having a hard time with 1200 calorie goal

dinia07

Just started 3 days ago and it's really difficult. It feels like i'm starving myself. Anyone who can share me their experiences under 1200 calories?

BlackPup

I can't do 1200 or under so I make sure I do some exercise then eat back 1/2 the exercise calories. I also set my weight loss to 1/2 a kilo per week so it's more sustainable in the long run.

If I was to do 1200 I'd do a VLCD protein shake for breakfast. Fruit and veg for morning and afternoon tea. A salad wrap for lunch. A small meat dinner with lots of veggies.

Carnhot

I do 1200 net. I know it is unsustainable per se, but I set it that low in order to force me into exercise. I will open up my diary for a bit so you can see how it works for me.

jennifer_417

I've never lasted more than a week on 1200 calories. It's really very little. Consider upping your goal with a slightly slower rate of loss, it sure makes the whole process a lot easier to stick to.

999tigger

Then dont do 1200. The key is to pick a deficit you can sustain. Have a smaller deficit i.e 1lb a week is maintenance -500 and then maybe do some exercise, which as an additional bonus will let you eat a bit extra. A 1500 cal a day is much easier than 1200.

seska422

I can't do 1200 but 1500 works for me. I won't lose weight as quickly but I'm much happier overall and that's more important.

dinia07

Maybe I should do 1500 cal. Thanks everyone. I think i shouldn't rush in losing 25 lbs excess weight. Anyway I just gave birth to my twins 8 weeks ago. Too tired and starving.

KrisiAnnH

I'm on 1280 currently (for a 1.5lb loss) and have been on 1200 for the last 2 months or so. My diary is open if you'd like to have a look for any ideas. I do go over every now and again but make sure it's only once a week and I stick to maintenance cals. I found it difficult to start with, so I exercised a lot and ate back 1/2 the calories, but as I'm a lot busier recently I havent had as much time to workout.

It's probably best for you to up your calories a tiny bit so you have a few more to play with, your rate of loss will be slower but not by much, you're much less likely to binge and you'll be happier

oh_happy_day

dinia07 wrote: »

Maybe I should do 1500 cal. Thanks everyone. I think i shouldn't rush in losing 25 lbs excess weight. Anyway I just gave birth to my twins 8 weeks ago. Too tired and starving.

Definitely! Please don't be so tough on yourself especially when you're still recently post-partum. Your body is still healing and I can't even imagine how much work 8 week old twins are! You need to fuel your body. If you restrict yourself too much it will quickly become unsustainable and miserable. If you can lose on 1500 (or even higher) than do it. Make sure you set your profile to a small weekly loss rather than aiming for 1-2lbs a week and to reflect if you're breast feeding/pumping because that requires more calories. It's great to be motivated to lose weight but you also need to be gentle with yourself - you just grew two people!

michelepiper940

I usually eat a little over my calorie goal and exercise 6 days a week. I always have a deficit on those 6 days.

CherylanneCorsini

Hi, I'm trying to lose 25 as well and had to up my calories from 1200 to 1500. I'll be maintaining for the rest of my life so wanted a diet\life style that I would stick to. It's working out great. You can try doing 1200 for 2 days out of the week and see how that goes. I was losing 2 lbs every 7 days on the 1200, it does work IF you can do it. I'm sure you will find a plan that works for you, just tweak it to suit yourself.
Best Wishes!!
Cheryl

Machka9

When I started MFP put me at about 1250. Then after I had lost about 10 kg, MFP dropped me to 1200 cal ... I tried that for a few days, and just couldn't do it. So I manually upped it to 1250 again.

BUT ....

That's NET 1250 cal.

In other words ...

If I do no exercise, I eat 1250 cal.

If I walk for 1 hour and burn 200 cal, I can eat 1450 cal ... but I usually only ate about 1350.

If I cycle for 1 hour and burn 400 cal, I can eat 1650 ... but I usually only at about 1450.

~~~~~~

I hit my goal ... 15 kg lost in 16 weeks ... took a break for about a month ... and now I'm continuing to see if I can hit a new low. But this time I'm on NET 1330 cal. I'll see how that goes, and will adjust in a month if necessary.

ajc1309

I've been doing 1200 cals for 60 days for a 1lb a week loss and don't find it that bad. I manage 3 meals a day plus light snacking in the evening. On the days I exercise I only eat back about 20-70 calories.

Francl27

1 pound a week is plenty. I lost 80 pounds, never ate less than 1650.

Carnhot

Oh crumbs! If you have just had a baby, let alone two babes, all bets are off! Give yourself a chance to deal with this major change in your life properly nourished for the task. Congratulations!

peedubb23

dinia07 wrote: »

Maybe I should do 1500 cal. Thanks everyone. I think i shouldn't rush in losing 25 lbs excess weight. Anyway I just gave birth to my twins 8 weeks ago. Too tired and starving.

cupcakesplz

I know what you are going through my twins are now almost 3
Don't push your self too much.
Try the 1500 cal

kgb6days

1200 is hard to maintain for me too unless I just eat veggies - I started intermittent fasting (5:2), eat 500 calories on my fast days and 1600-2000 on my non fasting days. It's really helped

peedubb23

Focus on eliminating "bread, beer, pizza, pasta, cookies and cake". In other words, reduce bad carbs and empty calories. Next DONT eat after 6 pm. Lastly exercise 3 times a week for 30 min. Then if you must count calories, allow 1500-1800 a day.

healthkickkath1

Congratulations on the birth of your twins , it's a good idea to make sure you have established a good milk supply for your babies before you start dieting, I read somewhere that a breastfeeding mother should eat at least 1800 calories per day. Twins may need more milk making calories, so you could probably eat over 1800 calories . I remember eating heaps when my babies were young. I would recommend talking to your doctor or nurse about calorie recommendations while breastfeeding. Good luck with it all and enjoy your lovely little babies!

bubaluboo

Congratulations! It must be so hard to eat 1200 cals a day when you've got 8 week old twins. It sounds though like you're plucking numbers out of the air. Have you put your details into MFP and come up with that number? Firstly, I'd suspect that if you have you've set activity at sedentary and put a 2lb per week loss rate. I'd think that with twins you'll be at least lightly active. Set your weightloss to 1lb per week at the most and see what MFP sets your calorie goal at. If you can, weigh everything and make sure that what you think you are eating is correct. Finally, I'd recommend concentrating on getting your calories from protein rich foods that keep you satisfied longer and bulking up the plate with vegetables, if you do this, you may find that you have calories left for daily treats that help you stick to your diet.

ClareDoherty42

The only way I've found 1,200cals sustainable is having 3 meals of 3-400cals and a couple of snacks. Having a big breakfast seems to help.

dinia07

Carnhot wrote: »

Oh crumbs! If you have just had a baby, let alone two babes, all bets are off! Give yourself a chance to deal with this major change in your life properly nourished for the task. Congratulations!

Thanks! My eldest son is only 11 months. My twins are preemies. I'm also a working mom. I'm wondering why I'm not losing weight with this kind of situation.

dinia07

healthkickkath1 wrote: »

Congratulations on the birth of your twins , it's a good idea to make sure you have established a good milk supply for your babies before you start dieting, I read somewhere that a breastfeeding mother should eat at least 1800 calories per day. Twins may need more milk making calories, so you could probably eat over 1800 calories . I remember eating heaps when my babies were young. I would recommend talking to your doctor or nurse about calorie recommendations while breastfeeding. Good luck with it all and enjoy your lovely little babies!

With my first baby i lose weight fast without dieting because of breastfeeding but now for some reasons I cannot breastfed my preemie twins.

oh_happy_day

peedubb23 wrote: »

Focus on eliminating "bread, beer, pizza, pasta, cookies and cake". In other words, reduce bad carbs and empty calories. Next DONT eat after 6 pm. Lastly exercise 3 times a week for 30 min. Then if you must count calories, allow 1500-1800 a day.

Nope. Just no to all of this. The time of the day that you eat is irrelevant for weight loss. And this OP has three kids under one years old...so pretty sure she should eat dinner whenever she gets a chance! While exercise is great for health and fitness, it's not required to lose weight. And there is nothing inherently wrong with carbs. If you can fit a slice of cake or beer into your daily allowance and it's enjoyable for you then great.

These kinds of 'rules' might work for you but they are not objectively true or useful for everyone.

IsaackGMOON

peedubb23 wrote: »

Focus on eliminating "bread, beer, pizza, pasta, cookies and cake". In other words, reduce bad carbs and empty calories. Next DONT eat after 6 pm. Lastly exercise 3 times a week for 30 min. Then if you must count calories, allow 1500-1800 a day.

lolnope.jpg to all of this advice...

OP, eat at 1500 calories.

enkiemonkey

I tried 1200 quite a few times and it became just too stressful and defeating when I go over it. In the past 13 days I've done 1600 and it's so much more manageable. Since I also try to hit 10,000 steps a day I also have activity calorie deficit. So far I've lost 6 lbs (which I'm sure 3 -4 are water weight lbs).

hrtchoco

Pretty sure you have to eat a lot more if you are breast feeding.

Monklady123

If you have an 11-month-old and twins babies I think you're already doing weight lifting every day. You know...pick up kid, put down kid, pick up other kid, put down other kid, pick up both babies, move babies over there, pick up other kid, put down other kid when a baby cries, pick up one kid to change diaper, put down kid, pick up another kid... Not to mention picking up toys all day long, lugging babies in carriers to the car, lifting 11-month-old into and out of car....etc., etc. Omg.

Eat more. You will be happier all round. Try to get enough sleep (hahaha, aren't I a hoot?), stay hydrated. Go for walks with the stroller if you can. Pat yourself on the back for managing all that goes along with having three young children!

booksandchocolate12

peedubb23 wrote: »

Focus on eliminating "bread, beer, pizza, pasta, cookies and cake". In other words, reduce bad carbs and empty calories. Next DONT eat after 6 pm. Lastly exercise 3 times a week for 30 min. Then if you must count calories, allow 1500-1800 a day.

Huh. How have I managed to lose over 40 lbs eating bread, pizza, pasta cookies and cake? AND eating after 6 every day?

No eating after 6? For a working mom with 3 babies? Really?

For anyone in the world with a standard 9-5 job, how is this even doable?

What planet are you on?

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

peedubb23 wrote: »

Focus on eliminating "bread, beer, pizza, pasta, cookies and cake". In other words, reduce bad carbs and empty calories. Next DONT eat after 6 pm. Lastly exercise 3 times a week for 30 min. Then if you must count calories, allow 1500-1800 a day.

Wow, so much bad advice in so few words!