Eating Disorders Support Group

Eating disorders are marked by an obsessive need to control the intake and/or purging of food. This community is dedicated to those struggling on the road to recovery. Join to discuss your experience with others and find support. Get advice, ask questions, and meet others who are going through similar struggles.

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Healthy calorie intake? (Venting)

101swoop101
101swoop101
My counselor says that 1000 calories a day is still too low. She says people diet at around 1500 calories...................that is a lot of calories.....I'm doing good to be ok with sticking around 800 calories. I have issues with restriction, starving, and binging......if I didn't loose control and started binging in the first place, I would still be at an acceptable weight. I'm trying to lose weight, but I can't wrap my mind around the fact that I need to eat more than 1000 calories to do so????? I don't get that. I really feel like it's gonna backfire and make me gain even more, since I've dealt with restricting for so long (over a decade). I want to be skinny again! And most of me just want to starve and restrict like crazy, and once I get down to the pants size I know I am supposed to be wearing, I will stop.

I said I was ok with talking about real recovery, but I don't want to eat 1500 calories or more.....I really feel like crying right now. I feel like, as long as I don't obsess and stay in control, I wont have an eating disorder. As long as it doesn't control me, it's not a disorder. And I really can't stand living another year as fat and wide as I am! I've always thought I was fat, and I stayed in control and fought the urge to get skinnier......but when I started binging and actually did gain weight, my world started to spin out of control, and I felt so devastated! I know that I will be happy once the weight is gone :( If I could lose this weight, I so promise I will be happy with my body size and I wont pick at myself like I used to. I will enjoy the size I am, if I can get down.....and really, it's just 4 pants sizes......I just need to drop about 4 pants sizes.......why is it so hard? I need to force myself to come up with a diet plan, stick to it, and NOT binge.....

Sorry for all the ranting, LOL!
wildflowers44
wildflowers44
You don't have to apologize for ranting. You're going through a tough time, and sometimes, a little ranting is necessary.

I can see how frustrated you feel, stuck in the restriction/binge/purge cycle. It's definitely a viscuous cycle that can be hard to get out of. I hate to sound annoying and agree with your counselor, but she's 100% right about 1000 calories being way too low, even for someone dieting. Even if you were to lay in bed all day, your body would use up about 1200 calories just for basic functions, to keep your organs working and heart pumping. When you eat less than that, your body has to compensate somehow, so it slows down different bodily processes, including your metabolism. This is why in the long run, restriction can lead to weight GAIN, and also why it's never recommended for dieters to eat less than 1500-1700 cal (give or take).

Undereating also sets you up to binge. If you could break free if the restriction and eat regularly throughout the day, I think
your urges to binge would dissipate.

I know you're feeling overwhelmed. It can be difficult to wrap your head around eating an amount that sounds so high to you. You just have to approach it in baby steps. Maybe for the next week or two, you focus on adding in 100 calories or so. Make it doable for yourself. Then once you master that, you can add in a little more until your intake is up to a healthier amount. I'd definitely recommend making goals for yourself and writing them down and/or talking to your therapist about them. You can do this!
jonroland
jonroland
I agree with what wildflower is saying. I know that hearing these things doesn't change your mindset on what is acceptable and what isn't, but as a PT i can assure you 1000kcals is not sustainable, and will only work very short term if at all. You need to look at it like this if it helps, you need to feed your body enough for it to want to let go. You see? Too little, and it will know it's being staved and refuse to burn much needed kcals...

Consistency is the key here, not extreme yoyos. Let's say 1350kcals a day, lots of protein and fiber, complex carbs and greens and exercise. In time you'll find weight loss and a more controllable appetite.

Hope this helped, and ranting is fine here lol x
bosley
bosley
I understand what you are going through. Besides everything else, I have an issue with numbers and they stress me. So once you have a grasp of what 500 calories looks like spread out over 3 meals or 3 meals and a snack or two I hope you can see it's not that much more food and it's easier to handle. I wish you the very best -Bosley
rexory15
rexory15
*TW* #s
I totally understand how you feel. As I am and have been for the past 3-4 monts been getting half of what you're getting. Sometimes less. I just dont know how im going to do it either. My Dr wants me to get 2000 cailores a day but said she'd settle for 1800. Im gonna have to probably go to a dietician or nutritionist to try to get back to eating normally. I cant imagine doing it. But I know that it has to be done as my body is falling apart. Do whatever it takes to try to eat normally. Take care and God Bless you
ann54
ann54
it is good to get your feelings out, never worry here. as has been said before, you are actually putting your body in starvation mode, your metabolism drops, and eventually your body screams so loud you binge. it is a horrible cycle and a horrible disease. the amount of calories your doctor is recommending must seem impossible to do, my mind works the same. I agree with taking it slow, adding a few more calories for a week, add more and so on. leave out healthy snacks around the house so you can pick at them, try and not think about it, force yourself that first bite of something else. best of luck
101swoop101
101swoop101
Thanks so much for all of your comments :) I know I need to eat more, but it's really difficult now that I know what eating healthy looks like :( For the longest, I thought 1000 was normal, and I feel bad when I eat even that much...so eating 1500 or more calories everyday sounds kind of sickening. I know I need to eat more, but in my mind I just keep thinking once I hit an acceptable weight, then I can start eating a little more. I don't know...and this weekend, I went home and my mama noticed I loss some weight, and now I feel stuck. I feel like I have to keep loosing, but I don't want her to know I'm not eating...and I do want to be healthy all at the same time. I guess I can try to eat a little more, but I don't see myself getting to 1500, but Idk. Maybe one day I will be normal.
jonroland
jonroland
No problem. I know what it feels like to to feel that desire to keep losing as soon as someone notices. People noticing, even at ridiculously bad times when you've lost too much, is a sickly addictive feeling. You don't want to stall there, you want them to notice again and again, and in your mind to do that, you need to keep restricting. But by that logic, you'd just vanish into nothing soon enough...

You know now you can up your kcals and still lose weight. That way you protect your skin and nails and muscles and organs too. Drink lots of water, play around with your macronutrients, gets some protein and greens and move around a little. It'll all come together.