Struggling to meet my 1200 calorie goal :(
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heatherlynnm22
Posts: 4
I am new to counting calories and struggling! I find it hard to eat healthier and consume enough calories at the same time. I feel like the reason I gained weight to begin with might be because I wasn't eating enough. So I eat healthy (in my mind) all day then get to the end of the day and realize I am not meeting my goal. Do I cram the rest of the calories in at the end of the day? Or is it better to eat more calories in the morning? What can I eat to boost calories without eating the junk that I crave?
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Add higher calorie items to your diet, nuts, dairy, healthy oils, etc.
Time you eat food doesn't matter*1. It also doesn't matter how many meals you eat a day*2, 1-3-6 whatever... just make sure you're getting enough calories.
*1- Edit: Doesn't matter for weight loss/gain. It can matter if you're say running marathons or weight lifting, etc. Food is fuel.
*2- Skipping meals that you're accustomed too though tends to lead to feeling hungry and sometimes overeating.
Edit 3: Seriously, nuts. A *cup* of whole almonds is about 800ish calories. Stuff em in a baggie in your pocket and munch on em if you can't hit your goal normally.
Edit 4: Long term, worry about macros (prot, fat, sugar), but until you can meet your basic calorie requirements those are no worry because you're starving yourself.0 -
Do you struggle to eat 1200 calories? Or do you struggle to eat 1200 'healthy' calories?
The time of day doesn't have much (if any) influence on losing weight.
The reason you gained weight is probably not eating too little, but eating the wrong things. For me, it helped to look at other people's diaries. I just looked up people who'm I thought were succesfull and dedicated, and learned from them.
It's not just about counting calories, you should also want to watch your macro's (protein, carbs, fat, etc.).
Good luck!!0 -
Never personally had this issue as really, as my evening meals often exceed 1200 calories by themself. But often this does tend to be junk. Larger portions would probably do it, if your meals are balanced it shouldn't be too much of an issue I wouldn't have thought. Try splitting it into three core chunks of 3-400 calories and a cheeky snack or two, you shouldn't have a problem!
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I’m thinking your word “Struggling” is not something associated with sustainable long-term lifestyle change. 1,200 calories a day is super low. Are you working to meet some type of deadline for your goal weight? I might recommend you up your daily calories to something that causes less stress. On MFP check out the APPS site, then click on the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) calculator. See what it says as a daily calorie goal and then give that number a try for a week or two. Just a thought. Good luck!0
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I am having a hard meeting my goal in general. Yes I could easily go over, if I wanted to. I did on Saturday just by eating a ginormous plate of nachos. I could have had A&W tonight with my family, but I want to lose weight. So yes, I need help eating MORE healthy calories. I don't want to eat the junk just to meet my goal. Oh and I absolutely detest nuts of any kind, so that makes it harder So Should I try to cram the rest of my calories in at the end of the day? I am going to try to have a bigger breakfast tomorrow... 0
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The problem is, each person is different, you've got to be able to sustain what you do.
For me it's easier for example to spread my lunch throughout the day so I don't get peckish inbetween meals, and then pig out in the evening a bit, but you might not like that.
There's no real best time to eat, whatever fits round your schedule! 0 -
Easy healthy bumpers straight off my bat are avocado and peanut butter, they're easy to include in your day too. Also, dairy; cheese is easy (and in non-excesive amounts, healthy) to add to all sorts of things.0
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I am having a hard meeting my goal in general. Yes I could easily go over, if I wanted to. I did on Saturday just by eating a ginormous plate of nachos. I could have had A&W tonight with my family, but I want to lose weight. So yes, I need help eating MORE healthy calories. I don't want to eat the junk just to meet my goal. Oh and I absolutely detest nuts of any kind, so that makes it harder So Should I try to cram the rest of my calories in at the end of the day? I am going to try to have a bigger breakfast tomorrow...
Can you open up your diary for us to have a look? It's still private right now.
This is what I'll usually eat during a day (keep in mind, I have cheat days too :ohwell:)
As you can see, I'll be a little over, but I'm planning on going to the gym later.0 -
If we are talking strictly weight loss then eating in a caloric deficit is all that is required. On that note I am not one to lump food into categories of Good or Bad, you can have a sustainable diet based off of whole foods and still have those (what you would think are) discretionary food items. As long as you hit your macro nutrient and micro nutrient needs then there is no need to avoid any foods you like. Learning moderation will get you alot farther in the long run than complete abstinence. Best of Luck...
also meal frequency has no bearing whatsoever as long as you are hitting your caloric intake needs eat whenever you want...0 -
As long as you eat a variety of nutritious food and do not exceed your calories on the average (ie going over one day doesn't matter) there is no need to cut out any specific food. Watch you calories, watch your macros, eat variety.0
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Do you have a food scale and do you weigh all your food?
If you don't then you should start doing that as you could still be eating more/less than you think, it's easy to over/under estimate.
There's no good and bad food, it's all food. You just have to learn what better suits your goals and fits in with your day.
Do you exercise for extra calories?
Take up something easy like walking to gain a few extra calories on the days you are going over.0 -
There is no such thing as "healthy" food. Food is food. There are more calorie dense foods, such as cheese cake. But, cheesecake is not bad food. Get the good food/bad food demon out of your head.
That go for fried chicken vs. baked or grilled chicken??0 -
How is this such a recurring topic on this site? Nearly every appetizer or entree at a chain casual dining restaurant is that much per plate.0
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Maybe you could plan what you are going to eat before you eat so you can figure out ' oh I should eat this, not that' ... not down to the last calorie, but just a general idea, instead of eating and then logging all that you ate. Junk food is never never good. Fruit, veggies, yogurt, a smoothie (home made) of a normal size ....0
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peanut butter0
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Fat free, sugar free, low cal, lettuce only does not equate to healthy.
I can eat 1,200 in one sitting in "healthy" foods. Easy. Seriously, I usually eat 1,200 for dinner - or at least in the time frame of 6pm - 9pm.
Homemade whole wheat pancakes with berry sauce mixed with syrup easily puts me at 700+ calories. This is my normal post lifting lunch.
Homemade double cheeseburger, baked beans and/or potatoes. There ya go.
I ate a 450 calorie bowl of cereal earlier today....for a snack! 100% natural, high fiber, high protein. 1/2 servings of cereal, 1 cup of 1% milk and one banana.
Steak.
Beans.
Bacon.
Nuts.
Ice cream.
Ice cream.
Ice cream.
My point is.....low calorie does not mean healthy. Something can be loaded with fat, protein or carbs and still be "healthy". Remove the box that you have yourself in with regards to "healthy." How anyone struggles to eat 1,200 just baffles me.
Now, I'll be a little more gentle. Congratulations for joining MFP and starting on your journey to health. PM me if you would like any help, have questions, etc. I recommend that you read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet . And feel free to check out my profile and my pix.
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Do I cram the rest of the calories in at the end of the day? Or is it better to eat more calories in the morning? What can I eat to boost calories without eating the junk that I crave?
It doesn't matter when you eat your calories. Morning, noon, night, whenever you are hungry.
For the junk you crave...what is it? Is it so bad that you can't have some if you really want it?
Will you go the rest of your life depriving yourself of this food? If not, then eat it now. Start eating NOW in a way that you can be eating a year from now, 10 years from now. Think long term.0 -
Define "healthy". My guess is that your definition of "healthy" is skewed...most people when they have this issue have taken to eating little more than veg and some fruit. That's not healthy...yes, veg and fruit have a lot of vitamins and minerals, but they don't complete a balanced and nutritious diet. To eat healthy you actually need quite a bit of healthy fat in your diet (mono and poly-unsaturated fats) from things like avocado, olive oil, nuts and nut butters, etc. You also do need a certain amount of saturated fat in your diet to be healthy. And of course you need proteins.
When people have difficulty meeting a paltry goal of a mere 1200 calories, it is usually do to going all low fat/no fat on everything and not getting their requisite fats. If you're also trying to low carb, you are just further exacerbating your nutritional deficiencies as you would be trying to severely restrict 2 macro nutrients. I woudl further guess that you don't get adequate protein.0 -
Unless you weigh your food you are probably eating more then you think you are.
I started out eating very little. Less then you and now i usually hit around 1600 per day. You just have to slowly increase and really think about it.
Prelogging my food and packing it in a lunch box for work really helped me increase my calories.0
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