Struggling to eat 1200 calories
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you don't have to eat fried chicken or candy bars. Obviously pretty much everyone on here is physically capable of eating over 1200 cals. My 11 year old can easily eat that much. Will done nuts, an avocado, cheese, etc cause you to call into old habits? How about a filling protein shake with some fruit and protein powder? There are plenty of healthy ways to get in calories.
Well not sure about the OP but eating some of the things as before, may trigger the unhealthy habits back. I like the OP have a hard time eating up to my calorie count. But I am not going to stuff "fried chicken" back down my throat or the candy bars. (If eating 1200 is so hard...how did you get overweight in the first place?) Could you have been more rude in the response? There are better ways to get the calories and better ways to respond. The comment above is like telling an alcoholic to go back to the bar because he/she is bored.If eating 1200 is so hard...how did you get overweight in the first place? Eat more of the stuff you ate before, just in smaller portions, and you'll bump up your intake very easily.
This.
Those "all the wrong things" are food. Eat them, just not in the quantities that you did before.
ETA: Unless you had Pica, in which case, don't eat glass, clay, paper, etc. Those are not food.0 -
Makes great sense, 2k calories is 2k calories. I do have one question about this that I do not see come up often......What about the "other things/side effects" of eating what you want as opposed to eating healthy? I know there is a drastic difference between Cheetos and broccoli but surely eating healthy goes a lot farther than eating the "sugary/fried/ sodium" rich foods? Right?I always wondered how someone could become overweight or need to lose weight when they have a hard time eating 1,200. Clearly you didn't have that problem once. Add back some of the foods you used to eat. Nuts, peanut butter, avacado, olive oil. Lots of easy small ways to boost your intake.
Becoming overweight is not necessarily related to the amount of food you eat but to the kind of food. There is a difference if you eat a dish of fries, deep-fried chicken, and a salad with a heavy dressing or mayonnaise or if you have a large salad with light dressing and lean chicken breast. Maybe the sense of satiety is the same but the calorie intake differs significantly.
My father is overweight and he doesn't eat that much throughout the day. It's what he eats, not how much of it.
Same with drinks. There is a difference between drinking soft drinks and drinking water or unsweetened tea.
^^^^^^ nope ..... eating at a calorific SURPLUS is why you gain weight....
eating at a DEFICIT will lose weight
eating at your TDEE will maintain your weight ...
You're both saying the same thing. Read it again, butlersoft ;-)
No they aren't she specifically said:My father is overweight and he doesn't eat that much throughout the day. It's what he eats, not how much of it.
it's not what he eats it's how much he eats
That's the same thing. WHAT he eats ie. calorie rich foods leading to a calorie surplus, not how much of it.
"There is a difference between drinking soft drinks and drinking water or unsweetened tea." - Yes, a calorific difference.
In her first paragraph: "Maybe the sense of satiety is the same but the calorie intake differs significantly."
Not sure why this is being debated the above poster said "it's not how much he eats it's what he eats" which literally means calories don't matter...
calorie rich food does not always lead to a calorie surplus.
Exactly .... 2000kcals of Cheetos or 2000kcals of Brocolli are the same calories. They will have the same effect as to cause weightloss in a person with a TDEE > 2000, maintain somebody with a 2000 TDEE, and gain weight on somebody with a lower than 2000kcal TDEE.
I know which one I'd prefer for the nutritional benefits though ;-)0 -
Nutella! ;-)0
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Agreed, my wife and I are "adjusting to meet the caloric goals" Most of the time we are just full (same as OP), currently we are using protein shakes but sometimes hate the bloated feeling afterwards. The protein however (using whey protein also) is causing digestive problems. So we will have to slow down on it for a bit.
you don't have to eat fried chicken or candy bars. Obviously pretty much everyone on here is physically capable of eating over 1200 cals. My 11 year old can easily eat that much. Will done nuts, an avocado, cheese, etc cause you to call into old habits? How about a filling protein shake with some fruit and protein powder? There are plenty of healthy ways to get in calories.
Well not sure about the OP but eating some of the things as before, may trigger the unhealthy habits back. I like the OP have a hard time eating up to my calorie count. But I am not going to stuff "fried chicken" back down my throat or the candy bars. (If eating 1200 is so hard...how did you get overweight in the first place?) Could you have been more rude in the response? There are better ways to get the calories and better ways to respond. The comment above is like telling an alcoholic to go back to the bar because he/she is bored.If eating 1200 is so hard...how did you get overweight in the first place? Eat more of the stuff you ate before, just in smaller portions, and you'll bump up your intake very easily.
This.
Those "all the wrong things" are food. Eat them, just not in the quantities that you did before.
ETA: Unless you had Pica, in which case, don't eat glass, clay, paper, etc. Those are not food.0 -
I wish I could feel full eating 1200 calories...maybe in one meal.
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Sorry to be blunt, but I must....
1.) You say you became overweight by eating over 4000 calories of junk. So, you CAN eat more than 1200 calories. If you've got an additional 400 calories at the end of the day, eat some junk! You said yourself that you don't have to be hungry to eat it.
2.) It doesn't matter if you're not hungry. You need to eat. Not being hungry doesn't mean you've fueled your body sufficiently. Pull up those big girl panties and feed yourself like an adult.
3.) 1230 calories is probably way too few for you. I know you've got a ways to go, but a loss of 2 lb/week is the absolute maximum. I'd suggest calculating your TDEE - 25% and eating that much without eating back exercise calories. My guess is that it'll be quite a bit more than 1230 calories. I'd guess that your BMR is well over 1230 calories, and it's not a great idea to eat under your BMR for an extended period of time.
So, in short, it shouldn't matter whether you're hungry or not. I eat when I'm not hungry. You know why? Because it's my body and I'm going to take care of it by giving it the calories that it needs to function correctly. I don't sit around waiting to get so hungry I want to eat the whole house before I decide to put food in my stomach. I eat at certain times every day regardless of how hungry I am - if you need a schedule to get it all in, do it. If you need to pre-log to make sure you're getting in a sufficient number of calories, do it. Whatever it takes, just freaking do it and stop whining about it.0 -
Depends on your definition of "eating healthy".
For me ... that's avoiding processed / packaged food which is often very high in saturated fat / sugars / and god only knows what else. They will often therefore be calorie dense and it would be easy to put away 2,000 kcals of junk without getting satiated.
The 2000 kcal of brocolli was an extreme comparison .... but the point is, you get more volume / bang for your buck with leafy green vegetables versus a plate of pizza / pasta if trying to hit a calorie goal.
I like pizza .... but I'll rarely have it. I like beer .... so I'll have that weekly (and probably in excess for one night) ... but I'll be down the gym throughout the week so that a one day "splurge" doesn't undo all of the good work.
You should be able to eat what you want - and get it to fit your targets.
As for the "it's not the amount ... it's the type of food ... that causes weight gain" .... absolutely FALSE if you're comparing amount for calories sake versus a volume of food. A handful of almonds will weigh in at around 160kcals for 25g ..... a handful of spinach at a mere fraction of that.
The only thing that is important for weight loss specifically is the calorific deficit compared to TDEE..... eat a lower calorific value v TDEE and you will lose .... whether it's pizza, cheetos, spinach or brocolli.0 -
If a person does not eat up to the 1200 calories and ends up in moderate ketosis doesn't that curb the appetite in some people?0
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I really don't think the advice given before to eat ice cream with chocolate syrup and whipped cream is conducive to reaching your weight loss goal.
You need to eat nutrient rich, calorie dense food:
Salmon, olive oil, avocados, trail mix, steak, make curries and rice with coconut milk, eat full fat cheese (better on blood sugar levels, anyway-says my doctor), whole grain couscous, Quinoa, eggs.
You can add any of those to your regular servings of fruits and veggies and add calories the healthy way.0 -
Sorry to be blunt, but I must....
1.) You say you became overweight by eating over 4000 calories of junk. So, you CAN eat more than 1200 calories. If you've got an additional 400 calories at the end of the day, eat some junk! You said yourself that you don't have to be hungry to eat it.
I know you certainly mean well, but there are many people here that have not yet reached a place where they can eat a single serving of junk food. For me, I don't know that downing 2 or 3 cherry filled twizzlers is going to stop at 2 or 3 twizzlers. It's going to be the whole bag. That is certainly not going to help me moving forward. I'm just not in a place where I feel like I have enough self control. That doesn't make me less than people that can. It means I have decided to stop lying to myself about my unhealthy emotional dependence on food. And that's a good thing. Eating junk and convincing myself that just a little is fine is how I got here. I'm not going back to that place.0 -
Well not sure about the OP but eating some of the things as before, may trigger the unhealthy habits back. I like the OP have a hard time eating up to my calorie count. But I am not going to stuff "fried chicken" back down my throat or the candy bars. (If eating 1200 is so hard...how did you get overweight in the first place?) Could you have been more rude in the response? There are better ways to get the calories and better ways to respond. The comment above is like telling an alcoholic to go back to the bar because he/she is bored.If eating 1200 is so hard...how did you get overweight in the first place? Eat more of the stuff you ate before, just in smaller portions, and you'll bump up your intake very easily.
This.
Those "all the wrong things" are food. Eat them, just not in the quantities that you did before.
ETA: Unless you had Pica, in which case, don't eat glass, clay, paper, etc. Those are not food.
Alcoholism has no place in a dietary debate, one can be addicted to alcohol. Fact
One cannot be addicted to food - it is a neccessity to life. Fact.
There is nothing wrong with eating Fried chicken or a candy bar. Make it fit your dietary needs.
Asking "If eating 1200 is so hard...how did you get overweight in the first place" may be rude, but it is a blunt statement to prove that we can all eat more then 1200 calories and we should eat more then 1200 calories (Medical exceptions aside)
Everything in moderation, Don't look at it as being on a diet, look at it as a Life change. I eat the way i plan to eat for the rest of my life. I just less of it. At the moment.0 -
Sorry to be blunt, but I must....
1.) You say you became overweight by eating over 4000 calories of junk. So, you CAN eat more than 1200 calories. If you've got an additional 400 calories at the end of the day, eat some junk! You said yourself that you don't have to be hungry to eat it.
I know you certainly mean well, but there are many people here that have not yet reached a place where they can eat a single serving of junk food. For me, I don't know that downing 2 or 3 cherry filled twizzlers is going to stop at 2 or 3 twizzlers. It's going to be the whole bag. That is certainly not going to help me moving forward. I'm just not in a place where I feel like I have enough self control. That doesn't make me less than people that can. It means I have decided to stop lying to myself about my unhealthy emotional dependence on food. And that's a good thing. Eating junk and convincing myself that just a little is fine is how I got here. I'm not going back to that place.
Well, if that's the case with the OP, then my other points are even more important. Eat whether you're hungry or not if you can't get to 1200 calories. As plenty of people have already said - healthy, calorie-dense foods like peanut butter or nuts would do just fine.0 -
I know what your feeling though about sometimes not getting to where you need to be eating. I do not cycle calories enough.0
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Sorry to be blunt, but I must....
1.) You say you became overweight by eating over 4000 calories of junk. So, you CAN eat more than 1200 calories. If you've got an additional 400 calories at the end of the day, eat some junk! You said yourself that you don't have to be hungry to eat it.
I know you certainly mean well, but there are many people here that have not yet reached a place where they can eat a single serving of junk food. For me, I don't know that downing 2 or 3 cherry filled twizzlers is going to stop at 2 or 3 twizzlers. It's going to be the whole bag. That is certainly not going to help me moving forward. I'm just not in a place where I feel like I have enough self control. That doesn't make me less than people that can. It means I have decided to stop lying to myself about my unhealthy emotional dependence on food. And that's a good thing. Eating junk and convincing myself that just a little is fine is how I got here. I'm not going back to that place.
Well, if that's the case with the OP, then my other points are even more important. Eat whether you're hungry or not if you can't get to 1200 calories. As plenty of people have already said - healthy, calorie-dense foods like peanut butter or nuts would do just fine.
I agree.
Eating Walnuts never triggered me to have a food party. It was those darn sour twizzlers. 0 -
OP, you sound a bit like me actually. I can eat anything, and when I am not tracking, or with friends and only eating junk food, I can eat thousands of calories. The difference for me is that when I am tracking and not buying lots of junk food, trying to eat adequate protein and not too much sugar, I chose foods that fill me up, and I don't want to eat things like cake and chocolate. I could, but I wouldn't enjoy it! Once I'd got over the idea that eating as little as I could function on was not a good idea, and the notion that nuts are for thin people who want to gain weight, I started to add these things to my diet. At the moment, I love brazil nuts because they are easy to count (I pour out 5-6 rather than sitting with the bag in front of me), and they taste amazing. I also find this problem worse on days when I exercise as running 4.5 miles burns about 500 calories, which is a lot of nuts! I'm never hungry after I run either, so I drink milk because it quenches my thirst and adds protein and calories. So yeah, I do understand where you are coming from, and think that everyone who says you should eat more of what you used to maybe doesn't understand. Nuts are great, milk is great, and I also LOVE graze boxes, because they may be overpriced but they are incredible (then again, you might only get these in the UK)0
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And eat enough fat that you are not limiting the absorption of fat soluble vitamins and don't interfere with elimination and health of hair and skin.0
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Graze boxes are available in the US.0
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If eating 1200 is so hard...how did you get overweight in the first place? Eat more of the stuff you ate before, just in smaller portions, and you'll bump up your intake very easily.
You... you are the people I am talking about when I said this
"people often forget when you are eating without caring about calories its easy to pack away 4700 calories a day, but when you are eating and being mindful (more fruits/veggies less big macs and fries) it is harder to hit 1200 calories."
I got fat because I can literally eat 4700 calories and still be hungry at the end of the day. Creamer in coffee alone used to kill me calorie wise.
One thing you will find is that Carbs will drive your hunger.
I am not saying they are bad, or should not eat them.....I eat carbs and prolly ~300 - 400 gr.
But you need to be aware that they will drive your appetite more than protein and fat will.0 -
I'm having the same problem and just called my doctor to see what he says so I'll let you know. I wasn't sure if you should be replacing the calories that you burn off since they subtract them on this app. Seems like you are working out for nothing if you are adding the calories back in.. But I have NO IDEA!0
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Makes great sense, 2k calories is 2k calories. I do have one question about this that I do not see come up often......What about the "other things/side effects" of eating what you want as opposed to eating healthy? I know there is a drastic difference between Cheetos and broccoli but surely eating healthy goes a lot farther than eating the "sugary/fried/ sodium" rich foods? Right?
Then what you are looking at is nutrient rich foods, vs. foods that lack nutrients.
Like your example..cheetos vs. broccoli....
Not to mention, you consume a lot more calories quicker eating cheetos than what you can eating broccoli (talking steamed or raw here).0 -
I'm having the same problem and just called my doctor to see what he says so I'll let you know. I wasn't sure if you should be replacing the calories that you burn off since they subtract them on this app. Seems like you are working out for nothing if you are adding the calories back in.. But I have NO IDEA!
Depends.
If you put in your info here on MFP
And you set your weight loss goals.
Then it gives you the number of calories you should eat, to achieve that goal, as if you sat on your butt all day.
Then when you exercise, you burn more calories....so the app on here adds that to your total calories for the day.
I myself prefer the TDEE method.
But to each their own0 -
so there have been a lot of not so nice posts here... You might also want to look up BMR and TDEE (BMR what your body needs to stay alive more or less) and TDEE (BMR plus activity) - depending on your weight height activity..., none of these are perfect and exact but it might help
As for what you are doing now - if you are TRULY not hungry and have TONS of energy - I wouldn't fret too much
One thing is you may find somedays you aren't really hungry maybe others you are - so listen to your body (as it sounds like you are.... ) and see how it goes after a few weeks
depending on what exercise you are doing and how your body changes you may find over time that you are hungrier (if you begin adding muscle mass) but it sounds like you are listening to your body so kudos....0 -
There are most definitely reasons to keep to *at least* 1200 cals, especially if you want energy and to live a long and healthy life.
See this article: http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/10-things-you-dont-know-about-calories
"Women should not consume less than 1,200 calories a day," Brownell cautions. In fact, a diet below 1,000 calories a day (called a very low-calorie diet or VLCD) increases your risk for gallstones and heart problems and should be followed only by obese people under a doctor's supervision. While you can drop to 1,200 calories per day and survive, doing so is not a smart idea. Going for a bare-minimum caloric intake may yield quick results, but it also can leave you listless and unable to exercise (key to keeping the pounds off), and may lead to muscle loss and a slowing of your metabolism. Even if you're careful about what you eat, a daily intake of 1,200 calories can shortchange you on important nutrients such as calcium and folate.0 -
Great article! thanks for postingThere are most definitely reasons to keep to *at least* 1200 cals, especially if you want energy and to live a long and healthy life.
See this article: http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/10-things-you-dont-know-about-calories
"Women should not consume less than 1,200 calories a day," Brownell cautions. In fact, a diet below 1,000 calories a day (called a very low-calorie diet or VLCD) increases your risk for gallstones and heart problems and should be followed only by obese people under a doctor's supervision. While you can drop to 1,200 calories per day and survive, doing so is not a smart idea. Going for a bare-minimum caloric intake may yield quick results, but it also can leave you listless and unable to exercise (key to keeping the pounds off), and may lead to muscle loss and a slowing of your metabolism. Even if you're careful about what you eat, a daily intake of 1,200 calories can shortchange you on important nutrients such as calcium and folate.0 -
BTW OP it does get easier to eat up the calories....(like someone posted before here, "it is easy to get full eating a bunch of healthy foods) One thing my wife and I are learning (re-learning) is that there is a difference in "needing to eat" and "being hungry". When we first started here (was on a 1400 diet before exercise that quickly dwindled down to 1200) well as a 6ft 300+lb male 1200 isn't enough to lose healthy. So we started incorporating (with help from others on MFP) more calories a little at a time. Up to about 1400-1500 now and still working on it. I feel a lot better!0
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Sorry to be blunt, but I must....
1.) You say you became overweight by eating over 4000 calories of junk. So, you CAN eat more than 1200 calories. If you've got an additional 400 calories at the end of the day, eat some junk! You said yourself that you don't have to be hungry to eat it.
I don't know if you're getting confused with someone else but I never mentioned anything about eating over 4000 calories of junk??
Also, the point is I don't want to "eat some junk" just to make up the calories. I'd prefer healthier/nutritious options with the occasional bit of junk, thanks.Pull up those big girl panties and feed yourself like an adult.
Sorry, but IMO this comment is just rude and unnecessary.just freaking do it and stop whining about it.
I don't recall whining. I simply asked for some advice as I am new to all this. I THOUGHT that was the point of these forums but perhaps I was wrong...0 -
Again, thank you to everyone who has actually given some helpful advice and been nice about it.
To everyone making rude comments and going on about "how did you get overweight in the first place then!?!?", I just want to let you know that coming from the point of view of someone who is new to MFP and these forums (this was my first ever post) saying things like that is not really helpful and it certainly doesn't make me feel very welcomed.
And that's all I have to say on the matter. I'm not an idiot who needs to be talked down to by strangers on the internet, I was simply looking for a little advice. If people choose to continue making those kind of comments I will simply ignore them.
Thank you.0 -
You have to treat the question of how you gained weight in the first place as something of a Zen koan. It's not meant to put you down or question your truthiness, but to get you to think about all the possible food options that you used to eat that could be reincorporated into your diet now to boost your calories. It's very common for dieters to cut out all the foods they consider "bad" and be left struggling to reach 1200 calories. There's a balance to be found somewhere between your old diet and your new one.0
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You have to treat the question of how you gained weight in the first place as something of a Zen koan. It's not meant to put you down or question your truthiness, but to get you to think about all the possible food options that you used to eat that could be reincorporated into your diet now to boost your calories. It's very common for dieters to cut out all the foods they consider "bad" and be left struggling to reach 1200 calories. There's a balance to be found somewhere between your old diet and your new one.
Absolutely I agree it is about balance and I know that is something I need to get better at. However, many of the people mentioning how overweight I am and questioning how I managed to get here have just been downright rude about it and there's no need for that imo.0 -
You have to treat the question of how you gained weight in the first place as something of a Zen koan. It's not meant to put you down or question your truthiness, but to get you to think about all the possible food options that you used to eat that could be reincorporated into your diet now to boost your calories. It's very common for dieters to cut out all the foods they consider "bad" and be left struggling to reach 1200 calories. There's a balance to be found somewhere between your old diet and your new one.
Absolutely I agree it is about balance and I know that is something I need to get better at. However, many of the people mentioning how overweight I am and questioning how I managed to get here have just been downright rude about it and there's no need for that imo.
You were totally missing the point. The point was you can totally eat 1200 calories, if we couldn't we wouldn't have weight to lose. That was their point.0
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