Not enjoying, so not eating.

Hey all, I'm only a few lbs off my target, and I do the whole "excercise and eat little in the week and eat maintainance at the weekend" thing. 

But, this will sound odd, I just don't want to eat a "treat" meal if it's not right. For example, on Saturdays, my parents get fish and chips, and I love it. (I don't even live with them, as I'm a student, so we barely do it all together) But, my dad forgot to get the mushy peas (which I always have. I mean, always since I was a small child. It's really weird he "forgot") and so I don't want to eat it. I've eaten the fish, but i don't want the chips without the peas.

This leaves me at just 700 cals for today, which is awful, but it's 7pm,  and im not hungry and feeling - I don't know dissapointed. I just feel whats the point of eating, I might as well diet today and not have my fun treat day.

Is this normal?

ok - this may seem harsh but this is a little petchalent. in the same way that emotionally over eating is strongly advised against it is the same for undereating. this could easily become a habit or a pattern and undeniably there is an associated 'buzz' acheived here.

you know your body needs more. its different i you say you are feeling unwell. but i dont think thats the case. i have often felt it. but its something you need to rebel against. have a sandwich and a bananna or even treat yourself to a mars bar. i know ppl here will scream 'oh nooo not the crappy calories of a mars bar'. but 700 is not enough. i dont know your stats but you know you need at least 500 more.

dont screw your body. it works hard for you and deserves a little more than this sulky attitude.

no, you really need to eat things that you may not like, no matter how close ou are to your weight goal. 

in the thick of my ed i would only eat boca burgers if they were piping hot. that's how i liked them best, so if they weren't hot they were a waste of calories.

now i'm not like that, but i still have some issues. i don't have a problem with carbs/fats/sugars like muffins, pancakes, cookies, ice cream, etc, because they are delicious!!! i love them and truly understand that it's unhealthy to restrict the things i like. but i have a harder time with carbs like rice, pasta, potatoes, and pizza, because i just don't like the taste. if i don't like the taste that much, why eat them? why use up the calories?

answer: because it's normal eating. to be recovered we need to be able to eat other people's food, and accept that in some situations we will not be presented with our favorite options but still need to eat to keep out bodies healthy. 

some people may not "like" what im about to say but here it is.

I do the SAME thing. At the end of my work day (which can be late) i sometimes decide not to eat, even if i "should" because i havent had dinner. If im going to bed at 10 anyways.. i just decide not to eat anything because i dont seem the point of consuming calories if i dont need the energy. my boyfriend knows i hate to eat dinner after 7 so we try to get it in beforehand. if i need to eat for the sake of going out, thats one thing. p.s. if you dont want to eat fries, dont eat them!theyre empty calories anyways. grease is bad for the stomach and digestion.

but if youre gonna beat urself up for it, find a light snack. but yes, its normal.. and if its not.. then ill be a weirdo with you (along with my roommate who has no problem with food or her weight)

Original Post by bri927:

some people may not "like" what im about to say but here it is.

... p.s. if you dont want to eat fries, dont eat them!theyre empty calories anyways. grease is bad for the stomach and digestion.

 okay, well, i'm glad you know that. now i don't have to say anything.

and disagree about the fries.

sorry.

Sometimes eating is simply to fuel your body.  It's not always for enjoyment.  Get your calories to the minimum for the day.  You'll still have plenty of room for a special treat if you want one or choose another day to have a cheat meal, but get to the minimum on all other days.

Original Post by bri927:

some people may not "like" what im about to say but here it is.

I do the SAME thing. At the end of my work day (which can be late) i sometimes decide not to eat, even if i "should" because i havent had dinner. If im going to bed at 10 anyways.. i just decide not to eat anything because i dont seem the point of consuming calories if i dont need the energy. my boyfriend knows i hate to eat dinner after 7 so we try to get it in beforehand. if i need to eat for the sake of going out, thats one thing. p.s. if you dont want to eat fries, dont eat them!theyre empty calories anyways. grease is bad for the stomach and digestion.

but if youre gonna beat urself up for it, find a light snack. but yes, its normal.. and if its not.. then ill be a weirdo with you (along with my roommate who has no problem with food or her weight)

this is possibly the most ridiculous post i have ever seen on here. i hate when people give advice like this. these little ideas ("i don't need the energy because i'm going to bed" - your body still needs calories to work, you don't just eat because you have to do something!) are seeds of an eating disorder and you're encouraging it. please don't give advice if you don't know what the hell you are talking about.

oh p.s. it's not normal.

I agree with the majority here - you need to eat more regardless of whether or not it constitutes favourite foods. It would be different if you were eating a good amount and decided to stop part way through a meal because you were satisfied; that is normal. I also understand the feeling of not wanting to eat a treat if it isn't right - but that doesn't mean not eating anything instead! When you are undereating by so much, you need to make an effort to up the calories. Not being hungry is not always an indication that you don't need food - undereating (including dieting) can reduce your appetite because your metabolism slows down.

Your body needs calories regardless of the time of day to perform everyday functions like digestion, cell repair and maintenance, respiration etc - so eating at night does not make you fat; overeating in general does.

As for fat being bad for digestion - wrong again. Fat actually lubricates your digestive system and helps prevent constipation (as well as having hundreds of other vital functions in our bodies).

The other issue is - why were you at only 700 calories for the day before dinner? Even on a weight loss diet, that is low. For maintenance, you could easily eat fish and chips and mushy peas and still have a big deficit if all you have eaten before that is 700 calories.

this is possibly the most ridiculous post i have ever seen on here. i hate when people give advice like this. these little ideas ("i don't need the energy because i'm going to bed" - your body still needs calories to work, you don't just eat because you have to do something!) are seeds of an eating disorder and you're encouraging it. please don't give advice if you don't know what the hell you are talking about.

oh p.s. it's not normal.

p.s.s. not everyone who watches what they eat have problems with an E.D.

for one

and for two i dont think its fair of you to belittle anyone based on a different way of thinking. she asked if she was "normal" what should we do yell at her? "no you arent normal. sorry msfayea... you are a freak and doing it all wrong.." get out of here.

and MAYBE you should read all the way through bc in there is says that i too suck it up and eat for the sake of meeting daily caloric intake. and by the way, i HAVE studied nutrition and i know anatomy so i do kind of "know what the hell im talking about"

have a great weekend and godbless =)

Part of recovery is being flexible. Sometimes a meal is not going to be "perfect" You may go to a restaurant and they will be out of an item and that is the time to be flexible and still enjoy. I wonder if you have OCD? Do you feel you have to have other things in life in a certain way? Do you see rationally how it does not make sense because there are no peas to not eat the meal? You said he forgot and put it in quotes and I wonder if you are trying to get back at him by not eating though in reality it is hurting you. If you felt this was done on purpose it is time to use your voice. If you are underweight and only ate 700 you are like 1800 too low. There are times that people without ed issues may skip a meal but it is very rare and does not set off a cycle of destruction. Most healthy people even if they are not hungry will eat because they know that their bodies need fuel.

Edit: Whoops, wrong post.

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my post - I know it's a bad idea to eat less, and I should eat, even if I'm not enjoying it.  After I made the post (and my family had gone to bed, or else they would've yelled at me for not eating the dinner but eating now - yes, it has happened before) I went and got myself a huuuge sammich and some biscuits - so I definately wasn't under-eating :)

I was just dissapointed and upset, with that lump in my stomach you get from feeling dissapointed. I am funny with food - and I think abbi333 has a point that I could be OCD. I have a few quirks, and I guess they must affect food, too. I just want to be slim so badly that I feel it's a waste to eat when I don't want it. (But, as I said, I was feeling much less sulky later and made up for it with some yummy things :))

As for normal - who is normal? ;) Obviously not me, cheers for that support ;)

Big hugs for bri927 who understood what I feel - i'm definately not starving myself, and I never go below my limit - just sometimes you can get a close to 1200 day without being hungry, right? As long as its balanced.

Original Post by bri927:

some people may not "like" what im about to say but here it is.

I do the SAME thing. At the end of my work day (which can be late) i sometimes decide not to eat, even if i "should" because i havent had dinner. If im going to bed at 10 anyways.. i just decide not to eat anything because i dont seem the point of consuming calories if i dont need the energy. my boyfriend knows i hate to eat dinner after 7 so we try to get it in beforehand. if i need to eat for the sake of going out, thats one thing. p.s. if you dont want to eat fries, dont eat them!theyre empty calories anyways. grease is bad for the stomach and digestion.

but if youre gonna beat urself up for it, find a light snack. but yes, its normal.. and if its not.. then ill be a weirdo with you (along with my roommate who has no problem with food or her weight)

 food is needed to eat breathe SLEEP . it is the overall amout eaten that determines how much we weigh . if your low on calories and its bed time you need to eat regardless of whether you are going to bed or not, the fact being you havnt eaten enough for your daily requirement for the day the time is evalavent . nout wrong with frys everything in moderation. i always eat a good supper dispite the fact im lying down all night. sorry to distract away from the post  i just felt it needed to be said

it is also worth noting in life things dont always go to plan or as we like but it doesent mean we cant make the most of what we do have.

you need to eat more regardless of if its right or what what you want h x

I fight this from time to time as well.. but I have a hard time sleeping feeling really hungry. I try not eat after 5 pm and will try to get away with it  if my mind will let me.  I can see this.  Being in recovery is a hard phase as those of us trying to get our goals met. I understand what you have been going through and I feel for you deeply. I can let my diet go out of wack as I have a tendancy to  get extreme and or have an addition in things here and there.

I have always had issues with food and diet either not enough or too much. My last diet 5 years ago was terrible.  Nothing else worked for me... eating smaller portions made me want it more and I rebelled overate and said forget it. Then starved.

I find myself now not getting in enough calories even being overweight on a diet.. I am constantly exercising and  I can see it becoming addictive because I  feel the results. Wanting to lose this so desperately i have too much energy and try and use up every calorie I eat.

I didnt enjoy the foods I ate that lead me to being overwieght. It was stress eating.. and working at the same time.. I would eat as fast as I worked.. when I caught a breather I cannot even remember getting any joy from foods I ate only how fast i did eat. Not to mention it was fast food brought to me as I had no time to cook or let alone any 'me' time...This went on for over half a year. Just like 5 years ago i starved myself and when you do this you do not get enough fluid intake.. (you don't drink as much as you dont have sodium intake..you have nothing to digest).. I was admitted into the emergency room several times for dehydration. 

I know that either way we have to find a healthy medium as food is not a tool to hate or  to love  but a means that our bodys need this to perform and function normally.

Pushing either way to the limit I have been both. Being healthy and feeling good is a way of life and needs to be worked on every day.

I so struggle with this more then I can even admit. Typing it out does help but making myself believe my own word about food is a struggle I fight all the time.

I wish you all the luck in the world on your progress.