1200 calories/day...Help!

meredithashton

Hey everyone...

I am usually pretty good at getting to 1200 calories a day or more, but some days (like today), I eat until I am more than full and I still have a pretty significant amount of calories that I haven't eaten. My question is if it is bad to not eat the full 1200 calories occasionally (like once a week)? ..Or should I force myself to eat the full 1200 calories? When I do force myself to eat the 1200 calories I normally choose not-healthy foods (like chocolate) to make up for the difference even though I feel guilty when I do this! I usually try to exercise everyday and I am aiming for a 700+ calorie deficit. Any advice would be helpful! Thanks

Also if anyone wants to add me as a friend and critique my food diary and workouts I would love it! I am really trying to get SUPER fit for the new year (new year=new me!) :happy: :happy:

Acg67

Hey everyone...

I am usually pretty good at getting to 1200 calories a day or more, but some days (like today), I eat until I am more than full and I still have a pretty significant amount of calories that I haven't eaten. My question is if it is bad to not eat the full 1200 calories occasionally (like once a week)? ..Or should I force myself to eat the full 1200 calories? When I do force myself to eat the 1200 calories I normally choose not-healthy foods (like chocolate) to make up for the difference even though I feel guilty when I do this! I usually try to exercise everyday and I am aiming for a 700+ calorie deficit. Any advice would be helpful! Thanks

Also if anyone wants to add me as a friend and critique my food diary and workouts I would love it! I am really trying to get SUPER fit for the new year (new year=new me!) :happy: :happy:

It's not terrible if you undereat here and there, however based on your food diary, it appears you are deficient in both protein and fats. You should ideally aim for about 1g of protein per lb of lbm and .35-.45g of fat per lb of bodyweight.

And adding in some as you call it "not so healthy foods" won't effect weight loss assuming you are still in a caloric deficit, but you should only fit in treats if you hit the above recommended minimums for both fats and proteins

what is your ht/wt that you are eating at 1200cals and below?

KylieBarstow

I too find it hard to meet the minimum of 1300 cal/day I set for myself and find myself eating "bad food" to make up for it. I've learned to plan my days out ahead of time. I spend about 10 minutes each morning doing so making sure I'm going to get all the nutrients I need that day and if I plan on working out I make sure to guess about how many calories I will burn and how many calories I will have to make up if I were to be in deficit of more than 1000 calories so I'm not cramming food in my mouth at the end of the day trying to make them up and instead add more calories on to my breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Also if you are currently eating only low fat things, as I am, I was told to just replace the low fat things with regular things so you are getting those extra calories without having to necessarily eat more.

Hope that helps! I'll also send a request and see if I can give any more advice on your diary.

meredithashton

I am usually always under on fats but I am pretty good at hitting protein. My recent food diaries are a little crazy due to the holidays so sorry bout that!

I am 5'3'' and currently around 118-119lbs... Trying to get some lean sculpted muscle, but I hate weight training =( Mostly do a lot of cardio.

Thanks for the help!

meredithashton

I too find it hard to meet the minimum of 1300 cal/day I set for myself and find myself eating "bad food" to make up for it. I've learned to plan my days out ahead of time. I spend about 10 minutes each morning doing so making sure I'm going to get all the nutrients I need that day and if I plan on working out I make sure to guess about how many calories I will burn and how many calories I will have to make up if I were to be in deficit of more than 1000 calories so I'm not cramming food in my mouth at the end of the day trying to make them up and instead add more calories on to my breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Also if you are currently eating only low fat things, as I am, I was told to just replace the low fat things with regular things so you are getting those extra calories without having to necessarily eat more.

Hope that helps! I'll also send a request and see if I can give any more advice on your diary.

That's actually great advice. I am eating pretty much all fat free foods (0% fat yogurt, fat free salad dressings, Hood Calorie Countdown Milk, blah, blah, blah)... So if I splurged on those I am sure I could easily get my cals over 1200. I think planning the day out is a great idea! It is hard for me to find the time and to plan my food diaries so that I am within my protein/fat/carb/sugar limits. I guess I will need to find the time! I always seem to go over on sugar even when I dont necesarily eat a lot of 'sweets'... I'll have to start working at it more.

skywa

cardio just breaks down muscle. if you want to get toned you gotta suck it up and lift weights. there's no way around it. :P You should also probably eat more than 1200 calories.

Acg67

I am usually always under on fats but I am pretty good at hitting protein. My recent food diaries are a little crazy due to the holidays so sorry bout that!

I am 5'3'' and currently around 118-119lbs... Trying to get some lean sculpted muscle, but I hate weight training =( Mostly do a lot of cardio.

Thanks for the help!

At your weight i'd prob shoot for somewhere around a MINIMUM of 95g of protein and 42g of fat everyday which would equate to roughly 758cals just to reach those minimums

And you should def add in some heavy resistance training to try and preserve as much lean mass as possible, lots of cardio and inadequate protein intake is a path to ending up skinnyfat

KylieBarstow

I too find it hard to meet the minimum of 1300 cal/day I set for myself and find myself eating "bad food" to make up for it. I've learned to plan my days out ahead of time. I spend about 10 minutes each morning doing so making sure I'm going to get all the nutrients I need that day and if I plan on working out I make sure to guess about how many calories I will burn and how many calories I will have to make up if I were to be in deficit of more than 1000 calories so I'm not cramming food in my mouth at the end of the day trying to make them up and instead add more calories on to my breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Also if you are currently eating only low fat things, as I am, I was told to just replace the low fat things with regular things so you are getting those extra calories without having to necessarily eat more.

Hope that helps! I'll also send a request and see if I can give any more advice on your diary.

That's actually great advice. I am eating pretty much all fat free foods (0% fat yogurt, fat free salad dressings, Hood Calorie Countdown Milk, blah, blah, blah)... So if I splurged on those I am sure I could easily get my cals over 1200. I think planning the day out is a great idea! It is hard for me to find the time and to plan my food diaries so that I am within my protein/fat/carb/sugar limits. I guess I will need to find the time! I always seem to go over on sugar even when I dont necesarily eat a lot of 'sweets'... I'll have to start working at it more.

I'm nearly always over on sugar too even when I eat almost all natural foods that day. I think it's because they count even natural sugar on here. I try not to worry about sugar when it comes from fruits and stuff like that because it's natural so you know it's good for you. Just be aware of where those sugars are coming from. I do the same thing with carbs, I usually go over because I try to eat a lot of fiber and do not count fiber toward my carb count.

meredithashton

I am usually always under on fats but I am pretty good at hitting protein. My recent food diaries are a little crazy due to the holidays so sorry bout that!

I am 5'3'' and currently around 118-119lbs... Trying to get some lean sculpted muscle, but I hate weight training =( Mostly do a lot of cardio.

Thanks for the help!

At your weight i'd prob shoot for somewhere around a MINIMUM of 95g of protein and 42g of fat everyday which would equate to roughly 758cals just to reach those minimums

And you should def add in some heavy resistance training to try and preserve as much lean mass as possible, lots of cardio and inadequate protein intake is a path to ending up skinnyfat

BLAHHHH SKINNYFAT! THAT IS ME! Everyone says I am skinny, but I don't feel it....I feel what you call 'skinnyfat'. I do just need to suck it up and do weight training, but I am just daunted by that entire 'other half' of the gym. I try to do DVDs at home but I don't really feel like they are doing very much. Anyone have any good training websites/DVDs they use?

Thanks again.

Acg67

BLAHHHH SKINNYFAT! THAT IS ME! Everyone says I am skinny, but I don't feel it....I feel what you call 'skinnyfat'. I do just need to suck it up and do weight training, but I am just daunted by that entire 'other half' of the gym. I try to do DVDs at home but I don't really feel like they are doing very much. Anyone have any good training websites/DVDs they use?

Thanks again.

Look into Ripptoe's Starting Strength or the New Rules of Lifting for Women. Those will give you good plans to start serious strength training. If you are still intimidated and unsure of how to lift, possibly look into hiring a trainer for a session or two or find a friend that can show you the proper way to lift and avoid injury. Websites like bodybuilding.com and ergx have exerciser databases that show you how to do all the lifts as well