Trouble eating enough

Have about 2 oz of cheese with an apple.

Hi there!
I recently started my weight loss journey, on the first of January, though ironically not a new year's resolution.
After cutting the junk food out of my diet, I've been finding that I have trouble meeting the minimum 1200 net calories a day. I'm just not hungry, and have to force myself to eat to even get close. I can get to 1200 gross, or even a bit over, but factoring in the calories burned from exercise leaves me needing a few hundred more than I'm currently getting.
Any advice?

I had the same problem. I was so used to grabbing a cheap frozen pizza and just added more cheese that when I started making my own food I was lost.

My trick is to add chia seeds and shelled hemp seeds which gives nutrients and calories, I have peanut butter and fruit on crackers if I'm low on calories and there are always nuts that are easy to add to any recipe.

I wouldn't be so worried about the calories if you are eating healthy foods. If you are here to lose weight, don't worry about the calories, ( unless you go over ). The dairy will put tons of calories in your daily quota...but why do you want to do that ? Eat as much good food as you want, no need to have portion control...eat until you are stuffed !!! If you are eating the things you should be eating for a healthy life, your calorie intake will be low. Check out Eat To Live, Dr Fuhrman ...it's amazing ! Don't give yourself the opportunity to deter wt loss, with the "excuse" of trying to get in more calories. I promise, if you do this you will be eating ice cream, cheese and candy bars. Watch Forks over Knives, and The China Study....read up on the Plant based diet. Let us know how your doing !

Forks over Knives is a joke with no basis in science whatsoever.

http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/09/22/forks-over-knives-is-the-science-legit-a-review-and-critique/

The China Study have major flaws

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/the-china-study-more-flaws-exposed-in-the-vegan-bible/

You'll find your enthusiasm for losing weight causes you to view food and eating somewhat negatively at first and you'll begin to subconsciously reward yourself for eating low amounts,

^ This. It's happening to me too.

1) As per your diary you are (except for one day) well over 1200 each day. So well done
2) I agree to include more calorie dense foods like others suggested, and not cut out food you enjoy just because it's got bad rep. Everything in moderation. If you let yourself eat whatever, you are less likely to fail at this long term
3) Your protein intake seems a bit low. i would aim a bit higher, MFP is notorious for its not so ideal division of macros. This is to help prevent muscle loss along with fat loss (paired with a good exercise regime)

Just my 2 cents...

Edited to say I was on 1200 in the beginning for about a month or 2. I felt ok and full. When I was switching to 1500 I couldn't imagine how am I ever going to eat that much food. Now I have to hold back not to go over 1800-1900. It's all about what you are used to.

I find it hard to believe people who end up here because they want to lose weight, can't eat 1200 calories in a day.

me wondering the same thing...

This is my opinion only, but generally we gain weight because the bulk of our calories come from high calorie foods, such as too much fast food, or too may sweets, perhaps too many chips, etc. The first thought for most people on a diet is to cut out all those "bad" foods and eat "healthy," thus decreasing our calorie consumption. If you're eating low calorie foods it's going to be difficult meeting that calorie goal.

Most operative phrase is too many, which many "dieters" don't realize is the real problem.

To the OP, add some fattier foods in, such as some nuts or peanut butter, bran, barely legumes, beans, etc. These add more calories to your food. Also, don't be afraid to eat a treat now and then, just eat it in moderation.

I don't disagree with your opinion. What's beyond me is I think I know how little food 1200 is about and how hard to feel satisfied with this type of food choice. I am not talking about "feeling full", but a satisfation that makes me want to stay on "diet" (just figure of speech, I know people here hate the word "diet"). But I realized as well that everybody is different. A small person might not need this much calorie to be ok anyway. But to me, it's always a struggle. Many mentioned nuts. To me this is the biggest deal breaker. One serving of nuts is around 200 calories. If I don't count my almonds/measuring my sunflower seeds, I can easily go beyond one or 2 servings without feeling "full" or satisfied.

I understand your struggle.

I tried the 1,200 calories a day and I tried cutting out all fatty foods,-no nuts, no almond butter, nothing that was "fattening," as well as all processed sugar. I didn't last very long. As soon as I realized that I can have what I when I want, I started adding those high fat foods into my diet and started feeling much more energetic. I even have sweets once in awhile now and am okay with it.

The way I put 35 pounds back on was by eating the sugary foods, which generally have way more calories in one serving than the foods I eat now. When I was overweight, my serving was actually two normal servings in one. You know, that "big" piece of cake twice the size of what other people were having? Now I could not do this.

1 ounce of nuts has around 170 calories and is enough to fill me up. I measure, close the package, eat, and move on.

I thought I had this problem too, until I realized I wasn't accurately measuring my food intake. Measuring cups are not sufficient enough to measure your foods.. they are only accurate for liquids. You need to weigh your foods, and you will probably realize that you are eating more than you thought you did. But again, if that's not the case, as other people mentioned there are definitely a lot of high calorie foods you can eat to get your calorie intake up.. avocado, nut butters, eggs, dark chocolate, dates, etc.