This is NOT healthy, of that I'm sure you're aware. Do not go down this road. If by yourself you cannot get yourself to eat a healthy amount of calories, seek help through a therapist, nutritionist specializing in disordered eating or doctor. I don't know how tall you are, but with that many kids you are definitely fairly active and should probably be eating in the 1600-2100 range for weight loss. Remember, slow and steady will keep the weight off and enable you to both lose and maintain on a significant number of calories.
Use other ways to lose, not starvation. This only leads to eventual weight gain/yo-yo dieting or eating disorders. It will consume/destroy your body and mind, and is not a healthy lifestyle you'd want your kids to adopt.
Give us your stats, age, height, activity level and I'm sure someone here can give you a healthy regime to follow.
You are severely undereating and need AT LEAST 1200 calories a day, most likely more. Need your age/weight/height/activity level to help.
Wowzers. You absolutely cannot lose weight in a healthy way on such low calories. You will likely lose weight, undoubtedly, but you will see post after post of people speaking of the negative consequences of losing weight with severe calorie cutting.
Having kids can sometimes do interesting things to your metabolism. It's likely that you will have to far more conscious of what you are eating and far more strategic in terms of weight and cardio training to kickstart your weight loss.
Many people get frustrated when they start a reduced calorie diet (1200 likely is a good number for you) because the pounds don't come off immediately. But there is such a long list of balancing that your body needs to go through in order for you to actually see a reduction on the scale. You might not see weight loss on the scale for a few weeks after you initiate a reduced calorie diet.
If you don't have much of an appetite then try to get a chunk of your calories from liquids like a protein drink or smoothie with a good quality protein powder in it. As well, it likely will be easier for you to graze throughout the day then pack in huge meals if you are not feeling like eating.
If when you have kept your calories within the healthy range 1200-1000* at absolute minimum combined with some weight training & cardio & you still haven't lost one pound after being consistent for a few weeks, then I would recommend seeing your doctor to get your thyroid tested. If he/she tells you its normal, then go to see a good naturopath for assistance. *As well, note, you will have to eat more than this minimum when you are exercising and replace some of the calories you have burned off. And don't get on the scale until you have consistently followed your program for a few weeks. You will just get frustrated if you see if up 1/2 a pound or something. Your body fluctuates so much, and it is better to follow the trend over a month instead of getting excited about daily ups and downs.
I have lost weight before through overexercising and severe calorie reduction. You don't want to do it. As soon as you start to eat normal & taper off the exercise the weight will come back on. Slowly & surely is better. If you commit to healthy weight loss then you will likely be well on your way to your goal in 3 months. 30 lbs is a sizable chunk to lose, but not that much in the grand scheme.
Best of luck :)
L
You have a BMR of 1400 and I would not recommend eating less than that. If you are fairly active you probably burn at least 1900 a day, likely more. I would keep your deficit around -500 a day. Depending on how intense your daily workouts are, your intake will change, but I would not drop below 1400.
"Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited."
I'm not a moderator, however you are posting against guidelines by saying you can't get yourself to eat more.....
I'm sorry you seem to be struggling, but you wouldn't allow one of your kids to get away with eating so little, so why would you allow it for yourself? You can't be a good caretaker if you aren't first taking care of yourself. eventually you are going to end up with a lot of pyschological/emotional and physical problems if you don't eat more and you will end up skinny fat because in order to fuel your body its going to start taking protein from your muscles.
try eating small amounts during the day: like 100 calories every two hours or something. You can get that in an apple or banana, then time have a slice of bread with something on it (PB is good), then next have some veggies, you can have quite a large salad for only a hundred or 150 calories!
Best of luck to you. This is a great place to be for help with meal planning, support, etc. But you have to be willing to try to do it the right way! Oh and don't forget to drink water or tea and steer clear of coffee as it is a diuretic and sugary beverages as much as you can, unless its something like a smoothie you make from fresh berries, veggies, etc at home!
If you only eat 100-400 calories a day, you probably have an eating disorder. I'd talk to your doctor about your inability to up the calories. There might be something alot more serious going on then you are even aware of.
That can be easily remedied, at least some of them are in school, right? The rest you eat when they eat. There is always time to grab a snack on the run, carrots fit easily into your pocket. I'm sure you take snacks for your children when out, right? take enough you can nibble on as well.
You may not purposely be promoting ED or disordered thinking, but there are many folks here who ARE suffering with ED and when you talk about how you "can't" eat enough or whatever you may unknowingly be promoting it for them, and when you say you never eat that much and don't have time to eat more you are making excuses as to why you are not eating more. I understand, having lots of kids is tough, but again, you can't be a good mother if you are too sick to care for your children.
I have a question, do you snack throughout the day when you are preparing meals for the kids? you may be eating more than you think, especially if you are eating and not aware of it.
While I don't have five kids, I do have two. I also work full-time. I find time to eat during the day.
What are you doing while they're eating breakfast and lunch? If they are "eating healthy" then why aren't you preparing the same thing for your meals and eating while they're eating?
Don't starve yourself. You can lose by eating 1,400 or more; why eat so little?
Sorry, but if you really do eat under 300 calories a day, you DO have a problem and are in denial. Perhaps you are misjudging how many calories you eat? What do you eat in a typical day?
Original Post by cary2good:
Im not starving myself.while the two toddlers r eating i am watchins the baby.she is 12 weeks and has bad reflux so she requires a lot of attention.she is in and out of hospital.my doc told me of this site to help me wit support wit my weight loss.but yet all im getting is uve got a prob.i dont
Yet you say you are having a hard time even eating 300 calories a day! That is starvation. I understand how difficult a child with special needs can be, I have one. He was born 7 weeks early and is autistic. While he's 5.5 now, he's still a handful. However, I did try to eat when he was little. at the time I also had a four year old and she and I were at the hospital almost all day every day, I was also taking a math class. I had homework, going to school a preschooler, and an infant in the hospital. I still found time to eat enough to keep not only myself healthy, but to keep my milk supply adequate for feeding my baby.
You WILL get support, but not if you are going to insist on not eating enough food. We are trying to support you and tell you that you CAN and SHOULD eat more and lose the weight you are so unhappy with. We are also supporting you in telling you that if you don't start making a conscious effort to eat more, you are going to get sick and then be no good for ANY of your children. I know that the baby probably needs to be held in an upright position for quite a while after she eats, but that doesn't mean that you can't still eat when the toddlers are eating. can you put the baby in a tummy pack to keep her upright? then you'll have the use of both of your arms to eat and help the toddlers.
We want to support you, but at least for me, all I'm hearing is excuse after excuse to not eat enough to fuel your body.
If you are eating less than your BMR which in your case is roughly (1400 calories per day) you are not doing what this site asks. You are not giving your body the food/energy it needs. You owe it to yourself and your children to eat ATLEAST your BMR of 1400 calories per day. A spoon full of peanut butter, a big glass of whole milk and a couple extra peices of fruit is all you need but it will REALLY help with the energy and you'd be suprised at how much more weight you will lose and how much better you will feel. I'm all for eating at your BMR and big calorie deficits but I (and all medical professionals) say never eat below your BMR. You will only injure your body long term and your babies deserve to have the best and healthiest you possible correct? Think of them not yourself please.
Cary. We are trying to support healthy and sustainable weight management. You are starving yourself (eating less than half the calories you burn maintaining) which is neither healthy nor sustainable.
Okay, you have a baby with a medical condition that needs pretty constant supervision. My suggestion, then, is to have a lot of prepared foods on hand so you can eat quickly with very little effort. Do you have time when someone else is around to help with the kids? You could use that time to prepare your food for the week. Things like:
- Boiled eggs
- Carrots, celery, apples, avocados, tomatoes
- Cottage cheese
- Yogurt
- Oatmeal (you can soak oats in liquid overnight and simply reheat)
- Peanut butter
- Beans
- Bread and/or tortillas
- Bagged salads
- Frozen mixed veggies
- Milk
- Canned fish
There are so many things you can do with what I listed. Make an egg salad sandwich/wrap using plain yogurt mixed with mashed boiled eggs, lettuce and tomato. Tortilla, beans, avocado, plain yogurt. Bagged salad, egg, avocado, canned fish with olive oil or red wine vinegar. Frozen mixed veggies, canned fish and a glass of milk. Peanut butter on apples with yogurt. So on and so forth.
You can lead a horse to water...
