Do I have to eat over 1200 calories a day?

If you're falling below 1200 calories frequently I would recommend that you have some kind of breakfast.

I understand not normally eating first thing in the morning. I never did before either. I had the same issue with my calories at first. Adding a light breakfast fixed it for me. Even something as simple as toast with a teaspoon of peanut butter, a yogurt, or a fruit smoothie can help without being overly filling, and it really helps get closer to hitting the protein goals too.

It makes more sense to add more calories early in the day than right before bed. Looking at your diary it looks like you could easily accommodate 200 calories for a breakfast.

Don't give up.

I agree with a couple of the other posters on here. OP, from what you've said and your diary, it sounds like you have a very unhealthy relationship with food. You're overwhelmed by the enormity of counting or weighing your intake, yet thought and planning for food consumes your day. You're nearly in tears because you can't find the correct calories, but changing your routine would add such stressors as to completely ruin the one part of your day you seem to enjoy (food). You're emotionally exhausted from talking about it and just want a simple answer (which sounds more like wanting affirmation more than anything), yet when offered the simple answer (yes you need to eat 1200) you keep making reasons why it's not something you can actually do. You're over-apologetic for "wasting" peoples time, yet are fixated on your way of doing things so much that suggestions to try otherwise are ignored or dismissed as too stressful. Basically you sound like you're wound as tight as a top and want someone to affirm that you're doing the right thing by possibly over-restricting, and anything else is too much stress to deal with.

To be honest, your posts don't feel like they're really about the actual food, they seem to be hinting at a larger problem underlying your eating that needs to be addressed. Maybe it's just normal job or kid stress that's gotten a little overboard, or maybe it's more.Honestly, I would definitely suggest you look into local sliding scale clinics. A talk therapist can more accurately help you identify what exactly you hope to accomplish with weight loss and food control, and help you identify healthy drives from unhealthy ones, and some clinics will lower rates down to $5 or even $0 per session depending on income and situation. Proper nutrition is highly important, and the effects of disordered eating can be devastating on both the mind and the body, and certainly don't do anything to actually help an already stressful situation, aside from giving an illusion of control. Make it a priority to take care of yourself, REAL care, that takes into account your mental and physical needs as a functioning body and mind, and think about the calories after that's been addressed.

I personally don't see a problem with cereal/granola bars but you MUST be careful of the added sugar - many of these snacks are laden with sugar. Perhaps try alternatives like Nakd bars or a low fat protein bar.

Completely understand where you're coming from with not having the time to weigh everything, but if you have time to log, surely you have time to weigh? I use the MFP app when I cook so I weigh and log as I go, and it doesn't take much more time than normal. If you're really serious about losing weight you need to monitor your intake with as much accuracy as possible, or you run the risk of over/under eating.

Regarding your intake - it's hard to eat if your body is telling you it's not hungry, but meeting your calorie goals is vital for weight loss. Based on your age, height and weight your BMR is 1576kcal (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/). You should not be eating less than this, and that's before any exercise is taken into account.

The hardest thing about losing weight is coming round to the idea that sometimes you need to eat more to lose more. Once you've come to terms with this your weight loss will be much more successful.

I wish you all the luck!!

Sugar is completely irrelevant. There's nothing wrong with sugar.

Please at least read the thread before offering advice.

I personally don't see a problem with cereal/granola bars but you MUST be careful of the added sugar - many of these snacks are laden with sugar. Perhaps try alternatives like Nakd bars or a low fat protein bar.

Completely understand where you're coming from with not having the time to weigh everything, but if you have time to log, surely you have time to weigh? I use the MFP app when I cook so I weigh and log as I go, and it doesn't take much more time than normal. If you're really serious about losing weight you need to monitor your intake with as much accuracy as possible, or you run the risk of over/under eating.

Regarding your intake - it's hard to eat if your body is telling you it's not hungry, but meeting your calorie goals is vital for weight loss. Based on your age, height and weight your BMR is 1576kcal (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/). You should not be eating less than this, and that's before any exercise is taken into account.

The hardest thing about losing weight is coming round to the idea that sometimes you need to eat more to lose more. Once you've come to terms with this your weight loss will be much more successful.

I wish you all the luck!!

Sugar is completely irrelevant. There's nothing wrong with sugar.

Please at least read the thread before offering advice.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with sugar. Processed sugar is not irrelevant if you're trying to lose fat. When I started I sought fitness and nutritional advice from an expert - they told me to limit the refined sugar to help with fat loss, and stick to sugars from natural, wholesome foods, such as fruit and veg. I followed the advice...I'm sure you can guess what I'm going to say.

Thank you for your response. If I make this much more complicated than it already is for me, I'm afraid I will not have the strength to continue. I haven't been paying attention to the nutrient values too much. I just know that I've come a long way from my "everything fried" southern roots. Food just doesn't even taste the same anymore. I usually choose the granola bar because it's quick. I simply don't have time to measure using scales. We eat supper late enough as it is. I do tend to take the higher calorie counts in MFP as a safeguard against going over on my calories. If I hit 1200 daily, would that make a difference if I don't keep up with the nutrient values?

Frankly, if you're just going to haphazardly guesstimate at calorie content and portion sizes it doesn't really matter what your goal is because your logging will be so far off that you won't be getting a remotely accurate picture of your intake.

I don't want to sound insensitive or anything, but if you're going to log it needs to be somewhat accurate. Otherwise you're wasting your time logging in the first place.

If someone else can come by and restate this in a diplomatic way that helps prevent this from turning into a "mean people" thread I'd greatly appreciate it.

I agree with Jon, if your just going guesestimate, why bother counting.

It might be fine for awhile but eventually you will hit a wall, so why not start weighing now?

Well I guess I shouldn't have bothered then because I don't even own a food scale.

Thank you for your response. If I make this much more complicated than it already is for me, I'm afraid I will not have the strength to continue. I haven't been paying attention to the nutrient values too much. I just know that I've come a long way from my "everything fried" southern roots. Food just doesn't even taste the same anymore. I usually choose the granola bar because it's quick. I simply don't have time to measure using scales. We eat supper late enough as it is. I do tend to take the higher calorie counts in MFP as a safeguard against going over on my calories. If I hit 1200 daily, would that make a difference if I don't keep up with the nutrient values?

Frankly, if you're just going to haphazardly guesstimate at calorie content and portion sizes it doesn't really matter what your goal is because your logging will be so far off that you won't be getting a remotely accurate picture of your intake.

I don't want to sound insensitive or anything, but if you're going to log it needs to be somewhat accurate. Otherwise you're wasting your time logging in the first place.

If someone else can come by and restate this in a diplomatic way that helps prevent this from turning into a "mean people" thread I'd greatly appreciate it.

I agree with Jon, if your just going guesestimate, why bother counting.

It might be fine for awhile but eventually you will hit a wall, so why not start weighing now?

Well I guess I shouldn't have bothered then because I don't even own a food scale.

Your diary is closed, so it's tough to say how your approach compares to the OPs.

Not comparing it to the op, just tired of the "you must weigh everything or why bother" crap...

Great articles.

http://www.coachcalorie.com/how-to-stop-feeling-hungry/

http://www.coachcalorie.com/never-feel-hungry-losing-weight/

It's not mean at all. I think I might have to friend you so you can look at mine...lol

Not comparing it to the op, just tired of the "you must weigh everything or why bother" crap...

No one said that. We are talking to the OP about the OP's specific situation, where she is ostensibly calorie counting but is using incredibly random and inaccurate logging practices.
The point is that weighing food is not strictly necessary depending on your method, but if you're trying to do it the way the OP is doing it, then it's really critical to log at least somewhat accurately. OP is not, however.

OP is already extremely overwhelmed, let's try to keep the offtopic stuff to a minimum for her benefit.

Lets just say I will post where and what I want to because I can. If I was off topic I wasn't the only one. Talk to the others, maybe they will take you seriously.

we're in pretty much the same boat. same height, almost the same weight, and i average in about 900 cal a day. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack a day >.< yesterday i made sure i got up to 1,000 cal (a little over) and felt so sick and over fed.
I'm no expert by any means, i havent been doing this that long and im still learning a lot. but my body tells me what i need, and when a doctor has tried to control my diet every thing went terribly wrong. im still in the process of speeding up my metabolism, one day i'll eat more. today is not that day.

Here is what im doing for it:
waking up earlier (this helps with eating breakfast sooner and working out earlier)
drinking more water
Drinking natural teas (green tea, helps me get nutrients i may not be getting from food)
Taking vitamins (to fill in some gaps)

I know someone here is going to disagree with me, but as i said, my body tells me what i need.

That was the smartest thing I've seen anyone post to someone asking for help. Will you look through my diary and tell me what I'm doing wrong?! Great advice for anyone wondering about that stuff. I'm just stuck. I've been eating at a defecit and not budging the scale and it fluctuates way more now than in the summer when I was walking all the time. Just bought a treadmill to help with that.

OK, comments on your diary:

1) Your protein goal is very low and you are consistently under. Protein goals should be treated as absolute minimums; your goal should be approximately 1.1 - 1.4 grams of protein per lb of lean body mass. That probably puts you somewhere around 110-140 grams of protein per day.

2) Your fat goal is also low. Science shows that people should be eating about 0.3 to 0.35 grams of fat per pound of body weight per day for optimal hormone and neurological function. That puts your fat goal around 56-65 grams of fat per day. This should also be treated as a minimum.

3) You pretty much never hit 1200 calories, let alone the 1420 that represents your actual goal.

4) Your diet includes few vegetables or fruits, and contains a lot of carb-heavy snacks like crackers and granola bars.


Recommendations:

1) Significantly increase your protein and fat intake. You have many days where you eat extremely low fat and low protein. This is counterproductive.

2) Try to limit the carb-heavy snacks and focus on eating more balanced meals.

3) You must eat more vegetables and fruits. Find some vegetables you enjoy and make a concerted effort to work them into 2 meals a day.

4) In general try to focus your meals around meat and vegetables.

5) Hit your calorie goal. Consider any day where you end more than 75 calories away from your goal, in either direction, as a mistake. Hunger is misleading and often nonexistent. If you're "not hungry" but have not yet met your nutrient and calorie goals for the day eat anyway.

6) Buy a food scale. You don't appear to be weighing food and, believe me, this is critical. There is simply no way to accurately estimate portion size and calorie intake without a food scale. A good digital one is only about $15.



Long story short: eat more calories, and try to limit the carb-heavy snacks. Focus on getting more meat and more vegetables at every meal. Hit your calorie goal consistently.

we're in pretty much the same boat. same height, almost the same weight, and i average in about 900 cal a day. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack a day >.< yesterday i made sure i got up to 1,000 cal (a little over) and felt so sick and over fed.
I'm no expert by any means, i havent been doing this that long and im still learning a lot. but my body tells me what i need, and when a doctor has tried to control my diet every thing went terribly wrong. im still in the process of speeding up my metabolism, one day i'll eat more. today is not that day.

Here is what im doing for it:
waking up earlier (this helps with eating breakfast sooner and working out earlier)
drinking more water
Drinking natural teas (green tea, helps me get nutrients i may not be getting from food)
Taking vitamins (to fill in some gaps)

I know someone here is going to disagree with me, but as i said, my body tells me what i need.

You are not eating enough, and you are promoting unhealthy eating practices in violation of the OP.

Please eat more.

OK, comments on your diary:

1) Your protein goal is very low and you are consistently under. Protein goals should be treated as absolute minimums; your goal should be approximately 1.1 - 1.4 grams of protein per lb of lean body mass. That probably puts you somewhere around 110-140 grams of protein per day.

2) Your fat goal is also low. Science shows that people should be eating about 0.3 to 0.35 grams of fat per pound of body weight per day for optimal hormone and neurological function. That puts your fat goal around 56-65 grams of fat per day. This should also be treated as a minimum.

3) You pretty much never hit 1200 calories, let alone the 1420 that represents your actual goal.

4) Your diet includes few vegetables or fruits, and contains a lot of carb-heavy snacks like crackers and granola bars.


Recommendations:

1) Significantly increase your protein and fat intake. You have many days where you eat extremely low fat and low protein. This is counterproductive.

2) Try to limit the carb-heavy snacks and focus on eating more balanced meals.

3) You must eat more vegetables and fruits. Find some vegetables you enjoy and make a concerted effort to work them into 2 meals a day.

4) In general try to focus your meals around meat and vegetables.

5) Hit your calorie goal. Consider any day where you end more than 75 calories away from your goal, in either direction, as a mistake. Hunger is misleading and often nonexistent. If you're "not hungry" but have not yet met your nutrient and calorie goals for the day eat anyway.

6) Buy a food scale. You don't appear to be weighing food and, believe me, this is critical. There is simply no way to accurately estimate portion size and calorie intake without a food scale. A good digital one is only about $15.



Long story short: eat more calories, and try to limit the carb-heavy snacks. Focus on getting more meat and more vegetables at every meal. Hit your calorie goal consistently.

^^This^^

we're in pretty much the same boat. same height, almost the same weight, and i average in about 900 cal a day. I eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack a day >.< yesterday i made sure i got up to 1,000 cal (a little over) and felt so sick and over fed.
I'm no expert by any means, i havent been doing this that long and im still learning a lot. but my body tells me what i need, and when a doctor has tried to control my diet every thing went terribly wrong. im still in the process of speeding up my metabolism, one day i'll eat more. today is not that day.

Here is what im doing for it:
waking up earlier (this helps with eating breakfast sooner and working out earlier)
drinking more water
Drinking natural teas (green tea, helps me get nutrients i may not be getting from food)
Taking vitamins (to fill in some gaps)

I know someone here is going to disagree with me, but as i said, my body tells me what i need.

MOST people will disagree with your post.....not "someone."

900 calories a day? Oh - but you ARE taking vitamins.......so your existing muscle mass should be protected......not!!

Under a doctor's care......this might be ok for the very OBESE pateint....but OP is not under a doctor's care, or very obese.

Here's what happens to people who are merely overweight (and on 900 calories)...............your heart, lungs, kidneys, brain need fuel everyday (fuel = calories, not vitamins).......fat stores cannot provide 100% of that fuel. So your body will have to make choices..... heart or existing muscle tissue......lungs or existing muscle tissue......kidneys or the hair on your head......you can guess what your body is going to choose to fuel.

If you want the same body fat % that you had before dieting.............900 calories (is dangerous) ......but you can become a smaller person and still be fat.

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