struggling with a 1200 calorie allowance

I've been eating 1200 calories for 60 days now... I know many of you think it's not enough calories but it works for me...
This is my plan (my diary is open, as well): 300 calories for breakfast, only cauccino or so at lunch (this is because i don't have a lunch break at work); always a satisfying snack (cheese, salame or sweets) and lots of veggies for dinners... Of course I exceed 1200 caories once in a while but by planning my meals in advance I can manage 1200 calories.

My BMR is already 1800, so 1200 would leave me starving.
I eat between 2300-2500 on average. I lift weights 3x a week and go running 2-3x a week.

1200 Calories isn't too hard. Im a male with more caloric needs and find it simple..


Breakfast-
Oatmeal and Coffee

Lunch-
PPJ and Baked Chips

Dinner-
Talapia and Veggies

Snacks-
Klondike Bar

And im talking a THICK PPJ, and a KLONDIKE.
Got my protein, alittle more fat than i needed, but this is not a perfect day... but a day that shows you even eating an ice cream bar and i can stay at around 1200.

I did well with 800-1,200 for about 9 months. Then I gained 10 lbs back of the 65 I lost.

i've found eating above my BMR/slightly below my TDEE to be the best method -- not hangry, but still losing.

Right now I'm maintaining on 2,100 and planning to cut to 1,900 in a few weeks.

Use this -->http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ --> to calculate your numbers.

Steamed vegetables. This is my ace in the hole. Steamed Broccoli, Steamed Spinach, Steamed Green Beans, Steamed Brussels Sprouts, Steamed anything and everything. So good... tasty, wonderful, and excellent--you can add seasons and really make them good.

The best part is that a bag of steamed vegetables is 110 to 130 calories, and you get 3.5 to 4 servings. On average I'll eat 16 to 20 servings of vegetables, and that's all under 400 to 600 calories. Then, I'll have 2 to 3 servings of protein, usually chicken breasts or fish filets and that's 2 to 5 hundred calories, which keeps me under a thousand. Then the rest are fruits and easily digestible carbs.

Hunger is based on nutritional deficiency and the stretch receptors in your stomach that send a signal to the brain that says, I'm full.

Some other tricks that you can do. Drink one liter of ice cold water right when you wake up before you do anything. It'll naturally curb your appetite. Then, keeping water out of the fridge and drinking a warm bottle of water 30 minutes before a meal will curb your appetite. Another trick is HIIT exercise. High intensity Interval Training, causes a release of hormones that suppress hunger as well.

It is hard to stick to 1200 calories for sure. This is all good advice. I workout everyday so that I can eat more calories but also just try to make sure that the calories I do get help fill me up. I try to be sure to get enough protein in my diet with each meal and snack. when you see the results of your hard work it sure make all of this worth it. I wish you the best of luck on your journey!!:happy:

Most people try to jump in and start with the "Lose 2lbs" a week program. Start at a lb or 1/2 a lb until your stomach shrinks, and you get use to the smaller portion sizes, then lower your calorie count. Determination isn't a bad thing, but don't make the boulder too big to push up the hill. Start with a smaller stone, then when you are use to pushing it, make the stone bigger. Don't set yourself up for failure. JMO

sooo true.. last year i started at 1 1/2 lbs and only made it 3 months .. lost 30 lbs though! in 3 months .. that in my opinion is too much to lose all at once! I couldn't sustain it.. and fell off the wagon. this time i started at 1 lb per week.. then i upped it but that's just because i keep messing up LOL.. i think i'll put it right back down now!

I just joined 10 days ago. I was wondering- when you set your goals, is it better to start with a 20 pound weight loss for the goal, or to put down the total amount you are hoping to lose? Does that affect the calorie amount it sets up for you? I put down 25 as my goal, but if I lost all I need to lose, it would be 50. It has me on 1350 calories per day. Any advice or recommendations? Thanks!

I'm pretty sure it wouldn't change the calorie amount it sets up to begin with (I'm not sure if it might change later), but you could change it back and forth to check. I had no idea how much I needed to lose so I set an estimate for all that I wanted to lose, but I think I might have to change it eventually to quite a bit more. I think quite a lot of people start with a smaller goal as the first step to a bigger one. I think it's a good idea, because you see the ticker moving faster, and you can celebrate reaching each goal as you go.

I am on a low fat, high protein, controlled carb diet of 1000 calories (but if I have exercised and I go to 1100 I don't sweat it).

Here is my best advice: be creative, you would be surprised what you can come up with.

Just 1000? Isn't that a bit too low?

This advice should be the first thing everybody hears, when they decide to start losing weight! If you find it too hard, or your goal is too big, you are more likely to give up!

Keep it up - one pebble at a time

Thank you! I did change the weight loss goal to 50 pounds just to see what it came up with. It went from 1350 cal/day to 1200 cal/day. Quite a difference. I know I need to get enough calories and not go under, in order not to go into starvation mode. What I really love about this program is the ability to scan barcodes! It does all the work and makes me so much more accountable.

Hi
I was using my fitness pal last year and went from 9st 2lb down to 8st within 2 months and found it really worked for me but I was eating all the wrong things but staying with in my calories, now my aim is to start all over again currently weighing 8st 6lb want to get down to 8st and teach my self to eat healthier.
Now im eating healthier but I am really struggling to eat enough calories since Monday I have maybe eaten a maximum of 900 calories a day that's 3 meals a day, I would like to aim for the maximum as I know eating too few calories can hinder weight loss, where am I going wrong? :sad:

I understand wanting to eat better and applaud you for it, but I didn't give up anything that I didn't plan to give up for good, so eat a few of those less healthy things if you need calories at the end of the day. Last night, after I had already eaten nuts as a snack to up my calories, I ended up heating a leftover biscuit, 1/2c of blueberries, 1/2 tbsp of butter and a tsp. of sugar in the microwave and ate it with a 100 calorie container of frozen yogurt. I still had close to 200 calories left for the day when I went to sleep, but I refuse to have over 200 left on any day that I am feeling well. That only makes me ravenous on the next day. (Disclaimer, my goal is 1650, not 1200. However, if you are only eating 900 calories, that would have put you just over 1200 and you could have not used the butter to stay right at 1200.)

wow Congrats of the weight you have lost. I am so proud of you. Good advise.

Hi just watch the calories on everything you eat. If you eat carbs in the morning you are going to be hungry the rest of the day. Try dairy ie..yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast it was worked for me so far.