|
Low calorie obsession
Hi guys! So For a really long time (at least three years) I've been crazy worried about my weight. I'm female, 5'9, and weigh 136lbs. I almost never eat over 950 calories unless I'm out of town for the day, and I go to the gym and work off around 150-200 calories. On days I don't go to the gym, I eat around 700. Today I ate 644 calories. My mom thinks I may be giving myself low blood sugar, and my dad thinks Ive put myself into starvation mode, and I think it may be an eating disorder. The thing about this is, I have another condition that makes me pass out more often than normal, and when I eat too few calories I black out and sometimes pass out. What will happen if I continue eating like this? And is low calorie intake the same thing as under eating? I know calories is what you need to live, so does anyone have an answer? And by the way, I honestly don't think I can stop this eating habit, just in case some say eat food with higher calories. Thank you in advance!
[ ]
Want to answer more questions in the Health & Fitness category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Nutrition?
Go vegan. I went vegan this year and have lost 40 pounds, with minimal exercise, bringing down my BMI from 30 to 24. I weigh less now than I did throughout high school, as an overweight teenager, even when I exercised for hours while on Junior Varsity and Varsity sports teams.
My goal for next year is to lose 30-40 more pounds, I just need to start exercising on a regular basis. Nothing crazy, just 30-60 minutes of jogging, Ballet Beautiful, bike riding.. things like that.
I think it's amazing what I've accomplished so far, just by changing my diet, though. It's a lot easier to go vegan than it seems. I was never vegetarian, I went from being able to eat an entire box of pizza or entire tub of ice cream in one sitting to a full-fledged vegan. I now spend a lot less money on groceries, have more energy (never need caffeine, and never feel lethargic like I used to on a regular basis), have more concentration, and etc. Try it for a week, that's how I started, and I felt so good that I just kept going, and it's now been 5 months! You can get every nutrient from plant foods, including protein!
Where do you get your protein?! 10 comebacks from a Vegan.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
The only vitamin you need to supplement is B12, and one I personally recommend is Garden of Life's B12 spray (cause I personally hate swallowing pills, and methylcobalamin is better than cyanocobalamin). You can buy it at any health foods store (Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, etc.), or online.
More on vitamin B12
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
These two movies turned me into a vegan overnight.
Forks Over Knives
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Processed People
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Cowspiracy
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Here are some good YouTube channels that have helped me, too.
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Good luck!
]
Hey there!
You appear to weigh very little for your height, and I kinda understand what you're going through a little bit, because I eat around 700-900 calories a day, because I've been very sick and it's physically hard for me to eat. Nothing about starvation. Too much food just doesn't fit in my body, and people tell me I don't eat enough, but I can't eat more. I'm really tiny. So what I try to make sure is that I eat healthy when I do eat, and when I'm hungry, I eat! No excuses!
In general, most people that starve themselves end up gaining weight... If you black out or pass out, that is truly unhealthy, so when you feel faint, make sure to eat something! Again, when you're hungry, EAT! But try to make sure you eat enough before you start feeling faint.
A low calorie "obsession" sounds like an eating disorder. You'll have to see someone who specializes in eating disorders to know if you have one. People get seriously ill not only from overeating, but also from under eating. You know you are under eating when you black out or pass out from hunger...
What will happen if you continue eating like this? I don't think you can go on like that forever and again, people end up gaining weight. You could become anorexic and I have friends who have been hospitalized for that. It's not fun. At all.
For me, it's physically hard to eat, but I know that when I do eat in moderation I feel better instantly and have more energy. Under eating has been linked to depression and anxiety, and low blood sugar like your mom said, and other unpleasant, difficult illnesses.
I saw a pretty funny post recently:
Remember a time before Facebook when no one cared what you had for breakfast? They still don't.
And it had a picture of a very lavish breakfast.
I think you should get help, because it's not healthy at all.
The way you look really doesn't matter to anyone.
Those who mind, don't matter.
Those who matter, don't mind.
~Dr. Suess
Just remember that. In life in general.
Good luck!
xoxo
~alexisgirlie
]
Your extremely-low calories are actually stopping you from losing weight, as your metabolism has slowed to a halt in order to focus on keeping you alive.
Increase your calories slowly to avoid completely freaking out your body. I guarantee you will not be blacking out as much and will feel much better.
]
I'm not a doctor so I can't sit here and tell you whether or not you have an eating disorder.
What I can tell you is that something is definitely wrong and you do need to see a doctor. You also realize something is wrong or else you wouldn't be writing to us.
If something is out of control, most likely something is wrong. You said yourself you don't think you can stop eating like this.
From what I've studied, we should be eating around 2,000 calories, give or take for each person. Obviously not crap food, but good food.
My advice is to go see a doctor. They'll diagnose you and from there you can start working on your health.
]
Difficult to say, but eating disorders are more typically indicated by an irrational belief on the part the sufferer that they are 'really fat'. Even when they get to the point of significant malnutrition and are little more than 'skin and bone' they still believe they are fat, and still see a fat person in the mirror. You strike me more as becoming a little bit too health/weight obsessed. You've got some pretty exact and specific figures here comparing your calorie intake and useage. In essence, yes a low calorie intake is the same as undereating. But it's not the same as an eating disorder which is a (bad) sort of coping mechanism and has psychological and self-image entailments. While your calorie intake exceeds those you use you will not actually starve to death. But remember that the biological mechanisms of just 'living' (respiration, digestion of the food itself, brain activity and so on) are ALSO burning calories. A good example of the input/output balance might be a predatory animal (say one of the big cats, leopard etc). The energy it will stand to gain from eating it's prey has to exceed the energy it will use running it down, catching and killing it. If the cat gets it wrong too many times (the hunt is long and hard, and/or maybe he doesn't catch it at all) he's in trouble. Don't want YOU getting in trouble, do we?
Low blood sugar will tend to give you muscle cramping, feelings of extreme fatigue, difficulty concentrating. Followed by shaking. Eventually you'll pass out in extreme cases. You've got a tendency to blacking out. So you really DO need to keep an eye on getting enough energy into your body mate. Our bodies do have signals when we need more energy. Heart speeding up, bit of a sweat, a shake in your hand? Feel a bit light-headed or 'fuzzy'? You need to get some sugar into you quick. Hunger is simply a signal our body sends to our mind that we need more input. If you feel mad hungry after the gymn, or at random times....EAT SOMETHING! Our bodies 'first choice' for energy conversion is the sugars. (there are different types). Carbohydrtae converts to sugar. So taking in both will 'fuel' you. It's not actually that keen on burning fats, oddly enough. But it's the unburnt sugars/carbs that TURN to fat (to be stored away in/by your body). It's been a lot of 'background' stuff so far. In the practical sense, OK you want to be fit and healthy and be a nice 'shape'. That's great. But don't overdo things mate! And get all the dope. How about doing some research on the net about good weight for your age and height and stuff? Body Mass Index. Typical calorie intake. Excercise 'burn rates' , and what regime might be specific to the parts of your body you want to especially hone, tone-up and polish-up? Has your gym got personal trainers? Many have . If so discuss all this stuff with him/her. Mention the black-out condition though. I doubt it will rule-out exercie, but you might need to 'tweak' the work-out amount/duration or type. Or maybe taking some glucose tablets/drinks or something? Weight isn't the single factor remember. Muscle weighs more than fat. A well-toned, in-shape young woman looks FAR better (to other women, and us guys!) than one who is just 'skinny'. No-one 'sees' your actual weight. Hope there's SOMETHING in here that might be of help?
]
More Questions: |