When I eat 1200 cals I put on weight

Honestly? All I see in this discussion is EXCUSES. Tons and tons of excuses. I can't eat healthy because I gain weight? BS.

For the cost of one 250 calorie candy bar, you can insert 2 pieces of fruit, a serving of high quality dairy, at least 2 servings of vegetables and a small portion of lean protein. All far better than a choice that is full of sugar/carbs and empty of vitamins. You bring your diary in to the doctor, this is one of the first things they will point out.

You have asked for guidance, and more than one person has pointed out that it's physically impossible to do what you are claiming when you are keeping accurate numbers. Seems to me that you just don't want to hear this.

As many people know, I'm a hardcore spokesperson for eating disorders. If you managed to gain what you claim on 1200 calories a day, the only possible way I can imagine this is occurring to any near extent is that you've completely destroyed your metabolism and your body is trying to recover. It sounds as if you are eating on par with the typical anorexic and using the excuses for the anorexic in denial. Eating under 900 calories a day every day for a long extended time can have major impact on your body's ability to metabolize foods. Eating further under that puts you into the anorexic category.
Me, I gained a huge amount of weight when I moved from anorexia levels to 1500 a day, despite my "natural" TDEE being an average of 2200 a day. It was simply because my metabolism no longer worked because I'd convinced my body that I was dying of starvation. I got no nutrients, not enough calories, and would have binges that I would hide from everyone (which I suspect is the case here as well).

Just go to the doctor and get yourself a therapist. You need it.

Here's my suggestion, cook your own meals for at least a week and see if things change.
You said you weigh things, so you do own a food scale. Great, use it.
Weigh everything that goes into a meal and make a recipe out of it, don't eat at restaurants for this week to eliminate any guessing. Restaurant foods are notorious for being very high in fat, carbs, and sodium.
At least this way, when you go to your doctor you will have a healthy food plan to present

Francl27 wrote: »

josul75 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

You got to go see a doctor. Although I do also doubt the validity of some entries, like today (half a cup of potatoes? one chicken breast?), but I'm guessing you were eating out or something?

But yeah chicken 4 wraps at only 590 calories total... VERY unlikely. Ham and cheese panini at 470, unlikely too, considering bread is often 300 calories, cheese 130, then you have to add the butter... I'm also curious about what kind of sausage is only 110 calories (from Wednesday) and where I can find that magic sausage (regular sausages are closer to 190 calories).

So yeah... I doubt your entries are correct. You could be eating way more than you think, even if you seem to barely eat some other days.

There are loads of different types of bread and sausages on the market. 2 slices of bread usually average out at about 200 calories (mfp and the product details on packaging confirm this). The bread I eat is an Irish slimming brand which are only 60 calories a slice. Yes, a panini would be more like 250 calories unbuttered, but sliced bread is less than that.

I have frozen sausages from Aldi which are 110 calories each (as stated on the pack itself) and there are low fat, gluten free ones from Tesco which are only 45 calories each (they are thin though!).

OP, looking at your diary, your eating habits are rather erratic. Some days you overeat and other days you really undereat. Try to mantain a healthy balance of meals throughout the day and try to avoid the empty snacky stuff as much as you can. You can limit yourself to 1200 calories a day and still enjoy good, filling food. I'm on 1200 calories and it's easier than you think, once you get used to how much things weigh and you log EVRYTHING that goes into your mouth (things like spices, condiments and sauces count too!). After a while, it becomes habit and you'll find your new eating plan second nature. There's always room for treats here and there, but they should be supplements to your daily meals, not meals themselves.

Good luck

But she's clearly using generic entries for those things, and picking the lowest calories entries for them... not using brands, not weighing etc.

Once I individually added up what was in a ham and cheese panini I got from a restaurant and it came out close to 900 calories... I mean obviously I can make myself one for 300 calories or less at home, but then I would think she would have entered it properly.

Assuming OP is a woman, I didn't check.

The four chicken wraps for 590 cals definitely jumped out at me. And I think she had a chicken Caesar salad for 220 cals when those things are known to be calorie bombs. I agree with the suggestion to try cooking more of her own meals for a while using the Recipe function to add up ALL the ingredients because something's not right here

So OP only one meal and one snack most times? You never have any days when you're just like aww screw it I'm gonna eat a ton of food? That would be great if you don't, but if you do, you should log it because it's your long term average deficit that matters, not just the days you're being "good"

I agree with everyone here, you clearly are logging accurately, cook more homemade food and put it in the recipe creator (I use this loads and its great because if you amend an ingredient you can go in and amend it), and weigh and measure everything. You clearly aren`t doing this, putting generic items in your diary is a guess, and 1.98 of something isn't accurate. You are eating way over 1200cals per day. Instead of eating chocolate as a meal change it for fruit salad with yoghurt etc. Also do some exercise as well, even a 30 min walk everyday. If you want any help feel free to add me

Quasita wrote: »

happyfeetrebel1 wrote: »

Starvation mode doesn't exist, so don't 'up' your calories to get out of it. I still suspect you are eating a LOT more than you think; if you're gaining on what you're eating, you're not going to lose on MORE.

Seriously, you need to step back and take a good look at how you're logging things, and modify it.

Good luck

Starvation mode very much does indeed exist for the % of the population that eats in anorexic/disordered eating levels. People who suffer such illnesses HAVE to increase calories incrementally until they reach an appropriate level. I'm proof positive of how it can screw everything up. Blood tests will demonstrate it if it's occurring though, which is where people get misinformed. A few days doesn't do it, but a few weeks can, and many years will nearly cement your body into it. *sigh*

Agree Quasita.
I don't know how it has happened but somehow the idea of "starvation mode" has become severely twisted. Starvation mode DOES exist, but is not likely to be experienced by most people. Genuine starvation mode is when you eat so few calories, for a prolonged period of time, that your body starts using its own muscles as an energy source because it's not getting enough calories from food intake. This is a very dangerous situation to be in and is usually only experienced by people with eating disorders or in famine-striken third world countries.
The "starvation mode" that frequently gets thrown around these boards does NOT exist. It is a physical impossibility to gain weight if you consume fewer calories than you burn. Your rate of weight loss may slow as your metabolism adjusts, and certain medical conditions may interfere, but you simply cannot gain weight when truly eating at a deficit.

WalkingAlong wrote: »

MagicalGiraffe wrote: »

rachelperry84 wrote: »

Woodspoon wrote: »

Friday October 10
Lunch
Twix - Finger, 2 finger
Ocado - Honey Roast Ham, 2 slice(s)

Sunday October 12
Snacks
Monster - Energy Absolutely Zero Uk
Waitrose - British Breaded Ham, 3 slice

Ham on it's own? no bread, salad or accompaniments? looks very much like bad logging

Genuine day. Love eating ham on its own, and sharing it with the dogs.

Just more for the safety of your dogs, you shouldn't feed them processed or cured pork like bacon and ham. Not only is the fat content high but it's also full of sodium. Their little bodies find it harder to process. This is widely known knowledge.

A little ham isn't going to hurt a dog. That is even more widely known.

OP- I bet you can find your old password. Log out and try to log back in with your original user name and hit "Forgot your password or username" and fill out the form.

From the way she phrased it, how she loves to eat ham and share it with the dogs makes me believe it's not just a little. Also from how she must be underestimating her own portion sizes for her to be putting on weight when she's eating 1.2k a day could suggest her portion sizes for her dogs aren't mindful either. I'm an animal lover, just wanting the best welfare for the dogs. Denying them processed and cured meat does no harm.

pinkiezoom wrote: »

rachelperry84 wrote: »

debrag12 wrote: »

rachelperry84 wrote: »

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Just looked at your diary. Think it's self explanatory

Please enlighten me???

Take Thursday (9th) for example you had a drink of tea for breakfast and a hot chocolate for lunch, 6th + 7th can't be right.

Your rarely eat 1000 calories.

No it is right 100% as close as too what I can record.

Can I ask how so you guys log food if you've eaten out? That seems to of been something that I've been pulled up on. So how?

Hi when I eat out, and i know the calories, as they are on the menu, I do what you do, when i get home i log them, and if the ones that come up on here are under what the menu said, then i add a percentage to make it the same, like your 1.2, however if they are higher on here, i tend just to leave them, for example i never eat mayo, or bbq sauce etc, but a chicken meal i had at a pub, had the calories with the sauce, as did MFP, so i just left them.

I understand why you are putting the 1.2's etc, the only thing to watch for there is, that the macros might be wrong. But i think you need to try 3 meals a day for a week and see how you go. Your diet is not the best x

I also try to stick to restaurants which show the cals on the menu, we are lucky here in the UK as we have many restaurants with 500 cal menus. If i cannot find the cals on the menus i tend to google the restaurant, decide what i want to eat in advance and prelog using the highest value generic dish on MFP and i try to be generous with the estimated serving size.