Finding it hard to eat when you notice how little others eat

yup, i am eating 2500 cals a day coming from a 1600 cal diet for 5 months. Its hard but it gets easier when you realize your body wont just pile on the fat

Just remember you don't see everything other people eat.

If others aren't eating, they are wreaking havoc on their metabolisms and are not "healthy"! I look at people with the physique that I want (fit and STRONG, not bone skinny) and I see what they eat... and MAN, those women EAT! I've been eating clean and lots more than I have before in my life and I haven't been packing on the pounds. I also lift heavy and don't look like a man... I've got a better physique than I've had in my entire life. Eat for health. Don't worry about what others do!

I think it's important to remember that just because someone's diary looks low, it doesn't mean it really is. there may be certain foods that they're too embarrassed to log, and so we don't see.

secondly, it may sound harsh, but I've deleted quite a few friends who have very low calorie diaries. I know they need support, but I have to support myself first! I've had issues with food, and I can't be in a co-dependent relationship with other people who's actions are detrimental to my own progress.

At work I actually find that everyone else eats a lot and I'm terribly hungry

It depends who "they" are. If you're hanging out with like minded people who don't eat then I'd find some other people to hang out with. If you're comparing yourself to others on here then stop doing it. Lots of people here don't log honestly or only sporadically.

How do you know they are tracking everything, find friends with open Dairy's that actually eat, might give you some ideas

Nope, never had this problem. I figured if my friends or acquaintances or co-workers or 'whomever' didn't want to eat that was THEIR problem not mine. I never 'pre-ate' before a date or picked at the food then ate after either.

On the flip side, I don't over eat 'cause others are either...no, that I can do all by myself, thankyouverymuch.

Like others who have replied, I don't compare what I eat to others, because it sets you up for an eating disorder. By reviewing your diary though, unless you're only 4'10" and 80 years old, you're not getting enough calories, and you are way, way too low on protein (unless your goal is to be skinny fat, not healthy). A gentle suggestion is that if seeing how little others eat (the ones on MFP with eating disorders who join to share their starvation techniques with other like minded individuals) causes you to feel guilty, either stop looking at their diaries or un-friend them.

As an FYI. My mother (she's almost 75) just joined MFP. She wants to lose 8-10 pounds, but mainly joined because she has some diet restrictions due to health issues and MFP makes tracking easier than the notebook she was using. She exercises and walks everyday (puts most of us to shame), is 5'4" and usually eats around 1,400 calories or more, depending on her exercise. A few months back we figured out that with the calories she was burning on exercise, she was only netting around 800-900 calories a day...and not losing any weight. Now that she's upped her calories to a healthy amount, she is slowly losing those few pounds.

I have one friend comment to me when she comes around for lunch that she can't believe how much food I eat at lunch. It's a good case of where looks are decieving. When the food choices are healthy - like lots of veges - you can eat a lot more and lose weight. Also to factor into this is my friend is retired with an even more sedentary lifestyle than what mine is so her needs are different to begin with.

Comparing what you eat with what others eat is self-defeating. Often that's what causes a weight problem - others are eating that huge hunk of chocolate cake slathered in chocolate sauce with a side of cream and ice cream, so so can I too.... get the picture?

Eat what you know is healthy for your body and activity levels. This is about your life, so live it!

All the best!

I've had to get used to the fact I eat a lot more than a lot of people I know. Luckily I've been logging long enough to know the highest calories I can lose on are around 2400kcal, so I really am eating more than a lot of women I know. I notice when others eat very little and feel sorry for them. It helps that I have one (male) colleague who is a big eater like me, and it helps to have lunch with him from time to time.

I easily eat the largest volume of food as compared to anyone else at our work lunch table. But I'm also the only one who has lost weight over the past few months. One girl eats only a banana and sometimes yogurt. But she has been putting weight on, not taking it off.

Do your own thing.