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600 Calories a day, effects?

The first time on here I found out that on avg I eat about 500 to 700 calories a day, and it isn't on purpose.  Usually I eat 2 yoplait yogurts, granola, 2 diet sodas, and 1 easy mac.  I am not trying to diet, it is just that even eating just that much makes me full, and I am never really hungary.  If I try to eat more, it feels like I am shoving the food into my stomach.  I have eaten like this for years and always weighed the same 120 pounds at 5'7".  I have read that eatting this little is not healthy but does that apply to me?

It is a very unhealthy habit.  500 calories is the amount of calories most people eat in a meal, not a day.

Oh this is so stupid. Of course this is unhealthy and you know that. Like others here on CC I am also totally fed up with these kinds of posts - can we lock it please?

OP - posting guidelines: Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited.

Yes of course it applies to you.   You probably eat more than 500-700 cals in reality or you'd be dead by now.  

I don't know how old you are but the effects of prolongued malnutrition and chronic undereating tend to accumulate over time.  Young bodies can withstand all kinds of abuse but, as you get older, you'll suffer.  Your diet is very low in iron, for example so you're looking at anaemia.   The absence of fruit and vegetables in your diet will have a similar effect and a total lac of Vitamin C could put you at risk of scurvy.  2 yoghurts are probably just about giving you enough calcium but, even so, I think you're looking at osteoporosis in a few years' time.  I've no idea what an 'easy mac' is but it doesn't sound particularly nutritious.   I'd be surprised if you weren't constipated, felt cold all the time, tire easily.   Your lack of appetite is typical of someone who is chronically malnourished.  Your weight is obviously being kept artifically low by eating so little and having a BMI below 19 puts you in the way of things like amenorrhea... loss of periods.  It's not good all round

A healthy person your size over the age of 21 needs about 2000 cals a day to function well physically and mentally.   Suggest you work towards that now that you know that eating so little isn't healthy.  If you're not sure what a healthy diet looks like, this is a good resource http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/eightti pssection/8tips/  If you find it physically difficult to eat more then you should probably see your doctor.

Posting Guidelines

Calorie Count's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management. Please help our moderators follow this vision and respect the following guidelines.

• Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited.

How is it an eating disorder if I maintain a healthy weight?

If this has been your eating habit for many years, it will feel uncomfortable eating more as your stomach shrinks to what it is used to. 

I would say the lack of variation is unhealthy as well as the overall calorie intake.  Your BMI is quite low at that rate, close to the underweight margin.  Does eating this little a day give you low energy levels?  It would definately be better to eat more, your internal organs will be suffering from lack of protein and general nutrition. 

If you want to increase your intake, try small volume but high calorie snacks like nuts.  It will help your stomach slowly stretch so it is less uncomfortable.

Original Post by tlstrang:

How is it an eating disorder if I maintain a healthy weight?

'Exhibit signs of an eating disorder'...

What you're doing subjecting yourself to voluntary malnutrition by deliberately starving yourself.  You may or may not have an eating disorder (that's for a doctor to determine) but your appalling eating habits cannot be called healthy, you don't appear to want to change matters, and therefore your post goes against CC's rules because we don't promote starvation diets here. 

You're going to find (if you haven't already) that there's a world of difference between 'a healthy weight' and 'a healthy body'.  You may technically be a healthy weight, just.  But your body is not going to be in good shape.

If you want to get yourself out of this situation and improve your chances of a healthy future by increasing your intake and making better dietary choices, we'll help you.  But if, as it sounds at the moment, you think everything's hunky-dory and straightforward biology doesn't apply to you... you've no place here.

you clearly don't have an eating disorder if you are doing this unconsciously, its juts disorder eating because you are eating so few calores and maintaining on so few calories which clearly shows that may not be your natural body weight. trying increaseing your portions or adding foods that have higher cals until you hit 1800.

And you know, it isn't even worded like you want to change this. I join the ranks of those sick of logging on and seeing this sort of thing taking over ALL the forums. And screw the 'if you don't like it, don't read it' crap because it is overflowing into every topic. I log on, I have to read it in the subject lines over and over before I get to normal posts.

And before I get slammed, I am not saying anything about not using the forums/site as a means to get well. That's not the feel of this post and so many I see.

FYI, yes it's unhealthy. Join us here if you want to learn a more stable eating practice

Why eating only 1200 calories or undereating doesn't work

In the long run, you won’t lose weight faster by eating 1200 calories a day.  Under-eating deprives your body of essential nutrients and leads to muscle breakdown to provide energy.  With less muscle, you require fewer calories and you reach a weight low plateau more quickly.  Restrictive dieting also places you at risk for binge-eating which can lead to weigh gain and a life of yo-yo dieting. Use the Calorie Target calculator in the Tools section to figure out how many calories a day you need and set yourself up for lasting weight loss success.

Why must I eat at least 1,500 calories a day when I want to eat less?

In order to get the daily food servings you need for a balanced diet, it takes about 1200 calories a day (1500 for teenage females, 1800 for teenage males). With careful planning, you could have a balanced diet on 1000 calories, but the restrictiveness of a very low calorie level can lead to binging and weight cycling, which will take you further from your weight loss goal. What's more, very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight.

Will I go into starvation mode if I eat 1000 – 1200 calories a day?

Your body will not selectively burn stored fat because your central nervous system needs glucose and you can’t make glucose from fat. But protein can be converted to glucose, and so the body breaks down your muscles to provide it. Ultimately, you lose lots of muscle along with fat, and that drives down your calorie requirements because muscle burns calories but fat does not. You then maintain a higher weight on less food making weight gain inevitable.

Bottom line is though, Calorie Count is all about healthy weight management and we cannot and will not support you consistently eating 500-700 calories.