1200 CAN'T be enough

Volumetrics baby! The idea is to eat as much food for the lowest calories. For example I stay away from dried fruit unless I'm working out strenuously. The reason being is with the water content in the undried fruit you will feel fuller. Whats more satisfying 1 cup of grapes for 62 calories or 40 raisins for about the same amount? I could have 2 cups of mashed cauliflower with butter for around the same calorie count as one slice of wheat bread.

I am at the same caloric goal. try eatting more protein and find exercises that you enjoy. good luck - you can do this!

I can't do 1200 calories! I am also 5'3". I exercise at least 2 hours a day, 5 days a week and that gives me more food to eat. I consume about 1700 calories a day. I eat 40% Carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein. I focus on eating foods that have high nutritional value and I limit my processed foods. My weight is coming off slowly but I am already a healthy weight (133lbs). I am 39 years old.

What you could do is do it slowly stick to 1500 and slowly make it lesser and lesser 50 calories lesser per week if you can

Another advocate for the Scooby Workshop Calorie Calculator here. I factor in my exercise and chose a 15% cut. Close to goal now so may drop it to 10. 1200 is not enough for you it seems.

I started tracking here in may... 1200 was not enough for me so I kept my goal at 1200 but usually eat over. Sometimes way over and sometimes just a little over. Then there is the occasional day that I eat a little under. I am still losing weight although it is a little slow. 10 pounds since the middle of may. Oh, and exercise as much as possible, that helps.

Yup too low!!! I didnt lose a thing until I upped my calories then the weight came off. I couldnt figure out how I was maintaining at 1200.........it was because it wasnt enough!!

I can only see one day (wed Aug 15th) in your food diary. I know today may not have been like other days, but one thing you might try to do to not feel hungry is eat more protein. MFP sets protein levels pretty low. I've been trying to eat 70-120 grams of protein a day, usually hitting about 90, and have both felt less hungry and lost more weight. I've done this at the expense of carbs, and have tried to cut out the carbs that aren't so whole grain. So for instance, I have been eating burrito bowls with little to no rice and no tortilla, not eating the bun but eating a plain black bean burger or chicken breast, etc. You have a fair amount of carbs, and you may find making a change in the balance will help.

Also, I have found that days I eat more sodium I feel a lot more hungry. I added sodium as one of the macronutrients I can see when I log in, and that's really helped me cut back sodium and feel less hungry. I love pickles, and was eating too many! And I found that there is sodium in a lot of things I didn't expect to have it. It's easy to track, and may be worth a try.

it is enough

then why am I starving?

Because you're used to eating more.

It does work for some, but for me it was not enough. I started at 1200 and just couldn't stay at that goal. I adjusted my weight loss goal to 1/2 lb per week and my calories are now at 1400. I find that those extra 200 calories make a big difference. I also eat back the majority of my exercise calories. IE. On workout days, if I burn 200-300 cal, then I typically eat between 1600-1700 cal per day. That is an entirely different topic. You'll find a lot of posts and topics about the right amount of calories, eating back exercise cal, etc ,etc if you search.

Good luck!

I had the same problem when I started so I knew I needed to exercise so I would be able to eat a bit more. I find that my body is satisfied if I eat around 1400. So I made it a habit to burn some calories with exercise so I was still hitting a net of around 1200.

Also, what are you eating? I found that processed, packaged foods and even foods that I didn't cook myself tend to make me feel even more hungry after a couple of hours. When I actually started cooking my meals, it was amazing how much food I could eat and still be within my calories for the day.

Like avoid eating junk foods and opt for raw veggies and fruits. They typically are so low in calories that it's great

Also soups always fill me up so for lunch maybe have a big bowl of soup?
For snacks, try getting jello (the sugar free one is only around 5 calories!) , rice cakes (they even have rice chips now so it's cool) and of course you can't go wrong with fruits and veggies.

Make sure you're getting your water in, I use to sit at my desk with snacks and now I find that if I'm drinking water throughout the day I'm less likely to snack on junk. Keep a water bottle with you when you're out or working at your desk. It helps

Plan out your meals so you know what you're going to eat, it definately helps me out. Figure out what satisfies you. I use to have cereal in the mornings with milk, which I do sometimes but I find an egg white omelette with 1 slice of toast fills me up more. And it's less in calories!

Oh and like everyone else has already said, start off with 1400 calories and then work from there. If 1200 still seems way to less and you are hungry, then eat a little more.

Good luck think positive you can do it !

I'll add two more notes: the greater the overall deficit, the more important it is to 1)consume high amounts of protein [minimum of 1g per lb of lean body mass]; and 2)engage in moderate to heavy resistance training to preserve muscle tissue or minimize lean muscle loss. Additionally, if at a deficit larger than 25% below maintenance, make sure the bulk of the deficit is coming from calorie restriction and not exercise.

here's the thing. I eat protein with every meal and veggies. I'm not bored right now I'm seriously hungry.

You could easily eat twice as much protein in a day, and cut the carbs accordingly.

You have a high carbohydrate intake, you'll get blood sugar swings that make you feel hungry...

eat a lot of carbs
insulin responds to control blood sugar
blood sugar falls too low
you feel hungry
you eat more carbs
repeat until..........

That BMR link wigs me out. Tells me I should be doing 2344 calories a day! I mostly struggle to hit 1200! At 5'6, 28 and 220lbs, 2344 seems insane!

I'll never get a proper grip on how this works.

The point is, you can eat more than 1200, and you probably should. You have to give your body proper nutrition, and it's hard to do at 1200 calories. If you don't want to eat 2344, you probably don't have to. But try increasing your calories with healthy fats and protein, and I bet you'll feel awesome while still losing weight at a healthy rate.

Use the calculator in the link provided on the first page, or this one: http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspx

Or any. Once you know your BMR and your TDEE numbers, eat somewhere in between. Many people on MFP are consistently losing weight, without being hungry, using this method. Since I started about 6 weeks ago, I haven't felt hungry ever. Not once, except in the mornings right before breakfast.

Don't let yourself be hungry. Eat enough, and your body will thank you.

ETA: There is a 900 calorie difference between my BMR and my TDEE since I started exercising regularly. I eat right at my BMR, or a little more on an intensive exercise day. (depending on my level of hunger) It makes no sense to eat at 1200 calories if your BMR is 1500. You will lose too quickly and it could backfire on you.