feel hungry if I go for 1200 calories / day
Replies
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I am on around 1200 calories a day and feel absolutely fine. I have lowered my carb intake but not cut it out completely- just restricting breads, pastas, rice, potatoes etc so they are not a fundamental part of every meal.
For dinner tonight I will be eating two fresh tuna steaks (well, cooked from frozen, but you know what I mean, not tinned stuff), and a pack of mixed aromatic stir fry veg which normally serves two- the whole lot wrapped in foil with herbs and spices added, and baked/steamed in the oven. Total 318 calories, 8g carbs, 9g fat, and a whopping 48g protein. The amount of veg is great because it provides limited carbs, lots of goodness (iron and vits etc) and is low calorie whilst also filling me up. I'd say this is a 'substantial' meal in dietary terms, rather than a smaller ready meal or other food combinations which would probably also fill me up but contain less goodness and add another 100 calories or so to my daily total. Eating my tuna and veg meal means I also have calories left over for a fat free yogurt or similar.
As regards the rest of my day, I eat a lot of salad and fruit, lean meat (usually chicken) and low fat or fat free dairy options as well. I allow myself the occasional portion of 'good' breakfast cereal (high fibre, none of this added sugar rubbish) or rye bread (for example) so I'm not cutting out the processed carbs completely. With the rye bread I can have a triangle of low fat cheese spread and a slice of good quality ham, perhaps some sliced gherkins, and it's lovely.
The above process works for me. I always come in at the 1200 mark; I have adjusted my target fat and carbs down and my target protein up, and I meet these targets too. Works fine for me and I am very rarely hungry. I would contend that it is a LOT to do with your food choices and combinations, and I would add that if you make sure you are drinking your two litres a day this also helps keep you feeling satisfied.0 -
Hello Nidhi! You said that if you restrict to 1200, then you get so hungry that when you get home you don't make good choices. This is a problem with trying to lower calories too much. I don't know how much you are used to eating, but probably quite a bit more than 1200 calories. Most people jump in to weight loss with the idea that "If I drop my calories very low, I'll lose a lot of weight"... Maybe, but maybe not. There is a group on here that is taking a slow approach to weight loss, so that we can maintain muscle while losing weight, as well as not feel hungry all the time. Please find us by searching for Eat More to Weigh Less and read through some of the information. Basically, you calculate the number of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight. Then you cut 10% of those calories out of your diet and do exercises to maintain muscle while you are dieting. You will find that you can eat MUCH more than 1200 calories, build muscle, and lose fat. I'm not the expert, so please find the group and read up on it. The people in the group are SO helpful and encouraging... and anyone would be happy to help you calculate your numbers. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide!
Beth0 -
Try upping to 1400 calories? 1200 is very hard to maintain and really if you have an active lifestyle it's probably toooo low.
exactly how i used to feel, i upped my calories to 1400 and if i exersize i eat another 200 or so...that way you feel satisfied and dont grab any random foods.0 -
sorry i miss read your comment. my apologies
but im going to as what did you mean by "...as their body has less weight to move around, and therefore requires less energy to do it. " ?
I meant to say that as one progresses in their weight loss, their energy expenditure will lower as well because their body doesn't have to work as hard as it once did when functioning at a heavier weight. Of course muscle mass, or lack of, factors into metabolism as well. I suppose this applies more to people with larger amounts of weights to lose...0 -
Hi,
Apologies if this post has already been suggested but a while back I got recommended this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
It works out how many calories you should be eating depending on your body fat percentage, etc. I worked it out for my information this morning and if I cut my daily calorie expenditure by 20% it says I can eat 1800 calories a day and still lose weight. MFP gave me 1200 as a goal and I found this difficult so I'm going to give 1800 a try and see if it makes any difference.
^ THIS!
1) Work out what you need to stay alive at your height, weight and body fat %
2) Work out what you need to support your activity level
3) Minus a safe calorie deficit that will support your bodily systems, exercise AND make you lose weight
= Happy body!
I was trying to stay at 1300 for a long time. Sure, I lost at first and thought I felt fine on it but stopped losing and staying on track became difficult. I used the link above and worked out my numbers. Ate at 1500 for one week and BAM, lost 2.6 lbs and one inch on waist and hips after a 5 month stall out and felt fantastic!0 -
im curious.. do most people on here think that if you don't consume "1200" calories for your vital organs to survive, you will cease to exist? Correct me if I'm wrong, but i think.... i think the body knows a magical trick of converting fat storage into energy?
Yes, if the body in question has a lot of fat stores available. In someone with a smaller amount of body fat, the body will break down muscle mass for energy, thus reducing metabolism. Vital organs are also muscle so sooner or later these will start to shrink too. Decreased brain and heart muscle is not something I strive for.
Actually, it will break down muscle EVEN IF the person is overweight and has plenty of fat stores available. It's a response to starvation. The body is programmed to work that way.
I'd love to read the medical research on that.. can you give me your sources?0 -
it is ok to eat less than 1200 calories a day.. I believe your view on this is very myopic...
It is for someone, but NOT for everyone, because "everyone is different, everyone has different goals etc..." See what I did there? My personal belief is that if you're going to toss out a specific number like 1200 and tell them to eat that much until they reach their goal, it would be a good idea to do the math and see if that is the appropriate number of calories for that person to eat to achieve a healthy and maintainable weight loss.Everyone is different, everyone has different goals etc.. Saying you can't do this or that is a bit silly... The whole your metabolism slows down is a nice exaggeration that everyone LOVES to throw around. Will your metabolism slow down? Yeah...when? When your body fat percentage goes down a very large amount (usually around 5 percent)...
Um, you do realize that your body's goal is to stay efficient, and as you lose weight your body is going to adjust (lower) your metabolism so that it doesn't have to exert more energy than needed, right? Basic stuff here. I'm not even a "starvation mode" alarmist, but you can't really dispute that the metabolism lowers with weight loss.
Um....Yeah.. ok.0 -
it is ok to eat less than 1200 calories a day.. I believe your view on this is very myopic...
It is for someone, but NOT for everyone, because "everyone is different, everyone has different goals etc..." See what I did there? My personal belief is that if you're going to toss out a specific number like 1200 and tell them to eat that much until they reach their goal, it would be a good idea to do the math and see if that is the appropriate number of calories for that person to eat to achieve a healthy and maintainable weight loss.Everyone is different, everyone has different goals etc.. Saying you can't do this or that is a bit silly... The whole your metabolism slows down is a nice exaggeration that everyone LOVES to throw around. Will your metabolism slow down? Yeah...when? When your body fat percentage goes down a very large amount (usually around 5 percent)...
Um, you do realize that your body's goal is to stay efficient, and as you lose weight your body is going to adjust (lower) your metabolism so that it doesn't have to exert more energy than needed, right? Basic stuff here. I'm not even a "starvation mode" alarmist, but you can't really dispute that the metabolism lowers with weight loss.
Um....Yeah.. ok.
Glad we came to an understanding, cheers! :drinker:0 -
847 cals worth of food for me today, a 600 cal run & all the extra burning off. I'm full & had dinner already. Not hard to fill up if you choose right. MY dinner is enough to feed 2 people easy yet I have it all to myself.
I still have over 1900 cals I can eat today & I'm still at -602 for my Net.
Having a negative net every once in a while? Totally fine, it happens. Consistently having a negative net/undereating? Not something to be proud of, it will catch up with you sooner or later.
Hardly under eating at all. In fact I eat a fair amount & am full easily. I'm not going to eat more when my stomach is saying stop. On most day's I'll be negative, but then I workout hard.0 -
847 cals worth of food for me today, a 600 cal run & all the extra burning off. I'm full & had dinner already. Not hard to fill up if you choose right. MY dinner is enough to feed 2 people easy yet I have it all to myself.
I still have over 1900 cals I can eat today & I'm still at -602 for my Net.
I don't know why people still think 1200 is a magic number.
Not something to brag about or strive toward. In fact it is detrimental to your health, weight lost, muscle building, metabolism....there is actually NOTHING positive about this. If you've done any research you would know that. One day isn't going to kill you but I wouldn't go around preaching starvation diets. I promise you if that's what you do on a consistent basis you WILL fail. If you're luck.y
Other option is death but hopefully you come to your senses before you do any lasting damage to your body. Educate yourself. Speak to a doctor, a trainer... whatever but don't go around preaching unhealthy eating habits.
OP- Don't listen to this. It's complete and utter nonsense and NOT what you should be trying to do.
With the amount of calories I burn when I run each day... I think I'll survive. I can & do eat quite filling meals. Any damage would have shown itself months ago. I been at this for 10 months now & well, I'm fitter than ever, have more muscle tone than before & do not get sick when the rest of my brood do. I have far more energy than them as well.
I didn't tell the OP to do what I do, but the fact that it is more than easy to fill up on 1200 & even then IT'S NOT A MAGIC NUMBER..... you will not waste away if you eat less than that. In fact a lot of Dr's put people on plans of 1000 or less.
Not my problem if people can't fill up.0 -
847 cals worth of food for me today, a 600 cal run & all the extra burning off. I'm full & had dinner already. Not hard to fill up if you choose right. MY dinner is enough to feed 2 people easy yet I have it all to myself.
I still have over 1900 cals I can eat today & I'm still at -602 for my Net.
Having a negative net every once in a while? Totally fine, it happens. Consistently having a negative net/undereating? Not something to be proud of, it will catch up with you sooner or later.
Hardly under eating at all. In fact I eat a fair amount & am full easily. I'm not going to eat more when my stomach is saying stop. On most day's I'll be negative, but then I workout hard.
Eating 900 calories and then burning 700 calories in the same day is under eating, how is it not? Especially for someone who is not morbidly obese. I used to belong to the "Burn as much/more calories than I consume!" school of thought. It didn't end well for me, and it doesn't for the majority of people, but I guess you're a special case.0 -
So, you feeling so full all the time has absolutely nothing to do with your body's response to being severely underfed for 10 months?847 cals worth of food for me today, a 600 cal run & all the extra burning off. I'm full & had dinner already. Not hard to fill up if you choose right. MY dinner is enough to feed 2 people easy yet I have it all to myself.
I still have over 1900 cals I can eat today & I'm still at -602 for my Net.
I don't know why people still think 1200 is a magic number.
Not something to brag about or strive toward. In fact it is detrimental to your health, weight lost, muscle building, metabolism....there is actually NOTHING positive about this. If you've done any research you would know that. One day isn't going to kill you but I wouldn't go around preaching starvation diets. I promise you if that's what you do on a consistent basis you WILL fail. If you're luck.y
Other option is death but hopefully you come to your senses before you do any lasting damage to your body. Educate yourself. Speak to a doctor, a trainer... whatever but don't go around preaching unhealthy eating habits.
OP- Don't listen to this. It's complete and utter nonsense and NOT what you should be trying to do.
With the amount of calories I burn when I run each day... I think I'll survive. I can & do eat quite filling meals. Any damage would have shown itself months ago. I been at this for 10 months now & well, I'm fitter than ever, have more muscle tone than before & do not get sick when the rest of my brood do. I have far more energy than them as well.
I didn't tell the OP to do what I do, but the fact that it is more than easy to fill up on 1200 & even then IT'S NOT A MAGIC NUMBER..... you will not waste away if you eat less than that. In fact a lot of Dr's put people on plans of 1000 or less.
Not my problem if people can't fill up.0 -
847 cals worth of food for me today, a 600 cal run & all the extra burning off. I'm full & had dinner already. Not hard to fill up if you choose right. MY dinner is enough to feed 2 people easy yet I have it all to myself.
I still have over 1900 cals I can eat today & I'm still at -602 for my Net.
I don't know why people still think 1200 is a magic number.
Not something to brag about or strive toward. In fact it is detrimental to your health, weight lost, muscle building, metabolism....there is actually NOTHING positive about this. If you've done any research you would know that. One day isn't going to kill you but I wouldn't go around preaching starvation diets. I promise you if that's what you do on a consistent basis you WILL fail. If you're luck.y
Other option is death but hopefully you come to your senses before you do any lasting damage to your body. Educate yourself. Speak to a doctor, a trainer... whatever but don't go around preaching unhealthy eating habits.
OP- Don't listen to this. It's complete and utter nonsense and NOT what you should be trying to do.
With the amount of calories I burn when I run each day... I think I'll survive. I can & do eat quite filling meals. Any damage would have shown itself months ago. I been at this for 10 months now & well, I'm fitter than ever, have more muscle tone than before & do not get sick when the rest of my brood do. I have far more energy than them as well.
I didn't tell the OP to do what I do, but the fact that it is more than easy to fill up on 1200 & even then IT'S NOT A MAGIC NUMBER..... you will not waste away if you eat less than that. In fact a lot of Dr's put people on plans of 1000 or less.
Not my problem if people can't fill up.
Ooh nooooo, this ^^^^^ is not sensible. I used to work to deficits and as soon as I reached my target weight and relaxed a little it all started piling back on. Plus you only feel full because you have trained your body to survive on minimal nutrition. It will catch up with you at some point. It's not safe and any doctor would agree. This is very poor advice.0 -
847 cals worth of food for me today, a 600 cal run & all the extra burning off. I'm full & had dinner already. Not hard to fill up if you choose right. MY dinner is enough to feed 2 people easy yet I have it all to myself.
I still have over 1900 cals I can eat today & I'm still at -602 for my Net.
Having a negative net every once in a while? Totally fine, it happens. Consistently having a negative net/undereating? Not something to be proud of, it will catch up with you sooner or later.
Hardly under eating at all. In fact I eat a fair amount & am full easily. I'm not going to eat more when my stomach is saying stop. On most day's I'll be negative, but then I workout hard.
Eating 900 calories and then burning 700 calories in the same day is under eating, how is it not? Especially for someone who is not morbidly obese. I used to belong to the "Burn as much/more calories than I consume!" school of thought. It didn't end well for me, and it doesn't for the majority of people, but I guess you're a special case.
Actually it's because I am so active that I burn more, I can't help it if my meals dont come to the magic number of 400 per meal. I do not AIM to burn more than I eat, it just happens like that. I run 10km & there goes 600 calories or more..... so should I stop running just so everyone else feels better?
I should also mention that I burnt over 1500 cals today without even trying, only 600 or so were from my run today. I'm now 49 Net..... so I have eaten more than 1200 calories..... perhaps I should eat more for you lot so my Net is 1200 even though that would mean pigging out & feeling sick right before I hit bed????
Not a magic number.0 -
Hi,
Apologies if this post has already been suggested but a while back I got recommended this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
It works out how many calories you should be eating depending on your body fat percentage, etc. I worked it out for my information this morning and if I cut my daily calorie expenditure by 20% it says I can eat 1800 calories a day and still lose weight. MFP gave me 1200 as a goal and I found this difficult so I'm going to give 1800 a try and see if it makes any difference.
Yup, this. I'm 5'4" 130 pounds and still losing body fat while eating 1,800 calories per day.0 -
Exactly this!
quote]847 cals worth of food for me today, a 600 cal run & all the extra burning off. I'm full & had dinner already. Not hard to fill up if you choose right. MY dinner is enough to feed 2 people easy yet I have it all to myself.
I still have over 1900 cals I can eat today & I'm still at -602 for my Net.
I don't know why people still think 1200 is a magic number.
Not something to brag about or strive toward. In fact it is detrimental to your health, weight lost, muscle building, metabolism....there is actually NOTHING positive about this. If you've done any research you would know that. One day isn't going to kill you but I wouldn't go around preaching starvation diets. I promise you if that's what you do on a consistent basis you WILL fail. If you're luck.y
Other option is death but hopefully you come to your senses before you do any lasting damage to your body. Educate yourself. Speak to a doctor, a trainer... whatever but don't go around preaching unhealthy eating habits.
OP- Don't listen to this. It's complete and utter nonsense and NOT what you should be trying to do.
[/quote]0 -
lol... It's really interesting to see all the people who think their way is the only way because Cosmo, or Men's Fitness said so..
Limit your calories, lose fat... No one said to eat 100 calories (or less than the magical 1200) for the rest of your life, it's the game-plan to lose the fat that you have now..
And anyone who says, "i gained all the weight back and then some"... Here is a concept, maybe don't eat more than your body needs to sustain it's fat/lean muscle mass..
What are you going to say next.. if i don't eat 5-6 small meals a day, im destined to fail too?
You guys should try some research other than Dr.Oz0 -
lol... It's really interesting to see all the people who think their way is the only way because Cosmo, or Men's Fitness said so..
Limit your calories, lose fat... No one said to eat 100 calories (or less than the magical 1200) for the rest of your life, it's the game-plan to lose the fat that you have now..
And anyone who says, "i gained all the weight back and then some"... Here is a concept, maybe don't eat more than your body needs to sustain it's fat/lean muscle mass..
What are you going to say next.. if i don't eat 5-6 small meals a day, im destined to fail too?
You guys should try some research other than Dr.Oz
This is the best post so far Well said 0 -
Thank you! That site gave me a good idea of how to figure my food out.0
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This is a great idea to plan it before hand for the next day. I will definately do this.0
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Wow, that really turned into something. All I know is that I have to adjust on days I don't run. It is hard. If I am bored, I get hungry because of boredom. I have been up to 50 pounds lost. On days I don't run, I can feel the bloating but my body can't take running every single day. I also do other things but my key is running. I intake calories every three hours. It maybe a protein shake, egg whites or something along those lines. If I keep my routine, I am good.0
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bump0
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Stock up on protein snacks, that will leave you feeling more satisfied and full for longer periods of time. Here are some great foods to snack on that will stop you from feeling hungry:
- Peanut butter on apple slices/celery/banana/etc
- Hummus with toasted tortilia wrap cut into chips (w.w tortillia)
- Boiled egg
- Nuts (limit yourself as these are high in calories and make sure they're unsalted or else you can't stop lol)
- I LOVE Silhouette Yoghurt, at 35 calories a serving you can add additional fruit in
- Frozen grapes
There are lots of other options, google healthy snack ideas and like I said, protein is your biggest friend. You should try the Fat Flush diet it's great for this.
Avoid ALL types of bread, flour, cakes, starch and sugar. Empty calories, they leave you craving more and don't satisfy you.
How are they empty calories? They provide no energy or nutrients?
They do not necessarily leave people craving more - that is a totally individual response.
Yeah, I don't know why people say that. Bread fills me up. I have always had to make a point to eat my meat and veggies first so that I don't fill up on bread. To me it is filling, not a catalyst for cravings.0 -
Yeah, I can never understand how people can do 1200 calories a day for more than a few days without getting really cranky and tired. I tend to naturally calorie cycle. I'll have a few days where I eat around the 1460 calories that MFP recommends, and then I can't take it anymore and have a 1800-2000 calorie day.0
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Try eating more protein. I find hard-boiled eggs to be very filling, and only 70 calories! The cholesterol content is not as high as you'd think, particularly if you're eating boiled eggs. (Scrambled with cheese & bacon is what will do you in!). Try snacking on edamame or soy nuts.0
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OP, is this 1200 before or after you factor in exercise calories? If you aren't eating back your exercise calories I would say to do that, and see how you feel. I can't manage on 1200 calories/day but if I do exercise and eat back even half the calories I find it much easier to stick below 1200 net calories.0
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also I loooove boiled eggs! 0
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You could slow your weight loss to half pound a week.
You could walk a bit or do some other modest exercise to add a few hundred extra calories - I find that helps a lot.
I eat lower glycemic foods (low starch and added sugar) to make sure I don't get insulin spikes, which cause you to get hungry.
I also work very hard at never letting myself get hungry because if I do, I do what you do, and just put things in my mouth. As soon as I'm hungry, I have two or three cashews or eat an apple or have a spoonful of yoghurt or even ice cream. Then I make myself a real meal or solid snack to eat. I almost feel like I'm training my body to know that it will NOT starve and will not be deprived. What I'm probably really doing is keeping my blood sugar at a nice, flat level which keeps hunger at bay and provides me with a nice, steady level of energy and glycolosis.0
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