I don't eat enough

Options
So...I have a problem. My calorie goal is 1200 and so far (without supper) I have only eaten 477. Then doing zumba I burned 600. So now I have 1322 left to eat today..and there's no way I'm going to eat that much. I know, I don't eat enough..but my stomach and digestive tract are so sensitive I don't feel like eating much. and when i do eat it usually makes me sick. I don't have a gallbladder.

Replies

  • beccam83
    beccam83 Posts: 51 Member
    Options
    Hiya, I just joined (again) and it sounds like a bit of a pickle. Firstly maybe ask yourself: do I really not feel like eating or do I not want to eat because of something else going on in my mind?

    Sustaining yourself on 477 calories is going to be exhaaausting for a start. I guess you could try to make it up in something liquidy? Soup? Eating slowly?

    If it's interfering with your eating and therefore health this much, definitely go to see your GP who will be able to help! Needs someone with a legit medical opinion I reckon :)

    xx
  • debubbie
    debubbie Posts: 767 Member
    Options
    Maybe try some higher calorie foods like nuts, protein smoothies, some greek yogurt to help you get the calories in. I would definitely be concerned about not netting 1200 calories consistently after exercise. You may start experiencing fatigue and other health problems by eating so little.
  • tayj19
    tayj19 Posts: 4
    Options
    Thanks.. the doctors pretty much all agree its a side effect of no gallbladder. I have acid reflux, fatty and greasy foods make me sick, (well technically, any food can make me sick) and I'm lactose intolerant. I have diarrhea all the time. One idea is eating/drinking smoothies and those protein shakes, breakfast shakes, etc. instead of solids.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
    Options
    are you trying to gain or lose?
  • kaym0502
    kaym0502 Posts: 12 Member
    Options
    Hmm, I dont have a gall bladder as of a year and a half ago and I dont have these issues. Although everyone is different. Is there possibly something else going on? Lactose intolerance can be annoying but manageable with either lactaid pills (helps a friend) or lactose elimination. Try eating cleaner and see if it helps. More 'whole' foods, veggies, fruits, and lean meats/fish. You could possibly talk to a nutritionist about managing these issues. But it sounds like further medical help is required so you dont lose too much weight and become malnourished. Cut back on the exercise until you figure it out. This doesnt sound healthy at all.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    Options
    If you honestly believe that you're not capable of eating a measly 1200 calories per day, then your exercise should not be cardio like Zumba.

    But frankly, I don't believe that's the case. If your calorie goal is 1200 and you're doing Zumba, that tells me you want to lose weight. If you want to lose weight, then you're perfectly capable of eating >1200 per day. What were you eating before? Eat more of that.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Options
    Since you have medical issues that affect your food choices, you might see if you can get a referral to a registered dietitian who might be able to help with some meal planning for you.

    Calorie dense foods can be your friends when you're struggling to eat enough. These are foods that are high in calories but small in volume, so they don't make you put a bunch of extra food in your stomach.

    Obviously, you're going to have to sort through and eliminate the foods that cause you problems, but anything here can be included in a balanced diet if you're able to tolerate it:
    avocado
    cheese
    Greek yogurt
    peanut butter (or other nut butters)
    dark chocolate
    less lean cuts of meat (including beef, pork, sausage, etc.)
    seeds (chia, flax, sunflower, etc.)
    nuts
    olive oil
    coconut oil
    butter
    beans and lentils
    protein shakes, bars, and smoothies
    hummus
    beef jerky
    cornbread
    tuna
    full calorie condiments
    full calorie sauces & dressings
    guacamole
    whole grain pasta
    rice
    bacon
    whole eggs
    quinoa
    fruit and fruit juices
    pretzels
    bananas
    scones
    muffins (bran, blueberry, banana nut, etc.)
    potatoes (sweet, red, gold, purple, white, etc.)
    dried fruit (raisins, apricots, plums, dates, etc.)
    granola
    coconut
    salmon
    edamame
    honey
    molasses
  • tayj19
    tayj19 Posts: 4
    Options
    Today I went and logged in my supper ahead of time just to count the calories, and after I eat that I'll have about 360 left ..not that bad, right? well, then I'll go to zumba and burn 600, leaving me at over 900 to eat. -_- I'm not necessarily trying to lose pounds, just get active and stay fit. I have an office job and zumba helps me get in some exercise. I've never ate a whole lot..but that doesn't mean I'm healthy. Sitting all day is not healthy.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Options
    tayj19 wrote: »
    Today I went and logged in my supper ahead of time just to count the calories, and after I eat that I'll have about 360 left ..not that bad, right? well, then I'll go to zumba and burn 600, leaving me at over 900 to eat. -_- I'm not necessarily trying to lose pounds, just get active and stay fit. I have an office job and zumba helps me get in some exercise. I've never ate a whole lot..but that doesn't mean I'm healthy. Sitting all day is not healthy.

    I would be careful of the calorie burn estimates with Zumba. In my completely not scientific opinion, they always seem to be inflated and I think you'd be fine only eating half of those extra calories.
  • Walrozz
    Walrozz Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    If you are losing more calories than you can eat, it would be wise to either do less of that exercise or do a different type of exercise.
    Before last week, I was only eating one meal a day (not quite sure how I'm still here, since I've never been above ~8 stone). Half of my problem before was that I was getting up in the afternoon (I'm a student lol) and didn't have enough time in the day to actually get hungry. You could try getting up earlier, like I have.
  • tayj19
    tayj19 Posts: 4
    Options
    I don't use the fitness pal calorie counter for zumba, I go by a calorie counter wristband. I think I should try (healthy) snacking more throughout the day so the calories add up to maybe a little over 1200 and then do zumba.
    tayj19 wrote: »
    Today I went and logged in my supper ahead of time just to count the calories, and after I eat that I'll have about 360 left ..not that bad, right? well, then I'll go to zumba and burn 600, leaving me at over 900 to eat. -_- I'm not necessarily trying to lose pounds, just get active and stay fit. I have an office job and zumba helps me get in some exercise. I've never ate a whole lot..but that doesn't mean I'm healthy. Sitting all day is not healthy.

    I would be careful of the calorie burn estimates with Zumba. In my completely not scientific opinion, they always seem to be inflated and I think you'd be fine only eating half of those extra calories.

  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    Options
    You're making some choices that sound an AWFUL LOT like someone who is trying to burn a lot of calories and eat very few calories, who is at least dimly aware that it's unhealthful, and seeking validation -- not a solution -- for it.

    Like, if you think you're burning 600 calories doing zumba* and you say you're not actually that overweight, then you must be doing zumba for > 1 hour every time. A typical class would be 45 minutes, no? There's a broad spectrum between an sedentary lifestyle that you've characterized as "unhealthy" and doing 60 minutes of fairly heavy cardio every day. 30 minutes daily of moderate activity (for example, walking) is all that is really "prescribed" for basic, moderate fitness. Look, there's nothing wrong with working out hard -- it's great, I do it -- but if you're gonna go hard, you need to recognize that it's not just basic everyday fitness and you also fuel for it. Period. Refusing to eat a healthful diet and insisting on working out like that sounds like an ED in denial to me.

    What foods, and how much, were you eating before you started doing this? Are you absolutely denying that you're eating differently now than then? A person your age even with a sedentary desk job would have been gradually losing weight at 900 calories per day if that has always been what you were doing, unless you are missing some body parts.

    No sensible person is going to validate you for eating too little, or tell you that it's okay FOR YOU because you're a special snowflake. Not having a gallbladder is very common so NO, that's not a reason to eat very little food. I don't have a gallbladder either, for instance.

    Also -- and this may be more to the point than anything -- more than half the time when people on MFP post this issue "OH I CAN'T EAT 1200 CALORIES IT'S TOO MUCH FOOOOOOOOOOD" what we end up seeing is that the poster thinks their calorie intake is low, but isn't measuring their portion sizes. Instead they're eyeballing portions and/or making weird assumptions. How are you measuring your portions of things for logging purposes? You really need to measure portions accurately (ideally by weighing everything that's not a liquid; liquids can be weighed or measured in a measuring cup) at least for 2-4 weeks to get a sense of what your intake truly is. It's crazy how much those "little inaccuracies that can't really matter that much" add up.

    *FWIW, "calorie-counting wristbands" vary quite a bit in how they do things. Some of them will tell you the extra calories that you burned doing exercise, but yours sounds like one that tells you the total calories you burned during the exercise period -- that includes your BMR calories that you would have burned anyway. Whatever. Wrist-trackers are not terribly accurate, but generally speaking I agree that they're going to give you lower calorie counts than the database. Which again, suggests to me that you're going for longer than an hour and/or you are a bigger person than you've implied.
  • Eliz_99
    Eliz_99 Posts: 85 Member
    Options
    Why is your calorie limit so low if you're not trying to lose weight? Also, I'm not convinced that Zumba burns 600 calories a time. Maybe try eating more carbs like pasta if you struggle with fatty food.