500 within a week, then up to true maintenance. If this is something you find yourself unable to do, then do seek help right away. I also want to say that I applaud your willingness to consider your family's concerns, and to seek objective opinions on your situation. I hope you're able to make the transition without any difficulty.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    I would suggest you up your calories significantly, but if you are posting this, you already know this. If you are uncomfortable upping your calories in one go, try upping by 500 for two weeks and then add the remaining. At your current weight and height you should e at maintenance, not area deficit.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    i'm gonna have to side with your friends and family. you're coming up 1000+ light of your own diaries settings, and even the 2400 you have it set for it probably too low for a male of your height. Eat more. A lot more. Doesn't matter if it's pizza or burgers or chocolate shakes, you really have to get some more calories into your days.

    I agree with this. Try increasing your calories gradually.
  • favreervaf
    favreervaf Posts: 54 Member
    Hey man, good job with the adipose loss. I study exercise physiology/nutrition and you need to now boost your metabolism and eat a little more. Keep it healthy, but up your calories. You want to prevent ketosis - especially if you are exercising. Now that you are lower in weight try to do some resistance training with weights, and gain muscle mass which will raise your basal metabolic rate and burn more calories at rest. That way you'll be hungrier and wont put on any weight if you are afraid of that. Don't be afraid to eat a little more - your body may be getting so little you'll go into starvation mode and store more fat. As a young male, at your height, you can afford more calories.

    Cheers
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    i only looked at 2 days of your diary... one you ate 1000 cals the other 1100... i am not surprised your family are worried! they should be.

    i am a 5ft5 130lb female and i am losing bodyfat NETTING 1800 cals....

    eat more.
  • jdad1
    jdad1 Posts: 1,899 Member
    increase your calories slowly. If you are concerned about eating to much and gaining weight back then add more calories to your diet slowly. Increase your calories by 200 each week or 2 untill you are eating correctly. You need to eat more.
  • professorRAT
    professorRAT Posts: 690 Member
    i'm gonna have to side with your friends and family. you're coming up 1000+ light of your own diaries settings, and even the 2400 you have it set for it probably too low for a male of your height. Eat more. A lot more. Doesn't matter if it's pizza or burgers or chocolate shakes, you really have to get some more calories into your days.

    I agree with this. Try increasing your calories gradually.

    ^yes. Listen to them.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,421 Member
    Hey man, good job with the adipose loss. I study exercise physiology/nutrition and you need to now boost your metabolism and eat a little more. Keep it healthy, but up your calories. You want to prevent ketosis - especially if you are exercising. Now that you are lower in weight try to do some resistance training with weights, and gain muscle mass which will raise your basal metabolic rate and burn more calories at rest. That way you'll be hungrier and wont put on any weight if you are afraid of that. Don't be afraid to eat a little more - your body may be getting so little you'll go into starvation mode and store more fat. As a young male, at your height, you can afford more calories.

    Cheers

    :huh: It's not the ketosis he needs to worry about - his problem is starvation and/or nutrient depletion combined with loss of lean mass.

    Where are you "studying"? At home on your computer?

    "Eat a little more"? How about more than double what he's been eating.

    OP, if you have some psychological block against eating - which is common in people who lose large amounts of weight - see a therapist or a dietician. They can help you look at this more realistically. Your family loves you and wants you to be healthy.
  • thrld
    thrld Posts: 610 Member
    I'm curious to find out how you feel about the replies you've received here. You very definitely need to be eating more than double what you are, but the question is does that frighten you? Is it something you can transition into without a significant struggle? Because of the degree of under-eating that you've been doing, it's best that you raise your calories and nutrients fairly quickly. I would suggest that you add maybe 500 minimum right away, and then another 500 within a week, then up to true maintenance. If this is something you find yourself unable to do, then do seek help right away. I also want to say that I applaud your willingness to consider your family's concerns, and to seek objective opinions on your situation. I hope you're able to make the transition without any difficulty.
    this
  • favreervaf
    favreervaf Posts: 54 Member
    Hey man, good job with the adipose loss. I study exercise physiology/nutrition and you need to now boost your metabolism and eat a little more. Keep it healthy, but up your calories. You want to prevent ketosis - especially if you are exercising. Now that you are lower in weight try to do some resistance training with weights, and gain muscle mass which will raise your basal metabolic rate and burn more calories at rest. That way you'll be hungrier and wont put on any weight if you are afraid of that. Don't be afraid to eat a little more - your body may be getting so little you'll go into starvation mode and store more fat. As a young male, at your height, you can afford more calories.

    Cheers

    :huh: It's not the ketosis he needs to worry about - his problem is starvation and/or nutrient depletion combined with loss of lean mass.

    Where are you "studying"? At home on your computer?

    "Eat a little more"? How about more than double what he's been eating.

    OP, if you have some psychological block against eating - which is common in people who lose large amounts of weight - see a therapist or a dietician. They can help you look at this more realistically. Your family loves you and wants you to be healthy.

    No, I'm studying at university. I said 'eat a little more' because I'm trying to be sensative unlike other people "dude you're eating way too little, are you nuts?! double your calories!" Let him figure out what he needs to do and how he feels. We don't know his basal metabolic rate or activity. If he sits at a desk all day and has low muscle mass, maybe he feels fine on 1,200 calories a day even though that is low.
  • aepdx
    aepdx Posts: 218 Member
    Start raising your calories a little bit at a time, your body will love you for it!
  • jordanhart
    jordanhart Posts: 2
    I seem only to be backtracking. I simply won't allow myself to go above 1200 calories because I am afraid to put on the weight.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    I seem only to be backtracking. I simply won't allow myself to go above 1200 calories because I am afraid to put on the weight.

    If you've reached your target weight, you need to eat more. I'm three inches shorter than you and I'm losing over a pound a week on 1550 net calories daily. That means that I need at least 2000 net calories to maintain my weight. I'm fairly sedentary in my ordinary life, apart from exercise which I account for separately.

    I understand that you can get into a mindset where you have been so successful in losing weight that you're concerned about increasing calories. I suggest reading John Walker's chapter "Perfect Weight Forever" in _The Hacker's Diet_ (https://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/). For that matter, read the whole book: Walker's ideas about nutrition are not necessarily up to date, but his account of how measuring calorie intake and weight can help lose weight and maintain weight loss are brilliant.

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