Anyone else needed to up their calories from 1200?

moPOETRYtion

So I've been tracking calories on MFP for almost a month. I've been sticking to the 1200 calories MFP has allotted me to lose a pound a month pretty well (I've had a few bad days here and there). I've lost about 2 pounds and then gain them back then lose them again. I've also been incredibly hungry this whole month. I thought at first it was just my body getting used to eating less, but I didn't think I would still be this hungry almost a month later.

I am thinking about upping my calories a bit. Anyone else do this and still lose weight? Thanks!

fbmandy55

Bump

hroush

I went from eating 1700 calories losing 1 lb a week to eating 2000 calories and losing 2 lbs a week.

kcthatsme

bump

ronda_gettinghealthy

yep had to up the cals-- then started losing better.

reddcat

Probably not the person to be giving ANY advice.....but I was in the same boat as you. I upped my calories and lost 1.4 that week. Some people were just not meant to be at 1200.

Heatherbledsoe

I have lost 43 pounds. In may I started and ended the month to the same ounce. Although It was my lats month for the quarter in school and i didnt diet or exercise like i should have done, I just started again on a strcit diet and execise regimen and also just started weight training. I was eating 1200, and I actualy lost 5 pounds, then gained back 3 starting lats monday. as soon as i upped to 1400, I lost the 3 pounds. since last thursday i have lost 5, gained 3, then lost 3 in under a week.
Sometimes your body needs more, especially if youre eating SUPER clean and healthy and burning throught it liek crazy during your workouts.


edit, for the first 43, i was on 1200 cal a day, and sometimes ate less...not on purpose, i just wasnt hungry...now im like ravenous with all the crap i have to do in training lol

cheshirequeen

are you netting 1200 or just eating 1200. the more you move the more you should eat those calories back. not all of them of course, but i upped mine to 1700 and started losing again after 2 months of nothing. if you are very active then you should up it, i have mine set at 1700, but i do zumba for an hour and thats around 600 calories burnt so i usually eat about 1/4-1/2 of those calories back. your body might be going into starvation mode

bluefox9er

i'd say up your cals to about 1400 but exercise a teeny bit more..and drink even more water.

cckeimig

You may have underestimated your activity level when setting your goals (I figure as moms, we get way less sleep than we ought to, so we end up burning more than 'sedentary' even with a desk job). Try upping it to 'lightly active' if you're at 'sedentary' and that should give you around 1440. I know I feel less hungry at 1440 than I often did at 1200...

Enigmatica

Yep, I found that I lost better at a minimum of 1500 once I got below a certain weight. I lost slower but it was better than not at all!

LauraDubbleya

I'm gonna have to up my calories too. I've lost the same two pounds over and over for the past 2 months. It's incredibly frustrating.

misssmiles

1200 was never enough! i was always going over... and i wasn't losing anything. i upped my calories (i usually net around 1300) and have started losing again. 1200 stressed me out!

alynnbennett

I was eating 1200 calories and my weight was staying about the same, I have about 10 pounds to lose so I bumped my calories up to 1350. I think this will be better for me because I also work out and burn between 500 and 900 calories while at the gym. It all depends on your own body. It wouldn't hurt to increase your calories and see how you feel afterwards.

Daisy_May

I upped mine from 1200 to just under 1400 and it's worked well for me, I have days where I go a little over and days where I don't quite get them all in.
I find our body's get to used to one thing and they stop losing, try going between 1200 - 1500 and I bet you'll see some results!

Jenscan

I had to up them - I was not doing well at 1250. You'll still lose weight if you up your calories. Make sure you're paying attention to your NET calories; I wasn't!

CountryGrrrrl

I have been at 1200 cals for 3 months, and burn about 600 cals/day, so really I am eating 1800 cals a day (and usually can't eat all of that because I'm just not hungry). I am pretty dedicated to this process, and know that "a few bad days" adds up faster than you know. How many calories are you burning in exercise a day? What is your net total each day? How much water are you drinking? there are soooooo many more factors other than just calories in.

I have consistently lost 1-2 lbs/week with this schedule. I think if/when I hit a plateau, I will up my calories, but first I will up my burn amount. Try it and see what works for you. Add me if you'd like!

RozeGod

Yes, I did. I work extremely hard when I garden and it wasnt nearly enough.

ccyha1

Calories consumption is calories gain for weight. It depends on what foods totaling your 1200 limit. Lots of Vegetables keep me from being hungry. Now am I satisfy with my taste bud? Heck no. It's not my comfort foods but it will get me losing weight faster. This is what I also do. Any acidities or spicy stuff make things tastes better. Hope this helps you.

NatalieWinning

This is why I exercise, and I eat back my calories burned. Make sure your activity level is set as accurately as you can, also your food and exercise accuracy. I have a heart rate monitor so I can be more sure of what i'm actually burning. Not eating enough will stall my weight loss. Exercising a lot will temporarily stall my weight loss (although inches lost will increase and it's all good).

What I can't see is your food diary to see what kinds of food you are eating. That makes a big difference for me. Processed, simple carbs, sugar, high sodium foods will make me more hungry (in a big way). Longer burning food like lean protein, high fiber more complex carbs (beans are a good example), fruits/veggies and lots of water help more than I realized.

Lean protein in a really big salad with lots of vegetables and low fat low calorie dressing will really fill you up for a while.

It might take more than a month to really get the hang of it. Eventually you will have a plateau, but it will pass. I tend to lose 3 pounds, stall, then lose again. The closer to your goal will also be harder to lose, but it does go. There will be ups and downs in hungry, too. Pre-period is a hard time for me with the munchies! Check your settings and eat "clean" then be persistant!

Mommyof3texans

I upped mine about 9-10 weeks ago from 1200 to 1300 and I've been losing faster and more consistently than when I was on 1200.

RozeGod

PS = I still have over 2000 calories left for the day from exercising so much but there is no way I will ever be able to eat that for just dinner...

moPOETRYtion

Thanks for the replies! I am not really excercising much, but I am eating back any exercise calories I do earn.

VeganGal84

I'm so glad that I read this, I feel better now!

I'm new here, but was on Weight Watchers before and WW had me eating a LOT more than MFP is, so I may be increasing my calories, too, otherwise just eating about the same amount every day, even on DORs.