How do I get this problem of not eating enough?

[sonti]

Every week or so we get a girl coming in here who "just can't eat enough", struggles to get in 1200 calories, etc.... how do I get this problem? Srs. I am finishing the last few weeks of my cut and I am just dyyyyyyyyyyying on a grand total of 1800 calories a day and could probably polish off 5 chicken breasts after dinner if I was allowed. Or my youngest baby. I would eat cheerios off the floor!

HOW do I get this problem!!!! Am I the only one who finds cutting super hard? Is it because I think about food too much? Or is it because I am bored? Or is it because I am weighing everything to a T and eating an accurate total...................?

[acrawlingchaos]

For me, it was years of depression, heavy drug use, and addiction to caffeine and nicotine, compounded by a high stress job. It worked for me, it can work for you.

Apathy destroyed my appetite and it isn't a problem I like or want.




But we make do.

[medjen]

I, too, wish I could barely force myself to choke down 1200 cals. Or forget to eat. Or whatever other internet pseudo-brag problems other people have.

Instead, I like to eat, eat when I'm bored and somehow manage 1600 cals/day without trying....

[BEEvon]

Or is it because I am weighing everything to a T and eating an accurate total...................?

^^ yep. This was a big eye opener and my stomach has never felt the same since I started doing this.

Theirs rarely a day that goes by when I'm cutting that I couldn't eat the ass end of a skunk if it was cooked right.

[aintevenmad]

For me, it was years of depression, heavy drug use, and addiction to caffeine and nicotine, compounded by high a high stress job. It worked for me, it can work for you.

Apathy destroyed my appetite and it isn't a problem I like or want.




But we make do.

I will add "OCD" and "bad childhood habits" and "poverty" to that list as reasons people may not be used to eating much.

[dreahere]

Am I the only one who finds cutting super hard? Is it because I think about food too much?

This is it for me. When I'm dieting by counting calories, all I can think of is eating and omfg how many (i.e. few) calories I have left for the rest of the day and can I fit THIS into my macros and blah blah blah. It becomes an overwhelming focus.

[erinlee01]

Add me to the list of people who would love to have this problem. I can't imagine consistently being stuffed after only 1200 calories.

[sonti]

I was 90lbs in high school, I just genuinely was never hungry, didn't eat breakfast, had 1 small bag of chips and coke for lunch, and then maybe a can of mushroom soup for dinner (mom was "freegan" before it was known as a trend, otherwise known as poverty), I guess training has taught me to eat and now I'm always hungry!!!

[mrshester]

I actually run into this problem myself. My metabolism is so screwed up with this PCOS garbage, that if I don't make a concerted effort to have my meals, they won't get eaten. I don't know if it's the fear of getting fat that plays into that, even though I KNOW I have to eat to keep my metabolism up, but that's why I keep my fitnesspal on my phone, to make sure I really am getting enough. It's not that I'm stuffed...I just get to doing other things, or when I do get hungry I can't eat RIGHT then, and that hunger fades until I'm getting weak. Definitely gotta make sure I'm eating more now, it's not just me depending on it!

[LisaSkinnoble]

I hate cutting too. I love to eat. But there are people who don't like eating. I used to work with a woman who said that no food appealed to her. She was very very tiny. She said she wished she could just take a pill and that be enough to fuel her body. She said the worst part of pregnancy was having to eat.

Not something I can ever truly fathom, but I believe she was being sincere.

Until coming to this forum, I always thought those people were few and far between. Seems there are a lot of them.

[flyfreefit]

I'm a people watcher-- it's all about the habits you develop. Naturally leaner people tend to put their fork down sooner, take less bites of their burgers/sammiches, not go in for seconds etc. Once they're done, they're done. They also don't think about food as often. You can see a heavier person's eyes constantly shifting to a table filled with sweets (contemplative, eyes glistening), while a leaner person might as well be looking at a table filled with bowls of clay ornaments.

I think we tend to always clear our plates because we plan our meals and we know we aren't getting fed until the next one and try to be accurate with caloric measurements.

Ex: Yesterday I made a regular serving of protein pancakes and was sick of eating them about halfway(?) through. Did I stop eating them? Nope. All I could think about was "man I wish I had a way of calculating exactly how much I ate so I can throw this garbage away and save the calories for later" ... if I didn't worry about accidentally overfeeding if I got hungry later, I would have just tossed it. So I didn't risk it and just ate off my plan.

This lifestyle makes us very obsessive.

[Cara0915]

For me, it was years of depression, heavy drug use, and addiction to caffeine and nicotine, compounded by a high stress job. It worked for me, it can work for you.

Apathy destroyed my appetite and it isn't a problem I like or want.




But we make do.

Yup ^^
A lot of it is mental and figuring out how to overcome it. Most of us here are constantly thinking about food, whens our next meal, grocery store, meeting our goals for the day. Constantly thinking about something is going to make you want it more.
For example as soon as I say I'm cutting out ice cream for a month, guess
What happens, I can barely make it a day without it.
With that said, most people who say they struggle with 1200 cals, probably are eating much more than that. You know as well as almost everyone here how easy it is to be off in calorie counting

[flyfreefit]

With that said, most people who say they struggle with 1200 cals, probably are eating much more than that. You know as well as almost everyone here how easy it is to be off in calorie counting

Pet peeve alert!

Sorry, but if you're eating 1200 cals (consistently) and are not underweight, you're not eating 1200 cals.

[Ma110W]

I was 90lbs in high school, I just genuinely was never hungry, didn't eat breakfast, had 1 small bag of chips and coke for lunch, and then maybe a can of mushroom soup for dinner (mom was "freegan" before it was known as a trend, otherwise known as poverty), I guess training has taught me to eat and now I'm always hungry!!!

I used to be the same way (but a little bit heavier)

I was poor, so I didn't eat much as a kid. I was always smaller, never really felt crazy hungry. Then I married my husband, he started to clean up his diet and lift, I joined him about two years later, and now I feel like I'm always starving. It didn't help that I slow bulked for three years, ate as much as I wanted.

I tried to start cutting at the end of December, made it about three weeks, maybe a month, and then just started eating at maintenance. I'm back to eating under maintenance now, but it's painful and I hate it. I want abs for summer, and that honestly is the only thing that helps me deal with not eating as much as I want. I do not enjoy cutting, or calorie counting. I like to eat.

[Simpy]

I will say that, in the past when I've cut for a show, I've noticed my appetite wains as time progresses. It seems like the less I eat, the less I want to eat. So, I imagine if you were to go without for a long period of time, you'd suddenly find that you are used to it.

[amiaow]

I totally have this problem Sonti. Cutting is HARD (I'm going for 2000-2100/day plus an epic refeed with TDEE around 2500). I've made it a bit more manageable for myself by having a 2-week diet break every 4 weeks. I think I would honestly go completely crazy without it.

[aintevenmad]

Pet peeve alert!

Sorry, but if you're eating 1200 cals (consistently) and are not underweight, you're not eating 1200 cals.

Yah a rather overweight friend of mine asked me how to lose weight and I told her to eat at maintenance (1700) by my calculations for a month and then we'd adjust... She was shocked and said she only eats 800 calories a day.

Sceptical me is sceptical

[Wyomann]

Yah a rather overweight friend of mine asked me how to lose weight and I told her to eat at maintenance (1700) by my calculations for a month and then we'd adjust... She was shocked and said she only eats 800 calories a day.

Sceptical me is sceptical

Maybe she meant per meal.

[BubsNBean]

I'm a people watcher-- it's all about the habits you develop. Naturally leaner people tend to put their fork down sooner, take less bites of their burgers/sammiches, not go in for seconds etc. Once they're done, they're done. They also don't think about food as often. You can see a heavier person's eyes constantly shifting to a table filled with sweets (contemplative, eyes glistening), while a leaner person might as well be looking at a table filled with bowls of clay ornaments.

I think we tend to always clear our plates because we plan our meals and we know we aren't getting fed until the next one and try to be accurate with caloric measurements.

Ex: Yesterday I made a regular serving of protein pancakes and was sick of eating them about halfway(?) through. Did I stop eating them? Nope. All I could think about was "man I wish I had a way of calculating exactly how much I ate so I can throw this garbage away and save the calories for later" ... if I didn't worry about accidentally overfeeding if I got hungry later, I would have just tossed it. So I didn't risk it and just ate off my plan.

This lifestyle makes us very obsessive.

Fully agree. Food seems to consume my thoughts when I'm cutting. I'll eat when I'm not hungry because I've convinced myself it's a privilege to get to eat that whole stack of protein pancakes. I've also been thisclose to getting the scale out and measuring my waste, doing the calculations, and adjusting so I can eat the calories later!

Cutting makes me fukin crazy, but I enjoy the results so I do it.

[aintevenmad]

Maybe she meant per meal.

She will come out with us and be like "Omg you guys how can you eat 2 sushi rolls I am soooo full"

30 minutes later "aren't you guys hungry yet? I'm staaarving!"

add to the fact that she spends 80% of her waking hours high as a kite so I'm not sure how she has accurately measured her meagre "800 calories a day".

I was eating 1000 calories a day during senior year exams because of stress etc and I weighed 105 lbs......

[silverlining84]

I work shift work and some days my internal body clock is so screwed up it's a struggle to get down 1400 calories. Granted this isn't often but I couldn't imagine struggling to eat only 1200 cals a day. I did the stupid 1200 calories before (smacks myself) and I was starving 24/7.

[Botika]

I think I naturally eat around my current maintenance. I need to be conscious to eat to get my bulking cals in. I generally don't have any trouble when I'm eating a deficit!!

[kimm4]

With that said, most people who say they struggle with 1200 cals, probably are eating much more than that. You know as well as almost everyone here how easy it is to be off in calorie counting

Pet peeve alert!

Sorry, but if you're eating 1200 cals (consistently) and are not underweight, you're not eating 1200 cals.

I absolutely agree with the above.^^

Most of the women who are making these claims are simply full of s*** period.

There, I said it and I don't care who I piss off...

[SultanaK]

I absolutely agree with the above.^^

Most of the women who are making these claims are simply full of s*** period.

There, I said it and I don't care who I piss off...

Shhh I blame MFP.

[kimm4]

Shhh I blame MFP.

LOL...it's been going on long before MFP came around.

Don't get me wrong anyone can cut on 1200 calories. I've used these numbers for cutting more times than I can count, for very long periods of time and yes they do work. But when you claim to be cutting on 1200 calories and the scale hasn't moved for over 3 months...than it's a clear indicator you're not at those numbers...not even close.

Inb4 the whole world claims they have broken metabolisms...

[pghchick]

Forgetting to eat, eating only half of what's on your plate, and saying no to ice cream not bc you are cutting, rather due to the fact that you just aren't in the mood is my mother. I envy her. But I will never be one of these "I forgot to eat" types. It is nice to know that I am not alone though. Because I struggled with my weight for a number of years and am still fat at heart.

[mrshester]

LOL...it's been going on long before MFP came around.

Don't get me wrong anyone can cut on 1200 calories. I've used these numbers for cutting more times than I can count, for very long periods of time and yes they do work. But when you claim to be cutting on 1200 calories and the scale hasn't moved for over 3 months...than it's a clear indicator you're not at those numbers...not even close.

Inb4 the whole world claims they have broken metabolisms...

Wait...who is claiming this? I must have missed it...

[aintevenmad]

LOL...it's been going on long before MFP came around.

Don't get me wrong anyone can cut on 1200 calories. I've used these numbers for cutting more times than I can count, for very long periods of time and yes they do work. But when you claim to be cutting on 1200 calories and the scale hasn't moved for over 3 months...than it's a clear indicator you're not at those numbers...not even close.

Inb4 the whole world claims they have broken metabolisms...

MFP is great if all you're using it for is to TRACK CALORIES and nothing else.

[BrotherWolf]

Every week or so we get a girl coming in here who "just can't eat enough", struggles to get in 1200 calories, etc.... how do I get this problem? Srs. I am finishing the last few weeks of my cut and I am just dyyyyyyyyyyying on a grand total of 1800 calories a day and could probably polish off 5 chicken breasts after dinner if I was allowed. Or my youngest baby. I would eat cheerios off the floor!

HOW do I get this problem!!!! Am I the only one who finds cutting super hard? Is it because I think about food too much? Or is it because I am bored? Or is it because I am weighing everything to a T and eating an accurate total...................?

Sonti in 99% of the cases the reason anybody not just a female can't eat enough assuming of course it's not a voluntary choice
it's because their training is mediocre at best.. appetite correlates with training and so does results
the more intense your workout the more your body needs to be fueled

[acrawlingchaos]

I agree that most people who claim to under eat, are really not under eating at all. Most people just are not paying attention. There are those who do chronically under eat which can make it very difficult to add lean mass.

There are some people that find it very easy to drop weight. I can personally flip my diet and just drop weight with little effort. I can also easily shovel down 3000-3500 calories in a day (which is excessive by my standards). The difficulty is maintaining any sort of a meaningful surplus over the time frame needed to grow.

If anyone is interested in looking into the window of some one that has difficulty eating enough.....

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=153469491