Can't meet my calorie goal

GiveMeCoffee

i peeked in your diary. You are doing 1200 cals, and not only that you are doing it in a very extreme way.

1 lettuce leaf for 4 calories and meals replaced with weight loss shakes?

People who want to eat more calories do so without coming on here to whine about how they just possible cant.

It is easy instead of one lettuce leaf have 2, instead of 1/4 cup oates have a 1/2 cup.

Eat a whole avacado ir handful of nuts.

See you in a few weeks when you start wondering why your 1200 calorie diet is failing you.

I had one lettuce chopped and added with my spinach. Spinach is better for me, but I like a variety of greens. The food diary can be clunky sometimes. I had a meal replacement shake one day because I was very busy. I should have added that I tossed fruit into the shake but I forgot. Perhaps part of my problem is not measuring everything, which I will try to do from now on also. I do get hungry sometimes.

I think it's important to be supportive of other people and encourage them when they post about their journey. Weight loss, weight gain and weight maintenance can be a struggle for some people, and sometimes you don't have the option to talk to a nutritional specialist. Also, being over weight can wreak havoc on your self esteem. Sometimes people are over weight or underweight because of stress, illness or other sensitive issues. MFP is supposed to be a resource for us to help each other.

I appreciate your response but could do without the condescending tone. Thanks.

Support comes in many forms, and you don't have to talk to a nutritional specialist to lose weight, and you can lose weight while dealing with illness. That response was helpful, just because it was the brutal truth does not mean it was not supportive.

You didn't gain weight by not being able to eat at least 1200 calories so sorry not buying the fact that you can't eat at least 1200 now. Stop buying into the old myths, stop trying to be so restrictive, and remember support is not people agreeing with you, its giving you the facts and the truth.

beautifulwarrior18

That's because you aren't eating enough nutrient dense food (ie. beans, nuts, meats, rice). Eat more of those and you'll get more calories while eating less.

VeronicaG2B

If you eat more normal everyday foods, instead of diet foods, it will ne easier. You want to build habits for life, so eat like your going to eat for life instead of shakes and lettuce. That will help you meet your calorie goal.

HaelaBaer

I like beans and rice too. They are good to add into salads. I could probably add more to my plate while putting very little onto my husbands plate to balance my defecit.

Great ideas all, thanks!

HoneydewLouu

Eat healthy calorie dense foods; nuts, avocado's, seeds, dried fruits...

Chuck in an extra serving of rice or potatoes with dinner, or have an extra piece of toast with breakfast.

Increasing calories doesn't mean you have to turn to crap food. You can meet your goals while filling up on healthy options!

lizzyclatworthy

This may not be helpful but am a bit advocate of cake (it's entire reason for existing is to be eaten, do you seen how cruel it is to not eat cake?)

What about some healthier cakes?
banana and walnut loaf or muffins? I have an amazing recipe for banana walnut and bran muffins for when I need.. erm... movement
my SIL makes zucchini bread which is lovely

other than that... increase your portions, have a look at other peoples diaries?
I dunno, I just eat cake!

PhearlessPhreaks

i peeked in your diary. You are doing 1200 cals, and not only that you are doing it in a very extreme way.

1 lettuce leaf for 4 calories and meals replaced with weight loss shakes?

People who want to eat more calories do so without coming on here to whine about how they just possible cant.

It is easy instead of one lettuce leaf have 2, instead of 1/4 cup oates have a 1/2 cup.

Eat a whole avacado ir handful of nuts.

See you in a few weeks when you start wondering why your 1200 calorie diet is failing you.

I had one lettuce chopped and added with my spinach. Spinach is better for me, but I like a variety of greens. The food diary can be clunky sometimes. I had a meal replacement shake one day because I was very busy. I should have added that I tossed fruit into the shake but I forgot. Perhaps part of my problem is not measuring everything, which I will try to do from now on also. I do get hungry sometimes.

I think it's important to be supportive of other people and encourage them when they post about their journey. Weight loss, weight gain and weight maintenance can be a struggle for some people, and sometimes you don't have the option to talk to a nutritional specialist. Also, being over weight can wreak havoc on your self esteem. Sometimes people are over weight or underweight because of stress, illness or other sensitive issues. MFP is supposed to be a resource for us to help each other.

I appreciate your response but could do without the condescending tone. Thanks.

Support comes in many forms, and you don't have to talk to a nutritional specialist to lose weight, and you can lose weight while dealing with illness. That response was helpful, just because it was the brutal truth does not mean it was not supportive.

You didn't gain weight by not being able to eat at least 1200 calories so sorry not buying the fact that you can't eat at least 1200 now. Stop buying into the old myths, stop trying to be so restrictive, and remember support is not people agreeing with you, its giving you the facts and the truth.

OP, if you want to make this a sustainable change for the long-haul (which is wise) you need to figure out how to enjoy the things that made you overweight, but do so in moderation. If, after eating clean and healthy all day, you have 400 calories left, there's no reason not to enjoy a serving of good quality dark chocolate, or some ice cream. I eat Lindt Excellence dark chocolate almost every night. usually not a whole serving, but each square of delicious swiss chocolate is 50 calories. Pair that with some peanut butter, and you've got a wonderful snack to get you to your goal. Also, more protein- don't be afraid of it; eggs, yogurt, cheese, beans/legumes are all great additions to what you're eating.

I'll add that you probably need to be eating more than 1200 calories a day. Maybe not, and maybe once you're actually netting 1200 calories, you'll be fine, but I'm going with the person who snarkily predicted you'll be back wondering why you're not losing. 1200 is hard to sustain. Just for ****s and giggles, play around with your goal settings- see what it would be to maintain, to lose .5lbs, 1lb…. see what your calorie goals would be. You might be surprised.

Best of Luck

lizzyclatworthy

There's a whole thread right now on what people have given up because it's so calorie dense...things like hummus, peanut butter, wine, chocolate, etc. go look at that thread and eat some of those things. 1200 calories is just so stupid ridiculously low that it's ridiculous. I eat that for lunch. I can't understand how any human that has gained weight in their life to a point where they come here to lose, and then complains about how they can't eat 1200 calories. It's just absolutely ludicrous. You should be having the exact opposite problem. I can't fathom. And, I even further can't fathom why people start posts about it. I expect to see, "OMG, how do you guys eat only 1200 calories? I'm starving." That is a more productive conversation and makes more sense. And you would probably get more help from people that can sympathize with you about that.

I did it for months because my previous experience of losing weight was essentially starving myself. 1200 felt manageable after that.
I should have come to the forums earlier, I would have been so much happier. I had real trouble getting my head around why it was unsustainable. I just did not want to listen.
I am so much happier and I feel like I am letting go of unhealthy attitudes towards food.
(from my experience and that alone) it's fear, it's not that they can't eat 1200 calories they are afraid to eat them or to eat something until they feel full because the weight loss industry has conditioned us to believe that losing weight is hard but must be done as quickly as possible!

ndj1979

I track everything, but seem to always fall short. Trust me, I'd love to toss a chocolate bar or slice of cake back, but I'm setting goals for life, making this a habit not a phase. My big concern has always been skipping meals, and I'm definitely eating 3 times a day now, and trying to grab snacks too.

What should I be doing? I am trying to build up my gym time so I'll be burning more calories, which will create an even bigger deficit. And I can't sleep more than 4 hours at a time.

Does anyone have advice?

yes, toss back some chocolate, ice cream, cookies, etc.

Do you really never want to eat ice cream again for life? All you are doing is teaching yourself restriction, which, at some point, will sad to binging and then feelings of guilt.

Why not fill in the extra calories with something you like, so that you do not crave that particular thing. I eat ice cream every night and it has not hampered my goals one bit, and I am always in a deficit…

ndj1979

oP you should be Netting 1200 not 800 calories a day …all you are going to do is do long term damage to your metabolism and start burning through muscle.

I don't see why you can't eat ice cream, cake, etc, as long as you are netting 1200 for the day and maintain your deficit.

One serving of talenti is 220 calories….you could have had one serving a night and you would still NOT have netted 1200…

If you learn to eat everything in moderation now, it will really help lead you to long term weight loss and success….

chelstakencharge

You have me soooo confused on the NO cake or chocolate. I stay within my calorie goals daily, work my *kitten* off (literally) and am able to still incorporate sweets (if I want them) into my eating. My numbers prove that you do NOT have to deprive yourself of a particular food item to lose weight!

SezxyStef

You have me soooo confused on the NO cake or chocolate. I stay within my calorie goals daily, work my *kitten* off (literally) and am able to still incorporate sweets (if I want them) into my eating. My numbers prove that you do NOT have to deprive yourself of a particular food item to lose weight!

x2

except the confused part...I know why..because people for some reason demonize food...I liken it to a self imposed punishment for gaining weight...

I am not being snarky or mean either ...but you don't have to give up your favorite foods to lose weight....look at my weekend...pizza, wings, Quarter pounder BLT, FF, Dairy Queen, vodka, chocolate bar and I eat chocolate every night...and I lose weight...

As a mater of fact I lost a pound according to the scale today even after my weekend of "fun fun fun"

ninav1980

I only eat when I am hungry. I tried the 6 small meals a day thing and it wasnt for me. I found myself constantly thinking about food. Checking the clock to see if it was time for my "feeding". Ugh, it consumed me, I didnt like it. I went back to my old method, eating whenever I pleased. If you arent hungry for breakfast, dont eat. Save the calories for a larger meal later.

gypsy_spirit

I track everything, but seem to always fall short. Trust me, I'd love to toss a chocolate bar or slice of cake back, but I'm setting goals for life, making this a habit not a phase. My big concern has always been skipping meals, and I'm definitely eating 3 times a day now, and trying to grab snacks too.

What should I be doing? I am trying to build up my gym time so I'll be burning more calories, which will create an even bigger deficit. And I can't sleep more than 4 hours at a time.

Does anyone have advice?

The bolded sentence makes no sense. If you are working on building healthy habits for the rest of your life - are you planning to never eat cake or chocolate again? If so, great. If not, then the most important life skill you can learn is moderating your behavior. It's very hard in relation to food - but imperative to long term success.

Denying yourself the occasional treat is probably going to back fire (says the 56 yr. old woman who has been dieting forever and has realized this and has finally lost over 100 pounds having treats). There are no bad foods, only people who let the food control them.

MomTo3Lovez

I have had the same problem and posted about it and have gotten some wonderful feedback and advice. And yes I was questioned on how I became overweight if I couldn't manage to eat 1200 a day now. I was a big person of eating out ALOT sometimes twice a day and always got the large size and a lot of pasta, very little fruits and veggies. So a big part of my problems what sodium and just fatty grease. Once I started watching what I ate and measured and what not I found that it was harder to eat better and get up to 1200, i was afraid to snack and indulge. So yesterday I did indulge and I didn't do bad. I also grab a diet shake (slimfast) for breakfast because I just don't have the time to make anything in the mornings and getting up earlier just isn't an option because I'd be getting up about 4:30 and I am just barely getting up at 5 lol. But what I was told that made me feel better was that I can also have something along with the shake and today I added and banana which boosted my calories for breakfast.

Alot of good advice, and I get that you want to support your husband in his weightloss too but don't limit yourself too much because it isn't realistic. It is something that will take trial and error. Good luck and feel free to add me if you would like!

Jenky85

Like others have said I don't think you're logging accurately. You used two different entries for 4oz of Turkey breast over a couple of days with completely different calories and how little tuna did you eat for just 15calories? It's surely not even worth getting the tin opener out for that! Be careful with what entries you use on the system as there are a lot of duds...check if it's been confirmed or check the labels on your packets.

DeadliftAddict

You're never going to eat cake again? There is no reason to label foods as bad or cut them out of your eating habits just because you are "making a life change". One of the best ways to keep your eating sustainable is to eat the treats that you enjoy in small amounts.

That said, if you are looking to add more calories from "healthy" foods, cook veggies in oil, eat nuts or nut butters, add bacon or avocado to salads, etc.

^^This

Kenazwa

Just make your meals a little bigger. For example, instead of 1/2 ounce of tuna, have 2 ounces. Etc. Looking at your diary, I got the impression that you're afraid to eat. I understand; I get like that sometimes, too. But we need food to live! Loosen up a little!