Trouble hitting 1200 cals

nikkijade13

I'm having a hard time hitting my 1200 cal limit. I'm always left with a large amont of calorie intake (500-900 depending on the day). I have a very small appetite and I eat pretty healthy foods and exercize. Any tips or suggestions on helping me reach my calorie intake goal that won't make me gain weight?

darkskypoet

1200 cals shouldn't be too hard to hit... I guess first question would be do you eat meat? Sensible portions of healthy meat should help out. Healthy fats would too. Add avocado, some olive oil, stuff like that. Nuts, and other items in that strata might too, just maybe watch the salt... Some people will start to retain a lot of water if their sodium climbs. I know since we switched to very healthy eating, the amounts of veg that are needed to make up calories can be quite ridiculous.

childermass

Hi!
A lot of people will say you are going to go into starvation mode eating so low. I don't know, I'm not a doctor, but I don't want that to happen.
I have the same problem as you, don't want to eat much but when I do it's a blow out.
So - I try to stay full all day long on clean but WHOLE foods - by which I mean I eat full fat cheese, use olive oil, eat nuts (and heaps of protein it keeps me full) and I don't eat 'diet' foods. Avocados, yoghurt, dark chocolate, whole eggs. It all adds up and is good for you.
I find it's easier if you pre - plan most of your day.
good luck

darkskypoet

Hi!
A lot of people will say you are going to go into starvation mode eating so low. I don't know, I'm not a doctor, but I don't want that to happen.
I have the same problem as you, don't want to eat much but when I do it's a blow out.
So - I try to stay full all day long on clean but WHOLE foods - by which I mean I eat full fat cheese, use olive oil, eat nuts (and heaps of protein it keeps me full) and I don't eat 'diet' foods. Avocados, yoghurt, dark chocolate, whole eggs. It all adds up and is good for you.
I find it's easier if you pre - plan most of your day.
good luck

Yeah 'diet foods' are horrible, especially in the North American context where they just substitute modified horrible corn starches, or some other synthetic food like product for good wholesome natural fats.

papastu

so many topics about this, may I suggest you read them, some great answers to your problem

protosaurus

Drink Gin

Miiimii

When I read topics like this, I'm realy asking myself how you can get in weight trouble when you have problems with eating 1200 calories a day. You say normaly you eat arount 300 and 700 calories a day. So are there days when you eat 5000 calories? Because otherwise I don't understand where the weight comes from you want to lose.

I'm not judging, just wondering.

carolkelly45

My thoughts - strange that you are here not to put on weight while most would probably been here to lose weight. But if you are not reaching 1200 cals, then you are not "overeating" cal wise. Maybe not concentrate on number of cal but stick to eating heathy foods. What do you eat by the way?

nikilis

When I read topics like this, I'm realy asking myself how you can get in weight trouble when you have problems with eating 1200 calories a day. You say normaly you eat arount 300 and 700 calories a day. So are there days when you eat 5000 calories? Because otherwise I don't understand where the weight comes from you want to lose.

I'm not judging, just wondering.

this girl makes a good point, how did you become overweight if you are struggling to eat a dangerously low intake.

you need to force yourself to eat more, or bad things will happen to you.

you should only be on a diet that low if you are morbidly obese and under the care of your doctor.


MAKE NO MISTAKE. YOUR DIET RIGHT NOW IS EXTREMELY UNHEALTHY, HARMFUL AND DANGEROUS.

is that clear enough?

glitteredgrave

Eat avocados. 250 calories average. Yum!

darrensurrey

When I read topics like this, I'm realy asking myself how you can get in weight trouble when you have problems with eating 1200 calories a day. You say normaly you eat arount 300 and 700 calories a day. So are there days when you eat 5000 calories? Because otherwise I don't understand where the weight comes from you want to lose.

I'm not judging, just wondering.

Indeed.

I managed to eat 3000 calories before I signed up so I certainly have no problems eating 1700 calories these days. If I want to keep it clean I just eat nuts or peanut butter.

sin485

When I read topics like this, I'm realy asking myself how you can get in weight trouble when you have problems with eating 1200 calories a day. You say normaly you eat arount 300 and 700 calories a day. So are there days when you eat 5000 calories? Because otherwise I don't understand where the weight comes from you want to lose.

I'm not judging, just wondering.

this girl makes a good point, how did you become overweight if you are struggling to eat a dangerously low intake.

you need to force yourself to eat more, or bad things will happen to you.

you should only be on a diet that low if you are morbidly obese and under the care of your doctor.


MAKE NO MISTAKE. YOUR DIET RIGHT NOW IS EXTREMELY UNHEALTHY, HARMFUL AND DANGEROUS.

is that clear enough?

when you eat better and more satiating foods and stop eating junk you can struggle with eating enough. or at least i have.

Dave198lbs

When I read topics like this, I'm realy asking myself how you can get in weight trouble when you have problems with eating 1200 calories a day. You say normaly you eat arount 300 and 700 calories a day. So are there days when you eat 5000 calories? Because otherwise I don't understand where the weight comes from you want to lose.

I'm not judging, just wondering.

Indeed.

I managed to eat 3000 calories before I signed up so I certainly have no problems eating 1700 calories these days. If I want to keep it clean I just eat nuts or peanut butter.

ya...this

a goal to lose 145 pounds and can't eat 1200 calories?

this is not an issue of what food to eat

this can only be a psychological issue

you cannot lose weight in a big *kitten* hurry............it takes some patience and realistic goals

focus on losing 5 pounds a month and think of being healthy rather than thin

good luck

JustANumber85

I'm having a hard time hitting my 1200 cal limit. I'm always left with a large amont of calorie intake (500-900 depending on the day). I have a very small appetite and I eat pretty healthy foods and exercize. Any tips or suggestions on helping me reach my calorie intake goal that won't make me gain weight?

Before i started my MFP journey, i ate 1 time a day and i was lucky if it was 1200 cals. Part of this journey has taught me to eat meals at regular times and plan out my meals. When i fill out my diary a day ahead it helps me to eat because i look at the diary and im like " oh i still need to eat XYZ". I dont always eat Breakfast when it says Breakfast but i do eat whats on there.

I would try it. Plan out 1 day and just eat it. You could aim for 300cals a meal and then 3-100cal snacks. thats pretty easy really.

UmMasud

I'm having a hard time hitting my 1200 cal limit. I'm always left with a large amont of calorie intake (500-900 depending on the day). I have a very small appetite and I eat pretty healthy foods and exercize. Any tips or suggestions on helping me reach my calorie intake goal that won't make me gain weight?

Before i started my MFP journey, i ate 1 time a day and i was lucky if it was 1200 cals. Part of this journey has taught me to eat meals at regular times and plan out my meals. When i fill out my diary a day ahead it helps me to eat because i look at the diary and im like " oh i still need to eat XYZ". I dont always eat Breakfast when it says Breakfast but i do eat whats on there.

I would try it. Plan out 1 day and just eat it. You could aim for 300cals a meal and then 3-100cal snacks. thats pretty easy really.

So, again, how did you get overweight? If you only ate once a day adn it was a 1200 calorie meal, why and how did you get in a position that you need to lose weight?

twinketta

Are you logging absolutely everything?

sometimes its easy to eat something and forget to log it a little snack here and there?

Before I started MFP I was convinced I hardly ate anything. Then I started to plan my day the night before on here and stick to it. The 1200 cals and then I would add exercise cals because I was so hungry.

It made me realise that my original weight was due to overeating, I just didn`t notice how much I overate until I logged everything.

If you are logging everything then as other have said add some healthy fats. don`t go for the fat free options.

20shan08

It was hard for me too when I started because I stressed about it so much. It really doesn't take much, a handful of almonds, a few pieces of cheese, a glass of milk, an apple with peanut butter is a great filler, granola bar... Nuts are high in calories, healthy fat!

Crankstr

If you would open your diary, it would be helpful to see what you are eating now as far as suggestions.

lukester19

Well if I need to get close to my total of calories by the end of the day I add peanut butter. 2-3 tablespoons for me usually fills in the gap.

billsica

I mean, just open your mouth and put it in. Eat high density food.

harlanJEN

SIGH
really really BIG SIGH

Are you eating REAL food? Nutrient dense food . protein ( animal and/or plant based) healthy fats ( nuts, nut butters, avocado, olives), fruit and veg, whole grains.

It isn't difficult. 2 TB of natural peanut butter is 200 calories. A serving of nuts 180-200 calories.
Eggs, beans, cheese, tua, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, steamed brown rice, baked potato.
A baked potato with cheese and steamed veg can be 400+ calories.

your body has adapted to the low calories you have been feeding yourself. Your metabolism has slowed and you are not receiving hunger signals. This is NOT good.

I blogged about protein .... Some ideas are there for you.

Www.getwithitforlife.com

booyainyoface

you didn't gain weight eating less than 1200 calories... eat some of the crap you ate before, or start to cook nutrient dense foods. fat isn't the devil and 1200 calories isnt enough to sustain you in the long run. make it a goal to eat at least 1500 and lose the weight slowly and learn healthy habits in the meantime.

imarose6968

Now I see why I hate coming to the forums. People say they aren't judging, but they are instead of just giving the best advice they can and leaving the rest alone. I got fat by eating a lot of crap, but what I hvae noticed now that I eatprotein rich whole foods, mostly fish, exercise in the morning and evening and drink a lot of water as well as fiber rich foods that I get fuller quicker and stay full longer. I am not as hungry so I too don't hit my calories most of the time. I finally decided not stress it and the days and times I feel more hungry, I eat more. If you are skipping breakfast, make some time for it and try to make it more calorie heavy. I don't know how your mfp friends are, but I would try getting advice from them because it's easier to stay accountable to a friend and when you come on message boards sometimes it's hard to get through junk to get to the good advice.

NatalieWinning

Meat, nuts, cheeses, milkshakes (made with good stuff at home like a smoothie), greek yogurt, are big calorie punches but can be very healthy. Peanutbutter and peanutbutter powders in many things can also boost you. Fats and proteins can be your healthy friend.

ecw3780

I would make sure you are logging your food correctly. Get a food scale and weigh and measure everything you eat for a while. My guess is that you might be underestimating what you ate. Serving sizes are a lot smaller than people realize.

chocl8girl

skylark94

Take whatever healthy foods you have been eating and eat more of them. Toss in a bit of "junk" if you want. It's not rocket science. If you continue to eat so low you are likely to be very tired, lose hair, and get sick. EAT!

Take a look at my diary. I eat an average of 1,800 calories per day and I eat real food. I've lost 40 pounds.

RobynLB

I think some people switch from eating without thinking about it to eating all vegetables because that's all they can think of as a "healthy diet." Try picking up some healthy cooking magazines, etc. to get ideas of what a "healthy diet" looks like, then start looking at people's journals who have reached your goals and see what they eat. Eating 1200 calories a day is not hard, but if you aren't sure what you should be eating, you might get stuck and just eat really low cal "diet" food. This is not a sustainable long term plan, but it's fine for a few days as you transition.

DebbieLyn63

I'm having a hard time hitting my 1200 cal limit. I'm always left with a large amont of calorie intake (500-900 depending on the day). I have a very small appetite and I eat pretty healthy foods and exercize. Any tips or suggestions on helping me reach my calorie intake goal that won't make me gain weight?

Fairly easy- 3 balanced meals of 300 cals each, then 2-3 snacks of 100-150 cals each.

cloza12

I'm having a hard time hitting my 1200 cal limit. I'm always left with a large amont of calorie intake (500-900 depending on the day). I have a very small appetite and I eat pretty healthy foods and exercize. Any tips or suggestions on helping me reach my calorie intake goal that won't make me gain weight?

Eating that little bit of calories is not healthy, and even if you do eat the 1200 you wont be gaining weight. Try eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nonfat dairy, and healthy fats like avocado, nuts, seeds..

TXGirl821

We can't see what you're eating, so we don't know what we can advise as far as how you should go about changing things up.

I had this same problem when I first started on MFP. I ate really cleanly [obsessively so] and would not stop working out until I had burned a minimum of 500 calories. All I ended up doing was making myself really sick and then gaining another 25 pounds. You don't want to do that!

My advice would be to set an alarm for yourself so that you can get in a little snack at least every 3 hours. Nuts, nut butters, drinking milk or eating avocados would be a good way to bump up your calories a bit more and keep your energy up. I don't know how long you've been doing this, but it DOES catch up to you if you eat too low calorie for too long. Good luck!