I'd really appreciate some straight-talking advice on cals i

13»

Replies

  • vabrewer33
    vabrewer33 Posts: 185

    I agree with everything he has to say!! If I were you, I'd raise your calories and do strength training and just nix the cardio. You don't want to be a flabby underweight person, believe me it is not attractive.

    AHHHH why would you say to eliminate cardio!!! i understand the importance of strength training but come on... long term health people!
    Health benefits? Is this real life?

    99% of people here are doing cardio to lose weight (and failing). I get my cardio benefits from heavy and intense weight lifting and walking.

    Unless you ramp up your heart rate and keep it up for 30 minutes, you are not getting the same cardio benefits from lifting and walking-it just is not possible, sorry!
  • sophjakesmom
    sophjakesmom Posts: 904 Member
    ,
  • MMarvelous
    MMarvelous Posts: 1,067 Member
    I would suggest talking to a profession - doctor, dietitian, etc. Your issue w/ food maybe deeper than you think. If you are not hungry then why eat I agree. However you must refuel your body regularly. Your food diary is not public so we can't tell what you are eating. Make small changes to you meals like have an egg and apple for breakfast. Then lunch chicken and a salad. At dinner maybe a protein bar or smoothie. This type of meal would give you 1200 calories at a minimum if that is really your BMR. Good luck and never be afraid to post on here or let some of the response deter you from your weight lose journey! Add me as a friend if you like.
  • o_delaisse
    o_delaisse Posts: 193 Member
    Thanks everyone, am pretty surprised this thread had a load of comments so suddenly!

    To the people who said I should see a doctor: I have some concerns about going to my doctor, they're not so great with this kind of thing. But I appreciate what you're saying, and I have some ideas on how to help fix things a bit. If my ideas don't work out within a month then I'll go. You see, when I have gone to a doctor, she said I had an eating disorder and I had to see a psychiatrist. Now, personally, I think I got in this state because I'm super impatient, and besides, hand on my heart, I am a happy girl. What I need help with isn't being offered to me. But if I feel this isn't working out, then I'll go and ask for a dietician.

    On the other hand (I'm just reading through all the comments, maybe I should just go. I mean, if it's not helpful then I'll work at it myself, but on the other hand it might be.

    I have to say, I don't think I've done SERIOUS damage to myself, as I said somewhere my BMI was never lower than 17. But, well, I'm not in good shape so should deal with it now. Yes, I'll make a doctor's appointment, but I am preparing myself for a rubbish reception.

    nixirain - Thanks for that link, I've read through it and I'll read it again. It does make sense. And I will consider a doctor.

    As for the low cals - my goal now is to get to 1270, and then I'll see how it goes. I really do know my cal intake is pitiful and I'm not proud of that any more. I posted another thread on tips to get my cals up (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494211-high-calorie-healthy-snacks), and I got some good suggestions. Already I got my cals up to nearly 1000 today and I'm basically feeling relatively ok about it. I'll work on getting them up more over the next days / weeks. Already I am well out of my comfort zone, so it's going to take time. I have some issues to overcome, but I will get there. A few months ago I was so out of control it was frightening. At least now I'm back in control, and more importantly realising that my "in control" is also unhealthy, and I'm prepared to work on it (well, I AM working on it, but it's only been a day). Increasing calories by the 100 is a comfortable goal, so that's what I'm going to do.

    kdiamond - I am pretty flabby as it is, so flabby underweight is kind of where I was heading :( Lord knows if I'll ever have tight skin, but I gather it's not going to happen. I do like cardio, so I wouldn't stop - I genuinely enjoy it. But you're right, everyone is, about the strength training - I need to take it a lot more seriously. I've printed off some exercises to do (started doing them before but my joints made some AWFUL noises. Someone told me that's ok though and start gently, so going to go back to it in a minute)

    Non-scale progress - Well, I don't have a tape measure, but my clothes are fitting better :)

    Thena81 - I like milk, milk I can do :) Semi-skimmed though, I cannot get my head around the point of skimmed milk :)

    Thanks again everyone for your help :)
  • jenifer7teen
    jenifer7teen Posts: 205 Member

    I agree with everything he has to say!! If I were you, I'd raise your calories and do strength training and just nix the cardio. You don't want to be a flabby underweight person, believe me it is not attractive.

    AHHHH why would you say to eliminate cardio!!! i understand the importance of strength training but come on... long term health people!
    Health benefits? Is this real life?

    99% of people here are doing cardio to lose weight (and failing). I get my cardio benefits from heavy and intense weight lifting and walking.

    99%?!!!!!!!!!!! that's quite a ludicrous and unfounded claim! similar to the idea the people should NIX CARDIO from their health, fitness, and weightloss plans. laughable. or seriously scary narrow-minded and generalized advice based solely on what YOU have chosen to do for yourself...
  • swellen
    swellen Posts: 78 Member
    You see, when I have gone to a doctor, she said I had an eating disorder and I had to see a psychiatrist. Now, personally, I think I got in this state because I'm super impatient, and besides, hand on my heart, I am a happy girl. What I need help with isn't being offered to me. But if I feel this isn't working out, then I'll go and ask for a dietician.
    With your fear of eating, that DOES sound like an eating disorder. That doesn't mean you have anorexia, nor that you are starving yourself (or will in the future), but it sounds like you have some disordered thinking and habits. Doesn't mean you're unhappy necessarily, doesn't mean you've been trying to harm yourself, it just means things have got a little bit out of whack for you. And that's okay, but now is the time to get help, especially with the fear of eating because that's the kind of thing that can escalate before you know it. (I speak from experience here.) The doctor can't MAKE you go to a psychiatrist, so maybe start with a referral to a qualified dietitian and see how you go from there. If nothing else, they will help you to safely increase the amount you're eating. If you've been under-eating it's not a good idea to massively increase it in one go, so a dietitian can help you with a plan to increase slowly, at a pace that feels safe for you without increasing your anxiety around food.
  • ptuttle2
    ptuttle2 Posts: 4 Member
    I haven't been doing this for long but from everything I've read, you're not eating enough. 1200 calories is a min. meaning you need to be eating at least that much everyday. Also, your brain needs 441 calories a day to function. If not, it starts to deteriorate. So if you're only eating 500 calories you're not eating enough for your brain or body to function. You body needs fuel, don't be afraid to fuel your body. Maybe seeing a nutritionist would help. Good luck.

Categories