Advice needed- How do I balance out to just 1200 calories?

priyashah

Hi there,

I am 35 year old, 5-3 and 137 pounds. I have gone up and down a lot with my weight, In 2007- I was 115 pounds, I ran a half marathon in 2007- and after the race, didn't adjust my diet- and put on almost 10 to 15 pounds in 2008! Since then I have been anywhere between 128 to 130 pound for past 5 years- and I have always been active with either dancing or running or swimming. Last year, I broke my ankle and had 2 surgeries. Due to being inactive for a little bit, I put on weight again- and now I am at my highest!- at 137 pounds.

I think I want to be realistic and don't think I want to be 115 again. But my happy sustainable weight can be 125 pounds.

Fitness pal recommends that I net out to 1200 calories everyday to lose 10 pounds. Its been very hard to do that even with working out. I feel really hungry in the nights when I balance to 1200 cals. I eat a good portion of fruits, veggies, carbs and protein. I don't eat fast food. I don't drink much. My only weakness is chocolates- which I have 100 to 200 cal of chocolates every day.

Anyone overcome similar challenges? Any help I can get will be so awesome!!

Thanks so much!

Mokey41

Eat more! I'm 5'2" and 117 lbs and I eat a minimum of 1350 a day to maintain that and I'm 55 yrs old. It's not a race to get the weight off so why be miserable while you do it?

manda1978

Try to do 3 x 300cal meals and 3x100cal snacks. The bigger meals should mean you won't need as much in snacks.

priyashah

Thanks all! I will try the 1350 cal- and smaller meals approach!

KipDrordy

I was a 222 lb male. My daily goal is 1310, which isn't a whole lot more than where you're at. I'm on my butt all day and do little exercising. Perhaps you are more active than I am. I'm not just talking about working out either. If you're on your feet a lot and moving around all day doing things, you're burning calories. For me the target number has been rather easy to maintain because I don't eat breakfast except for on rare occasions. I can eat a couple of 600 calorie meals and a few hundred calories worth of snacks and easily fit into my caloric budget by just walking my dog. I feel hungry from time to time too, but one thing I find odd is that if I go to bed hungry, I don't wake up hungry.

Another thing to consider is how much weight you set out to lose every week with MFP. If it's two pounds, you're going to have to be in a 7000 calorie deficit per week. MFP will set your daily limit at a 1000 calorie per day deficit. Your goal is nearly half of what you're estimated daily burn rate is at. That may very well be too much of a deficit for you. You're not trying to lose that much weight, so why go at a 2 pound per week rate?

paijing

It's also good to keep in mind that it's okay to be hungry. Some days I eat several small meals and feel great. Other days I build up an appetite and then eat a large, satisfying dinner with dessert. See what works for you.

My appetite also varies from day to day or week to week. Just keep in mind that you're looking to average your caloric intake over the longterm. So for a few days I might be at 1600 calories per day (and exercising) and for another few days I might be at 1200 calories per day (when I'm stuck inside because of a hurricane). I find that consistently staying at 1200 calories is difficult and tiring, but it can come as a welcome relief after a few days of eating more calories than normal.

(I'm 5'4" 120lbs and generally aim to net about 1450 calories per day.)