struggling with a 1200 calorie allowance

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  • piercedee
    piercedee Posts: 59 Member
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    Most people try to jump in and start with the "Lose 2lbs" a week program. Start at a lb or 1/2 a lb until your stomach shrinks, and you get use to the smaller portion sizes, then lower your calorie count. Determination isn't a bad thing, but don't make the boulder too big to push up the hill. Start with a smaller stone, then when you are use to pushing it, make the stone bigger. Don't set yourself up for failure. JMO

    This^^
  • gwhitcher
    gwhitcher Posts: 3
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    Im not going over 1200, but ive gained back the 3lbs that I finally lost after 10 days!!! I have no clue what im doing wrong
  • Rwanstall
    Rwanstall Posts: 1
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    y
  • gwhitcher
    gwhitcher Posts: 3
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    Im following 1200 a day, but I gain and lose weekly, 3lbs down , 3 lbs back up... Im so frustrated
  • lise1212
    lise1212 Posts: 11
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    Wow, was just going to post this same question. . . followed by another question. . . what low cal/hi fibre/hi protein snack do other reach for in between meals so you don't have to listen to a grumbling stomach?? I also struggle with the 1200 cal limit. . . and find that when I exercise. . .it makes me hungrier!
  • ShapenerFiterrati
    ShapenerFiterrati Posts: 111 Member
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    I used to do 1200, and I lost weight good and quick. However I was always hungry and ended up binging alot, PLUS my weight loss stopped short (it sucks!) after a couple of weeks. My doctor said my calorie intake was signaling to my body to go into starvation mode- even though I ate 3 times a day, it wasn't enough because I exercised. I wasn't gonna stop exercising fosho, so I increased it to 1,340 and I can already feel it's alot better than 1200. I'm not starving anymore and when I exercise, I'm not eating too little.
    Of course you know your self best. It depends on your exercising schedule and if you eat your exercise calories back or not, but I would suggest going up to 1340.
    Just my advice :) Good luck!
  • selflove929
    selflove929 Posts: 19 Member
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    I could not stay consistent with a strict 1,200 calorie allowance. I found myself going over the limit, and then feeling ashamed and down knowing that I was going over my calorie allowance. I had mine at 1,350 for a while, but now I bumped it up to 1,400 since I started taking vitamins and healthy oils for my health (oils are so damn high in calories!)

    I think it's fine if 1,200 works for you, but if you're clearly struggling, then I would boost it up 100 calories or so :).

    Good luck!
  • gwhitcher
    gwhitcher Posts: 3
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    I need help!! I am very strict with the 1200 calorie diet, never go over, I exercise 4 days a week, and I gain it right back...help
  • lise1212
    lise1212 Posts: 11
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    Hi Luna,

    What is Paleo?
  • TCarter18
    TCarter18 Posts: 22
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    try using an appetite suppressant :smile:
  • JennaHW
    JennaHW Posts: 19 Member
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    I'm not going over 1200 but after I exercise, I'm starving. I just want to eat everything that I see and nothing seems to fill me up. Then the trainer at my gym asked me if I was dehydrated. Something I never thought about. I asked around and was told to drink liquid with electrolytes once a day, not gatorade, like pedialyte. I went and bought this box called Emergen-C. I take one packet a day in the morning. Now I'm not starving so much after every workout. I sometime still have trouble with keeping under 1200 because I love food, but I'm not starving so much after exercising that I want to eat everything that I see. I also drink 8- 500ml bottle of water a day now and I feel so much better.

    Maybe look at if you are dehydrated. Apparently that can hinder your weight loss too. Something I didnt know.
  • laurie62ann
    laurie62ann Posts: 433 Member
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    I've got it mastered. I eat high protein and lots of veggies! I find that the protein keeps me full longer. I was worried when my trainer bumped me down to 1200 calories. But so far so good. I had been at a plateau for a year and now I've lost 4 pounds in three weeks. Google high protein low calorie foods or meals.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I need help!! I am very strict with the 1200 calorie diet, never go over, I exercise 4 days a week, and I gain it right back...help

    Do you weigh/measure your food with a food scale? Are you logging accurately? If not, you are probably eating more than 1200.

    How long have you been doing it for? What is your sodium consumption like? Fluctuations are normal, but if you have been at it long term and still not losing then something is wrong with the equation.
  • DirrtyH
    DirrtyH Posts: 664 Member
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    Most people try to jump in and start with the "Lose 2lbs" a week program. Start at a lb or 1/2 a lb until your stomach shrinks, and you get use to the smaller portion sizes, then lower your calorie count. Determination isn't a bad thing, but don't make the boulder too big to push up the hill. Start with a smaller stone, then when you are use to pushing it, make the stone bigger. Don't set yourself up for failure. JMO

    I see this a lot around MFP, and what I think some people don't realize is that 1200 calories *is* the 1 or even 1/2 lb a week recommendation for some people. For those of us really short girls with desk jobs, there's not a lot of room there for a deficit.
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    These threads always make me sad. A year from now most of you trying to adhere to a 1200 calorie a day diet will be long gone from MFP. I have seen many, many posts from people who tried it, couldn't do it, figured out the correct number for themselves and were successful. I have seen damn few post from people who have been on 1200 any length of time. For most, not all, most, 1200 is too few and sets you up for failure. Please read the forums, look for people who have had long term success and see what they do. Go back to the first page of this thread and read the link that was posted, it is an excellent place to start. Good luck to you all.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Most people try to jump in and start with the "Lose 2lbs" a week program. Start at a lb or 1/2 a lb until your stomach shrinks, and you get use to the smaller portion sizes, then lower your calorie count. Determination isn't a bad thing, but don't make the boulder too big to push up the hill. Start with a smaller stone, then when you are use to pushing it, make the stone bigger. Don't set yourself up for failure. JMO

    I see this a lot around MFP, and what I think some people don't realize is that 1200 calories *is* the 1 or even 1/2 lb a week recommendation for some people. For those of us really short girls with desk jobs, there's not a lot of room there for a deficit.

    Well, yes, but not for very many people. Certainly not near as many as post that they're having trouble at 1200 cals.

    If you're under 5', I can see it. If you're short and a senior, I can see it. If you're short and just looking to lose vanity pounds (< 10), I can see it. But most people I see complaining about sticking to 1200 cals don't fall under any of those categories.

    I mean, I consider myself short (5'3"), I certainly have a desk job and no real other exercise, yet I still lose at 1400-1500 cals when I'm on the low side of a healthy BMI. I'm no spring chicken, either.

    So, even if you're short and sedentary, as a general rule if you have any significant amount of weight to lose, you can do it on more than 1200 cals. Therefore, if you have an issue with sticking to 1200 cals, why beat yourself up over it? Adjust your goal to something sustainable. If that's not fast enough for you, you can always lower your goal again.
  • padams2359
    padams2359 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Hi Luna,

    What is Paleo?

    It is fundamentally Atkins. High Protein, higher fats and no carbs. I tried this when I was first in Maintanance, and I hated it. I love meat, but the amount of protein I needed was driving me crazy. My family has a history of heart disease, and what it was doing to my cholesterol numbers worried me. I also like fruits, and a single orange was using all my carbs. This is also a costly route to go. All the steak, fresh fish, etc that you need to meet you daily goals of protein get expensive. I was below target weight with a 29w, but still at 20% body fat. Losing BF, but maintaining weight with a seditary job isn't easy.
  • frodopuppy
    frodopuppy Posts: 75
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    I cannot survive on 1200 calories a day. I chose to lose slower, 1 pound a week instead. also I eat back my exercise calories. If I eat to little I set myself up for a binge. but that's just me
  • Autumngolds
    Autumngolds Posts: 30 Member
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    I started with a different account and just couldn't keep to it. Partly it was a huge difference to the amount I was eating, but just as much of that it was what I was eating - things quite high in calories and hardly filling at all. I still need to make a lot of changes to my diet, but the 1200 goal is usually quite easy now. Lots of quite small changes helped, like eating more wholemeal bread and avoiding thin white loaves. Sometimes I go over, but it's into exercise calories so it just slows me down a little. I also often go over the sugar goal, but it's often fruit.
  • florentinovillaro
    florentinovillaro Posts: 342 Member
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    Hunger pangs and over ate at 1200, hunger pangs and over ate at 1400, found my sweet spot at 1600 daily, never once went over, and is losing weight.

    I no longer eat back my exercise calories. I gained weight when I did, and it does something to my head, it gives me the feeling as if I wasted an hour's worth of exercise and gained it right back.

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