Difficulty Staying At 1200

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I started the Atkins diet about 2 weeks ago and am having difficulty staying at 1200 calories on it. I'm down 4 pounds, but I find that I'm very hungry. I used to fill up on vegetables, but I can't on this diet. I am 5'2", 19 years old, and 137 lbs. Do you think I should raise my calorie limit?

- Please don't tell me that I don't need to be on the Atkins diet or drag on about CICO or moderation. I've heard enough about that and I don't need to hear it.
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Replies

  • cosmo_momo
    cosmo_momo Posts: 173 Member
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    Are you losing on the 1200 calories? You shouldn't need to be that low unless you are trying to lose several pounds a week, and being 137lbs, you don't have a ton of weight to lose. Is it the Atkins diet telling you 1200, or MFP? Try changing it to .5lb a week and see what that gives you.

    Personally, I'd ditch the atkins diet, but that's not what you asked.
  • klund13
    klund13 Posts: 98 Member
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    Try setting your goals to lose 1 pound or .5 pound a week. You will be happier.
  • HereLieWe
    HereLieWe Posts: 233 Member
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    cosmo_momo wrote: »
    Are you losing on the 1200 calories? You shouldn't need to be that low unless you are trying to lose several pounds a week, and being 137lbs, you don't have a ton of weight to lose. Is it the Atkins diet telling you 1200, or MFP? Try changing it to .5lb a week and see what that gives you.

    Personally, I'd ditch the atkins diet, but that's not what you asked.
    Yeah, about 2 lbs per week so far, but that may just be water weight.

    MFP is telling me 1200 for a weekly deficit of 1 lb/week. I'll see what reducing it to .5 a week does.
  • HereLieWe
    HereLieWe Posts: 233 Member
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    Putting it at .5 a week only raises it be 200...
  • amandastock
    amandastock Posts: 53 Member
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    Yea 1200 would be hard. I have trouble at 1600. But I'm 5'7". Protein usually keeps me full longer. I try to do 300-400 cal meals at regular times. And if I am hungry I just exercise more. You should calculate what you should be getting for your height and weight - IIFYM.com will tell you.
  • xp0sed
    xp0sed Posts: 173 Member
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    Hi! I'm at 1200 calories a day as well. You can add me if you want and maybe we can share some food ideas :)
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    HereLieWe wrote: »
    I started the Atkins diet about 2 weeks ago and am having difficulty staying at 1200 calories on it. I'm down 4 pounds, but I find that I'm very hungry. I used to fill up on vegetables, but I can't on this diet. I am 5'2", 19 years old, and 137 lbs. Do you think I should raise my calorie limit?

    - Please don't tell me that I don't need to be on the Atkins diet or drag on about CICO or moderation. I've heard enough about that and I don't need to hear it.

    So what do you want to hear?

    When you eat 1200 and not the right nutrition's you will be hungry. Sorry.
    Making choices is though.

    When you come here and say i cant eat that while you know that will stop your hunger than you have to take the consequences. And live with them. There is no magical trick

    To not feel hungry on a low calorie diet you need to fill up on protein and veggies.
    Restrictions in a diet are silly it has always consequences ( like feeling hungry)
    Just eat less of what you ate before, learn portion control and moderation.

    It seems you chose a life time of being on Atkins....because when you go back to "normal" eating again you will gain weight.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    I know this is not what you want to hear, but why stay on a "diet" that does not let you eat vegetables? Do you plan on never eating them again in your life? Vegetables are actually really good for your health.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    I think you should drop Dr. Atkins.

    You don't need him at all.

    At. All.
    HereLieWe wrote: »
    I started the Atkins diet about 2 weeks ago and am having difficulty staying at 1200 calories on it. I'm down 4 pounds, but I find that I'm very hungry. I used to fill up on vegetables, but I can't on this diet. I am 5'2", 19 years old, and 137 lbs. Do you think I should raise my calorie limit?

    - Please don't tell me that I don't need to be on the Atkins diet or drag on about CICO or moderation. I've heard enough about that and I don't need to hear it.

    Then learn to enjoy being overweight. You've got your whole life ahead of you to get to like it, right?

  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    btw i am on 1200 a day and not hungry at all in the last 5 months ( except for the first 2 weeks were i had 3 or 4 days i fell a bit hungry).
    so i know what a 1200 diet is.
  • xp0sed
    xp0sed Posts: 173 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I agree - lots of protein and veggies!
  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    Why not do Atkins plus veggies? It's okay to take parts of different ways of eating and make up your own thing. I don't see why veggies would be a bad thing.
  • HereLieWe
    HereLieWe Posts: 233 Member
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    HereLieWe wrote: »
    I started the Atkins diet about 2 weeks ago and am having difficulty staying at 1200 calories on it. I'm down 4 pounds, but I find that I'm very hungry. I used to fill up on vegetables, but I can't on this diet. I am 5'2", 19 years old, and 137 lbs. Do you think I should raise my calorie limit?

    - Please don't tell me that I don't need to be on the Atkins diet or drag on about CICO or moderation. I've heard enough about that and I don't need to hear it.

    So what do you want to hear?

    When you eat 1200 and not the right nutrition's you will be hungry. Sorry.
    Making choices is though.

    When you come here and say i cant eat that while you know that will stop your hunger than you have to take the consequences. And live with them. There is no magical trick

    To not feel hungry on a low calorie diet you need to fill up on protein and veggies.
    Restrictions in a diet are silly it has always consequences ( like feeling hungry)
    Just eat less of what you ate before, learn portion control and moderation.

    It seems you chose a life time of being on Atkins....because when you go back to "normal" eating again you will gain weight.
    What makes you think I will gain weight?

    I've maintained at 140 for a year before actually deciding to try Atkins.

    Just because I wanted to try a new diet doesn't mean that I was actively gaining on the last one or that as soon as I reach my goal weight, I'll stuff my face with doritos and chocolate.
  • HereLieWe
    HereLieWe Posts: 233 Member
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    I think you should drop Dr. Atkins.

    You don't need him at all.

    At. All.
    HereLieWe wrote: »
    I started the Atkins diet about 2 weeks ago and am having difficulty staying at 1200 calories on it. I'm down 4 pounds, but I find that I'm very hungry. I used to fill up on vegetables, but I can't on this diet. I am 5'2", 19 years old, and 137 lbs. Do you think I should raise my calorie limit?

    - Please don't tell me that I don't need to be on the Atkins diet or drag on about CICO or moderation. I've heard enough about that and I don't need to hear it.

    Then learn to enjoy being overweight. You've got your whole life ahead of you to get to like it, right?

    I appreciate your suggestion, but what makes you think I'll be overweight? Because I decided to try a low carb diet? I'm not so inept that I can't count calories, thank you.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    HereLieWe wrote: »

    - Please don't tell me that I don't need to be on the Atkins diet or drag on about CICO or moderation. I've heard enough about that and I don't need to hear it.

    okay. starve and be miserable.

  • HereLieWe
    HereLieWe Posts: 233 Member
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    elphie754 wrote: »
    I know this is not what you want to hear, but why stay on a "diet" that does not let you eat vegetables? Do you plan on never eating them again in your life? Vegetables are actually really good for your health.
    I'm still eating some veggies on it, I just can't eat the pounds upon pounds of carrots, turnips, rhutabagas, etc. that I used to eat. I've been sticking with leafy greens.
  • HereLieWe
    HereLieWe Posts: 233 Member
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    HereLieWe wrote: »

    - Please don't tell me that I don't need to be on the Atkins diet or drag on about CICO or moderation. I've heard enough about that and I don't need to hear it.

    okay. starve and be miserable.
    I intend to.
  • BeTheChange352
    BeTheChange352 Posts: 253 Member
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    are you active? then eat some of those exercise calories back!
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    HereLieWe wrote: »
    HereLieWe wrote: »
    I started the Atkins diet about 2 weeks ago and am having difficulty staying at 1200 calories on it. I'm down 4 pounds, but I find that I'm very hungry. I used to fill up on vegetables, but I can't on this diet. I am 5'2", 19 years old, and 137 lbs. Do you think I should raise my calorie limit?

    - Please don't tell me that I don't need to be on the Atkins diet or drag on about CICO or moderation. I've heard enough about that and I don't need to hear it.

    So what do you want to hear?

    When you eat 1200 and not the right nutrition's you will be hungry. Sorry.
    Making choices is though.

    When you come here and say i cant eat that while you know that will stop your hunger than you have to take the consequences. And live with them. There is no magical trick

    To not feel hungry on a low calorie diet you need to fill up on protein and veggies.
    Restrictions in a diet are silly it has always consequences ( like feeling hungry)
    Just eat less of what you ate before, learn portion control and moderation.

    It seems you chose a life time of being on Atkins....because when you go back to "normal" eating again you will gain weight.
    What makes you think I will gain weight?

    I've maintained at 140 for a year before actually deciding to try Atkins.

    Just because I wanted to try a new diet doesn't mean that I was actively gaining on the last one or that as soon as I reach my goal weight, I'll stuff my face with doritos and chocolate.

    I never stuffed my face on doritos and chocolate
    Still became overweight on a very healthy food intake...i just ate too much
    Like i said portion control and moderation.

    But it is your way. And you chose to do it this way...being hungry.

    there is no magic fix When you eat less calories you can feel less or not hungry by eating:
    *1. More calories/food.
    *2. More veggies
    *3. More protein.

    and the part about gaining weight i only brought up to make your aware that cutting out food sources like some diet do, means you have to do that you whole life to sub stain your weight.



  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    You lose out on calories because you're short. If I set my goal at 1lb a week, I get 1200 also. I did that for about 2 months. (I'm 5 feet tall, started at 140 lbs and I'm down to 130 lbs now).

    Could I make sure I was satisfied anyway? Yeah but it was tough. I tried to eat as much protein as possible and ate lots of veggies if I got the munchies.

    I'm shooting for 0.5lb per week now, which means I get around 1400 calories.

    Reset to lose 0.5lb a week, and, if you aren't exercising, I would recommend getting moving - you can eat back 50%-75% of the calories you earn from exercise and that can help too.

    ~Lyssa