Not able to eat 1200 calories???!!! How is this possible?

Okay, so before you attack me, I want to preface my question with a disclaimer. I am not judging or attacking anyone. I want to understand, so that I am no longer ignorant of this issue, so..................

I read a lot of posts with people writing that they are "not able to eat 1200 calories," "1200 calories is just too much food," or "I can only eat 2 calories today, is that okay?" And I'm thinking: Who are these people who are, apparently, overweight/need to lose weight, yet have a hard time eating 1200 calories!!! I wish that was my problem! I've never heard of anyone, short of having a medical condition, who couldn't stomach ingesting 1200 calories, yet was overweight. How is this possible?  How did this person gain the extra weight in the first place?

My ignorance can jump to the conclusion that these are only anorexic girls who want to become more and more anorexic, but I know that can't apply to everyone. Please explain. I want to understand, because, honestly, I have a hard time feeling compassion for these people, when I, myself, have a hard time keeping myself to 1500.

Thanks ahead of time!

Leigh-Ann

 

wow that wasnt very PC and im sure you will feel the backlash, but i agree.

Always makes me laugh when i read 'how can i add more cals, 1200 wont fit in' seriously trying to stay under 1200 if you eat anything other than a lettcue leaf is tough. I think you are right that often these people are slim and dont need to lose weight perhaps ED sufferers. Prehaps these people have clung so hard to the perfect diet, fruit veg etc they are scared to add anythig thats not got zero cals into their daily intake.

I do however think that the people who write those forums are asking for help and we should try and support them as they are obviously like us unhappy with themselves or their bodies?

All that typing made me hungry, fancy sharing a grape as i couldnt possibly eat a whole grape myself :-)

First, I realize that my post doesn't sound PC, which is why I tried to say many times that I'm not trying to judge people, I just want to understand, so that I can feel more compassionate.

Second, I would love to split a grape with you, but I'm pretty full from my morning peanut.  Ouch!  Nail me to the cross now :)

I know what you are saying.. and I don't get it either!

but I also know that there are some people who really do need help adding calories. I know myself and a few others that are starting maintenance soon but from being in the "1200 calorie" mindset and meal plan for so long, it's hard to figure out just where to add calories. I'm aiming for 1350 next week but even adding more milk to breakfast, and a lf string cheese to lunch, I only come up with about 1250-1300.... It's also tough b/c what I eat now fills me up and it seems all wrong to eat just to add calories when I've been trying to get out of the eat just because I can thing... Just like losing weight, this maintenance thing is going to be a long process... one day at a time :)

I have a leftover corn flake from lunch today, can I interest either of you in it? I'm just TOO full :P

Some possible reasons that someone can't eat 1200 cals:

• B/S "Me think thou protesteth too much. . ." 
• Not losing weight fast enough
• Fear that eating something [s]he likes will make it difficult to stop & hence the obsession with eating only low-cal  - what have been traditionally known as diet [carrots, celery, etc)  - foods
• Habit. Seeing that consuming cal/nutrient deficient foods have worked in the past for large weekly losses
• Maintenance. After losing weight, anxiety about gaining it back

Okay, so I'm one of "those" people.  I have a hard time getting in 1200.  Know why?

1.  Most of the time I'm too busy to remember to eat.  I have work.  I have school.  I have family and friends.  Between rushing from one place to another, it isn't always easy to remember whether or not I've had breakfast or lunch.

2.  I don't want to eat junk, so I don't keep it in my home.  Most of my ready-access foods are low-calorie.  (It's hard to pack in 1200 calories of fruits and veggies, soups, popcorn, rice cakes, etc.)  Also, we don't eat much meat or dairy, so I never really have cravings for it.

3.  If I don't feel hungry, I don't eat.  It's revolutionary, I know.

In no way am I one of those "ohmigod I am SO fat I cant eat 2day" girls.  I'm one of those "gottagetreadyforwork - gottastudychem - gottagettothegym" people who honestly hit about 7:00 p.m. and realize we're famished because breakfast and lunch just totally dropped from our minds.

I know what you mean, all this "oh no it's 10pm and I've only eaten 600calories-what shall i do?" And suggestions of peanut butter cos its so great and full of calories. Although I do love peanut butter, its a treat and Im always thinking about things that fill me up that are low in calories not the other way.

For maintenance, after a long period of weight loss cutting calories, I can understand but for people trying to lose, I agree if they really cant eat that many calories, how did they put on the weight in the first place?

I find it crazy how on this site everyone has jumped on the "NEVER EAT less than 1200 or you'll go into starvation mode" bandwagon. It seems to be some people's set answer for everything. Seriously, if youre on a diet to loose weight surely your aim usually is to reduce calories below what you were consuming before that made you put on weight. Eating 900 one day if your not hungry will balance out if you usually find it hard to restrict below 1500.

 PS. Grapes! Are you mad, don't you know grapes contain like 2 calories each! Room temp water with a squeeze of lemon juice all the way! :p

courtbarb, I hear what you're saying.  Reading your post reminded of skipping meals in college, because I was too busy or forgot to eat.  But I was also consuming a lot of pizza and beer, so I guess things evened out.

I guess I was thinking more of those who claim not to be hungry and consistently don't eat enough.  I mean, at the end of the day, you're hungry and you eat right?

Courtbarb:

I should have thought to add Too Busy/Not willing to eat hi-cal food @ night just to get cals.

There should not be a '1200 minimum cal' mantra - even though this website & other sources agree it is the absolute least number of calories one should eat to get a 'balanced' diet. My girlfriend was told by her trainer [quack?] that she can only eat 900 cals to stay @ her goal weight & she works out @ least four days/week. BLAB, BLAB, BLAB.

Anyone who reads my posts knows that I am the 'weekly calorie' girl; set a goal range & try to stay within it based on your decision.

Vitamins anyone?

 

Yeah, I think I definitely balance out on a weekly basis because I tend to let myself go on the weekends.

And on Halloween, of course.  : D

I guess I'm another one of "those" people...

So what you are saying is that overweight people are overweight because they eat too much... sounds like what I have been hearing from the "skinny" people all my life.

I am 38 years old, 5'3" and weight 151 lbs... about 30lbs overweight.  I have been overweight my entire life and I very rarely eat more than 1500 calories... it's more often around 1000.  I also sometimes forget to eat until I feel my stomach growling.

It's just that I have been eating below 800 calories a day for so long that when I do go over I gain.  Like one piece of pizza will make me gain 3lbs.

So those of you who have been overeating all your life and just woke up one day and looked in the mirror and said "OMG! I 'm fat!" have it a lot easier than those of us who have been restricting calories our entire lives and yo-yoing because one little slip costs us up to 5lbs!  You can just eat a little less than you had been... and complain about it... I'm so hungry (whine).  Have you heard your stomach growl? 

Oh, and trainers are total quacks.  One who took my body fat % told me that, at 19%, I was "borderline overweight".

i'm another person who eats around 800-1200 calories a day. but this is usually because i can't make myself eat anymore. imagine the physical discomfort of after having thanksgiving dinner and eating any more just literally HURTS. i'm not going to continue to eat just to make myself feel sick. maybe my stomach has shrunken or something. haha. but i appreciate it a lot because it has stopped me from having the ability to go on a 3000+ calorie binge like how i used to.

the days when i get around 1200 is when i eat breakfast and have stuff continuously during the day. but i am in college, and usually my mornings consists of getting out of bed and going to class for 4 hours and then having a snack(2pm), dinner(6pm), and then another snack(9pm). that is just what works for me, though.

OK I happen to be one of those people who have found it hard at times to eat the daily 1200 calories.... This does not make me Anorexic in any way! I've just found the right way of eating. Which is Eating Healthy!!!! I used to eat crap like McDonalds, Sonic, Taco Bell ect... and if I wasn't eating fast food crap I was eating crap like pasta alfredo or other stuff that was very high in calories and fat. Here's an example of my eating habits now....

Breakfast: Cereal(160) with 1/2 cup Skim milk(40), Half an apple(43), coffee(black)(9), and a glass of water(0). 

Lunch: Ready Rice Bowl(260), 3oz of grilled chicken breast (110), Broccoli/Cauliflower Mix(35) Diet Coke or Water (0),

 Snack: Other Half of apple (43)

Dinner: Banquet Dinner Microwave Meal (350), Water(0)

Total Calories for the day: 1050

See All I eat & still I didn't reach 1200.

So see you can eat alot and still not reach the 1200 cal minimum....

Ok I'm done with my tirade now. Thanks for listening...:)

haha.."cant eat more than 2 calories a day"i found that funny..didnt read the rest of the posts but i agree..i can contain myself to hold to 1200 calories easily by keeping busy and all but i think its crazy to not be able to get that high..not judging though..dont wanna receive angry messages=[
chelseagirl i would love to split a grape with you..hahai can go for one now or rather half of one

Whitetigress: 

Another great theorist (remember I'm the one who said my friend's trainer told her to eat 900cals???) says you should multiply your goal weight by ten & that is the total cals you should eat everyday.

He lost >100#; I wonder if he has been able to keep it off.

Have you had your thyroid checked? There are a # of metabolic issues that could make it hard - impossible - to lose weight.

Good luck & keep us up to date! 

 

janabm81, have another snack after dinner

For the people always on the run, what about putting things like apples or veggies, bagel, granola bars, crackers, etc in your bag? Then they're always handy. Someone already mentioned peanut butter, the one I have is 100cal per tbsp, so just that could easily get you up to the right calories. I eat one of those 1) cuz it's yummy and 2) when I take my vitamin and fish oil (fish oil and some vitamins are fat soluble, which is why you eat them with food).

Personally I'm happy when I have some extra calorie allowance at the end of the day, then I can be a little bit more free with my snacking. Like yesterday I found myself at just 1075 by 7:30pm, so I treated myself to 1 little debbie cake thingy. At 10 I had some chicken and was able to use how much bbq sauce I wanted. Maybe I'm not the best example since I'm trying to stay under 1700 (from 2100-ish), but if it were me I'd take advantage of those left over calories :P

I understand why for SOME people it can be difficult - recovering from an eating disorder, having dieted too harshly for a long time and now eating a normal amount causes weight gain etc. but there seems to be an abnormally high number of people on here that seem to be trying to LOSE weight who are moaning they cant reach their calorie goal for that to be the case. Im a medic, I know there are various medical problems that make a difference but...the vast majority of people who actually need to lose weight put that weight on for a reason and most of the time its excessive intake in the first place so why NOW do they not think they can do it?

I agree that there are sometimes legitimate reasons that are not eating disorder related for a person to be unable to eat 1200 calories per day.

Illness, Medication, Being vertically challenged, Special diets, No time , etc.

If it's an occasional event, it is not a sign of an eating disorder and your body will take it in stride. If it's a continuing issue it's time to get some help. It may be an eating disorder, it may not be. A person may be naturally short and cannot eat that number of calories without gaining weight. For those who find that 1200 calories is too much, it is highly recommended that they consult a physician and a nutritionist to make sure that they do not have a medical condition and that they are not doing themselves harm.

For those who are not under a doctor's care I suggest that they get more calories by eating calorie dense foods such as peanut butter, ensure, nuts, avocados, etc.

For those who are under a doctor's care I recommend that they either follow their doctor's advice or seek a new physician.

Regarding the teenagers who have raging hormones, mean school mates, and unsupportive families and are convinced that not eating is going to make them everything perfect, I wish I had the magic wand to wave. Reality checks rarely work.

I don't understand how some people have a hard time eating 1200 calories. Technically, I am not overweight, I have a healthy bmi but if I were to have continued eating the way I was I would gain more weight and then I would have an unhealthy bmi. Anyhow, I can eat thousands of calories and still want more, of course I don't eat like that anymore. I actually try to eat 1200 calories a day and its difficult for me not to go over. Some days I wish I had a much smaller apetite because I can eat a lot, but unfortunately I gain weight way too easily,

My best friend is anorexic so I completely get it.  She'll eat a low fat yogurt and call it a meal, even though it's only 100 calories.  Do that every meal, you aren't going to get to 1000 calories much less 1200.

To understand it just think of it as the other side of the same coin.  Her and I both struggle with food issues, we both need to learn to eat healthy.  Overweight people tend to skip meals, so do anorexics. 

First thing her counsler told her to do was eat 3 meals a day.  That's good advice for the overweight as well.  2nd thing she told her to do was add something to each meal.  Yogurt and something else.  I could do with subtracting something at each meal.  It really is just 2 sides of the same coin when you think about it.  But it really took having a anorexic friend sharing her issues for me to see that.  I have always known she's struggled with it, but now she's telling me more about it, and we are helping each other out.  I make sure she eats more, she helps me eat  less.

But of course sometimes I still get evinious of her ability to control so completely her food intake, but then again sometimes she is envious of me being able to eat more and still eat healthy and not feel guilty afterwards.  I only have to worry about the guilt if I eat badly or go way over my calories.  But if I do well and eat healthy I'm estatic, and she could eat the same and feel guilt about every healthy morsel. 

Hope this helps you understand a bit more.