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1200 Calories

kaylad8528
kaylad8528 Posts: 27 Member
edited January 3 in Health and Weight Loss
If I go over, MFP says I won't meet my projected weight loss,

If I stay under, MFP says I'm risking 'starvation mode'.

I'm not hungry eating 1000 or 1200 calories and don't feel like I need to eat more, but I don't want to enter starvation mode either.

What do I do?

Replies

  • moonpieto
    moonpieto Posts: 76 Member
    You exercise and eat back the calories you earn!
  • kaylad8528
    kaylad8528 Posts: 27 Member
    I have a hard time working in exercise every day though : ( Do I just eat over the 1200 and call it close enough and playing it safe?
  • Jennifer_Lynn_1982
    Jennifer_Lynn_1982 Posts: 567 Member
    What is your goal weight loss/week? Make sure that it's set to 0.5 - 1 pound per week.
  • YaGigi
    YaGigi Posts: 817 Member
    I have the same problem.

    Feel free to see my diary and comment. I'm afraid of that starvation mode. But I can't eat at night and I usually exercise at evening after work.
  • kaylad8528
    kaylad8528 Posts: 27 Member
    Jenn: I have it set to 2lbs because that is what I would like to be losing. Skinny by summer, 7 months away. But, I've been having a really hard time actually meeting that goal. I've only just started, but I don't seem to be making headway.
  • nicleed
    nicleed Posts: 247 Member
    Jenn: I have it set to 2lbs because that is what I would like to be losing. Skinny by summer, 7 months away. But, I've been having a really hard time actually meeting that goal. I've only just started, but I don't seem to be making headway.

    Set it for a pound and don't give yourself time frames that will give you a hard time. As many people have said - this is a lifestyle change. A marathon, not a sprint.
  • nhradeuce
    nhradeuce Posts: 168 Member
    While it is possible to lose weight just by watching your caloric intake, you are going to have a hard time. Your body will adjust and your metabolism will slow down if you are not doing some exercise.

    As a popular internet picture says - 1 hr of exercise is only 4% of your day, there's no excuse. Seriously, if you want to lose the weight, get up 30 minutes early and do some simple push ups and sit up every morning. Or go for a brisk walk or bike ride. Anything is better than nothing. Not only will you lose the weight easier, but the exercise will make you hungry and you get to eat whatever calories you burned in the process.

    Once you get in the habit of getting out and moving every day, you will want to do it and it just becomes part of your routine. Put it on your schedule if necessary or fit it in when you can. Twice a week I run while my kids are at soccer practice. I found a gym that has a high intensity 30 minute work out that I fit in any time I am driving by. I joined a soccer league and have the game times on the calendar. If you really want to, you will find the time and it will be well worth it.
  • mulderpf
    mulderpf Posts: 209 Member
    You didn't put the weight on overnight, don't expect to lose it overnight. Take it a little bit slower. The last thing you want to do is to lose some of the weight fast, but let it have other effects on your body like a stalled metabolism. Once your metabolism stalls (and cutting down on calories for so long means you are heading straight for it!), it will be a very difficult and long process to reverse it, which will simply mean you won't "meet your target" any way.

    How did you put on all the weight when suddenly you can't even eat 1200 calories a day?

    Work out what your BMR and your TDEE is and eat somewhere between this for the safest results that will actually last and not cause issues like plateaus.
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    You might want to check this out:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • kaylad8528
    kaylad8528 Posts: 27 Member
    Nhradeuce - My exercise is usually about 1 hour of walking (4 miles) about 4 times a week. It isn't that I don't exercise and only watch my intake, it's just that I'm confused about what to do on my resting day - go over or stay under.

    Nicleed, Mulder - I put the weight on in 7 months, all 40lbs of it, shouldn't I be able to work it off in 7 months too? I don't consider that overnight, or fast, or a sprint. That's a long time, twice as long as I would need even if I was losing 2lbs a month like I would prefer, which I'm not.

    To answer your question, Mulder: Blue Bell and emotional distress. It isn't that I "suddenly can't even eat 1200 calories a day". The only real change I've made to my daily diet is to stop eating entire cartons of ice cream for dinner. I still have my normal breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I'm eating the same as I was, sans the ice cream, which does nothing to fill me up anyways, since it's basically liquid in your stomach and is processed quickly. So, that's why I don't feel hungry eating what I normally eat.


    Elisa - Thanks! I'll try to read it over.


    And thanks everybody for responding. I'm just having a really difficult time understanding how it all works. I'm a very structure based person, and I'm having a hard time building myself a structure around all this information. : ( Feeling very overwhelmed and like I'm taking shots in the dark since each time I get a new idea, I read somewhere that it isn't right. Really appreciate the input.
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