Competitive people? The 1200 calories a day triggers me to w

yeaah

Is there anyone else in here that feels the urge to constantly eating under, and that that is the only thing that make you feel like you accomplished and succeeded? Because I do. And it is stressing the hell out of me, because I always go over! (I do work out, but I never eat them back, also - is that bad, not to eat workout calories back?)

Is 1200 calories a day too little or is it good? I am 5.7 and I weigh 169 pounds trying to lose about 50 pounds (over a course of 15 months). My fat percent is about 30 -35 %.

I seem to be good at keeping 'good' at the calories, but I ALWAYS eat unhealthy anyways.. And I have been noticing myself getting worse on the excersizing... Anyone have any super advices for me, I would honestly appreciate that SO much!

rjnandjosh

You are supposed to eat them back. but I never do. I don't get that hungry. I am always under calories sometimes even 800 under.:sad:

cris12

for your height and weight I think 1,200 might be too little, I'm 5'2" and 120 and am usually hungry at 1,200 cal...

sheilamo

I don't eat my workout calories either.

I have been reading all kinds of things to find the foods that have the lowest calories and the highest "fill" factor. I have stocked my kitchen with these things (my office too).

I just remind myself that I have to eat something good and can splurge on something (still good, but feels like a splurge to me) everyday.....ONLY AFTER I have eaten my good stuff.

I have notes all over my mirror, car, wallet, etc. to remind me to stay focused and remember the feeling of what it was like to be my good weight.

Maybe this will help?
Hope so.

yeaah

You are supposed to eat them back. but I never do. I don't get that hungry. I am always under calories sometimes even 800 under.:sad:

Wow....I am jaelous. I AM ALWAYS ..not hungry.. BUT IN CRAVING.

billmac

Yeaah

This is a recent note from my son who has lost a lot of weight and reshaped his body. May be his note might help

The key for me has been to look at food as fuel. Aim to maximise nutritional benefit of each and every calorie. If u do this, its easy to keep things under control.

Exercise is all well and good when losing weight but the bottom line is u when u exercise vigorously, u eat. In my experience its impossible to run massive calorie deficits and at the same time be able to exercise a lot. Inevitably your body refuses to exercise more, u fatigue and then blow out your diet.

I read once that one really needs to exercise according to what one is trying to achieve. Sounds simple but in practice I think its often overlooked. Its is hard to make optimal performance gains when trying to lose weight because u simply don't have the energy to optimally stress your system and subsequently recover effectively for your next workout.

Its much more efficient to focus on one or the other. Obviously ones fitness improves as a bi product of exercising more with the aim if losing weight and vice versa but its more effective to do one and then the other. I still have trouble putting it into practice.

One thing that is also clear is that if u are in calorie deficit u will lose muscle mass. Its another law of physics. I have lost 12kgs and the ever reliable dexa scans tell me this has been 6kgs of muscle and 6 of fat. There are things u can do to to impact the ratio but u can't not lose muscle. Normally, for every 3kgs of fat u lose, u lose 1kg of muscle. Its worth mentioning that this 6kgs or muscle I have lost has come despite engaging in what most would consider to be a vigorous bulking up weights program for the last 6 months. I am told this loss more reflects my bodies ability to add muscle when in calorie surplus than much else, ie, I was carrying too much muscle and of course too much fat given my exercise level. As soon as the excess calories are no longer there fueling the muscle growth, the body has no reason to keep them so it gets rid of them. The ol' "don't worry abt the scales, u r putting on muscle" when someone is trying to lose fat is absolute garbage. Body simply doesn't work that way.

christinar2008

I have lost 12.4 lbs in 28 days and at first I was going under the calories. I was around 900 a day some days. I found that I lose weight better if I average between 1200-1300 calories a day and exercise about 30 minutes 4 days a weeks on the Elliptical. Everyone is different and will have different results. If I eat the 1200-1300 calories I don't have cravings. I have heard that you are supposed to eat more on the days you exercise. If you know you are going to exercise and you burn 300 calories, etc then through out the day try to add in that extra 300 calories into your meals. My husband lost 35lbs in 11 weeks and he is very strict 1200 cals a day and one day a week he will eat what ever he wants. That keeps your metabolism guessing....he has had great success doing that. I am a little too afraid to try it his way. You will have to try different stuff and see what works best for you.

yeaah

Thanks for all the good advices! I am a very athletic person, and I noticed that I build muscles awfully fast. Almost like a boy, my weigh trainer told me. So I might be carrying around TOO MUCH MUSCLES as well as fat. I got from what you were saying that you shouldn't be scared of losing muscles then... Hmm. I like that idea.

yeaah

Wow, 35 pounds in 11 weeks is really impressive!

Elzecat

I seem to be good at keeping 'good' at the calories, but I ALWAYS eat unhealthy anyways.. And I have been noticing myself getting worse on the excersizing... Anyone have any super advices for me, I would honestly appreciate that SO much!

I ate unhealthy most of my adult life and despite that I was skinny and athletic and never worried about gaining weight...until I hit about 32. Between 32 and 35 I probably gained 60 pounds...? I just recently began eating much healthier (lean protein, lots of raw vegetables, brown rice, etc). The biggest thing for me was logging my food and adjusting my portion sizes. I goof occasionally and eat poorly or too much, but I think of it as a lifestyle change, not a diet. Overall I just keep goin...

Someone else posted to think of food as fuel for your body...if you are exercising so much, you want to give your body GOOD fuel.

There's a lot of debate about eating back the exercise calories...sometimes I do, sometimes I don't feel hungry enough too...but I try to stay above 1000 and more likely above 1200 or 1300...I think if you're burning 800-1000 a day with exercise, you need to be careful about eating enough nutritious food to keep fueling those great workouts!

Good luck and feel free to friend me on here if you like

Ellen

silverwolf0104

I know what you mean! I feel like if I eat over my calorie allotment reguardless of how much I exercised that Im going to get fat. My allotment is 1200 per day too... Id say stock up of fruits and veggies and if you must eat out go to a Panera or Wegmans where you can buy a salad or something healthy and low-calorie.

WarmDontBurn

I say bump up your calories a little then you can afford to go a little under. You should NOT be eating under 1200 NET calories a day. If you find you NEED to see that number and are always 50 under then go to 1300 and only consume 1250. You may lose a little slower but in the long run it will be better and more sustainable.

Emi_chan

I had a problem with this for a while now. I was at 1200 calories and never ate my exercise calories back and essentially my net was 800 or so. I found myself at a plateau and my body seemed to be in starvation mode. I'm trying to gain more muscle now, as I think I may have depleted some of it while my body was starving before. So I was doing ST 3 days a week with moderate cardio during the other 3 days with 1 rest day. So when I ate my exercise calories back (1500-1700 pre workout) and got to a net of slightly below 1200 each day (usually 1150-1190), I found myself at a 1.5 lb loss!! I found that this week, this strategy worked best for me and will be continuing to do this going forward. :happy: