How to stay at 1260 calories?

deksgrl

Peanut butter sammich and a glass of milk. After the 1260.

Riemersma4

your choice but, to me, 2 lbs a week and living on 1,260 cals per day seems pretty rough. Fitness and health = a lifetime journey.... Don't be in a hurry only to get frustrated.

Back it off to 1 lb per week or even .5 lb per week. if you get frustrated and throw inteh towel, you are no better off.

Taking a longer and slower perspective could actually help you.

Gym for fitness. Kitchen for weight loss. Eat back 75% of your exercise calories.

Good luck!

Rhonnie

MFP had me at 1200 and I found it nearly impossible at this point to stay under (this is a learning curve, as we learn more about what calories are in what foods and what foods satisfy us etc it will be easier to hit those numbers). On top of that I wasn't losing in weight. I upped my calories to 1550 and while the last couple days I've been over by choice, I find it a world of difference as far as being able to do it and feeling full etc. Plus I lost 5lbs the first week I upped it.

now_or_never13

First, 1260 is far too low. Check out in place of a roadmap and go from there.

Second, you eat a lot of processed foods and you eat out a lot. Stop eating Tim Hortons and McDonalds so often. They pack high calories for less nutrients. Prepare your foods yourself with fresh ingredients and you will be able to stick to a calorie limit better.

randomgyrl

Ok I checked out your diary and it looks like the problem is that you are eating a lot of unhealthy foods - lots of chocolate, bagels, big portions of nuts, bread. Find substitutions for these things - instead of Wonder bread eat some high fiber low cal breads or flatbreads. Mini multigrain bagels. A small piece of dark chocolate, less nuts, etc. Its all about making better choices - obviously you can't lose weight/get healthy if you keep eating like you always have. Its difficult to change how you eat entirely, but you will get the hang of it!

This. I agree, if you are comfortable with 1260 and that is where you need to be I feel like it is do-able and can be just fine. The reality is that if you are on a plan where 1260 is your goal, you are going to have to work even harder to make better choices. A chocolate ball for breakfast, or 6 for a snack is not a healthy choice. Try planning out your day in advance, log everything in the morning, or the night before. Planning is key.

AngelaBianco82

Thanks for all your responses. I see that there are lot's of opinions on how many calories one should be eating. When I joined in Mid November I was losing lots of weight quickly at around 1600 calories and eating back most of my exercise calories. Than it recommended I changed my goals so I did and than I was at 1330 but this was quite low. So, I changed my goal to 1 1/2 pounds a week which gave me 1560 plus whatever additional exercise calories, but I only did that for two weeks and didn't lose a thing. I changed it back to 1260 (which was recently) which just doesn't seem to makes me feel miserable.

i'm tired, cranky, and unmotivated. Partly this is because i'm sick, and also not working out.

It's hard to find the right amount.that makes me feel like i'm not deprived. but i'm feeling deprived.....

Yeah.....I know I go out to eat sometimes and that's the issue but most of the time it's coffee. But I agree that I could prepare more and avoid these places with temptations. The chocolate is a comfort thing when i'm sick....been doing that for years but I didn't eat the whole bag like I would normally have done in the past.

I'm trying to be a better version of me.....before I joined the site i must have been eating 0ver 3000 calories and I know in the last three months i have made progress i regards to diet.

I think I might go to a dietitian to get me on the right track

UrbanLotus

It's hard to find the right amount.that makes me feel like i'm not deprived. but i'm feeling deprived.....


I think the reason you feel deprived is because you arne't eating the right things to keep you feel full and satisfied, not because you aren't eating enough calories. The key is eliminating the high calorie foods that don't have much nutrition or don't fill you up - eating 420 calories worth of chocolate balls isn't going to fill you up AT ALL. Instead you can eat an entire meal for that many calories - a chicken breast and a sweet potato for example, and you will be full and not feel deprived. If you eat all your calories in chocolate of course you are going to be deprived.

Moderation is key - I get these Trader Joe's chocolate truffles that are like 50 calories each, and I eat one almost every day, for my chocolate craving, if I have enough calories left and am full. But you need to eat ONE. Gotta make better choices, it isn't fair to say its too hard or whatever if you aren't actually trying.

Lupercalia

Definitely have a look at the In Place of a Road Map thread--tons of great info there, and it works for me. I eat 1800-2000 calories/day.

Regardless of whether you decide to stick with your 1200 calorie diet or switch to something more sensible, you might consider cutting out the sugary foods. The sugar and fast food just leads to more cravings of the same stuff--it's the rollercoaster of doom, and you'll never feel satisfied, especially not on 1200 calories of that sort of junk.

Eat whole foods to feel satisfied and eliminate cravings. Make sure you're getting enough protein and fat to feel full and happy.