Help! It feels like I'm starving right now!
jroselive2012
Posts: 129
Does the eating 1200 calories per day become easier the longer you do it? I'm just on day one here and feel like I am not getting enough to eat and can't stop thinking about food. I'm not trying to be dramatic but it probably sound like it. Also, I keep hearing multiple sides to whether or not I should be eating back my exercise cals. I am technically at -40something cals right now, even after having breakfast and lunch. I'm actually feeling panicky!
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It does get easier - hang in there. I can tell you all the cliches like you didn't gain the weight in a day so you can't expect to lose it in a day and wait 20 minutes and the hunger pangs go away - but let's face facts - it is hard and if you want it bad enough you will find the willpower to do it. You need to have patience - I know all you can think about is food when you first start this journey and I won't tell you that after two months I don't still have days like that , but each day forward is an accomplishment and you will find that you won't want to jeopardize what you have accomplished by pigging out. I've been at 1200 calories since I started and I look at other diaries and see calorie goals set higher, but for me I know 1200 is my limit if I want this to work. It is slow going as it is and I don't want to slow it down any more so i have learned to budget my calorie, most of the time keeping the most for my dinner. You need to find out what works best for you and do it. I wish you the very best my friend and here are a few more cliches - hang in there, it gets easier, take it one day at a time, etc. etc. etc. but take it from me they are all true.:flowerforyou:0
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I know and it is HARD!
-Is there anything you can do to take your mind off it?
-Water, water, water.
-Get out of the house.
Good luck0 -
Yes, give your body time. You can try some tricks to help ease the process such as munching on low calorie vegetables (baby carrots, celery, sugar snap peas) or drinking tea or even broth. It is really what I call head hunger versus stomach hunger in that my body wants to eat just to eat.0
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http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
Check out this link to find out if you really should be restricting to 1200 calories a day - probably not!0 -
it gets easier! Hang in there! I have the same calorie goal and when I started I felt like I was starving, two weeks into it I find it hard to even eat the 1200. My advice is eat as many small meals as possible throughout the day and drink tons of water!0
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First of all, if you are that hungry definitely eat something! Since your diary isn't open, I'm not sure what you are eating, but increasing protein and fiber and decreasing grains and prepared/packaged foods helps keep the hungries away.
You just have to say "So what?" if you go over your calories today. Since you are new here, I recommend just to get into the habit of logging your food for a while before you start worrying about losing weight. If you don't know what you are doing wrong to begin with, it will be hard to correct yourself. Get an honest assessment of what your day-to-day eating habits are, what foods you binge on, when you feel hungriest etc.
Definitely eat more protein and fiber, it takes your body 5 times as long to digest protein and fiber than carbs, so you stay full longer.0 -
I think it will get easier. I've only been a member of MFP a short time but I noticed today that I haven't seemed as hungry as I usually do.0
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If you are only eating 1200 and exercising and are hungry. I would say eat more. Trial it. Are you at your lowest goal? Or the highest 2lbs goal? I would change it if you are at the highest and start from there. You shouldn't been extremely hungry.0
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Great advice, thank you!0
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The point is to get results not PUNISH yourself. If you are hungry eat, just eat healthy.0
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Thank you for the advice. I ended up relieving my panic by eating some cottage cheese and yogurt for diabetics (I'm not diabetic, but it's low carb/sugar so I figured it's good). =D0
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I don't agree with only eating 1200 cals per day, esp if you exercise. Did your doctor tell you to do this? If you got the idea just from MFP or friends or whatever then maybe you should get some professional advice. This is supposed to be something you can stick with and the beginning of a lifestyle change. I took off 70lbs over 20 years ago and kept it off! And today I ate 1800 cals..and I'm 40!0
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Sometimes I have days like this...Your body is obviously telling you something if the feeling is this strong. I think you made a great choice to satisfy your hunger! I've found one of my favorites when I'm hungry is 2/3 c nonfat Greek vanilla yogurt with 1 T of Hershey's Dark Chocolate. It's under 200 calories and seems to calm the sweet tooth AND the belly rumbles during these more challenging times.0
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You have plenty of calories left so use some of them if you are hungry. No need to starve yourself. :flowerforyou:0
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Don't know your stats, but it's pretty safe to eat back exercise calories on 1200 for most people. Just don't overestimate your exercise. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Make sure to eat a lot of healthy fats, protein, and fiber on 1200.
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I'm not a fan of the extremely low cal diets, but usually when I get really hungry it's right before a whoosh on the scale. I'll just have a cup of coffee and ride it out.0
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Granted I have since upped my calorie intake to 1500 because the 1200 cals and workouts were making me sick and light headed. I found that carrots, green beans, apples etc helped the snacking problem I have always had. Since watching my eating habits and logging on here, I seriously believe I was throwing my body into starvation mode for most of my adult life because I wouldn't eat and when I did it was junk. I eat more stuff now than I have in forever. Lean meats, fiber, are your friends in this. I have always loved tuna salad, just had to stop with all the icky stuff and go with tuna steaks. Compromise. Love grilled chicken, mashed cauliflower, carrots disks, granny apples, and bananas now I always cook like a mad woman, but now instead of leftover "crap", I have leftover veggies to snack on.
PS. find you a list of negative cal fruits and veggies fills you up but takes more cals to burn than whats in it.....Helps me oodles!!! 0 -
It did get easier for me. In the beginning I had to boil eggs and eat just the whites so the protein would fill me up without all the extra calories. There are only 17 cals in one egg white. I also drank a lot of water/diet koolaid and would eat about 10 almonds now and then. If you're hungry, you probably should eat something, just make it healthy. If you don't eat, you may end up binging and overeat then regret it.0
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I don't agree with only eating 1200 cals per day, esp if you exercise. Did your doctor tell you to do this? If you got the idea just from MFP or friends or whatever then maybe you should get some professional advice. This is supposed to be something you can stick with and the beginning of a lifestyle change. I took off 70lbs over 20 years ago and kept it off! And today I ate 1800 cals..and I'm 40!
I didn't talk to my doc about it, but am going off of where I have been most comfortable with my weight and not wanting to have to buy all new clothes because my normal ones won't button. I talked to one of the trainers at my gym who said the magic number is 1200 cals and lower intensity cardio for me. I was keeping my heart rate high for too long instead of in the fat burning area. Sounds good to me! GREAT JOB on losing 70lbs and keeping it off for so many years! That's success right there!0 -
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
Check out this link to find out if you really should be restricting to 1200 calories a day - probably not!
^^^This!0 -
My first week I felt so hungry all the time, too. So I added a ton of veggies to each meal- steamed, sauteed, grilled, and fresh to literally fill up on. It does get easier as you body gets used to 1200, but I also found that I have to avoid the junky carbs completely. White bread, sugar, pasta, processed crap all made me hungrier than I was right before I ate them. It's like a negative meal (for me)!
Edited to add: Also, exercise more and you can eat more! It's totally awesome!0 -
I don't agree with only eating 1200 cals per day, esp if you exercise. Did your doctor tell you to do this? If you got the idea just from MFP or friends or whatever then maybe you should get some professional advice. This is supposed to be something you can stick with and the beginning of a lifestyle change. I took off 70lbs over 20 years ago and kept it off! And today I ate 1800 cals..and I'm 40!
I didn't talk to my doc about it, but am going off of where I have been most comfortable with my weight and not wanting to have to buy all new clothes because my normal ones won't button. I talked to one of the trainers at my gym who said the magic number is 1200 cals and lower intensity cardio for me. I was keeping my heart rate high for too long instead of in the fat burning area. Sounds good to me! GREAT JOB on losing 70lbs and keeping it off for so many years! That's success right there!
What did MFP calculate for you? At both 1 lbs and 2 lbs a week? Don't go by anything that subscribes to a magic number. One size does not fit all.0 -
it absolutely does get easier! The beginning was definitely the hardest part for me. What worked for me was the following:
cutting out any processed foods: they don't fill you and just make your hungrier shortly afterwards
eat carrots. I munched on them all day the first couple weeks.
apples are a great snack food if you're hungry between meals. they are incredibly filling and when refrigerated crisp and refreshing!
drink water. lots of cold refreshing water. ice cold water. yum.
if you really are hungry, don't ignore your body's request for food! what you should ignore, though, is your body's 'request' for certain foods (i.e. potato chips, processed food, salty foods, treats, etc). Hunger is not the problem. The problem is what you eat in response to the hunger!
You can do it! Just realize it will take a few weeks for your weightloss goals and your body's needs to sync with each other.0 -
Yes, give your body time. You can try some tricks to help ease the process such as munching on low calorie vegetables (baby carrots, celery, sugar snap peas) or drinking tea or even broth. It is really what I call head hunger versus stomach hunger in that my body wants to eat just to eat.
I agree with all this. It took me about 4 months to learn the difference between TRUE hunger and the cravings/boredom hunger/stress hunger that was in my head and NOT my stomach. A lot of times thirst can feel like hunger. I would try a BIG glass of water first.
If you feel that desperate I would go ahead and have some baby carrots, almonds, or celery.0 -
Your net calories for today are 500. (after eating the yogurt and cottage cheese you mentioned). No wonder you feel like you're starving!
That is not enough to sustain a toddler.
Why do people feel the need to starve themselves to lose weight?
I've managed to lose nearly 40 pounds and lots and lots of inches by eating smarter, exercising a bit of portion control, and exercising. And I managed to do it by eating 1500-1800 NET calories per day.
If you really plan to follow the 1200 calorie a day thing, if you look at how MFP works, the goal is 1200 NET (after exercise).
I hope you find something that works for you and that you feel like you can sustain without starving yourself!0 -
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
Check out this link to find out if you really should be restricting to 1200 calories a day - probably not!
This ^0 -
YES IT DOES GET EASIER
drink something calorie free, promise to check with yourself in one hour, tell your fat starving self that you will talk to her later, take a bath, long and bubbly,
then after your next meal, when you are not starving look very hard at the list of vegetables that you like,
when I really saw that I could eat plates full of tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans it made this all very much easier,
I am a volume eater, I have a huge appetite and if this was going to work I had to make different choices,
it took me 6 months to really be fine with smaller portions, but it did happen,
very important cut out entirely sugar and wheat, also reduce sodium and fat,
make better choices0 -
What has trully helped me is protein shakes. I try to drink one every morning or get some kind of extra protein troughout the day. It helps a lot with cravings for some reason (other then pms when all bets are off!). If I eat oatmeal or a lot of carbs early in the day then I'm going to feel starved all day. So try to up your protein. Hope this helps!0
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Hey girl. How you used to eat does affect this. If your body was used to one thing and you change it suddenly to something else the body will try to go back to how you used to be and ask for more food making you feel hungry. It might take some time to adjust but you can do it gradually.
My MFB recommends me to eat 1390. I used to eat twice a day and now I am spreading my calories to eat 5 times a day. I normally eat 1000-1200 and I feel fine. Its all about what you eat within those calories. I suggest breaking meals up. This way every time you get hungry you have a little food and thats enough to kill that hungry feeling till again it comes back and you eat a little more. I also go work out all week and take the weekends off to let the body rest. I don't ever eat my calories back because then it defeats the purpose in my head. I have lost 8 pounds from Friday 8/10 to yesterday. I have decided to weight myself every Sunday now and I'm hoping to continue down this path.0 -
Make sure you are getting lots of protein and fiber! Everyone is different, but I have found that if I eat nothing but carby stuff for breakfast I will be super hungry 2 hours later, but if I have a protein shake and some fruit, or eggs and rice as my first meal of the day I am good for much longer.
If you really are hungry, eat something! but not just anything, almonds are great for getting rid of the munchy feelings, I also keep a tin of Planter's Nut-rition Omega Mix on my desk that keeps the munchy sweet tooth away.
Good luck!0
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