ugh...don't even get near my calorie goal of 1200 daily...any suggestions? (sort of venting, but really need help and support)
ive been trying to get in more calories per day because i know i'm not getting enough. i'm borderline anorexic and have been for a while now and i can't seem to snap out of it. i know my body is in starvation mode. my whole body aches and i'm always cold. and i'm starting to get frustrated. i refuse to eat any junk food whatsoever. the thought of high fructose corn syrup and trans fat and high calories sends a shiver down my spine. blech. so, i haven't even gotten close to hitting my daily calorie goal of 1200 in some time. you have to understand, i really want to get there because i don't want my body to burn muscle and store fat. yet, if i don't know how many calories are in something i won't eat it. and if i'm not hungry i won't eat. and i'm usually not hungry...although sometimes when i am hungry i won't eat, too...it just depends on how OCD i am about my calories i am that day. it's become harder and harder for me to decide what to eat when i know i need to eat something. sometimes ill go back to the fridge 5 or 6 times, but STILL come back empty-handed. yesterday i was so proud of myself, but also felt guilty, because i got up to 1,000 calories. i felt like a pig, but also knew i desperately needed to get a least 200 more calories than that today to keep my metabolism going and keep my body healthy. but guess what my total calories were for today...a whooping 669 calories. i know, i know...thats pretty bad...although not as bad as subsisting on 400...yes i did get that low. ill try to eat something more before i go to bed, but i'm just not hungry. i really just don't know what to do anymore. any suggestions from people who have gone through the same thing?
I know that it is hard if you are not feeling hungry, but I guarantee if you let yourself eat something then your body would thank you and your metabolism would start working and therefore you would gain hunger. I know that my body was not hungry because it was starving and numb!! I hope you are coming here to gain weight and to learn that the place that you are now is not a healthy one.
I am sure that there are many people out there who have been in our position with eds and restricting that are reading this posts and I just want to make sure that you are coming here for healthy advice.
My suggestion is to make yourself, literally force yourself to eat when you are not hungry. My other suggestion is to seek professional help, while confiding in a friend or family member, and to increase your 1200 intake!!!
Please feel free to PM me if you need too....I am worried and hope that you start eating way more for your health!
Oh - I'm so sorry you are going through this! And I haven't been in the same place, just wanted to offer my support and say that it sounds like you are really trying! You will get there! And what's so nice about this web site is that you can easily search and find out how many calories are in things.
Do you like to bake or cook? How about making your own healthy blueberry muffins or granola bars, something easy to grab that is healthy but also yummy and has the calories that you need?
Hon.. you are not "border-line" anorexic.. you probably ARE anorexic. Look at the name you chose for yourself. "piggy"? :( You're not a pig at all. A pig is when someone eats sloppily or messily.. not when he or she eats the calories they NEED to SURVIVE. I think the first step you should take is to seek help from someone other than yourself. That may sound cliche, but there is a reason for it. The recovery rate of anorexics who try to deal with this illness by themselves is very very low. However, as soon as he/she tells someone like a parent, counselor, teacher, or any other caring adult, his/her chances of recovery go way up. Please find someone you can talk do so you DON'T have to deal with this all on your own. CC cannot replace a real, live person on your side!
oh the only reason i chose the name piggy is because i think pigs are cute, not because i constantly think i am one. although i can see how you could have come to that conclusion since in my post i said i felt like a pig...and thank you for your suggestion i'll try to find someone i can talk to asap
Athletes eat things like skinless chicken breast and salmon, salad and vegetables for lunch and dinner. Snacks of raw or dried berries, nuts, fruits. Whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa. Protein shakes of casein and whey.
Try making granola or granola bars with oatmeal and your favorite dried fruits and almonds from the grocery store. Have it as breakfast and/or a snack. Try granola and fruit on yogurt or milk. Dried blueberries and cherries are my favorite, with maple syrup and chia meal granola.
When you surround yourself with healthy quality food, you'll never go "?" when you need something to eat.
why don't you try planning some of your meals the day before? Then you will know exactly what is "allowed" and you can look forward to it and then eat it without feeling guilty.
it kinda seems silly an over eater giving an undereater advice. But your comment about going to the fridge 5 or 6 times, but STILL come back empty-handed struck a cord for me (but for me my hands were always full). I had to stop giving myself so many choices because I just failed to make them correctly.
So I made up a menu with two choices for breakfast, two snack options, 2 lunch choices and 2 dinner choices.
Would it help you to also have a menu?
eg. My breakfast was a measured serve of oatmeal, skim milk, dried furit and nuts OR whole grain weet-bix with skim milk and a banana.
That's it - only options. Of couse, not eating (as you know) is not an option!
Good luck with it.
Original Post by jella:
it kinda seems silly an over eater giving an undereater advice. But your comment about going to the fridge 5 or 6 times, but STILL come back empty-handed struck a cord for me (but for me my hands were always full). I had to stop giving myself so many choices because I just failed to make them correctly.
So I made up a menu with two choices for breakfast, two snack options, 2 lunch choices and 2 dinner choices.
Would it help you to also have a menu?
eg. My breakfast was a measured serve of oatmeal, skim milk, dried furit and nuts OR whole grain weet-bix with skim milk and a banana.
That's it - only options. Of couse, not eating (as you know) is not an option!
Good luck with it.
Hey I do that too! It really works and the thing is that if I have a snack planned for say 9pm at night (I go to bed at 10 or 11) then I can eat my dinner without worrying about it because I already know what I am going to eat later and it's not like I have to save all my calorie
1st it's very important for you to talk to someone, a caring adult in your life...it would be a good idea to see your doctor too for that matter.
also try eating a little every hour, 1c. of something healthy, nuts, baby carrots, a piece fruit, some cooked wild or brown rice, a glass of skim milk, a cup of chicken, a salad, a bowl of oatmeal..doing that could help to build your appetite back up. force yourself if you have to.
and recognize that there is a difference between 'bad' fats and healthy fats...your body does need some healthy fat! Things like nuts, olive oil, avocados, fish...are all good sources of that.
you doe need to up your calorie intake too 1200 is not enough! try reaching that goal and then shoot for 1600...and so on until you are eating enough to maintain a healthy weight!
I am not anorexic by any means lol but I definately know what you are talking about! I try to eat something every two hours and even if I add snacks I still can barely reach 1,200 calories. I know that if I went to MCDonald's or something I could reach that many calories no problem but I am trying to eat healthy things. It is especially bad on the weekends because I get up later and I generally don't eat until 2:00. So sometimes my calorie count for the weekends will only be about 400-600. So I kind of understand where you are coming from.
msladybug-I'm sure you were trying to show support for OP, but I think your post might be counterproductive. Also, I would definitely try to increase your weekend calorie intake. I understand getting busy, but that's way too low and won't keep you healthy.
piggy34 - I think the idea of planning out meals and snacks in advance is a great one. I've also appreciated a "sticky" (I hope it's still here, Linny?) in this forum about calorie dense foods. If I get to 5:00 and am not where I need to be with calories, I often look on that list for suggestions that will meet my cals, without overstuffing my tummy! I find that if I eat three meals and three snacks I am much more successful at getting in my calories. Also, if I'm worried that a particular food might give me too many calories, I just log it on CC before I eat it and then I can see that eating it will be good for me and that I haven't gone "over" my calorie limit. Anyway, it's definitely worth it to keep working at it!
I'm exactly the same. I hardly ever reach 1000 cals let alone 1200. I regularly have between 300-800 cals. The only times I ever get over 1000 are when I have a massive binge of junk,which doesn't happen very often (which is good because I totally freak out the day after and end up working out like crazy and not eating anything)
I mostly eat vegetables and fruit. I know I'm not getting enough protein but the calories in it freak me out. I hate to eat things that are more than 100 cals and all meat is.
I've tried really hard to get up to 1000 cals healthily but so far it hasn't worked. The nearest I've come is just over 900. I've tried the planning meals idea but I never stick to it because I keep looking at the packets and freaking out about the cals or the fat or the sugar content and then I can't eat it.
It's so frustrating because I WANT to be healthy and normal and lose weight like normal people do. It just seems virtually impossible for me.
Sorry, this hasn't given you any advice.....I suppose I just wanted to say that you're not alone in this problem.
Eat something like that for 200 more calories.
In agreeance with a lot of other posters here, try calorie dense foods that are also healthy: peanut butter, nuts, avocado (guacamole!), hummus, certain beans, etc.
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