1200-1500 calorie eaters...serious question...

ETA: There is an old adage... "if you are hungy enough to eat an apple, then eat." In other words... if you aren't hungry enough to want an apple then you're probably just WANTING food and not actually HUNGRY. Make sure you can tell the difference in hunger, and just craving food.

That is absolutely fantastic. I'm going to remember that next time I'm "hungry" for chocolate!

1. What's your height/ weight? 5' 5 1/2", 149 pds currently

2. Do you get REALLY REALLY hungry during the day? No
If not, was there an adjustment period? Not really, I never really ate my calories. I always drank them before (not healthy because it was all Monster and white chocolate mochas lol)

3. What do you eat to prevent feeling like death (if you answered that you're not hungry)? N/A


I should also note that I'm pretty sedentary and if I do exercise I feel like I MUST EAT NAO EVERYTHING GIVE IT TO ME. So of course, I eat more those days lol.

For me, there is always an adjustment period. What has worked for me is dividing my plate into portions. Right off the bat, 1/2 should be vegetables, then fill the other two quarters with protein and carbs. Try to eat low glycemic index foods and drink lots and lots of water.

Sometimes when I start cutting back on my calories, I get shaky because my blood sugar is too low, but if I eat some fruit or maybe a bit of protein, I'm fine.

Good luck. It does get easier.

Also, I should note I had an eating disorder in my teens and I don't know if my hunger mechanism works correctly. I go from not being hungry at all till like after 8 hours of not eating a meal (long work shifts) my stomach starts SCREAMING at me lol.

I'm at 1200 a day, and at first it killed me because all the food I was eating before was junk. But now I eat a protein bar in the mornings and that holds me over until like ... 2 or 3 pm if I get hungry then I will eat almonds or 2 peanut butter crackers or an apple (something small but filling) then I eat dinner and dessert (like a fiber one brownie or weight watchers ice cream bar) no later than six. Gum and water have become my best friends and after a month of changing my eating habits I don't get as hungry. (unless my monthly is coming then i'm always hungry lol) Hope this helps you.

I think the defenition of "constantly" needs to be revised, I don't conssitently eat at 1200 or below ALL the time. This last weekend I threw out the rule book and ate above what I normally do to try and get my body back to losing consistently. I could have eaten as many as 2500 calories each day this last saturday and sunday, not to mention about 1800 calories on friday evening. Mostly white rice, tuna, avocado, crab, some bacon, tomatoes, a little cucumber.

I had sushi.

So no, I am not "constantly" undereating, I am "frequently" creating a calorie deficit, with periodic refeeds.

My fewd journal is open, wtf? Is it that hard to check the log of someone who you're going to b!tchslap for being an overweight guy who is eating less?

I'm not going to go and check everyone's diary mate. I believe you when you said what you ate initially. I was a bit dumbfounded but I believed you.

Cal cycling like that is very different to constantly eating that low and the calories over a whole week would be what you should be looking at then. But eating up to 2500 isn't a refeed as a refeed requires a calorie surplus (above maintenance).

e.g. 1200X6 = 7200. 7200+2500=9700. Est TDEE at 175lbs = 2400. 2400*7=16800. Deficit of 7100.

And not trying to argue just trying to help. You DO NOT want metabolic damage.

I would at least watch the first 10mins of this vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QHHzie6XRGk

I have healthy snacks on hand and have found out through trial and error what will help stave off the hungry bugs. I try to eat whole foods, and avoid anything that comes in a packet. A couple of times, I've even made myself eat lunch when I was only 'sort of' hungry. Why? Well, because I go from 'sort of' hungry to ravenous pretty quickly and I like to avoid that point. It's the point where I make bad food choices.

I'm no expert, I read with interest many of the comments made by others and decided that I was going to follow a few simple rules.

1. Don't buy it ready made, make it yourself! This includes salad dressings. (a do make a couple of exceptions with sauces).
2. Buy food that is as little refined as possible. ie. brown rice, wholemeal pasta etc.
3. Fruits as snack foods. (strawberries and avocado seem to keep me satisfied longer)
4. Avoid anything in a packet.

I've also cut out most dairy or at least limited it. And have reduced animal protein to only 2-3 days a week. (not including eggs...which I eat maybe once or twice a week depending on if I feel like it).

Whoever, it was that said if you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then your not hungry enough. I try to follow that philosophy as well.

If I do stray from my path, I avoid the junky junk food. Straying for me is eating out at a restaurant, I will still try to pick the healthiest option. Failing that...I savour my food, and stick firmly to loads of vegies for the next few days.

And with all that said....play around and find out what works for you. It's a bit of trial and error.

PS...I still will have a chocolate every now and again. Because I want to, not because I crave it.

1. What's your height/ weight?

I am 5'6 and 235 pounds. (I have a lot to lose.)

2. Do you get REALLY REALLY hungry during the day? If not, was there an adjustment period?
Some days are worse than others but I tend to snack a lot throughout the day. Usually I'm eating something every 4 hours. I tend to binge on some days but I usually work out to keep it around my goal which is 1400 a day.

3. What do you eat to prevent feeling like death (if you answered that you're not hungry)?
The snack type foods are usually cereal, toast and jam, oranges, lean cuisine makes these 200 calorie spring roll things, they're delicious, and crackers with cheese and turkey.

5'0 and currently about 112, which is up a bit due to months of not "regulating" but when I am losing, I am on 1200-1500 most days. I don't get hungry and didn't require an adjustment period. If I do have those random days where I feel hungry, I just eat. I tend to get hungrier if I eat over this amount though. I tend to have my hungriest days (true hunger and cravings or impulse to eat hunger) when I eat grains--pasta, breads, even though they are gluten free. For this reason, I try to avoid these foods as well as foods with limited nutritional value (typical desserts or junk foods). They take up more calorie room than they are worth to me, basically. When I do eat them, I struggle to stick to 1200-1500 and it isn't usually worth it to me. I don't feel deprived. If I really want those foods, I get them. I just struggle more.

When I'm most successful, I eat a lot of nuts and seeds, protein powder smoothies, fruits and vegetables. I'm happiest this way. It's what I need to move back into actually now. Overall, I don't currently feel as healthy as I did then even though I'm not overweight.