1200 Calories???

courtclerkkris
courtclerkkris Posts: 173 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Looking for suggestions! I am trying to get back on the right track with eating and exercise. But seems when I do, I great guns and cut way too many calories. My question is this. What would you do? You eat breakfast, lunch and supper and at the end of the night realize you are way under 1200 calories. Would you eat to make up the 1200 calories or forget about it? And what would you eat to get those calories in? Thanks for your input!

Replies

  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    I have done it. (not often) I make myself a protein powder smoothie with strawberries and skim milk or had a banana or 1/4 cup of walnuts. Usually not too far under.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Plan your meals ..... I typically log both breakfast & lunch. Then I know "what's available" for dinner.

    Calorie dense foods that are good for you: olive oil, cheese, nuts, nut butters, seeds, avocado

    So, if you need to "add" some calories later in the day have an apple smeared with peanut butter ... the PB has lots of good fat and the apple has lots of fiber

    Or toss your (dinner) veggies with oil and garlic & roast them .... yummy. You can sprinkle on some almonds too.

    Cheese is great sprinkled on salads, use full fat salad dressings .... lots of ways to make up calories. 1200 is really low for most people, so you definitely should find a way to make them up.
  • GuybrushThreepw00d
    GuybrushThreepw00d Posts: 784 Member
    assuming 1200 calories is an appropriate daily calorie allowance, then yeah i'd always aim to hit it.
    What i'd eat would depend on my carb/fat/protein totals for that day.

    Looking at your diary for yesterday, you need to eat more fat... So i'd eat some guacamole or no added sugar peanut butter.

    Your ticker says 0lb lost, and you're talking 1200cals, so i feel compelled to get you to calculate your TDEE and reassess your daily goal.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    A day or two under your calorie goal isn't a big deal. But if you're consistently under 1200 calories then yes, I'd suggest you find a way to plan your day better. Either by pre-logging your meals or adding a few hundred calories to each meal as you go or one big snack somewhere in your day. Learning to eat at a more moderate deficit now will help you build healthy habits for maintenance once you reach your goal.
  • Paco4gsc
    Paco4gsc Posts: 119 Member
    Be prepared for slew of "starvation mode" and "no such thing as starvation mode" debate.

    Aside from that, from your diary, it looks like you are not even meeting 1200 calories total (as opposed to net calories). As far as I've read, the main reason that 1200 calories is recommended as a minimum is not necessarily the slowing of your metabolism as many fear but rather that it is very very difficult to get the proper amount of nutrition (protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, etc.) when consistently consuming less than 1200 calories per day.
  • fletchrf
    fletchrf Posts: 4
    Breakfast 250 kcals
    Lunch 300 kcals
    Dinner 550 kcals
    Snacks 100 kcals
    Total 1200 kcals
  • abigailtabby
    abigailtabby Posts: 9
    I am having the same problem - I am always well under my 1200 cals (I've only been on here a week) and always log bkfst and lunch so I know what I have left. If I eat more calories, then I blow one of my other goals. Not too concerned about a little too much protein or sodium but I do not want too many carbs, fat or sugar. I've tried different combinations but can't seem to find the right one yet. The suggestion above for an apple with peanut butter - sure that's good for you but an apple has a lot of sugar (over 1/2 my daily allowance) and peanut butter has a lot of fat. Cheese, olive oil, seeds and nuts have a lot of fat too so you have to watch those. I eat sunflower seeds every day for a snack and popcorn, but you have to watch how much of this you eat as well so you don't blow your fat numbers.

    I also can't figure out how in the world I'm supposed to "eat" my extra calories from exercising. If you've met your other limits, then you have to eat empty calories that have no fat, carbs, protein, sugar, etc. which seems impossible.

    Still trying to get the balance right but its' frustrating and I keep getting the warning "you may be going into starvation mode". I'm not starving, I eat when I'm hungry but at the end of the day when I'm 2 or 300 calories below my recommended, I certainly don't want to eat at night when I'm just going to go to sleep and not burn it off. I guess I could eat nothing but vegetable but that gets really old really fast since you can't put anything on them that won't blow something else. I love carrots but they have a lot of sugar in them too. I guess I'll get a pattern down over time but right now I'm spending most of my time figuring out what the heck I can eat that won't blow my goals and will keep my calories up.

    I ate a Dannon Greek Yogurt last night to add some calories, but had to calculate where it would put me on the other stuff, luckily I had 6 sugar and a little bit of others left. Only suggestion I have is to research food nutritional values to figure out how many calories, carbs, etc are in each food. Once you have a decent list of items, then you can pick and choose and plan accordingly. Don't automatically assume that the foods in the database here are correct - I've found a lot that are wrong (and there are a lot of the same item to choose from) I found this site which gives some good data - http://nutritiondata.self.com/

    What is TDEE and where do you calculate it? I also read a blog about calculating your BMR and it said there was a tools section on here where you could do that but I can't find it.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I am having the same problem - I am always well under my 1200 cals (I've only been on here a week) and always log bkfst and lunch so I know what I have left. If I eat more calories, then I blow one of my other goals. Not too concerned about a little too much protein or sodium but I do not want too many carbs, fat or sugar. I've tried different combinations but can't seem to find the right one yet. The suggestion above for an apple with peanut butter - sure that's good for you but an apple has a lot of sugar (over 1/2 my daily allowance) and peanut butter has a lot of fat.

    I also can't figure out how in the world I'm supposed to "eat" my extra calories from exercising. If you've met your other limits, then you have to eat empty calories that have no fat, carbs, protein, sugar, etc. which seems impossible.

    Still trying to get the balance right but its' frustrating and I keep getting the warning "you may be going into starvation mode". I'm not starving, I eat when I'm hungry but at the end of the day when I'm 2 or 300 calories below my recommended, I certainly don't want to eat at night when I'm just going to go to sleep and not burn it off. I guess I could eat nothing but vegetable but that gets really old really fast since you can't put anything on them that won't blow something else. I love carrots but they have a lot of sugar in them too. I guess I'll get a pattern down over time but right now I'm spending most of my time figuring out what the heck I can eat that won't blow my goals and will keep my calories up.

    Re: sugar ...... MFP lumps "natural" and added sugar together. Unless you have a medical condition .... you might not worry about sugar. I just try to keep "added" sugar at a minimum and changed my settings to track fiber instead.

    Also - you can set your macros to fit your needs - the "default" settings are not necessarily what's best for you.

    "Starvation mode" is over blown ..... I'm sure there are some people with eating disorders that have screwed up metabolisms.

    What's more important is this ........ trying to lose weight too fast .... will result in fat AND MUSCLE loss. You want a "moderate" weight loss setting (along with exercise) to KEEP lean muscle tissue. If you go below your BMR (basal metabolic rate) too often .... your body will use lean muscle tissue for fuel.

    To calculate your BMR: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/bmr-calculator.html
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    What is TDEE and where do you calculate it? I also read a blog about calculating your BMR and it said there was a tools section on here where you could do that but I can't find it.


    BMR - basal metabolic rate: calories needed if you were in a coma. Eating below this will result in loss of more muscle mass than you would like.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/bmr-calculator.html


    TDEE is total daily energy expenditure. These are your calorie needs INCLUDING exercise.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Many people start with their TDEE and subtract 15-20% .... that is their new calorie goal. People who are closer to goal choose 15% ... again (modest goal) preserves muscle mass

    There are lots of other calculators .... you might google a couple more and take an average.
  • bevmcarthur
    bevmcarthur Posts: 341 Member
    i agree with the other quote that was posted
    1 i dont count natural sugars in fruit or veggies Yes to mush sugar is not good but 2 servings of a low sugar fruit is something we all should have in are diet
    here is a list of what are good to have
    1 serving is approximately 80 calories
    Apple
    1 cup
    berries like raspberries blueberries
    1.5 cups strawberries
    1/2 med cantaloupe
    1 grapefruit
    1 lg orange
    2 sm plums
    and # 2
    GOOD FATs are good for you things like
    1/8th of a Avocado
    10-12 almonds
    3 tbsp nut butter
    2 tbsp of sunflower seeds or pumpkin
    coconut oils flax seed oil
    olives a
    are all GOOD Fats
    its the bad fats that you need to watch
    #3 you should be concerned about Proteins if you have to little in your diet it will slow down your weight lose
    and to much Sodium is another one you should watch
    I am having the same problem - I am always well under my 1200 cals (I've only been on here a week) and always log bkfst and lunch so I know what I have left. If I eat more calories, then I blow one of my other goals. Not too concerned about a little too much protein or sodium but I do not want too many carbs, fat or sugar. I've tried different combinations but can't seem to find the right one yet. The suggestion above for an apple with peanut butter - sure that's good for you but an apple has a lot of sugar (over 1/2 my daily allowance) and peanut butter has a lot of fat. Cheese, olive oil, seeds and nuts have a lot of fat too so you have to watch those. I eat sunflower seeds every day for a snack and popcorn, but you have to watch how much of this you eat as well so you don't blow your fat numbers.

    I also can't figure out how in the world I'm supposed to "eat" my extra calories from exercising. If you've met your other limits, then you have to eat empty calories that have no fat, carbs, protein, sugar, etc. which seems impossible.

    Still trying to get the balance right but its' frustrating and I keep getting the warning "you may be going into starvation mode". I'm not starving, I eat when I'm hungry but at the end of the day when I'm 2 or 300 calories below my recommended, I certainly don't want to eat at night when I'm just going to go to sleep and not burn it off. I guess I could eat nothing but vegetable but that gets really old really fast since you can't put anything on them that won't blow something else. I love carrots but they have a lot of sugar in them too. I guess I'll get a pattern down over time but right now I'm spending most of my time figuring out what the heck I can eat that won't blow my goals and will keep my calories up.

    I ate a Dannon Greek Yogurt last night to add some calories, but had to calculate where it would put me on the other stuff, luckily I had 6 sugar and a little bit of others left. Only suggestion I have is to research food nutritional values to figure out how many calories, carbs, etc are in each food. Once you have a decent list of items, then you can pick and choose and plan accordingly. Don't automatically assume that the foods in the database here are correct - I've found a lot that are wrong (and there are a lot of the same item to choose from) I found this site which gives some good data - http://nutritiondata.self.com/

    What is TDEE and where do you calculate it? I also read a blog about calculating your BMR and it said there was a tools section on here where you could do that but I can't find it.
  • GreenChile3
    GreenChile3 Posts: 65
    sorry but this thread again?? MFP needs some new material, it's getting boring! :yawn:
  • chelseascounter
    chelseascounter Posts: 1,283 Member
    I plan all my meals, but if I change my mind about something I'll make a protein shake,eat an avocado or medjool dates. They are high in cals.
  • ApocalypticFae
    ApocalypticFae Posts: 217 Member
    I would at least aim for above 1000, and definitely 1200 or more when you have added exercise calories.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    Looking for suggestions! I am trying to get back on the right track with eating and exercise. But seems when I do, I great guns and cut way too many calories. My question is this. What would you do? You eat breakfast, lunch and supper and at the end of the night realize you are way under 1200 calories. Would you eat to make up the 1200 calories or forget about it? And what would you eat to get those calories in? Thanks for your input!

    My doctor said don't net under 1200 calories, period. So eat a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, or eat some trail mix, have a low fat ice cream treat, and then start focusing on how you can be sure to eat your calories throughout the day so you don't find yourself at a nutritional defecit and not just a calorie defecit.
  • ChooChoo87
    ChooChoo87 Posts: 3 Member
    If you wait to eat a bunch of calories right before you go to bed, your body's metabolizing could interfere with your sleep. When we don't get enough sleep, the body releases cortisol, which lingers as belly fat, even if you are exercising and eating healthfully. The caloric intake needs to be stretched out across the day, and you should stop eating 2-3 hours before you go to bed so your internal clock can wind down. Hope this helps!
  • bevmcarthur
    bevmcarthur Posts: 341 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • Kpablo
    Kpablo Posts: 355 Member
    Looking for suggestions! I am trying to get back on the right track with eating and exercise. But seems when I do, I great guns and cut way too many calories. My question is this. What would you do? You eat breakfast, lunch and supper and at the end of the night realize you are way under 1200 calories. Would you eat to make up the 1200 calories or forget about it? And what would you eat to get those calories in? Thanks for your input!

    Yes, eat it. Eat it ALL! Eat your exercise calories too.

    I stopped losing weight for a month by starving myself (even though I wasn't hungry) I increased my calories on Monday and BAMMMM! 2 pounds down.
  • cookiealbright
    cookiealbright Posts: 605 Member
    sorry but this thread again?? MFP needs some new material, it's getting boring! :yawn:

    I agree!! If you can't eat 1200 today, eat them tomorrow. You must have eaten over 1200 at one point or you wouldn't be trying to lose weight.
  • vanessapreston66
    vanessapreston66 Posts: 16 Member
    Personally my calories vary from day to day. I try to keep to around my limit for the most part but, I am rather random in my life and sometimes during the week I eat 1100 cals other days maybe 2500+ cals...im not worried, the pounds are coming off, im chilled, dont feel im on a diet, and if i go mad one day, it doesnt mean i have blown the whole thing and go on a week long ' feeling sorry for myself binge' Listen to your body...it will tell you if its hungry or not. Often it will make you crave the food it needs. I crave protein a lot, but im a gardener and use a lot of muscle energy. Good luck with your journey :)
  • courtclerkkris
    courtclerkkris Posts: 173 Member
    Thanks to all that replied and I am sorry for boring those of you who have been on MFP longer than I. Very good advise, thanks all.

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