Can't reach 1200 goal calories per day (losing weight)

Matilda1396

Hi, I started a couple of weeks ago to limit myself to between 1200 and 1300 calories per day (I'm female, aged 20, 230 pounds and 5ft 8) with my aim to lose around 4 stone over time. But I can't seem to eat enough calories per day even though it feels like I'm eating loads, and I tend to go for a 30 min run nearly every day (normally 6 times a week) so I should really be eating over 1300.
I have never liked eating much in the mornings, so breakfast is usually quite late and I'll have a banana and skimmed milk smoothie. Then lunch will be either a tuna mayo salad or a boiled egg salad with a rice cracker or something like that, then I'll have a piece of fruit in the afternoon and dinner will be chicken/fish and veg with some yoghurt afterwards. In all, this adds up to about 1100 calories a day (unless I am adding completely the wrong quantities!), but if I eat more than this I feel guilty and like it's too much food. Is it ok to continue eating like this if my body is coping fine with it, and if not how do I eat more when I feel full? Thank you!

psuLemon

Well there is no need to eat breakfast, so you can back load all of your calories. Also, it's very easy to eat more calories, you just have to eat calorie dense foods. Recommend that you add nuts, cheese, high calorie protein bars, protein shakes, cooking foods in olive oil, avocado, eggs, higher calorie meats, ice cream, or even going to town on a peanut butter jar. And on days you exercise, you should eat more calories.

Feel free to look at my diary, i eat a lot of calories. Heck, i probably eat 1200 calories by mid morning.

moglovesshoez

Maybe change to full fat dairy to up the cals and get some good fats in there to help with vital organ functions. That should put you at the 1300 cals recommended and you shouldn't notice to much difference in volume:)

Fit_Housewife

It's hard to find balance when you start a new diet. A lot of healthy foods have a lot of volume for less calories. So add a little healthy fat to the healthy foods. For example a tbsp of peanut butter to your smoothie, or tbsp of olive oil to your veggies at night. Or some nut butter or nuts with your fruit in the afternoon,

Liftng4Lis

You've been on since December and you've lost 7 pounds. You are probably eating more than you think. Weigh and measure, its the only way to be accurate.

kommodevaran

Healthy and filling food can make you feel full and satisfied, and that is good, but with your weight you'll even lose on 1900 calories. There is no need to deprive yourself. If you feel deprived, it is a big chance that you'll cave and binge at some point, even if you feel all right now. You don't have to eat only "healthy" food, just make sure that you get in some fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, dairy, meat or fish, grains, fats, every day. You have obviously managed to eat more that 1300 calories before, so it shouldn't be difficult now. But I understand the "mental block". You have to remove the link between morality and food; food is neither good or bad, food is just more or less nutritious and/or more energy dense, different food offer different compositions of nutrients, everything can and should be eaten in moderation.

lemurcat12

The key here is that you say you feel guilty if you eat more than the 1100. That's not okay, and it's going to mess you up. You really shouldn't get into a pattern of feeling guilty about food.

For weight loss, you are aiming for a specific calorie level, not as low as possible. If you aren't losing then adjusting is good or working on logging, but otherwise find a good level that's healthy to aim for and do that. Don't get into thoughts about how if 1500 is good less is better and less than that still better, etc.

I think if you get out of this you will be able to meet your goal just fine.

JenniDaisy

How do you get to 230lbs if you can't eat 1200 calories a day?

earlnabby

At your age, height, and weight, you should b eating more than 1200 calories. I am only 20 lb higher than you (and almost 40 years older so my metabolism is slower) and I am losing steadily with 1750 calories.

Easy and healthy ways to add calories are things like eat nuts (almonds are especially healthy but nuts in general are good for you), add a little healthy fat to your meals, snack on fruit like grapes (a snack of grapes, cheese, and almonds is really yummy to me), if you eat dairy like yogurt, go with low or full fat instead of nonfat. Expand the meats you eat so they aren't only super lean cuts, dump a scoop of protein powder into a serving of greek yogurt for a pudding-like treat.

paperpudding

How do you get to 230lbs if you can't eat 1200 calories a day?

This question is always asked in these threads.

I think the answer is that the person has turned a new leaf and is suddenly eating 'healthy food' like vegetables, lean meat, fruit, drinking water etc and finds the volume required to reach their calorie goal is actually larger than the volume of food and drink they were consuming before.

For example, there are far more calories in a can of coke and a cream bun than in 2 carrots, an apple,a tomato, a boiled egg and a glass of water - but you might find it harder to eat more of the latter.

Now I know you can top up with 'healthy' calorie dense goods like peanut butter, cheese, nuts,avocado. Or you can top up with ice cream or chocolate if you fit it into your calorie allowance.

But newbies don't always know this and so they can struggle to meet their calorie goal in their new food style.

GibbsGirl13072

How do you get to 230lbs if you can't eat 1200 calories a day?

This question is always asked in these threads.

I think the answer is that the person has turned a new leaf and is suddenly eating 'healthy food' like vegetables, lean meat, fruit, drinking water etc and finds the volume required to reach their calorie goal is actually larger than the volume of food and drink they were consuming before.

For example, there are far more calories in a can of coke and a cream bun than in 2 carrots, an apple,a tomato, a boiled egg and a glass of water - but you might find it harder to eat more of the latter.

Now I know you can top up with 'healthy' calorie dense goods like peanut butter, cheese, nuts,avocado. Or you can top up with ice cream or chocolate if you fit it into your calorie allowance.

But newbies don't always know this and so they can struggle to meet their calorie goal in their new food style.

Exactly. A fast food meal can easily top 1200 calories, and leave you hungry by dinner time. There have been days when I struggle to eat my allotted calories if I've stayed on track with healthier foods, which tend to leave me full and not wanting to snack much. Someone always has to chime in with a smartass remark, lol.

kgeyser

The problem isn't that you can't eat 1200 or 1300 calories per day. The problem is that you feel guilty for going over that, because you think you aren't allowed to eat anything other than "diet food" when you are trying to lose weight. Weight loss is not all salads, grilled chicken, vegetables, and agony.

Eat the food you plan on eating for the rest of your life. That does not mean "go stuff yourself with donuts and pizza all day every day as long as you stay within your calorie goal." It means eat now the way you want to eat in the future. If going to restaurants, or getting burgers, or ordering pizza with your friends is something that happens in your life and is going to happen in the future, keep doing that - just learn to measure portions, stay within your calories, and make good choices so that you aren't missing out on proper nutrition.

GibbsGirl13072

How do you get to 230lbs if you can't eat 1200 calories a day?

This question is always asked in these threads.

I think the answer is that the person has turned a new leaf and is suddenly eating 'healthy food' like vegetables, lean meat, fruit, drinking water etc and finds the volume required to reach their calorie goal is actually larger than the volume of food and drink they were consuming before.

For example, there are far more calories in a can of coke and a cream bun than in 2 carrots, an apple,a tomato, a boiled egg and a glass of water - but you might find it harder to eat more of the latter.

Now I know you can top up with 'healthy' calorie dense goods like peanut butter, cheese, nuts,avocado. Or you can top up with ice cream or chocolate if you fit it into your calorie allowance.

But newbies don't always know this and so they can struggle to meet their calorie goal in their new food style.

Exactly. A fast food meal can easily top 1200 calories, and leave you hungry by dinner time. There have been days when I struggle to eat my allotted calories if I've stayed on track with healthier foods, which tend to leave me full and not wanting to snack much. Someone always has to chime in with a smartass remark, lol.

The problem is not the "smartass remarks", the problem is the people who say they struggle to eat their calories, like you, have gone to extremes trying to eat "healthy" and start eliminating foods, food groups, fat, foods they love etc. None of that is necessary and you need to learn how to find a balance without labeling foods good and bad.

I don't know about OP, but I don't restrict or cut out the not so healthy foods. I try and limit them, which isn't always successful, but that's ok because I'm not doing this solely for weight loss. My comment about "smartass remarks" was just an observation that when someone asks a question like the OP, there is always someone who asks how they got fat if the can't eat 1200 calories. So many eyerolls for that.

Holly_Roman_Empire

How do you get to 230lbs if you can't eat 1200 calories a day?

This question is always asked in these threads.

I think the answer is that the person has turned a new leaf and is suddenly eating 'healthy food' like vegetables, lean meat, fruit, drinking water etc and finds the volume required to reach their calorie goal is actually larger than the volume of food and drink they were consuming before.

For example, there are far more calories in a can of coke and a cream bun than in 2 carrots, an apple,a tomato, a boiled egg and a glass of water - but you might find it harder to eat more of the latter.

Now I know you can top up with 'healthy' calorie dense goods like peanut butter, cheese, nuts,avocado. Or you can top up with ice cream or chocolate if you fit it into your calorie allowance.

But newbies don't always know this and so they can struggle to meet their calorie goal in their new food style.

Exactly. A fast food meal can easily top 1200 calories, and leave you hungry by dinner time. There have been days when I struggle to eat my allotted calories if I've stayed on track with healthier foods, which tend to leave me full and not wanting to snack much. Someone always has to chime in with a smartass remark, lol.

The problem is not the "smartass remarks", the problem is the people who say they struggle to eat their calories, like you, have gone to extremes trying to eat "healthy" and start eliminating foods, food groups, fat, foods they love etc. None of that is necessary and you need to learn how to find a balance without labeling foods good and bad.

I don't know about OP, but I don't restrict or cut out the not so healthy foods. I try and limit them, which isn't always successful, but that's ok because I'm not doing this solely for weight loss. My comment about "smartass remarks" was just an observation that when someone asks a question like the OP, there is always someone who asks how they got fat if the can't eat 1200 calories. So many eyerolls for that.

It's been my observation and experience that small changes over time are best for long-term adherence. Going balls to the wall with diet and exercise changes is only going to cause a burnout, and possibly a binge at some point.

Also OP, you can eat more than 1200 calories and still lose weight.

Matilda1396

I didn't start in December (if it had taken me 9 months to lose 7 pounds I think I'd know something is very wrong!), I just signed onto MFP in december, but started losing weight properly about 2 or 3 weeks ago

Matilda1396

Thank you for the ideas everyone. You're definitely right that it seems like I'm eating loads because vegetables/fruits hardly contain any calories compared to a fatty meal.
And of course I haven't reached 230 by eating 1200 calories a day, its been a build up of an unhealthy childhood and bad eating habits being created from being a student.

Liftng4Lis

I didn't start in December (if it had taken me 9 months to lose 7 pounds I think I'd know something is very wrong!), I just signed onto MFP in december, but started losing weight properly about 2 or 3 weeks ago

That sounds a LOT better. I use peanut butter as my go to for calorie filling (plus its yummy)!

KatieKansan

Im not much of a breakfast eater either.. I started out at 207 and am now down to 170 on around 1300 calories. It has worked well for me. I think it just takes time for your body to adjust at first. I have hit many frustrating plateaus but I got over them. I know the weight will start to fall off!!