starving at 1200 calories

lovebug7686

What is your curren weight and goal weight?
What is your activit level?

1200 sounds way too low if you onyl have 20lbs to go --- you settings should be to lose 1/2 lb a week at that point.

1200 is too low for most people but for some reason people think it's some magic number

** EDIT and wow at all the people giving you other numbers wihout even knowing your stats.

My current weight is 156 and my goal weight is 145
I go for a 45 minute high paced run/walk every day. I sprint every 15 mins. I try to do weight training 3 times a week but it depends on the kids activites if I can get to the gym or not. If I can't I do floor workout at home with the hubby (planks, push ups, mountain climbers etc). I also do a bike ride twice a week with my 28 pound toddler on the back. When I walk/run I am pushing her in a jogging stroller or I have my 100 pound Great Pyr with me. So I know my body is challenged....I am pretty sore after. I also walk for 30 mins at work on breaks 2 times a day...

kidsmoke

The first post in this thread has all your answers.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions?page=1

Onesnap

I would say if you log every workout and NET 1,200-1,300 you should not be hungry at all.

You are pretty close to where I was when I started MFP and I was NET 1,260 as I mentioned.

As an example, if you are burning 200-300 calories/workout you should be at 1,500 cals in food taken in to NET the 1200 with a 300 calorie burn thrown in.

So, if you think about it that way you're not REALLY only taking in 1200 on that particular day it would be 1500. If you are eating healthy whole foods and eating every 2-3 hours and taking in 1500 NET (after a 300 calorie burn) you should not be hungry.

If you are not NET 1200 and you're not Meeting that goal of 1200 and you're actually falling below it with that workout thrown in of course you're going to be hungry.

Kimrenaud

Hi,
as a newly diagnosed diabetic I have been put on 1200 calories for over a year now. At first I lost 60 like heated butter...just melted off then I hit a plateau and started eating my exercise calories=Net but that didnt help either so I upped my calories gained 15 lbs back and am now going back to 1200. Its really not hard to do if you eat lots of low fat proteins, high fiber and fruit and veggies. its very balanced and clean. I love salted trailmix! good luck!

Onesnap

I can't believe I did not ask this sooner.

What does MFP tell you your calories/day should be in order to lose 1lb/week??

neenaj33

1200 calories should be mostly protein or you will starve

kidsmoke

I can't believe I did not ask this sooner.

What does MFP tell you your calories/day should be in order to lose 1lb/week??

The better question. What is your BMR? Go to Tools - BMR calculator.

Onesnap

1200 calories should be mostly protein or you will starve

Do you have a source? My daily intake of 1,260 NET was a good healthy, balanced mix. Lots of whole foods, fruits and veggies. Typically I would have protein with every meal. I was anything but starving. Of course, I was taking in more than 1,260 in food and burning 300-500 calories/day with whatever activity I was doing.

My diet was not "mostly protein" and still is not "mostly protein"...just curious where you get this information. I eat a nice balanced mix.

MinnieInMaine

Don't worry about going over on your proteins - that's not going to be bad for you unless you're going WAY over. In fact, it may help muscle recovery/building as you keep being active.
ETA: In fact, protein will likely help keep you fuller longer.

As far as carbs go, this may not be a popular opinion but I feel the same way about carbs as I do about sugars. I don't worry about them too much if they're from natural, more whole sources like fruits and veggies and whole grains and/or if you're getting a good amount of fiber (assuming you're not carb sensitive and need to limit them).

And definitely eat back your exercise caloires. Your body needs that fuel!

solpwr

Get a heart rate monitor to better measure your calories expended. You are measuring what you ingest, you should accurately measure the other part of the Net Calorie equation. Polar FT7 or better an FT40.

Change your goal to 1 pound per week. Aim to lose 6-8 before the new year. Count everything ingested and expended, log religiously. If that goal gives you 1,400 per day, aim for that weekly average. Don't sweat being over or under on a daily basis, just get the weekly number. I've seen people sub-consciously mess up their logging because they want so desperately to hit their numbers every day. Logging accurately is more important.

Be prepared to gain weight the first week of this. Maybe two. Then you should go back to even with no changes after the first month. You are probably not burning the calories you think you are. You will know with an HRM. Be prepared to extend your workouts to burn enough calories to eat 1,700 per day. That means you need to burn 2,100 per week. This would increase your eating by 500 per day average.

If you experience what I've described, gaining, then losing... you were likely in "famine mode". If you gain, gain, and gain, you weren't .

Give it a month, and you will know more. Ask again then.

yeaforme

Wow! 6 weeks, that's great! I'm on a 1290 right now. It's only been 1 week for me. I'm noticing I have to graze pretty much all day long to keep myself from feeling hungry. I spread EVERYTHING out.

lovebug7686

Thank you everyone for your help! I am going to revamp some things and see what happens...I am going to start by eating my excercise calories and not worry about eating fruit or veggies....When I am hungry I usually go for bell pepper or cucumber to help feel satisfied until my next meal.

auntbev1

Copying and pasting your rules front and center in every room of my house! Love Them..

i'm 42 years old, 5'2 and weigh 220 lbs.

I lost 27 lbs -and gained back 23 when i stopped doing this:

1. 1500 calories a day
2. no pop, not even diet
3. took the sugar out of my coffee, then the cream was skim milk and now its just green tea in the morning.
4. 5-6 SERVINGS of fruits and veggies a day
5. 3 litres of water a day
6. 3 servings (4-6oz) of lean protein a day.
7. no more boxed frozen crap. it's real or no deal.
8. the usual - no white stuff - rice, pasta, bread are at a minimum (1-2 servings a day ) and are ALWAYS whole wheat/brown etc.
9. moved my *kitten*.
10. stopped mentally beating the crap out of myself.

Hope this helps you !!

nyy03

I like the above post.

skrabbleproductions

Love those rules...going to post on my fridge as well.

As for eating too much, to little, etc...just remember, you're an active person and you need to fuel the fire! I never believed I had to do that until I started running and couldn't figure out why I was so tired after a run. I was eating the wrong foods, diet this, diet that, etc and not good foods with carbs and protein.

My goal with MFP is not only to track my calories and other nutritional info but to try and eat as minimal processed food as possible. That's where I had my best success weight loss and energy wise.

Good luck, you have a pretty active lifestyle from your description and it's a good one...just one thing...can you go do my run for me today? I'm stuck in meetings all day!

Deanna

jayb0ne

Eat more food.
Eat clean food.
If you feel starving, you probably are.

That is all...

Jay