difficulties in eating 1200 calories a day

MoreBean13

Your appetite is artificially suppressed from eating low calories. Eat more and your appetite will come back in less than a week. There is no added benefit from undereating- take a random sampling of people on here who have successfully lost weight and kept it off. Excluding bariatric patients, I would bet around 5% of people are long term successful who severely restricted calories during their losing phase.

Not being hungry really doesn't mean anything. If hunger were reliable, fat people would never get hungry and underweight people would never be full.

jofjltncb6

OP, please don't take offense, but I see posts like this periodically and I seriously don't get it. Can you help me understand how someone gets 40 lbs overweight without knowing how to eat more? Personally, I'm an expert in eating too much. My problem is learning to eat less.

Again, I'm not trying to be mean, even though I know it may come across that way. I really just have a hard time wrapping my head around the concept here.

It comes from being too careful - you go from eating whatever you want whenever you want, to suddenly watching everything that goes into your mouth. Sometimes we become a little overly careful and avoid any calorie-dense foods. I'm dealing with that myself right now. I fill up on healthy, low-cal stuff and get towards the end of the day and realize I need to eat a handful of walnuts to reach my daily goal!
It's not that this has been a problem all my life - hardly - it's simply a result of drastically changing one's eating/moving habits, and finding the right balance.
Just get your cals from a good source - or use them for a small treat. (I had 4 oz glass of red wine and 2 squares of dove dark chocolate after dinner tonight with my extra!

Yep, ^this (which wasn't posted when I started my post on a similar observation).

Also, for many who consistently find themselves at the end of the day and they're way off of their target...I consider that more of a planning failure than it is a problem with appetite. You may need to ignore appetite for a while until you get things back on track. (Arguably, for people who are currently overweight, (absent a medical issue to the contrary), they likely ignored appetite to end up there...so why not ignore it when you're working on a long-term solution?)

elyelyse

OP, please don't take offense, but I see posts like this periodically and I seriously don't get it. Can you help me understand how someone gets 40 lbs overweight without knowing how to eat more? Personally, I'm an expert in eating too much. My problem is learning to eat less.

Again, I'm not trying to be mean, even though I know it may come across that way. I really just have a hard time wrapping my head around the concept here.

from someone who went from overeating constantly, to having trouble reaching 1200 calories... here's why.
It's very easy to eat a pint of ice cream, for 1300 calories, with no nutrition and still be hungry, and then have 800 calories worth of pizza, which is carb heavy, and im hungry a little later, so i have a sandwich on thick bread with potato chips... but now i want something sweet and have a chocolate bar. Super easy to eat over maintenance when you eat crap.
Now, switch to healthy low calorie foods, which is what a lot of people do when they decide to lose weight, not just eat less, but eat better... It's pretty hard to eat 3000 calories worth of cottage cheese, berries, vegetables and baked chicken! It took me a while to realize, oh, i can have things with fat and that's ok, im not looking for the lowest fat lowest carb lowest sugar, im just looking to eat healthy foods, and stay within my goals. So now i have avocado in my salad, love nuts for a snack, and don't feel guilty if i buy low fat dairy instead of skim.

cordianet

OP, please don't take offense, but I see posts like this periodically and I seriously don't get it. Can you help me understand how someone gets 40 lbs overweight without knowing how to eat more? Personally, I'm an expert in eating too much. My problem is learning to eat less.

Again, I'm not trying to be mean, even though I know it may come across that way. I really just have a hard time wrapping my head around the concept here.

It comes from being too careful - you go from eating whatever you want whenever you want, to suddenly watching everything that goes into your mouth. Sometimes we become a little overly careful and avoid any calorie-dense foods. I'm dealing with that myself right now. I fill up on healthy, low-cal stuff and get towards the end of the day and realize I need to eat a handful of walnuts to reach my daily goal!
It's not that this has been a problem all my life - hardly - it's simply a result of drastically changing one's eating/moving habits, and finding the right balance.
Just get your cals from a good source - or use them for a small treat. (I had 4 oz glass of red wine and 2 squares of dove dark chocolate after dinner tonight with my extra!

Ah, that makes sense. Or, actually, it makes no sense at all... Look, I make no claims of being an expert, but there's one thing I do know: Those that "crash diet" have a very low likelihood of reaching their goals, much less staying there for any length of time. And don't fool yourself, even if you're "eating healthy", it's still a crash diet if you go from no exercise and eating whatever you want to exercising like crazy and eating 1200 "clean" cals or less a day. The most sensible way to approach a huge goal like this is to make small slow changes until they stick, then make more small, slow changes. Eventually you'll get to where you want to be, and because you took a slow reasonable approach, you are also retraining yourself for a lifetime of fitness, instead of one filled with crash and binge.

Just my .02. Take it for what it's worth.

elizabethis

It comes from being too careful - you go from eating whatever you want whenever you want, to suddenly watching everything that goes into your mouth. Sometimes we become a little overly careful and avoid any calorie-dense foods. I'm dealing with that myself right now. I fill up on healthy, low-cal stuff and get towards the end of the day and realize I need to eat a handful of walnuts to reach my daily goal!
It's not that this has been a problem all my life - hardly - it's simply a result of drastically changing one's eating/moving habits, and finding the right balance.
Just get your cals from a good source - or use them for a small treat. (I had 4 oz glass of red wine and 2 squares of dove dark chocolate after dinner tonight with my extra!
[/quote]

Yep, ^this (which wasn't posted when I started my post on a similar observation).

Also, for many who consistently find themselves at the end of the day and they're way off of their target...I consider that more of a planning failure than it is a problem with appetite. You may need to ignore appetite for a while until you get things back on track. (Arguably, for people who are currently overweight, (absent a medical issue to the contrary), they likely ignored appetite to end up there...so why not ignore it when you're working on a long-term solution?)
[/quote]

I agree with these thoughts. Try ore-planning your food for a day. It can really help. Since I have been consciously setting about eating more protein, it forces me to choose foods i might not otherwise have eaten. It's like a little challenge or puzzle to piece together. A good looking diary day can be rewarding in itself. Ignore your appetite for a bit (as suggested above) and put that puzzle together. Good luck. Keep reading and learning and seeking answers to questions.

DavPul

from someone who went from overeating constantly, to having trouble reaching 1200 calories... here's why.
It's very easy to eat a pint of ice cream, for 1300 calories, with no nutrition and still be hungry, and then have 800 calories worth of pizza, which is carb heavy, and im hungry a little later, so i have a sandwich on thick bread with potato chips... but now i want something sweet and have a chocolate bar. Super easy to eat over maintenance when you eat crap.
Now, switch to healthy low calorie foods, which is what a lot of people do when they decide to lose weight, not just eat less, but eat better... It's pretty hard to eat 3000 calories worth of cottage cheese, berries, vegetables and baked chicken! It took me a while to realize, oh, i can have things with fat and that's ok, im not looking for the lowest fat lowest carb lowest sugar, im just looking to eat healthy foods, and stay within my goals. So now i have avocado in my salad, love nuts for a snack, and don't feel guilty if i buy low fat dairy instead of skim.

Well stated.

sooooo....now that we've established that baked chicken and cottage cheese are hard pressed to combine for 2000 cals, why can't we add a tall glass of chocolate milk to one of our meals? That's 400 cals of nutrition right there that's cheap, easy to find, and nobody is too full to drink 16 oz of chocolate milk. How about eating that thick breaded sandwich for dinner? You do still know how to make that delicious sandwich, don't you?

I have days when I have to eat 4000-5000 cals for recovery reasons. THAT is hard to do on clean and lean foods. But 1200? Come on, man. Stop making excuses and drink the milk.

Aviva92

OP, please don't take offense, but I see posts like this periodically and I seriously don't get it. Can you help me understand how someone gets 40 lbs overweight without knowing how to eat more? Personally, I'm an expert in eating too much. My problem is learning to eat less.

Again, I'm not trying to be mean, even though I know it may come across that way. I really just have a hard time wrapping my head around the concept here.

i have the same problem as the o.p. quite often. i was never overweight, but was close to it. the issue is when i eat healthy foods instead of junk it has far fewer calories, so i get full quicker. i could easily go back to junk and gain it all back. there just isn't that many calories in a brussel sprout.

elisa123gal

this post underscores the host of problems many of us face. Or shall i say the range and scope of the problems discussed on mfp. All i can say, is something is wrong if you find it hard to eat 1200 calories a day. Sounds like a real food issue problem and looks like you're not alone.

chrisdavey

Otterluv

I second the chocolate milk suggestion. You can put some punch in it and add a nice protein powder as well. In fact, I'm gonna' go do that right now......

elyelyse

from someone who went from overeating constantly, to having trouble reaching 1200 calories... here's why.
It's very easy to eat a pint of ice cream, for 1300 calories, with no nutrition and still be hungry, and then have 800 calories worth of pizza, which is carb heavy, and im hungry a little later, so i have a sandwich on thick bread with potato chips... but now i want something sweet and have a chocolate bar. Super easy to eat over maintenance when you eat crap.
Now, switch to healthy low calorie foods, which is what a lot of people do when they decide to lose weight, not just eat less, but eat better... It's pretty hard to eat 3000 calories worth of cottage cheese, berries, vegetables and baked chicken! It took me a while to realize, oh, i can have things with fat and that's ok, im not looking for the lowest fat lowest carb lowest sugar, im just looking to eat healthy foods, and stay within my goals. So now i have avocado in my salad, love nuts for a snack, and don't feel guilty if i buy low fat dairy instead of skim.

Well stated.

sooooo....now that we've established that baked chicken and cottage cheese are hard pressed to combine for 2000 cals, why can't we add a tall glass of chocolate milk to one of our meals? That's 400 cals of nutrition right there that's cheap, easy to find, and nobody is too full to drink 16 oz of chocolate milk. How about eating that thick breaded sandwich for dinner? You do still know how to make that delicious sandwich, don't you?

I have days when I have to eat 4000-5000 cals for recovery reasons. THAT is hard to do on clean and lean foods. But 1200? Come on, man. Stop making excuses and drink the milk.

Not sure if you didn't read the end of my comment, or if part of your comment was just not directed at me but, I don't see any excuses in what I wrote? I stated that once I learned more about proper nutrition, I did start to eat more, fattier, higher calorie foods and feel fine about that. I have absolutely no trouble getting well-past 1200 now! We start out uneducated, it takes a while to find our way. The only "excuse" i will claim, is that in my first couple of months, I just didn't know how to eat right.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

this post underscores the host of problems many of us face. Or shall i say the range and scope of the problems discussed on mfp. All i can say, is something is wrong if you find it hard to eat 1200 calories a day. Sounds like a real food issue problem and looks like you're not alone.

x2

carenscuisine

i had a problem with calcium too, I take the calcium + vitamin D gummies but if you are not keen on supplements, try Almond milk, its really good and has 45% of your calcium needs in 8 oz