For those eating less than 1200 calories*

For those eating less than 1200 calories(who are not morbidly obese and on a LCD or a VLCD with supervision of a doctor) because they see results:

when i first started trying to lose weight, i was 20 pounds overweight. 160 at 5'1".
I ate too little, usually 800-900 calories a day, because i thought less was better, right?
Wrong.
After an extended period of eating too little, i became obessive about the scale and how much i ate. I began eating less and less.

At one point i was eating 200 calories a day. Guess what? I had developed an eating disorder. I refused to eat more than 500 calories, and hated myself when i gained weight.

Now, two years after beginning to lose weight, i'm in recovery for EDNOS(Or Atypical Anorexia in DSM-V). Two months in, and i'm barely in the "healthy weight range" for BMI(which is an awful way to measure your health, too), with me being at 104 and 5'2.5.


I was diagnosed with acid reflux and i'm now on acid reducers for the rest of my life because of this. I get to have a bunch of tests done, EKGs, a complete blood count, a complete metabolic profile, Urinalysis, a chest x ray, a brain scan.. Just to check to see if i have any other things that have been damaged by this ED. Not to mention i've put myself at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis. There are things that i've lost because of it. Like my entire senior year. Prom? nah. Couldn't go because i was too weak. College? Yeah, that'll have to be put off for a couple months, if not years. Because of the days i missed my senior and junior year, i couldn't graduate. I've started recovery, and i've come a long way, but i still have a very, very long way to go.

So if this sounds ideal to you, by all means, ignore all logic and common sense.

But if losing your friends, hurting and upsetting your family, and missing out on important life events sounds fun to you, figure out your TDEE. eat anywhere from 5-20% below that. Don't worry about the scale, it's one of the most inaccurate ways to judge your health. Go by how your body feels, how your clothes fit. Be proud of yourself, and count every one of your accomplishments.

Your weight loss will come in good time, so please be patient. Less is not better, and undereating will only hurt you in the long run.

If you don't love your body before, you won't love your body after.