Does anyone have trouble eating 1200 cals a day?

BuckwheatsMomma

I find that I eat less than 1200 cals a day. It is more like 900 or 1000. I have to force myself to eat more. I fill very full before I even eat half of my meal. I am back getting rid of those 15 lbs I gained back since last year. Is eating less than 1200 that harmful?

tchaubela

I just asked a question very similar to this. I would say if you truly don't feel hungry, don't force yourself to eat and just see how the next day goes.

isulo_kura

Well you didn't get over weight eating 1200 calories or less so you can eat more. However I would guess in all likelihood you're eating more than you think. Generally peoples calorie counting sucks and is full of inaccuracies. If you are really eating what you say you are one day wont kill you but long term and continual under eating will cause health issues. First thing I would do is check your logging. Make sure you are weighing all solid foods and measuring all liquids. Also make sure you pick accurate entries off the database. There are lots of the bad ones and even a lot of the so called 'Verified' ones are inaccurate. Find out how much you are really eating then go from there . Good Luck

DemoraFairy

If you definitely are eating 1200 then just start eating some of the foods you ate before in small enough portions that it'll bring you up to 1200 calories. Eating less than 1200 isn't a good idea in the long run (unless you're pretty short and inactive).

Heidisjourney

When I saw the title I was going to respond yes me, but then I read the question
I struggle to eat as little as 1200.
I lose better when I eat between 1400 and 1600

Monklady123

No never, unless I'm sick. I think that you should be eating 1200 for the sake of health and fueling your body. Obviously if you have the flu or a bad cold or something then just eat what you feel like. But under normal circumstances, 1200 should be the goal.

I'm never quite sure how to respond to this type of question, which I see on the Weight Watchers board also ("I can't eat all my points...") -- I mean, I'm not at all trying to be rude, but how did we all get to be overweight in the first place? In my case it was by eating way more (WAY more! omg) than 1200 calories. And there are plenty of healthier ways of adding some extra calories than the way I was doing it (potato chips, wine, etc. lol) -- you could drink some 2% or even whole milk, or eat some cheese, or peanut butter, or make a smoothie with pb and nutella (omg, so good), add an avocado to your salad, add bacon to your eggs, etc.

BuckwheatsMomma

Thank you to everyone. This is not my first time around. I count my cals very carefully, so I am pretty sure of what I am eating. You are right, we did not gain the weight by eating less than 1200 cals, however it seems that after the 4th or 5th day I seem very full. Don't know why that is, but I feel full, and usually have to force myself to finish my dinner meal which I keep at about 500 cals. It took me just under a year to gain back the 15 Lbs. I lost last year. Thanks again folks!

SaffronSunrise

I've been stressed out lately so I haven't been eating even close to what I should be eating. Today, however....I'm so hungry that I could eat a sofa cushion.

Pawsforme

There are many days when 1200 calories or a bit less is plenty for me and makes me feel very satisfied. Those are usually hot, humid days when no one really wants to eat much. And as the previous poster said, I don't eat much at all when I'm stressed.

But on cold winter days when everything's going well I'd likely be starving on 1200 calories.

strong_curves

I do, that's why I eat between 1600-1700 a day and still lose weight.

And if you're not using a food scale you may be eating way more than you realize.

Christine_72

If I had trouble eating 1200 calories a day I wouldn't be here trying to lose weight...
I exercise as much as I can so I don't have to be stuck eating 1200. Because I know for a fact I couldn't do it. It is not enough for me.

hali4qa

I have the same problem. When I started measuring my calorie intake, I discovered that I mostly eat under 1500 a day (usually under 1300) - that was with cakes and chocolate, spaghetti with cheese, pizza and all that. The thing is I usually skip breakfast, and only eat lunch and dinner + snacks. I do not feel hungry. When I cut on sweets and pizza, it became reasonable hard to eat enough to get into 1200 calories - and I still don't feel hungry unless I'm forced to delay my lunch or dinner few hours. I am shirt, only slightly overweight with BMI 25.5, and I'm not too muscular, so I don't need that much energy I guess.
I've spent last few days on 800-900 calories a day as an experiment - still feeling okay, the only cravings I get are psychological. I know it's unhealthy, but wtf body, where is your survival instinct?! Very frustrating.

The problem is the less you eat, the harder it is to get all the micro nutrients your body needs, so if you are eating under 1200 calories, make sure you eat from all main food groups, and that you get all the variety you need!
Weights training also helps: the more muscles you have, the more energy your body needs to maintain it.

hali4qa

reasonable = reasonably
shirt = short

3dogsrunning

hali4qa wrote: »

I have the same problem. When I started measuring my calorie intake, I discovered that I mostly eat under 1500 a day (usually under 1300) - that was with cakes and chocolate, spaghetti with cheese, pizza and all that. The thing is I usually skip breakfast, and only eat lunch and dinner + snacks. I do not feel hungry. When I cut on sweets and pizza, it became reasonable hard to eat enough to get into 1200 calories - and I still don't feel hungry unless I'm forced to delay my lunch or dinner few hours. I am shirt, only slightly overweight with BMI 25.5, and I'm not too muscular, so I don't need that much energy I guess.
I've spent last few days on 800-900 calories a day as an experiment - still feeling okay, the only cravings I get are psychological. I know it's unhealthy, but wtf body, where is your survival instinct?! Very frustrating.

The problem is the less you eat, the harder it is to get all the micro nutrients your body needs, so if you are eating under 1200 calories, make sure you eat from all main food groups, and that you get all the variety you need!
Weights training also helps: the more muscles you have, the more energy your body needs to maintain it.

I'm going to need to see a diary to understand this.

MoiAussi93

I don't think it is a good idea to force yourself to eat when not hungry. There is no magic in the 1200 number. If you are full on less, then stop there. Most likely you will be hungrier in the next few days and feel like eating more. Nobody has the exact same appetite every day.

Christine_72

3dogsrunning wrote: »

hali4qa wrote: »

I have the same problem. When I started measuring my calorie intake, I discovered that I mostly eat under 1500 a day (usually under 1300) - that was with cakes and chocolate, spaghetti with cheese, pizza and all that. The thing is I usually skip breakfast, and only eat lunch and dinner + snacks. I do not feel hungry. When I cut on sweets and pizza, it became reasonable hard to eat enough to get into 1200 calories - and I still don't feel hungry unless I'm forced to delay my lunch or dinner few hours. I am shirt, only slightly overweight with BMI 25.5, and I'm not too muscular, so I don't need that much energy I guess.
I've spent last few days on 800-900 calories a day as an experiment - still feeling okay, the only cravings I get are psychological. I know it's unhealthy, but wtf body, where is your survival instinct?! Very frustrating.

The problem is the less you eat, the harder it is to get all the micro nutrients your body needs, so if you are eating under 1200 calories, make sure you eat from all main food groups, and that you get all the variety you need!
Weights training also helps: the more muscles you have, the more energy your body needs to maintain it.

I'm going to need to see a diary to understand this.

I reckon!! A few pieces of pepperoni pizza clocks in at over 600 calories...

Liftng4Lis

Can you open your diary?

hali4qa

Didn't know it is possible to open it, done now.

I've only resumed it for the last few days for this 900 calories experiment. All is there except few cups of green tea and water intake.

3dogsrunning

hali4qa wrote: »

Didn't know it is possible to open it, done now.

I've only resumed it for the last few days for this 900 calories experiment. All is there except few cups of green tea and water intake.

I haven't seen any days over 1300. Most are below 1000.

I haven't seen any days with pizza, pasta, cheese, chocolate, and cake.

I haven't seen any days with more of one of the above.

hali4qa

That is because as I said I only resumed it few days ago. All the days with pizza and chocolate are few months back. I've got no idea how to look at people's food diaries at this site, or I would've found an example. First time actually using the site and not the app today. :-D

Anyway, days under 1000 prove my point: no hunger on those days, even though calorie intake is smaller than magical 1200.

3dogsrunning

hali4qa wrote: »

That is because as I said I only resumed it few days ago. All the days with pizza and chocolate are few months back. I've got no idea how to look at people's food diaries at this site, or I would've found an example. First time actually using the site and not the app today. :-D

Anyway, days under 1000 prove my point: no hunger on those days, even though calorie intake is smaller than magical 1200.

I looked months back.

3dogsrunning

hali4qa wrote: »

That is because as I said I only resumed it few days ago. All the days with pizza and chocolate are few months back. I've got no idea how to look at people's food diaries at this site, or I would've found an example. First time actually using the site and not the app today. :-D

Anyway, days under 1000 prove my point: no hunger on those days, even though calorie intake is smaller than magical 1200.

Also, hunger is not an reliable indicator of whether you are eating enough. Calorie intake affects hormones which can affect hunger.

There are people who are literally starving themselves and feel no hunger while others who are obese can experience constant hunger.

hali4qa

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/hali4qa?date=2015-06-15 - around this period I got my normal days. Yeah, I cannot find one with the logged pizza, but I do remember once looking it up and realising it's about 300 calories for a piece. :-) Pizza days were big days.

Anyway, what were you trying to find in my food diary, again? I thought you just wanted to see how a person can eat under 1200 calories and be fine, what that intake looks like. You can see it perfectly clear there - full lunch and dinner, and snacks, and chocolate can compose a day under 1200. So I understand the topic starter, which was my original point.

Don't think I'm starving myself, I've been eating like this for years with occasional cake or pizza weeks that compensated whatever under eating there could've possibly been, and in the last 5 years or so I've only been gaining weight. No health problems, no nothing. It helps not living in USA and having a different food culture.

3dogsrunning

hali4qa wrote: »

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/hali4qa?date=2015-06-15 - around this period I got my normal days. Yeah, I cannot find one with the logged pizza, but I do remember once looking it up and realising it's about 300 calories for a piece. :-) Pizza days were big days.

Anyway, what were you trying to find in my food diary, again? I thought you just wanted to see how a person can eat under 1200 calories and be fine, what that intake looks like. You can see it perfectly clear there - full lunch and dinner, and snacks, and chocolate can compose a day under 1200. So I understand the topic starter, which was my original point.

Don't think I'm starving myself, I've been eating like this for years with occasional cake or pizza weeks that compensated whatever under eating there could've possibly been, and in the last 5 years or so I've only been gaining weight. No health problems, no nothing. It helps not living in USA and having a different food culture.

Uh, you said you ate pizza, pasta with cheese, cake and chocolate in teh same day and stayed under 1500 calories which I questioned. And I haven't seen yet (the day you linked is 800 calories).

You and I clearly have a different idea of what "fine" is regarding eating.

I'm also not in the USA.

ETA - and I also know for a fact the other poster who quoted and agreed with my questioning is not in the US either.

hali4qa

3dogsrunning wrote: »

Uh, you said you ate pizza, pasta with cheese, cake and chocolate in teh same day and stayed under 1500 calories which I questioned. And I haven't seen yet (the day you linked is 800 calories).

Oh, I see where this is coming from! Sorry for misunderstanding. I did not mean that I ate all of that on the same day, that would be crazy. What I meant is I ate that stuff a lot as part of a lifestyle. It would be on different days, of course.

Christine_72

hali4qa wrote: »

3dogsrunning wrote: »

Uh, you said you ate pizza, pasta with cheese, cake and chocolate in teh same day and stayed under 1500 calories which I questioned. And I haven't seen yet (the day you linked is 800 calories).

Oh, I see where this is coming from! Sorry for misunderstanding. I did not mean that I ate all of that on the same day, that would be crazy. What I meant is I ate that stuff a lot as part of a lifestyle. It would be on different days, of course.

I thought you meant all in the same day as well

Christine_72

hali4qa wrote: »

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/hali4qa?date=2015-06-15 - around this period I got my normal days. Yeah, I cannot find one with the logged pizza, but I do remember once looking it up and realising it's about 300 calories for a piece. :-) Pizza days were big days.

Anyway, what were you trying to find in my food diary, again? I thought you just wanted to see how a person can eat under 1200 calories and be fine, what that intake looks like. You can see it perfectly clear there - full lunch and dinner, and snacks, and chocolate can compose a day under 1200. So I understand the topic starter, which was my original point.

Don't think I'm starving myself, I've been eating like this for years with occasional cake or pizza weeks that compensated whatever under eating there could've possibly been, and in the last 5 years or so I've only been gaining weight. No health problems, no nothing. It helps not living in USA and having a different food culture.

To be honest. I don't know how you're still standing eating such low amounts. ..

hali4qa

It doesn't feel low when there is lots of fiber and little physical activity. Or maybe I am just accustomed to that. I walk to work, sometimes go to ice skating, walk for couple hours on Saturdays, sometimes do weights for 10 minutes or so - all good, but on active days hunger does come, so I know physical activity makes a difference. :-)

noramachuca

I'm in the same boat. Before I started counting calories I was a big eater. I could eat big portions with no problem. But since I've been counting calories I feel like my stomach shrank and can't eat as much. Granted I am eating healthier more filling foods like pinto beans for example but I think it's important to stay away from junk food aka empty calories if you're having a hard time eating more. I do find that certain foods leave me hungry again faster and I eat more those days but like everyone else it's a learning process. I'm sure some of it is our tracking error but I'm sure we're all very capable of measuring how much food we're eating.

ForestFairy022

I don't eat 1200 every day. But my appetite fixes that. Some days I'm less hungry, and some days more hungry. Last week I had a 700cal day. 2 days after that I had a 1600cal day. On autopilot.

TeaBea

MoiAussi93 wrote: »

I don't think it is a good idea to force yourself to eat when not hungry. There is no magic in the 1200 number. If you are full on less, then stop there. Most likely you will be hungrier in the next few days and feel like eating more. Nobody has the exact same appetite every day.

Appetite/ "fullness" can be a poor reflection of adequate nutrition. 1200 is based upon nutritional requirements. Less than adequate nutrition day in and day out is not healthy.

OP - are you meeting protein and fat goals? Often when people are too full to eat, their new diet includes lots of high volume / low calorie foods. These high volume / low calorie foods are filling and may provide micronutrients, but they don't provide fuel for basic bodily functions (heart, lungs, kidneys).