400 kcal breaskfast too much??

on a long drive back to uni i was talking to my friend about weight loss as we both want to lose some. my friend is just under 5' 3'' and last summer lost a considerable amount of weight. i remember when i saw her for an exam after not seeing her for a few weeks and noticing how skinny she was. we then went home for summer and when we came back in october she had put the weight back on again and then some (she reckons she's now about 9.5 stone (133lbs) but thats just a guess so i don't know- she doesn't look big but she doesn't carry her wieght well being small boned and flat chested. anyway while driving she admitted to me that she had actually gotten down to below 7.5 stone (<105lbs).

so we were chatting about what we were going to do to lose the weight and i said that i reckon i could eat about 1500 calories minimum and still lose. she was shocked!!! she said that she would aim for 1200. whilst i know that this is the healthy minimum she then preceeded to tell me what she had been eating when she lost the weight last summer. an apple for breakfast, yoghurt of half soup (200kcal) for lunch and a piece of meat with veg for dinner. this is NO way 1200 calories and i told her so.

but then what she said really annoyed me. she was shocked and said how she couldn't believe that i could eat a 400kcal breakfast! 'how can you eat that much' i said! well i explained i have a fairly substantial bowl of porridge with maybe some milk, a spoonful of yoghurt and some cottage mixed in and some chopped pineapple mixed in to sweeten. or sometimes i'll have two scrambled eggs with some toast and tomatoes. i thought this was a pretty healthy breakfast to lose but she would not get over it. asking didn't i feel bloated afterwards and if it was her she'd either just have the pineapple or just a small bowl or porridge.she just coudnlt believe that i ate such a big breakfast! two eggs???!!! yes two! i tried to explain that her meal plan before obviusly wasn;t that great because she hadn't been able to sustain the weight but she was making me feel really guilty! sometimes i can go to 500 for breakfast but i didn;t dare say that!

ok, now i'm a smart girl so i know that this girl definatiely doesn't have an attitude to eating so i know i shouldn't listen to what she said about her previous diet ( i could never eat that little anyway) but it got me thinking abouth whether it was too much. i don't really excercise but i walk quite a bit i really hate eating below 1500 calories- normally its more like 1800. or 1900! i'm 133 lbs at 5'5'' and want to reach about 125lbs. the thing is i've been bulimic fr the last three years- so glad i didn't confide in her about that she wuld have been disgusted!!!- i've been doing pretty well since christmas- just a few 'episodes' so i don't want to restrict myself in case it triggers a binge.

anyway finally sorry! my question is how many calories to you eat at each meal and is my firend just being an idiot!! could i lose, albeit really slowly, eating this much- lets say 1700? because my sister who has a lovely figure and a pretty good attitude to food- sometimes she eats loads, other days less, just pretty much when shes hungry- told me that when shes at uni she doesn't eat breakfast. so i don't know now.

Original Post by da1uneed:

 Personally I don't think you friend is eating 1200 cal because that what I eat and I eat way more than that!!!!

I try to eat 1,250... I usually go over, but it's ok, because I'm still losing. I set a reasonable but difficult goal, and then as long as my intake is less than I burned, I'm happy. It gives me wiggle room. I started back to CC Monday after getting back into the habit of eating 3,000- 4,000 cals a day and finding 20 of the 30 lbs I lost. BUT since its a recent gain it's coming off rather quickly, especially since a lot of it is water weight.  Your friend is consuming less that 500 calories a day, with almost no fat whatsoever. Yea, it'll work, but she's sabotaging herself.

Personally, I'm a very tall male, so specific numbers of calories aren't comparable, but I have been through (and still am in somewhat of) a very similar situation.  It took me about two weeks of consistent feeding at what should have been my BMR before my metabolism returned to normal.  

And, from a logical point of view, breakfast is the meal from which you are most likely to burn off the calories.  It is also what will make you satisfied throughout the day, making you less likely to go over at later meals.  Studies have shown that people who eat more at breakfast eat fewer calories total during the day.  

I always try to make it my biggest meal.  

I eat 400cal breakfasts... sometimes more. Makes me lively and full of energy during the day... also means I'm not really desperately hungry for the entire day, so all the food I eat is my choice and enjoyment rather than an urgent need. Which in turn makes you more willing to cook something nice or wait for something worthwhile rather than just wolf something down because it's the first bit of food you find. So I honestly think a nice big breakfast gives you far more control and enjoyment over your eating for the rest of the day.

Most days I eat: two slices of toast with butter, a poached or boiled egg, a small bowl of tinned fruit, yoghurt, and sometimes another piece of fruit on top of that like a clementine. I also drink about FIVE CUPS OF TEA which is ridiculous but whatever. I don't have milk or sugar in tea so it's not a calorie issue... but it's still ridiculous! Occasionally I drink de-caf out of guilt, haha.

The only thing I find (personally) is that if I eat fry-up style breakfasts, I feel very bloated and stagnant.

I eat about that for breakfast now and I find myself having such an easier time sticking to my goal through the rest of the day. I eat 2 eggs (fried in Smart Balance) with 2 pieces of toast (dry) and a cup of skim milk for breakfast, and it's wonderful. I feel satisfied and energetic until lunch. I usually eat a lighter lunch (about 300 cal) and a bigger dinner (around 600) for a total around 1350 cal (that's my daily goal) and I'm 5'4", 166lbs, just getting back on track after the holidays.

I find that the secret for me is eating a balanced breakfast. I need my protein, carbs, fat and dairy to feel my best, but I can do ok as long as i have protein and a little carbs.

I generally get just about 400 calories for breakfast.  If I have much less, then I'm looking for a snack in a couple of hours anyhow.

I wasn't counting when I was at my healthiest, lowest weight, but my breakfast would be something like three eggs, a cheese stick, and an apple; just about 400 calories.

Think it's possible she's just trying to make herself feel better by knowing she eats less than you?

Oh, and a side note: I was shocked to see people on here saying that a teen can actually LOSE weight on 2000 calories a day. That used to be a binge to me until I got myself back on track, so she's probably in the same "starvation mode" boat.