Could use some motivation to eat right now

Definitely eat something, eating at night is not going to make you gain a bunch of weight. eat something healthy and nutrient rich. Its important for your body to get the nutrition it needs : Good luck

Firstly - congratulations on deciding to get help for your disordered eating, you are already stronger than a lot of other people in your situation for doing that.

It must be a scary goal for you to increase your calories, and it's hard to silence that voice that you've listened to for so long. Remember why you're doing this. If you have a doctor helping you on your journey, remember that he/she would not give you any advice that would cause you to put on a crazy amount of weight and get fat. They are there to guide you towards a healthy way of life. Keep trying by taking small steps, if you feel that you should add a few more calories into your day, eat something healthy and nutritious like some fruit or nuts.

Firstly - congratulations on deciding to get help for your disordered eating, you are already stronger than a lot of other people in your situation for doing that.

It must be a scary goal for you to increase your calories, and it's hard to silence that voice that you've listened to for so long. Remember why you're doing this. If you have a doctor helping you on your journey, remember that he/she would not give you any advice that would cause you to put on a crazy amount of weight and get fat. They are there to guide you towards a healthy way of life. Keep trying by taking small steps, if you feel that you should add a few more calories into your day, eat something healthy and nutritious like some fruit or nuts.

This! Good advice. One step at a time, you can get past this.

If you can, just try to rationalise this - gaining a lot of weight overnight is impossible. One late-night snack is not going to make you wake up at 200lbs tomorrow. Find something you like to eat and put it in your mouth. Even 1 cup of air popped popcorn or something light will help.

Try to increase your calorie intake slowly. Don't go right up to 1600 straight away (obviously you probably wouldn't anyway, it would be hard for you to do) just try adding in some nice, nutrient-dense food each week and see how your body responds. You will probably find that the more you eat the hungrier you feel. Don't ignore hunger, trust it as it will be your body telling you it needs energy. Your body deserves to be treated well, and you deserve a healthy, happy body which will allow you to achieve what you want to achieve.

i vote to try some protein shakes, and maybe build more muscle, naturally, and i swear there is something wrong with having NO fat on your body, but a little is important (its stored energy)

If you can find a shake that you like the taste of, then you should have little trouble hitting your desired calorie intake without feeling sick from over eating, and know that everything you are eating is healthy and that of course you wont become obese from doing so.


Good on you for seeking help! Best of luck!

Under eating will only hurt you in the long run. I know because I've done it. A number of years ago, I decided I was fat and needed to lose weight. I did this by developing an unhealthy fear of food. I started eating less, feeling guilty about what I did eat and exercising more. I eventually reached a point where I was eating about 300 calories a day and exercising six days a week. I did lose weight, but I was tired, irritable, hungry and contantly sick. I got down to 185 lbs and had a 38" waist. Eventually, I couldn't keep it up any longer and I started eating again, but I had already done an immense amount of metabolic damage to myself. It took several years to straighten it out, and in the process, I gained about100 lbs (more than I had lost in the first place). This time, I went to a dietician to get help losing the right way and make sure I stayed healthy. I am now down to 195 lbs, but my body fat is 5% lower than when I was eating at anorexic levels, and my waist is 4" smaller. When you starve yourself, your body tends to burn muscle, not fat. Muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat does, so it gets consumed at higher levels. It why people who go on anorexic diets look like walking skeletons - all of their muscle tissue was burned away, but the fat remained, so they kept not eating until there was nothing left.

I would recommend consulting with a dietician (not a nutritionist - nutritionists are not licensed and their expertise can vary widely) to help put together a healthy plan and keep you on track. Don't be afraid of food. I eat 2200 calories a day now, and I am still burning fat. Food is not the enemy and neither is your body. Your fear and your unhealthy relationship with food are the enemy, but they can be beat. Good luck.

The time of day doesn't matter to your body...a calorie is a calorie. Try to move up in small steps and let your body readjust to the new calories. You may gain three pounds or so, but it will normalize over the next several weeks. Something I do is calorie cycling. First, I moved my calories up by a couple hundred (a hundred a week). Then, I ate 200 more calories for days I get either a half hour weight lifting session or a half an hour run in.

This is a start to helping me build muscle (not look sickly)...my body is getting some of the extra calories it needs to start to form muscle. And, I still need to do some body fat cutting for abs, so that cardio and trying to eat more clean helps with that some (long process). The main thing is to try to make sure you are eating quality foods as you increase cals. I did well with this the first month, but the second month, I'm eating white bread a couple times a day due to grilling season, leftovers, and busy summer schedules with kids. I hope to eat more clean in the next few weeks. Keep measuring, taking pics, setting goals, and you'll still feel in control of your body without being on a severe dieting deficit.

Thank you all so much! I actually just had a little ice cream bar. Wasn't much, but, again -- babysteps. And it showed me that it's okay. All of your advice is really helpful and I appreciate it tons!!

Great! I mean, its good to know in advance what you are going to eat, but life happens! Don't be afraid to eat some ice cream, fruit, or whatever when you need more calories to meet your goals.

First off you are very underweight so you need help to realize that gaining weight is a good thing not a bad thing. Secondly you may not have even been overweight in the first place. I don't know your frame size but you were under the top range for your height.

And there is this to get in some calories without feeling too stuffed. I recommend this as a night smoothie though so you get the full calorie benefit (not the eating at night will make you gain thing it's the drinking this will kill your appetite thing).

1 banana
2 or more tablespoons of peanut butter
1 scoop of protein powder
couple tablespoons of cocoa powder
sweetener like agave, honey, sugar, something with calories

You should be able to bump your calorie intake up 500 calories with this. But, I stress this should be a night time thing because when I have something like this in the morning it can keep me full for many hours.

Also I suspect your calorie plan is too low. It looks like you set it at sedentary and that you want to maintain. You really should be trying for a gain. But, baby steps. So, maybe 1800 to keep your weight on and then start bumping it up from there. It really is harder to gain than lose so keep that in mind when you are afraid of gaining to much.

I really suggest some counseling as this sounds more than some advice on a forum can resolve. Also, meeting with a dietitian that can suggest options for a healthy diet plan. It sounds like to me you are afraid to eat as it might "set you off" and you will gain all the weight back. I can relate to this.

I do agree with eating food with a lot of nutrition with calories if you cannot get yourself to eat more. Bananas, greek yogurt, peanut butter, full fat cheese, protein powder with milk. You will be fine with these options it's the junk food that is what isn't okay to add calories. And I imagine will make you feel bad and go back to eating a low calorie diet.