Something I can't get my head round.

emmajulie98765

Not a day goes by without me reading words to the like of ' I struggle to reach my calorie goal' or ' yeah when I used to struggle to reach 1200 calories I would just have a tablespoon of peanut butter'. How can anyone ever ( especially people who use this particular forum) struggle to get to 1200 on a daily basis?!?!?! What am I missing? I'm not picking on people here, genuinely intrigued if there is something I don't know.

Alatariel75

It's easy, really. People get on board with the "OK, I'm going to eat super healthy" and immediately go for the lowest calorie options possible. They cut out carbs, go for the leanest meat, fill up on veg... then get full eating 800 cals of chicken breast and leafy vegetables. Til they get bored and feel deprived.

Truth is, mainstream 'diet' teaching is about going as low cal as possible. You don't get taught moderation through the media, because it isn't profitable. Relapsing dieters who burn out from too-hard too-fast make money!

It takes time before people realise that lowest cal isn't the best option, and that moderation isn't just sustainable, it is necessary.

kindrabbit

I'm am one that struggles to stay under 1620 so I can't imagine me not being able to eat 1200. I can see how it could be done but where's the joy? for me that would be a very strict diet and not sustainable. If I had a deadline I could do it but not long term.

Alatariel75

Karen_libert wrote: »

I'm am one that struggles to stay under 1620 so I can't imagine me not being able to eat 1200. I can see how it could be done but where's the joy? for me that would be a very strict diet and not sustainable. If I had a deadline I could do it but not long term.

That's the thing though, so many people get on a "health kick" and they aren't really thinking long term. It's all "I'm going to eat special k, salad, poached fish and broccoli and I'm gonna get THIN!!!" Then they join and get scolded by the "complete diary" button and then post because they don't get how they aren't doing it right, because, aren't they dieting right?? I really wish this stuff would be taught in schools. So many people don't realise you don't have to be miserable to lose weight.

Danniiiiii

I struggle some days to reach 1200 calories but I go to the gym everyday and burn off at least 500, so in total I'm supposed to eat 1700 and that's difficult.

Whitezombiegirl

I struggle to reach 1200 and I don't go to the gym. I don't eat grains so my diet is protien, fruits and veg etc. I also make room for chocolate everyday- I suppose I could eat more chocolate but I don't want to. I'm just not really 'into' food- never have been. I can take me up to an hour to eat a meal- I just pick at it, laways have seince childhood.

bluworld

For some, there is also this want to prove weight gain wasn't their fault, but due to outside forces. This becomes a forum to show how little they do eat, usually followed by the "I can't loose weight" threads. They will log for show, with horrible inaccuracies, and "these calories don't count" snacks. ( I've had several room mates like this)

livingleanlivingclean

I don't get it either....eating that little is depressing to think about!

bluworld

That being said, I personally did eat under 1200 yesterday - because I was full all day from the 8+ cups of popcorn I'd eaten the night before. I'm too old to snack like that before bed.

emmajulie98765

I just don't get how people get fat and then on here say 'I'm so full and can't reach 1200'. I have a few very overweight friends at work. They all swear that their diets are amazing ect ect. I don't buy it.

Whitezombiegirl

estirling86 wrote: »

I just don't get how people get fat and then on here say 'I'm so full and can't reach 1200'. I have a few very overweight friends at work. They all swear that their diets are amazing ect ect. I don't buy it.

Personally I'm just looking to lose a few pounds- the main reason for gaining those few extra pounds is that hwen my Mum died I stopped cooking and just ate frozen pizza or chocolate for dinner. Eating that way made me feel gross in the end - so I'm back to home cooking now which fills me up more. Of course if I went back to eating a whole frozen pizza by myelf and feeling over-stuffed-I'd gain the weight back, but I doubt I'd do that again

krissyreminisce

I started on this site at 132 with about 10-15lbs to lose and chose the 2lb loss which put me at 1200. I struggled some days because I was so determined to lose the weight and set up mental blocks about eating snacks, etc, even though I knew I'd be burning a huge chunk of it off in the gym.

Now I'm struggling to eat more now that I'm in maintenance because of those same blocks. My meal sizes are filling and sensible, I just don't eat a small snack when I should. I just ride out the hunger. It's very annoying knowing you're going to the gym later so you can eat that 100 cal snack, but then psych yourself out and drink hot tea instead.

wizzybeth

I wonder how these people who can't eat 1200 calories a day...ended up being overweight. Does. Not. Compute. Unless their regular TDEE is like, 800.

sardelsa

Sometimes I wonder how I used to eat 3300 everyday (bulking)..it was A LOT of food! But ya I guess some people fill up quick on very little? Maybe it's also a mental thing? I have no idea. I would collapse under 2000!

krissyreminisce

wizzybeth wrote: »

I wonder how these people who can't eat 1200 calories a day...ended up being overweight. Does. Not. Compute. Unless their regular TDEE is like, 800.

I started at 220 and and my eating habits were pretty disgusting. I was also totally inactive. I ate frequently and high calorie items. I also gained 40lbs in college when I was depressed. I didn't care and would eat half gallons of ice cream in one sitting, or those huge candy bars (and not the king size ones, the massive ones) in one sitting.

I slowly was able to turn it around and over four years kind of taught myself moderation and cut out eating so many high cal foods so often. When I joined here I had hit a plateau and was starting to gain, so I was just determined to drop the weight. Though I found the forums too late. I'm sure I would have been advised to have a less aggressive calorie goal.

Now I just have a huge fear that'll it all come roaring back on me if I step a toe out of line. I'm working on that, though. I can have a good time, eat some Chinese and not wake up in my old body. Lol.

crazyjerseygirl

It might be due to different sorts of foods. I can put away three candy bars and still want lunch. But if I have grilled chicken and an awesome salad, I'm full up.
That said I'm at 1380kcal. I dread 1200!

Gska17

It's weird. I was at 1,200 calories and lost eighteen pounds. I'm sedentary, btw.

Some days I just wasn't hungry. MFP would "yell" at me to eat more but I just wasn't interested in eating over 1,000. Not hungry!

Other days? Forget it. Half a pizza and eight beers? Wheeeee!

I guess it all balanced out somehow.

seska422

I drank a lot of my calories (in the form of Pepsi) before I started MFP. Not only that, the Pepsi stimulated my appetite so that I ate more.

I'm now making an effort to hit my macros while mostly sticking with foods I was eating before but without the Pepsi. Before I started, I was eating way too much salt, not enough protein, and most days not enough fat.

Now here I am with less of an appetite and eating more things that actually make me full.

I've had days where I struggled to reach 1200 because I was full and just didn't want to eat any more food.

crazyjerseygirl wrote: »

It might be due to different sorts of foods. I can put away three candy bars and still want lunch. But if I have grilled chicken and an awesome salad, I'm full up.

This is so true. I used to eat a lot of cereal with skim milk. It fit in with the "low-fat" mentality that had been pounded into my head for the last 20 years. Last week I had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and I was hungry 45 minutes later. That doesn't happen if I have a bowl of All-Bran.

LiveLoveLift67

What is this " full" and how do i get it?? lol. I cant understand how these 1200 calorie people think either. Hungry or not hungry i fuel my body. I eat between 1600-2000 calories a day and yes you can get full quickly on junk or processed foods. I cant wrap my head around someone that is working out or doing any form of fitness and cant get in 1200 or more. Their body will crash eventually and stop producing the results they are looking for.

Liftng4Lis

RIGHT! I get the whole eating healthier and having less calories in those food choices, but really! How often do you see someone that's been at this, say 3+ months saying that? It's usually someone newer trying to say "Oh look at me, I can't eat my calories". How the heck did you come to need to lose 50 pounds then?
I'm sorry but mouth meet peanut butter here!

seska422

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

RIGHT! I get the whole eating healthier and having less calories in those food choices, but really! How often do you see someone that's been at this, say 3+ months saying that? It's usually someone newer trying to say "Oh look at me, I can't eat my calories". How the heck did you come to need to lose 50 pounds then?
I'm sorry but mouth meet peanut butter here!

The newer people are the ones who do struggle with it. It takes time to adjust to eating differently. Once they get the hang of things, they can come closer to meeting the calorie goal. As for just shoving some extra peanut butter in your mouth, that's certainly an option. However, people slowly learn how to distribute calories throughout the day.

LiveLoveLift67 wrote: »

What is this " full" and how do i get it?? lol. I cant understand how these 1200 calorie people think either. Hungry or not hungry i fuel my body. I eat between 1600-2000 calories a day and yes you can get full quickly on junk or processed foods. I cant wrap my head around someone that is working out or doing any form of fitness and cant get in 1200 or more. Their body will crash eventually and stop producing the results they are looking for.

There are many people, like me, who have physical problems and can't burn off much through exercise. I do what I can but the exercise that I do isn't enough to stimulate extra appetite.

My goal is set at about 1600. Some days I meet it and some days I don't. When I started, I struggled to hit 1200 some days but I'm learning how to budget my calories and I'm coming closer to my goal most days.

If I stopped logging and started drinking a lot of Pepsi again, I'd go right back to gaining weight. Just because I have days where I can't hit 1200 doesn't mean that I won't go overboard if I stop MFP.

999tigger

Whilst its completely alien to me, you need to take into account that there are people who gave a different relationship with food and are the other way. There are also those who go from eating way over to the extreme of overdoing it and convincing themselves they should be eating too much under.

3dogsrunning

Hunger is also affected by hormones. Restricting calories can affect these.
Many anorexics report not feeling hungry. I do believe that a lot of people who start off dieting with a large deficit may not experience hunger at first. That is also why a lot of people do really well with strict diets for a short time, then end up cracking and overeating.
This is also why I have a problem with the whole "I'm not hungry so I must be eating enough" line of thinking. That isn't always the case. Hunger is not always a reliable indicator.

PostExamsHealthBinge

I used to get by on 1200 calories a week (before you all freak I don't anymore), and it honestly isn't that hard. There's a mental barrier you pass through determination/hard work and you can just no longer see food as a need anymore but a treat. So it's as if there isn't any food, the same feeling you get when you are sat on a train with no access to food except you could be in a restaurant and still not comprehend there being food. It's just decoration and no something you actually consume (the same could apply to certain foods for example crisps or chocolate) Also your stomach shrinks which does help quite a lot.

3dogsrunning

PostExamsHealthBinge wrote: »

I used to get by on 1200 calories a week (before you all freak I don't anymore), and it honestly isn't that hard. There's a mental barrier you pass through determination/hard work and you can just no longer see food as a need anymore but a treat. So it's as if there isn't any food, the same feeling you get when you are sat on a train with no access to food except you could be in a restaurant and still not comprehend there being food. It's just decoration and no something you actually consume (the same could apply to certain foods for example crisps or chocolate) Also your stomach shrinks which does help quite a lot.

There are people who can get to the point of seeing food as fuel and that is it. I never could.
I dieted for a bodybuilding show and followed a very strict diet. It never got to the point where it wasn't hard. I definitely broke through that mental barrier and was able to keep going. I mean, not every day was really hard, some days were easier than others but I enjoy food. I was successful short term, but I could never do that long term. And for it to work after you reach goal, it is going to have to be a mentality that you keep. I like to go out for a good meal. I like making meals, trying new recipes and new food. I don't want to give that up.

mkakids

I can see how it could happen if you set up arbitrary eating rules to follow...like "no eating after 7". I regularly eat very little before 6pm (under 500), but then make up for it between 8-11 pm, reaching 1500-1800cals or more if I went crazy with the cardio that day. If I followed the popular myth that you can't eat after x time - I'd be screwed.

MamaRiss

I'm one of those people. When I started out last year the first couple weeks it was hard for me to not go over my goal. But then for a couple weeks, I just wasn't hungry at all. I literally had to force myself to eat. At that time I believe my goal was around 1500, and I would end up only getting in around 1200. Thankfully that phase didn't last long and my brain, stomach, and hormones all got on the same page. After a couple months of not really tracking, I have restarted my weightloss, and a week in I wasn't hungry most days. Just one of those things that some people go through, and others don't understand

laropmet

I have to admit I'm one of those fat people that eat nothing but chicken salads all day, but you better believe you won't see me on here going "Oh no I can't make my diet target" I'm more likely to be saying "Ooooh I've got room for a kitkat."

Angiefit4life

It's very simple actually! My goal is .5 per week and MFP cal is 1240 before I would eat fast food sometimes 2 X a day. I actually feel like I eat more now. Last night I had 6 oz steak, sweet potato and salad was still within my calorie goal. I actually figured it out once my old way by lunch I had reach 1400 calories. It's about choices in moderation. I have chocolate heck last week I had an Arby sand and salad. So it can be done and be satisfying. I have lost 31# in 5 months.

atypicalsmith

Before MFP, I ate out a lot, and was probably consuming 3,000 calories a day, which got me to .2 oz. under 170 lbs. (5'2", yikes!). But then I stopped eating out and found foods which filled me up. Some are high calorie, such as avocado, but when it's part of an otherwise low calorie salad, it evens out. Others are low calorie, such as Greek yogurt. And yes, there are days I go over, but since I was under for the past four days, it's all good.

DeguelloTex

The other day, I messed around with breakfast and lunch such that I had only almost all protein left for dinner. I ate more pork loin than I had in more than a year. It was a lot of pork and I wasn't sure if I could finish it. Granted, I'm eating more than 1200 but I can see how someone might have trouble eating 1200 calories of chicken breast and broccoli.