Can't lose any more weight but afraid to raise calories

beachlandia
beachlandia Posts: 45 Member
edited November 14 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi, I've been using MFP to log my food for a while now but this is my first forum post, hopefully it is in the right section.

I am a 5'7" female and at my highest weight I weighed 150 lbs, which is not overweight but I felt like I was a little chubby and could stand to lose a few pounds. So I started counting calories and realized I had been eating well over 2000 calories a day with little exercise. I lowered the amount of calories I was eating to 1500-1700 and got down to about 135 lbs which I was happy with for a while, so I stopped logging and was able to generally maintain that weight within a few pounds until last year when I started logging obsessively again, eating only 1200 calories a day and sometimes less. I lost enough weight that I am now only 116 lbs which is very close to the underweight range and my doctor is telling me I need to eat more (logically, I know this is true because I'm hungry almost all the time). The problem is, I'm afraid to eat more calories because I have been having a lot of health problems recently which prevent me from doing any more exercise than taking a short walk, and some days even that is too much for me. So I feel like if I raise the amount of calories I'm eating to "maintenance" (1800 according to my doctor, but I really don't feel like I do enough activity to burn that much in a day, it's probably closer to 1500) I'll start gaining weight again.

Has anyone else struggled with this "fear" of eating a normal amount and can you give me some advice to help me? Also, how do you really know what your maintenance calories are? I've used a lot of different calculators online to try and figure this out and they all seem to agree that my BMR is around 1350 but they differ in their suggestions for how many calories I should actually eat.

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Can you accept that your health problems may be related to your severe under eating and getting adequate nutrition may mean that you are able to move more.

    As you say you are near underweight so it would not hurt you to eat more nor to gain a few pounds,

    I think you need the help of your disordered eating team in real life rather than a bunch of internet people as it is clear you have developed a disordered attitude to eating and weight
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I'm leaving this here nationaleatingdisorders.org/find-help-support
  • tgatta
    tgatta Posts: 2
    Hi! This is such a great topic and I'm so glad you posted about it. I have the same fears, and have really struggled. For about 6 months, I was eating a max of 600 calories a day, and I was terrified of increasing. This was largely due to a divorce, and I tend to "cope" with my feelings by either over or under eating. I've had to do a lot of work to feel "entitled" to eat properly. It is so easy to become focused on these numbers, and I can get pretty obsessive. For me, I have had to move VERY slowly and be patient with myself. I couldn't just suddenly start eating 1500 calories a day and not exercise like crazy (another compulsion). I found some very supportive folks who would not judge my behavior (because YES, we know it is not healthy, we don't need to be told that more--it's about other stuff we're dealing with!). And with them, I could casually track. It is challenging, I know, but moving slowly with some key supports will help. You can try adding a bit at a time and just making note of how you feel when you make those shifts. Don't judge yourself, but DO hold yourself accountable for your health. I know that this can be a complex thing to address, and want to send you loads of good feelings for trying to sort it out.
  • beachlandia
    beachlandia Posts: 45 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Can you accept that your health problems may be related to your severe under eating and getting adequate nutrition may mean that you are able to move more.

    As you say you are near underweight so it would not hurt you to eat more nor to gain a few pounds,

    I think you need the help of your disordered eating team in real life rather than a bunch of internet people as it is clear you have developed a disordered attitude to eating and weight

    Well, the health problems started long before I lost this weight, but it's true that they probably would improve if I ate more.

    I am actually seeing a therapist and psychiatrist in real life and we are working on my food anxiety issues (I have not been diagnosed with an eating disorder) but thank you for your concern.

  • suppakana
    suppakana Posts: 307 Member
    Don't jump from 1200 to 1800 very suddenly, then =) Increase 100 per week or every other week until you're at a number that feels better.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    julialaurenmorales wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Can you accept that your health problems may be related to your severe under eating and getting adequate nutrition may mean that you are able to move more.

    As you say you are near underweight so it would not hurt you to eat more nor to gain a few pounds,

    I think you need the help of your disordered eating team in real life rather than a bunch of internet people as it is clear you have developed a disordered attitude to eating and weight

    Well, the health problems started long before I lost this weight, but it's true that they probably would improve if I ate more.

    I am actually seeing a therapist and psychiatrist in real life and we are working on my food anxiety issues (I have not been diagnosed with an eating disorder) but thank you for your concern.

    Do they know you're eating 1200 cals or less?
  • JocyChan
    JocyChan Posts: 59 Member
    julialaurenmorales wrote: »
    Hi, I've been using MFP to log my food for a while now but this is my first forum post, hopefully it is in the right section.

    I am a 5'7" female and at my highest weight I weighed 150 lbs, which is not overweight but I felt like I was a little chubby and could stand to lose a few pounds. So I started counting calories and realized I had been eating well over 2000 calories a day with little exercise. I lowered the amount of calories I was eating to 1500-1700 and got down to about 135 lbs which I was happy with for a while, so I stopped logging and was able to generally maintain that weight within a few pounds until last year when I started logging obsessively again, eating only 1200 calories a day and sometimes less. I lost enough weight that I am now only 116 lbs which is very close to the underweight range and my doctor is telling me I need to eat more (logically, I know this is true because I'm hungry almost all the time). The problem is, I'm afraid to eat more calories because I have been having a lot of health problems recently which prevent me from doing any more exercise than taking a short walk, and some days even that is too much for me. So I feel like if I raise the amount of calories I'm eating to "maintenance" (1800 according to my doctor, but I really don't feel like I do enough activity to burn that much in a day, it's probably closer to 1500) I'll start gaining weight again.

    Has anyone else struggled with this "fear" of eating a normal amount and can you give me some advice to help me? Also, how do you really know what your maintenance calories are? I've used a lot of different calculators online to try and figure this out and they all seem to agree that my BMR is around 1350 but they differ in their suggestions for how many calories I should actually eat.

    I am also 5'7 and I am at 135lbs. I exercise about 5-8 times a week, mostly martial arts and i eat usually right around 1800 calories a day. If i have a chill day i may eat less. I agree with what was suggested to the effect of just adding 100 calories a day, or if you don't think you can handle that, maybe add 100 calories and stay at that for a week, then add more.

    Your calorie intake does not need to change overnight, but you certainly don't want to harm yourself either. When i was still trying to lose i was at 1200 but wasn't working out. When i started working out again, i had a few episodes where i almost fainted. I am not certain, but i have attributed this to not eating enough. When i picked up the daily calories my energy went up and no more feinting spells. I hope this helps! I don't know what your health issues are, but really whatever your Dr. is advising is worth a shot. :)

    If you start to feel like you have more energy with eating more, you can always walk more so you don't feel as impacted by eating more. Or whatever workout you feel suits you.
  • izalac
    izalac Posts: 20 Member
    beachlandia wrote: »
    So I feel like if I raise the amount of calories I'm eating to "maintenance" (1800 according to my doctor, but I really don't feel like I do enough activity to burn that much in a day, it's probably closer to 1500) I'll start gaining weight again.

    Use your scale. Even if you eat 300 calories too much or too little, it will take a week for your scale to move one pound in either direction. Then you can adjust up/down to the desired level. Maintenance is pretty forgiving.
  • Carissaomnomnom
    Carissaomnomnom Posts: 2
    Hello lovely! I just posted a post with the exact same concern just that I put it in the support section.
    I'm definitely with you on this one and Id just like to tell you that you're not alone and I'm struggling with the exact same thing right now. I lost 8kg in 3 months by counting calories and exercising but right now I'm underweight and I'm afraid to eat which makes me so sad because I love eating good food and I don't want to lose that due to my body image. I'm just going to stick on this thread to see if I can get any more advice. Have a great day. <3
  • immortalities
    immortalities Posts: 117 Member
    i'm with you on this, sister. i found it hard going from 1200 to 1400 in the beginning and i feel like i'm maintaining at 1400 so i'm scared to push it any higher...
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