Hard for me to eat all 1,200 calories a day?

marycatherine000

You can tell people the truth with tact.

albayin

God I love this site lol

a fun way to kill time...seriously...I am hooked.

albayin

As unbelievable as it may sound, I actually had personal experience with this 1200 cal thingy. I tried that a few years back. The first few weeks, I was all excited and full of will power. 1200 cal was actually "enough" to go by day after day. That was until I reached to a point where my body started complaining...all my cravings were coming back and I couldn't get enough food every day and of course that was when all those water pounds came back with the appetite. I can't explain this since I am no scholar but it jus happened to me and I know I am not alone...

So now it's really hard for me to believe someone can actually eat less and feel full. I even don't remember how I did it for those days.

marycatherine000

Yes you can. You can also put a modicum of effort into being decent with strangers, either way. Neither OP nor myself has made a big deal about anyone's responses so I really don't see the problem (one phrase in one sentence? come on now.) I'm sorry the way I prefer to act offends you. I just am of the opinion that people should live and let live. I'll be sure to let my everyday cynicism leak into my online posts on a fitness website from now on though. Thanks for enlightening me. Also, thanks for the welcome.

marycatherine000

Haha. That was fun.

Kegha

As unbelievable as it may sound, I actually had personal experience with this 1200 cal thingy. I tried that a few years back. The first few weeks, I was all excited and full of will power. 1200 cal was actually "enough" to go by day after day. That was until I reached to a point where my body started complaining...all my cravings were coming back and I couldn't get enough food every day and of course that was when all those water pounds came back with the appetite. I can't explain this since I am no scholar but it jus happened to me and I know I am not alone...

So now it's really hard for me to believe someone can actually eat less and feel full. I even don't remember how I did it for those days.

I know that we are all different, my tdee is quite low and eating 1200 calories is 80% of my tdee, I dont feel deprive and it is only about 200 calories less than what I need to eat to maintain my weight once I reach my goal.

albayin

As unbelievable as it may sound, I actually had personal experience with this 1200 cal thingy. I tried that a few years back. The first few weeks, I was all excited and full of will power. 1200 cal was actually "enough" to go by day after day. That was until I reached to a point where my body started complaining...all my cravings were coming back and I couldn't get enough food every day and of course that was when all those water pounds came back with the appetite. I can't explain this since I am no scholar but it jus happened to me and I know I am not alone...

So now it's really hard for me to believe someone can actually eat less and feel full. I even don't remember how I did it for those days.

I know that we are all different, my tdee is quite low and eating 1200 calories is 80% of my tdee, I dont feel deprive and it is only about 200 calories less than what I need to eat to maintain my weight once I reach my goal.

you probably are smaller than me and OP...I can see smaller persons need less food and I never disagree with that.

TheVirgoddess

I can't always log my calories into MFP due to lack of internet, but I generally eat the same things everyday, and it's really hard for me to eat 1,200 calories. I usually end up eating anywhere from 600-1000 in one day. I'm 5'7 and 162 pounds. I'm having a hard time losing weight, but I'm eating and exercising well- just not enough eating? I actually feel like I'm going to throw up if I ever eat around 1,200 calories in one day. Is it true that if I eat more (of the healthy food) that I'll lose weight faster? How do I increase my appetite? I'm so confused on how much to eat to lose weight, because everyone says something completely different. Thank you!

I haven't read any other post in this thread, because I posted something similar and the reception wasn't very good. I used to drink allllllllll my calories, so I've never been an over-eater or whatever people assume you are when you're overweight. So getting the calories I needed in was (and still is) a struggle. You do (IMO) need to eat more. I was hitting, on average, 800 net cals/day and my weight loss just stopped. When I upped my intake, the weight loss started again. Bodies need fuel.

I stopped approaching each day with three meals in mind. I have a small breakfast, and the rest of the I just have lots of healthy food at my fingertips. I'll prep carrots, cucumbers, mixed nuts, protein bars, apples, etc and pre-log everything I've chosen for the day and keep it all near me (if I don't finish something, I adjust my diary). I find myself reaching for things and actually eating them, a little at a time. Having "meals" usually makes me nauseous, so I get it. But lots of little snacks all day doesn't make me feel the same way. I do usually have dinner (with my kiddos and husband), but it's generally a small portion of whatever they are eating.

This has really helped my calorie intake. I never feel over-full. And while I'm still only around 1k net/week, it's getting better, and I'm learning.

Good luck!

503pdx

Ice cream. I save enough calories to have a little bowl of it after dinner with frozen strawberries. Satisfies all my sweet cravings, stays under my calories and I've managed to steadily lose at about 1lb a week average. All "crap" food isn't evil and won't kill you, won't even kill your diet. I'm not going to live the rest of my life without ice cream so I plan for it now in this 'life style change'.

It would be a great way to get a couple hundred calories at the end of your day. Add some frozen fruit blends too. Smoothies are also awesome with protein powder.

stephe1987

Eat more calorie-dense foods. And drink some of your calories (healthy drinks). You should be able to hit 1200.

Although it's not the worst thing to eat less than 1200 if you feel full. But watch your weight loss. There was an article on someone who ate 1000 calories/day and they stayed the same weight for years although they did lose a few inches over the years.

I would recommend weighing yourself once a week, first thing in the morning on Sunday or Monday. This will help you figure out how your body is reacting to the weight loss stuff.

If the scale stays the same for a few weeks or goes up, then it's time to make a change:
try eating more calories and exercising less
try eating fewer calories and exercising more

Bodies are weird and sometimes it's necessary to "trick" them by doing something completely different for a few weeks. If you are exercising a lot and eating under 1200, it might be time to eat more (calorie-dense foods, healthy drinks) and cut back on the exercise (trying maintenance mode can sometimes make you lose instead of maintain weight). If you have been doing that for a few weeks and the scale has stopped or is going back up, it's time to go back to moderate to heavy exercise and eating at a deficit.

DerekVTX

[/quote]

Sorry it was the "I can understand not eating enough" and "having a low calorie diet issue too". It keeps getting repeated and people seem to think they gained weight from not eating enough. It really wasn't your post it was just the last in line that mentioned not being able to eat at a low calorie consumption 1200 calories. If you are eating at a moderate deficient you will lose weight and if enough protein maintain muscle. You will not convert fat to muscle but you can maintain muscle and lose fat, then bulk and cut cycling.

As for moving on, normally I would, but when people repeatedly post "starvation mode made me fat" and i can't eat enough but they have weight to lose and are not losing. Many here will call bull****. If nobody does then new people just learning will believe the lies and post them themselves. Facts are facts, and spreading misinformation is much more damaging than someone getting their panties in a bunch.

Also many times someone will think they are only eating at 1000 calories then they lose, then the deficient gap closes some and now they gain or stall, reading posts like were in this thread they believe they are in "starvation mode" when they really were eating 1700 calories all along but had no clue sense they don't weigh their food and log EVERYTHING. Debunking the myth can set them on the path to their goals again.

The post from above quoted your post but was directed at everyone making the statement that they can't eat enough and then they either gain or stop losing. That was the reason for the disclaimer about not picking on you, if it had been directed at you, I don't apologize for stating facts, so no disclaimer. The other comments I made were to show I agreed with other parts of your post, since I quoted it all I did not want to look like I was disagreeing with things I thought were good. (if that makes sense :flowerforyou: )
[/quote]

+1 On what she said

There is no way that people get fat from eating too little......the human body can not produce matter.

Weigh and Measure your food people, dont guesstimate. If you put one potato chips in your mouth, Log that potato chip. If you drink a soda log it accurately. If you see contradictory calorie values, don't pick the lowest one. Don't wait until later int he day to log your entries, Log them as you eat them. If you don't have a smartphone w/internet bring a notebook with you everywhere you go and log them as you eat them.

Everybody's body works differently but if you truely are eating only 600 calories a day how can your body convert it all to fat and store it. Your body uses energy to function based on your weight/height/activity levels. Mine has been determined to be about 2800 calories a day (to maintain), and therefore 1910 a day to lose 2lbs/week (7000 calorie deficit a week). If I am honest about my activity level/weight/height then if I eat exactly 1910 calories a day I should lose aproximately 2lbs a week. If I eat 600 calories a day yeah I will lose weight, but I will also get week and sick in time and obvoiusly a half dead body will burn less calories, but will have no problem using up the 600 calories a day just to survive.

I call BS on anyone that says they are getting fat from not eating. I got fat because I lied to myself about what I was eating. I tried to eat the 6 or 7 times a day but with inacurate measuring and accounting for what I ate I was going way over my calories for the day and in the long run I got fatter and fatter and fatter.

I have no trouble eating my 1900 calories a day and I am losing a steady 2lbs a week for the last 11 weeks. I do not drink soda anymore (its garbage), I do not eat potato chips (its garbage), I do not eat bread or pasta (my choice). What I do eat is apples, bannanas, grapes, tuna, chicken, carrots, brocolli, peas, corn. I even still have steak from time to time (6 oz not though instead of a 1lb steak before), I still eat popcorn (just not drenched in butter), I still have a drink of wine, rum, or whisky (but am staying away from beer). I just make sure I do not go over my calories for the day. I am satisfied every day and never go to bed hungry, the key is portion control and cutting out super high calorie dense junk food.

If I put 50 liters of fuel in my car every day but only burn 48, then eventually its gonna be spilling out.....just like a belly hanging over the jeans. Put in 47 and burn 48 and eventually that spare fuel tank will be empty.

Thats my opinion, its based on my experience and based on the opinions I have read from the people in this forum that have also been sucessful in their wieght loss.

_KitKat_

Yes you can. You can also put a modicum of effort into being decent with strangers, either way. Neither OP nor myself has made a big deal about anyone's responses so I really don't see the problem (one phrase in one sentence? come on now.) I'm sorry the way I prefer to act offends you. I just am of the opinion that people should live and let live. I'll be sure to let my everyday cynicism leak into my online posts on a fitness website from now on though. Thanks for enlightening me. Also, thanks for the welcome.

Honestly, I always try to be nice to the OP of a thread if they are asking a question. I usually give a valid reply my first reply to this thread was to the point and factual, not rude but at the same time not coddling. My other reply's were to the people chiming in on a thread offering destructive advice, that if they even took an hour to read around the site, they would know they were wrong. So yes tact goes out the window when most of us here see the same statements multiple times a day by people that refuse to educate themselves then get all sensitive when called on it.

I will help, and listen to anyone. I have no issue if someone has questions (that most likely could be answered in search) but I do have an issue with people who don't read spouting off unhelpful and harmful advice and plain untruths.

Stick around, you will see us " RUDE" people normally always help, but we call it how we see it also and when we repeat ourselves especially in the same thread, but people post and do not read any comment before their own....well it gets OLD. We do it though so that new people can get facts and then work with those.

Plus we all get help here, MrM27 is one of the most helpful people here, you need something he tries and is honest. No he will not hold your hand and he is very blunt. Personally i have learned by many of his posts. These forums help, just stop being a victim and if you don't want to be called out, then educate yourself.

This post goes to anyone whining about delivery. OP no insult was meant to you, my first post explained my answer to your question. I just didn't like the false info that kept being delivered here.

albayin

is it possible, just hyperthetically speaking, that "not eating enough" could call "not losing weight"? I am not saying "gaining"....

_KitKat_

is it possible, just hyperthetically speaking, that "not eating enough" could call "not losing weight"? I am not saying "gaining"....

Not normally, metabolic adaptation happens but the amount it lowers your metabolism is so small, the difference shouldn't be noticeable. Now if you have a metabolic disorder, and are extremely small...then hypothetically your tdee could be so low, that what the majority finds as a small caloric intake, could be right at your TDEE. Over all though, weight loss goes in spurts. So it is more what you averaged over an extended period of time. My weight will seem to hold for a couple weeks then drop by 2-3 lbs in what seems like 1-2 days. Water fluctuations can mask up to about 10 lbs of fat loss also.

Over all what seems to be is not eating enough causes malnutrition and other awful side effects, to hinder the loss of fat would be near impossible at the calorie levels most speak of. If you could stop weight loss by eating very low calories, that would seem to mean, the human body could become extremely efficient or pull energy out of nothing, it would also mean nobody could starve to death, and it would not explain anorexics that are near skeletal. I forgot where but I read it takes about 900 calories per day just for proper organfunction.

What normally happens is someone counts calories but doesn't weigh the food, misses condiments or over estimates exercise calories. They lose weight but when they lose enough, the gap between what they are eating and TDEE becomes smaller, so weight loss stops. The smaller the deficient gap the more accuracy that is needed. Non of these things are really the person's fault, what they were doing was working, and they become confused when it stops.

Phaedra2014

I can't always log my calories into MFP due to lack of internet, but I generally eat the same things everyday, and it's really hard for me to eat 1,200 calories. I usually end up eating anywhere from 600-1000 in one day. I'm 5'7 and 162 pounds. I'm having a hard time losing weight, but I'm eating and exercising well- just not enough eating? I actually feel like I'm going to throw up if I ever eat around 1,200 calories in one day. Is it true that if I eat more (of the healthy food) that I'll lose weight faster? How do I increase my appetite? I'm so confused on how much to eat to lose weight, because everyone says something completely different. Thank you!

How did you get to 162 if you have a problem eating? I am not sure I understand the issue.