Obese and Lost

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jannette_regan
jannette_regan Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am very over weight and constantly trying to lose weight but I have a major problem with eating 5X's a day. I eat maybe once a day and sometimes not even that. How do I force myself to eat 5X's a day without feeling sick afterwards?

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited October 2015
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    Number of meals per day is not important for weight loss. Number of calories per day is. How many calories do you eat in that one-a-day meal?
  • emhunter
    emhunter Posts: 1,212 Member
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    If you are eating small "meals" does it still make you feel sick?

    What if you have a smoothie or low sugar juice for breakfast, a small snack, then lunch a healthy salad, then another small snack, then veggies and lean protein for dinner?

    I think many have occassional days where we don't eat because life happens and you get busy. But as long as it's not constant, you will be fine.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
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    @jannette_regan welcome to MFP forums.

    Where you eat once or 5x daily is not a real factor. Eating 5x daily seems to work for some people for some reason but science and our history does not support eating 5x vs 2 or 3x is any better for weight loss that I have seen.

    If we eat 10,000 calories every other day we are over eating by a lot for example.

    What I found when I started tracking my food was I was managing to eat/drink a lot more calories daily than I thought I was. When I would go long periods without eating then I might go to a fast food place and get a triple burger, fries and the works. I could put down 32 oz. of sugar water before the food was ready because I was so thirsty and another one while I was eating and leave with one for the "road" plus a large chocolate shake. This made me become obese along with being an emotional eater.

    MFP has many tools and tips. Best of success. We all can do what is really important to us most often but many of us had many false starts before we found our health to be more important than anything else in our daily lives.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Since you are very young, very overweight and apparently manage to consume a very large amount of calories but only once a day, I would suggest you talk to a professional. Your problem is not eating just once a day, the probem is that this once a day must contain several thousands of calories in a single meal to keep you at 100 lbs above your goal weight. Talking to a dietitian and possibly a therapist would help you figure out how to break this cycle.
  • pootle1972
    pootle1972 Posts: 579 Member
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    Does that once a day mean no sugary drinks or "snacks" as well......these all add up....I only "ate" one meal a day but grazed constantly on biscuits and sweets......once these are stopped my hunger for more than one meal returned.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    edited October 2015
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    You can lose weight eating once a day, twice a day, or as many times as makes sense for you.

    I typically eat one big meal per day and the other ones are small 100-300 calorie affairs like a granola bar or something. Hasn't impacted my ability to lose. In some ways it is nice because you can get a restaurant-sized meal and still meet calorie goals.

    Oh, and my philosophy on dieting: make the smallest possible changes that lead to success. Don't suddenly eliminate all the foods you like, don't try to incorporate all kinds of new things, just focus on one single thing - your daily calorie goal - and find a way to fit the foods you love into the meal structure you do best at while staying under that goal.
  • jannette_regan
    jannette_regan Posts: 2 Member
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    My one meal is sometimes a can of soup, sometimes an Activia yogurt and other times just a pear. I've gone to my doctor and she referred me to a nutritionist and they told me to eat 5 meals a day to "jump start" my matabolism
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    jannette_regan wrote: »
    My one meal is sometimes a can of soup, sometimes an Activia yogurt and other times just a pear. I've gone to my doctor and she referred me to a nutritionist and they told me to eat 5 meals a day to "jump start" my matabolism

    No... I doubt that a nutritionist would say that - anyway, number of meals is irrelevant, metabolism can't be "jump started", and you'll have to have eaten way more than a can of soup/one pot of yogurt/a pear per day to become obese. Even if you eat just that in one day, what is important is what and how much you eat regularly. Track your intake every day for a week. That will make a good starting point.
  • emhunter
    emhunter Posts: 1,212 Member
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    jannette_regan wrote: »
    My one meal is sometimes a can of soup, sometimes an Activia yogurt and other times just a pear. I've gone to my doctor and she referred me to a nutritionist and they told me to eat 5 meals a day to "jump start" my matabolism

    That's all you eat and are not hungry? Are you on some sort of appetite suppressant? Did this feeling sick just start?

    If you have a reduced appetite, can you try breaking up one meal and eating it throughout the day?
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    jannette_regan wrote: »
    My one meal is sometimes a can of soup, sometimes an Activia yogurt and other times just a pear. I've gone to my doctor and she referred me to a nutritionist and they told me to eat 5 meals a day to "jump start" my matabolism

    No... I doubt that a nutritionist would say that - anyway, number of meals is irrelevant, metabolism can't be "jump started", and you'll have to have eaten way more than a can of soup/one pot of yogurt/a pear per day to become obese. Even if you eat just that in one day, what is important is what and how much you eat regularly. Track your intake every day for a week. That will make a good starting point.

    This!
  • tracoleman99
    tracoleman99 Posts: 51 Member
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    Meal prep is key. Eating once / day isn't good for your metabolic rate. Doing that once in a while is ok, but not consistently. I eat three meals / day with two snacks, sometimes one evening snack. My snacks are a yogurt with flaxseed or granola; almonds; a protein bar; a piece of fruit with granola, a Skinny cow ice cream sandwich.

    Keeping your metabolism going allows your body to burn the calories.
  • tracoleman99
    tracoleman99 Posts: 51 Member
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    http://traceyfit.blogspot.com/2015/09/nutrition-101.html this is what I eat on a typical day....scroll down for dinner.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    jannette_regan wrote: »
    My one meal is sometimes a can of soup, sometimes an Activia yogurt and other times just a pear. I've gone to my doctor and she referred me to a nutritionist and they told me to eat 5 meals a day to "jump start" my matabolism

    No. Not possible. Your dr probably referred you to a nutritionist so you can get a plan to follow, because right now you are not being honest, maybe not even with yourself. You are eating several thousands of calories on average per day to maintain your weight. Either there are binge days you are trying to pretend are not happening and then you are punishing yourself with days of starvation, or you are eating a ton of snakcs here and there and try to forget they ecer happened. One way or another, start talking with a specialist. If you were my friend or daughter, I would be encouraging you to start with a therapist.
  • MarziPanda95
    MarziPanda95 Posts: 1,326 Member
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    tracoleman99 wrote: »
    Meal prep is key. Eating once / day isn't good for your metabolic rate. Doing that once in a while is ok, but not consistently. I eat three meals / day with two snacks, sometimes one evening snack. My snacks are a yogurt with flaxseed or granola; almonds; a protein bar; a piece of fruit with granola, a Skinny cow ice cream sandwich.

    Keeping your metabolism going allows your body to burn the calories.

    This is untrue. Eating once a day is perfectly fine. Your metabolism doesn't just stop - you would die if that happened! It really doesn't matter when you eat your calories.
    OP, as others have said, I'm afraid there's no way you're eating that little and still obese. I'd second seeing a therapist.
  • pootle1972
    pootle1972 Posts: 579 Member
    edited October 2015
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    There is a very very rare condition called leptin deficiency which turns everything you eat to fat BUT you will have to prove to the doctor you are following a plan and still gaining before they waste money on tests for something other than you're not being honest with him....record EVERYTHING you eat drink and snack on.
  • canary_girl
    canary_girl Posts: 366 Member
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    jannette_regan wrote: »
    My one meal is sometimes a can of soup, sometimes an Activia yogurt and other times just a pear. I've gone to my doctor and she referred me to a nutritionist and they told me to eat 5 meals a day to "jump start" my matabolism

    Nope. Just not possible. You are eating at starvation levels. A pear a day and that's it???!!! You would look like a holocaust victim, not be 100 lbs overweight. Metabolisms don't shut down and bodies don't refuse to lose weight when you eat at starvation levels.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited October 2015
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    A while back I read a discussion about a study where they did feed some obese a diet that was very high in fat, fairly low in protein (<10%?), and almost no carbs, whereas the other group was not fed... It was an older study. After a few months (2 or 3?) the group that ate fat actually lost more weight than the group who did not eat.

    I took that to say that eating some dietary fats is better than just relying on body fats for fuel is better for weight loss.

    I don't have a link to it.

    ETA They both lost a good amount of weight.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    Yeah OP you may be swinging way back to the other end of the spectrum by eating only a pear a day now, but there's no way you got to your current weight eating that little. What were your typical meals/days like prior to starting this diet? Was there anything about it that worked well for your personality and schedule? I would almost be more inclined to tweak that as a starting point, finding ways to reduce calories, than swinging way to the other end of these unsustainable diets - be it eating one pear a day or consuming these five meals a day that don't currently make sense to you

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