I discovered I eat 1200 calories in first half of day :(

Are you trying to eat only 1200 calories total in a day?

Do you have MFP set to lose 2lb a week? If so, change it to 1lb or 0.5lb a week and eat more.

Opening your diary would be good as we could make suggestions on where you could cut back.

I can't see your diary so not sure what you've been eating, but some foods have a ton of calories and just don't fill you up. Try some foods that will make you feel full, I love some oats/oatmeal and fresh fruits for breakfast for example.

I had the same problem, and I decided to read "It starts with food", and everything has changed for the better. I know that not every food plan works for everybody, but this is working for me. I worked out 5 times a week, ate really healthy 80% of the time, and ate sweets far too often, so I couldnt lose weight. Since changing my eating to unprocessed foods, no sugar execept from fruit, I feel 100% better and more in control, and I've only been eating this way for 2 weeks. I cannot recommend reading this book enough. It's a real eye opener. If you eat a ton of veggies throughout the day, you will not need to worry about going over your calorie limit. And yes, I know veggies are boring. I hated veggies until I started reseaching ways to make them actually taste good. There are a ton of websites with great recipes, and suddenly, it isnt so boring to eat them. Good luck!

If you really can't eat around 1200 on average each week, eat more, although you will lose weight more slowly.

Recording food is good for many people who heretofore had no idea how much they were consuming. But if you really can't stand it, work out six to eight meals whose calorie content your sure of and eat them exclusively. And make sure to weigh yourself at least once a week to see if it's working.

I usually eat around 1200 with breakfast, lunch and my morning and afternooon snacks. No way I could eat 1200 total, Those settings that MFP gives are just out of line in my opinion. Get some exercise and eat your exercise calories back. Instead of being depressed feel inspired to get enough activity so you can eat the amount of calories you want. I eat around 1800-2000 a day and can still lose weight just fine. 20 pounds in 100 days this year.

If you are quite active, 1200 calories is not enough for a full day. If I ate maintenance calories I would be eating 2400 calories a day, so yeah, by lunchtime I may well have eaten 1200! You really need to find out your TDEE, and just eat below that, and you will lose weight. Its science. I'm using my phone, so can't put a link here, but hopefully someone else can. Look for "in place of a road map" It has great advice and is easy to assimilate. Hope you find a way to make it work for you. All the best

Your BMR is around the 1450 mark. I calculated this from info you gave in a previous post and going by your age from your profile. This is the MINIMUM amount of calories you should be eating so YAY for that

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

Go to the above website and input your stats. Put your goal weight as your current weight though. This will tell you your BMI and your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), depending on your activity level. Your TDEE is the amount of calories you would eat if you want to maintain your current weight. To lose weight most people eat 20% below their TDEE number depending on how much the have to lose.

This post explains it much better and in an easy to understand way......

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide?hl=bmr

The good news is is that you should definitely be eating more than 1200 calories to keep your body happy and to lose weight at a steady pace!

Hope that helps!

x

You know this is most likely a joke right?

You know this is most likely a joke right?

yeah no. it's most likely not.

You know this is most likely a joke right?

yeah no. it's most likely not.

Sadly, I agree Coach.

I've been doing the food diary for a week now, and I have not once been able to eat 1200 calories... I found I cover this just with breakfast and lunch alone! Come dinner time (around 6pm) I'm absolutely starving every day, so I can't just skip dinner...

I'm really sorry if this sounds whiney, but the food diary has had an opposite effect - instead of making me more motivated to make better food choices, is has massively brought me down, to the point where I just want to chuck the whole thing and say "screw this", and eat what I want... I can't go without dinner, and if I just eat less for breakfast and lunch I'm absolutely famished!

Whine over it's been only a week and I'm stuck.

Why don't you just make better decisions?

Like do you really need an entire baguette for breakfast? How about eating half and adding a banana? It saves you 100 calories and has more nutrients and fiber.

Avoid beverages with the word "drink" in it because it means its not real and/ or loaded with lots of refined sugar. Try 100% juices and stick with just 8 oz per serving (add water if you have to)

As a vegan I have this belief where every meal has to has at least one serving of fruit. I have to have one bowl of spinach a day ( I hate lettuce, too much water) and have at least two vegetables per meal after breakfast. By the end of the day I am full, have lots of fiber and in most cases am under my caloric goal.

You just have to think about nutrient density and how it will benefit your body.:

I.E. Would you eat the candy bar or the cup of Greek yogurt with real berries? Same calories but which one will keep you satiated?

You mostly eat high calorie, low nutrient foods which will leave you hungry and pretty much no vegetables or salad. Try porridge for breakfast for starters. A large salad with couscous and fish/meat for lunch. Low cal snacks such as popcorn (around 100 cals for a decent serving) etc.

The problem is the kinds of foods you're eating plus you most likely need to up your calorie allowance.

Looking at your diary I assume you're in the UK? Add me for ideas if you want.