My food diary is open...

cloneme_losehalf

If anyone is looking for a challenge, I could use some help! I am sure from the three weeks on MFP my diary shows eating habits of sorts. MFP had me at 1700 calories and when I hurt my foot took me to 1500. At the doctor today she took me to 1200!!!!! I felt like I was doing pretty good learning to balance fats, carbs, protein and fiber til now! And obviously I am going to be looking for ways to cut some more calories. This change has got me a little disturbed. I will work on it during down time at work and when I get home. It just seems like this is going to be VERY DIFFICULT!!! I know at 294 lbs and 40 years old I need to lose this weight. But in the 3 weeks on here I have lost 12 lbs. I am still unsure why dr said 1200. I agreed to try it for a month then I will go back to doctor and reevaluate and check loss and vitals. I was told IF I can not handle 1200 without feeling hungry to go no higher than 1500. Thanks for any help! Ha!!! and she said stress causes weight gain because of cortisol being produced which holds fat. LOL! Then why did she stress me!!! (Note to self~~~~it will be okay!!)

amyhoss

1200 seems really low for someone your size. Why the rush? As long as you're going in the right direction, I don't understand why your doctor wants your calories so low.

barbacasec

yes it will be ok

I went to a registered Dietician and she put me on a range of 1200-1400....
except on heavy work out days 1 hour plus of high intensity cardio then I can have up to 1600 but only if I am hungry....

I found a new love for VEGGIES !! very low cal and very filling!!
It will be challenging but doable!! You just have to learn how to plan ahead! so that all your calories aren't used up by 2 pm!!

Good LUCK!!!

JRMcCaghren

For a nearly 300 lb guy (i.e. similar to me) you should be eating more than 1200 calories. MFP still has me eating over 2000 and I'm losing an average of over three lbs per week. I think you should go with what MFP says.

SoDamnHungry

For having to lose so much weight, 1200 seems awfully low. I'd recommend eating more veggies. Honestly, it looks like you're doing pretty well. Looks like you probably have a lot of sodium in there.

christymarie214

I am 5'2 and 115 lbs and my calorie goal is 1200 and I am many times hungry, so that seems really low for you.

liveletl0ve

things i usually avoid are cheese, peanut butter, oil, butter, high sodium. if u eat a sandwich you can eat 1 piece of bread instead of two. dont eat both yolks if you are eating two eggs. I love chocolate and have some "emergency" chocolate in the fridge. i will eat a piece at a time to satisfy myself, not even half the bar, and NOT every day. snacks should be things like fruit and vegetables. i love raw broccoli and peppers but that may just be a preference. try not to DRINK your calories, and a trick i learned a longg time ago at an eating clinic was that u should drink a glass of water before every meal, trust me you will eat less and be a lot less hungry. eat slower, chew longer, the usual :] good luck. oh and i dont see ANY good coming out of eating back exercise calories, ive never rly agreed with that.

ChitownFoodie

Personally, when I was trying to lose weight, I cut out all carbs that weren't from vegetables and fruits. Pasta, breads, rice only kept me full for short periods of time. I was still getting 100gs of carbs, which is all you really need, and staying full longer. Vegetables are so low in calories that you can eat more. I didn't bother with vinaigrettes or salad dressing....good old vinegar works just fine and doesn't add as many calories.

Protein....helps you feel full and repairs muscles at the same time. I make it a point to get as much in as possible, about 100g a day.

Fats...now that was a tricky one. It's easy to up your good fats with avocado and olive oil, but they are both higher calorie. So I would only add those on days that I wasn't hungry since they aren't filling.

CMmrsfloyd

I'm no expert but I'd say for now stick around the 1500 mark for awhile and see how it goes. You don't have to go so drastically low to see consistent loss b/c you're starting with a lot to lose. You've already been losing 4 lbs per week following the MFP recommendations, I say that's awesome! As you lose more weight and are able to be more active, you could then stay at 1500 and try to burn some of that off or exercise to be able to eat a little more when you feel hungry. I just don't think you need to do the 1200 calorie plan that MFP would put a much smaller person on just yet. I started out at 165 and MFP put me on the 1200 calorie plan, in a little over 2 months I've lost 16 pounds. (a little under 2 lbs per week which is awesome for me!) If you're already losing 4 lbs/week doing what you were already doing, I think what you were already doing is working great for you. :-)

DarkOctoberNight

Does she have you working out? If not then that is why. You are losing water weight and fat with out needing to work out. If you feel like your calories are too low...eat some celery. It has negative calories meaning you burn more calories eating it then the piece has in it.

shydaisi

I don't understand why she would want you to further restrict your calories if you have lost 13 pounds in 3 weeks. That is a great pace! Reducing your calories so low is setting you up to fail in my opinion. If your body needs more to function, you will feel sluggish, and, likely, hungry!!! When I am hungry on a diet, I rarely stick with it and end up binging.

I am not telling you to ignore your doctor's orders; however, if I were you and my doctor told me to do that, *I* would not be following the doctor's orders... I would seek out a registered dietition if I were concerned about the number of calories I was consuming. Although, if I was seeing results as you are, I wouldn't likely do that either...

4theking

I would get a new doctor.

margo36

Well you have lost weight the MFP way so I would stick with it. My Doctor dishes out 1200 cal diets along with tablets and a weekly weigh in and a nagging from the practice nurse.. I used to weigh over 20 st lost it the MFP way but with Weight Loss Resources an internet site that you pay for you but work the same way as MFP. I'm using MFP now because it's free and I get a great app on my phone. Stick with MFP and ignore your Doctors 1200 cals.

glassyo

At 300 lbs, 1200 calories isn't enough to sustain you in a coma. You're doing fine on what you're eating now....you shouldn't really lose more than 1% of your weight a week anyway...so unless there's a health problem and your doctor wants you to lose weight faster, I wouldn't go to 1200 calories.

statia152

The same happened to me. I started myself at 1200 because of an injury, then increase myself to 1600 when I got back to my regular routine and added exercise and lost 8 lbs in three weeks. Then my dietician decreased me down to 1300, with the ok to occasionally to up to 1500. The hardest part is the body adjusting to less food (bulk, not calories). So I eat lots of egg whites, added protein shakes, lots of veggies and lots of water. I don't eat pasta much, too many cals for the small amount. But I do notice that if I eat some fats, it keeps me fuller longer. Hopefully, it will only take 7 - 10 days for your body to adjust, but the hunger will be real! Your doc has the knowledge/license to advise the cut in calories, I do not. But you could always get a second opinion or listen to your body. To me, it sounded like you were doing really well. Good luck with whatever you decide.

cantjustcant

I would get a new doctor.

or at least a second opinion!

shapestocome

I am 5'4" and weigh 149 and am a 45 yr old female -- when I stick between 1300-1500 I lose weight. When I try to do the 1200 that is recommended for me I am very hungry at night and tend to binge. So I say do what you can to be able to adhere to the calorie range and still lose weight. I am not a doctor but I do own a weight loss center. And I find if I put someone on too low of a calorie intake they binge more often which offsets the low cal intake anyway! So I say find what works for you. Play around with the numbers til you find something you can live with and still lose weight consistently. Everyone is different.

Adding more protein, fruits and veggies will help you stay full with less calories and I find for myself, that I can adhere to lower calories if I just lay off sugar. Sugary things begets sugary things and those foods (cakes, cookies, candy etc) are the foods that have lots of calories. A treat now and then is fine but it just makes it harder to stay within calorie range if you eat sugary foods everyday. Mostly because you want more!!

Feel free to friend me I would love to see how you are doing!

brucedelaney

I started MFP at 275# and 1800 Calories a Day w/o any exercise at all. Less then three months later I'm at 245#, 1700 Calories a day + one spike day and still losing weight at a healthy rate and I exercise about 3 times a week.

I'd seriously look into a second opinion.

bcattoes

If you are under the care of a physician that you have no reason to distrust then my advice is to follow that physician's advice. If you want more information, such as why so low, then make a call and ask. Did the doc specify whether that was total or net calories. Even if you have to be off your feet, you can still burn some calories with floor exercises. Maybe you can earn some extra calories that way.

If you have to stay at 1200 I would say eat as many vegetables as possible as they will allow you the most food per calorie. And don't cut fat and protein out completely as these help you feel full longer.

pope369

I would get a new doctor.

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