How can I not be hungry on 1200 calories?

When you first start exercising your weight increases due to water being stored to repair your muscles. It is really important to eat at least a net of 1200 calories, eating below this level especially consistently isn't good for you. If you really struggle to reach 1200 calories drink your calories! That's what I do when I have a lot of calories left over, a cup of Ribena has 110 calories!
Good luck on your weight loss journey and try not to be put off by the scales, try and measure your waist, thighs etc to see if you've lost inches off them

You must eat at least 1200 cals and have at least 8 glasses of water per day. When you don't give your body enough, it gets panicky and hoards the energy from past meal(s). If you place your stomach on starvation mode, it will automatically go into survival mode and just retain everything. And if you have put exercise into your routine, then eating a mere 800 cals would not work for weight loss.

I'm not guessing at this...I used to do the same thing and never lost, in fact, I gained. Explore relevant posts here on MFP...that really helped me to adapt my routine. And don't forget those 8 glasses plus of water...:drinker:

Gotta add...one thing I never do is eat all the calories I got back from exercise...I just give myself some, like half or so, but never all.

I don't want to get into a huge "starvation mode" argument, but it's not recommended that you follow a very low calorie diet (VLCD, less than 1200 calories) unless you a) are morbidly obese AND b) have close supervision by a medical professional. My personal belief, based on my knowledge of thermodynamics and historic examples, is that you WILL lose weight on a VLCD, but that you will lose muscle mass along with fat and that it will, overall, be damaging to your body. It's also difficult to get proper micronutrients at that few calories (it can be difficult to get proper micronutrients at higher levels of calories if you eat only certain types of food, but that's a different story).

Calorie burns from cardio are often overestimated by MFP. I agree with the above recommendation of not eating back all of your exercise calories, but you should definitely eat back at least some. Half seems to be a common number around here.

You also don't "have" to have 8 glasses of water a day. You gain water from other drinks, and food has water in it too. That said, many people live their lives chronically underhydrated and find that adding a few glasses of water (by no means 8) can help them feel a lot better.

Eat healthful, calorie-dense food if you find yourself with a lot of extra calories but unable to bear even the thought of eating a full meal. Peanut butter is a popular choice, as is avocado.

Edited for syntax.

I can't see your diary. I cope with 1200 with low GI foods and protein eg. eggs. Michelle bridges has great cookbooks for ideas on food. I often eat roast vegetables. I don't eat sugary things eg.lollies or too much salt eg. chips.

Eat more, exercise more (like zumba).

I don't want to get into a huge "starvation mode" argument, but it's not recommended that you follow a very low calorie diet (VLCD, less than 1200 calories) unless you a) are morbidly obese AND b) have close supervision by a medical professional. My personal belief, based on my knowledge of thermodynamics and historic examples, is that you WILL lose weight on a VLCD, but that you will lose muscle mass along with fat and that it will, overall, be damaging to your body. It's also difficult to get proper micronutrients at that few calories (it can be difficult to get proper micronutrients at higher levels of calories if you eat only certain types of food, but that's a different story).

Calorie burns from cardio are often overestimated by MFP. I agree with the above recommendation of not eating back all of your exercise calories, but you should definitely eat back at least some. Half seems to be a common number around here.

You also don't "have" to have 8 glasses of water a day. You gain water from other drinks, and food has water in it too. That said, many people live their lives chronically underhydrated and find that adding a few glasses of water (by no means 8) can help them feel a lot better.

Eat healthful, calorie-dense food if you find yourself with a lot of extra calories but unable to bear even the thought of eating a full meal. Peanut butter is a popular choice, as is avocado.

Edited for syntax.

Thanks! Exactly.

Are you a dietetics student, or have taken nutrition classes? I've only heard of VLCD from my clinical nutrition classes! But yes that is true. I remember there being a classification for 800 calories or under, but I don't remember what its called.