Struggling to eat 1200 calories

PBJ on two slices of whole wheat bread with an 8-12 oz glass of 1% milk.



~Namaste :flowerforyou:

I go to a weight control center where they are big into education. I was doing the same thing, thinking less has got to be better. They were explaining to me that if you eat below a certain amount of calories (usually around 1200), then your body goes into "starvation mode". What that means is, you actually don't lose weight in a good way, you lose muscle weight and you will feel very tired and sick all the time. Your body immediately stores the food that does come in as FAT and you gain weight (because your body thinks it needs to save some fat for later in order to keep you alive.)

A better way to lose weight is to eat at least the 1200 calories a day of HEALTHY calories like whole wheat, fruit, veggies, lean protein..and exercise. So by eating up to the calories you are supposed to intake, your body will still realize it is being fed and everything is okay and it can shed the extra pounds. Seems crazy, but it has worked.

I am having the same problem. I can eat 1200-1300 calories a day, but with the amount I exercise, I'm still netting about 200- 300 calories under. I've lost a couple pounds, but it's taken me about 2 months, which is crazy-slow.

Do you really think that the extra calories will help us lose?

If you want to pick up healthy calories, eat the healthy fats - avacados, nuts, add olive oil to your salads, etc. Peanut butter is a good suggestion too.

Hi

I never had that problem..LOL
BUT what about nuts/almonds....
I agree with the pb&j sandwich or pb with apples to add some extra cals
I would try to add a few cals to each meal or snack...
Maybe ti would be easier to drink some cals...maybe try a glass of OJ etc

Good luck
Kim

The obligatory: NUTELLA!!

And I wish I could have your extra calories. I exercise so that I can have 1500 and I STILL feel like I'm starving. Go figure... :grumble:

I'm re-posting this in this thread since it may be of interest!:

So, because I adore working out so much I tend to have a lot of exercise calories to eat. Some days it's NO problem at all and many days I have between 100 and 200 cals left over. I've also been paying close attention to sodium and fibre and have been looking for good solutions to those items... so today I had a desert that is high in fibre, low in sodium and 190 cals. And from someone with a love affair with chocolate, this is seriously delicious:

1 tbsp nutella
1/2 banana, sliced
1/3 C Nature's Path Organic Smart Bran Psyllium cereal

mix together and enjoy! lol SOOOOOOO tasty....

I am a personal trainer. You NEED to eat 1200 calories. No one should really have less. If you have under your Basil Rate(reqired to sustain life). Your body goes into starvation mode because you are taking in less calories then your body needs in a day. At this point, every ounce of fat you put into your mouth will be stored as fat. Fat is your slow burning fuel. You are not going to burn off fat if you are in starvation mode, you're body thinks it's not going to get energy sources for a while, so it stores, or holds onto the fat you have! I promise you will lose weight if you eat more calories.

Also, eat every 2-3 hours. Bring you calorie intake up slowly from 900. 1000 one week, 1100 the next, and so on.

Eating often and more calories works for me, and even as a trainer, I've struggled too. I always ate too little. This last couple of weeks I made it a point to eat right. In the first week I lost 4lbs!

You can eat snacks like almonds, kashi cereal, grapes, a banana, or add a meal in. It gets easier as you go because your body starts using the energy. You start getting hungry more often.

!200 calories is a minimum that no one should go below unless under a doctor's supervision. However, some individuals minimum will be higher than 1200. Starvation mode is not something that happens at a specific number of calories either. The human body is extremely adaptable. If we deprive our body of calories by too large a deficit it will begin to slow down our metabolism in response.

The set formula of a 500 calorie deficit/day for one pound/wk. loss and 1000 calorie deficit/day for a 2lb/wk. loss does not factor in that the body may begin to adapt to these low calorie diets. Some studies have found that the ideal calorie deficit should only be 300-400/day to avoid the body slowing down the metabolism. The body may not actually be in all out starvation mode but merely adapting to a low calorie diet.

I hope I do not confuse anyone with this next statement, because there has been so much discussion about needing to eat your exercise calories. I prefer to think in terms of eating your maintenance calories everyday and allowing your exercise to take you to a deficit. That would be providing that you are burning 300-400 with exercise. It is still the same number of calories, but just a different way of looking at it. If you are burning more, then you would need to eat more than maintenance, and if you are burning less then you would need to eat a little less. I like this because it gets you used to thinking in terms of how many calories you need to eat each day in order to maintain rather than getting locked in on that arbitrary 1200 calorie number that so many are fixated on.

Most of us did not gain our weight quickly and we should not expect to lose it that way either. Those who do lose it quicky my just be setting themselves up for another round of the same old game.

Good luck to all of you and keep up the good work!

vanilla yogurt, peanuts, berries and a touch of ff whip cream....yummy and filling!!!

Snowtrend I have a question for you. I am opposite of most people on here. I came on here to gain weight in a healthy way and have a healthy lifestyle. Anyway I am getting impatient with how long it is taking to reach my goal. I am 5'3" and about 105 pounds. My goal weight is 120-125. I am alloted 2000 calories a day. I usually go over that though. Today I went over by 17 calories. I do alot of walking so I do get my exercise. What is the best way for me to gain quicker without doing it the unhealthy way?

Krawls33. Have you gotten your thyroid checked? When I was in college I had problems. I am 6 ft tall and always small, but I was about a 100 lbs. I could eat whatever I wanted and my weight fell off of me (mind you I no longer have a thyroid and no longer have this "problem"... but I miss it!!). and it was because I had graves disease...

klikittyklak: Just a couple quick and easy things I've found that could fill out your calorie count.

1 Zone Meal Replacement Bar (any flavor) about =210 calories
(and they are a bit larger than a candy bar, I suggest the cinnamon roll its yummylicious)

1 1/2 packs quaker weight control instant oatmeal w/ 1snack box raisins & 1pat butter = 350 calories
(if you have this for breakfast its a really good fuel for the day)

1c. baby lima beans (with lunch/dinner) =216 calories

1c. pistachio nuts with shells on = 340 calories

1 pouch (the foil ones not the can) Starkist tuna in water garlic & herb flavor = 225 calories

none of these things will make you feel overly full, but they are all really good things for you and pretty healthy fillers if thats what your looking for.

Start eating more calorie dense foods, like nuts, peanut butter, have some meat if you would like. A common problem is that when people start to "diet" they eat a lot of salads and fruits and veggies and not much else and yes, you have to eat a ton of that stuff to get your calories in. It is about eating healthier and making good choices not being a rabbit.

Lets face it, if you are overweight you were probably eating well over 1200 calories a day you were just making bad choices. There is nothing wrong with healthy fats (nuts, avocado, peanut butter, oil, etc) and there is nothing wrong with eating some complex carbs (whole grain breads, brown rice, a portion of pasta) and you can eat something besides grilled chicken all the time too (fish, lean cuts of steak, pork) and if you don't like meat add some lentils and beans to your food routine.

Another thing that people do is to eat the same foods every day, you need to have variety for proper digestion. Plan ahead, take time to prepare meals ahead of time so you can "grab and go" when needed, and no one can say they don't have time to do that because you have time to watch tv or be on the computer take some time to care for yourself.

Avoid prepackaged meals because the food is already cooked and loaded with sugar or sodium as preservatives. Not to mention that frozen food is over cooked to ensure bacteria is killed, then you pop it in the microwave and cook every last nutrient out of it therefore gaining no nutritional value for what you just ate.

Less rabbit food and more calorie dense food, it doesn't mean more food, it just means better food!