1,200 Calories

evileen99

I don't know how you folks can eat 1200-1400 calories a day and not be starving all the time. I'm hungry eating 1800 (and no, it's not junk) and would probably want to gnaw my arm off if I were eating that little.

CJ_Holmes

I find I'm eating alot of protein and am not hungry if I'm steady with my meals, eating every 2 - 3 hours between the hours of 8am and 6pm. I don't find the 1200 calories difficult, although I'm really eating closer to 1300 or 1400 every day with the extra being burnt off with exercise so it levels out to be just at or slightly below my 1200 calorie goal for the day. But the protein is SO important. I make sure to have a little lean protein in every meal and snack and it's incredible what a difference it makes in your hunger/blood sugar levels.

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a 2lb/week weight loss if that's what works for you! Although I do wish that MFP had some kind of function where you could factor in cheat meals (I have one or two cheat meals per week) kind of like Weight Watchers does...

If you log in on your phone, you can look at your weekly average, and focus more on that instead of the daily net cals. That way you can see how your high and low days balance out.

SassySueKS

I can do 1,400 but 1,200 makes me weak and hungry. It doesn't seem like it should be that big of a difference but it is. And this without adding exercise. If I start working out heavily I have to eat more.

I also have to eat enough to trick my body from going into starvation mode. My mom put me on liquid diets as a teen (Optifast when I was only 30 pounds overweight - 500 calories/day) that screwed up my system so if I eat too little my body just starts to shutdown and I don't lose an ounce.

If you are miserable you won't stay on the plan so eat more fruits and veggies (assuming you are eating enough grains and lean proteins) and you should start feeling great.

firstsip

Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and just set it at 1,400 for now even though it would be nice to stay at 1,200 to lose weight faster. I will check out the link and calculate my measurements.

Everyone's given you great advice (your personal BMR and TDEE are much more important than "set" numbers generally), but I want to make sure you gain the confidence in this new calorie plan. 1200 calories does NOT mean you're lose weight faster; you would eventually peter out, at your height and closer to a healthy weight, and lose 0 pounds one week, .2 another... the difference being that you'd be more tired, less likely to maintain, etc. at 1200 than at higher calories.

Weight loss isn't linear, regardless of calories, and I think the "In 5 weeks, you'd weigh this _" on MFP isn't doing anyone any favors :P

ClementineGeorg

Thanks for the tips. I went ahead and just set it at 1,400 for now even though it would be nice to stay at 1,200 to lose weight faster. I will check out the link and calculate my measurements.

Losing weight faster is not neccesarally best. Losing slower helps your skin recover better (you would not want loose skin), helps your body accomodate better with your weight changes (fast lost can affect your body) and it is proven that slower loss is better for keeping the weight off forever (lee chance of yo-yo-ing).

Also, higher calories sometimes prevents binges and failure.

Have pacience. Sometimes pacience is gold.

grammysboy

I'm fortunate. MFP allows me around 1700 calories a day. I'm 6'1" and started at 255. I said I wanted to lose 1.5 pounds a week and that should put me at my goal in about 7 months. I had to get my head around the fact that it had taken about 10 years to get from my goal weight to where I was when I started. Seven months to get back there is practically nothing! I rarely go over my 1700 and I don't eat back the calories I burn exercising. I don't worry about it too much when I do, but just start all over again the next day.