How do you people stay at 1200 a day??

kmelissa02

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lesliefb

I'm eating about 1700 and losing an average of 1/2 lbs per week. At 1700 I make healthy choices and am never hungry. I'm in my 40's, about 5'8 and approx 70lb overweight (my estimate).

For me personally, 1200 calories per day is a joke. There is no way I'd be happy with that few calories at this point. When I get smaller, my caloric needs will also be smaller and I'll adjust accordingly.

KarenJean91

For some reason, i found bumping it to 1300-1400 a lot easier. Especially if i workout, i eat some of those calories back, since i am always starving after a workout.

Frigs

I am sticking to 1200. WIth a thyroid problem it can be a little more difficult to loose weight.
I don't find I am hungry unless I eat the wrong foods and I eat infrequently.

I always start the day out with oatmeal..which buys me a lot of calories for the rest of the day and leaves me feeling full for a while.

Breakfast: 7 am Glass of water right away, oatmeal 1/4 cup 2.3 minutes in the microwave at half power. Then I either add fruit or take my fruit separate.

10 am snack- 100 calorie snack - good greek yogurt , or furit, or cheese, or milk - more water

12:30 either chili ( 212 calories per cup recipe ) and raw veggie ( spinach, brocoli, or whatever dark green veggie I have )
If not chili then I do a small sanwich on LITE OATMEAL bread. Tuna - light on the mayo, or turkey again with the veggies more water

So by after lunch I usually still have a good 600 calories left....

Early dinner at 4:00 PM - keeping it to 400 calories - protein and veggie and sometimes starch( baked potato )

then exercise

and then after exercise - snack of 200 calories if I kept dinner to 400 else if I have not then 100.

Seems to be working..I do cheat sometimes with dark chocolate...but that is the only cheat I do. It has taken a year but I am halfway to goal weight...and am getting a little more serious with the exercise part...hopefully in the next 6 months I can get to where I need to be.


I think everyone needs to use the diet calorie amount and then adjust for their metabolism and special circumstances.
I do know Oats have saved me and without them...not sure how I would have lost the weight I have to date.

Good luck everyone. Seems like a lot of good progress being reported!

vanessalillian82

In terms of what I actually eat, I find that as long as I'm not eating what I would call processed foods (biscuits, chips, bread, pasta, chocolate bars, cake, lollies, even muesli bars, crackers or noodles) then I have next to no trouble keeping under the limit. I'll have 2 weet-bix with a banana and skim milk for breakfast; a piece of fruit or some yoghurt for morning tea; lunch will either be a wholemeal ham and salad sandwich (no butter, and watch the size of the bread you use), or maybe a garden salad, no dressing, with a small flavoured tin of tuna on it, or, if I'm really trying to watch myself, I'll have as much carrot, celery and cucumber I want with some tzatziki dip (or hommus, but that has more calories so I don't have it every day) and sometimes some seaweed rice crackers; and dinner will usually be some variation on lean meat and vegetables (go heavy on the vegetables and light on the meat - you'd be surprised how small a true portion of meat is). And if I want dessert (because eating that many veggies is filling), then strawberries and blueberries are quite low in energy so I'll have them with some unsweetened low-fat greek or natural yoghurt (I add cinnamon to make it taste more interesting and less... well, yoghurty!) or low fat cottage cheese.

If I **do** eat rice then it will be in a risotto, and I will measure it carefully and the dish will be predominantly vegetables anyway. I try to avoid pasta because it's so delicious and hard for me to stop eating, but again, measure it and go heavy on the topping (provided that the topping is a vegetable-based one not a meat one, and preferably using tinned tomatoes with no sugar added and a little tomato paste to thicken it instead of bottled pasta sauce which is full of sugar (as is tomato paste, but you use a lot less of it)). And you don't need toppings like grated cheese because, delicious as it is in both flavour and texture, a small sprinkle of parmesan goes a long way. Low fat ricotta is also surprisingly low in calories and good for making a dish creamier.

I also find that I feel better and my body functions better if I eat lots of vegetables and fruit, lean protein, and nothing high in refined carbohydrates (I say refined because vegies are full of them, but they're not refined ones) or sugary food, or heavy, greasy food. I will still eat those things occasionally, but I will literally wake up the next day feeling bloated (not to be confused with feeling fat) and sluggish so I'm listening to what my body wants now and doing it less often. I even find now that if I eat just for kicks instead of when I'm genuinely hungry, I actually feel pretty gross.

As far as I understand it though, you should be avoiding going **under** 1200cal anyway. I don't know how much science there is behind that being the magic number where your metabolism suddenly crashes, but regardless of that, if I try to eat under 1200cal I get light headed and cranky and have no energy to even go for a walk, let alone work out! I'm currently set at 1500ish cal to lose 1lb per week, but for a while there I was down at 1200cal to lose 2lb per week and just found it too hard to stick to, and I found myself bingeing and becoming disheartened for failing to stick to my calories (and so the cycle begins again). You also hear stories of people hitting a plateau, and instead of further dropping their calories they'll boost them by a few hundred and suddenly their body gets better at burning fat again. Weird, I know.

So anyway, in the new year, I adjusted my mind set, and my goals. I changed it to 1lb which gave me a limit of a little over 1500cal, and that way, if I choose to then I can eat between 1200 and 1500 then I can, and lose more weight, but psychologically I'm also okay with eating just under my new limit. And at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how fast I lose weight as long as I'm healthy, so, impatient though I may be to lose it, I know that the slower I lose it the more of a lifestyle healthy eating and exercise will become, and the more likely it is to stay off. And so far it's worked - I lost 1.5kg in the first week and 1kg in the second week, even though I ate out twice. It will be interesting to see how I go this week because I wasn't eating far under my calories in those first two weeks, so I can only assume that I am naturally more active day-to-day than I thought I was.

Good luck!

Reneeisfat

I just started and this is my third day, but I have been eating about 90% clean foods, staying around the 1200 cal mark and have not felt hungry. Maybe it is your food choices. You can add me as a friend and see my diary. Hang in there. Like others have said, I eat 100 cal. snacks like almonds or walnuts to stave off cravings.

^this
I'm at 1200 and I am honestly shocked that I'm not hungry.
Since January 1 I've dropped ~14#
Whole foods and ANY exercise will do the trick.

Friend me if you want.

kjlarrabee

I usually don't. But I eat really clean whole foods. Every morning I do honey, lemon, and detox tea, and a green smoothie. Something lite for lunch like hummus and flax seed crackers and either another smoothie at night or what ever I decide. i also try not to eat gluten or dairy but gluten is hard. I cheat at least twice a week on gluten and once on dairy but getting better. I try not to let myself get hungry, by eating either almonds or nuts for a snack. Its hardest if you don't have anything healthy with you right when your hungry.

huge2fan2

1200 calories is too low for someone who is morbidly obese. Go to freedieting.com and enter your statistics to determine the correct amount of calories you should eat. Remember to reevaluate your caloric needs every 5 pounds or so. It is a good idea to try to work on increasing your water intake so that you don't confuse thirst with hunger. Also keep a journal (this can be done in notes on MFP) of how you feel when you are about to eat, for example are you bored or are you really hungry? Remember that weight loss is mostly what you eat and a little exercise, but your physique is built with resistance training as well as cardio.

Happyme2009

Anyone who wants to friend me is welcome...
Well, I find it terribly difficult to stay at 1200 cal. It doesn't matter if I go to gym or not that day, I need about 1800 cals to feel I am not starving. And yes, for most of the part, I eat healthy. Some days, super healthy! Only too much of it....
you see, I cannot understand how people eat only 3 oz of chicken breast.... or 6 leaves of romaine lettuce... when I eat the whole lettuce head and the entire chicken breast which weighted a little under 1 lbs when raw....
Or how do people eat 1/4 cup of oatmeal or quinoa, when I need at least 1 cup, uncooked, to feel that I've eaten!
and yes, if I eat fruits, who can have only 2 clementines? I have at least 5 in one sitting...
Anyways, my solution to this is try and "gain" 600 cals at least from exercise, so I can eat them.....
So far, so good....not complaining, almost 5.5 lbs in 22 days isn't bad.
But yes, 1200 is nearly impossible.

MallorieGreiner

I'm at 1300 but most days I do 1200 or less. (I know that's not something t be super proud of but it happens.) I burn about 720 calories through exercise and I actually find it hard to eat back that much while eating so healthy. Normal day consists of apples, clementines, spinach, carrots, broccoli, bagel thins, PB2, eggs, shrimp....while my more high calorie foods include whole grain pasta and 2 servings of cereal and milk.

sandrabesterdonnelly

my calorie intake iss 1500 and I can usally stay under

mcflat29

How do people go over?! I'm having a hard time getting anywhere close to the calories I need. Sure I like food, but I guess I don't eat enough... :blushing:

hnrigdon

Maybe 1200 calories isn't right for you. Also, I know you said your exercise wasn't where it needs to be, but exercise is the only way to gain calories for the day. It's whats supposed to be the motivator.

jennyrae3

I've been doing this for 14 months now. I've been able to lose 34 lbs. One thing you need to remember is that this is for your life time and not for an instant result. I've dieted several different times and always gained it back plus some. This time, I've made a life change. You have to take it in baby steps. Your habits didn't form over night and can't be changed over night. I looked up on some medical websites and discovered a good rule of thumb is to take your weight, example if you weigh 200 pounds, add a zero to the end and use that as your starting point for your daily intake. so you would start (weight 200lbs) at 2,000 caolories per day.(always round up to the nearest 100. This may take a few days or a few weeks to get used to. Once you find yourself thinking, this is too easy or not having the hungry growling belly then decrease it by 200 caloies and keep adjusting and before you know it you have shrank your stomach enough that 1,200 per day is nothing. I'm to the point now that it is sometimes hard for me to get in my 1,200 calories, yet I do exercise now anywhere from 500-700 calories per day. I also have changed the things I eat. I stay away from empty calories, especially sweets like candy bars. By the way the 100 calories snacks and cereal bars for 100 calories or less are a great help in trying to stay with in your calorie goal. they saved me on several different days. Keep your chin up, at least your on the right track in trying to make a difference. keep it up. If I can do this then You can too!

pjevne

exercise - portion control - low calorie snacks in between

aelunyu

Some of the people who are supposedly on 1200/day arent counting the 12 cokes they drink. Others are plainly not counting whole binges. This is merely a fact of human nature. I once had a 380 pound client tell me she only ate 800 per day for 4 weeks, until her kids ended up tattling on her. (more like 3300). You can tell who these people are by the attitudes they have.
"eating 1200 but still no weight loss, is it because of the sugar???! or the fat?!?! someone help i'm a biological anomaly!!"

So aside from those people,

The ones that are doing the 1200-1800 are losing weight. You can tell from their amazing progress posts and updates. They are usually wearing big smiles and stances of self affirmation...it just gets better and better from there. They want to know more about nutrition, they are hungry to try new exercise programs. It's literally a change in lifestyle. But the things that led them there were hard to do. Very hard.

For someone starting out, unfamiliar with a severe deficit like 1200, set it higher. much higher, but be honest and stick to it. slip ups happen, but set a realistic goal where you're not crashing the weight off, but a moderate decrease. Remember, whatever you do, in the end, you're the one responsible for the good or the bad that follows! Good luck.

jennyrae3

by the way, I'm only 5'1" and am currently about 5 pounds from my goal. us short people can't carry our weight very twell.

Laur5567Russ

I've just started My Fitness Pal and I've found that Slimfasts and protein-filled meal replacement bars work for me. I've been drinking Slimfast for 2 months now. I drink 1 for breakfast, 1 for lunch, a mini snack South Beach Diet shake for afternoon (100 calories) and that usually leaves me about 600 calories for dinner, which is perfect. The protein in slimfasts keeps me full for about 3 hours.

crazytreelady

You can eat a lot on 1200, it just depends what you eat.

kelsanderson78

Some of the people who are supposedly on 1200/day arent counting the 12 cokes they drink. Others are plainly not counting whole binges. This is merely a fact of human nature. I once had a 380 pound client tell me she only ate 800 per day for 4 weeks, until her kids ended up tattling on her. (more like 3300). You can tell who these people are by the attitudes they have.
"eating 1200 but still no weight loss, is it because of the sugar???! or the fat?!?! someone help i'm a biological anomaly!!"

So aside from those people,

The ones that are doing the 1200-1800 are losing weight. You can tell from their amazing progress posts and updates. They are usually wearing big smiles and stances of self affirmation...it just gets better and better from there. They want to know more about nutrition, they are hungry to try new exercise programs. It's literally a change in lifestyle. But the things that led them there were hard to do. Very hard.

For someone starting out, unfamiliar with a severe deficit like 1200, set it higher. much higher, but be honest and stick to it. slip ups happen, but set a realistic goal where you're not crashing the weight off, but a moderate decrease. Remember, whatever you do, in the end, you're the one responsible for the good or the bad that follows! Good luck.

Good post Especially this part: "eating 1200 but still no weight loss, is it because of the sugar???! or the fat?!?! someone help i'm a biological anomaly!!" You need to be honest with yourself and track everything to get anywhere

leypb

People have different metabolisms and different bodies. I know somebody who eats just one meal a day and that is in the evening! She has been living off 500 calories a day for a long time and has lost a lot of weight. Of course, people tell her this isn't healthy and perhaps rightly so, but I would find that impossible! Personally, I struggle with 1500, but I tended to eat 3000-3500 before starting to try and eat better and lose weight. I find just an hours walking a day ( or more efficient exercise helps) just to give you that little bit extra. Also, I go over a couple of days a week and still 3lbs a week, due to understating food/underestimating metabolism and exercise etc...

katy_trail

i think the OP is getting flack where it maybe isn't deserved. she said she's been at this a long time, and already lost weight.
yes there's a learning curve in understanding cc and measuring, but I applaud her effort and determination. she is hungry for ideas, recipes, workouts that work for her. I think this is a lifestyle change for her. not everyone is satisfied on radishes and carrot sticks. try green bean 'fries' they rock! i sent some links to you already. hope that helps.

We're all rooting for you. if you're having a bad, awesome, or just a gloomy day, post about it and we'll cheer you on.
that's why we're here

ambermadore

I was 364 lbs when I started and had a huge appetite. The first week of my diet was horrible. I was starving all the time, but I have iron-strong will-power. I forced myself (its very, very VERY hard!) to stay on track with my diet. I ate A LOT of veggies, because they have basic calorie intake and they would fill me up. The second week was a little easier, and the third was even easier than that. After the third week, my stomach shrunk down to accommodate my eating habits. Once that happened, I very rarely got hungry anymore, unless I was skipping my regular meals, etc. You have to plan more than anything. Make yourself breakfast lunch and dinner. Don't eat anything without knowing whats in it (read the nutritional guide!) and actually commit to recording everything you eat. Don't cheat, because you'll just cheat yourself. I think a lot of people eat more than they record on their diaries. You can do it, one day at a time. Don't give up and just get yourself moving more. It's always hard to exercise when you're really obese, but I'm living proof that you can do it

NewMnky1

I eat 1100 a day (please reserve your comments on that, it is Dr supervised). You can look at my diary. I eat four times a day and do not feel hungry. The odd time at night I will have a snack after dinner. But it really is about food choices. Over time your body does adjust to and gets used to eating less than you used to, it just takes time, but after that you will find you get fuller faster and don't need to eat as much to feel full.
I do not cheat on what I record. I record everything I eat and drink, good or bad. I think that is the only way to be honest with yourself and make weight loss a success.