I think I have a problem

How tall are you, and how much do you weigh at goal weight and now? 1200 doesn't sound like a maintenance intake for most people your age. You might be quite short, though.

Depending on those answers, I'm guessing your intake is too low and your goal weight is too low, and your body usually tries to let you know that by making you extra hungry! That's the way that's supposed to work if that's the problem.

1200 cals seems to low to maintain, if your being too restrictive on what your eating you are going to binge. You need to determine your actual calorie needs and eat closer to that so you have more calories to enjoy and not restrict yourself. You might surprise yourself how much more foods you could eat and still be in a deficit.

Agree with all the others - your body is craving food. If you're scared to up the calories (I understand what that's like), do it gradually 100 calories a week or something that you feel comfortable with.

While I agree with the others who posted above about your calorie intake, I do think you are asking for help with more than just your hunger. Instead of accepting that you might be just a little over your calorie goal for the day and staying on track, you are throwing your hands up and eating whatever you can find to make up for letting yourself down, again. I have a friend who does the exact same thing. I have done it before too. That is emotional eating. Beating yourself up about it won't help, it will just lead you down the chocolate river. You are admitting to having a problem with self control, and that is a healthy thing. Be proud that you have identified one of your weaknesses and tackle it head on. Remember that not eating enough is sabotage on your body and won't help you stay on track. Good luck doll!

What are you weight lose goals set to?
I'm 5'2 also, and the math just doesn't work in our favor, unfortunately.

dinomartinez3 wrote: »

Thank you for all of the wonderful replies. I truly appreciate each and every message!

My height is actually only 5 '2 and I am trying to get down to 110 pounds which isn't too low. I currently weigh 122 pounds so I have 12 to go. I think my problem is that I see my Day as very black-and-white. If I feel like it's going to be difficult to stay under 1200 cal I just completely give up and eat my weight in food and probably gain a pound in the process. Literally binge like 2,000 calories every time!

What do you all do on days where it seems unlikely that you will stay under your calorie goal?

I notice you write about not meeting your calorie goal as if it's something that happens to you ("it seems unlikely you will stay under your calorie goal"), not something that you do. It isn't like rain or a car crash -- it's a collection of choices that you make. But I understand where you're coming from because I've felt that way in the past myself.

Now if it looks like I will go over my goal because of decisions that I've made, I decide how much over I'm going to go. For example, if I am out to dinner with my husband and he wants to share an appetizer, I decide whether or not I want to do it. If I do, I stay on plan with the rest of my day and just add those calories. I don't go off plan for the rest of the dinner and choose a different entree and add extra drinks and a dessert. Just because I've changed my plans and decided to go over for the appetizer, it doesn't mean that I have somehow "lost" the day and am throwing in the towel. It means I'm going over by however many are in the appetizer and no more. And it was my decision.

The most important thing is to realize you can control whether or not you meet your goals or not. If you truly can't control it, that's a whole other issue that needs to be addressed. If you're eating too little (and it sounds like you may be), it can make it really difficult to control the impulse to eat. You may be experiencing that now. I don't know what your activity level is, but MFP should be giving you a goal of at least 1,200, even if you are trying to lose weight. I weigh 111 and am just a bit taller than you and I had more than 1,200 calories at every point of losing weight.

If you are finding yourself in a situation where you are unable to control what you eat, even when you are nourishing yourself adequately, consider professional help. Binge eating doesn't have to control your life! I have struggled it with it myself. In my case, it got better when I stopped overly restricting. But many people have had great success overcoming this, some with professional help.

dinomartinez3 wrote: »

Thank you for all of the wonderful replies. I truly appreciate each and every message!

My height is actually only 5 '2 and I am trying to get down to 110 pounds which isn't too low. I currently weigh 122 pounds so I have 12 to go. I think my problem is that I see my Day as very black-and-white. If I feel like it's going to be difficult to stay under 1200 cal I just completely give up and eat my weight in food and probably gain a pound in the process. Literally binge like 2,000 calories every time!

What do you all do on days where it seems unlikely that you will stay under your calorie goal?

I log everything I eat even if I don't think I am going to be under for that day. Gives me a good perspective of how much I will gain if I continue to eat like that every day. That usually helps me get back on track. When I stop logging my food is when I start slipping into the same problem you have.

dinomartinez3 wrote: »

Thank you for all of the wonderful replies. I truly appreciate each and every message!

My height is actually only 5 '2 and I am trying to get down to 110 pounds which isn't too low. I currently weigh 122 pounds so I have 12 to go. I think my problem is that I see my Day as very black-and-white. If I feel like it's going to be difficult to stay under 1200 cal I just completely give up and eat my weight in food and probably gain a pound in the process. Literally binge like 2,000 calories every time!

What do you all do on days where it seems unlikely that you will stay under your calorie goal?

I log it and move on. I go over from time to time, hell, everyone has off days and goes over. When I do it accidentally, I simply log it, learn from it and start fresh with the next day. I say day because on the days I go over by accident, I don't realize it until night, but if you realize it at lunch, start fresh next meal. Going 200-300 over isn't a deal breaker, it's not going to sabotage your diet unless you let it, and it doesn't make you a failure. This took me a long while to really internalize and start to accept. Accepting that you made a mistake and learning from it instead of giving up is hard, but something you'll need to learn how to do to make it all work.

You might also look into any support groups in your area. Binge eating because you think you're going to fail that day isn't a healthy attitude, and having a support group might help you adjust your view to something that will help you rather than hurt you.

hoopika wrote: »

Sorry to throw myself in this mix but I feel like I am going through something similar. I don't calorie count because I don't really like the idea of it. but I am underweight and the doctor has told me to put on but I can't seem to be okay with it. I know its an image issue but it is damaging my health. I want to put on weight but not change my body image (which sounds silly) but is there a way? Can anyone suggest a meal plan for an average day that is 'normal' at the moment I obsess about what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat. It's really not fun and impacting a lot of my life.

How much weight does your doctor want you to gain? You should be able to use MFP to enter your goal weight and then MFP will give you a calorie goal to gain the weight that you need.

However, if you don't want to calorie count, you should try adding calorie-dense foods to your current diet. What are you typically eating now?

dinomartinez3 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

dinomartinez3 wrote: »

Thank you for all of the wonderful replies. I truly appreciate each and every message!

My height is actually only 5 '2 and I am trying to get down to 110 pounds which isn't too low. I currently weigh 122 pounds so I have 12 to go. I think my problem is that I see my Day as very black-and-white. If I feel like it's going to be difficult to stay under 1200 cal I just completely give up and eat my weight in food and probably gain a pound in the process. Literally binge like 2,000 calories every time!

What do you all do on days where it seems unlikely that you will stay under your calorie goal?

I notice you write about not meeting your calorie goal as if it's something that happens to you ("it seems unlikely you will stay under your calorie goal"), not something that you do. It isn't like rain or a car crash -- it's a collection of choices that you make. But I understand where you're coming from because I've felt that way in the past myself.

Now if it looks like I will go over my goal because of decisions that I've made, I decide how much over I'm going to go. For example, if I am out to dinner with my husband and he wants to share an appetizer, I decide whether or not I want to do it. If I do, I stay on plan with the rest of my day and just add those calories. I don't go off plan for the rest of the dinner and choose a different entree and add extra drinks and a dessert. Just because I've changed my plans and decided to go over for the appetizer, it doesn't mean that I have somehow "lost" the day and am throwing in the towel. It means I'm going over by however many are in the appetizer and no more. And it was my decision.

The most important thing is to realize you can control whether or not you meet your goals or not. If you truly can't control it, that's a whole other issue that needs to be addressed. If you're eating too little (and it sounds like you may be), it can make it really difficult to control the impulse to eat. You may be experiencing that now. I don't know what your activity level is, but MFP should be giving you a goal of at least 1,200, even if you are trying to lose weight. I weigh 111 and am just a bit taller than you and I had more than 1,200 calories at every point of losing weight.

If you are finding yourself in a situation where you are unable to control what you eat, even when you are nourishing yourself adequately, consider professional help. Binge eating doesn't have to control your life! I have struggled it with it myself. In my case, it got better when I stopped overly restricting. But many people have had great success overcoming this, some with professional help.

You are absolutely right. The most important thing is realizing that i can control whether i meet my goals or not. I don't have to throw in the towel just because I'm going to be 200-300 calories over for the day.

Depending on the size of your deficit, being 200-300 calories over is going to put you really close to maintaining for the day (assuming your deficit is 250 calories a day). So instead of thinking of the day being "lost," you can think of it as a day that you chose to maintain.

hoopika wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

hoopika wrote: »

Sorry to throw myself in this mix but I feel like I am going through something similar. I don't calorie count because I don't really like the idea of it. but I am underweight and the doctor has told me to put on but I can't seem to be okay with it. I know its an image issue but it is damaging my health. I want to put on weight but not change my body image (which sounds silly) but is there a way? Can anyone suggest a meal plan for an average day that is 'normal' at the moment I obsess about what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat. It's really not fun and impacting a lot of my life.

How much weight does your doctor want you to gain? You should be able to use MFP to enter your goal weight and then MFP will give you a calorie goal to gain the weight that you need.

However, if you don't want to calorie count, you should try adding calorie-dense foods to your current diet. What are you typically eating now?

the doctor says I need to put on about half a stone which isn't much. I do eat, for example for breakfast I might have avocado and a boiled egg with ryvita or toast, for lunch maybe some brown rice and beans or sandwich or a wrap, dinner again rice and a currey or chicken maybe some sweet potatoe too. I snack of fruit and or nuts. I eat the treat if I really want and I do enjoy my tea and coffee. I do do a lot of sports either yoga or football, running, anything really. and I drink a lot of water. but sometimes I do obsess about eating 'healthy' if I tend to treat myself more if I know il burn it off later. and if I do eat something 'unhealthy' I then make it more of a point to exercise and burn it off...

I have no idea what you mean by "unhealthy," but it sounds like the easiest way for you to gain weight would be to stop adding exercise to burn off the food that you're eating. That is, you can continue your normal routine, but stop making it "more of a point" to exercise and burn off your food.

hoopika wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

hoopika wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

hoopika wrote: »

Sorry to throw myself in this mix but I feel like I am going through something similar. I don't calorie count because I don't really like the idea of it. but I am underweight and the doctor has told me to put on but I can't seem to be okay with it. I know its an image issue but it is damaging my health. I want to put on weight but not change my body image (which sounds silly) but is there a way? Can anyone suggest a meal plan for an average day that is 'normal' at the moment I obsess about what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat. It's really not fun and impacting a lot of my life.

How much weight does your doctor want you to gain? You should be able to use MFP to enter your goal weight and then MFP will give you a calorie goal to gain the weight that you need.

However, if you don't want to calorie count, you should try adding calorie-dense foods to your current diet. What are you typically eating now?

the doctor says I need to put on about half a stone which isn't much. I do eat, for example for breakfast I might have avocado and a boiled egg with ryvita or toast, for lunch maybe some brown rice and beans or sandwich or a wrap, dinner again rice and a currey or chicken maybe some sweet potatoe too. I snack of fruit and or nuts. I eat the treat if I really want and I do enjoy my tea and coffee. I do do a lot of sports either yoga or football, running, anything really. and I drink a lot of water. but sometimes I do obsess about eating 'healthy' if I tend to treat myself more if I know il burn it off later. and if I do eat something 'unhealthy' I then make it more of a point to exercise and burn it off...

I have no idea what you mean by "unhealthy," but it sounds like the easiest way for you to gain weight would be to stop adding exercise to burn off the food that you're eating. That is, you can continue your normal routine, but stop making it "more of a point" to exercise and burn off your food.

That's thing my definition of 'unhealthy' can be quite serious. I went through a phase where I though wheat and gluten was bad. I avoided dairy etc etc. I have toned all that down and I am feeling more energetic but I do have episodes where I go back into that phase. Or I try and plan what il eat and when il eat next. So I'll think after breakfast I won't eat til lunch even if I feel like a snack and if I am really hungry and I eat I get annoyed at myself

When your doctor told you that s/he wanted you to gain weight, did you share your history of unnecessarily restricting certain food groups and exercising to burn off calories even though you are underweight?