Only 1,200 calories! Ugh

ericaf7

I only 7 more lbs to lose but really struggling to to stay withing the 1,200 calories guideline! Anyone else?! Seems like to I can do 1,400 but that's a good day! Need to workout more to offset but struggling to find the time with the kids soccer schedules right now!

kommodevaran

That's why 2 pounds per week is unrealistic when you only have 7 to lose. Set your goal to .5 pounds oer week, and you get more calories.

MaggieGirl135

I used to walk around the soccer fields as they practiced or when I was waiting for the game to start. Not anymore; my kids are adults!

chubbycatcorner

I feel you. I am exactly the same

AnnPT77

If you're trying to lose faster than 0.5 pounds a week, then slow down and eat more. It's time to start taking the gradual off-ramp to maintenance calories and beginning to practice something closer to maintenance eating. Besides, now that you have less to lose, you have less fat "in the bank" to draw on safely.

Not only does exercise burn calories, but so does daily life activity. Consider this thread:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss

Best wishes!

alicebhsia1

i did 1200 calories for awhile. the things that sustained me was going to bed early every night (like 8pm lol)and telling myself i could eat this or that after i lost some weight.

ShayCarver89

I'm currently trying to lose weight, but I'm a serial yo-yoer and have lost 70+ pounds in the past. The closer you get to your goal the harder the weight is to lose. It doesn't matter if you do everything perfect, its going to come off slow unless you are unhealthy about it. Honestly I would just surrender and count every .1 as a victory. Eat more if you want, you'll still lose the weight at say, 1,400 calories. It'll come off. It'll just be slow and steady.

shadow2soul

ericaf7 wrote: »

I only 7 more lbs to lose but really struggling to to stay withing the 1,200 calories guideline! Anyone else?! Seems like to I can do 1,400 but that's a good day! Need to workout more to offset but struggling to find the time with the kids soccer schedules right now!

Change your rate of loss or adjust your activity level.

If you are getting more than 5k steps in you should be set to at least lightly active (not sure if you are or not) and with only 7 lbs to go, 0.5lb per week loss is going to be a more appropriate goal. Think of it as slowly transitioning to maintenance.

Lounmoun

ericaf7 wrote: »

I only 7 more lbs to lose but really struggling to to stay withing the 1,200 calories guideline! Anyone else?! Seems like to I can do 1,400 but that's a good day! Need to workout more to offset but struggling to find the time with the kids soccer schedules right now!

1200 is pretty tough for most people. If you are not very short, old and sedentary you can probably lose more comfortably eating more.
As others have said your rate of loss should be set for .5 lb a week if you only have 7 lbs to lose. You would be reducing your intake by 250 calories a day or 1,750 per week. 250 calories does not mean you have to drastically alter your diet. It might be rethinking a single food or drink choice that day or just tracking and adjusting all portions sizes more in line with your goals.

Maybe you do not have your activity level without exercise correct. Are you really sedentary? Getting less than 5,000 steps a day or spending almost all of your time sitting would be sedentary. If this is not you then you might choose a different activity level without exercise.

If you do exercise then log it and eat more.
Bulk out your meals with low calorie vegetables. Plan and prelog your food for the day.
Log as accurately as you can. Use a food scale and check that the entries you choose are correct.
Looking at your food diary could help you see where reducing portion sizes or limiting intake of some foods or drinks could be helpful. Maybe switching to a lower calorie version of a product you normally consume?
I increased my activity level by wearing a simple pedometer and gradually increasing my steps. I think it is easy to fit walking more in throughout the day. I don't get tons of extra calories from it at the level I do but moved from sedentary to lightly active at least.

88olds

Struggling is trying to tell you something. A friend says- there is a weight we can attain and a weight we can maintain.

Apply patience. If you are losing at 1400 calories on a good day, leave it alone. Unless you are willing to increase exercise and continue at that level, you are just setting yourself up to eventually gain it back.

You don’t say what the numbers are but you can’t weigh 120 lbs living a 130 lb lifestyle. If you are currently losing, even if it’s 1 lb per month, patience is a better response. You won’t think about how long it took if those lbs stay gone.

ericaf7

Thanks for all the advice! I changed my goal to losing 0.5 lbs per week but it only gave me 20 more calories a day lol! Unfortunately I sit at a desk all day long so I set me activity at sedentary but since I coach both my sons soccer team I do try to run around at practice with them as much as I can..he's only 4 though! If only I disliked beer, wine and sweets..haha!