How do you people stay at 1200 a day??

yaddayaddayadda

I can only stay at 1200 if I exercise alot. Today after lunch I had only 344 calories left. I did a two hour walk, and now I have just over 900. So I can eat a good dinner:-)

I always go over on days with no exercise... But it all balances out if I look at a the calories and exercise for the whole week.

ruksha123

Breakfast is a must (approx300-400cals), Lunch is usually quite light (a shake, yoghurt and some fruit approx 300-400cals) and then dinner (i try to keep it light but it is difficult). For dinner i usually plan the night before or on the morning what and how many calories it is and stick it in to MTF and i need some spare for snacks (fruit).

If I'm having a particularly heavy dinner then I may skip my shake at lunch (230cals) and save this for dinner instead.

It can help to put your food for the day into MFT in the morning and then its already planned for you and I generally stick with it. Otherwise exercise and that can also add calories to your daily allowance:happy:

'Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a Queen and dinner like a pauper'

Williamsrus

I definitely think food choices and staying hydrated is key as I do think the body will confuse hunger for thirst. As others have said-whole grain everything, egg whites, more protein, get rid of processed foods. I try to add protein to every meal which means adding egg whites to my morning oatmeal. For me I find that if I have bad night cravings, it is usually a result of not eating enough or not eating the right things over the course of the day. On the nights when you binge-take a look at your diary to see if there is anything triggering it or a pattern. I also think it is a good idea to not eat a few hours before bedtime. I replaced my late night in front of the tv snacking with pots of herbal tea.

fteale

I was literally starving on 1200 a day. I felt tired, freezing cold, shaky, my skin was saggy. It made me feel and look ill. Even eating "all the right things"

I am on 1500 to maintain now and I am still hungry most of the time, but it's bearable.

AmyFett

I'm set for 1400, and I eat small meals, not meals like I used to. I eat plenty and a lot, it's all in what you eat to keep under your calorie goal. Also, if you exercise more, even just go for a 20 minute walk, there's your snack for later, ya know? Get up and move, every little bit helps!

WendyTerry420

I went from eating about 2400-2800 a day down to 1700. I am doing well so far keeping it under 1700 and not being hungry. I had only 565 so far today because I didn't bring enough food to work with me, and I am starving! I really hope I don't pig out too much at dinner. For me, three sensible meals and a couple of healthy snacks seems to do the trick.

sofia0586

a lot of fruits / veggies and protein.
try to stay low on carbs but throw in a bit to keep me from feeling deprived.

i eat about 3 meals at 400/each, and maybe some baby carrots / cherries / snap peas for snacks.

if I workout, I let myself have more.

patleb67

I eat alot of fruit and veggies....especially the lowest calorie ones. A BIG salad before meals helps me fill up and I use only 1 tsp oil in the salad dressing If I have a special occasion and plan on eating out, I compensate by eating only low cal fruits and veggies and a very lean protein during the day of.

Davis1818

I find it verrrrrrrrrrrry difficult to stay at 1200. 1400-1500 seems doable even if I loose more slowly.

jmiller1960

What do you mean by 'clean foods"? i would like to friend you.

sgall123

I eat about 1200-1350 & find that does me fine even though I exercise alot & I'm on my feet at work all day... From experimenting I've found if I eat more than 1350 cals I maintain however it's not really a problem as I fill up on protein like eggs & chicken & fish usually .. However if I says when I'm just hungry in general ill eat some of my exercise calories.. I suppose we are all different & our bodies need different things.. I'm 5"5 & 158lbs .. Find what works for you

hollyNhollywood

From what I gathered, this was a question posed out of curiousity?
You eat healthy foods, the more natural the better, and eat proper serving sizes.
Now should everyone be doing this? Is it meant to be for everyone? No, of course not.
If you find that you are eating healthy food options but are always hungry/weak, then you need to re-evaluate and re-adjust your goals.
As eating 1200 is not meant to be a golden rule that everyone should do, so not sure why there is constant grief about it on these boards?
We each entered in our weight and how active we are in daily life, and MFP spit out the results for you to work towards your goal.
Eating 1200 calories and doing it in a healthy way, and NOT starving yourself, is completely attainable.
(Of course, that said, that doesn't mean everyone who is eating 1200 is doing it in a healthy manor.)
I eat 1200-1300 calories (I eat back some of my exercise calories), with usually one day a week where I do1400-1700 calories.. and I'm not starving. If anything I'm often full. On those days that I do feel hungry, I listen to my body and eat more.
Thats what this is all about-- listening to your own body and being healthy.

I'm not just trying to lose weight, I'm trying to be healthy!

jalapenosmom

My calorie allotment for the day is 1500 calories, but I actually only get about 1200 to 1300 calories. It is much easier than you think. I trade all my drinks in for water for the day so that is 0 calories. I have a serving (ONE SERVING) of everything I eat. I measure everything. I usually have cereal and half a cup of milk for breakfast. A banana between breakfast and lunch. For lunch I have a sandwich and sometimes chips or cheese its. Then I have grapes for a snack. If I get hungry I eat sugar free jello (5 calories). Then when dinner comes I figure out how many calories I can have and pick my dinner accordingly. If I have a lot left I drink milk with my dinner as a treat. Sometimes I get hungry, but thats because at work I can't just eat whenever I want) and late at night if I get hungry I drink more water. I thought it would be hard at first too, but it's easier than you think.

shookld

My secret is home cooking. Find recipes that interest you, foods you'll look forward to eating, and cook for yourself. Prepare different kinds of salads and soups to have on hand. The worst thing you can do is 1) skip meals and 2) eat out at restaurants! Shop for fresh foods at the grocery store; fill up on healthy foods that are delicious - they will always be low calorie too. Use the food database to watch your portion sizes. If it says 4 ounces of chicken, weigh your portion to make sure you have just four ounces. Good luck! You can do it!

estherwhetstone

Why not eat 3 plates of food a day? No counting or stressing about what to eat. Use a normal dinner plate and fill it once, no seconds and no eating between meals. Breakfast lunch and dinner. It really is that simple.

Tachimai

I used to stay at this amount. Mind you, it was very difficult. I would call it torture, which is why I kind of took a vacation from dieting for a bit. >.>; What helped me when I was enduring this diet, was a lot of water, and exercise. If I didn't exercise one day, I would drink a lot of water, and eat foods full of protein like eggs, turkey slices, chicken etc.

What sucks is that when you do exercise, your body craves a lot more food than usual, so even though you may now eat more due to net calories, you may find yourself eating more calories than when you didn't exercise. This is because your body needs more energy and nutrients to use.

Having a set amount of calories allows you to eat the right amount for your body to absorb and use, while it may burn some body fat on the side. Bleh, dieting is tough, that's all I can say. What I'm doing right now, is still eating a bit bad, while still keeping track. As time goes by, I'll be lessening my calorie intake bit by bit, so eventually Ill be able to do a 1200 cal diet.

I've tried going instantly into a 1200 diet, and there is one nice perk to it: You lose calories fast. The bad side is you might lose muscle mass. You also may hit a "wall" in losing weight faster than others. This is just from my own experience and any diet may affect you differently. However, I hope that this helps in whatever way possible.

RealWomenLovePitbulls

mak ur diary public and we can help maybe


drink only water, black coffee or unsweet tea

don't eat junk food

cobaltis

I hate to say it but its a lot of willpower. If you can break the habits you have fallen into, like eating because its noon, not because your truly hungry, then you will get there. I make most of my own food so I know whats in it and stick with lots of lean meats which are filling and veggies which are filling and low calorie. Good luck!

You need a goal to weigh against every time you get hungry or crave something bad. I laid in bed fighting hunger pains at the beginning thinking about my motivations... Every bad decision jeopardized that motivation and that got me through. I made a point to drink a glass of water whenever i got hungry and wait a half hour to see if I was still hungry. When I did eat I ate small portions as I knew I could always eat more... but I wasn't willing to remove eating too much

weisegirl1119

I have my calories set at 1000 and aim for that. I usually go over a little so I am probably around 1200 a day. And Yes I find it very hard! I cant seem to get motivated to exercise and figure until I can be more active I have to keep my calories low or I wont lose weight. I know some ppl say if you dont eat enough calories losing weight doesnt work but what about calories in calories out = weight loss. I just cant believe eating more calories will help you loss weight. I cant change my thinking on that one. But yes to answer your question I do find it hard to stay under my calories without being hungry!

joannbrunton

WHAT IS A FITBIT?

myfitnessval

my goal is set for 1280 and at first it was hard but you learn VERY quickly that quality over quantity matters. foods high in fiber and protein should be what your meals are planned around. also for me i found cutting down my carbs to around 40% of my diet helps keep the calorie content low. it can be done but yes, it is not for everyone, and especially not meant for long term. if you feel you cant stick to it, dont, i know plenty of people who are consistently losing while eating 1700. it really just depends on the person.

myfitnessval

getting a full 8 hours of sleep helps too. thats 8 hours a day i'm not up wondering what is for my next meal lol

kmm7309

I'm going to be honest, I'm one of those fat people who has trouble getting to 1200. I haven't hit it yet. But it wasn't always that way. When I tried this 2 years ago, I struggled to eat all the bad stuff I wanted and stay under 1200. What really changed things for me was clean eating, whole grains (and not too many of those to begin with!), lean meats, and just generally changing my eating habits, times of days, etc. I have to force myself to eat more at the end of the day to get close to 1200- I'm usually full. But the quality of what I put in my body is great. And I don't sacrifice much- tonight for dinner I had chicken cordon bleu and a baked potato with whole fat sour cream. It was amazing. And I'm having a milkshake for dessert. But I bought all natural, low-fat vanilla ice cream and a can of peaches in 100% juice and just make my own. My milkshake is only 194 calories. My biggest philosophy on weight loss is substitution!

xsabrinalynn

I think a lot of it has to do with food choices and quality. When I first started, I constantly went over but I didn't really change up my diet much. Now I eat a lot of chicken, turkey, rice, veggies, fruits, rice and even stuff that isn't so good for me but with much smaller portions. Some days I don't even get to 1200 and I'm STUFFED. Also some days I'm left with 1400 or so if I get a good work out in and burn 700+ calories.

Hang in there, it gets easier!!

myfitnessval

also, keep in mind that 1200 calories a day looks like 3 300 calorie meals a day and 2 150 calorie snacks.

muchadoaboutme2000

I've been doing 1200 cals a day for the most part since January when I actually started MFP. I've been able to stick with it by eating lots of fruits, vegetables, almonds, greek yogurt, eggs, lean meats and fish. I try to eat low carb, high protein. If I eat carb/starchy food, I limit to 1-2 servings a day and then I only have things that are whole grain like oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc. I eat 3 meals and 2 snacks each day. Meals are about 300 cals each and snacks are below 200. Some days, depending on how many cals I burn during workouts, I eat back some of my cals. Also I have a "cheat" meal once every 2 weeks or so. I also try to cook things using fresh ingredients as much as possible rather than using pre-packaged items to help cut down on sodium. So far, that's what has worked for me. This is the longest time I've stuck with losing weight and I think it is because I've found something that I can do without being hungry all the time.

THIS! It's not a matter of starving yourself or eating in an extreme manor. It's a matter of fueling your body with the right foods. You're going to run a whole lot longer on a few ounces of lean protein than you will with an ounce of potato chips. Plain and simple. I've been maintaining 1250 calories daily for almost 6 months and almost NEVER feel hungry. Schedule food. Don't wait until your body tells you your hungry. 3 meals and 2 snacks at the same time, every day will help keep you on track.

joannbrunton

It looks like you are losing ....hang in there.....and, if you are able, start walking 20 minutes a day then increase by ten minutes a day every week.

achvr

First of all, however frustrated you may feel, don't quit. I never stay under my 1400 goal. Wish I could say i did, but I don't. I'm super active so I have an appetite to match that. For me, what I've had to start doing is eating until I'm satisfied and listening to the hunger signals. As long as I feel healthy, my clothes are fitting better, and I feel that I'm making emotional progress then I'm doing good. I often ask myself questions like, "Is this chocie based on who I used to be or who I want to be?" And that helps me make better choices. Don't beat yourself up if the poudns are dropping as fast as you want them to. Make small steps every day towards being healthier and in the end the pounds will come off.

jackson4083

If you are having trouble sleeping at night try taking a Tylonol PM or Advil PM. That helps me fall asleep and stay asleep until morning!!! Good luck to you!

thinnnnnnner

Will power.