FInding it hard to make 1200 calories a day without binging.

Victorian131

Hi,
Ive been on mfp for about a week, Ive decided to eat healthily, fresh fruit and veg etc and making everything from scratch. The only thing is I do a lot of exercise compared to before and Im finding it hard to make meals that equate to 1200 calories net a day without me being full and sluggish and forcing myself to eat.
I got in the state Im in because I had an opperation and was unable to exercise for a year or so. So I got used to comfort eating and thought I was eating a lot (I must have been, I put on 2st on in a year!)
But now Im burning around 500 4 time a week at the gym Im finding it hard to eat healthily whilst making what I eat calorific but not fattening and unhealthy. For example I was under my 1200 so I had 2 cookies rather than having the equivelant in fruit which I was too full to eat
Is anyone else finding this problem?
Or am I stressing too much about the numbers and not going with my body tells me?
Sorry for the rant,
Vix

merrillfoster

Cheese and nuts are good options

Moop87

If you are starting at 1200 calories and you burn 500 calories on the days you exercisse, that means you can take in 1700 calories a day.

Are you taking thise days into consideration?

rmhand

I only eat back my exercise calories if I want to, but I know I don't have to. Its only if you eat less than 1200 calories that MFP will warn you about starvation mode.

ALSimpson

I can't do it, there's just no way I can eat 1200 calories a day and lose weight. I eat til I'm full.

RDH0513

I agree.. I am never able to eat up to my 1200 NET calories. I think if I were to hit a plateau then I would try harder to eat those calories back, but so far I haven't hit that so I'm not eating them back. It is nice to know that even if I do want to have another healthy meal, I have the calories to do so. Are you still losing even with not hitting your 1200 NET cals?

BigBoneSista

Nuts, peanut butter, protein mix, cook with extra virgin olive oil, slice of 100% whole grain bread, low fat low skim cheese sticks

erickirb

eat more calories dense foods. nuts/seeds, dehydrated fruit makes great snacks. Nut butters. Replace 1 glass of water with a glass of juice. Add olive oil to soups and sauces. add avocado to salads and sandwiches. Instead of fat free yogurt eat some with fat in it. You don't have to eat more food to get more calories just make different choices

arosegeo

peanut butter is great and those breakfast shakes(i use catnation)

bridgets357

Yes, I am having the same problem with 1200 cals a day. I try to plan everything around the cals but I still go over 40-100 cals a day. I still feel hungry at the end of the day. I dont get to excersixe that much a week but It looks like I need to try.

Sigra

1200 is pretty easy for me after getting used to it, now I'm finding it a problem to go over my 1200 when I exercise without exploding.
Here's what's on my list for the day

Banana
Gatorade (12oz)
Cream of Wheat w/ Vanilla Soy Milk
Grapes(x20)
Strawberries(x5)
Apple
Orange
4cups of Salad (Spinach, Mushrooms, Black Olives, Tomatoes, and 2tbps light Italian dressing)
2cups of Tuna mix (Tuna - 1can; Celery, Relish, Mayo)
1cup of Veggie Chips
87oz of water
(Does not include dinner yet!)

893Calories so far, still have 899cal to go because of exercise.

Victorian131

Thanks, all good suggestions.
Well Ive been eating 1200 a day not taking exercise into acount, I just didnt want to put my body into starvation mode, Im glad its not just me though.
Ive only really been doing this for 5 days, Ive lost just over 1lb but I cant really tell because its not a great deal of weight and it could just be a random fluctuation for whatever reason. So Ill keep just eating til Im full and seeing if anything more happens.
I dont really like nuts but I LOVE cheese but have cut down on it alot because its really fatty and I dont like low fat cheese (other than phillidelphia (addicted to the chilli low fat spread!))
I have actually discovered cous cous which fills me up really well but its really low calorie compared to pasta and rice etc.
I just need to train myself I guess, like I said Im new to all this so Ill just pick things up as I go,
Thanks again everyone!:happy:

msarro

What is your current weekly weight loss goal? If you have it set to 2lbs a week, 1lb a week... switch it down to half a pound a week.

You really, REALLY should eat your exercise calories.

kitkat1781

This is not a problem I have, but I'm wondering if maybe you should look at the foods you're eating. Maybe you could add some calories by just changing the types of food you're eating? For example, cheese is fairly high in calories, but not bad for you.

Victorian131

I would like to loose 2lbs a week, if I eat my exercise calories is this possible? I dont want to crash diet or anything, but I was aiming for 2lbs a week for the 1st couple of weeks at least, I was under the impression this was a healthy amount to loose?
Msarro, I admit I know very little about this kind of thing, could you explain why I would only be able to loose half a pound a week?
Thanks.

erickirb

I think he was making the point that since you only have 20lbs to lose 2lbs/week may be too much too fast. The less you have to lose the smaller your caloric deficit should be. So with that much 2lbs/week is too aggressive. Try changing it to 1lb, and when you get to the last 10 or so you should change to 0.5lbs/week.

not eating enough when you don't have much to lose can cause your body to burn muscle, instead of fat, to use as fuel.

msarro

I think he was making the point that since you only have 20lbs to lose 2lbs/week may be too much too fast. The less you have to lose the smaller your caloric deficit should be. So with that much 2lbs/week is too aggressive. Try changing it to 1lb, and when you get to the last 10 or so you should change to 0.5lbs/week.

not eating enough when you don't have much to lose can cause your body to burn muscle, instead of fat, to use as fuel.

You got it! :drinker:
The less you have to lose, the less aggressive you can be. Plus, even if you have a lot to lose still, if you can't finish a day without feeling famished than lower your expectations on weight loss and set it to 1 or .5 pounds a week. You'll get more calories to consume while still losing weight.

In some cases, it may even help you avoid a plateau.

Victorian131

Ok thanks, yeah Im trying to avoid the muscle burning, I read that could happen.
Sorry I wasnt trying to say I couldnt finish a day without feeling famished, maybe I explained it wrong. I was trying to say I realised I was eating only around 1200 (of the wrong foods though) before I started my excersise routine etc and I get full easily so Im finding it strange and difficult to eat MORE because its fresher and healthier so I need to consume more to make the calorie count. Im finishing the day really full and sometimes bloated and find I still should have eaten more. I appologise if that was unclear.
Thank you for the advice though Ive read up on it all more now and think I can get on track with the right foods and right exercises to make sure its all done healthily. 20lbs is my first goal but idealy I would like to carry on after that, obviously at a lot slower pace until I get to the stage where I just need to maintain the weight I get to.
Sorry if I annoyed anyone sounding like a complete rookie.