I still don't get it

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2

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  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Food choices make a difference. 1370 is not necessarily more sensible than 1200 if the difference comes in the form of an ice cream bar. (I'm not knocking ice cream bars or the people who eat them. I'm not knowing people who eat more than 1200 calories.) The amount of actual food eaten between those two numbers can be very similar. I can eat a whole lot of ice cream bars if I let myself and still feel hungry soon after.
  • Full4Life
    Full4Life Posts: 172 Member
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    My diary is open. The only thing I am not so consitent about logging is water, but I drink between 2-3 litres a day. The ONLY reason I'm able to get to my 1370 goal is 'cause I recently cut out refined sugar, gluten and salt and protein at every meal. I'm doing a lot better, just amazed/frustrated at what others can do and I cannot... or at least feel ravenous while doing so.
  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
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    I've decided most people overestimate calories burnt and underestimate or forget food eaten (I'm sure I do the latter since I'm not losing fast enough.

    I was on a very accurate 1200 a day program at one time, and its not easy, and I was not exercising.
  • windycitycupcake
    windycitycupcake Posts: 516 Member
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    eat more raw vegetables and salad. it fills you up and you can keep eating all day long. i understand why people say 1200 is not enough but if that is your goal for yourself only you can push yourself to do it. you shouldn't drop below 1200 it's dangerous. i would say 1300 is better, depending on your current weight and height. i drop below 1200 all the time and i am still losing weight but i have issues. i do actually get full off of 900 calories a day if i choose my meals wisely. if you are eating over 2500 calories a day i don't think you are going to lose weight very fast if at all. but i am no expert. i just know what works for me.
  • jonibc
    jonibc Posts: 104 Member
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    The longer I'm on MFP, the less hungry I feel. I guess my stomach has shrunk.
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    Who knows and who cares? Why would you want to emulate someone who is netting 300 calories per day?
  • bynonmurrayc
    bynonmurrayc Posts: 37 Member
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    I usually eat around 1200 or less a day, and do pretty intense workouts of 5km on the treadmill combined with weight training. I think the reason I can eat so few calories has to do with what I eat and when I eat it.

    Breakfast: I don't eat breakfast; I have a BIG coffee in the morning with whole milk and sweetner. Then i speed walk 30 minutes to work (usually because i'm late). On days when I wake up hungry I'll hv a 80 cal piece of gluten free toast with an egg white on it (96 cals).

    Lunch: I usually have a salad under 500 calories high in protien with just balsamic vinegar and a little oil/salt/spices. I usually eat this at my desk but I eat extremely slowly so the salad takes me around 1.5 hours to eat. The protein fills me up and i'm completely satisfied for the rest of the workday.

    Snack: While I'm at work I usually either have a sugarfree energy drink or another coffee to get me through the day.

    WORKOUT! I don't like eating before my workouts so after I walk home from work I get right into my gymclothes and walk to the gym. I'm usually still amped up from my energy drink still so I'm not that hungry. I do cardio, weights etc then walk home and get in at around 7:30 - 8. I can't do as good of a workout after I eat because when I eat I just want to go to sleep.

    Dinner: Then I have dinner; I usually have another salad high in protien and if i'm still hungry snack on rice cakes and almond butter.

    I try to chug a bunch of water before I go to bed; i find i wake up less hungry when i'm fully hydrated. I used to eat a lot of almonds and nuts before I joined MFP but realized that they really cost you a lot of calories. I agree with the other posters; it really depends on your body and how you feel; I think I have a pretty slow metabolism so what makes me feel full may not satisfy you. I also follow a fairly gluten free diet, and notice that I don't get cravings/sugar rushes that were usually due to my unstable insulin levels.

    Hope this gave you some insight!
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    I usually eat around 1200 or less a day, and do pretty intense workouts of 5km on the treadmill combined with weight training. I think the reason I can eat so few calories has to do with what I eat and when I eat it.

    Breakfast: I don't eat breakfast; I have a BIG coffee in the morning with whole milk and sweetner. Then i speed walk 30 minutes to work (usually because i'm late). On days when I wake up hungry I'll hv a 80 cal piece of gluten free toast with an egg white on it (96 cals).

    Lunch: I usually have a salad under 500 calories high in protien with just balsamic vinegar and a little oil/salt/spices. I usually eat this at my desk but I eat extremely slowly so the salad takes me around 1.5 hours to eat. The protein fills me up and i'm completely satisfied for the rest of the workday.

    Snack: While I'm at work I usually either have a sugarfree energy drink or another coffee to get me through the day.

    WORKOUT! I don't like eating before my workouts so after I walk home from work I get right into my gymclothes and walk to the gym. I'm usually still amped up from my energy drink still so I'm not that hungry. I do cardio, weights etc then walk home and get in at around 7:30 - 8. I can't do as good of a workout after I eat because when I eat I just want to go to sleep.

    Dinner: Then I have dinner; I usually have another salad high in protien and if i'm still hungry snack on rice cakes and almond butter.

    I'm not judging, but if you're doing that amount of exercise you could definitely eat more. the energy drinks and coffee may be getting you through. if that was the case that wouldn't be good.

    I guess in the end I'd ask not why you can eat such low calories, but why you should, or why you do.

    don't take me wrong, I dont know your TDEE or BMR, BMI or even what your goal is, please dont take this as an attack on you because its not and its possible due to your body type and height that your regime is fine.

    everyone has different nutritional needs. don't compare to your friends!
  • bynonmurrayc
    bynonmurrayc Posts: 37 Member
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    Exercise seems to have very little effect on my weight loss. If I want to loose weight it mostly has to be done by my eating habits. It really sucks, I have a pretty slow metabolism and generally only see weight loss results when I consume around 1000 calories. If I ate anything over 1600 - 1800 I'd gain weight. What makes it worse is having a twin sister at 106 lbs.
  • Sbehlmer
    Sbehlmer Posts: 464 Member
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    What works for one person may/may not work for you....you need to find out what works "for you", & not compare to others as you don't know their medical history. I believe your talking about me, & what you don't know is that I've battled diabetes badly for over 13 years, & have worked with my doctors in getting it controlled, & on this plan it is not only controlled, but I have been removed from all medications, I've lost 65 pounds, I have more energy than I've had in a long time, I've gotten into running & just completed my first 5K over the weekend........

    The main thing is before judging someone on their diary plan/exercise plan, you should first learn why they are doing it that way.....and yes, this plan "FOR ME" is completely healthy, "for you" maybe not, but "for me" it is. :wink:
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
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    I hit right around 1540 calories per day as a 225 pound male, who lifts four times per week, and elliptical on two. I have had almost no hunger issues at that level, but I eat a LOT of protein. Well over 200g per day, and most of it comes from lean meats.

    To me, lean meat is really key. That stuff stays with you for a while. A pound of extra lean ground turkey is only 600 calories, and is almost pure protein. :) Took me four hours to eat all of that the other night.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I've been following the diaries of my "friends" and I just don't understand how they do it. I've upped my activity level and lowered my weight loss goal to give me 1370 calories per day - half the time I feel pretty ravenous on only that. Then, on days when I exercise, even when I'm eating back the calories, I want to eat a whole pizza (I don't, just sayin'). Most days, I'm lucky if I squeak even.

    Then, I look over at my friends' diaries and they're adding in 900-calorie workouts and STILL end up eating an even 1200 day after day after day. How do they do it? Why can't I do it? Especially when they're doing these extra long and strenuous workouts, how do they manage on only 1200 without passing out or eating a bus when I have a tough time maintaining my sensible 1370?

    They have slowed their metabolism down to such a slow level the workouts don't really burn that much either.

    You are also assuming those numbers are correct, even if from HRM, probably way off.

    What normally happens though, is the body will find a way, so probably are tired and do less of other activities. So while they may burn 900, supposedly, in a workout, they no longer burn 500 calories being more active during other parts of the day. Making their net daily burn only 400 from that hard effort.

    Since you are still hungry and appears to haven't killed your metabolism yet, why not switch to a method to feed those workouts.
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
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    ^ I agree with the comments above. This week at lunchtime I ate a whole large can of mackerel. I was SO full for hours and hours. Pure protein, and some good fats.
    You might have to consider the body height and frame of some of your friends too.
  • EdTheGinge
    EdTheGinge Posts: 1,616 Member
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    It's all down to the individual and what your body can handle. Me personally, my MPF calories is 1310 and I rarely make it over 1000 before knocking off the daily cycle to work. My daily intake is :

    Breakfast - usually a banana
    Lunch - some form of sandwich usually chicken with wild rocket
    Snacks - 5 pieces of fruit spread over the day
    Dinner - whatever is going, usually around 250-400 calories
    Water - 8-10 glasses a day

    To me this is plenty as it's not like I'm starving myself just eating low calorie foods. Most will say I'm not having enough of this or that but it works for me and that's the point. It's all about what works for YOU not Joe Bloggs or whoever but YOU.

    Enjoy your day people :)
  • rexzmumu
    rexzmumu Posts: 95 Member
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    i try to stick to the Michael Thermans six week body makeover, i record my food here so i can go back and see my week if i switch things around. if im as strict as they want me to be i ate an average of 700-800 cals, since i modified a few things to HELP(not stop) the cravings i eat average 900-1000. i eat 5 times a day and most of the time im good. if im still hungry i have my 6th meal, no worries. and its not 100% veggies i swear! when you see the numbers its crazy when you see the meals... its not bad. good luck!
  • neohdiver
    neohdiver Posts: 738 Member
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    I've been following the diaries of my "friends" and I just don't understand how they do it. I've upped my activity level and lowered my weight loss goal to give me 1370 calories per day - half the time I feel pretty ravenous on only that. ... How do they do it?

    What worked for me was to figure out what triggers my cravings (or feelings of being ravenous). For me it is sugar and, to a lesser extent, fat. If I consume intensely sugary things in any significant quantity (candy bars or pop for example), I am ravenous.

    Watch your diary and use the notes area to note when you are particularly ravenous - or not. See if there is a correlation.

    I also discovered an anti-craving food - carbs. It helps me in the early stages of getting used to lower calorie consumption to fill my belly with high volume empty carbs (a whole bag of fat free popcorn, a half dozen rice cakes, etc.) Later on, I don't need the volume, but carbs (for me) lessen cravings - so I switch to denser (healthier) carbs - whole grain breads, for example. Roughly the same number of calories, just more dense and healthy..
  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
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    If you are hungry all the time, drink more water, I drink 3lts of water at work, + 4 cups of coffee. I also fuel my body with real food, so i can repair the damage I do to it by cycling. 2100calories or more to net 1000 calories average. When you think you are hungry, you may be thirsty. so drink water, still hungry drink more water, and then eat something high in protein and calorie dense, and a good amount of fibre.
  • bufger
    bufger Posts: 763 Member
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    Check protein intake. i find if i have a lot of protein early in the day it keeps me going for a long long time. I have protein in the morning/mid morning so i can last.
  • murphy612
    murphy612 Posts: 734 Member
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    Eat more protein. I only eat 1200 calories a day but I eat 90g+ of lean protein. The only time I'm hungry is if I work out really hard, then I eat a little more.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I don't get it either. I am losing at 1800 calories, and that's working well for me so far. Some days I have went as low as 1500, but on those days, I didn't exercise and still had three regular meals.

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