How do you maintain low calorie diet without starving?

It depends on the person. I couldn't survive on 1200 calories. I run therefore I eat. I eat therefore I run. I like food... good thing I like running. I net about 1600-1700 calories/day (so 1600-1700 plus all my exercise calories) and still lose 1 lb/week on average.

Best advice I can give is to make sure each time you eat there's a bit of protein and the highest fiber carbs you can get. Fiber and protein (and healthy fat) will help keep you satisfied. Don't fill up on low-cal/no-cal/non-foods. Rice cakes and 100-calorie packs of stuff will NOT keep you feeling satisfied at all. A little protein, fat and carbs every time you eat and you should be satisfied all day long (though you may need more calories, so exercise and eat back what you burn).

well, that is YOUR perspective...that doesn't mean it has no redeeming qualities. you can easily bulk up pasta by adding in broccoli or spinach...topping it with lean protein and tossing it all together with marinara sauce. many ww brands are 180 calories per serving...so 1.5 servings is only 270 calories, add in 3-4 oz chicken for 120 calories, and 1/3 cup sauce for another 50 and 2 servings broccoli for 60...that's a rather large portion at a total of 500 calories. If someone LIKES pasta it can fit and shouldn't be completely cut out.

Everyone is giving their advice, so take what wouldn't work for you with a grain of salt. OP can decide whether to try changing it or not.

Truth is, Mais......this forum is a good place to get ideas for just about anything, but dont believe everything that is said. Everybody is going to have 10 different ways to accomplish a goal. Jot down these ideas, and try them out for yourself. Give one idea a week, and then give the other idea a week. Figure out what works best for you. I am gettin ideas for breakfast, and was turned on to oatmeal instead of cereal. It works for me. But someone out there may be on the Hummus and taco diet, and is making it work for him. You just have to try different things.

Temptations are bad things. You will be tempted left and right with this and that. I know a thing or two about temptations. I quit smoking 16 days ago after 13 years. I quit it cold turkey....no nicotine substitute. I use exercise. When I am using my lungs, I cannot fill them with smoke. It works. So find a way to fight cravings by countering them. Sunflower seeds are a good sit down and munch food. Takes a while to eat, keeps the hands busy, and gives you good proteins.

Try just going to the market, and spend like a few hours in there. go down every aisle, and read the nutrition facts on the items. compare brands, types, sizes. You will find something that works for you. Noone says you cant do that.

P.S.--- if you buy the meat that needs to be sold quickly, you save a few bucks! Just cook it in a couple days, or freeze it.

Hey there! I am doing just fine on my 1200 calorie diet, and I am not eating my exercise calories back. THIS WORKS FOR ME. I would suggest, if you work out, to eat back your calories for a while. It will help you get to eat more, too! I am slowly attempting to up my caloric intake, gradually. I'm just trying to feel out my body. My BMR is 1250, so this is what works for me. Now on to my diet!

I know what it's like to be a student, and what little time you have. When I was in University, I couldn't pre-cook meals and freeze them. Secondly-- I hate leftovers.

I drink a LOT of water a day. In fact, I ONLY drink water. Tea gives me heartburn. Water it is!! Also helps with water weight. .. Ironically enough.

Here are some ideas that I do for fast food, if it is necessary:

Subway's turkey breast 6" on whole wheat, no cheese: 280 calories (I'm lactose intolerant, so I go with this. Lettuce, tomatoes, spinach leaves, pepper nom nom nom)

Chik Fil A's Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich, no pickles: 280 calories (and only 3 grams of fat! Take the top bun off if you are worried about carbs)

Lean Cuisine's spaghetti: 300 calories. Ok, very carby-- but I ONLY eat this within twenty minutes of a work out. It's kind of like a special treat to me. I don't suggest it for regular days because of it's sodium.

Luna Bars: 180 calories, dense with protein. It digests slowly and keeps me full most of the morning.

Smoothies: Bananas (moderately because of the sugar and tendency to constipate), strawberries, blueberries, unsweetened vanilla almond milk (35 cal per cup) and truvia sugar. Depends on how much you make, but somewhere over 300 calories. Filling and sooooo delicious.

I mostly eat sandwiches-- I'll add avocado if I'm trying to eat more.

Almonds to help me up my caloric intake.

Snacks at night: 100% fruit bars, dreyers--- a little bit of sugar but a healthy alternative to snacks!!

Let me know what you think. I've lost around 23 pounds since May. Maybe it will work for you, too!

Cheers! Feel free to add me to see my diary.

Note: Turkey breast is filling and lean!

I faced the same thing..today my first total week counting at 1200 on low carb. I immediately went to the net and googled "what are the lowest calorie foods".... there were 25 listed and it helped a lot. I'm eating a lot of those...and eating white fish and shrimp as ways to get protein and cut calories so I can add more stuff.

I also eat an Atkins advantage bar everyday..they are so good! I'm still under most days by about 200 calories.

I feel hungry a lot also. I'm trying to 'make friends' with that 'hunger pang' feeling, rather than thinking it's dangerous. I tell myself that pang is the feeling of losing weight, and it's good!

But here are my tricks for avoiding the feeling:
(1) I make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, and load on the protein. It has "staying power" to get me through to lunchtime.
(2) When I feel hunger pangs in the afternoon, I drink a giant glass of water.
(3) Lifting weights seems to kill my hunger pangs, so that's kind of a motivator to get to the gym.

I have been working out and dieting all summer with very little results, by the way. At the beginning of the summer I set my stats to lose one pound per week and guess what? I lost zero pounds per week. So I reset my stats to drop two pounds per week. I immediately started losing weight, but I also started feeling hunger pangs. Maybe it just comes with the territory.

I am glad to know I am not the only one with that feeling! I just need to find a way to deal with it, I guess. My weight seems to go up and down, up and down and I realize I can't be too excited every time I lose a bit of weight. =( Yes, I am trying that breakfast = biggest meal of the day... and I do feel better when I eat a lot in the morning. Thanks for the suggestions!

Good work! Keep it up, and the pounds will eventually come off. The most important exercise you do every day is to keep on keeping on. Quitting gets you nothing.

try eating a big bowl of air popped popcorn if you want spray it with pam and thensalt and a lg glass of water I garenty you wont be hungry at midnight and even if you go over you wont gain weight from it !:flowerforyou:

Huh?? Do tell me what causes weight gain then. yes if you go over but remain in a deficit you won't gain but this is true of any food you eat. "Going over" your TDEE will cause a gain, period.

I can eat all day long and still only hit 1200. Lots of fruits and veggies so I can munch on food all day and nuts and protein to keep me full.

Try eating small "healthy snacks" often and skip the idea of three meals a day. I eat all the time. Oatmeal, yougurt,baby carrots etc. Get awaw from big meals and eat when your body tells you to. Also if you cant keep you caloric intake down, don't feel guilty, just exercise.

For me, I find that I'm not really hungry in the morning so I just drink coffee which seems to curb my hunger until around lunch time. At lunch I eat some sort of low-calorie meal and on days that I'm extra hungry, I add a salad with lots of veggies and fat free salad dressing. Then for snacks I eat fruit to curb my hunger. But the key for me is exercise. I exercise so I can eat more rather than starving myself all the time. For example, I'm planning to burn around 600 calories later on the treadmill, so I get 600 more calories to eat today. To me...that is a huge motivation to exercise each day. But I will admit that when I try to stay under 1200 calories, I am hungry at times.

Just eat as many 0 calorie foods as you can bc they dont count

Agree I like paper (shredded paper goes down easier). That keeps me full all the time.

Ah, that`s the trick!

Eat a low carb, high fat whole food diet to lose weight without hunger. I didn't read any of these other posts so I don't know if it's been suggested and you're not interested or not but here's a link to what I'm talking about:

LCHF for beginners:
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

I can't eat enough calories and I'm worried. I eat and eat, but only get in about 1000 and I'm stuffed. I'm looking for foods to add that won't raise my fats, carbs or sugars too much.... mostly my calories. Someone recommended Hormel 70% fat free pepperoni and that has helped as well as the powdered peanut butter and cream cheese on my wraps.

I find that if I meet my protein macros I am not hungry. I set my macros to 40/30/30 for carbs/fat/protein and it's pretty hard for me to keep my carbs that low, but I can keep my calories down if I try to eat: protein and a fruit for breakfast, protein and vegetable for lunch, protein and a fruit for snack, protein and a vegetable and a complex carb for dinner.

I also like the Jamie Eason approved foods list, you can just pick and choose your preferences for meals. It's here:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer-approved-foods-list.html