I thought that I was eating a normal amount, but my friends sometimes complain that I don't eat enough so I decided to calculate exactly how many calories I eat. I counted absolutely everything, including condiments, drinks, etc. Apparently today I ate about 600 calories, and I did it for about the past week and that isn't unusual. Sometimes I eat a lot more, but always under 1000, and 600 is pretty common. This started when I got to college (not very good food, so I just eat a lot of salad and fruit)
I know that I'm supposed to be eating 1200 calories or whatever, but honestly I'm full after eating the amount that I do. When I first got here I lost a decent amount of weight, but I've stopped losing weight now. So my question is:
A: Is this okay? I eat some protein and carbs, just not in large quantities. Lots of veggies and fruit and sometimes peanut butter
B: If I start eating more, will I gain weight? I'm 5'7 and 150 lbs right now, and my weight loss has slowed dramatically, possibly even stopped. I'd like to get down to about 120, or whatever a 25 inch waist is for me (42-30-39 measurements right now)
Thanks :)
Answer on Is eating 600 calories a day unhealthy?
Yes, very unhealthy.
A. No, it isn't ok. You need to be filling your body with proper food, not just fruit and salads.
Something like a peanut butter sandwich in wholemeal bread is much better than just having some fruit for lunch. You can still have a salad, have it as a side portion.
You're "full" after eating so little because your body has got used to it, it is used to be starved, so now you don't realise.
Over time, maybe this year, possibly next year, if you continue to eat only 600 calories per day, you will notice your hair begins to fall out or will become very thin, you'll always feel tired, you'll suffer from headaches and aches in your body due to a lack of calcium, you can end up with gum problems which will eventually lead to tooth decay or even loss, you'll struggle to concentrate on things and if your body begins to eat your muscles (and I bet it already is doing) you can end up with heart problems which can kill you.
I don't want to scare you, but eating so little IS dangerous.
1,200 calories is the bare minimum us women need to keep our bodies running, 600 is half of that, very bad.
Speak to your parents, doctor or school nurse, you need a meal plan which is convenient in terms of college and cooking times, but also healthy and nutritious.
