Meeting my 1200 calorie goal is surprisingly hard

arabianhorselover

I'd like to weigh in here because I eat 1100 calories a day very comfortably, an amount recommended to me personally by two well-known weight and fitness MDs, one of them a famous women's weight and fitness physician from NIH who has written a number of books of the subject. The reason it works is that my Basal Metobolic Rate (you can calculate this, just google BMR) is around 1200, but because I have body fat (fat burns less calories than lean muscle), I can adjust down a bit. Recommendations were to not eat less than 1,000 calories a day. I also exercise and am starting to weight train more regularly to increase fitness and lean body mass, which will increase my BMR--and your caloric intake needs to go down (not up) as you lose weight. Best to do that through increased exercise. My doctors definately recommended NOT eating back the calories you burn through regular activities or through exercise.

How to eat in this caloric range is easy, if you follow a few simple rules--and I can see from your plan what is going wrong. Eat at 3-4 oz of lean protein at EVERY meal (3x)--this means adding chicken to a commercial salad, etc. You eat no protein for breakfast, for example. Eat protein snacks 2-3 times per day, in additon to the meals. You will not get hungry. Avoide/eliminate carbs like bread, NO BAGELS, rice, potato, pasta, cereals--same old. Do eat small amts (no more than 1/4 to 1/2 cup a day) of carbs like farro, sweet potato. No more than 1 hand fruit per day or better 1/4 cup of dark-skinned berries. That's it! Got in great shape and lost 20 lbs--muscles like protein! Protein curbs your appetite. Watch out for all those hidden calories in commercial food. Good luck!

I don't believe a person needs to eliminate all carbs. I certainly haven't; and I won't.

SLLRunner

I have a 1200 cal goal on MFP. I'm finding it hard to meet especially when I am working out burning 400 cal. Am I suppose to eat them back? I don't on regular days but on cheat days I do. So, my problem with the 1200 cals is, I'm usually coming up about 300 calories short. I have no eating disorder or anything it's just that I try to go by the nutrition goals on MFP. I can easily eat a 300 calorie snack but then I'll go over my recommended sugar or fat. If I only had to count calories it would be easy but we also have to watch fat, carbs, and sugar.. Advice?

There are no rules to weight loss, or MFP for that matter, except if you want to lose weight you must stay within your calorie goal. Take a look at my diary. What you see there is what I've been eating all along, and I've lost plenty of weight.

SLLRunner

I'd like to weigh in here because I eat 1100 calories a day very comfortably, an amount recommended to me personally by two well-known weight and fitness MDs, one of them a famous women's weight and fitness physician from NIH who has written a number of books of the subject. The reason it works is that my Basal Metobolic Rate (you can calculate this, just google BMR) is around 1200, but because I have body fat (fat burns less calories than lean muscle), I can adjust down a bit. Recommendations were to not eat less than 1,000 calories a day. I also exercise and am starting to weight train more regularly to increase fitness and lean body mass, which will increase my BMR--and your caloric intake needs to go down (not up) as you lose weight. Best to do that through increased exercise. My doctors definately recommended NOT eating back the calories you burn through regular activities or through exercise.

How to eat in this caloric range is easy, if you follow a few simple rules--and I can see from your plan what is going wrong. Eat at 3-4 oz of lean protein at EVERY meal (3x)--this means adding chicken to a commercial salad, etc. You eat no protein for breakfast, for example. Eat protein snacks 2-3 times per day, in additon to the meals. You will not get hungry. Avoide/eliminate carbs like bread, NO BAGELS, rice, potato, pasta, cereals--same old. Do eat small amts (no more than 1/4 to 1/2 cup a day) of carbs like farro, sweet potato. No more than 1 hand fruit per day or better 1/4 cup of dark-skinned berries. That's it! Got in great shape and lost 20 lbs--muscles like protein! Protein curbs your appetite. Watch out for all those hidden calories in commercial food. Good luck!

1100 calories is not healthy. I would not trust anyone who recommended I eat that low, especially a doctor or nutritionist. Any doctor I've ever had, including my current one, has preached moderation for weight loss.

There is also no need to restrict types of foods, just how often we bring food to our mouths.

ebbingfat

There are so many things you can eat that will easily get you there. Is the food you're eating actually filling you up, because it seems like so little.

As many people have said, find calorie dense foods to add to your diet. I make myself "bird bars" to snack on when I'm behind my calorie limit. It's just a mix of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut, cashews, chia seeds, and then a blend of honey and peanut butter to make them all stick together. Everything in it is completely healthy, and yet one little 2x2 square packs over 120 calories.

You can still eat healthy, and lose weight while eating things that fad dieters tend to stay away from: bread, cheese, meats, etc. There's no reason you can't have things like pizza if you want it. Have you tried making pita pizzas? Take a piece of pita bread, spread a little sauce and cheese on top, as well as whatever toppings you want, and bake it for a short while. Yum!

If I were you, I would start eating slightly bigger meals. To me, your breakfast and lunch seem like small snacks. I know I would still be very hungry after those. Instead of half of a grapefruit and a mini bagel for breakfast, why not a whole grapefruit and a regular sized bagel with some peanut butter? And maybe with your fruit for lunch, make a salad or a sandwich. I love roasting up carrots, peppers, and garlic and then putting them on some whole grain bread with some hummus. Very tasty.

sunfastrose

My typical day is...

Breakfast: half grapefruit and a mini bagel (180 cals)

Snack: 100 cal pack of almonds (100 cals)

Lunch: bowl of fruit (200 cals)

Dinner: (4oz of grilled chicken, a sweet potato, and broccoli (about 270)

Snack: 90 calorie fiber one brownie (90 cals)

So about 840 cals and I feel full. I also was burning 500 cals a day but I've stopped since I'm not eating enough.I used to eat a lot of junk food ( fried, pizza, candy, soda) since I can't have that it's hard to find things I like to eat that are healthy for me so I just stick to these few things. I do have one or two days that I eat pizza or one of my fav foods but on those days I try to exercise more.

I'd question the math on your dinner; 4 ounces of chicken is close to 200 calories itself, much less adding in the sweet potato and broccoli. I'd advise getting a scale to ensure accuracy in measurements. if you find you are still undereating, add protein to your lunch (lunch is only fruit salad??!!) and fat to your breakfast (PB is a good addition to a bagel).

Unknown

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brower47

I always find these thread titles surprisingly hard to believe and take seriously. Unless you've had an under-eating ED and have a mental issue surrounding eating sufficient amounts of food, you should not have a hard time getting to your goal number. If it's a matter of consuming too much roughage and not being hungry, eat less roughage and more calorie dense foods.

Also, unless you have a medical reason to avoid sugar and fat, you should not. The low fat craze of the 90s was disastrous for the health and weight of the nations that could afford to go 'low fat'. Fat is good for you. It's vital to a plethora of biological functions and you need it for good health.

psuLemon

I disagree with most of the posters here on this thread. Protein matters for general muscle health. Sugar and fat also matter because in order to do this long term you really need to eat healthier with foods that have more nutrients. Lower sugar/lower fat items tend to be healthier (ie. chicken breast, fruit, vegetables etc). I started with a dietitian and the first thing she went after was fat content and calories, then she was pushing me to higher carbs (because i work out) - and higher proteins. I've been making progress lately with her and her latest was on added sugar. It's not as hard as you think. I eat 2100 calories a day and struggle to keep it under that amount. Have a glass of skim milk with your meals - it will push your calories up with carbs and proteins. Eating fruit for lunch is not enough food to fuel your body. Despite your protest of having an eating disorder your diary seems to tell a different story - its loaded with calorie counted foods that are extreme. Have a handful of nuts instead of "100 calorie packs" - have a spoonful of peanut butter on your bagel. There is a tonne of opportunity in what you are eating to make your intake higher but you seem to be refusing to do it.

There are essentially amino acids and essential fatty acids. So I am going to wager that fats are more important than carbs. Most people just don't understand fats. Without fats, you will struggle to absorb vitamins and minerals, your skin healthy and hair health will deteriorate, and you can get gallbladder issues from low fat diets. Yes, fats have more calories per gram, but realistically, you want adequate amounts to help with help. Additionally, it's already been proven that low fat diets are some of the worst out there.