I'm being told by people that I'm starving myself on this 12

I'm gettin frusterated because almost everyone I've told about this site and being on a 1200 calorie diet with exercise says I'm starving myself. One friend actually told me that I have a eating disorder. What the heck? I think this diet is ligit. What's your thoughts. Anyone dealing with the same riducule? I have 30-40 pounds to lose by the way...

Ignore them and continue.

I was on 1200 calories per day for months and did exercise too, I am fine, I presume you are too.

The ones that are harrassing you about the amount of calories probably stuff their face all day and you are making them feel inadequate - their problem, not yours. Don't let them sway you from your own goals or focus.

A 1200 calories per day diet is completely legitimate and safe.

Tell that friend that said you have an eating disorder to take a hike because they aren't helping you at all.

You're body will start to go into starvation mode if you keep it up. Kinda bas ackwards but you will start to gain weight, lose will power and back peddle in your plan if you keep that up. 1200, if you eat 6 meals a day is 200 calories a meal. Yes it looks great on the scale the first week, but then it slows so you try to even cut more out, but see no difference on the scale again. So you push yourself at the gym to work harder, without the energy and BAM. HELLO WALL.

Why would she need to eat six meals per day??

Some people like to do that, personally, I stuck with just the three and it was fine.

200 calories for brekkie (omelette or scrambled egg on toast)
350 calories for lunch (usually tuna or cheese sandwich)
the remainder calories for dinner

End of.

Personally, I would never go with eating six meals per day as I would not want to continue like that forever, whereas three meals per day, will be fine for the rest of my life.

And no, my metabolism never did slow down on just the three meals either and I never went into any starvation mode either.

Your absolutely not starving. I went on a regular weight loss program...Jenny Craig...and they put you on 1200 calories also.
That's the norm for females who are dieting and their the professionals

You're body will start to go into starvation mode if you keep it up. Kinda bas ackwards but you will start to gain weight, lose will power and back peddle in your plan if you keep that up. 1200, if you eat 6 meals a day is 200 calories a meal. Yes it looks great on the scale the first week, but then it slows so you try to even cut more out, but see no difference on the scale again. So you push yourself at the gym to work harder, without the energy and BAM. HELLO WALL.

Why would she need to eat six meals per day??

Some people like to do that, personally, I stuck with just the three and it was fine.

200 calories for brekkie (omelette or scrambled egg on toast)
350 calories for lunch (usually tuna or cheese sandwich)
the remainder calories for dinner

End of.

Personally, I would never go with eating six meals per day as I would not want to continue like that forever, whereas three meals per day, will be fine for the rest of my life.

And no, my metabolism never did slow down on just the three meals either and I never went into any starvation mode either.

"Why would she need to eat six meals per day??

Some people like to do that, personally, I stuck with just the three and it was fine."


You could that. But all the reading I have done has said to space out your intake of calories to use only what you are going to use. Your body will store any extra calories it does not need to sustain life supporting actions (heart beating, breathing, brain activity) and caloric energy used to move. If you resting metobolic rate(BMR) is (using fake numbers) 100 calories and hour and you eat 600 calories meal. You're body digests the entire meal and it looks to store the extra energy for later.

An anology would be a shipping and receiving dock(stomach). Say the crew unloads one truckload(food) an hour onto their dock, they then move the product to the correct location in the building to be used by the production workforce( your heart, lungs, kidneys, brain). But now let's say they have two trucks needing to be unloaded, so the crew unloads the trucks and just put the product anywhere it can find a space on the dock for future processing by the production workforce. So now they have two truck loads of product waiting to be used when an hour later another truck comes in. During this first hour the crew is able to move one of the first two truckloads through the factory and the end product is at the shipping dock.. But we still have two loads waiting to be processed(truck 2 from first hour and truck 3 from second hour). So the crew moves the next truck load to the production floor at a quicker pace(exercising). They are able to move 1.5 truck loads in the same hour, but still has .5 load waiting to be processed. This continues to happen everyday all the time and that .5 load never gets process and just sits in the corner(waist line) waiting to be used, collecting dust, and slowly getting bigger. This is the just in time model from the business world that can also be used as an analogy for our bodys(factories)

A second reason is blood sugar level. We need a constant supply of sugar in our diets. Our cells rely on sugar as their primary source of energy, and function at a laggardly pace without it. This is especially the case for the brain, where a lack of glucose makes it harder for us to concentrate and gives that light-headed feeling we get when we skip lunch. And while the body can synthesise a sugar replacement for short periods, exertion – mental or physical – becomes difficult. Your body will process the sugar without storing for later and use it up. If you have too much(sugar high) or too little(dragging self) you are not using your body to the fulliest extent. If you eat 2 -3 meals(like alot of dieters do) then you have peaks(too much) and valleys(too little) in your insulin. When what you want is a steady stream of hormones coming in. (this is also true with every hormone/chemical you're body needs... same thing with medicine. The doctor tells you to take your antibotic 3 times daily so that you can use it when your body can process it)

Now with this being said, it's easier said then done. If you feel you are able to metabolize food with three meals a day. Have at it, there is a reason why doctors/fitness professionals are still making money. Because each and everyone of us are different. make sure you have your own body tested and decide a plan that works for your body.

Ryan

You have gotten many replies here, so you probably don't need mine. I just had to say that people are always going to have an opinion about what you should or shouldn't be doing with your body and your eating. I have found that I am slowly dropping out of the "chubby girl" sisterhood club. Sometimes the bigger girls at my work will say "Get out of here you skinny *****" and I know they are complimenting me in a way but there is just no reason to be a hater about it you know? My calories are set at 1240 a day right now and sometimes when I share that people think are worried. But explaining about earning additional calories usually makes them change their mind. The only people that get up in arms about it are not educated about it and would impose their opinion about anything without knowing ahead of time. Sometimes I just don't share or ask them questions. "Well, what would be your best advice.....My Dr and personal trainer seem to think this is a healthy option for me as long as my nutrition is balanced....what should I tell them next time we speak?". That will usually shut them down.

You're eating nutrient dense foods, it's not like you're eating 1,200 calories of ice cream or something.

I can't see your diary, so I dont know what you are eating, but I am SO glad someone said this! 1200 calories can be a LOT if you are choosing the right foods. 1200 calories of crap does not = 1200 calories of nutritous food.

A chocolate glazed krisipy kreme donut has roughly the same anount of calories as 3 medium apples. You can't tell me that 3 medium apples wont keep you fuller, longer than a donut. So the quality of the food makes a huge difference when you're talking about 1200 calories a day.

I agree, 1200 calories is a lot when it is real food and not processed junk that isn't filling!

I agree... somewhat. Yes if you eat a health diet, then you will get fuller compare to the unhealthy diet. But calories are not the end all in dieting. A calorie in food is a unit of energy. Calories is to your body as gas is to your car. You need the energy to move the vehicle(your body or your car) or you get stuck on the side of the road waiting for AAA to dispatch a local roadside service. Same as which is heavier a pound of rocks or a pound of feathers. We need a certain amount of energy to do basic living. This is called the Basal metobolic rate(BMR) which Definition: Basal metabolic rate (BMR) refers to the minimum amount of energy -- in the form of calories -- that your body requires to complete its normal functions, such as breathing, breaking down food, and keeping your heart and brain working. Age, gender, weight, and physical activity directly effect on basal metabolic rate. (http://weightloss.about.com/od/glossary/g/blbmr.htm). You should get tested to see what your bmr is, There are multiple sites that can give you a quick basal rate http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php
http://www.everydayhealth.com/toolkit/bmr-calculator.aspx
but these are just general guidelines. For example it tells me on the first one that I should do appx 2650 a day to lose two pounds a week. Which is about correct because my tested bmr came back around 2975.

hehe

but seriously - if you are on the 1200 calorie plan (what did you set your weekly weight loss to? cause that is very low) you should be careful to eat back your exercise calories, or you will most likely plateau. If you were on a slightly more forgiving plan - say 1 pound a week (which might put you at 1300 calories a day or so) then you would have a little leeway - you could leave about 100 exercise calories uneaten.

Just follow your numbers, and try to hit 1200 with your net calories!! (that means AFTER exercise!!)

YES! All of that!!! I am 5'10" and now down to 181. I have my calorie goal set at 1420 but try to stay under it a bit (but ALWAYS over 1200). On exercise days, i make sure to eat back enough calories to end the day with over 1200 NET calories. I wasn't doing this at first--- i thought of exercise as additional calories burned, thus = faster weight loss, but after a while of that being true i hit a gigantic wall. I realized, after a lot of scrutinizing reports, that my NET calories were 700-900 range like 4-5 days a week (my exercise days) and that MIGHT be my problem. I then adjusted my eating (eating more on exercise days) to ensure i was ending at 1200 net and low and behold the weight started falling off again!