How do you people stay at 1200 a day??

Bobby_Clerici

The real question is "WHY"?
Some people - especially ladies, are small, so it's relative.
My beef are with people trying to lose more weight than is recommended and end of in one of these absurd crash diets that's doomed to fail.
I enjoy eating fabulous meals too much to join the herd of deprived, professional dieters.
All I think of are lemmings in mass rushing toward the cliff.

drinkindunkin

My recommended amount is 1200 a day. It's pretty easy as long as you update your food as you go, so you can see how many calories are left. The first day I ate 840 calories of funfetti vanilla icing, but then rounded it out by eating some rice for dinner. ~GL~

DeniseNichole76

Find fullfilling foods that are low in calorie. I learned to replace breads with lower calorie breads, same with pastas and cheeses... Eat more fish, salads, lean meats. Nuts veggies and fruits. You can EAT SO MANY for 1200 cals. It's the choices you have to make. Choose wisely, eat proper portions.

dillonfc123

I personally am a 5'1 woman so 1200 is a bigger number to me than it would be to most people... even eating this amount I lose1 lb per week, max. it does differ from person to person. I guess the main thing for me is a) exercising (I eat back my calories so I often eat more) and b) eating what my body needs; we get hungry when our body is lacking something, which is why we can eat tons of sweets, because they don't give you what you need and so you still feel hungry

ElizabethRoad

My recommended amount is 1200 a day. It's pretty easy as long as you update your food as you go, so you can see how many calories are left. The first day I ate 840 calories of funfetti vanilla icing, but then rounded it out by eating some rice for dinner. ~GL~

You ate nothing but icing and rice all day? You got pretty much no nutrition that day... I would have eaten a healthy balanced dinner instead.

Also, MFP doesn't recommend anything. You tell it how fast you want to lose and it spits out a number.

Sbehlmer

Everybody is different...I keep my calories anywhere between 1200-1600 (I try & vary them on a daily basis so my body doesn't get used to a certain calorie intake)....I divide my meals/snacks up throughout the day so I'm not going any long period without nutrition. It's just like exercise, you just got to find out what works for you......Wishing you all the best

nostalgicfortune

Actually, I guess I mispoke..MY goal is 1700, set by this site, but I see lots of people who say that they stay at 1200 so I guess I was just lashing out at THAT particular number. I can't seem to stay under 1700. I eat A LOT of healthy food........but apparently not low cal enough......because I struggle with the numbers....and the scales have gone no where.....I guess exercise is the key and I have not built up to that hour of mad crazy exercise yet.....ugh......I just am doing a MILLION times better than I was BEFORE I started this and I still can't get the lbs to go anywhere....I don't know why I didn't weigh four tons when I think about how I ate before and how I ate now....if eating the way I eat now gains lbs then I truly don't know why I wasn't dead from my weight before....honestly....

Just as a hint I've found a LOT OF FOODS that i thought were 'healthy' were actually REALLY HIGH in calories, sodium, or sugar!!! They can be deceptive, for instance... Raisins... most people view those as healthy... there are something like 20g of sugar in 1oz of them!!! Read your packages... stuff can be scary high in the wrong places...

rwisner

You dont HAVE to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight!! STOP starving yourself. Eat between your BMR and TDEE.

saraann4

I have a few questions.

Why are you eating only 1200 calories?
Did you enter your age, height and weight into the program?
Because it will tell you how many calories you should be eating.

I notice you wrote that you are eating RANCH dressing. For the love of God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out the calories on there. And REALLY measure the amount you are using. You are probably using a ton more than you think.

A word of advice: Enter your age, weight, and height into the system and let the suystem determine how much you should be eating.
WEIGH and MEASURE everything you eat. Make better choices than RANCH dressing.
Look at my profile. I eat around 1500-1600 a day. And I eat PLENTY of snacks. And I have been decently successful.

Seriously? WTH is wrong with Ranch dressing. A LOT of people eat ranch dressing. What happened to everything in moderation? You don't have to give up everything!

nostalgicfortune

My recommended amount is 1200 a day. It's pretty easy as long as you update your food as you go, so you can see how many calories are left. The first day I ate 840 calories of funfetti vanilla icing, but then rounded it out by eating some rice for dinner. ~GL~

You got nothing that day... you should really pay attention to the entire recommended intems for the day not just your calories, such as vitamins and other neccesary nutrients your body needs

FitGuyMemphis

www.reddit.com/r/keto

I find it easy because of the ketogenic diet, and I actually have to make sure I eat enough, because of the nature of the diet, I am never hungry and when I don't eat my body just switches over to using body fat for energy...

Which is exactly what fat is for...fat IS stored energy to be used in times when we can't eat. It's diets high in sugars and carbohydrates, especially processed carbs and sugars...like breads, pasta, cereal, sodas, etc....that cause insulin spikes....and insulin is a hormone with many functions in the body, one of the primary ones being to tell our fat cells NOT to release stored fat...

So this is why many people who are on a "low fat -moderate to high carb" diet don't see any progress.....even if you eat at a caloric deficit, if you are still consuming primarily processed carbs and sugars, they don't see progress...because those foods are spiking insulin, which in turn keeps them from shedding body fat....

Even the idea of "Whole grain" being better is widely disputed and once it's in the body doesn't make much of a difference...TRUE whole grains are digested a little slower which helps minimize the effects of insulin...but still if you can handle it try to cut all processed carbs and sugars as much as you can...

Google Ketogenic diets if you can and also Paleo diets....this is what works for me anyways, as well as many other people...

I do not claim to be an expert but in my experience, and in the experience of many I know personally, this works well...good luck and feel free to message me with any specific questions!

jodycoady

why not up it to an extra 200? then up it a little more after a few weeks. If you are new to this, 1200 is gonna be really hard at first.....it takes time to get used to it....-- maybe 1200 is too low for you.

btw, I'm at 1200 and I just make sure I exercise..

workoutgirl23

Well. i guess i will admit. I don't really eat big meals through out the day. my breakfast usually consists of greek yogurt, or a slim fast shake or bar. and lunch is usually a granola bar, or yogurt or something. nothing very big. and for dinner its something smaller, usually a lean cuisine meal or something which is around 300 calories. i typically eat at least 1400 calories or day. every one is different. 1200 is too low for a lot of people. its all about watching what you eat. Learning to eat 1200 calories a day is challenging. but once you get used to it, its not so bad. i never used to be a diet type of person. thought i could never do it. but i've been doing really well in the past few months, and lost weight. as for being hungry all the time, if you eat small snacks through out the day, it helps with the hunger pains. and drink lots of water. your body will adjust to the diet after a couple weeks, and you won't feel as hungry.

hastingshouse

My resting metabolic rate is about 2300 calories per day so my caloric goal is 1800. Five hundred less is sufficient to lose a pound a week which is all I want to do. I'm not on a diet - I've been on lots of those. That's how I got to be this weight in the first place! I'm on a lifestyle change and it's working for me.

Dalila2077

Ha ha! Yeah, I just posted on my status the same thing. I have done the 1200 calories per day before, but it is something you have to train yourself to get use to. The way I did is was eating lots of boring foods that were very, very good for me. During the weekends I'd treat myself to something I couldn't eat all week. For instance, for Lunch and Dinner I'd have Veggies like Cauliflower and Carrots....I also would take bread out of my diet completely bread has a lot of calories! It is really hard to curve your appetite. We are so use to eating what we want. The first 3 weeks of dedication and not going of your diet will help shrink your stomach. Eat lots of Veggies, protein with very little salt in your diet and take all the bread out. I hope that helps...

pg3ibew

I have a few questions.

Why are you eating only 1200 calories?
Did you enter your age, height and weight into the program?
Because it will tell you how many calories you should be eating.

I notice you wrote that you are eating RANCH dressing. For the love of God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out the calories on there. And REALLY measure the amount you are using. You are probably using a ton more than you think.

A word of advice: Enter your age, weight, and height into the system and let the suystem determine how much you should be eating.
WEIGH and MEASURE everything you eat. Make better choices than RANCH dressing.
Look at my profile. I eat around 1500-1600 a day. And I eat PLENTY of snacks. And I have been decently successful.

Seriously? WTH is wrong with Ranch dressing. A LOT of people eat ranch dressing. What happened to everything in moderation? You don't have to give up everything!

The thread starter said she was having trouble staying UNDER 1200 calories. Ranch dressing has an enormous amount of calories. Maybe she should try fat free, or another lo-cal ALTERNATIVE. If I am given the choice between 120 calories of ranch dressing or 15 calories of an altenative dressing, I will take the alternative. See how quickly I just had 105 calories less. And I am willing to bet she is not measuring it correctly either. Which means even more calories.

kmoore02

I am allowed 1800 calories a day but I don't eat that many usually.

The secret for me is, I drink about 10 -12 cups of water a day. The first thing I do when I get up is drink two cups of water before breakfast. I drink 2 cups of water before a meal and I only drink water with my meals. I know I might be a little obsessed with water but it is a cheap filler and it does so much more for the body.

I also eat foods high in fiber like; oatmeal, spinach, broccoli, almonds, whole grain whole wheat products etc.
They help with managing your appetite and are lower in calories so you can eat more.

I do look at other peoples diary and wonder if they record everything or if they are serious about losing weight. If you want to succeed at this, you have to commit to making some difficult changes over time.

FiercelyEmma

Something that might help is drinking an entire glass of water before each meal. No exceptions! And when you are hungry and it is not a meal time drink water!

Scandinavia

Generally I eat 800-1000 on a normal day, and burn 600-800 calories a day. I, personally, find it harder to eat any more than that, and it makes me physically sick to go over that. Everyone has different calorie needs, and I would never say one caloric intake is 'the best' for everyone.

dany_m

You dont HAVE to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight!! STOP starving yourself. Eat between your BMR and TDEE.

Exactly this. Check out the MFP Group 'Eat more to weigh less' and follow their instructions to determine your BMR and TDEE.

For example my BMR is around 1,430 calories and I have set my daily goal at 1,600 calories. PLUS I eat back all my exercise calories as well, so on some days I eat up to 2,300 calories. It works!

As others have said, try to increase your protein intake and lower your carbs at the same time.

Good luck :-)