Fat from not eating? Anyone?
 

Heya peeps! I'm new to the forums and was wondering if anyone else has the same problems that I am currently having. I'm 30 years old (omg when did THAT happen?!) and I presently weigh in at 208 lbs. I'm considered obese. But, I can honestly say that I don't over eat. I under eat. Take for example: Breakfast today-nothing; Lunch today-nothing; Dinner today-microwaved stomboli from stoffer's. Yesterday-Breakfast-nothing; lunch-nothing; dinner-chicken patty sandwich. With all that food I weigh over 200. I wear a size 18. One would think that I would be a rail by now but nope. Still Elsie. Moo.

Any ideas anyone? Thanx for any help/advice anyone can give me:-)

P.S. And to answer the question of exercise: Nope. Too tired for exercise.:?:

You are not eating enough calories. Your body is holding on to anything you give it because it is starving. You must eat more if you want to lose weight. I would go somewhere between 1200-1600 calories a day, if not more.

You really need to eat more. Eat oatmeal for breakfast, eat a chicken salad for lunch.

I'm currently with you on the whole exercise thing, but if you push yourself, you'll give yourself more energy and you won't be tired. Exercising makes you more energetic.

Why don't you eat breakfast or lunch? I don't eat breakfast every day because sometimes I sleep in until noon. But I eat lunch.

YES, YES and YES!

I did the SAME THING...skipped breakfast and lunch ALL the time. I would have a fairly large dinner, sometimes giving me about 1000 calories at best, but for the most part, I cannot imagine that I hit 800-900 some days because I eat a lot of the same dinners now.

You are KILLING your metabolism. I am proof that a metabolism can bounce back after doing this for years. I also have hypothyroidism, which makes the metabolism even more sluggish (and killed my appetite even more).

I got my meds in order, began FORCING myself to eat breakfast and lunch and a snack before dinner, started exercising and I have lost close to 10 lbs since May 25th. I do count calories. I think I started out having to count to make sure I was getting enough. I zig-zag mine and so I have 3 low days (1200), 2 medium days (1500) and 2 high days (1800).

Like yesterday was a high day and I ate:

Breakfast:
2 cups coffee w/ 2tsp. sugar and 1/4 cup whole milk
Whole wheat bagel with 2tbsp ff strawberry cream cheese

Lunch: (Probably should've had this for breakfast but I was in the mood, lol)
2 slices whole wheat toast
1 whole egg w/3 egg whites
1 slice turkey bacon
1 sf tuxedo dark/milk chocolate sf jello pudding
Sweet Tea

Snack:
1 apple
2 cups skim milk with tsp ovaltine

Dinner:
4 oz. lean ground beef
1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce
4 oz. whole wheat spaghetti noodles
1 slice of whole wheat bread toasted with garlic butter
Sweet Tea

Dessert:
Little Debbie 100 calorie cake

I STILL came just a little under 1800

And I LOST close to a half a pound when I weighed this morning.

More than likely when you begin feeding yourself, your metabolism will raise to a point where you can begin some type of exercise (considering you have no other health problems). Your body just wants to sit there and do nothing at this point because that is all you are feeding it to do.

So my advice to you is eat :)

Our bodies are designed to protect us from dying during famine. When we don't eat enough, the body then starts reducing the number of total calories it uses to keep itself alive (that's also why you're exhausted...your body is directing every single calorie toward keeping itself alive, not keeping you awake and energized).

You need to track your total calories, eat throughout the day to keep your metabolism going at an even keel, and slowly raise calories from where you are now to the 1400-1500 range. You want to increase your daily calorie consumption by 5-10% a week, though, or your body (which is still in conservation mode) is going to see a huge influx of calories it isn't used to and you'll temporarily put on weight.

Eat? Ugh. I don't eat because I'm just not motivated to eat. Nothing sounds good and it is just too much effort lol. I cannot imagine eating more. I'll make that my first goal rather than weight loss. Just eating on a regular basis. See what happens with that? Who knows. Maybe I'll get more motivated to move around some lol.

And to answer, I don't eat breakfast because normally i'm sleeping I'm just so tired all the time, and I don't eat lunch because I forget and it's close to dinner time so I might as well just wait until dinner. Stupid but that's what I do.

Yeah, what they said! Wanted to add that it's no surprise that you are too tired for exercise. You are barely fueling your body with enough energy to survive, much less expend any extra energy! I know it sounds counter intuitive that you need to eat to lose weight, but it is true.

To be honest, that sounds very much like depression. I know from personal experience.

I'm coming out of a four year depression...kind of woke up and said "WOW! I'm fat! When did THAT happen?!" So yeah. Four years of eating like this.

I don't understand. You can not lose weight from not eating enough? Then why are aneroxic people skinny?

Because eventually you overwhelm your body's attempts to compensate. And then you get that lovely look that truly starving gets you.

Best I can figure is this: Aneroxic peeps don't eat. Period. So their bodies start attacking the muscles and other body parts to get the calories.

My case: I eat just enough to cause my body to horde the calories and store as fat. Ergo...size 18 jeans

Am I saying that right?

That's pretty much it.

Try mixing it up. Eat foods you wouldn't normally eat. Try mediterranean, try arabic, try greek. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummus

I started eating mediterranean food and I love it. Hummus and pita with chicken for lunch is great. Eat Greek salads.

I think it might benefit you to set up a schedule to eat and wake up. For example, make an honest effort to wake up at 8 or 9, eat oatmeal, eggs, whatever, and then around 1pm, eat lunch, then around 6 or 7pm, eat dinner.

What do you drink during the day? Is it possible any of what you drink has calories in it that you aren't accounting for?

I would record everything that goes into your mouth every day for a couple of weeks and see what it is you are really eating before making any changes. That's everything you eat and drink for 2 weeks. Then you can really assess where you are. And don't forget weekends -- they count, too! ;)

Diet soda. Tea. Water. That's bout it. Sweet tea is rare. Don't like all the sugar in it.

And what about weekends? Do you go out with friends sometimes and eat and drink?

Nope I don't go out at all. I don't drink alchohol...I don't eat out at fast food joints. Don't eat candy but rarely, say once a month a candybar? I don't eat chips, chocolate no McDonald's. Occasionally I'll have a bowl of vanilla ice cream. I crave the cold. So nope.

You might want to talk to a doctor. A loss of appetite could mean something else is wrong. I don't want to scare you, but it could be as serious as cancer. For my sophomore year of college and on, through my senior year, I was restless, couldn't sleep, was chronically tired, and gained a lot of weight. Then I found a lump in my neck, got it checked out, and I had thyroid cancer. Turns out the tumors on my thyroid made it stop working, which was responsible for all of the things that went wrong with me.

So go see a doctor, tell them what's going on, and they'll most likely do some bloodwork, run tests, and if there is something wrong, they'll take care of it.

O.o I had blood work ran about a year ago. Maybe two? I don't know. Something like that. And everything was fine. Medically. Now the depression was another thing. It was bad. I was to the point that I stopped taking care of myself. As basic as taking showers. The shower scared me and sent me into a panic attack. The depression let up about six months ago. So it's taking time to undo so much. Am I making sense? I'll consider going back to the doctor and having them test the thyroid and for different cancers. Thanx for the info though :-))

There are "standard" blood tests, and there are more specific tests - and I'd talk to your doctor about getting not only the standards, but as many screenings as you can (metabolic, vitamin and autoimmune tests).

The fatigue you're describing sounds pretty severe. That kind of fatigue does lower metabolism, because the less you move, the less you burn.

It's really very atypical to maintain 200 lbs on so few calories. If you up your calories, but it doesn't help you be more alert and active, you could see weight gain instead of weight loss. I'm not telling you not to up your calories - I'm suggesting that you document every single morsel for a few weeks, also write down how you feel each day, how much you slept (including naps), and what you did (chores, exercise....).

I'm suggesting all this, because you want to be able to take your journal to the doctor with you. When you tell a doctor "I don't know why I can't lose weight, I hardly eat at all," their first thought isn't that you have an unusually low metabolism, but that you're in denial (or fibbing) about how much you eat.

Having it in black and white (especially when the doctor sees that you wrote down EVERYTHING down to "one jellybean," or "one bite of mashed potatoes,"... ) helps the doctor see an accurate picture of what you're experiencing.

Telling a doctor you're "tired all the time," also doesn't really show the problem like seeing "slept 14 hours last night, took an hour nap in the afternoon."

Seeing a dietitian couldn't hurt either (bringing along your health journal to the dietitian also, because an unbalanced diet can also trigger or worsen fatigue).

Hang in there.

You aren't far off on the sleeping. I'll be in bed by ten, sleep till 11am and back down for nap at 1 or two pm, two hour nap then the cycle starts all over again. And barely functioning if I don't get a nap. Rather sucks lol

I've always thought that sleeping is the body's way of conserving energy. You don't need very many calories to sustain a sleeping body.

SusanB, I think you are right. I think it is totally possible for a person eating so low calories to maintain a high weight when not moving around. I know Kaplods mentioned that this is an atypical situation, but really it is not when it pertains to metabolic/endocrine problems.

I am thinking along the lines of homeostasis, where instead of allowing her to move around more and drop the weight, thereby expending very needed calories for her other body functions, she is simply being put to sleep by her own body. I believe this is what was going on for me until I convinced my body I would feed it, please let me move around more, I don't need those stupid naps on top of 12-14 hours of sleep.

And it thankfully responded.

I think the quality and timing of your food plays a part too. -microwaved stomboli from stoffer's and a chicken patty sandwich don't sound too nutritious. 1 meal a day and not much protein, no vegetables, fruit for fiber... and white flour pasta and bread I assume.

I'm becoming a fan of Jillian Michael's radio show, and she says she starts the girls on the Biggest Loser at 1200cals but it's all healthy foods spread out through 3 meals and 1 snack. She said just this on the last show... you can lose weight on 1200cals of oreos, and you can lose on 1200cals of chicken/fish and brown rice but the results will be different (chicken/fish and brown rice having better results)

This is great information. I, too, am morbidly obese from NOT EATING... I'm tired all of the time and seem to have a difficult time with breakfast and lunch... Lately I've been making a breakfast smoothie...and another for lunch...and then dinner with my daughter... I seemed to have more energy after beginning this regimen and the dark circles under my eyes seem better...

Anyway, it helps to feel that I'm not alone but still struggling to eat and cook... I'm trying to eat more whole foods and trying new foods seems to be helping as well...

Your metabolism has been destroyed. First, find out how many calories you need to maintain life by visiting one of the online sites. This will give you a good idea of where you need to start. Until your metabolism gets going, you need to eat small snacks every 2-3 hours so your body thinks it is not starving (don't go over your total calorie needs). I wouldn't even try dieting for at least a week - your body needs nutrition. Force yourself to drink no less than 8-10 8oz glasses of water everyday - not soda - water. Once you get your metabolism jump started, use a digital food scale to weight your food and keep an online food journal at Fit Day. It would be a good idea to visit a professional nutritionist or physician and let them also evaluate what is going on.

Originally Posted by Niecy:
I know Kaplods mentioned that this is an atypical situation, but really it is not when it pertains to metabolic/endocrine problems.

Actually, that's what I meant - it's atypical for a person without metabolic/endocrine problems or other health issues, which is why I suggested the thorough blood screenings, and the dietitian.

Originally Posted by sexybak96:
You aren't far off on the sleeping. I'll be in bed by ten, sleep till 11am and back down for nap at 1 or two pm, two hour nap then the cycle starts all over again. And barely functioning if I don't get a nap. Rather sucks lol

I suspected. I know "hibernation mode," very well. If that doesn't change drastically when you give your body more fuel, think about asking for a sleep study as well (if at all possible, not just screening for sleep apnea, but also for stages of sleep).

When I had my first sleep study done, it found that I stopped breathing about 90 times an hour, and I was virtually never reaching restorative (REM) sleep - so no matter how much I slept, I'd never wake up feeling rested.

That kind of fatigue can be associated with several health issues, and sometimes it can be a challenge, even for doctors to figure out, that's why the symptom log is really important.

I would recommend either buying or patterning your own journal after this book:

HEALTHMINDER Personal Wellness Journal (a.k.a MemoryMinder Personal Health Journal) Health Diary and Symptoms Log (Spiral-bound) by F. E. Wilkins


If you search for it on amazon.com and use the Search Inside feature (there's a link on the left side of the screen, just under the picture of the book - for this book, you're actually looking at the previous edition, which is the one I bought ), you'll be able to see the picture of the journal pages, and you can decide whether it's something you want to buy, or just use it for inspiration. I never would have thought to document the weather, and it turned out to be one of my major triggers for some of my symptoms.

Originally Posted by sexybak96:
Eat? Ugh. I don't eat because I'm just not motivated to eat. Nothing sounds good and it is just too much effort lol. I cannot imagine eating more. I'll make that my first goal rather than weight loss. Just eating on a regular basis. See what happens with that? Who knows. Maybe I'll get more motivated to move around some lol.

And to answer, I don't eat breakfast because normally i'm sleeping I'm just so tired all the time, and I don't eat lunch because I forget and it's close to dinner time so I might as well just wait until dinner. Stupid but that's what I do.

Have you been to your doctor? I would get your lack of appetite and fatigue checked out. Are you on meds for your depression?

How long have you been eating nothing yet remaining overweight? Because starving yourself for any significant period of time will not keep you fat, it's pretty much against the law of thermodynamics. People eating at a massive calorie deficit do lose body weight -- at the beginning your body slows your metabolism (starvation mode) and your body will most certainly reduce your muscle mass along with fat (something you don't want to do) and other unhealthy processes that everyone should avoid will occur, but you will lose body weight.

But you simply can't stay fat from not eating very much for very long.

I have been watching this thread.

With any due respect, I think Tyler is spot on. I have never seen a POW that was held for any period of time come out obese--same for holocoust victims or anorexics. If you are not eating, the weight does come off. Calories in vs. calories out. That's what it comes down to. There is *some* give in that of course because every woman is a little different.


I eat more now (quantity wise) than I did when I was obese. I was eating the wrong foods when I was obese though. I would skip meals--especially breakfast and lunch and then eat something big and heavy in the evenings. There were even some days my intake was extremely low. But when I ate, I ATE BIG.

If you haven't seen a doctor for a full physical, it wouldn't hurt anything to do it.

I put all the weight back on over the course of 3 years. I was about 150 and ballooned up to 220. Don't misunderstand me. I do eat so it's not a case of starvation. I did that during my divorce and dropped so much weight so fast it was scary. It's the amt of food and timing. And to note, I'm not gaining anymore weight. I'm maintaining at 208 to 220. Just it's not coming off even with the little amt I eat. One would think I'd be 100 lbs at the rate I eat. Making sense?

I'm not on meds for the depression. I tried that and it scared my family more than me not on meds. Wasn't a good thing. Lack of medical insurance is keeping me from trying anything else. Medical care is so expensive.

I don't know. Thanks for all the info. I'll keep the food diary and see just how many cals i'm ingesting daily for a week or two. That would be a good place to start.

It's certainly possible to have an implausibly low metabolism. Most people would be surprised at how little a person can eat to maintain a high body weight IF the person isn't moving much (that's a big if). If you're sleeping more than 10 hours and experiencing fatigue the other 14 - you could be burning substantially fewer calories than a person of the same size, age... who is sleeping 8 hours a day and being reasonably active.

Until a few years ago, if anyone had told me that I could maintain my current weight on about 2200 calories a day, I would have laughed in their face. I was fat because I ate a lot, and I knew I ate a lot.

I didn't know how low a metabolism could drop until I started having severe health problems and went from an active lifestyle to a far less than just sedentary one. "Comatose," doesn't burn many calories, and at times I was pretty close. Over the course of a few years, I went from sleeping about 5 hours a night (working two jobs, usually) to sleeping almost every moment I wasn't at work (and trying to stay awake during the 8 hour day). I slep 14 hours a day during the work week, and about 18 on the weekends. It was a nightmare, because it wasn't just "I'm depressed, I don't want to get out of bed," I was UNCONSCIOUS, actually sleeping all of that time (waking up about every 90 minutes and falling back to sleep five to ten minutes later).

A sleep study showed that I had severe sleep apnea, and also was virtually never spending any time in deep, restful (REM) sleep. Without REM sleep, lab critters eventually die of immunity disfunction (which makes my autoimmune issues seem less than coincidental).

That's why documenting everything is so important, including the time spent sleeping and exercising, it gives you a better picture of where your body is conserving energy.

In high school and college, I would often eat very little most days. But then once or twice a month I'd have a huge binge (especially around TOM) that would undo any progress I made on low calorie days. It can feel like "I don't know why I'm not losing weight, I hardly ever eat most days." It seems crazy that you could be on track 25 days out of 30 and still not lose weight - but if those 5 days "off plan" are WAY off plan, it is very possible.

Being scientist and lab rat is the only way to find out your own personal patterns.

I'm thinking that food diary will be very telling and shed a bit more light on the situation.

The two examples of dinner you mentioned in your original post are also very carb heavy, which can cause weight gain when you eat them at night. Something else to consider, anyway.

Well today so far I've had a package of oatmeal for breakfast, 10 fig newtons (that was my lunch), and a small bowl of salad with 4 slices of smoked sausage. And my 60 oz of diet soda. I feel absolutely stuffed and kinda guilty really eating all that. Improvement (barely!) over norm but still way off.

This is gonna be hopeless.

Get thee to a nutritionist! Or a dietitian! They can help you select foods that you like, that will be part of a calorically and nutritionally balanced diet, so you won't be on your own during this process...
:hug:
Kira

Where does one find a dietitian? Or nutritionist? Are they expensive? Not currently insured so...

Tyler brings up a good point about the calories in vs. calories out and how the weight loss process of anorexia works...BUT, anorexics exercise like rats on a wheel. That is the difference here. SexyBak is not exercising. She is sleeping every chance she gets. Anorexics will KILL themselves exercising with little to no food for several hours a day. They pay no mind that they are tired, they just keep going, going, and going. The mental state is a little different than this posters scenario. She is not anorexic. Same goes for most POWs and Holocaust victims. There are many instances of torture by working them like slaves, lots of physical activity.

The calories in/calories out only works if there are calories out. Which is why exercise along with calorie restriction is always recommended and how a lot of us are able to drop the weight we need to.

And we still do not know her endocrine/metabolic status.

This sounds really rough. sexybak96, at first, just to help get your calorie count up some, I might advise eating some calorie-dense, healthy food to get your count higher. Just adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil to something you eat will add at least 200 calories and you won't even notice it. Avocado also has a lot. But the most important thing would be to SEE someone about this. It sounds like you have a real problem here and you shouldn't have to deal with this alone. We at 3FC are here for you, but sometimes nothing beats a real, live doctor and some concrete tests to set you on the right path to good health.