Alright people who supposedly get full on 1200, how do you do it?

curvy_gamer_loses

I'm sure everything I am about to say was already mentioned...There's days where I barely reach 1,000 and there's days where I eat 1400. I'm 5'6" and have a desk job so I guess I don't really move around that much except for my workouts. If you won't feel full at 1200, then eat more. I do like to have "high volume" foods. Salads, soups, etc. My go to breakfast when I can actually cook at home in the mornings is 4-6 cups of spinach steamed down, 2eggs, and a slice of bread. That meal keeps me full until lunch. I made a veggie soup with all sorts of left over veggies from the week (cabbage, onions, beans, green beans, carrots etc) and I made about 4 servings and I am full for the rest of the night after one bowl. And each bowl was around... 250 calories I think. I eat about every 2-3 hours as well.

DKG28

i was starving for the 1st month on 1200, but then my body adjusted to it. I had to think about how I defined "full". before it was - the starting to feel stuffed level. now it's - the stomach has quit growling level. Before I never truly got hungry. Now I get hungry as one should before mealtime, and it's true hunger, not psychological hunger. No, I never get a large portion of anything, but I've found that savoring a small portion can be more satisfying. Pay attention to every bite and your brain will notice the food going in and filling you up instead of mindlessly shoveling it down. I eat a lot of plain/simple foods - never realized how often condiments and sauces and cheese doubled the calorie count.

whatatime2befit

Here's one of my days. Not exactly 1200 because I eat back some exercise calories every day. It's copied from the food journal, so you're getting the macro #s as well.

Breakfast Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar
Laughing Cow (Canada) - Light Wedge, 2 portions 33g 50 2 3 4 290 1
Generic - Eggs, 2 egg 140 0 10 12 140 0
Kirkland Signature - Smoked Black Forest Ham, 1 slices (57 g) 33 1 1 5 120 1
Add Food Quick Tools
223 3 14 21 550 2
Lunch
Subway - Salad-blt Salad, 1 Salad 150 10 8 10 630 5
Kraft - Ranchers Choice Salad Dressing, 0.5 TBSP 35 1 4 0 58 1
Add Food Quick Tools
185 11 12 10 688 6
Dinner
Bread - Country Harvest Protein Bread, 2 slices 230 33 4 17 360 5
Kraft - Miracle Whip, Calorie-wise, 22.5 ml (1 tbsp) 45 5 3 0 210 3
Kraft Singles (Canada - Light Cheese Slice, 1 Slice (19g) 45 2 3 3 300 2
Lilydale - Turkey Breast, Sliced, 83 g (3 Slices) 91 3 2 18 543 0
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411 43 11 38 1,413 10
Snacks
Raspberries - Raw, 60 g 31 7 0 1 1 3
Kirkland Greek Yogurt - Plain, 3/4 cup 100 6 0 18 70 5
Pure Protein - Protein Bar - Chocolate Deluxe (Canada), 1 bar (50g) 180 17 5 21 85 3
Black Diamond - Cheese String Marble, 1 Stick 60 0 4 6 140 0
Kirkland Greek Yogurt - Plain, 3/4 cup 100 6 0 18 70 5
Usda (09266) - Pineapple, Raw, 63 g 32 8 0 0 1 6
Add Food Quick Tools
503 44 9 64 366 22

Totals 1,322 100 45 133 3,017 39
Your Daily Goal 1,451 109 33 181 2,300 51
Remaining 129 8 -12 47 -717 11

hugheseva

I eat something throughout the day - and I don't always eat my 1200 calories - and am still satisfied. I try to avoid acidic foods or coffee that would produce stomach acid creating a false hunger sensation.
I put great emphasis on breakfast. I eat one and in an hour I eat a second breakfast. Also, I realized that when I have a small hunger attack, I don't have to satisfy it with a full meal. For example, last night I was still hungry, so I had 2 oz of cooked quinoa with a tiny amount of broccoli and 1 tbs of Parmesan cheese. It immediately satiated me and the whole thing was 106 calories. My diary is open. You are welcome to look at it.

LeslieB042812

esaucier17 wrote: »

Bonny132 wrote: »

ceoverturf wrote: »

I suspect it's a combination of a few things:

1. They've just recently started, and it's still a mental game convincing themselves they're "full" - their hunger will catch up after a week or two.
I have lost 45lbs and got another 55lbs to go, so way past the mental "convinced I am full game"

2. They're not accurately measuring calories, and they're actually eating much more than that
I weigh everything I eat

3. They're eating a crap ton of lettuce, broccoli, and other cruciferous vegetables, which while seemingly 'healthy', will eventually leave them short of necessary fats and proteins.
I eat salad with proteins for lunch and vegetable with my dinner.

4. Or, they actually are quite old, short and close to their goal weight, so that 1200 calories is actually a reasonable goal (probably ~1% of those actually eating 1200 calories)
I am not old or close to goal

Typical day:
Breakfast quark with fresh berries 200kcals (10g proteins), can be a bit less or more depends on how much and type of berries I add

Lunch chicken or tuna salad 250kcals depending on what I put in my salad, I generally use a full chicken breast
Sometimes I replace the chicken/tuna with smoked mackerel

Snack 100-150kcals my current favorite is quiche cupcakes http://www.slenderkitchen.com/quiche-cupcakes/
http://www.willcookforfriends.com/2014/04/crustless-mini-quiche-single-serving-breakfast-muffins.html

I am now left with an average of 600Kcals for dinner or dinner and a treat. My dinner varies greatly, from a home made curry to spaghetti and meatballs. Burger on a potato waffle with a fried egg or bacon, with mushrooms and salad on the side. Fish/White meat and steamed veg, stir fries w/rice noodles, steak with fried mushrooms (I love mushrooms) and steamed veg, if I have left over calories to spend, I'll add a potato waffle or have dessert. I use full fat butter (not margarine) and olive oils.

On days I work out I eat more than 1200Kcals (up to 1400) and will add avocado or cottage cheese to my lunch time salad and a sprinkling of seeds.

Today for dinner I am having spicy/ovenbaked cauliflowerhead with cod, green beans and pesto and fruitsalad for dessert, so I am hardly feeling deprived and at weekends, my Sunday breakfast is normally a bacon buttie in a gluten free roll, or a GF roll with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.

IF I want a glass of wine with my dinner I will of course have to forgo some of my food and I might feel a bit hungry depending on my food choices, but I generally try to plan ahead and stock up on protein as I find for ME high proteins keeps my hunger at bay.

You food sounds delicious.....especially your dinners

Yes! YUM!!!!

louise5779

I think a lot of it depends on your size. They bigger you are the more calories you use. My maintenance calories are 1540 so cutting to 1200 is only an 0.5lb weight lose per week. I stick to 1200 most days and sometimes eat back some exercise calories but not ways.

I scan, measure and cook everything and don't waste calories on things like drinks. I drink water or tea and only have unsweetened almond milk in my tea. Occasionally I have a full fat coke but that's it. No alcohol. Lots of protein and veg try to cook without added fats or oils. I also find I don't eat much after exercise. I do if it's morning exercises (5x days gym a week) but my evening run I don't ( 4 x evening runs a) Normally postpone dinner have an evening run and then afterwards just want tea or a high protein snack never a full meal. I log everything my diary is open.

AnnPT77

I'm eating at 1200 net now, and have been for a few weeks (losing 2lbs/week at around 1600-1800 before that).

I'm not usually unduly hungry, and if I am I eat something. I've learned that I find fat or protein satiating, so I make sure I get reasonable amounts of those. I also recognize that dehydration and hunger are easy to confuse, so I drink lots of water.

I am old (59); short(-ish), 5'5"; weigh my food like it was religion; am quite active (vigorous activity like spin class or rowing 6 days/week, plus some other stuff); and vegetarian so I get plenty of fiber.

Because the 1200 is net calories, my actual consumption is usually 1400-1600 depending on exercise, except on my weekly real-rest day when it's actually around 1200. I've still been losing about 2lbs/week, though I'm trying to reduce that to 1lb/week because I'm getting within 25 pounds of goal.

I've found I do best with a hearty breakfast unless I'm working out first thing in the AM (oatmeal, berries, greek yogurt, nuts). Lunch is often light (peanut butter on an apple, couple hard-boiled eggs and raw veggies, greens with cottage cheese). Dinner is extremely varied (the calorie-dense items tend to be nuts, cheese, beans, protein-y grains like quinoa) but includes a good portion of veggies. Snacks are single-serving cheese, dry roasted soybeans, small glass of skim milk, greek yogurt & fruit - number, timing & calories of snacks depend on whether I feel hungry, but it runs between 0 to 2 snacks totalling around 100-200 calories daily).

I suspect that everyone is satiated in different ways (protein/fat vs. fiber vs. physical volume of food, say), impact of hydration, appetite triggers (eating really carb-y stuff like bread or pasta makes me want more), frequency/timing needs (3 meals vs 5, snacks or no; skipping vs. eating breakfast, heavy breakfast vs. heavy dinner).

It takes some experimenting to figure out what works best individually. End of day notes (maybe in your "food notes" part of the diary) about how you felt could help, along with some experimenting.

Bonny132

Thank you @esausier17 and @LeslieB042812 I love my cooking and see no reason why I should eat boring food just because I am on a diet, if anything that is a recipe for a spectacular fail for me.

DoreenaV1975

I was a 1200 calorie girl and honestly you just get used to it...
There were days I had to force myself to eat just to get 1,000 calories.
Healthy? No... But it can be done.

brendak76

I'm petite and my bmr is about 1200. The only way I could stay full on 1200 was to lay in bed all day and not move. Any exercise or physical activity or normal functioning in life did not work for the 1200 diet. There is just no need to do that to myself. And it led to binging. Regularly.

minties82

Move more = eat more. I'm 4'11" so MFP would tell me to eat less than 1200 if it could. I make sure I move a lot and therefore eat an average of 1550. I can eat more than this and still lose I am sure, but I'm testing my fitbit out for a while first.

1200 is just way, way too sad for me!

deannaaaaaaaaa

LeslieB042812 wrote: »

Okay, first of all, I also find it odd (and insulting) that so many people think it's impossible to be satisfied on 1200 calories. Of course, if you're 5'10 and active, then you'll be hungry on 1200 calories! But, as a 5'2" female, close to goal weight with a desk job I can absolutely feel full on 1100-1200 calories (and yes, that's with weighing in grams!) and that does not leave me with a huge weight loss, on average .5-.8 lbs/week. The first, and most important thing is for you to identify what makes sense FOR YOU. Don't pick 1200 calories because that seems like the fastest, most extreme way to lose and don't pick a higher calorie goal because people say that 1200 is crazy low.

With that said, to answer the OP's question, I did used to be starving on 1200 calories until I found the food combination and eating style that worked for me. Like WBB55 said, experiment and find what works for you because it is different for everyone. For me, whole foods that are full fat and high protein work best to fill me up, along with high volume foods. I discovered this when I played with going "Paleoish" for a month, following some of the principles of Paleo but not all and still measuring and tracking calories. I'm not a Paleo follower and I don't have any off limits foods now, but that month really helped me understand how filling avocado, chicken thighs and steak are, rather than chicken breast (which doesn't taste as good to me) but I used to eat because I grew up in the "low fat" crazy days. I learned that fat and protein help me feel full and refined carbohydrates do not (again, contrary to what I learned 20 years ago). Previously, when I was trying to "diet" to 1200 calories, I would eat a lot of 100 calorie packs of crackers, bread thins, and other "low fat" and those things would just make me hungrier.

So, what I eat now to feel full: soups (bone broth is awesome--high protein and low calorie) and salads for volume, meats, vegetables, fruits, greek yogurt, oatmeal, avocados, eggs, almonds, kashi bars (be careful with bars, look for high protein and high fiber), etc.

Food timing also makes a difference for me and this is another area to experiment since different people have very different timing needs. I tend to be hungry at night so I save calories for the evening. I usually have a kashi bar and black coffee for breakfast in the mid-morning (about 140 calories), lunch for around 300-400 calories (frozen meal, salad, leftovers, etc.), and a late-afternoon snack (about 200 calories) of greek yogurt and/or almonds and/or fruit and/or low fat cheese (in this case, low fat helps by upping the protein to calorie ratio). This leaves me with about 500 calories for the evening. I usually use this for a 400 calorie dinner (meat, veggies and a starch) and then a 100 calorie treat (either ice cream or chips, since I love both!).

One quick caveat, I was very successful with this plan and even managed to fit eating out into it (by skipping snacks and having a lower calorie lunch on days when I had dinner plans). However, now that I've added in more exercise to my day by getting a standing desk, running and weight lifting, I typically eat more than 1200 calories per day, especially on workout days. Listen to your body and understand what will work for you with how you're living right now.

Good luck with finding the eating plan that works best for you!

PREACH. Thank you for saying what I was feeling. Also I feel like your my food twin...

mbaker566

jdleanna wrote: »

I did it at first. I'm short and wasn't too overweight to begin with, so MFP gave me 1200. It was fine. I wasn't hungry at first. I'd never eaten a lot anyway- it's just that pre-MFP, what I did eat was junky high calorie stuff (Starbucks frappuccino every day... what was I thinking?).

Once I started getting more active, 1200 didn't work at all and I bumped it up to 1480.

exactly, when I wasn't active, I was fine with nutrient rich foods with a high fiber and high protein diet. now that I'm more active I eat about half the calories back. and sometimes, i'll eat all the calories back. today, might be all the calories. I'm usually starving after a longer run

Asher_Ethan

I wonder this too. I sometimes have a hard time feeling full on 1800 calories

Francl27

Asher_Ethan wrote: »

I wonder this too. I sometimes have a hard time feeling full on 1800 calories

Exactly. And I'm eating a ton of veggies, eggs, fruit etc. But I just laugh most of the time when people say that x or y food is 'so filling'. Not for me. I just don't get it. I guess I'm a special snowflake.

A lot of people eat back exercise calories though, so that's more believable.

pooks1976

First I am small (5'2" and 107 lbs.), older (39), and fairly sedentary. Even when I gained weight, I wasn't eating a large volume of food, just really high calorie foods. Generally I eat 2 meals a day, a late breakfast (almost always 1 egg) and an early dinner. I have at least 2 types of veggies, 2 types of fruit, and nuts to snack on throughout the day. I only drink water, green tea, or coffee.

ejb06070

I've been eating between 1000 and 1200 calories daily since March (not a short-term person). I'm 22, 5'2" and down from 270 to 212.4. I work 9 hours daily with an hour commute round trip. I notice that when it's hot or I have work, I really have to force myself to eat 1000 calories, and sometimes I'm just not feeling it.

For breakfast, I'll usually have something light, like cereal, eggs with toast, breakfast-to-go packs (the Emerald ones with nuts), SlimFast, or something similar. Usually 200 to 300 calories.
For lunch, I'll usually have something quick because I work in the emergency department. If I wake up late, I grab a bag of salad (60 calories) and a container of dressing (70 calories for 1/4 cup) then bring that with a bowl, fork, and measuring cup. If I have more time, a tuna sandwich and a serving of salad is good. I had a kiwi, greek yogurt, and sandwich the other day, which was great. Usually something that comes to about 200 to 300 calories.
Dinner, I have whatever everyone else is eating. It's where I usually eat the most. Last night we had grilled chicken, asparagus, corn on the cob, which came to about 500 calories.
I snack when I feel peckish (usually fruit, nuts, turkey meat sticks (http://www.vtsmokeandcure.com/real-sticks.html), yogurt, popchips, sun chips, crackers, cheese sticks, rice cakes) and if I have a day when 1200 calories just isn't going to cut it (I've had a couple) I don't deprive myself, because I know there's days when I've eaten less, and eating more isn't the end of the world.

007Aggie

Honestly, if I'm eating 1200 calories, I'm eating beans. The protein and fiber keep me satisfied. If I replace beans with lean meat (like chicken breast), totaling the same calories, I'll be hungry.

Add fruits and veggies, and I can do it without eating my arm.

amyr271

I just stop thinking about food, I find I am only hungry if I'm not busy. Also, for a 500 calorie deficit I'd have to eat 1157 calories a day, so it's not as if I've got a HUGE deficit, I'm just small.

It's different for everyone

do7110

actually I am on a 1200 cal a day and I don't even meet that most of the time because I am not hungry. Logging everything I eat and eating something every couple of hours. Every day I have a hard boiled egg with 2 slices of bacon with some type of fruit, 2 hrs later I have a small snack, such as yogurt, lunch is usually a turkey or chicken burger with 1 1/2 to 2 servings of veggies and again, some type of fruit....2 hrs later another small snack. sometimes cottage cheese with fruit or lowfat cheese stick. then dinner I have chicken, or turkey, more veggies and maybe baked sweet potatoe...every night to crave my sweet tooth, I have 2 no sugar, fudge bars. I just started walking a mile a day on my treadmill, which adds another 145 calories to my day, but without them, I still am most days under 1000 calories. I am never hungry and I've been doing this since 7/5/15. I have not had any fast foods or junk food since then. So I know it can be done. I have lost an average 2-3 lbs a week and to date, lost 21 lbs. I gave myself a goal and when I hit a 25 lb loss, I will treat myself to something, not sure what yet, but that is what keeps me going. Plus I live alone and only cook for me, so that is a huge help too. Good luck to all. Its a work in process, but we can all do it!