Motivation

Ok so I'm 5'2" and somewhere between 95-105 pounds. (my scale has been wack-o. think its time for a new one). i normally eat between 1000-1200 cals per day and i was doing really well for a long while. Even on thanksgiving I stayed in my range. but post-thanksgiving i've been slowly creeping up on the calorie scale and today i've eaten my max by lunchtime! i wouldn't feel so bad if this loss of motivation was really just for one day but its been constant for 2 weeks now! words of wisdom? or just comfort?

Hi Alyssa, I'm your same height, except my peak weight was around 165 (yikes). Obviously, I love food, so it was hard for me to count calories and spread my meals apart into smaller meals, but I've been doing pretty well for the past month or so. My advice is to plan your daily meals better so you know how much to eat and when. Maybe a lot of water to fill you up while you wait so you don't feel hungry.

Are you trying to maintain your weight or lose weight? You're so light!

Alyssa - 1200 by lunchtime is okay!

And be prepared for MAJOR backlash to this post. 1000-1200 per day is NOT good. 1200 is the absolute minimum you should ever consume. I'm not one to preach- I've definitely eaten below this on a few days, BUT by no way is this my everyday target.

I checked out your bio briefly- going to university/college does not mean gaining weight. Watch what you eat. At my caf this was easy because they posted nutritional values in the caff as well as online. Also, work out! I'm sure your university has a gym of some sort! But DO NOT eat less than 1200 calories hun, it's sooo not healthy.

jenna, i totally understand what your saying, but i seem to gain if i eat much more than that per day. if there was a way i could maintain on 1800 like i'm supposed to, i'd definitely be eating that, but every time i've tried the scale starts to creep up again.

Hey Alyssa (I love your name!)

Jenna's right, 1000-1200 calories a day IS too little.  The main reason is that your organs will not be able to function adequately on less than your BMR (your BMR is pretty low, given your low weight, but its still 1286(ish)). You might gain a pound or two, but I think that its more important to live life and gain a few pounds than to end up skinny and ill. 

And 1200 calories by lunch is FINE! Just count today as a cheat day, eat the 1800-2000 calories that you're meant to maintain on and enjoy your day =].  If you're feeling COMPLETELY awful about eating the 1800, then go for an hour walk, or a half hour jog, and you'll burn off around 200 calories of it.

Lots of sympaties from me. Even though others may say you are skinny and should eat more, its totally your choice how you want to look and feel. I will say, that health comes before anything else, so also remember what your body needs nutrision wise :-)

Caloriecounting can be brutal - I love food and have tried the same thing as you. I've reached my max for the day around noon, and then what!?!?! You still gotta eat rest of the day, right?? :-)

What helped me a LOT, is sitting in the morning, planning my meals for the day, and then logging them in to CC. That way i can easily see if I'm exceeding my limit for the day, and then i can adjust the menu. Some days i might go over with 100-300, if we are going out or something, but that just mean an extra 1/2 hour on the tread mill or doing something else active. 

Hope this helps :-)