Scared to Eat More Than 1,000 Calories

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  • brynnsmom
    brynnsmom Posts: 945 Member
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    Years ago I had a stint of undereating. I actually lost more rapidly by eating a bare minimum of 1,200 calories/day. Anything below that really isn't necessary and, like others have pointed out, can lead to binging. Food is fuel and shouldn't be feared.
  • paulzli
    paulzli Posts: 72 Member
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    You need to eat a minimum of 1,200/day calories to be healthy. Sounds like you may have an eating disorder.... seek professional help immediately. Bless.

    I eat 1199 calories a day and I don't think I'm going to die in the next 15 minutes.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Wow, so many are quick to shout "ED!" here. Personally, I have lost weight twice by eating 900-1000 calories a day, I felt just fine, and had normal physicals. Once I got to maintaining I ate a normal amount of calories each day (about 1,500-1,800). I have never been in bad health and I didn't lose weight when I ate more than that a day even with exercise.

    And your losing weight again, I see. How's this pattern working for you?

    I would also question the logging accuracy of claimed intake.

    OP, the part that's disordered is your fear of eating more and the fact that 1000 calories and below is NOT enough for anyone to function on who isn't somehow compromised and need medical supervision. I agree with the others that finding a doctor to explain to you how and why you need to properly fuel yourself is in order

    It actually worked perfectly until I got a desk job after having a physical one for 12 years. I gained weight because of no activity/office snacks and parties. I'm doing the same 900-1,000 calorie a day diet that worked before along with 30 minutes a day of exercise. You can question my accuracy all you want, but trust me I'm meticulous about every single calorie. I just want the poster to know that I feel fine working out with 1,000 calories and am in perfect health and it's not ALWAYS a terrible thing. Everyone is different.

    Just so I understand here.....

    You kept your intake at 1000 calories and started gaining because you got a desk job?

    Please tell me you're eating back at least some of your exercise cals on top of this.
  • PugBug20
    PugBug20 Posts: 55
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    Thank you for the advice. I will seriously consider going to a doctor. I don't think I have an eating disorder, but I will admit that I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. Since junior high school (I am now in college), I have been stuck in a vicious cycle of binging, restricting, binging, restricting; there has never been an in between. I think I need to face the truth and finally seek help. In the mean time, I think I am going to follow the advice that some of you have given me and increase my daily calories by 50 - 100 each week until I feel comfortable eating a "normal" amount of calories (1,200 - 1,400) a day. Thanks again.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    It might also be helpful if you opened your diary so we can get an idea of how you are eating.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Thank you for the advice. I will seriously consider going to a doctor. I don't think I have an eating disorder, but I will admit that I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. Since junior high school (I am now in college), I have been stuck in a vicious cycle of binging, restricting, binging, restricting; there has never been an in between. I think I need to face the truth and finally seek help. Thanks again.
    Good for you. :)
  • ksy1969
    ksy1969 Posts: 700 Member
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    You need to eat a minimum of 1,200/day calories to be healthy. Sounds like you may have an eating disorder.... seek professional help immediately. Bless.

    I eat 1199 calories a day and I don't think I'm going to die in the next 15 minutes.

    I sure hope you are joking. Please say you are joking.
  • gabrielleelliott90
    gabrielleelliott90 Posts: 854 Member
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    No eating more than 1,000 calories will not make you gain weight. We are meant to eat at least 1200 calories. Please get help.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Get professional help. The End.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Well, before jumping to conclusions about a possible eating disorder maybe you could make that anxiety work for you rather than against you. Some research suggests that eating that low may actually lower the amount of calories it takes for you to maintain. This is called adaptation. Another thing to consider is that if you are consistently that low your muscle mass will suffer, decreasing your maintenance calories even further.

    A low calorie day here and there is fine, but when you do that every day you are looking at deficiencies, muscle loss, fatigue, decreased performance, hormonal issues, hunger, irritability, and just being plain unhappy. An unhappy dieter is a dieter who will quit too soon or rebound and gain back.

    Basically what you are afraid will happen if you go over 1000 is what will actually happen once you reach maintenance at such a low calorie diet and you may need to maintain eating a lower amount than normal. Yes, if you increase your calories you WILL plateau or even gain because you will be retaining water and having more food in your digestive system, but that gain is NOT real and should not scare you. Just consider that weight your new starting weight and watch the fat slowly melt away while you're eating whatever you want and not hungry.
  • PugBug20
    PugBug20 Posts: 55
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    Actually, I don't use MFP to record my calories; I just come on here for the message boards. I keep my own food journal, but I am meticulous about it (i.e., I measure/weigh all of my food, carefully research nutritional information, count every calorie I consume, etc.). I just prefer having a physical journal over a digital one. Is that strange? Haha.
  • bigsistruck
    bigsistruck Posts: 125 Member
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    Wow, so many are quick to shout "ED!" here. Personally, I have lost weight twice by eating 900-1000 calories a day, I felt just fine, and had normal physicals. Once I got to maintaining I ate a normal amount of calories each day (about 1,500-1,800). I have never been in bad health and I didn't lose weight when I ate more than that a day even with exercise.

    And your losing weight again, I see. How's this pattern working for you?

    I would also question the logging accuracy of claimed intake.

    OP, the part that's disordered is your fear of eating more and the fact that 1000 calories and below is NOT enough for anyone to function on who isn't somehow compromised and need medical supervision. I agree with the others that finding a doctor to explain to you how and why you need to properly fuel yourself is in order

    It actually worked perfectly until I got a desk job after having a physical one for 12 years. I gained weight because of no activity/office snacks and parties. I'm doing the same 900-1,000 calorie a day diet that worked before along with 30 minutes a day of exercise. You can question my accuracy all you want, but trust me I'm meticulous about every single calorie. I just want the poster to know that I feel fine working out with 1,000 calories and am in perfect health and it's not ALWAYS a terrible thing. Everyone is different.

    Just so I understand here.....

    You kept your intake at 1000 calories and started gaining because you got a desk job?

    Please tell me you're eating back at least some of your exercise cals on top of this.

    I forgot to mention the first two times were from pregnancies, I have two little girls. This last time, yes, was from a desk job because I had a hard time STAYING with 1,000 calories because of the different environment. I couldn't eat while I was working my butt off at the factory. Now people bring all kinds of goodies to me and we have parties and so on. I just had to learn how to keep to 1,000 calories in my new environment.
  • Nicola0000
    Nicola0000 Posts: 531 Member
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    Wow, so many are quick to shout "ED!" here. Personally, I have lost weight twice by eating 900-1000 calories a day, I felt just fine, and had normal physicals. Once I got to maintaining I ate a normal amount of calories each day (about 1,500-1,800). I have never been in bad health and I didn't lose weight when I ate more than that a day even with exercise.

    And your losing weight again, I see. How's this pattern working for you?

    I would also question the logging accuracy of claimed intake.

    OP, the part that's disordered is your fear of eating more and the fact that 1000 calories and below is NOT enough for anyone to function on who isn't somehow compromised and need medical supervision. I agree with the others that finding a doctor to explain to you how and why you need to properly fuel yourself is in order

    It actually worked perfectly until I got a desk job after having a physical one for 12 years. I gained weight because of no activity/office snacks and parties. I'm doing the same 900-1,000 calorie a day diet that worked before along with 30 minutes a day of exercise. You can question my accuracy all you want, but trust me I'm meticulous about every single calorie. I just want the poster to know that I feel fine working out with 1,000 calories and am in perfect health and it's not ALWAYS a terrible thing. Everyone is different.

    Just so I understand here.....

    You kept your intake at 1000 calories and started gaining because you got a desk job?

    Please tell me you're eating back at least some of your exercise cals on top of this.

    I have a desk job and eat 2000+ cals a day, and Ive been at goal weight for 2 years. Desk job is a crap excuse
  • UNLESS19
    UNLESS19 Posts: 118
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    Thank you for the advice. I will seriously consider going to a doctor. I don't think I have an eating disorder, but I will admit that I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. Since junior high school (I am now in college), I have been stuck in a vicious cycle of binging, restricting, binging, restricting; there has never been an in between. I think I need to face the truth and finally seek help. In the mean time, I think I am going to follow the advice that some of you have given me and increase my daily calories by 50 - 100 each week until I feel comfortable eating a "normal" amount of calories (1,200 - 1,400) a day. Thanks again.

    So glad you're seeking help, and it does seem like a possible ED. But, they will help you and hopefully you will get a normal relationship with food again and you'll be a lot happier/healthier :)
    Stay strong <3
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    Wow, so many are quick to shout "ED!" here. Personally, I have lost weight twice by eating 900-1000 calories a day, I felt just fine, and had normal physicals. Once I got to maintaining I ate a normal amount of calories each day (about 1,500-1,800). I have never been in bad health and I didn't lose weight when I ate more than that a day even with exercise.

    And your losing weight again, I see. How's this pattern working for you?

    I would also question the logging accuracy of claimed intake.

    OP, the part that's disordered is your fear of eating more and the fact that 1000 calories and below is NOT enough for anyone to function on who isn't somehow compromised and need medical supervision. I agree with the others that finding a doctor to explain to you how and why you need to properly fuel yourself is in order

    It actually worked perfectly until I got a desk job after having a physical one for 12 years. I gained weight because of no activity/office snacks and parties. I'm doing the same 900-1,000 calorie a day diet that worked before along with 30 minutes a day of exercise. You can question my accuracy all you want, but trust me I'm meticulous about every single calorie. I just want the poster to know that I feel fine working out with 1,000 calories and am in perfect health and it's not ALWAYS a terrible thing. Everyone is different.

    Just so I understand here.....

    You kept your intake at 1000 calories and started gaining because you got a desk job?

    Please tell me you're eating back at least some of your exercise cals on top of this.

    I forgot to mention the first two times were from pregnancies, I have two little girls. This last time, yes, was from a desk job because I had a hard time STAYING with 1,000 calories because of the different environment. I couldn't eat while I was working my butt off at the factory. Now people bring all kinds of goodies to me and we have parties and so on. I just had to learn how to keep to 1,000 calories in my new environment.

    good for you, now stop trying to hijack the OPs thread
  • Asmaa92
    Asmaa92 Posts: 4 Member
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    i have the same problem , i never eat more than 1000 calories a day , some days i can go even lower than that and have less than 600 ..& i'm supposed to be having not less than 1600 a day because i'm fairly active,i had lost lots of weight in quite a short period of time following this pattern that's why i didn't wanna change it , but i've been told a lot that it's bad for me and that it's gonna cause me some serious health problems and lower the quality of my physical & mental performance if i continue like this, well, i know they're right , so right now i'm trying to have more calories a day , well, gradually, and i advise you to do the same ,
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Thank you for the advice. I will seriously consider going to a doctor. I don't think I have an eating disorder, but I will admit that I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. Since junior high school (I am now in college), I have been stuck in a vicious cycle of binging, restricting, binging, restricting; there has never been an in between. I think I need to face the truth and finally seek help. In the mean time, I think I am going to follow the advice that some of you have given me and increase my daily calories by 50 - 100 each week until I feel comfortable eating a "normal" amount of calories (1,200 - 1,400) a day. Thanks again.

    I am glad you plan on taking the approach of getting help. That will be the only way to break the unhealthy cycle. Start at 1200-1400 and then slowly increase that. I would recommend using MFP for the food diary, so if you have questions, we can evaluate your situation. I do want to reiterate that most women I know are losing weight at 1700-2100 calories if they exercise. So if you are exercising several hours a week, 1200-1400 might be a little light. Good luck with your journey.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    i have the same problem , i never eat more than 1000 calories a day , some days i can go even lower than that and have less than 600 ..& i'm supposed to be having not less than 1600 a day because i'm fairly active,i had lost lots of weight in quite a short period of time following this pattern that's why i didn't wanna change it , but i've been told a lot that it's bad for me and that it's gonna cause me some serious health problems and lower the quality of my physical & mental performance if i continue like this, well, i know they're right , so right now i'm trying to have more calories a day , well, gradually, and i advise you to do the same ,

    If you need some encouragement, look at the links I posted in my first post. There are so many women on this board losing at 1800 calories or around there. I am talking over 500+ post.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
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    Thank you for the advice. I will seriously consider going to a doctor. I don't think I have an eating disorder, but I will admit that I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. Since junior high school (I am now in college), I have been stuck in a vicious cycle of binging, restricting, binging, restricting; there has never been an in between. I think I need to face the truth and finally seek help. In the mean time, I think I am going to follow the advice that some of you have given me and increase my daily calories by 50 - 100 each week until I feel comfortable eating a "normal" amount of calories (1,200 - 1,400) a day. Thanks again.

    This actually sounds like a classic ED pattern...

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