Can rarely manage to stay below 1280 calories...

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  • monstar4kc
    monstar4kc Posts: 30 Member
    I've been doing 1200 calories a day for the last 4 months and have lost over 25 pounds. I've just learned what to eat and what not to eat. I've also learned what I can "sacrifice" and what I can't to stay within that budget. For example, I drink a red bull almost every morning but that's it for breakfast (never been a breakfast person) unless I didn't eat much the night before. About mid-morning I'll have an apple or non-fat greek yogurt (100 calories). If your a breakfast person, you can do an egg and some turkey sausage on a bagel thin and that's usually around 300 calories at most. For lunch after my workout, I usually eat a 4 oz piece of chicken breast and double servings of vegetables (200-300 calories). Mid-afternoon snack is usually another piece of fruit, some carbs if I'm craving carbs or nuts (150 calories). Dinner depends on what my 3 kids want and that's usually my most calorie-dense meal of the day (400-500 calories). There are some days that I am struggling just to get up to 1000 calories so that I can hit the "Complete Diary" button at the bottom. I do enjoy what I eat and I think that's key. You have to like what you eat or you can't sustain these choices long-term.
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    CoolBoyMom6 wrote: »
    I would starve on that. I am eating about 2200 a day. Counting macros.. and I am losing weight. Losing more now at 2200 than I was at 1700 a day.

    That would mean that other factors were in play. No one loses more, by eating more. It simply does not work that way.
  • l911jnt
    l911jnt Posts: 164 Member
    edited May 2017
    I aim for 1200 but I am also only 5 ft tall, work at a desk and rarely work out. Ive been doing this 4 months. Honestly, some weeks are a breeze and I have no problem with it once I learned what to eat to fill me up. Some weeks tho, I just want to eat everything I see. One thing I have to do is eat SOMETHING every few hours. I eat a small breakfast, then a boiled egg at 10, then lunch at 12 and so on. If not, I will starve.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »
    CoolBoyMom6 wrote: »
    I would starve on that. I am eating about 2200 a day. Counting macros.. and I am losing weight. Losing more now at 2200 than I was at 1700 a day.

    That would mean that other factors were in play. No one loses more, by eating more. It simply does not work that way.

    my hypothesis would be eating more, more energy, more higher quality workouts that aids in increase of TDEE and burning more calories - because I'm similar - at 1600, I was pretty much static and always tired, feeling like crap...but when working with the group of RD's, they have me at 22-2500 a day and I'm steadily going down, but I'm working out much better/more energy - I ran 10 miles this am with no issues whereas before I would down hard

    In addition to having more energy for formal exercise, I think some people vastly under-estimate how many calories they can burn just through everyday movement (which is a lot easier to do when you have the energy provided by adequate calories). When I'm feeling low energy, it can be hard to leave the couch. When I've got enough energy, I'm taking the dogs for longer walks, deciding to take the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to run errands instead of driving . . . it all adds up. I'm not surprised when people share that upping their calories increased their weight loss. It still comes down to a deficit, but having more energy makes it much easier to use activity to increase the deficit.

    I know that since I've started focusing on getting my daily steps up - 10k but aim for 12-14K - I'm feeling much better and sleeping better (on top of my daily workouts)
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »
    mantramoon wrote: »
    Okay, I need to ask people - do you manage to stay at or below your calorie allotment for the day, and if so, how? I know I have improved my eating habits since starting on here 4 months ago, and I've lost 13 lbs so far. I exercise 25 - 45 min per day, walking, biking or elliptical machine, and burn 200-300 calories per session.

    But I rarely manage to stay below 1280 calories, which is my daily goal. I have lost weight anyway, but very slowly, and it sometimes will creep up a little before going back down. I'm in this for the long haul, and am trying to do only what I know I can sustain long-term. How do people manage to stay below their target calories? I don't have the time to exercise much more each day, and I get hungry!

    My problem is never with hunger. It's just with the yumminess of food.

    me too.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »
    CoolBoyMom6 wrote: »
    I would starve on that. I am eating about 2200 a day. Counting macros.. and I am losing weight. Losing more now at 2200 than I was at 1700 a day.

    That would mean that other factors were in play. No one loses more, by eating more. It simply does not work that way.

    my hypothesis would be eating more, more energy, more higher quality workouts that aids in increase of TDEE and burning more calories - because I'm similar - at 1600, I was pretty much static and always tired, feeling like crap...but when working with the group of RD's, they have me at 22-2500 a day and I'm steadily going down, but I'm working out much better/more energy - I ran 10 miles this am with no issues whereas before I would down hard

    In addition to having more energy for formal exercise, I think some people vastly under-estimate how many calories they can burn just through everyday movement (which is a lot easier to do when you have the energy provided by adequate calories). When I'm feeling low energy, it can be hard to leave the couch. When I've got enough energy, I'm taking the dogs for longer walks, deciding to take the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to run errands instead of driving . . . it all adds up. I'm not surprised when people share that upping their calories increased their weight loss. It still comes down to a deficit, but having more energy makes it much easier to use activity to increase the deficit.

    This. When I eat enough, I move more. I *could* eat less, but it wouldn't necessarily give me a bigger deficit.
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