I seem can't meet 1200 calories a day

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  • eliz_in_pink
    eliz_in_pink Posts: 278 Member
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    I'm 11 stone exactly (I was 12.2 last September). I ate 60g of frosted flakes with just over 125ml of milk and a big mug of coffee for breakfast at 11 am this morning, I feel so full that if I eat anything else I'll probably feel sick; I'm guessing this is where I'm going wrong. I get hungry and sick feelings mixed up all the time, after a huge meal I sometimes feel like I'm starving when I'm really just way too full; but I don't want to try eating in case I really do feel sick so I wait for my stomach to rumble or something.

    I thought I just needed a suggestion on how to up my intake but now I think there's something wrong with me; going to force eat over the next couple of days.

    I'm also going to buy myself some peanut butter.


    You are eating breakfast at 11am? Honey, I've already had breakfast and my morning snack at this time. You need to eat earlier. I'm not trying to be mean- but you can't think that eating at 11am means you are actually having "breakfast" even though you may be eating "breakfast" foods.
  • Queen_Adrock
    Queen_Adrock Posts: 130 Member
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    I suffer from acute panic attacks but I'm not sure how that would affect my appetite unless I'm actually having one.

    I also used to suffer from panic attacks (still do, but they're mostly under control). I'd do the same as you -- have breakfast and then skip food for the rest of the day, get home, and not be able to eat a whole lot. It's because I was so afraid of having an attack (which would make me nauseous and scared), that I wouldn't want food in my stomach *just in case*. I lost 20 pounds -- water weight and muscle. It's not healthy to be that way (and a crappy quality of life, for sure!), so if you're still suffering from them, pleeeeeeeeeease go see someone. :flowerforyou:
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
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    it might sound backwards but actually when you don't eat enough you start to feel nauseous which kind of dulls your appetite. So you end up not eating enough but feeling like you don't need to eat more because you feel queasy.

    This is just like when you are really dehydrated from a night of drinking, and the one thing you need more than anything (water) sounds and tastes awful.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    I think there are psychological issues involved when you eat a bowl of cereal in the morning and not feel hungry until the evening. Your body is telling you it's hungry, it's just that your mind refuses to listen. Perhaps a visit with a counselor or any other mental health professional is needed.

    When I'm in a period of intense stress, I often don't feel hungry either until I'm actually starved.
  • terrinae89
    terrinae89 Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm not a big eater but adding protein bars and shakes have helped increase calories, protein and energy! Hope that helps
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
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    All I can think is that if you're eating things like frozen pizza, then you're probably not calculating correctly. Unless you're eating a small fraction of said pizza, not even a serving size, you're likely getting more calories from that sort of thing than you're calculating. It's VERY easy to overdo cereal and milk. A serving of cereal is rarely a full bowl of cereal so you could be eating a couple servings in the morning. You didn't say whether you put stuff in your coffee or if you use accurate measuring methods but I would bet money that you're not measuring correctly.

    If that's not the case, you're in anorexia/bulimia range by burning off 500 of the 1200 calorie goal. Anything that nets under 1000, unless properly supervised as a weightloss plan by a physician, is considered "disordered" by the AMA and would be cause for significant concern.

    One thing most people don't know is that a lot of times, with eating disorders, you really don't feel hungry, even when you're body is starved. If you eat this way for long enough, it will affect your body's ability to register hunger and nutrient needs, successfully slowing your metabolism to a near halt. There are only a few ways to trick yourself out of this type of "status quo" and one of the easiest is to make yourself eat, regardless of hunger, every 2 hours or so, or at least to eat the 1700 calories you should be eating. The first few days, you WILL feel stuffed. You WILL feel weird. However, after a couple days, you WILL feel extremely hungry and actually HAVE to eat more often.

    You have to convince your body that you're not starving and not unable to obtain foodstuff.

    I speak from experience. I ate like you, even less really, when I was in highschool. I was 6'2" at the time and significantly active. I developed a bingeing issue and gained over 100 pounds in a year because I had effectively wrecked my metabolism. I've written a lot about starvation and eating disorder issues, feel free to read my blog and/or add me.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    You are eating breakfast at 11am? Honey, I've already had breakfast and my morning snack at this time. You need to eat earlier. I'm not trying to be mean- but you can't think that eating at 11am means you are actually having "breakfast" even though you may be eating "breakfast" foods.

    breakfast

    break-fast

    breaking your fast

    That can be done at 5am, 11am, 5pm, or 11pm. Just make sure adequate overall nutrition weekly.
  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    You are in college, the obvious choice is beer.

    :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
  • shinkalork
    shinkalork Posts: 815 Member
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    try adding good fat like avocadoes and nuts...they are high in calories,great fiber,high in fat but it's good fat (just don't go too too crazy lol)....and good protein too.

    Peanut butter (try to go as natural as possible) is good to add calories.

    You also need to decide where you want to add your calories...Depending on your macro.... Do you want to add them in fat,carbs or protein....... they all have different ways. Easier to raise calories with fat and carbs TRUST me...but all 3 are possible.

    Hope you'll reach your goal.

    Take care

    Ps: I eat over 2500-3000 cal a day and never bust anything in my macro so YES...it's possible...Just need to learn how.
  • sdubya04
    sdubya04 Posts: 28 Member
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    I am small, 5'2" and can eat 1400 /day to maintain. I must exercise to be able to eat back those cals just to eat what I consider a normal amount of food. One thing I do is eat my protein on a HUGE salad with only 1T balsamic vinegar (not vinagrette). I weigh out the 4-6 ounces of protein (grilled or backed). I put other veggies in salad but... eating 4 cups of chopped lettuce with your protein will fill you up for a long while. I usually go to bed a little hungry but... I have learned to enjoy that feeling as it means I am doing good on not eating too much.

    I think that the feeling of hunger (unless weak and dizzy) needs to be ok.

    I also like the feeling of being hungry :/ But I'm hypoglycemic and have to eat every 2 1/2 hours. Plus I'm a vegetarian. I have problems meeting the 1200 mark. OH WELL! =)
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
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    I'm 11 stone exactly (I was 12.2 last September). I ate 60g of frosted flakes with just over 125ml of milk and a big mug of coffee for breakfast at 11 am this morning, I feel so full that if I eat anything else I'll probably feel sick; I'm guessing this is where I'm going wrong. I get hungry and sick feelings mixed up all the time, after a huge meal I sometimes feel like I'm starving when I'm really just way too full; but I don't want to try eating in case I really do feel sick so I wait for my stomach to rumble or something.

    I thought I just needed a suggestion on how to up my intake but now I think there's something wrong with me; going to force eat over the next couple of days.

    I'm also going to buy myself some peanut butter.

    Why are you eating frosted flakes? That's a sure fire sugar spike right there.

    Plus, 11am-5pm isn't some huge time span like your original post implies. Sounds like you need to get on a better schedule, maybe eating a meal at 5pm and then something else later, if you're not going to eat during that 6 hours.

    Also, are you aware that 60g of Frosted Flakes is 2 servings? The cereal in your bowl alone is accounting for 280 calories. Add milk, skim milk let's say, 1 cup of skim is about 85 calories. So, in that bowl alone, you're eating 400 calories, give or take.
  • krislyn84
    krislyn84 Posts: 337 Member
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    I used to eat out of boredom, and I eat when I'm stressed (made a bunch of brownies last semester during deadlines; no one saw them but me that night) and it makes me feel guilty as it should so I don't eat when I'm not hungry.
    I suffer from acute panic attacks but I'm not sure how that would affect my appetite unless I'm actually having one.
    And 60g of cereal in the morning and a huge mug of coffee, I ate a few hours ago and it feels like I've just finished; so yeah it fills me up all day.
    Also, student house fridges...not the best at keeping anything 'fresh' so I buy frozen veg and only have salad when I think I can afford to waste most of the stuff I buy.
    I might see if I can grab a snack or something when I'm in town today, see if I can manage to eat that.

    If you suffer acute panic attacks, STAY AWAY FROM COFFEE. Or any added caffeine for that matter. Please see a doctor. Yes, panic disorders disrupt your eating patterns and there are medications to help. I am going to say this in the nicest, most respectful way I possibly can... I truly feel like you need to talk to someone professionally. 600 calorie days, binging when you are stressed and panic attacks sounds like a problem to me.
  • dp1228
    dp1228 Posts: 439 Member
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    Although I think 1200 calories is WAY too low I'm not even going to go there at the moment. First off, your breakfast sounds like it's lacking anything nutritional besides the milk. You're basically eating sugar and milk. Not the healthiest thing IMHO. There's nothing wrong at all with cereal at breakfast but i would suggest being healthier about your choices. If breakfast is one of your bigger meals, try to eat more in the morning possible. And pick foods that are higher in calories like avocados, peanut butter, nuts full fat milk etc. like other people have said, try forcing yourself to snack during the day. You dont have to go crazy but try to get in at least a few hundred calories. For dinner try and figure out foods that can be healthy but also higher in calories. There are so many options even on campus you should be able to find a few things.

    I was never able to eat breakfast in high school either and it lasted until after college. I started forcing myself to eat breakfast and it was hard at first but now I would never be able to function without it.
  • dp1228
    dp1228 Posts: 439 Member
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    I'm a university student which means I have live cheaply and don't have any cooking skills whatsoever (I get stressed cooking a frozen pizza), so making big meals with lots of ingredients just doesn't happen.
    I always thought I'd been going way over my calorie limit when I tried calculating it myself throughout the day but then I started putting the stuff I eat on here and I realised I'd been adding at least 50 calories to the things I was eating just to be safe. This left me with well over 200 uneaten calories by the end of the day.
    The easiest thing to do would be to have lunch, but I'm never hungry in the afternoon; I have cereal and coffee for breakfast and that's me full until around 5pm and then I can only just make it to 500 calories for that meal.
    I also aim to burn 500 calories a day through exercise (I took a break yesterday because a new type of exercise killed my calves) so I really do need to reach 1200 calories.
    Is there a way to make yourself hungry or add a few hundred calories without eating much? (this sounds like a stupid question but I can't even bring myself to have a drink of water never mind eat something after breakfast until I'm really really hungry in the evening).


    If 1200 calories is what MFP gives you before exercise and you burn 500 calories from exercise then if you follow MFP you should eat 1200 calories (which is already at a deficit to lose) plus your exercise calories which means you should be eating closer to 1700 calories total. 1200 rec. Before exercise minus 500 from exercise leave you with a net of 700 calories. In this case you will still be under eating.

    If you can't or won't feed your body enough to even function properly please don't add exercise on top of that. You won't be doing yourself any favors.

    It makes no sense to me when people claim they can't properly fuel their body. If you aren't eating enough then eat more. If you are seriously stuffed on 600 calories you should probably see your doctor because it isn't normal and it isn't healthy.


    ^^ This. Couldn't have said it better.
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
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    A bowl of cereal for breakfast keeps you full until 5pm? Come on now...
    I would die.
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
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    A bowl of cereal for breakfast keeps you full until 5pm? Come on now...
    I would die.

    people around me would die.
  • stayinhomewithmy6
    stayinhomewithmy6 Posts: 7
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    Is there a way to make yourself hungry or add a few hundred calories without eating much?

    Say hello to my little friends - the jar of peanut butter and a spoon.

    Me too. I don't usually have a problem getting in my 1400 calories/day, but when I do, I go right to a jar of peanut butter and a tablespoon!
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
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    A bowl of cereal for breakfast keeps you full until 5pm? Come on now...
    I would die.

    people around me would die.
    :laugh: yesssss
  • CharityGC
    CharityGC Posts: 499 Member
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    Feeling as if you can't even have a drink of water because you're so full for six hours seems like a problem that could use more assistance than MFP.
  • InvadingObsession
    InvadingObsession Posts: 8 Member
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    I am aware that my breakfast is 2 servings and I put that in my diet record thing on here. I also record that I have 1 sugar and milk in my coffee. I'm not eating loads and saying its a tiny portion!
    And it was 11am this morning; not every morning, I slept in on my day off and I feel I shouldn't be penalised for that (but frosted flakes are cheap and yummy, so feel free to penalise me for this).
    I had breakfast at 8am and had soup at 3.30pm or there abouts the day I ate just over 600 calories and I had a slice of toast at 9pm before going to bed at 10pm.
    I get sleepy at 10pm and go to bed just after usually so eating dinner at 6 even with a snack after still leaves me with calories to eat.

    Also I don't understand calories eaten and calories burned from exercise at all, I thought you didn't eat what you burn? Isn't it pointless if you do?

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