Not eating enough

amydanell
amydanell Posts: 25
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
MFP is telling me to eat 1200 calories a day. Since I have been tracking my intake I have not reached that goal but once and that was eating pizza. All the other days I am under. Taking into consideration that I am going through a stressful divorce and I don't feel like eating, should I force myself to eat more?? Is it okay to constantly be under 1200 calories?? On the nights I dont have my children I just cant seem to muster up the will to eat at all. Im just not hungry... Help me!! Do I need to make myself eat?? I want to lose weight and gain muscle. I am doing Zumba for exercise. I have been doing the cardio party with weights to add some strength training. Any advice or comments would be helpful... Thanks!!!

Replies

  • korgscrew
    korgscrew Posts: 99 Member
    You should really be eating to be honest. I know it sounds counter productive but it ist. Sometimes i dont feel hungry, but once i start eating i can feel how hungry I am.

    Your obviously hungry, but becasue your stressed and have so much running through your noggin, its not registering!

    Im no Doctor, but im guessing you will feel tired, over worked, even more stressed and will have no energy!

    You could try a few things to get your hunger going.

    Try putting some toast on, or some bacon under the grill, the smell always gets my hunger going!

    Hope this helps!
  • Jessibear2854
    Jessibear2854 Posts: 82 Member
    When I went through my divorce a couple of years ago, I wasn't hungry either. I remember having to force myself just to eat a few bites at a time. I wasn't tracking calories or anything at that time, so I have no idea if I was under or not. I would just try to remember to eat, even if very little, every few hours.

    This is a hard time for you. Try not to beat yourself up about not eating enough if you don't feel like it. You don't need any more stress than you already have to deal with right now. Things will get better and your appetite will come back with time.

    ((((hugs))))
  • JJBRAY85
    JJBRAY85 Posts: 35 Member
    Smaller more frequent meals will help you reach your goals. A hand full of almonds is like 200+ calories and its what is refer to as a "healthy Fat". That’s what i find to be the hardest thing too. Being able to eat enough good and healthy meals to make it to my calorie limit. The problem is that you not eating enough so your metabolism is pretty slow. Causing you not to be hungry and you'll store fat easier. I heard some where to think of your metabolism as a bonfire and the food you eat as the fuel to the fire. If you wait until the fire almost goes out to put fuel on it, then you almost smother the fire and it will take a long time for the fire to get hot enough to burn all the fuel off. BUT if you are constantly putting a smaller amount of fuel on more frequently, the fire will not go out and will be blazing at a constant rate. I’m sure this isn’t every ones opinion but i thought it made sense. Hope it helps.
  • erisfreenici
    erisfreenici Posts: 277 Member
    I went through a divorce a few years ago, and I lost 10 pounds from not eating enough. When I started to feel better emotionally, though, I gained it all back. The easiest way for me to eat when I'm not hungry is to make rice. I make it with low sodium chicken broth instead of water. It's probably not the most healthy thing, but you need to make sure you're getting at least 1200 calories a day. You could even add a few frozen veggies to the mix.

    I know it's rough, but remember that part of getting through the tough times is learning that you need to care for yourself in the process.
  • moxiemoe
    moxiemoe Posts: 6
    I lost 10 lbs in a very short period of time when my husband and I separated in February from lack of appetite. That's actually what motivated me to lose more once I started feeling better about the impending divorce.

    I did have to force myself to eat at first, but the appetite came back and I try to eat 1200-1400 calories a day.

    I agree with the poster who said frequent smaller meals. Not only did it boost my caloric intake it keeps my blood sugar consistent (providing it isn't junk food that I'm snacking on a lot). Which in turn I think makes me feel better emotionally.

    I don't notice energy and mood swings now.
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