Any former undereaters??

I'm sure I still consistenly undereat, but I get so much cardio workout that I lose weight no matter what. My metabolism can't shutdown because I rev it up twice a day with my bike commute to work in the morning and home at night. But my friends all tell me to eat more. I eat about 1700 calories a day, and burn around 900 a day riding. I lose about 2 pounds a week. I only weight 154 though, and I'm almost to my goal weight of around 148.

I gained weight during a period of under eating then binging when I had the money to purchase food. Now that we are financially stable, I continued to eat like it was the last meal I could afford, and so, gained weight... very quickly.

Now, trying to lose weight, I struggle with eating back exercise calories, eating anything in the first place, and trying to understand when I feel hungry. For so many years when I felt hungry I had trained myself to ignore it because it didn't matter anyway, there was no food to be had.

I feel bad because I eat so much now, and food is expensive. My boyfriend is very kind about this and always tries to reassure me that spending money on food should be the least of our budget troubles, but I still feel so bad. I tell myself that if I eat anymore today it would simply cost too much, and I end up having tap water and going out for a run (!!!) to clear my mind.

I'm trying very hard and have been for months now to get into a good cycle of not only eating healthy and learning how to exercise to keep my body healthy, but also trying to find the healthiest mindset so as not to put myself down all the time.

Seeing folks here complain about reading 'I can't eat 1200' really makes me feel terrible. Like honestly so so horrible. I always feel like less of a freak when I see another user struggling with the same thing as me. Not that it's a good struggle at all, but it is nice that not everyone picks on you for struggling to eat more.

I am certainly not a former undereater but I wanted to take the opportunity to applaud you for doing it the right way.

Bravo!

DITTO!!!

Former Under Eater, here.

I killed my metabolism when I was 15 and cut myself down to 500 calories a day. It's brutal to get it back, and I'm 41 now!

I am was an under-eater during the day and an over-eater at night. I would eat very little actual food all day, but at night I would eat a lot of cookies and chips. I gained weight and I am trying to lose it. It's hard for me to eat 1200 calories of healthy food, with no sweets or junk food. I try to plan all my meals at night for the next day and it kinda works. I might even increase my calories soon.

My freshman year of high school I only ate dinner with my mom. When I got back to eating normally I realize my metabolism, which had never been that great to start with, was all messed up. Sometimes I feel like a failure if I don't under eat, but I'm trying really hard to change that. Good luck to you!

iam an under eater and trying to eat a normal diet. i was divorced 10 years ago and lost 30 pounds by the time it was over. so now my stomach can't handle a normal diet. but iam learning that i do have to eat to lose and to stay healthy. good luck... i know you can do it. :flowerforyou:

It might be odd for a man to be an under eater, but not that I am more educated on heatlh and fitness I realize that both in High Shool (Junior and Senior Years) and in the Army, I was at times a huge undereater. Actually, I was more of a binger/undereater. I was always so scared of getting heavier, which killed my run, I really cut back. As a matter of fact, even though 1500 calories doesn't sound all that bad, when I was in Kosovo, I was only eating meals, 500 calorie a day, doing 1-2 hours of PT, Guard Duty, Patrols, and weight lifting. No wonder I never put on any muscle

I wonder if there is a connection between military and under eating (for men) my best friend's bf was air force and we was an under eater too, really active and didn't eat nearly enough to hit a decent caloric intake.

I have always been in this catagory except when pregnant. I am working out and trying to hit calories and still not losing ...have actually gained 4 pounds this month! If I don't eat and don't exercize I lose weight - if I under eat and exercize I gain - motivation is def suffering because of this.

I need to find that balance between working out and amount to eat just not sure how to do it.

You are not alone!

I was a bit of an under-eater and like most, not intentionally.

I found things that were healthy, but then I'd still have too many calories left. But I was on 1500 cals per day back then, so I changed it to 1200 cals per day, which I find easier to stay at.

If you ever want any ideas for lowish calorie healthy foods, feel free to P.M me on here

I was an undereater for years. Many people eat while under stress, I didn't. I would get up, drink some coffee on my way to work, work 10-16 hours a day, go home and sleep a few hours and do it all over again. Many days I would forget to eat, but would have an energy drink or two during the day. I would be so tired by the time I got home I didn't have the energy to eat, and just wasn't hungry. When I left that job and went back to school I gained weight. I was eatting real food (still undereatting though), not drinking the energy drinks and sitting for the majority of the day (I had been very active at work). It took my doctor, dietician and nutritionist to get me back on track over a period of 6 months. We increased my calories by 100 every 2 weeks until I got up to 1400 per day. I had to set the alarm on my phone to go off every 3.5 hours to remind me to eat. I had to eat even if I didn't feel hungry. I did gain at first, but once my body figured out that it was going to be fed every 3-4 hours every day, I started to feel hungry when it was time to eat, and I started to lose weight. I have more energy now, am actually sleeping 6-7 hours a night (used to be 4-5), and don't fall asleep at stop lights anymore.