How hard can it be to eat 1200 calories, what's up with that

caitlinaudrey

I find it quite disturbing that only a few people seemed to acknowledge how disrespectful it was of the OP to make a comment on anorexia like 'they should just learn to eat'
I have friends and family members who have suffered through eating disorders and they could not 'just eat'.

lal73

Its not as hard to only eat 1200 calories if you familiraize yourself with Nutrition, cooking, and recipes...That really really helps....But, it certainly takes discipline and pre planning.

aschultz9

I find staying at 1200 very difficult. I work out, at a pretty high intensity every day and eat all of those cals too and have to say my stomach is still rumbling a lot of the day. I don't, however, count every move I make throughout the day as exercise. I only count my "workout" or my run. I would not be able to function at less than the 1200 for sure.

FearAnLoathing

I am not a very big eater.Im usally around 1300.Alot of time I make myself eat so I wont be to low.So how did I get fat?Well from ages 12 to 29 I was on drugs,acid and meth but mostly just meth after aboyt 16.I would drink 6 to 7 sodas a day when I would eat it would be fast food needless to say I was on meth so I stayed skinny.At 29 I quit drugs just woke up one day and decided not to do them anymore,a month later I got pregnant with my daughter, 3 months after that I got put on bed rest.I never knew how to eat right so i indulged every freaking pregnancy craving I had.Thats how I got fat.But before I started drugs I was a very very light eater my mom used to drag me to drs thinking there was something wrong with me,but it was just the way I am.it seems thats the way i find myself being again now that ive been sober foralmost 5 years

hippiechel

@Jeanettelr77 - i just want to say how proud i am of you for quitting drugs!!! congratulations on being sober for almost 5 years and i am sure you are a great mum : )))

to those eating less than 1200 calories a day, i just want to know what your weight loss is like (honest question). this is because i have had some disordered eating before, and i am not sure if i messed up my metabolism. i don't want to enter "starvation mode". i am looking for the optimum range of calories i should eat for maximum weight loss while still being healthy.. hmm.

kfarnham9

I have the hardest time eating 1200 calories a day. My weight loss is on pause because my body seems to be in starvation mode. I need to eat about 1800 calories a day to keep up with my workout/weight loss program. I eat a lot of wheat/fruit/veggies. After lunch I did eat 2 apples but I feel like I'm about to bust. I don't like eating a lot at night because I don't sleep well. I don't like eating a pile in the morning because that's when I do my work out. Blah. I could eat 1200 for a meal if I ate fast food but I don't.

christy_frank

I find it very difficult at times. You switch to lower cal foods and some days I feel like I am shoving food in my face all day long. For breakfast I will have 2 pcs of low cal bread (70 cals), 1 tbs of peanut butter (85) 2 servings of egg beaters (60 cals) and a glass of 1% milk (110) for a total of 325 cals and I am VERY satisfied. Snacks and lunch consists of hard boiled egg (70 cals) Activia (70 cals) granola bar (130 cals) celery (24) carrots (50 cals) orange (100 cals) = 444 calories. Dinner is somewhere between 200-350 calories. We found recipes online at Betty Crocker that are usually under 300 cals. and it is filling food. A chicken breast (4 oz) is only 160 cals, 4 oz of baked fish is 100 cals and then you toss in 3/4 cup of green beans (35) cals and it is pretty filling for dinner. I find myself eating another hard boiled egg or another granola bar (or both) just to up my calories and I am not even hungry. If I will be working out that day, I plan and try to eat more cals. Other days, if I don't make the best choices it's different. I try to plan for things, when I know I am going to need more calories and when I want an 'treat'.

hotmooglelove

According to typical calculations, a person would have to be roughly 4 feet tall, 65 lbs, and live a sedentary lifestyle to require 1200kcal in order to maintain weight, which is why most people at those levels do tend to have disorders.

That being said, everyone is different and those calculations are never exact. I would recommend, however, that someone who maintains weight at that calorie rate have their body fat % properly checked by a professional. It's essential that women stay above 12%, and ideally aim to be above 21% for longevity.

BTW OP I eat 1,000 calorie hotdogs sometimes, so I feel your pain =P

Lisa__Michelle

I have a hard time because I am here for weight loss AND health. Because of this, I have cut out most processed foods and eat mostly healthier low calorie things. If someone is eating healthier foods you have to eat WAY more amount of food in order to get 1200 calories. It is really hard when you are eating the right foods.

Not to mention if I am exercising, you have to eat back your exercise calories so your net is at least 1200. That means there are days where I am supposed to consume 1700-1800 calories to get me back to a net of 1200 calories.

Katfrench

I wish I could say it's hard for me to eat 1200 calories a day! I come pretty close to eating my exercise calories too. I've lost 6 lbs in 6 weeks so I guess I'm doing something right. Just do what works for you.

hotmooglelove

I come pretty close to eating my exercise calories too.

Thats a good thing

jar3827

i personally just dont eat alot. i stay home all day with two kids and try to eat 2 meals a day and a few snacks. and sometimes i only really get one real meal in. i dont starve myself or go hungry, i just dont eat or need a lot. today for instance-- i am only up to 1000 calories that i have eatern, but i also did some walking and such and burned a couple hundred... but i am full! so unless i pig out on some empty calories, i end up under... and i have already had several cookies today. so when i do actually burn it is hard for me to get my net

Sheltie4

I find it easy to eat 1200 calories and much much more on occasion.

What I find surprising is how people gained weight if they find 1200 a struggle. I know how much food I eat when I gain weight and it is much more than 1200.

To be honest if I had stuck to 1200 for the last years I would never have had to diet.

jar3827

I find it easy to eat 1200 calories and much much more on occasion.

What I find surprising is how people gained weight if they find 1200 a struggle. I know how much food I eat when I gain weight and it is much more than 1200.

To be honest if I had stuck to 1200 for the last years I would never have had to diet.

just thought i would answer the question of how did one gain the weight... alot of people ask that... and well, for me personally it was the 2 pregnancies... so when even though i had no problem eating then, im just not as hungry 24/7 now... and i am sure that is the answer for several people... just one answer to that question... i do get what you mean though.

Sheltie4

I find it easy to eat 1200 calories and much much more on occasion.

What I find surprising is how people gained weight if they find 1200 a struggle. I know how much food I eat when I gain weight and it is much more than 1200.

To be honest if I had stuck to 1200 for the last years I would never have had to diet.

just thought i would answer the question of how did one gain the weight... alot of people ask that... and well, for me personally it was the 2 pregnancies... so when even though i had no problem eating then, im just not as hungry 24/7 now... and i am sure that is the answer for several people... just one answer to that question... i do get what you mean though.

Yes I understand what you are saying.

I just wonder why people stay overweight after the pregnancy if they are not eating more calories than they need, which is usually well over 1200. I think people often under- estimate just what they do eat when not having to record it on here. I lost a lot of weight years ago and a little crept back on following a holiday in November and then Christmas - if I had been recording the calories or just writing down what I was eating I am sure I would not have eaten as much - writing it down is a very good discipline - hurts sometimes though!

hellen72

I find it hard to get as low as 1200 cal but am managing it the last few weekends by having porridge, soup, soup for my meals and snacks between. Not sure I cold do it in the week as well.

I do a lot of running (60 miles a week)when not injured so I do find it hard to eat my 1200+ exercise cal

If I made more effort and ditched the maltesers I could probably survive on 1200 (and not eat exercise cal from gym) but would this be wise? Have people seen good weight loss from 1200 food when exercising about an hour or more or does it go into starvation mode territory?

♥Amy♥

I find it very hard to eat 1200 calories a day now.

I started this process being 100 lbs. overweight and I most definitely consumed WAY more than 1200 calories a day then, but it was because I was snacking, not doing anything, and eating junk. Since I've started this journey, I am trying to watch my calories but also eat healthier things, too, but my problem with getting the 1200 calories a day (and I haven't eaten any of my exercise calories back) is that most of the stuff that is good for you (fresh fruits and vegetables), I don't like, so I'm trying my best, but it's really hard.

kayebrown

I have found it really hard to get up to 1200 calories because I am eating so extremely healthy. I don't eat anything processed, only lean organic meats/fish, organic veggies/fruits, egg whites, 100% whole grain bread, brown rice, quinoa, organic nonfat yogurt and nuts. That is all my entire diet consists of. If I eat nothing but these items on a daily basis, which are all relatively low calorie foods, I find it really hard to get up to 1200 calories and on top of that, I am usually completely not hungry usually after about 950 calories or so. I'm naturally a petite person so I feel like the blanketed "every female needs to eat at least 1200 calories" has got to be false. Of course, right now I'm not as petite anymore because when I was eating nothing but processed/fast foods I was consuming close to 3,000 calories a day and I gained a ton of weight. But now that I am eating healthy, I am thoroughly satisfied and energetic with only about 1,000-1,100 calories a day. I am not going to force myself to eat when I have no appetite. That's what got me in trouble in the first place.

graelwyn

I think often people struggle because they swap everything for low fat this and low fat that, when there have been numerous articles recently suggesting that low fat is actually not all that good, and often is full of artificial sweeteners, or sugar to replace the fat. There is nothing wrong with full fat as part of a healthy diet, especially if it helps you to hit what is already a low calorie goal. It seems to be common sense.

I have no issues hitting double 1200 on my exercise days, usually with greek yoghurt, seeds, few pieces of fruit, plenty of veggies, couple of fillets of salmon, a sweet potato, some cottage cheese and a wholefoods fruit and nut bar or two. I mean, my dinner tonight consisted of 2 salmon fillets, mixed vegetables and a little brown rice, some beetroot and tomatoes, and that took me to almost 600 and we are not talking a big serving of rice. I guess some people just have smaller appetites, but the issue with eating so low calorie is that it really can mess up your whole system, and it is not sustainable for life. It also seems to me that those eating more seem to maintain much better over a period of time and are less likely to fall back into their old ways or off the wagon so to speak.

But to each their own.

vanessalillian82

I totally understand this problem, because I eat a lot of vegetables and they're just not very dense in calories. Cereal with banana and milk for breakfast, wholemeal meat and salad sandwich for lunch and something involving an ACTUAL serving of lean protein and vegies for dinner. Snacks are fruit and yohgurt. On top of the fact that vegies are low-calorie, if I fit in exercise of an evening it means not eating dinner until after 8pm, which means I'm forcing in a huge plateful of food plus any calories I need to nett 1200. Eating fruit isn't a bad way of doing it, but if you're already full it's no good, and I can't pre-emptively eat the fruit earlier in the day because I have a heart condition that means I can't guarantee being able to go for a jog every evening. Eating things like full-fat dairy and nuts and sultanas and dried figs and dates is good, though - quite dense energy, but not processed and they're not empty calories.

Also, someone said something about not being hungry after working out. I read years ago that it's how you can tell how hard you exercised. Moderate exercise makes you ravenous; extreme exercise totally kills your hunger because your body just wants to curl up in a ball and die/repair.