Question for people around my size

I'm not quite your size/shape, but my answer is universal.... I'm a little taller/heavier, but can stick to 1200 if I make sure that what I'm eating is GOOD QUALITY; i.e. whole grains, lean protein, etc.
Protein is the main thing that keeps me from being starving all day, lean chicken breast has low calories, low fat, low sodium (if you don't add much or any when you prepare it), and loads of protein..... I rely very heavily on boneless/skinless chicken breasts, and on tuna (looooove the pouches, will open the top and eat it with a fork. :laugh:

If you're HUNGRY, eat more protein. If you're MUNCHY, grab some raw veggies like carrots, celery, etc..... sweet tooth? eat an apple, dipped in yogurt or a tablespoon of peanutbutter, if you need to. You can do this! :flowerforyou:

I'm a lot taller than you so I'm not sure if our size is comparable. I have about 25 pounds to go and I too am at 1200 calories according to MFP.

Do you snack during the day? I try to break up my calories into about 400-500 for dinner and spend the rest on a light breakfast and lunch with both a morning and afternoon snack. That way I'm not famished at dinner (or I'll just snack while I cook). When I first started out I didn't snack at all, cuz in my head it just seemed like a bad idea for dieting, but snacking instead of long breaks between meals also helps keep you metabolism from slowing down as much between meals, so its generally good advice anyway.

Good luck!

I'm 5'4" and started out at 147, my goal is 120. I just upped my calories from 1200 to 1400 yesterday. I can check back with you in a few weeks and let you know if its working out I really think the 1200 was too low for me. Today is my first day eatting 1400 you are welcome to look at my food diary if you want. OOO don't look at yesterday... LOL :laugh: It was bad bad bad!!!

I'm trying to lose around 20-25 pounds also and I try to take in about 1400 calories a day. Plus on the days that I work out I will eat about 200 to 300 more calories because otherwise I feel hungry all the time and don't have any energy, and I'm burning at least 400 calories in my workouts so it is still a deficit. I would think that it would be better to raise your daily calorie limit a little bit. It will take a little bit longer to lose the weight than if you were eating 1200 calories a day, but its more likely that you will actually end up losing the weight because it will be easier to stick to the plan. But if you really want to stick to the 1200 calories a day I would suggest trying to break up the calories as evenly as possible between 3 meals and 2 snacks. If you spend half your calories on one meal, then you won't have a lot for the rest of the day. So maybe 3 300 calorie meals and 2 150 calorie snacks? Not sure how big of a meal you can have with only 300 calories though...
Good luck with everything!

I have started eating bigger meals in the morning, and added a 3pm snack to tide me over until dinner, then I don't overeat. But I'm still STARRRRVING!!! Good luck.

I'm 5'2 and 172lbs (used to be 180lbs). So I'm close enough to your size. Anyways....

The best advice is to plan your meals ahead of time along with some exercise. I use the 1200 calories a day goal too, but since I workout at least 30 minutes a day that gives me around an extra 200 calories to munch on. So that would make my total 1400 calories to eat. Don't forget housework, shopping, and many other activies can be counted for exercise. That can give you an extra 200 calories easily. I don't always eat all my exercise calories because I've learned ways to keep myself from over eating. They are as follows:

1. Drink lots of water. Even if you don't think you are thirsty. Most people mistake thirst for hunger. Drink plenty of water with each meal. Try to get in at least 8oz of water with each meal and snack.

2. Eat a good breakfast. Do not ever skip this meal. If you do you will most likely eat more during lunch and dinner.

3. Eat snacks between meals. Go for about 100 calorie snacks if possible. I used to eat too much for dinner, but now I don't because every day around 3:00 pm I eat a snack. I also have a snack around 10:00am to help with over eating at lunch. I also try to stay away from sugary snacks and go more for fruits, fiber one muffins, protien bars, and etc. Even a small sandwich is a good idea. After 3:00pm I try to stay away from large amounts of sugar that my body won't burn off by the end of the day.

4. Never skip a meal. It makes you feel too hungry and you will over eat. This is for all meals and snacks.

5. Try to eat mostly whole-grains. Whole-grains seem to make you feelling full longer. Not sure why, but they do. Most likely the fiber and the fact they are complex carbs.

6. Fiber. Get lots of it. Try for 20 grams a day. It keeps you feeing full. When I get more fiber in my diet, I get hungry less. Plus people who didn't get enough fiber and changed their diets to get the recommended amount lost 10lbs in a year just because of the fiber intake. It does more than you think.

7. If you still feel hungry after a meal wait 20 minutes before picking up more food. It takes a while for the body to realize it is full. Also sit down to eat. Your body realizes it is full quicker when sitting than standing.

8. If you feel a craving comeing on. Distract yourself. Try to exercise for a while instead. Go on a walk, read a book, or whatever you enjoy. Something to take your mind off of food.

9. Is it hunger you are feeling or something else? Is it the desire to eat instead of actual hunger? Try to figure out if what you are feeling is really hunger or just a craving, desire to eat, thirst, or whatever. I thought this was silly at first, but it works. If everything else above fails this could be the problem. I know that when I started paying attention to if I was hunger or just wanted to munch on cookies, I began to realize that I wasn't as hungery as I thought.

Well I wish you luck on this problem. Remember to take it one step at a time and believe in yourself. You can do it if you put your mind to it!

great tips iris moon!

I'm around your size (5'6" and 154 lbs) and I know that 1200 calories is too low for me. My blood sugar gets too low and I get the shakes, and I don't normally have blood sugar problems. I'm currently eating around 1500 calories and I do just fine. (It's amazing how much of a difference 300 calories can make!)

Personally, I would up your calories. It's better to plan to eat an extra 300 calories (you'll still lose weight!) than to binge every night (or go to bed hungry).

I am 5'5 159 goal is 135. MFP has me on 1480 calories which I have been following. I do not eat all my work out calories but I will eat some depending on what I did. I dont wear a heart monitor so my burned calories are an educated guess. 1200 is just way to low for me

I'm 5'5 and 152 right now....I am at 1400 cal and loosing weight, even when I eat my exercise calories...I know 1200 would be too low for me...it may be the same for you

In looking at your current food diary, I would strongly urge you to add more protein to your breakfast and lunch choices, versus the high carbo loading. I eat eggs (hard boiled or scrambled) at breakfast and fish or chicken at lunch. Protein holds you for longer periods of time! Fortunately I love fresh veggies, so I eat Lots and Lots of them too throughout the day - at least 6 mini meals snacking on carrots, celery, broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc... and find that I am never really hungry. I am on around 1330 calories and losing weight. Hope this helps in your quest!

Hi!
Just something to think about; I recently upped my calories from 1200 to 1300..even just an extra 100 calories has made SUCH a difference! i wasn't STARVING at 1200, but i found i always seemed to go over by 50 calories or so..with 1300 calories I feel like even if I do eat 1275 calories, its still under my daily goal (and not in starvation mode either!). I also feel a lot more content throughout the day (especially if i exercise and gain even more calories to eat) and I've been seeing daily results just these past few days on 1300 calories. It really just depends how your body works!