cc is controlling my life - scary morning

I've read all the posts, I've read all the articles and I'm a very smart girl that knows that no one should eat below 1200 calories/day. However, because of the natural inclination humans have to curiosity, i decided for the last two days to keep my intake under 1000. First day was fine, I went to the gym that morning, ran 3 miles and I was feeling fantastic the next morning when I also ran 3 miles. I ate when I was hungry but I would only snacky things low in calories, last night when I went to bed I was feeling hungry but since it was late and I had already brushed my teeth I decided to ignore it. This morning I had a few balls of melons and headed to the gym but I felt sooo weak, I tried to do interval running and I struggled through it, after i tried to do weights and I had to shug a whole bottle of water b/c I was feeling so dizzy.

Long story short, I know better now. 800 calories/day is only going to make me weaker and sick. I just hope this type of curiosity doesn't come up again and this doesn't end up in anything worse than a 2 day experiment.

Just felt like sharing this cause I never thought I would be the one posting it.

Well, now you know that starving yourself makes you feel like crap and your body will rebel.

Lesson learned, right? 

First off, you're so totally right. Feeling weak and vulnerable and hungry is a horrible experience. It's great that you realize that =D

Second, thank you so much for posting this. Really. It's little posts like these that give me strength to eat more and know that it's okay. When I read posts that bash people who have trouble eating enough, it just beats me down. So thank you for posting something that raises awareness instead discouraging those brave girls trying to recover. =]

Yes, definitely take my word for it. I felt so bad after my workout that I felt like crying for letting myself get to that point and what was so scary about it was thinking that maybe that's how eating disorders start and that maybe I was starting one but I'm feeling so much better now. Thanks for the replies.

you seem to be very reasonable and this experience was probably enough to ward you off any ulhealthy plans:)

Thank you! This post just reminded me that I mustn't let myself fall into that whole I struggled solong to climb out of.

I feel so good now- balanced diet- reasonable amount of excercise controlled excercise everyday... but sometimes I forget how horrible I felt when I was starving myself... you just reminded me.

Thank you.

b

...And that's just the beginning! After starving like that for a while, you can do nothing but sleep and be very very cold all the time! (If you're in school) your grades will slip, friendships will suffer...I'm glad you realize this is not a good idea.

Thank you for posting this :)

I've been curious about a good many things, but never about how starving myself would feel. :-)

Please know that Calorie Count cannot and will not support you eating less than 1200 calories a day. We consider this unhealthy and CC is all about HEALTHY weight loss or weight maintenance.

In your case, your body told you not to do it and I'm very glad that you listened.  Here's the answer our nutrition expert gave when asked if 800 calories a day was enough.

From Mary Hartley, Calorie Count's Director of Nutrition: "By eating only 800 calories, you will not get enough energy, protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other components of food. In time, you could become malnourished, which can cause severe health risks such as respiratory infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and even death."

Why must I eat at least 1,200 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. 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

Your body needs at least 1200 calories per day to survive.

Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a 5' 2", 19 year old female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing:

-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

I am really not sure what the point of this post is ...... but I suggest since you are a very smart girl that you strongly take your own advice and never eat under 1200. In fact, I am sure you probably should be eating more. Human nature might be curious but we also have basic instincts and one is to feed ourselves. I have always been curious about fire but that doesn't mean I am going to stick my hand in it.

Evitarolu - "Yes, definitely take my word for it. I felt so bad after my workout that I felt like crying for letting myself get to that point and what was so scary about it was thinking that maybe that's how eating disorders start and that maybe I was starting one but I'm feeling so much better now. Thanks for the replies."

That has so much merit.  It becomes like a game - how much less can I eat today than yesterday? How much longer can I exercise today?  Just a sick, self-destructive game with yourself.

Just love yourself, eat enough, work out the right amount....be your own best!!

Ok.. i have a stupid question.............  i know i keep reading about the minimum # of calories we must eat... however, many people do religious fasts. you DO NOT EAT 1200 CALORIES when you are fasting! i knew a guy who would fast for a few days, and he was fine! so what is the difference?  what makes that healthier than someone trying to lose weight by eating say 800 calories?  I know with fasting, you are allowed liquids - is that the difference?

Some religious fasts involve only eating during certain hours or only consuming certain types of foods.  If you're talking about monks, I believe that they spend weeks preparing their bodies and years training themselves in whatever that particular practice is and they spend time recovering from their religious fasts too.  Generally the specifics of religious fasts are one of those aspects of a religion that are not detailed to those who do not practice them.

If you're intaking liquids, some can actually contain 1200 or more calories...soda with high fructose corn syrup can be attributed to many extra pounds.

thanks for that answer (on religious fasts).  makes sense.  I haven't done a fast myself so I wasn't sure of the particulars, but I do remember he was doing liquids.

 

 

As was already said, religious fasting or fasting for other spiritual or even detox reasons is either only during certain hours, or only for a few days at most. It is done in a much more controlled manner, and yes, drinking (for example juice detoxes) can easily get you above 1200. On top of this I'm sure these people aren't getting up and working out on an empty stomach. It's a different mindset entirely.

Also, as someone who lived (God only knows how!) on less than 800 calories a day for months, I can tell you it is absolutely terrible. You don't have any energy, you're cold, you're in pain constantly, some days I could barely carry on a conversation because I couldn't pay attention and my voice wasn't strong enough to actually speak out loud for more than a few minutes. I can't believe I would do something like that to myself, I'm so glad you've realized it and stopped! And I hope this is a good warning to anyone else on here considering undereating.