800 calories a day?
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Not in my dorm. I live in a box and the only thing my dorm has is a communal bathroom)
and at least a cup a day (I don't usually count it and its usually skim or one percent so I really eat 900 cals a day)
Well, do you have outlets in your "box"? If you do, then buy a lean mean grilling machine for $20 at Wal-mart and grill vegetables and chicken on it. Also, you can buy frozen vegetable steamer bags for your microwave.
I LOVE the Green Giant steamer bags and you can get them for about the same price as a couple boxes of mac and cheese and they have 2-3 servings in them ( The mac and cheese and brocolli is my fave!) You could also invest in a single top burner you plug into a microwave or like she said a Forman or lean mean grill
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People suggesting various appliances for her to cook with - you have to realize that different dorms have different regulations for what types of appliances they are allowed to possess and use in the building. They are worried about fire hazards. So OP be sure you check with your dorm's regulations before deciding if you're going to buy any of those appliances. Some of them might be really helpful to you, just make sure they are allowed first.0
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Your post really concerns me.
First off, I'd worry a whole lot less about the 10 pounds you'd like to lose and a whole lot MORE on the quality of the food you're putting in your body. You only get 1 body, and you have a whole lifetime ahead of you. Stop focusing on the amount of weight you'd like to lose, and start focusing on treating your body the way it needs to be treated. The weight will come off when you eat more healthy, without having to do ANYTHING else, likely.
Do you HAVE a school meal plan? Even if you aren't using it, does it physically exist? If yes, I suggest you go and find out what IS open at the hours you have available to eat. When i was in university, you could get food to go almost around the clock... if you were willing to walk halfway across campus.
Next off, where are your parents? If you only have $20 to spend on food, have you told them this? I will be the first to admit I *never* asked my parents for money. Never. But i wasn't starving at college, either. If your parents aren't involved, you need to hit up the student resource centre, drop your cell phone plan, or find some other way to get REAL food. Mac n cheese & ramen will keep you going, but you'll leave college with more than the freshman 15.0 -
If you can't use a crock pot or Foreman grill, another option is to visit family or friends on weekends, and do a marathon cooking session. Store individual meals in tupperware in your mini-fridge and microwave them the rest of the week.0
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If you can't use a crock pot or Foreman grill, another option is to visit family or friends on weekends, and do a marathon cooking session. Store individual meals in tupperware in your mini-fridge and microwave them the rest of the week.
That's a really good suggestion, also probably much cheaper than buying frozen dinners.0 -
Ok there's a lot of good info in this thread, and there's some not so good. Some people say yeah go for it, others say eat more and exercise. I know which side of the fence I sit, however...
Bottom line is that you're not losing weight on 1200 calories and you want to drop to 800 calories.
My 2c? Go and see your doctor! Seriously!
With so many opinions, how do you know who is right or wrong? Go and see a medical professional and explain to them that you want to lose weight and drop your calorie intake. Be honest with them and tell them exactly what you are eating and why. Have you had medical confirmation that your metabolism is slow, or have you done an online test, or read symptoms online and thought "yep, that sounds like me"?
I'm not saying that you are doing this, but some people put a post on a forum so that they can get the feedback that they want and disregard the rest, whether right or wrong. Get the best information from the right source, perhaps you need professional assistance in setting a diet.
I'd hate to give nutritional advice here, then find out later that you had a medical condition that was worsened by my advice.
^^This...or the oncampus med center at least.
I saw a program yesterday about an anorexic. At first she started restricting her calories to around what you are. But when she had lost the weight, she was absolutely unable to eat and could not get to 1200 or above. Any kind of long term restriction can actually leave you unable to go back to regular eating when you want too do it. At that point you're in trouble, and you may not have even meant to get there. I worry about you, I truly do. Also, long term does not have to mean years, it can mean months.
At the number of calories you are currently eating, along with the fact that really you are small, it can turn dangerous. At the very least, if you are able to resume normal caloric intake you most likely will gain.
I can't give you any better advice than to go see a medical professional.
Good luck to you.0 -
www.poorgirleatswell.com Good luck! 0
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coupons and sales will help. libraries have newspaper to see whats on sale and coupons on line. will help make all these suggestions (except the unhelpful one) work0
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Everyone is acting like I want to do this forever...Honestly it will only be for a bout two weeks if I can even last that long. I love food and I don't want to quit eating I will happily be overweight before I become anorexic.. That being said I just want to go on a low cal diet for a few weeks to combat the fact that for basically a month I sat around on my butt and did nothing... (yea I know not the greatest idea in the world but I was sick a lot of it.) I am hoping that by sticking to my 800 cals for two weeks I will be back down to 126. When I reach this number I will then go back up to 1200.
My stats 20yr
128
little to no exercise
5'1
alot of people are telling me I should calculate my BMR and then times by 20% subtract and then eat that many cals
1292 BMR (through the myfitnesspal one) * .2 =258 = 1034...this thing is saying I only burn 1200 cals a day0 -
Everyone is acting like I want to do this forever...Honestly it will only be for a bout two weeks if I can even last that long. I love food and I don't want to quit eating I will happily be overweight before I become anorexic.. That being said I just want to go on a low cal diet for a few weeks to combat the fact that for basically a month I sat around on my butt and did nothing... (yea I know not the greatest idea in the world but I was sick a lot of it.) I am hoping that by sticking to my 800 cals for two weeks I will be back down to 126. When I reach this number I will then go back up to 1200.
My stats 20yr
128
little to no exercise
5'1
alot of people are telling me I should calculate my BMR and then times by 20% subtract and then eat that many cals
1292 BMR (through the myfitnesspal one) * .2 =258 = 1034...this thing is saying I only burn 1200 cals a day
I'm not sure what people are telling you, but it's generally 20% off your total daily expenditure, what it would take to maintain your weight including your normal daily activity, not your BMR. BMR is what your body would burn if you were completely bedridden, like in a coma. The second you get out of bed, you burn more than that.
My BMR is supposed to be around 1200, too, but even without exercise, my calories are around 1700 to maintain my current weight. I typically eat between 1800-2000+ once exercise is factored in. I'd go bonkers on 1200 calories, and my weight loss would be ridiculously slow. On 800, it grinds to a halt.
If "everyone" is saying don't do it, it's because we speak from experience. We've tried it, found it didn't work, and learned from our mistakes. We'd like others to benefit from our mistakes, too. 0 -
Everyone is acting like I want to do this forever...Honestly it will only be for a bout two weeks if I can even last that long. I love food and I don't want to quit eating I will happily be overweight before I become anorexic.. That being said I just want to go on a low cal diet for a few weeks to combat the fact that for basically a month I sat around on my butt and did nothing... (yea I know not the greatest idea in the world but I was sick a lot of it.) I am hoping that by sticking to my 800 cals for two weeks I will be back down to 126. When I reach this number I will then go back up to 1200.
My stats 20yr
128
little to no exercise
5'1
alot of people are telling me I should calculate my BMR and then times by 20% subtract and then eat that many cals
1292 BMR (through the myfitnesspal one) * .2 =258 = 1034...this thing is saying I only burn 1200 cals a day
Nope, got that wrong.
That is 20% off your maintenance calories, NOT your BMR. And for so little weight loss, that should be 10%, not 20%.
The BMR is your calories for your basic life functions, no movement, so think sleep. if you don't meet it, your body will slow down to meet what you feed it.
So unless you artificially lowered your BMR by eating as you just suggested, that would be:
BMR 1292 * activity factor 1.2 (sedentary) = 1550 maintenance calories (what to feed to support your BMR and normal level of activity.
Now:
1550 - 10% (or 156) = 1394 goal calories.
If your exercise starts amounting to anything other than mild walking around campus, then you should eat those calories back, or you will be under your BMR, and that means your body will just slow down again.0 -
Everyone is acting like I want to do this forever...Honestly it will only be for a bout two weeks if I can even last that long. I love food and I don't want to quit eating I will happily be overweight before I become anorexic.. That being said I just want to go on a low cal diet for a few weeks to combat the fact that for basically a month I sat around on my butt and did nothing... (yea I know not the greatest idea in the world but I was sick a lot of it.) I am hoping that by sticking to my 800 cals for two weeks I will be back down to 126. When I reach this number I will then go back up to 1200.
My stats 20yr
128
little to no exercise
5'1
alot of people are telling me I should calculate my BMR and then times by 20% subtract and then eat that many cals
1292 BMR (through the myfitnesspal one) * .2 =258 = 1034...this thing is saying I only burn 1200 cals a day
So you're changing your diet to drop 2 lbs? You could go low-carb and drop 5 lbs in water weight in a few days right there without any fat loss.
I've learned that any temporary diets are just that, temporary. If you lose a few pounds at 800 cal/day, then your body will get used to that, and once you increase your calorie intake again, you will gain weight until your body adjusts to that change.
You should really find a permanent lifestyle and diet that will allow you to be thin, and stick to it.0 -
My personal opinion... You can do this for 2 weeks. You will loose weight. It's not "dangerous" in that it won't do you any immediate harm except maybe make you tired and hungry.
But it will slow your metabolism, and you'll be more likely to gain it right back. So even after the 2 weeks, you'd have to add back very slowly, or you'd be back where you started.
Those last 10 lbs are slow. Aim for 0.5 lbs a week of loss, and you'll be better off long term, I think.0 -
Here are some ideas for quick and easy meals that are filling and not too many calories.
Add a can of tuna and some frozen peas to your mac-n-cheese. It will add protein and vitamins and you'll have twice as much so you'll only have to reheat the next day.
Canned beans and instant brown rice.
Try Kashi frozen meals. They are more nutritious and filling than a lot of other frozen meals and cost about the same.
Use low carb wraps/tortillas along with premade hummus or a can of tuna and a bag of premade salad to make delicious, nutritious and filling low-cal sandwiches.
Or with canned refried beans, salsa, and reduced fat cheese to make bean burrritoes
Mix a drained can of black beans and a jar of salsa w a little water and microwave for a quick and tasty black bean soup.
Campbell's Healthy Request soups are very tasty and many are < 350 calories.0 -
Everyone is acting like I want to do this forever...Honestly it will only be for a bout two weeks if I can even last that long. I love food and I don't want to quit eating I will happily be overweight before I become anorexic.. That being said I just want to go on a low cal diet for a few weeks to combat the fact that for basically a month I sat around on my butt and did nothing... (yea I know not the greatest idea in the world but I was sick a lot of it.) I am hoping that by sticking to my 800 cals for two weeks I will be back down to 126. When I reach this number I will then go back up to 1200.
My stats 20yr
128
little to no exercise
5'1
alot of people are telling me I should calculate my BMR and then times by 20% subtract and then eat that many cals
1292 BMR (through the myfitnesspal one) * .2 =258 = 1034...this thing is saying I only burn 1200 cals a day
Nope, got that wrong.
That is 20% off your maintenance calories, NOT your BMR. And for so little weight loss, that should be 10%, not 20%.
The BMR is your calories for your basic life functions, no movement, so think sleep. if you don't meet it, your body will slow down to meet what you feed it.
So unless you artificially lowered your BMR by eating as you just suggested, that would be:
BMR 1292 * activity factor 1.2 (sedentary) = 1550 maintenance calories (what to feed to support your BMR and normal level of activity.
Now:
1550 - 10% (or 156) = 1394 goal calories.
If your exercise starts amounting to anything other than mild walking around campus, then you should eat those calories back, or you will be under your BMR, and that means your body will just slow down again.
yes, i agree with this exactly. if you are really sedentary then you need to look at a sedentary person's TDEE (total daily expended energy) which in your case is BMR * 1.2 so, just like calculated above that's 1550 for maintenance. you would need to eat less than 1550 but more than your BMR which is 1292. so somewhere between 1300-1500 would be about right, 1400 sounds pretty good. i think maybe before you were not eating enough, that can slow you down. a little bit of exercise would be pretty good too. you could do an exercise dvd in a dorm room easily. or just do some jumping jacks, push ups, etc. it would help speed up the weight loss.0 -
OK HEADLINER! DO NOT BE RUDE OR YELL AT ME..
Ok so here is the deal I am not losing weight on 1200 calories a day. I know my body and I have a very slow metabolism. So therefore I am going to be starting a diet of 800 calories. I am a broke college student with only a microwave to cook in. I try to eat as healthy as I can but usually I get crap like mac and cheese or cup o noodles....Now my question if I am limiting to myself to 800 and everyone thinks I should eat at least 1200 why? I mean all I am going to do is eat more of the junky stuff. and do I really need to eat more of that?
With that being said if anyone has any HELPFUL suggestions on how to get all the nutrients I need to keep my body healthy (vitamins or something) I would appreciate being told. Thanks and be polite folks
Try to limit your sodium and exercise0 -
Years ago when i was in college, i did a diet like this. I lost tons of weight. I looked great. Never had problems, healthwise. The flip side though, the minute i went back to eating normally. I gained all the weight i had lost and some more. During that period i learned nothing about nutrition. I still blame those years of ignorance for my still being fat 10years later. All i can say young lady, dont do it and good luck. I completely understand your situation. I used to live on cup ' soup and protein shakes. You can buy vegetables that last 2days. It will mean more visits to the grocery store. Cook rice, make a salad etc.0
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If you have a freezer, try getting microwavable frozen veggies, and try eating some nuts, seeds, or dried fruit to bring up your calories.
I'd also suggest taking some vitamins if you can afford them.
Well done for even trying though, I know it's so hard when you're a student living away from home. I didn't try and look where I am now!!0 -
Typing all in upper case = yelling.
SHE SAID SORRY!! Yes I am yelling bc she already said sorry and you said something about it again. move on. Thank you
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Typing all in upper case = yelling.
SHE SAID SORRY!! Yes I am yelling bc she already said sorry and you said something about it again. move on. Thank you
This thread is six pages long. We have all moved on. Thank you. :flowerforyou:0
This discussion has been closed.
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