1200 Calories

Is anyone else on here limited to 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'9" 159 lbs and trying to get down to 135 lbs. I am having a difficult time keeping it at 1,200! I used to be one of those people who could literally eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound.

What are some of your favorite foods that keep you at your goal? What do you avoid at all costs? Once the snow melts I plan to start hiking again so I imagine I will be able to eat more calories, but for now this sucks!

you set your weekly weight loss goal to be too extreme. relax it. you should not eat at 1200 calories. very, very few people will do well at that level. almost everyone else will ultimately sabotage their efforts at that level. the MFP calculations don't sanity check your CW and your GW to make sure your desired weight loss rate is appropriate. if you want to lose 24lbs and set your rate at 2lbs per week, then that's too aggressive. try 1lb per week or perhaps 1.25lbs per week.

also, if you're always hungry even after resetting your goals, you can do more exercise and eat back those calories.

exactly this.

I'm willing to bet that 95% of MFP users sign on and immediately set their goal at 2 pounds per week, regardless of how much they have to lose. They get stuck with lower levels, fizzle out, and quit.

Set it to a more realistic goal depending on what you have to lose and take your time with it.

Is anyone else on here limited to 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'9" 159 lbs and trying to get down to 135 lbs. I am having a difficult time keeping it at 1,200! I used to be one of those people who could literally eat whatever I wanted and not gain a pound.

What are some of your favorite foods that keep you at your goal? What do you avoid at all costs? Once the snow melts I plan to start hiking again so I imagine I will be able to eat more calories, but for now this sucks!

1200 is the NET after exercise, and even then, if you're NOT exercising, its too low. Eat more. If you're hungry eat more.

I just adjusted to 1 lb per week and it changed my intake to 1,400 calories. What do you mean by NET after exercise? I am slow at this stuff.

1400 is what you should be hitting on rest days. On days you workout you should be eating more so that when you factor in cals burned you're still hitting 1400.

i.e...
rest day: you eat 1400, you burn 0, so you net 1400
workout day: you eat 1400, you burn 400, so you net 1000. You need to eat an additional 400 cals to make up for the 400 you burned.

Most of the people "limited" to 1200 calories are limited due to a self-imposed limitation. For most, it's too low of an intake to create a sustainable change.

Most of the people "limited" to 1200 calories are limited due to a self-imposed limitation. For most, it's too low of an intake to create a sustainable change.

Agreed.

sustainable change.

This is a big factor. A diet you don't like is one you'll drop at the first excuse. It's better to lose at a slower rate while following a plan you can stick with than to lose quickly with a plan that makes you dream of the day you're done "dieting".

I'm at 1200 calories a day and set my goal to a pound and a half a week. It hasn't been working too well (although I did drop 7 pounds gained while traveling very fast). Admittedly, I'm not a stickler to it every day, I prefer to look at the whole week and see where I fall at the end. I also just started getting back into exercising regularly (CrossFit) and I'm starving so I eat back most of my exercise calories.

On days I don't work out, 1200 isn't too hard for me food wise. Wine kills me. But, I stay pretty full by eating cut veggies throughout the day, drinking water, having a snack around 4 and dinner around 6.

I'm always open to tips from others.

I'm at 1200 calories a day and set my goal to a pound and a half a week. It hasn't been working too well (although I did drop 7 pounds gained while traveling very fast). Admittedly, I'm not a stickler to it every day, I prefer to look at the whole week and see where I fall at the end. I also just started getting back into exercising regularly (CrossFit) and I'm starving so I eat back most of my exercise calories.

On days I don't work out, 1200 isn't too hard for me food wise. Wine kills me. But, I stay pretty full by eating cut veggies throughout the day, drinking water, having a snack around 4 and dinner around 6.

I'm always open to tips from others.

i'm pretty sure 1200 is too low for you.

did you calculate your BMR? do you know your Harris-Benedict activity level? how much exercise are you doing?