Sincere question here

SergeantSunshine_reused

I dunno. I think if you are looking to lose your last 10 you should definitely be eating more. 1200 is too low.

<---- eats 1600-1900 net. I lose 1 lb per week. I'm only 5ft3 and 120 lbs.

grapenutSF

This thread is making me hungry.

jmobashrn11

For me, as someone who ate a lot of fast food before coming to MFP, it definitely can be a challenge to start eating that many calories while you're still getting used to it. I remember not even a week ago, I was eating more like 800-1200 calories a day instead of the 1600 I'm supposed to be getting to lose 1 lb a week. Fast food and processed foods are packed with calories, and that's what I was used to eating and it meant that I could eat 1 meal from a restaurant and a few fatty snacks and meet my calorie goal. Now I have to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2-3 snacks a day to reach all of my goals.

Just my 2 cents.

HeavenLeAngel127

Like I said if I exercise that day I eat much more. My rest days are sedentary. I also eat every single serving of each individual food group per day.

Also if you are weight lifting you need to eat more. So the type of exercise comes into account as well.

juliesummers

Some people have spent their whoollllle lives restricting (guilty) and it is actually difficult to start eating more food just the same as people who have over eaten all their lives have problems cutting back.

THIS.

meluc

I can also honestly say I've been eating 1200 calories a days for the past 7 months (break at Christmas time) and I agree with some of you who posted on here that it's about planning your entire day in advance and making better food choices. I'm not trying to lose too fast (some weeks I even gain!) while eating 1200 calories. I weigh each food and plan all my days in advance. I also make sure I drink 2 litres of water each day.

All this to say, the calorie goals really differs for each of us based on our activity level, goals, etc...

Hope your calorie goal is working well for you and I wish you all the best!

Have a good night!

Diveryanfitness

There's been some days where was at 1,500, near the end of the day and I'm just not hungry... it doesn't happen very often but I have to sometimes "raid the fridge" looking for something that will balance me out. I notice that if I'm busy ~ not exercising necessarily, but working around the house, cleaning, working on doc's for my business and eating about every 2-3 hours ~ things like spinach salad, hard boiled egg whites, oatmeal, broiled chicken breasts and drinking lots of water it can fill me up and I just don't feel the hunger pang to eat.

courtneymal17

Here's my two cents. A lot of days, it's hard for me to eat 1200 calories. Not because I'm starving myself, and yes, there's days I have no problem eating that. But here's why: I'm making as healthy choices as I can. I'm drinking a LOT of water. I'm busting my butt in the gym (usually 1-3 hrs a day). And I understand I should be eating some of those calories back, but I honestly have a hard time sometimes. Why? Because I eat a lot of low calorie stuff. I drink a lot of water that fills me up, I eat a lot of salad, spinach, fruits and veggies. The low cal stuff that's filling. So I think, depending on WHAT those 1200 calories consist of makes a HUGE difference. If someone's eating one big mac and one other item...sure, I can understand how 1200 cals seems like too little. But in all honestly, I've found theres several days a week where I see my log at like 6-7 oclock and think, crap, I still need to eat a couple hundred calories to get to 1200. I think part of it comes with eating healthy and portion control for SOME people that struggle with hitting 1200 cals. (I'm definitely not defending everyone, but just know there are SOME of us that are trying to do it right and still have a hard time. I'm working on getting higher density foods in )

poundsgalore

I don't agree that we should question anyone else's journey. We are all here for different reasons and we all have different bodies. What works for one of us may not work for someone else. We are all here for support for ourselves and to share support with others, not condemn them for their difficulties.:flowerforyou:

SergeantSunshine_reused

Like I said if I exercise that day I eat much more. My rest days are sedentary. I also eat every single serving of each individual food group per day.

Also if you are weight lifting you need to eat more. So the type of exercise comes into account as well.

And I also eat a lot more to keep my net high. I can eat 2500 calories some days and still lose weight weekly.

If you are doing cardio you really should be eating more. Or you are just breaking down even more muscle than needed. Especially when getting close to your goal weight.

HeavenLeAngel127

Here's my two cents. A lot of days, it's hard for me to eat 1200 calories. Not because I'm starving myself, and yes, there's days I have no problem eating that. But here's why: I'm making as healthy choices as I can. I'm drinking a LOT of water. I'm busting my butt in the gym (usually 1-3 hrs a day). And I understand I should be eating some of those calories back, but I honestly have a hard time sometimes. Why? Because I eat a lot of low calorie stuff. I drink a lot of water that fills me up, I eat a lot of salad, spinach, fruits and veggies. The low cal stuff that's filling. So I think, depending on WHAT those 1200 calories consist of makes a HUGE difference. If someone's eating one big mac and one other item...sure, I can understand how 1200 cals seems like too little. But in all honestly, I've found theres several days a week where I see my log at like 6-7 oclock and think, crap, I still need to eat a couple hundred calories to get to 1200. I think part of it comes with eating healthy and portion control for SOME people that struggle with hitting 1200 cals. (I'm definitely not defending everyone, but just know there are SOME of us that are trying to do it right and still have a hard time. I'm working on getting higher density foods in )

Here Here!

mrschappet

LMAO I am at 2009 calories consumed so far today... I may not be done yet.. just depends on if I can get my butt off this couch hehehehe :-) People need to know that food is their friend when they treat it right :-)

I couldn't survive on anything under 1650 and that is my limit before exercise

BlooQKazoo

Lots of water, and lots of veggies. Simple as that.

HeavenLeAngel127

Like I said if I exercise that day I eat much more. My rest days are sedentary. I also eat every single serving of each individual food group per day.

Also if you are weight lifting you need to eat more. So the type of exercise comes into account as well.

And I also eat a lot more to keep my net high. I can eat 2500 calories some days and still lose weight weekly.

If you are doing cardio you really should be eating more. Or you are just breaking down even more muscle than needed. Especially when getting close to your goal weight.

Yes, when doing cardio you eat more. You should definitely eat those calories back. IIf you are weight lifting with the goal of getting bigger your calorie intake must be higher. Especially calories from quality proteins.

Cardio burns more calories during the exercise, but weight-lifting builds more muscle which in turn raises your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate).

MaryEffingPoppins

I'm good w/ it. I mean.... for breakfast I eat 4 scrambled egg whites, 1 turkey sausage patty chopped, 1 Kraft fat free sharp cheddar slice and 1 Spinach Herb tortilla wrap and that's only 230 calories!!! And It's HUGE! Now that's just breakfast. I workout 6 days a week and burn on average 1,100 on each of those days so I get 1,100 back. I eat about 600 of those so I'm getting on average 1,800 when my goal is 1,200. works great for me So, if you want/need more calories... work out.

anniefi

well, i've been doing it for a couple of weeks now and have lost hardly any weight. In fact this week i put a bit back on

HeavenLeAngel127

well, i've been doing it for a couple of weeks now and have lost hardly any weight. In fact this week i put a bit back on

You definitely have to watch how your body is reacting... Try eating more of your exercise calories back... You don't want your body to go into starvation mode.

And don't get discouraged! Try drinking more water as well to help counteract sodium and so you don't retain water

funkycamper

Yep, there are plenty of us who have had a hard time eating 1200 calories every day.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

I didn't understand my body needs food to burn fat and it took a while before I figured it out. I don't have many problems eating what I eat now but I had to work up to eating as much as I do (1400 range).

I still can't imagine eating 2000 or more calories for maintenance.

Me, too. I started at 1200 eating no exercise calories (and I'm exercising quite a bit, too). Then I started eating back most of my exercise calories. Then I changed my weight loss goal to 1# a week instead of 2# giving me more calories. Then I upped my calories to just above my BMR (still plus exercise calories, of course).

While I do have days where I don't eat all my exercise calories, especially if I've had a really good burn, I bank them to eat later in the week when I want a splurge. Kinda like the Spike Diet although I'm not following the exact protocol. Nothing against it, just doing it the way I'm doing it seems to be working.

Anyway, the more I eat the more steadily I'm losing and the more intense I can exercise. I love my fitness gains more than the loss on the scale.

I'm planning on upping my daily net target again in another few months. My goal is to definitely be someone who can eat at least 2000 calories a day while maintaining my goal weight. And it's gonna be fun!

nammer79

Darn I’m not one of those people but I haven’t met my goal of 1800 calories yet either I’m normally around 1300 to 1500 but I’ve only been doing this for a week now.

And I truly have a weight problem as I ate myself into a life time of doctor visits and shots =( unless I drop the weight but part of it has to be that I’m more self-aware seeing how I write everything down now.

For the record I’m not hungry at the end of the day but I have to eat that last late night meal to keep my glucose level in a safe range.

munchkinhugs

My goal is 1200 calories per day. I'm pretty short/small though, and work an office job, so I'm almost always sitting down.

I can easily consume over 1200/day (heck, most of my meals are over 500cals -&&not including snacks). I do my best to exercise every day (especially on days I'm feeling like enjoying a few extra treats) and almost always eat back my exercise calories. You'd be surprised how filling lower-cal, healthy foods can be.

Don't hate on the 1200 cal/day folk. Most of us eat more than that anyway