How do you do it on 1200 calories?

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MsOpus
MsOpus Posts: 99 Member
edited April 23 in Food and Nutrition
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?
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Replies

  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,155 Member
    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?
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 991 Member
    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.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 36,882 Member
    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.
  • MsOpus
    MsOpus Posts: 99 Member
    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.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 991 Member
    MsOpus wrote: »
    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.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 991 Member
    monrl wrote: »
    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.

  • justinejacksonm
    justinejacksonm Posts: 75 Member
    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??
  • justinejacksonm
    justinejacksonm Posts: 75 Member
    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.
  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    edited April 2021
    MsOpus wrote: »
    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.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 36,882 Member
    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.)
    MsOpus wrote: »
    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!
  • Db276952
    Db276952 Posts: 2 Member
    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.
  • natasor1
    natasor1 Posts: 271 Member
    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.
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    edited April 2021
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    natasor1 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'.
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    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.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    natasor1 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.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    wunderkindking wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    natasor1 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.
  • ReenieHJ
    ReenieHJ Posts: 9,723 Member
    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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