i can't beleive i can lose weight eating 1400 calories :(

i don't know if other people are dealing with this. but i find it very hard to believe that eating 1400 calories will help me get to my goal weight.

my mind is so use to either starve or binge, which is so unhealthy physically and mentally .

i just feel stuck with this mentality and i want to change it so i can create healthy habits, instead of looking for a quick fix.

if anyone lost on this amount i would love to know their experience!

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I eat more and lose...
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
    I eat 2100 and lose.
  • _Figgzie_
    _Figgzie_ Posts: 3,506 Member
    what do you currently weigh and what is your goal?
  • texteach66
    texteach66 Posts: 92 Member
    The amount of calories your body needs to live depends on your height/weight and activity level. Therefore, the amount you eat to lose depends on the same factors. For example, I need to lose a lot, so I'm losing by eating over 1700 calories a day. I'm hoping this is my last weight loss journey, but we'll see.

    I'm a lifetime member of Weight Watchers - having lost close to 135 pounds 15 years ago. When I was in the last stages of WW, I had three weeks of gain. I was sobbing as I talked to my leader about it. She encouraged me to try eating the points (calories) I earned by all the exercising I was doing - just what I needed to lose again! I hope that helps!
  • RobD520
    RobD520 Posts: 420 Member
    Your goal is the right one. Developing habits you can live with long-term is key!

    I am a 54 year-old male losing on 2200/day....though I am active...
  • DanyellMcGinnis
    DanyellMcGinnis Posts: 315 Member
    I am 5'5", about 145 pounds at the moment, and I am losing by eating 1800-2100 calories per day. Granted, I am exercising a lot. But, I decided back in the beginning that I would rather exercise and eat a lot more than the 1270 calories recommended by MFP. And that has worked for me.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    It sounds like your problem is more about your mindset than your intake? If you're still set on 'starve/binge' cycles, it sounds like you may need some counseling support to help adjust your mental thinking around food. Is there an Overeaters Anonymous near you?
    Are you hungry on 1400 a day? Or are you not able to eat all of 1400 calories?
  • waafaae
    waafaae Posts: 9 Member
    _Figgzie_ wrote: »
    what do you currently weigh and what is your goal?

    i am 5' 6'' , 171 lbs, goal weight is 120-130 lbs

  • KorvapuustiPossu
    KorvapuustiPossu Posts: 434 Member
    People hate math, but weight loss comes down to just that...math! If you eat less than what your total daily needs are you will be losing weight. Simple as that. Don't overthink it. Trust the math. Just make sure you weigh your food on a digital scale and have patience. On 1400 you will lose unless you are pretty much bedridden and quite short. Even me as short person (5'2, 139 lbs) would lose slowly on it because my total daily needs as a couch potato are around 1650-1700 :D
  • waafaae
    waafaae Posts: 9 Member
    It sounds like your problem is more about your mindset than your intake? If you're still set on 'starve/binge' cycles, it sounds like you may need some counseling support to help adjust your mental thinking around food. Is there an Overeaters Anonymous near you?
    Are you hungry on 1400 a day? Or are you not able to eat all of 1400 calories?

    yeah i do feel like i have some issues with my relationship with food and my body. i am not hungry on 1400 a day, it's just mentally hard for me to stick with on a long period of time because i don't see fast results on the scale, which feeds this idea in my head that 1400 calories won't lead me to my goal weight.

    i am sick of the cycle and i just want to find something that is sustainable and that works to help me lose the weight.
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
    Relax and believe in MFP. Faithfully weigh, log and enjoy your food and the weight will come off. I lost at about 1400 calories a day.
    Keep your goals reasonable and sustainable, which it sounds as if you've done. A pound a week is a good goal. Sure, it'll take time for the weight to come off but it will come off in a healthy and permanent way.
    Trust the program. Give it a few weeks. You'll see the weight come off and begin to relax. You shouldn't be hungry; just perhaps nibbly between meals.
  • waafaae
    waafaae Posts: 9 Member
    PaytraB wrote: »
    Relax and believe in MFP. Faithfully weigh, log and enjoy your food and the weight will come off. I lost at about 1400 calories a day.
    Keep your goals reasonable and sustainable, which it sounds as if you've done. A pound a week is a good goal. Sure, it'll take time for the weight to come off but it will come off in a healthy and permanent way.
    Trust the program. Give it a few weeks. You'll see the weight come off and begin to relax. You shouldn't be hungry; just perhaps nibbly between meals.

    Thank you for this. it helped a lot and i appreciate it :)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    See, I saw your title and I figured it would work just as well with a smiley face.
  • Shrinking_Erin
    Shrinking_Erin Posts: 125 Member
    1780 and losing.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    edited March 2016
    5'3" here. 113 pounds and I'm currently bulking, If I eat less than 2000 calories I will lose weight, so yes, you will lose weight on 1400 given your stats. Toddlers need 1,000 to 1,400 calories per day to grow.
  • PurpleOrchid531
    PurpleOrchid531 Posts: 28 Member
    waafaae wrote: »
    _Figgzie_ wrote: »
    what do you currently weigh and what is your goal?

    i am 5' 6'' , 171 lbs, goal weight is 120-130 lbs

    You and I are practically the same person. About the same starting weight with the same goal.

    When I originally started back on MFP faithfully (on 2/1/16), it originally calculated 1200 calories for me (as I have a job where I sit all day) and am lucky to get to the gym 3x/week. 1200 was too restrictive for me, so I adjusted my parameters (1 lb per week instead of 2) and it calculated 1410 calories. I have lost 6.4lb so far, and while I wish it were more, because I am doing this slowly, I feel I am more likely to keep it off. Plus, I am honestly (most days!) not ravenous on 1400 calories. I don't eat back all my calories from exercising (I don't have a heart rate monitor so I really don't know how much I am burning, just using what MFP calculates and I eat back about half).

    I was skeptical but so far, it seems to be working. When I tried MFP a couple of years ago, I was eating like 1600/1700 calories, and I was losing, but at a much slower rate (like 0.5lb per week) and I quit because I got frustrated. For me, 1400 seems to so far be the sweet spot.

    Hang in there. If you're honest about what your eating, you will lose on 1400 calories.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I'm 5'5" and I was 12 years older than you when I lost 80 pounds eating 1650-1700 calories a day.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
    I'm only 5'2.5 and 127 lbs and I'm currently losing eating more than 1400 calories, anywhere from 1600 to 1900. I am relatively active though.
  • krobinson2009
    krobinson2009 Posts: 5 Member
    I'm pretty close to your stats: also 5' 6', currently at 181, started at 203, goal weight is 130. I set my goal to 1.5 lb/week, and I'm "lightly active" (although I'm at the gym usually 5 days a week). MFP set my calorie goal at 1550. I usually eat between 1500-1700 calories/day, and I've lost weight (average 1.5 lb) consistently every week since I started (1/3/16). This isn't my first go-around on MFP, but I think one of the main reasons I quit last time is I was eating so little (like 1100-1200 calories a day) that I felt STARVING all the time. It's important that whatever calorie goal you land on be something that is sustainable, otherwise there is no way you will stick with it for the long haul.
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    edited March 2016
    When my scale registers a loss, the thought pops into my mind that I can lose more if I don't eat.

    I didn't actually REALLY notice this thought until this past week, after losing 20lbs. But I noticed it this time, and it startled the heck out of me!

    The old "you have to starve yourself to lose weight" mentality is still there in my head. It's something to think about and guard against, it coincides with weighing while hungry before breakfast. The mentality that hunger=weight loss is strong. Even after 4 months and a 20lb loss while eating.

    I had breakfast to make that thought go away.
  • katiebean
    katiebean Posts: 110 Member
    I'm 5'3 and losing weight on 1500 a day + exercise calories. It can be done!
  • Obnoxa
    Obnoxa Posts: 187 Member
    edited March 2016
    It can be tough breaking through the mindset of 'if I don't feel hungry/deprived then I'm not going to lose weight', but you will!
    Give yourself a little time to acclimate, the 5 billion plus dollar a year diet industry was built on the idea that we can't do it without going to extreme measures, but as you start to see your success it will quickly chip away at those old notions.
    Good luck :smile:
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    You definitely can! I was shocked when I first started that I could lose on 1800 calories (static goal, not eating exercise calories), but 25 lbs. later I weigh about what you do and need to aim for 1500 or so to see losses.
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    Obnoxa wrote: »
    It can be tough breaking through the mindset of 'if I don't feel hungry/deprived then I'm not going to lose weight', but you will!

    This. I put off "dieting" for so long because I couldn't bear the thought of starving myself or having to cut out the foods I love, even though I knew my weight was unhealthy. If only I'd known about MFP years ago!

    OP, I'm also 5'6" and have lost 13lbs in 2 months on 1400 calories a day. Granted I'm heavier than you (started at 217), but still I'm finding that I can eat a decent amount of food and can have chocolate and other 'treats' within that 1400, so I don't feel deprived. For me it has been - and still is - a process of trying to find the right foods to make me feel satisfied while not having too many calories, and while I do have days when I feel hungry and want to binge on something I usually find those days are when I haven't made the right choices. (The right choices for me, that is - everyone feels satisfied with different foods. :smile: )

    It won't necessarily be fast, but if you can learn to "trust the process", as people around here like to say, and accept that some weeks you won't lose anything and may even go up a little, then eventually you'll reach your goal and will form new habits to help you maintain it. Try to be patient, and gauge your success in other ways like taking your measurements and noticing how your clothes fit, as well. Good luck!
  • Ws2016
    Ws2016 Posts: 432 Member
    I like this community's advice on maintaining calorie deficits. It simply works. The mind however needs tweaking. We are so use to quick results, hence your past experience of binge and starve. But think ahead - if you only lose a pound a week, you can lose 52 pounds in a year. This is the newspaper of dieting, not the internet.
  • alt5057
    alt5057 Posts: 62 Member
    waafaae wrote: »
    _Figgzie_ wrote: »
    what do you currently weigh and what is your goal?

    i am 5' 6'' , 171 lbs, goal weight is 120-130 lbs

    I'm also 5'6" and losing on 1490 a day (currently at 186)...and I am usually eating more than that once I add back some calories earned through exercise :smile:

    The main thing for me is to plan...I keep my breakfast pretty consistent and eat a smaller breakfast and then some kind of fruit mid morning to get me to lunch. I plan out each lunch/dinner so I know what I have available. I also know I am a night snacker so I make sure to leave some wiggle room to have something after dinner. Sometimes popcorn, sometimes chocolate...if I don't have any calories left, I try to curb any cravings with a fruity flavored tea.
  • fionamcsharry
    fionamcsharry Posts: 2 Member
    :smile: