How do you do it on 1200 calories?
MsOpus
Posts: 99 Member
MFP has me on 1200 calories. Even changing my goals doesn't increase them. I have at least 50 lbs to lose. I gained 30 in the last 6 months
I mostly run for a workout because with gyms closed I struggle to stay motivated to do anything else
When I was 20 away from my goal, MFP dropped me to 1200 calories. I struggle to stay satiated no matter what/when I eat. After a run I'm famished and could put a huge dint in a buffet.
I am finding it hard to lose the weight I gained over the winter. Any thoughts?
I mostly run for a workout because with gyms closed I struggle to stay motivated to do anything else
When I was 20 away from my goal, MFP dropped me to 1200 calories. I struggle to stay satiated no matter what/when I eat. After a run I'm famished and could put a huge dint in a buffet.
I am finding it hard to lose the weight I gained over the winter. Any thoughts?
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Replies
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Are you eating your exercise calories? When you say "change your goals," you mean you told MFP you wanted to lose .5 a week?
Even if losing .5 a week puts you at 1,200 a day, you should also get some additional calories from exercise.7 -
Hmm, a few thoughts:
Do you eat back any of those calories from running or any other exercise/movement throughout the day?
Are you weighing your food to count calories? I remember being unpleasantly surprised by how calorically dense some foods were, but I was also pleasantly surprised by others because I assumed I was eating more than I actually was!
Also, how tall are you?0 -
Generally I feel 1200 is too low for anyone - if you google search for some calorie calculators, put in your data and see what they come out with. Check out 3-4 different sites, and take an average, then modify the number in your MFP to represent that number.
Do this for a week or two, and check your results. If you think youre losing too quick, add some more calories on. If you think you arent losing much, take some calories off (only by small margins, such as 100-200 calories)
Ive not trusted MFP calorie intake - ive taken the approach stated above and its worked well for me.
Consuming 1200 means that your body is under so much stress from such little intake, that it will hold on to what it has - stress doesnt help with weight loss.
I hope this helps!6 -
Definitely workout daily and eat back those exercise calories! A 30-45min run should get you up to 1500 at least. I've also found it's easier when I just drink black coffee for breakfast and then have a "normal" lunch/dinner. Basically intermittent fasting, but just for the sake of getting to choose more normal items rather than having to make quinoa, salad, and boiled eggs a meal... Drinking loads of herbal tea surrounding snack time has been helpful for me too. An apple and 2 cups of herbal tea is easier to keep myself on track than if I'm downing handfuls of almonds and cheese and crackers for snack.5
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Yes, 1200 is your sedentary TDEE, I'm guessing. If you run a few days a week and walk around a bit every day to boot, then you're over that estimate. What to do? Eat a little more and see what happens.
(E.g., Don't let a machine tell you what to do!)
Best of luck!5 -
As noted above, you don't mention your height or current weight. Nor do you state how you track / calculate your exercise burn or whether you eat your exercise calories. One other point - do you weigh, in grams, everything you eat / use in cooking? And do you check the database entries that you use when logging your food?
I'm 5' 1.5" and didn't have a huge amount to lose to get in to Normal BMI (but my goal was to get to the middle of Normal). Per MFP, when I started, my maintenance cals were 1450. As MFP won;t allow you to go below 1200, it didn't matter what rate I selected to lose at, MFP gave me 1200 cals. So, I started with a deficit of 250 (0.5lb a week) but, as I gradually lost weight, that deficit got smaller and smaller. However, I was eating considerably more than 1200 a day, because I logged my exercise and ate those calories. No way could I have exercised at the gym and only eaten 1200 cals. I also weighed everything and double checked every diary item against the packaging or the supermarket's website to check that the nutrition info of the entry I was selecting was correct.4 -
1200 was way too low for me personally, even when I had 50+ pounds to lose, while sedentary and age 59 (plus hypothyroid, if that matters - I think it doesn't). How fast did you tell MFP you wanted to lose weight, what does your daily life non-exercise activity (job, home) look like, how tall/old are you and at what weight now? 1200 is too low for a lot of people; maybe it's too low for you.
Personally, I lost fine eating 1400-1600 and more (slowed loss intentionally as I got closer to goal), *plus* all carefully-estimated exercise calories: Down 50 pounds in just less than a year, have maintained a healthy weight for around 5 years since. I'm not saying that calorie level will work for everyone, because we're all individuals . . . but it isn't unusual around here to see women trying to eat 1200 (or less!) when there are other options.3 -
To answer everyone's questions, I am 5'1". I need to lose at least 50 lbs but 60 or 70 would be great too.
I do weigh and measure food. Not my first rodeo.
And I have to eat back my excercise. I tell people that I run just so I can eat. I seriously am so famished after running its hard to stay within the calories.
I never have counted calorie burn with strength training but I also haven't been able to keep up with that as well since gyms are closed.
I have a sedentary desk job. I miss being on my feet all day. Trying to learn how to compensate for that too.
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To answer everyone's questions, I am 5'1". I need to lose at least 50 lbs but 60 or 70 would be great too.
I do weigh and measure food. Not my first rodeo.
And I have to eat back my excercise. I tell people that I run just so I can eat. I seriously am so famished after running its hard to stay within the calories.
I never have counted calorie burn with strength training but I also haven't been able to keep up with that as well since gyms are closed.
I have a sedentary desk job. I miss being on my feet all day. Trying to learn how to compensate for that too.
If you're eating 1,200 plus exercise calories and struggling with excessive hunger, I would suggest a couple of things:
1. Is your deficit goal too aggressive? If you told MFP you wanted to lose 2 pounds a week, you can change it to 1 or .5 per week and probably get more calories per day.
2. Are you focusing on the types of foods that make you feel more satiated? For many people, getting enough protein or fat helps them feel more satisfied. For others, it may be fiber. You may have to experiment to find out what works for you. I know if I don't get enough protein or if my days are lower fiber, I tend to struggle more with hunger. You could also play with meal timing. For me personally, I don't really mind feeling mildly hungry in the AM as long as I have a big satisfying dinner, so I plan my average day to fit that pattern.
3. Are you noticing any patterns with meals or snacks on especially hungry days? This is another one that can be really individual, but I realized that if I have just fruit for a snack, I get really, really hungry for the next few hours. So now I just include fruit as part of meals (where it doesn't cause that issue).9 -
To answer everyone's questions, I am 5'1". I need to lose at least 50 lbs but 60 or 70 would be great too.
I do weigh and measure food. Not my first rodeo.
And I have to eat back my excercise. I tell people that I run just so I can eat. I seriously am so famished after running its hard to stay within the calories.
I never have counted calorie burn with strength training but I also haven't been able to keep up with that as well since gyms are closed.
I have a sedentary desk job. I miss being on my feet all day. Trying to learn how to compensate for that too.
You're half an inch shorter than me. To get to the middle of Normal BMI, I needed to lose 30lb. I also have a sedentary desk job. I weighed just under 150lb when I started and MFP calculated my maintenance to be 1450. As you presumably weigh more than I did (if you think that losing 70lbs would be good), your maintenance is probably higher than 1450. My suggestion would be to change your Guided Set Up, briefly, to find out what MFP thinks you need to eat to maintain your current weight. You know that anything below that will/ should see you losing weight, albeit possibly a little slower than you'd like.
My suggestion would be to then play around with different foods, as janejellyroll suggests, and try more fibre / more protein to see if that helps fuel your runs. Log your intake, log your runs and use the app to check that your weekly Net Average doesn't exceed your maintenance number.
With a small deficit, your rate of loss will be small, but persevere. I went for several weeks at a time without seeing any movement on the scales, then suddenly I'd realise that I'd dropped a bit more. As long as you're logging everything accurately and eating less than you need to maintain, you will lose weight. It's far better to go slowly and not be hungry than to sabotage your weight loss because you want to eat half the contents of a buffet table.4 -
Mine is set at 1240. I exercise daily and eat back some of those calories. I never feel hungry - typical day for me is an egg and dry toast for breakfast (approx 150 cal), fruit for a mid morning snack (100-150 cal), chicken or beef stir fry for lunch (no rice/pasta, just meat and veg) (300-400 cal) and supper is usually some form of meat and veggies (300-500 cal). Most evenings I have a handful of crackers or chips, as well, roughly 100 cal worth. I drink black coffee and water throughout the day. Where my deficit is so aggressive, I also don’t stress if I go over (especially on weekends, when I choose to have a drink or two). Good luck finding what works for you! I’ve been losing 1.5-2 pounds a week for 8 weeks now eating like this and I am 5’2”5
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Mine is set at 1240.... I’ve been losing 1.5-2 pounds a week for 8 weeks now eating like this and I am 5’2”
Be aware that too aggressive a weight loss rate can be detrimental to your health. You may well feel fine, until suddenly you're not. Unless you have a lot of weight to lose, losing 2 lb a week is too aggressive.
Two things I used to see regularly in these forums:
1. don't aim to lose more than 1% of your body weight per week.
2. a chart that showed how much might be reasonable, per week, based on how much you had to lose. I think the last 20lbs was 0.5lb a week, 20-40lbs was 1lb a week and 40-100lbs was 1.5lbs a week. 2lbs a week was only OK if you have over 100 lbs to lose.
Hopefully someone will have a better idea on the recommended figures, but the rationale behind this is the impact on your muscles, including your heart.
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I can totally sympathize with your struggle as I gained 25 lbs, I haven't seen my goal normal weight in years now. Just can't seem to get down past a certain weight and even if I have once or twice it was only for a moment. One weigh-in and gone.
I gained 15-20 lbs since Sept and despite starting to workout again and being conscientious about what I'm eating (smaller portions, etc). I keep doing my weigh-in excited that finally I'll see it on the scale and every time, it seems to GO UP. Almost ready to quit.
There was a time in life when I realized I weighed more than ever and this is exactly the type of scenario I had worried about and doubted but I got into the best shape of my life at that point. Still not the best shape I was capable of because it just took so damn long alot happened in between.
Last week I finally decided after a month of 0 progress to dust off the old MFP want relearn how to track. I'm already set for a 1200 goal and honestly- I do want to snack and stuff but I feel even as little as I've been eating is too much.
My problem was going from working a full-time job at an Amazon warehouse to being home for Covid in the summer with tons of time for daily 1.5-2 hr walks, etc. and from that, to a full-time sit down job at home and online classes that ate up whatever free time for working out I had after sitting all day. Then cold weather, short days, holiday badness, work stress, family member illness stress, and so on.
I seemed to be gaining more weight now that I'm actually trying to but like I have the opposite problem. I'm not really all that hungry because I sit most of the day. I'm barely using any energy.
I almost feel like I'd have to drop down to 800 cals or something but can't even imagine being able to maintain that. My bfast alone is usually like 300 cals.
Do you eat alot of protein??3 -
Couple additional thoughts here- I don't personally buy into the "eat back exercise calories". The point of working out is to help create more of a deficit like what's the point? ***UNLESS**** you're trying to bulk up and build muscle which is also what everyone is obsessed over these days. I want some lean healthy muscle- but I don't want to look like an athlete. That's just me thought. But I tried that whole approach and not only did I never go down in fat, all I did was build muscle underneath the fat not being burned and was even bigger.
Do you ever workout using Fitness Blender??? You really don't need a gym tbh. FB is free. You may just be getting used to the running. It's important to mix it up and work different areas, strength and cardio.4 -
justinejacksonm wrote: »Couple additional thoughts here- I don't personally buy into the "eat back exercise calories". The point of working out is to help create more of a deficit like what's the point? ***UNLESS**** you're trying to bulk up and build muscle which is also what everyone is obsessed over these days. I want some lean healthy muscle- but I don't want to look like an athlete. That's just me thought. But I tried that whole approach and not only did I never go down in fat, all I did was build muscle underneath the fat not being burned and was even bigger.
Do you ever workout using Fitness Blender??? You really don't need a gym tbh. FB is free. You may just be getting used to the running. It's important to mix it up and work different areas, strength and cardio.
The "point" of working out isn't to create more of a deficit, although some people may decide to use workouts that way. The point of working out is to increase fitness and you can't do that if you're undereating.
People can choose to either pre-plan their exercise calorie usage into their calorie goal (TDEE method) or add it afterwards (NEAT), but anyone who wants to make consistent progress and maintain energy should have some sort of method for accounting for the calories used unless working out is a rare thing for them.
This isn't important just for people who want to "bulk up."
If eating back your workout calories results in weight gain, then it means you are either over-estimating your workout calorie usage or you're underestimating the amount of food you're eating. It doesn't mean that you're magically not burning any calories through exercise, which is what you're telling people to assume when you recommend not eating back exercise calories.15 -
Um, ^This.
I eat at a mild deficit to lose weight. I do not work out to create more deficit and lose weight faster. I work out because it's fun and to be more fit.
I am not trying to get prettier or wear a smaller size. Those things are okay as priorities for other people but they are not mine. I enjoy it okay, but it's not the POINT. . I am trying to get HEALTHIER overall - which includes stamina, strength, and general cardiovascular health - and also to improve my performance at sports and activities I participate in (and have since I was obese). I participate in them because I love them and they're fun.
Which means, yeah, fueling my body appropriately.
Not only do I eat my exercise calories back, I eat them BEFORE I do the activity in my case because it improves performance and how I Feel doing the things I like.
It's not about bulk, it's not about my size, it's about how I FEEL and how much fun I have doing the things and how much energy I have to do them.
Damn.9 -
I workout so I don't *have* to do it on 1200 calories. Because of the whole, you know, eating exercise calories back thing. Which mfp approves of. And so did my weight loss.
(SUCH a pet peeve. 😀)8 -
MFP has me on 1200 calories. Even changing my goals doesn't increase them. I have at least 50 lbs to lose. I gained 30 in the last 6 months
I mostly run for a workout because with gyms closed I struggle to stay motivated to do anything else
When I was 20 away from my goal, MFP dropped me to 1200 calories. I struggle to stay satiated no matter what/when I eat. After a run I'm famished and could put a huge dint in a buffet.
I am finding it hard to lose the weight I gained over the winter. Any thoughts?
Your 1200 is net...it's 1200 PLUS exercise.justinejacksonm wrote: »Couple additional thoughts here- I don't personally buy into the "eat back exercise calories". The point of working out is to help create more of a deficit like what's the point? ***UNLESS**** you're trying to bulk up and build muscle which is also what everyone is obsessed over these days. I want some lean healthy muscle- but I don't want to look like an athlete. That's just me thought. But I tried that whole approach and not only did I never go down in fat, all I did was build muscle underneath the fat not being burned and was even bigger.
Do you ever workout using Fitness Blender??? You really don't need a gym tbh. FB is free. You may just be getting used to the running. It's important to mix it up and work different areas, strength and cardio.
That's not the point of exercise at all and has nothing to do with "bulking up" or any such nonsense. "Bulking up" requires a calorie surplus above maintenance as well as a very solid weight training protocol. That *kitten* doesn't happen just because someone lifted a weight one time. 1200 calories is already a huge deficit from maintenance for most women...the point of exercise isn't to make that even bigger...that's actually a really *kitten* thing to do to your body and quite unhealthy.11 -
MFP has me on 1200 calories. Even changing my goals doesn't increase them. I have at least 50 lbs to lose. I gained 30 in the last 6 months
I mostly run for a workout because with gyms closed I struggle to stay motivated to do anything else
When I was 20 away from my goal, MFP dropped me to 1200 calories. I struggle to stay satiated no matter what/when I eat. After a run I'm famished and could put a huge dint in a buffet.
I am finding it hard to lose the weight I gained over the winter. Any thoughts?
I eat a tad more than 1200 calories a day when averaged across a week but for me the key was IF.
So, Monday, Wednesday and Friday I only eat 600 calories which means I can eat "normally" on the 4 other days, I simply cannot do a low calories diet day in, day out, having tried and failed so many times in the past, but this method has seen me lose 125 pounds so far.
Works for me but I understand this is not for everyone. And yes I do exercise even on fasting days and simply (yep - simply
) push through. 2 -
OP (a term that seems particularly appropriate when the OP's ID is MsOpus!), I haven't seen anyone comment much with suggestions about non-exercise activity (NEAT, non-exercise activity thermogenesis) as a possible way to increase calorie expenditure. The effect is subtle, and it isn't really anything you can estimate and eat back in real time, but it can add up to low hundreds of calories daily to calorie burn, and it will eventually show up in scale results.
There's a thread about it here:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1
Not all the ideas will apply to everyone, and some are less viable in pandemic times, but perhaps there's something there you can use.
I think the daily life activity idea - understanding the implications of it, not just trying to increase it - is especially relevant right now, with so many people's lifestyles changing, perhaps being less active, due to the pandemic's effects. We've even had a few threads here where someone couldn't understand why their loss had stalled in the pandemic (or they'd even gained) After some questioning, it became obvious that their daily-life activity had changed enough to account for that effect. (It's unusual for it to be that extreme, but it can be.)To answer everyone's questions, I am 5'1". I need to lose at least 50 lbs but 60 or 70 would be great too.
I do weigh and measure food. Not my first rodeo.
And I have to eat back my exercise. I tell people that I run just so I can eat. I seriously am so famished after running its hard to stay within the calories.
I never have counted calorie burn with strength training but I also haven't been able to keep up with that as well since gyms are closed.
I have a sedentary desk job. I miss being on my feet all day. Trying to learn how to compensate for that too.
If you haven't already tried them, I think @justinejacksonm's advice about considering things like Fitness Blender (among other video programs) is good, since many people find those fun and effective. Sometimes, for me, it's more possible to commit myself to try a bunch of different things (which seems kind of stimulating and fun), vs. committing myself to a particular defined exercise routine (when that seems motivationally out of reach). YMMV on that, though.
As another observation, which may be old news to you, good bodyweight programs can help hold onto (or even increase) strength and muscularity, if weights aren't available. Despite the title suggesting otherwise, this thread lists some bodyweight programs others have found useful, things that can be done at home with minimal or no equipment:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1
I'm glad to hear you're eating your exercise calories, for nutrition and performance. IMO, that's a smart plan, for reasons others have also mentioned.
In your OP, there seem to be 3 interrelated issues: Some challenges with satiation, some motivational dimension (which many are working to overcome in these times), plus practicality aspects of your current circumstances (gyms closed, sedentary job, etc.). It may be worth some thought about your individual details, the what and why on each of those fronts, maybe even writing stuff down about current obstacles then what you can try to break through each of them. Finding a thread you can pull, to unravel the complexity of interrelated stuff, can be quite empowering and (dare I say it?) motivating in itself.
Best wishes!
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justinejacksonm wrote: »Couple additional thoughts here- I don't personally buy into the "eat back exercise calories". The point of working out is to help create more of a deficit like what's the point? ***UNLESS**** you're trying to bulk up and build muscle which is also what everyone is obsessed over these days. I want some lean healthy muscle- but I don't want to look like an athlete. That's just me thought. But I tried that whole approach and not only did I never go down in fat, all I did was build muscle underneath the fat not being burned and was even bigger.
Do you ever workout using Fitness Blender??? You really don't need a gym tbh. FB is free. You may just be getting used to the running. It's important to mix it up and work different areas, strength and cardio.
I agree with others point about exercise as a Good Thing it itself, and possibly additionally as a way to achieve weight loss goals while getting better nutrition (and a higher amount of yummy food) alongside.
I want to quibble about the "it's important to mix it up". For the things that seem to be your key goals, weight loss and appearance, it really isn't particularly important to mix it up. If the overarching goal of your exercise is calorie burn, then all cardio, every minute of your time-budget for exercise, is going to deliver higher total calorie burn.
If the overarching goal of your exercise is appearance (as most people these days would see it), then strength training is your best exercise buddy ever. However, most people these days favor a bit of "look like an athlete" appearance-wise (just not a cartoon athlete, but rather a real one). You say you don't like that look. With those "lose weight, don't look athletic" goals, just do cardio for all of your exercise time budget, at the maximum calorie output per minute you can sustain without creating counter-productive fatigue that bleeds calorie burn out of daily life. That's going to be steady state state cardio, at a personally-tuned intensity, not intervals, certainly not HIIT.
If the implication is that your body "gets used to" certain exercises, and burns fewer calories doing the same thing at the same intensity for the same amount of time (at the same bodyweight), that's incorrect. Yes, with repetition over time, that workout will *feel* easier. Your heart rate monitor device may even give a lower calorie estimate for it, because your heart rate is lower (on account of delivering more blood volume and oxygen per beat, the oxygen factor being what actually correlates somewhat with cardiovascular-oriented types of calorie expenditure, but that can't be measured outside a sports/med lab). Sure, on the strength training side, strength/mass increases will plateau if you stop progressing the difficulty, but you've made it clear you don't care for muscularity for yourself, so that's not a worry.
The "body confusion" or "shock your body" nonsense about switching comes from Beach Body and their ilk, because it helps them sell new programs and equipment.
For well-rounded fitness and best health, a person ideally needs a well-rounded variety of exercise modes, possibly on a schedule that rotates those activity types over time. Fitness isn't about "mix it up" in some put it in your Vitamix and hit "puree" kind of way.
What "gets used to an exercise" is our brain: We can get bored, phone in the intensity, maybe even skip workouts because they're tedious. That effect would be a reasonable rationale for switching workouts.
The part of this that's on-topic for the thread, I think: If a person's only goal is calorie burn, cardio is the game. If it's appearance, in the current culturally common definition, include some strength challenge, to look "toned".
If the goals include health, fitness, and that sort of thing, then "don't exercise just to get a bigger deficit" is 100% on point, and a more nuanced exercise approach is a better idea. But this thread is about coping on 1200 (which I ate myself, plus exercise, losing weight like a house afire, faster than I'd wanted or intended, until it became obvious that for me it was a terrible idea).
Since OP reports not just lower than desired weight loss progress, but also feeling hungry, plus is seemingly still enjoying her running reasonably much, "don't eat back exercise" or "don't run" seem not exactly on point.8 -
My goal in deficit is 1270. I'm petite, looking to cut some fat. I work out about 4 times a week. What works for me is eating at least 100g of protein a day. It keeps me full. Lots of lean meats. I do coffee in the morning and then eat a late Breakfast. I usually do 4 meals at about 300 cals each. Keeps me full. Volume wise, I may eat more than most people but I load up veggies and lean protein.0
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Actualyl, feeling hungry a little is very nice feeling . Think positively, you look good, your stomach is inside sucked in, your clothes fits perfect, you are feeling light and can move. Imaging yourself going to gym with full stomach you probably won't be able even to bend. But gym requiers bending, jumping, streaching. Many people prefer to go for physical acivity with empty stomach. Project the identical nice feeling to the, rest of the day. It will take you only few days to start enjoing the emptiness of the stomach. If you going to run, the best thing is have your stomach empty too. One more notice for your quistion: the running is a sort of exercise that prompts your apetite high. From other hand, strength exercises work oposite way.2
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Actualyl, feeling hungry a little is very nice feeling . Think positively, you look good, your stomach is inside sucked in, your clothes fits perfect, you are feeling light and can move. Imaging yourself going to gym with full stomach you probably won't be able even to bend. But gym requiers bending, jumping, streaching. Many people prefer to go for physical acivity with empty stomach. Project the identical nice feeling to the, rest of the day. It will take you only few days to start enjoing the emptiness of the stomach. If you going to run, the best thing is have your stomach empty too. One more notice for your quistion: the running is a sort of exercise that prompts your apetite high. From other hand, strength exercises work oposite way.
Active people are going to be more than "a little" hungry on 1,200 calories.8 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Actualyl, feeling hungry a little is very nice feeling . Think positively, you look good, your stomach is inside sucked in, your clothes fits perfect, you are feeling light and can move. Imaging yourself going to gym with full stomach you probably won't be able even to bend. But gym requiers bending, jumping, streaching. Many people prefer to go for physical acivity with empty stomach. Project the identical nice feeling to the, rest of the day. It will take you only few days to start enjoing the emptiness of the stomach. If you going to run, the best thing is have your stomach empty too. One more notice for your quistion: the running is a sort of exercise that prompts your apetite high. From other hand, strength exercises work oposite way.
Active people are going to be more than "a little" hungry on 1,200 calories.
This.
My activity's always been pretty decent. As I've lost weight it's increased. I don't mind my stomach growling or feeling hollow. I do, however, GREATLY mind being light headed, having headaches, seeing my sports and running performance decline sharpl, feeling weak, and feeling like my limbs are made out of lead I have to lug around making daily chores HARD. (Meaning i, of course, then burned fewer calories because 'walked upstairs and did the dishes' was hard and really just let me sit on the couch)
It was like I'd JUST finished a HARD workout for about 3 days in a row.
You're gonna feel a little hungry sometimes eating in a deficit.
When you start UNDEReating you're going to get a lot more than a 'little' hungry.
And that stuff up there? That's 3 days of about 1500 calories. My 'half pound a week' deficit is about 1600 so at lightly active and would have been fine. IF I HAD EATEN MY EXERCISE CALORIES OR BUMPED MY ACTIVITY LEVEL.
But I did not.
And it was not 'a little hungry'.4 -
Re above, immediately though:
This would not have been a massive concern when I was obese or the high end of overweight. I could regularly under eat and not feel terrible. Both because I was less active and, I assume, there was more of alternative sources for fuel (Ie: More body fat). Not sure about the second, positive about the first.
A pound/2 pounds from normal BMI? Different result.0 -
Actualyl, feeling hungry a little is very nice feeling . Think positively, you look good, your stomach is inside sucked in, your clothes fits perfect, you are feeling light and can move. Imaging yourself going to gym with full stomach you probably won't be able even to bend. But gym requiers bending, jumping, streaching. Many people prefer to go for physical acivity with empty stomach. Project the identical nice feeling to the, rest of the day. It will take you only few days to start enjoing the emptiness of the stomach. If you going to run, the best thing is have your stomach empty too. One more notice for your quistion: the running is a sort of exercise that prompts your apetite high. From other hand, strength exercises work oposite way.
What Janejellyroll said.
Additionally, I'm one of those people who do not ever workout on an empty stomach if I can help it. It makes me queasy and low energy. I have to eat something or I lose steam. I remember when we'd go away for marching band camp in high school, our band director always insisted on us to doing an hour of cardio and marching practice before we were allowed to have breakfast. There weren't any snack machines to grab something beforehand, either, and it was brutal!
Cardio never kicks up my appetite quite like strength training did, though. If I do Zumba or jog for awhile, for instance, I'm usually thirsty, but not immediately hungry afterward. Weight lifting, however, I felt like a bottomless pit! I was always ravenous!
I think it's just different for everyone.5 -
wunderkindking wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Actualyl, feeling hungry a little is very nice feeling . Think positively, you look good, your stomach is inside sucked in, your clothes fits perfect, you are feeling light and can move. Imaging yourself going to gym with full stomach you probably won't be able even to bend. But gym requiers bending, jumping, streaching. Many people prefer to go for physical acivity with empty stomach. Project the identical nice feeling to the, rest of the day. It will take you only few days to start enjoing the emptiness of the stomach. If you going to run, the best thing is have your stomach empty too. One more notice for your quistion: the running is a sort of exercise that prompts your apetite high. From other hand, strength exercises work oposite way.
Active people are going to be more than "a little" hungry on 1,200 calories.
This.
My activity's always been pretty decent. As I've lost weight it's increased. I don't mind my stomach growling or feeling hollow. I do, however, GREATLY mind being light headed, having headaches, seeing my sports and running performance decline sharpl, feeling weak, and feeling like my limbs are made out of lead I have to lug around making daily chores HARD. (Meaning i, of course, then burned fewer calories because 'walked upstairs and did the dishes' was hard and really just let me sit on the couch)
It was like I'd JUST finished a HARD workout for about 3 days in a row.
You're gonna feel a little hungry sometimes eating in a deficit.
When you start UNDEReating you're going to get a lot more than a 'little' hungry.
And that stuff up there? That's 3 days of about 1500 calories. My 'half pound a week' deficit is about 1600 so at lightly active and would have been fine. IF I HAD EATEN MY EXERCISE CALORIES OR BUMPED MY ACTIVITY LEVEL.
But I did not.
And it was not 'a little hungry'.
I had the light headedness trying to do 1200 calories as an active person years ago, back before I learned better. I didn't stick with it long (probably a couple of weeks, if that) because then the dizzy spells started and it scared me, plus I was tired of being hungry and cranky.3 -
wunderkindking wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Actualyl, feeling hungry a little is very nice feeling . Think positively, you look good, your stomach is inside sucked in, your clothes fits perfect, you are feeling light and can move. Imaging yourself going to gym with full stomach you probably won't be able even to bend. But gym requiers bending, jumping, streaching. Many people prefer to go for physical acivity with empty stomach. Project the identical nice feeling to the, rest of the day. It will take you only few days to start enjoing the emptiness of the stomach. If you going to run, the best thing is have your stomach empty too. One more notice for your quistion: the running is a sort of exercise that prompts your apetite high. From other hand, strength exercises work oposite way.
Active people are going to be more than "a little" hungry on 1,200 calories.
This.
My activity's always been pretty decent. As I've lost weight it's increased. I don't mind my stomach growling or feeling hollow. I do, however, GREATLY mind being light headed, having headaches, seeing my sports and running performance decline sharpl, feeling weak, and feeling like my limbs are made out of lead I have to lug around making daily chores HARD. (Meaning i, of course, then burned fewer calories because 'walked upstairs and did the dishes' was hard and really just let me sit on the couch)
It was like I'd JUST finished a HARD workout for about 3 days in a row.
You're gonna feel a little hungry sometimes eating in a deficit.
When you start UNDEReating you're going to get a lot more than a 'little' hungry.
And that stuff up there? That's 3 days of about 1500 calories. My 'half pound a week' deficit is about 1600 so at lightly active and would have been fine. IF I HAD EATEN MY EXERCISE CALORIES OR BUMPED MY ACTIVITY LEVEL.
But I did not.
And it was not 'a little hungry'.
Yep, there's hungry like the nice feeling of feeling ready for your next meal (and many of us who were overweight have to learn how to recognize that as a "nice" feeling and that's a worthwhile goal). And then there is the hunger of chronic undereating, where you feel the cascade of physical and mental effects of not eating enough to fuel your activity. HUGE difference between the two.4 -
To answer the original question, it ain't easy.
Some days I do fine but some days I stop counting at around 1500. Like yesterday. I had planned for it to be a Ben and Jerry's day but what I didn't plan on were the pretzel rods with peanut butter and all the extra little spoonfuls of this and that. *However* I didn't get into the gobbling down cookies and bread/butter which I get to when I'm having a really weak day. 
The easiest way for me to stay at 1200 is to plump up my lunch/dinner with veggies and fruit. I also try to save 100-200 calories for the very end of the day when I NEED something to eat.
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