1,200 calories = STARVING CINDY!

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  • Kenzietea2
    Kenzietea2 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    I honestly canNOT eat 1200 calories a day, no matter what kind of calories they are, without willfully suffering or feeling starving. I've done it. I know that I'll lose weight, but I'm just asking for a binge at some point if I do that.

    I've come to terms with slower weight loss and more exercise. I used to eat around 1200 calories a day or do absolutely no carbs, and I was miserable doing both (although I saw results, obviously). Now I aim to eat 1500-2000 calories a day and burn anywhere from 500-1000 calories per day. I've noticed that the weight doesn't come off as quickly, but at least I can enjoy my life in the meantime :)

    Amen to this! It makes it seem way more reasonable to do for the long term.
  • lovinbutterflys
    lovinbutterflys Posts: 131 Member
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    I am on 1200 cal diet and I just started the GNC lean replacement today! But I have to say that I was not hungry at all today! breakfast was the shake(180 cal) mix with one cup almond milk (40 cal) and 1 cup water and a banana lunch the same but I added frozen fruit to make it thicker but that b/c I always seem to get that after noon munchies. Today I did great. I had a fiber one bar as snack and dinner it around 300 cal. I plan on sticking with this as long as I can b/c I really did get hungry today. You can add me as a friend and look in my dairy!
  • cheeki119
    cheeki119 Posts: 53 Member
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    i have been reaching my 1200 goal. my dairy is open to my friends so feel free to add me x
  • hungryPHATbunny
    hungryPHATbunny Posts: 84 Member
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    I eat alot of lentils and chick peas, egg whites, which are very filling and low in calories. I also force myself to drink at least 5 or 6 glasses of water a day and am trying to bring that up to 7- I drink water about 20 minutes before my meal which means I don't over eat at meal times. I also eat 6 meals a day( very small meals) and usually am below my 1200 calories each day. I also keep busy. It takes time for the body to adjust and at first I went throug terrible withdrawals, headaches, feeling I'll, feeling tired and miserable..it does pass though...try to. Ok at home for yourself, it's worth it. Good luck
  • cindy4mica
    cindy4mica Posts: 777 Member
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    I honestly canNOT eat 1200 calories a day, no matter what kind of calories they are, without willfully suffering or feeling starving. I've done it. I know that I'll lose weight, but I'm just asking for a binge at some point if I do that.

    I've come to terms with slower weight loss and more exercise. I used to eat around 1200 calories a day or do absolutely no carbs, and I was miserable doing both (although I saw results, obviously). Now I aim to eat 1500-2000 calories a day and burn anywhere from 500-1000 calories per day. I've noticed that the weight doesn't come off as quickly, but at least I can enjoy my life in the meantime :)

    TOTALLY agree! I'm going to have to up my calories and - dare I say it - exercise!
  • cindy4mica
    cindy4mica Posts: 777 Member
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    Under your tools tab, you'll see BMR. Use that to calculate your BMR (which she already did for you) and then use the multiplier she gave you and that's how you'll calculate how much you should be consuming. Also, the 1200 calories is net calories. Which means you take how much you ate, and subtract how many calories you've burned and it should be around 1200. It's just a base. But in order to really know how many calories you're burning, I recommend getting a calorie counter. Such as the Fitbit (what I recommend) or something similar. It's about $100 and you keep it on you everyday and even when you sleep. It tracks your steps taken, how many floors you've climbed, calories burned, and tracks your sleep to make sure you're getting adequate sleep (which also affects your ability to lose weight.) This way you'll be able to accurately tell how many calories you burn in a day. I can almost guarantee it's way more than you think. And you take your total consumed calories (say it's around 1800 cals) and subtract what you've burned (say it's around 500 cals) and you'd end up with 1300 cals/day. If you need to burn another 100 calories to meet your 1200 requirement, do more activity. It doesn't mean you should only be eating 1200 calories per day. But what it does mean is that however much you're eating, you need to be working off enough to get a 1200 calorie net. Does that make better sense? I know it's kind of confusing and it stumped me the first few days too! I was like, um, I know for a FACT that 1200 calories is not healthy for me! Anyway, I hope this helps! Keep reaching out to learn more about eating healthy and getting fit. There's so much knowledge out there and don't be afraid to do the research yourself to verify that the info is accurate. You'll hear all kinds of things and a lot of it contradicts the other stuff. So just be careful and keep common sense in mind. Best of luck! :)

    Thank you - every bit of advice helps:)
  • ebaymommy
    ebaymommy Posts: 1,067 Member
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    Girl just eat more! I eat close to 2000 calories/day (with or without exercise) and I have surpassed my goal weight.

    Now you're talking!
  • cindy4mica
    cindy4mica Posts: 777 Member
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    Girl just eat more! I eat close to 2000 calories/day (with or without exercise) and I have surpassed my goal weight.

    LOL that's exactly what I'm going to have to do otherwise, I'm going to give up:/ Thanks!
  • ebaymommy
    ebaymommy Posts: 1,067 Member
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    Girl just eat more! I eat close to 2000 calories/day (with or without exercise) and I have surpassed my goal weight.

    LOL that's exactly what I'm going to have to do otherwise, I'm going to give up:/ Thanks!

    Good for you! What's the worst that can happen? You maintain your current weight or gain a pound? Really, not the end of the world. Play with your calories and see what works for you.

    When I upped my calories (I was trying for 1200 and my weight stalled for over a month) to 1700-1800/day I also started striving for 40/30/30 macros (40%carbs, 30% fat, 30% protein) which for me was about a 10-12% reduction in carbs and a 10% increase in protein. I feel so much better now. My stomach bloat has gone down and I just feel fantastic. So in addition to upping your calories, it's probably a good idea to pay close attention to where those calories are coming from. Splurge on good fats/proteins like lean meats and nuts, it won't be hard to rack up an extra few hundred calories of good food!
  • Lazytoad2001
    Lazytoad2001 Posts: 45 Member
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    Hi

    I am on 1200 calories give or take some days better than others! Most days I dont feel particularly hungry, heres what I do. In a morning I make sure I have something filling usually porridge with skimmed milk, not sure where you are but im in the UK and usually have an oats so simple fruit one. This usually keeps me from being hungry until about 11.30, at 12 I eat lunch usually a brown bread sandwich, salad or soup and some fruit. If im hungry mid afternoon I can have some more fruit or maybe a couple of crackers. This means that I can have a substantial tea without being over my calories and usually a yogurt or something afterwards :)

    I have lost 13lbs so far :)

    K x
  • cindy4mica
    cindy4mica Posts: 777 Member
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    You've all been so incredibly helpful! I'm going to increase my calories, add water (blech) to my day & trryyyy to include some sort of exercise. Thank you all:)
  • siobhanr2
    siobhanr2 Posts: 6 Member
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    I would be exactly the same if I didn't have my butternut squash soup ready for when I get home from work this is really low and filling which will fill you up so your not starving, I also try to not eat after 8pm this is difficult some nights especially now its cold and dark and wintery but sure Ireland is always raining so just make the soup in big batches and it will last in the fridge for a week for you to heat up when you get the munchies
  • itsuki
    itsuki Posts: 520 Member
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    When I started at 1200 (my rough estimate is that before this I was anywhere between 2000 and 3500 a day, e gads!) I was starving all the time. I had to snack and drink water constantly throughout the day, and still had stomach growls you could hear from a room away. Sometimes I even felt faint, so I did more than 1200 at first.

    I'd say within 2 weeks it got a lot better. I still sometimes get hungry around my main meals (I do 8am, 1pm, and 6-7pm) but not so much in between. In fact sometimes I have the opposite problem - dinner time will roll around and I won't be hungry, so I have to make myself eat something lest I don't end up ~600 calories below my goal!

    I think overall if you stay starving even after a week or so of changing your calorie goal, then you need to eat more! Everyone's bodies are different. I think as long as you make good decisions about what you eat, you'll be fine.
  • caramel1920
    caramel1920 Posts: 271
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    Well, pretty much all of last week I had difficulty getting to 1200 and I was not hungry! I ate 2 cups of brown rice, 2 greek yogurts, 16oz of soy milk, and unlimited fruits and veggies a day. I also drank about 10 servings of water daily and I could have 4 egg whites daily. This is part of a food detox I'm doing to help me out after my holiday feasts. I'm eating really delicious food and not feeling deprived and like I said, barely making it to 1200 calories! So to sum it up as others have, high fiber and protein will fill you up!
  • gfunkamo
    gfunkamo Posts: 5
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    I should be eating around 1300 a day.
    It takes a long time to get used to it to be honest.

    A good tip is to drink a pint of water about 30 mins before you eat.
    Also, EAT SLOWLY.

    When I'm at work (I'm a teacher, so 5 days a week) I tend to eat one bowl of food over the 45 min break I have. I'm always talking to students and sorting out classes etc. It takes that long to eat a single bowl of soup! And even then I don't finish it.

    Don't chew gum - it makes you hungry.

    I'm lucky enough to have a personal trainer for a mother - but after 5 years of university and take-aways (and barely any exercise!) I've piled on the pounds.

    Some foods I find fill me without the calories:

    raw carrots
    soup (with chunks)
    - I'm not sure where you're from and if you can get them but Innocent Veg Pots (in the UK) are amazing. Find something similar?

    Good Luck!!!
  • gooberlikespoptarts
    gooberlikespoptarts Posts: 1
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    Wow! I thought this was funny. Well personally being a recovered ED I think 1200 calories is a lot. One tip I used to use when fasting was set times. Say "I won't eat that until 4:15" (or anytime at least 15 minutes away) then go do something for 15 minutes and you'll realize you don't want it anymore.
  • kareinlib
    kareinlib Posts: 98
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    I eat all three meals healthy enough that I have calories left over, and have snacks after lunch and after dinner, and it really helps. You just have to look around to find good foods that are low in calories that still fill you.

    What I find is a good somewhat low-calorie, but still filling snack, is:

    Yoplait Light Strawberry or Peach Yogurt with Granola, 190 calories
    Lunch Buddy Cinnamon Applesauce, 90 calories
    Banana, usually around 100 calories

    I usually have one of these three as snacks throughout the day and they hold me over until my next meal :)
  • keithmustloseweight
    keithmustloseweight Posts: 309 Member
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    I just read a thread where people were saying they were ok with eating only 1,200 calories/day and did not feel hungry or deprived. I, on the other hand, feel ravenous most of the day and my thoughts are consumed with when my next snack/meal will be (and yes, I'm aware that if I exercise I can eat more). If you're one of those on the 1,200 calorie/day diet and feel satiated at the end of the day, could you please give me a list of foods you're eating that are filling you? Is there a "method" to what you eat at what time of day that keep you fuller longer? Any advice would be great - thanks!

    This topic is of relevance
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • laurenz2501
    laurenz2501 Posts: 839 Member
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    I'm *definitely* not drinking enough. Like my mother, I'm a camel - I almost never feel thirsty and have to force myself to drink. Oh, and did I mention I *hate* water??

    I'm the same way!!
  • kaylabrianna
    kaylabrianna Posts: 65
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    Not sure if someones posted it, but try this.


    For WOMEN: 655 + (4.35 x Weight in pounds)+(4.7 x Height in inches) - (4.7x Age)= BMR The amount of calories your body burns just from being alive

    FOR MEN: 66+(6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - ( 6.8 age in years)= BMR. that amount of calories you burn just from being alive.

    Step 2: Take that number and multiply by your activity level:

    1.2 Sedentary (little to no exercise)
    1.375 Lightly Active (1-3 days a week)
    1.55 Moderately Active (3-5 days a week)
    1.7 Very Active (6-7 days a week)

    Step 3:

    LOSE weight: Subtract 500
    MAINTAIN weight: keep the number the same
    GAIN weight: Add 500

    The final number is the amount of calories you should eat a day 8)

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