Eating too little, too scared to eat more

Lushchicken · October 2015

Hey everyone,

This is my first post on here! I've been using My Fitness Pal for about 6 months and have lost a good amount of weight. Everybody is complementing on my weight loss, so it must be quite obvious. I now feel good in my body for the first time in about 10 years. So far so good. However, I think I am facing some issues and need to give you some backstory.

I am a wheelchair user. I landed in the chair 9 years ago and immediately gained weight because I wasn't mobile anymore. It didn't help that I also got seriously depressed and developed an anxiety disorder. I spent about 7 years feeling suicidal on a daily basis. Life was very bleak. But somehow (with a lot of help from my wonderful friends and family) I managed to drag myself out of that black hole. But the weight stayed on. And I started to seriously resent the way I looked. I felt like a disgusting mountain of fat on wheels. However, at that point I only weighed around 147 pounds at a height of 5 feet 7,7 inches. I'm a tall woman but let me tell you, that bloody chair makes you look fat.

I discovered My Fitness Pal, read up on calorie intake and weight loss and started adjusting my meal plan. Due to me being quite sedentary, My Fitness Pal gave me a goal of 1200 cals per day. The pounds started disappearing. I stopped weighing myself at around 138, mainly because weighing wasn't exactly easy for a person who has trouble standing. I felt good in my skin and my body looked great. That was about two months ago. But I still wanted to lose a bit more belly flab here, a little bit of arm fat there...so I kept going. And I have to be very honest and admit that I always got about 140 calories per day from exercising and never ate them back. It was working so well, I was afraid to go near those 1200 cals. And that's where I am at, at the moment.

I do allow myself about 1350 cals on weekends because calculators say I have a BMR of somewhere between 1400 and 1500 cals.

I would really like to eat more than those 1200 cals now. I've been feeling sluggish and hungry for weeks. I recently got a new wheelchair that was tailored to my body specifications and find it easier to wheel myself around. This means I am a bit more mobile and I think I might be burning more cals. I am also tired constantly and am starting to feel cold quite quickly. In short: I'm a bit worried that I am under eating. I still work off about 140 cals per day with exercise.

My Fitness Pal suggests around 1700 cals for maintenance which seems way too high. I wouldn't even know how to eat that many cals per day. I worry about gaining weight. I am finally at peace with my body. People are finally complementing me about my body. I am absolutely terrified of losing that.

So yeah, I think I need a bit of support going ahead. I have tried at least reaching 1200 cals per day this week but am struggling and feeling guilty about every little additional thing I am eating. Any advice?

hamlet1222 · October 2015

Hi,

You could try increasing the calories incrementally, so switch to 1300 now, and see how it feels for a week or two (do you feel less sluggish and hungry?), then increase again by another 100. The formulas are very helpful to get a rough idea of where your calories should be at and to give an initial target, but eventually a bit of trial and error comes into it to find what works for each individual.

Good luck!

seska422 · October 2015

Those calculators are just estimates. You need to find your actual maintenance calories through experimentation.

Add 100 calories to your daily goal (for example, bump 1200 per day up to 1300 per day) and try that for a couple weeks. Keep adding 100 every couple weeks until you find the point where you stay in your goal range with that calorie amount.

AsISmile · October 2015

I agree with the above posters. Just take it slow and reverse diet extra calories until you reach maintenance.
1700 does sound right for your height. Also, do keep in mind that you have to move around the weight of both yourself and your wheelchair.

Just try slowly and feel more confident. Start seeing food as fuel for your body.
The worst that could happen, you gain back a pound or two. But you know what, you know how to lose weight. Those pounds will come off again easy enough.

hamlet1222 · October 2015

As far as the formulas go:

jaxjackjackie · October 2015

I don't have much advice except that I was the same when I first started trying to maintain, I was terrified of gaining anything back at all. I started with 1 extra thing per week. For 1 week, each day I always had 1 piece of bread over my calorie allowance toasted for breakfast. The next week, 1 extra piece of bread and an extra piece of fruit per day. The third week, bread, fruit and 50g extra protein at dinner. I monitored my weight closely and when I started going up I cut one thing out, if I started going down I added something else in. It was very trial and error. You will get there

Lushchicken · October 2015

Thank you guys!! That makes a lot of sense. I think I'll start by actually really trying to eat those 1200 calories. Wait two weeks and try to up it by 100. Would certainly be nice not to wake up hungry every morning!

nxd10 · October 2015

Congratulations! I agree with everyone else. It's hard to figure calories when your activity is so different from everyone else's. My brother-in-law has Parkinson's and has the same problem. But start eating a little more and watch your weight. Nobody should be hungry! And talk to your therapists and doctors about ways to exercise given where you are in terms of physical activities. It may help you feel better in more ways than just physically.

LaurenAOK · October 2015

amyrebeccah wrote: »

You may have a slight bump in weight when you increase calories. This is glycogen replenishment. It does not mean you gain weight on 1300 calories.

This is very important to keep in mind!! Slight weight gain when you start to increase to maintenance is normal and it does not mean you are gaining fat back.

Like others have said, calculators are only estimates. However, if your BMR is 1400-1500 you need to be eating that much at the very least. Work on getting up to that point and then try increasing a little more to reach true maintenance.

Congrats on your weight loss, and good luck moving forward! I understand it's mentally difficult to increase calories sometimes, but just know that your body needs that extra food to survive (the fact that you feel hungry tells you that!) and the most important thing is keeping yourself healthy.

Eating too little, too scared to eat more

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