can't eat enough.

bouakihabara
bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
edited December 3 in Health and Weight Loss
this web site says i need to eat 12oo calories a day but i often can only eat 500 a day.
am i really not eating enough? i do not eat breakfast as work i at night.

(im sure i sound pretty stupid as i ask this, laughs)

i have been told im starving myself but i eat when i am hungry.
do i need to eat snacks or what?

if so what kind of things do i need to eat to reach this?
«1

Replies

  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    You need to eat more. By eating so little, you are going to lose more muscle mass than necessary. This will cause the skinny fat look.

    Look for foods high in calorie. Things like nuts or oils are a start. But make sure you are using a food scale to weigh food. Many people that think they are eating very little are actually eating more than they think without using a scale.
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    what do you mean by oils? like fish?
  • kermax39
    kermax39 Posts: 149 Member
    You need to stick to 1200, thats a dangerously low amount your eating. If your struggling to eat that try adding some light meals like a sandwich or bowl of cereal......weigh out nuts or grapes and graze on them as u go about your day.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    what do you mean by oils? like fish?

    Cooking oils. Like olive oil and such.
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    has anyone ever eaten that fiber one cereal? i eat it without milk as a snack sometimes. would this count?
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    has anyone ever eaten that fiber one cereal? i eat it without milk as a snack sometimes. would this count?

    Anything you eat counts..

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    What is your weight and height ?
    How are you logging your food ?


    Anybody regularly eating 500 calories (1200 is a well respected minimum for weight loss) is basically starving their body of nutrients ...cell repair will shut down, skin, hair, nails will all be compromised. Bone loss, kidney damage, liver impairment, metabolic damage. MThe body will start to catabolise organs like your heart for energy leading to heart attacks and potential death
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    If you are on 1200 calories, does that mean you are trying to lose weight? What were you eating that got you overweight/wanting to lose weight to begin with?
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    edited August 2016
    sounds great
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    Hello! Did you post that in the wrong thread? I wasn't even in this one
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Opening your diary would help.

    Ditch any 'diet' food for full fat stuff, and.... peanut butter
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    @Sued0nim i am currently 140 pounds and i have gained weight over the past two years.
    but im not eating very healthy right now.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    @Sued0nim i am currently 140 pounds and i have gained weight over the past two years.
    but im not eating very healthy right now.

    No, eating only 500 cals is not very healthy
  • Hiro_Protagonist
    Hiro_Protagonist Posts: 40 Member
    Yes you are obviously eating too little.

    Try making smoothies with calorie dense foods like nuts, seeds, oils, peanut butter and even add a protein supplement to it to help your macro intake (which I would hazard is not that good).

    Do a web search on calorie dense foods, I would also look for ones high in nutrients.

    For perspective a handful of peanuts is 180 cals, almost half of your current intake.

    Here is a example list of calorie dense foods...

    http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/most-deceiving-foods-they-have-more-calories-you-think

  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    edited August 2016
    @lemonlionheart i have a belly that makes me look pregnant. i have never been pregnant and i have had it for years. i want not aware i wasn't eating enough till i got on here.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    @Sued0nim i am currently 140 pounds and i have gained weight over the past two years.
    but im not eating very healthy right now.

    If you are gaining weight, you are not eating 500 calories. Get a food scale.
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    @TavistockToad im not trying to eat only 500 calories.
    i want to eat more. thats what im asking.
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    @vespiquenn i have been 120 since i was 16 but i think my parents just did not feed me well enough.
    my boyfriend is trying to keep me feed but he allways goes for the unhealthily, high in sugar, processed meat and stuff. my mom has talked to me about adding flax seed to my food and such.

    a food scale is not a bad idea. thank you
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    edited August 2016
    @Hiro_Protagonist

    thank you.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    @TavistockToad im not trying to eat only 500 calories.
    i want to eat more. thats what im asking.

    so answer the question, what are you currently eating?

    Presumably you're losing weight at the moment?
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    @TavistockToad i work at a truck stop that has a burger king attached.
    i have eaten there so many times i hate it now. (laughs)
    yeah so i eat a lot of fast food. its the only thing open when im at work.

    yesterday after i put in all of my food i ended up with 200
    with fish and tomatoes with onions.
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    @TavistockToad i also do not eat breakfast as i get up around 7 to go to work at night.
    i think thats why its so low but i dont know.

    i eat a lot hot wings at work as well.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    @TavistockToad i work at a truck stop that has a burger king attached.
    i have eaten there so many times i hate it now. (laughs)
    yeah so i eat a lot of fast food. its the only thing open when im at work.

    yesterday after i put in all of my food i ended up with 200
    with fish and tomatoes with onions.

    better to eat fast food than starve yourself. there's nothing wrong with 'junk' as part of a balanced diet.

    in a whole day you only ate some fish, onions and tomatoes? what about drinks? if you struggle to eat your calories, drink them. full fat milk, smoothies etc
  • LokiGrrl
    LokiGrrl Posts: 156 Member
    There is a disconnect somewhere. My appetite is chancy on low carb, and I have very low calorie days, but they always average out over the week to at least 1200. I honestly don't see how you can be walking around and coherent on 500 cals a day and then swinging down to 200, and you almost certainly are not getting all the nutrients you need. I also don't see how you can be eating a lot of fast food and only be at 500 cals a day. Where are you getting your calorie counts?
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    @TavistockToad i hadn't thought about drinks. thank you.
    can you add those on the food counter?

    i drink water and i drink a huge amount of coffee.
  • bouakihabara
    bouakihabara Posts: 18 Member
    @LokiGrrl i once logged a burger from jack in the box on here as dinner and it set me waaaaay over the limit and it gave me a warning that im gonna get fat if i keep eating like that. (this web site did)

    by a lot of fast food i mean like, i eat it every night allmost.
    i really dont know what to bring in my lunch. thats what im asking.
  • spyro88
    spyro88 Posts: 472 Member
    edited August 2016
    Do you only have one meal a day? Because something like a burger and fries would still probably put you over 500 calories in itself. 500 calories is very little - it's a quarter of what the government guidelines recommend the 'average woman' should be eating. They say a woman usually needs around 2000 and a man 2500.

    I would not be able to survive and function properly on 500... I'm not surprised you need a lot of coffee!! ;) Why not try having a cereal bar or something for breakfast, and eat some fruit or something as snacks through the day?
  • kermax39
    kermax39 Posts: 149 Member
    Hot wings are high calorie, so is anything from burger king. Im wiling to bet your eating more than 500 cals., as others have said get a food scale and log log log.
    It always confuses me when people say they struggle to eat theyre daily calorie requirements when presumably they ate above it when they gained the weight in the first place.
  • spyro88
    spyro88 Posts: 472 Member
    For lunch maybe you could just make a sandwich at home and take that in?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    If you are eating Hot wings and BK every night you are not eating 500 calories

    Shall we start from scratch?

    Open your diary ...go to settings and diary and set to public

    For the next 7 days log every single thing you are eating and drinking religiously ...you will find lots of BK entries in here

    Let's start there
This discussion has been closed.