1200 calories a day is killing me!!!

MrsDutt

Hi all you beautiful people.

So MFP suggested I eat 1200 calories a day but I am finding it very hard to eat healthy and stick within the calorie range.

For example today my diary consists of the following:

Breakfast: English Muffin with laughing cow wedge and strawberry jam

Lunch: 2 Slices Seed Bread with Pesto, Avo, Cottage Cheese and Peppers.

Supper: Chicken Breast with rice and grilled veggies

Snacks: Peach and Small Bran muffin.

That is over the calorie range.

Before starting this I did not even eat so much but now I obsess with what I eat and although the choices are healthy, it is not in the 1200 calorie limit.

Please advice cause when I eat any less now I feel extremely hungry.

Also my other bad habit is having a glass of wine at night which takes my guard down but I'm working on that.

My question is, what changes can I make to stay within this range otherwise I'm never going to loose this weight.

kford12

I have a feeling you're going to get a real mixed bag of replies on this one! Some people will say you're eating far too less and others will say it is about increasing the exercise to earn more calories and gradually adapting.

It may be worth upping them slightly to help you adjust to the change, but I think once you get used to eating a smaller amount your body will adjust.

Also, make sure you drink lots of water as this really helps too!!

Tracey1147

1200 calories a day is quite low.

Check out the post below;
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map

It can be a bit difficult o understand but, keep reading and it will all become clear. It helped me realise I was not eating enough

Also check out this website;
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/

castadiva

Others will no doubt chip in on this with more technical info, but you may find that 1200 is not enough for you, and may even be impeding your weight loss. I will let others deal with that, as i am slightly less-than-conversant with the technical terminology.

Two easy fixes, though a) are you exercising and eating back the calories burned? If you want to stay at 1200 net, even a 20 minute brisk walk will build a few extra calories into your available supply. b) are you set at 'lose 2lb a week'? If so, you may want to change your settings to a more reasonable 'lose 1.5lb' or 'lose 1lb' - your calorie allowance will increase, and this is generally held to be the healthiest long-term rate of loss.

A glass of wine every now and then should be something you can budget calories for, if you're working on a reasonable calorie allowance. Good luck!

madamepsychosis

I just looked on your profile and your ticker says you only have about 16lbs to lose. How much did you put yourself in to lose per week? If you put in 2lbs, that may be why MFP put you at 1200 calories. 0.5-1lb a week would probably be a more realistic goal for you, since you don't have much to lose. 1200 calories is day is often too little for most people and may well be below your BMR.

melaniecheeks

For me, that's a lot of carbs: muffin for breakfast, bread at lunch, rice for dinner, and another muffin for snack.

If you looked for alternatives to some of these, you might be able to bring down your calories. Eggs for breakfast, or soup/ salad for lunch. Nuts or fruit instead of the snack muffin.

Also look at portion size - could you reduce the amount of rice you eat at dinner time, and have more veg instead?

mandylooo

Firstly, if you exercise, you'll get some extra calories to eat back, so you'll have more than 1200 a day.

Secondly, You're right your diet is quite quite healthy, but it is also bread heavy. You have 2 types of muffin and some bread in there. I'm not a low carb. advocate, but these foods are energy dense i.e. they're high in calories for their size. You might find you feel fuller by substituting in more low fat proteins, like the chicken breast you have or some fish, and more fresh veggies and undressed salad.

ladyraven68

Hi all you beautiful people.

So MFP suggested I eat 1200 calories a day but I am finding it very hard to eat healthy and stick within the calorie range.

For example today my diary consists of the following:

Breakfast: English Muffin with laughing cow wedge and strawberry jam

Lunch: 2 Slices Seed Bread with Pesto, Avo, Cottage Cheese and Peppers.

Supper: Chicken Breast with rice and grilled veggies

Snacks: Peach and Small Bran muffin.

That is over the calorie range.

Before starting this I did not even eat so much but now I obsess with what I eat and although the choices are healthy, it is not in the 1200 calorie limit.

Please advice cause when I eat any less now I feel extremely hungry.

Also my other bad habit is having a glass of wine at night which takes my guard down but I'm working on that.

My question is, what changes can I make to stay within this range otherwise I'm never going to loose this weight.

If you are struggling with 1200, it may be that it is not the right amount for you.

Do you know your BMR and TDEE? -Work out your TDEE and deduct 20%. http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

I was also given 1200, but couldn't manage as it made me ill and cranky - I now lose on 1600.
1200 works for some, but not for everyone, you need to find the sweet spot for you.

Also, bear in mind that the way MFP works, 1200 is meant to be NET, so if you exercise even a little you will eat more than 1200.

Good Luck.

jconnors2012

Exercise more, to earn extra calories, and eat more low calorie things such as vegetables and fruit. Have smaller portions and include more vegetables.

Gail3260

I support what the others have said about the muffins/bread. I manage to keep to 1200 and not feel hungry most days but I eat virtually no bread and very little rice/pasta. I snack on dried apricots, almonds or grapes.

LondonEliza

Two easy fixes, though a) are you exercising and eating back the calories burned? If you want to stay at 1200 net, even a 20 minute brisk walk will build a few extra calories into your available supply. b) are you set at 'lose 2lb a week'? If so, you may want to change your settings to a more reasonable 'lose 1.5lb' or 'lose 1lb' - your calorie allowance will increase, and this is generally held to be the healthiest long-term rate of loss.

A glass of wine every now and then should be something you can budget calories for, if you're working on a reasonable calorie allowance. Good luck!

^^^^^ This x200 ^^^^^

I am on a 1280 a day "allowance" too. So I exercise between 700-900 calories extra most days. So yesterday for instance:
My allowance: 1280
My exercise: 844 (70 mins on exercise bike and 60 mins scrubbing the bathroom and running up and down the stairs putting the laundry away, making the beds ((yes it counts - my heart was beating at 130bpm for most of the time )

So I was allowed to eat for the day: 1280+840 = 2320cals

....... and I had a glass of wine to use up the last 135 cals left (followed by a glass of water) before bed.

Also, as others have said, trying to lose 2lbs a week with only a 16lb target loss may be too much for your poor body to handle. (I am a lardarse with 85lbs to lose so that is the reason I am aiming to lose 2lbs a week Perhaps reduce to 1 or a half a lb loss a week. Be gentle on yourself.

Chin up, you can do it.

xx

SuperScrabbleGirl

I just looked on your profile and your ticker says you only have about 16lbs to lose. How much did you put yourself in to lose per week? If you put in 2lbs, that may be why MFP put you at 1200 calories. 0.5-1lb a week would probably be a more realistic goal for you, since you don't have much to lose. 1200 calories is day is often too little for most people and may well be below your BMR.

This!

But also... bread. You might not like this, but I'd consider taking down your bread consumption. It's high in cals and won't fill you up as much as other foods (grains or more veg/protein. EGGS!)

Pandalicious

If you are very hungry on 1200 a day, I would say add maybe 200 calories a day. It's not good to feel so hungry and you will not be able to stick with it if you're always feeling hungry.

KISSDEP

Hi, I have been trying to stick to 1200 calories a day since February. It is really hard, but worth it. I was 11 stone 3lb, and now I'm 10 stone 2lb. I always try not to eat more than 2 slices of bread a day. Porridge is really good for you in a morning because it helps keep you fuller for longer. (I sometimes put blueberries in it). If I'm hungry I have a cup of tea (only 17 cals if you don't take sugar). I love sweet things and not having chocolate has been the hardest thing to give up - I now eat a Snack A Jack rice cake, caramel flavour if I get a craving for something sweet (51 cals). Hope all this helps.
Last but not least.....if you excercise and burn off for example 200 cals, then you can "win" another 200 cals worth of food! So worth it if you are starving. :drinker:

Tatyanne

Hi,

Don't take this the wrong way...but the first thing i noticed was "she's eating muffins? And 2 a day??"
That's not an intelligent choice if you want to comply with your calories...
You should do healthier choices, that way you are allowed to eat more

One way that you could eat more is to exercise...´cause if you spend 300calories doing exercise, you'll be able to eat 1500 calories during the day (1200+300)

Can you turn your food diary public, so we can see it?

Kisses,
Tatyanne

wasveganvictoria88

I have around 1200kcals a day because I'm really small!

I find the best thing to do is have smaller meals but eat more often in the day - this is my breakdown and example menu;

Breakfast: 250cals - Boiledegg, toast and marmite, piece of fruit, cup of tea and milk

Snack: 100kcals - Bowl of soup

Lunch: 200kcals - Light cream cheese, 6 melba toasts, slice of fruit loaf

Snack: 100kcals- Cereal bar

Dinner: 300kcals - Quorn fillets, cous cous, salad, apple.

Snack: 50kcals - Carrot sticks and dip

Supper: 200kcals - Two rich tea biscuits, cup of tea and milk and a bit of chocolate.

I don't feel like I'm dieting at all because I'm eating whenever I want!

Lady_who_Lunches

I'd say and you may not like this.......Ditch the English Muffin for breakfast and choose something else. Good Luck

LeggyKettleBabe

My two cents worth:
If you are eating healthy and your body is saying it needs more then feed it.

I would evaluate what you are eating and how much you are exercising.

I eat when my body tells me its hungry just listen to it. Your body is designed to survive it will tell you when you need food.

Forums opinions are just that: opinions. Everyone body is different and you have to adjust the settings and opinions to suit YOUR BODY. You need to experiment for a couple of weeks to see where your calorie goal should be, set it and when you start gaining thats your upper limit and start lower your calories slowly.

Siannah

I've never been able to stick to 1200 either. Personally I think it's too low anyway, but that's me. I've changed my settings to lose only 0.5lb a week and now I have 1400. Add exercise calories to that and I'm usually around 1600-1700 a day.
And yes, I'm still losing.

DanceFloorLegend

I'm also on roughly 1230 calories per day and I'm oscillating between just under and just over my daily allowance. So far, I haven't felt at all hungry - in fact, there was one day I just fel stuffed - because I'm focusing on protein which keeps you feeling fuller for longer.

If you have a more filling meal at breakfast, you'll automatically eat less at lunchtime so try beans on toast, fruit salad with a yoghurt poured over the top or boiled/poached eggs on toast.

A lean meat like turkey with a large salad for lunch should see you through the rest of the afternoon, but if you can also fit in a half hour walk during your lunch break, you'll earn yourself enough calories to have a little extra in the evenings.

Good luck x

PS. I should say. Don't take my ticker as a sign I'm not losing. I've only been registered on the site for five days!!!

MrsDutt

First of all I have NEVER been on a community board where I got so many replies over a few days so I am overwhelmed with joy. Thank you for all the responses.

I totally get it and you all are speaking from one voice. I think it is somewhat ignorance on what I thought was healthy. I thought if I cut out take-out and the obvious (soda, cookies, chocolate) that it would be a pieace of cake (no pun intended) to loose the weight I need to.

Yes I know 16lbs seems little but I've been trying to loose it for 1 year. I have 2 toddlers and therefore can not seem to have the energy to exercise (although I know it is only an excise). I have a elliptical trainer in my office but have never climbed on it. By the time in the afternoon when I have a hour to kill I usually just sit there and eyeball the bike. I also get overwhelmed when I can not even do 5 minutes of cardio, my chest burns and I give up.

In my culture carbs are a total staple food so I have decided to cut down major on it as you guys suggested. I don't have a microwave in the office and hate soggy salads but could assemble it in the office. I just run out of ideas and my knowledge of salads go as far as a greek version.

I am going to try harder.

LeggyKettleBabe

Go to the recipes section its full of great ideas for meal planning.

unhatter

I typically can stay around 1200 but I tend to eat the same type of meals day after day. It doesn't bother me but this might not work for other people. I do a cheat day once a week but eat the same type of food pretty much all week to stay under my calorie allowence. This is my typical daily intake:

Breakfast: Cream for my coffee (20), a cup of fresh pinapple (80), a cup of fresh cantalope (60)

Lunch: Light string cheese (50), Healthy choice chicken noodle soup (180), pear (70)

Dinner: Mixed salad (30), 6 ounches of chicken breast (200), carrets (60)

Snacks: 12 ounce V8 vegetable juice (70), instant oatmeal (140), bag of popcorn (100), orange (70)

All this only totals 1130 calories; I feel like this is a lot of food throughout the day.

There's lots of foods with very low calorie content. Some of my other food choices are: english muffin with egg (180), 10 ounce frozen fish fillet from kroger (175), 13 caramel mini rice cakes (110), Stouffer's Easy Express Skillets Grilled Chicken and Vegetables, 1/2 container (360), Sam Club Blackened Salmon Fillets 5 ounce (260), apple (60), bagel thins (110), Kroger suger free ice cream 1 cup (200)

melaniecheeks

Salads are easy.

Take some of your favourites of - tomaotes, cucmbers, peppers, celery. Chop into small pieces.
Add in something a bit more exciting - marinated artichokes or mushrooms are great, black olives or capers if you like them. Chopped avocado. Roasted peppers.
Add some protein - feta, haloumi, blue cheese. Or pieces of chicken or ham. Or a drained tin of chickpeas. Or a tin of tuna. Or a hard boiled egg. Or crispy bacon. Or a mixture (ham and blue cheese are great companions, bacon and egg are good together)
Dress with a squeeze of lemon juice. Or stir in some cottage cheese, or humous, or salsa.
Sprinkle with some seed for extra crunch (and protein) - sunflower, pine nuts
Personally, I dont like salad leaves, though I'll sometimes add some spinach.

MrsDutt

Just reading some of the things you guys eat makes me feel like I am overeating. Thank you I will go check out the recipe side.

The other challenge is ofcourse cooking 3 different meals at dinner time as DH is not in the mood to change his lifestyle and the kids do not eat any of the two meals I make. I want to stop making excuses and just do it.

AthenaErr

I have tried various diets in the past including WW that work out around 1200 a day and find it too llittle, cant stick to them. I tried low carbing but I just get miserable fore carbs. Longest I ever managed was 3 weeks and after I would be ravenous and gain everything back.

I am currently eating about 1500 a day. I do 20 mins exercise a day (30Day Shred or easing my way back into running). I eat more when I exercise if I want it - whihc usually I do and I hvaent dropped below 1350 a day (whcih only happened once). My BMI is 26 (so just overweight). Anyway with my stats mfp estimates I will lose 0.4lbs a week. Instead over the past 3 weeks I am averaging 2lbs a week. (6lbs total) and I am NOT hungry/tired/irritable or itching to get back to eating more - it takes a bit of effort and planning but its not taking willpower. I also had 2 days of eating 1800 because I had the flu and was hungry.

I was a bit hmmm when I saw the 0.4lbs a week projection cos it was so little and I do want to be thinner right now. But currently I am really delighted with my progress - I think losing 2 lbs a week is pretty damn quick. AND I know I can keep this up - the eating and exercising I mean- I do expect the rate of loss to slow down a bit sometime soon.

On this basis I recommend eating a bit more and seeing how you go with that - and not being too put out if mfp predictions are discouraging.

AthenaErr

Ignore my ticker, I weigh in tomorrow and know I have lost a total of 6lbs now minimum. he he

kimw91

Eat more veg & fruit, avoid things such as avocado and pesto cause they're quite calorie dense (not saying they're bad for you in any sort of way, but they do push up your intake quite a bit). You might try substituting crackers for bread if you're not too keen on salad, they're a lot lower in calories. Eat lean meats instead of cheese (one slice of turkey bread is only around 24 calories) and drink lots of water and tea.

But, as others have stated, if you're truly hungry at 1200 calories, up your intake a bit. 1200 really is the bare minimum and I wonder if your BMR doesn't require you to eat more anyway.

lambertj

A tip to keep salads from getting soggy, when you pack them up the night before fold up 1-2 paper towels and place on the top of the salad, put the lid on and store upside down. all the excess moisture will be drawn into the paper towel and your veggies will stay crisp

gweaveratwork

It's probably the bread that's hurting you (English muffin, 2 slices of bread, and a bran muffin). If you can't cut any bread out without making yourself too hungry, look for a high fiber, low calorie brand. My grocery store sells a brand called "Healthy Life" - two slices of this is 70 calories - the equivalent of 1 slice of many other brands.

umachanxo

When I started, I slowly decreased to 1200 from 1600. 1600, then 1500, and so on.

What you're eating doesn't look bad, so maybe just try and find a low calorie version of the foods. For example, you can buy bodywise English muffins at Sobeys that have less calories and are just as good. You can also try reduced calorie cheese. Muffins also have a lot of calories and carbs.

Instead of a muffin, maybe blend up a peanut butter banana protein shake. It will keep you pretty full. Also, try oatmeal or a high protein breakfast to keep you full longer also.