1200 Calories A Day and I'm Hungry All the Time
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A person "yo yo diets" when they approach dieting as trying to temporarily sustain an unsustainable calorie deficit that they struggle with. Sounds to me like that continues to be your approach if you are eating only 1200 calories and feeling hungry and deprived.
A person who diets and keeps the weight off "diets" by just making small lifestyle changes to the way they approach food. They eat slightly less or slightly less caloric foods, they pay attention to what they are eating so they don't have days where they massively overeat and they go for walks now and again. They do something that they can do for the rest of their lives and then they just work on sticking with it.
If your "diet" is something you aren't planning on doing for the rest of your life its just something to drop pounds quickly and then stop doing then yeah, you are just going to "yo yo" again.0 -
Why is it important to eat back your exercise calories? I'm trying to create a 7K a week calorie deficit to be able to lose 2lbs per week. To do so, I need to have both a significant deficit from reducing intake as well as an additional expenditure of calories through exercise. If I eat back some of the exercise deficit I create, aren't I just negating the extra deficit I've worked hard to create via exercise?
7,000 is a lot .... and not really necessary. I eat at like a 3,000 a week deficit and I've lost almost 15lbs in 3 months. Which may seem like a small amount to you, but it's healthy, it's consistent, and it's going to make it so I can keep going in the long-term.
Be honest with yourself. Do you want to lose weight fast and then gain it all back once you start binging? Or do you want to take the time, lose the weight the right way, and learn to keep it off the rest of your life?0 -
To put things in perspective, delaying gratification, patience etc all those wise words that dieters seem to hate.....
I'm losing weight at 1 pound every three weeks. No loss of LBM and feelings of deprivation. It's the best way.
It's funny, coz at 43 you'd think I'd be the one that was in a hurry....
When I was 17 I starved myself and destroyed my lean body mass.0 -
Why is it important to eat back your exercise calories? I'm trying to create a 7K a week calorie deficit to be able to lose 2lbs per week. To do so, I need to have both a significant deficit from reducing intake as well as an additional expenditure of calories through exercise. If I eat back some of the exercise deficit I create, aren't I just negating the extra deficit I've worked hard to create via exercise?
I also try to create a 7000 cal deficit per week. The way MFP works is that no matter how much you tell it you exercise, it gives you a calorie goal based on your not exercising at all.* So if you say you want a 2 lb/week loss, it subtracts 1000 calories/day from what it calculates your maintenance to be, which is a LOT. So if you exercise on top of that, you are really getting something more than a 7,000 deficit.
If you think of it as ideally dropping calories for part of the deficit and exercising for the other part, you wouldn't need so high a calorie deficit--for someone at 1200 according to MFP but who exercises for 300 calories a day, more like 1500/day would still get you the 2 lb/week loss on average. That's what you get when you eat back the calories (although you have to be careful, since the calories are overstated usually if you rely on MFP).
*Also, the way it defines sedentary ignores the fact that a lot of people with desk jobs aren't really sedentary (for example, I live in a city and walk everywhere, so my fitbit adjusts my goal, but I wouldn't know this if I went by MFP's definition alone).0 -
Interested in knowing how you managed to come up with that the OP should eat 1800-2000 calories and be able to lose weight without knowing her current weight, height and activity level.I would say 1200 cals a day is bordering on dangerously low. Obviously it depends on your age, height, activity level etc, but i would aim for something around 1800 - 2000. That is more than enough for 3 decent sized (not mountains - that was my problem!) nutritious meals, plus either 1 or 2 snacks, depending on what you choose. If you're used to eating a lot then this might be a struggle, but it's because of the habit/psychological cycle not because your body needs it, so after a week or two, you should find it gets easier. Also, don't listen to people that harp on about cutting out certain food goups (fad diets). It's about healthier eating and having a bit of everything in moderation. Obviously saturated fat is the one to watch, but my diet mainly turned out (unintentionally) to be high protein (mainly fish and roast chicken with skin removed) and high carbs (lots of potatoes, pasta, rice) with a lower fat intake, and i lost 22lbs in 7 months. I used to think i had no will power whatsoever, but since i've lost the weight it has boosted my confidence. I was quite strict with myself but i found using MFP more helpful than willpower alone. I put in absolutely everything i consumed and it turned into a bit of a game with myself! Have some belief in yourself and you'll succeed. Best of luck!
Matt
Also, you are comparing yourself to a 51 year old female. Make sense much?
I was trying to point out that 1200 calories was too low, instead of posting tedious, unhelpful criticism of other people's posts. As i stated in my first reply, IT OBVIOUSLY DEPENDS ON AGE, HEIGHT, ACTIVITY LEVEL ETC!
So no, i was not comparing myself to a 51 year old female, i was trying to offer some help and a bit of encouragement, which is what i thought these message boards would be about when i came on them yesterday. Obviously not...0 -
Tossing out calorie recommendations without taking that information into context/consideration is pretty dangerous to the general populace here.
Interested in knowing how you managed to come up with that the OP should eat 1800-2000 calories and be able to lose weight without knowing her current weight, height and activity level.I would say 1200 cals a day is bordering on dangerously low. Obviously it depends on your age, height, activity level etc, but i would aim for something around 1800 - 2000. That is more than enough for 3 decent sized (not mountains - that was my problem!) nutritious meals, plus either 1 or 2 snacks, depending on what you choose. If you're used to eating a lot then this might be a struggle, but it's because of the habit/psychological cycle not because your body needs it, so after a week or two, you should find it gets easier. Also, don't listen to people that harp on about cutting out certain food goups (fad diets). It's about healthier eating and having a bit of everything in moderation. Obviously saturated fat is the one to watch, but my diet mainly turned out (unintentionally) to be high protein (mainly fish and roast chicken with skin removed) and high carbs (lots of potatoes, pasta, rice) with a lower fat intake, and i lost 22lbs in 7 months. I used to think i had no will power whatsoever, but since i've lost the weight it has boosted my confidence. I was quite strict with myself but i found using MFP more helpful than willpower alone. I put in absolutely everything i consumed and it turned into a bit of a game with myself! Have some belief in yourself and you'll succeed. Best of luck! Matt
Also, you are comparing yourself to a 51 year old female. Make sense much?
I was trying to point out that 1200 calories was too low, instead of posting tedious, unhelpful criticism of other people's posts. As i stated in my first reply, IT OBVIOUSLY DEPENDS ON AGE, HEIGHT, ACTIVITY LEVEL ETC!
So no, i was not comparing myself to a 51 year old female, i was trying to offer some help and a bit of encouragement, which is what i thought these message boards would be about when i came on them yesterday. Obviously not...
The point of the criticism on your advice was, in my opinion, based on telling the OP to consider 1800-2000 calories... which is what you did... and it was criticized because it wasn't appropriate for the OP. Your original response had absolutely no mention of age/height/weight/activity level.0 -
Tossing out calorie recommendations without taking that information into context/consideration is pretty dangerous to the general populace here.
Interested in knowing how you managed to come up with that the OP should eat 1800-2000 calories and be able to lose weight without knowing her current weight, height and activity level.I would say 1200 cals a day is bordering on dangerously low. Obviously it depends on your age, height, activity level etc, but i would aim for something around 1800 - 2000. That is more than enough for 3 decent sized (not mountains - that was my problem!) nutritious meals, plus either 1 or 2 snacks, depending on what you choose. If you're used to eating a lot then this might be a struggle, but it's because of the habit/psychological cycle not because your body needs it, so after a week or two, you should find it gets easier. Also, don't listen to people that harp on about cutting out certain food goups (fad diets). It's about healthier eating and having a bit of everything in moderation. Obviously saturated fat is the one to watch, but my diet mainly turned out (unintentionally) to be high protein (mainly fish and roast chicken with skin removed) and high carbs (lots of potatoes, pasta, rice) with a lower fat intake, and i lost 22lbs in 7 months. I used to think i had no will power whatsoever, but since i've lost the weight it has boosted my confidence. I was quite strict with myself but i found using MFP more helpful than willpower alone. I put in absolutely everything i consumed and it turned into a bit of a game with myself! Have some belief in yourself and you'll succeed. Best of luck! Matt
Also, you are comparing yourself to a 51 year old female. Make sense much?
I was trying to point out that 1200 calories was too low, instead of posting tedious, unhelpful criticism of other people's posts. As i stated in my first reply, IT OBVIOUSLY DEPENDS ON AGE, HEIGHT, ACTIVITY LEVEL ETC!
So no, i was not comparing myself to a 51 year old female, i was trying to offer some help and a bit of encouragement, which is what i thought these message boards would be about when i came on them yesterday. Obviously not...
The point of the criticism on your advice was, in my opinion, based on telling the OP to consider 1800-2000 calories... which is what you did... and it was criticized because it wasn't appropriate for the OP. Your original response had absolutely no mention of age/height/weight/activity level.
Yes it did. On the very first line, to be precise.
Also, there is nothing dangerous about eating 1800-2000 calories a day, compared to 1200 which is bordering on malnutrition. That would apply for the vast majority of people. There's is also a disclaimer on the message boards which says the advice on here is not medical advice and can't be considered accurate. I would have thought common sense would make that pretty obvious though.0 -
From Mr. Trogalicious:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here0 -
I missed that you actually did point out the age/height/weight. That's my bad. Now... to the point that you're missing in all of this:
Tossing out calorie recommendations without taking that information into context/consideration is pretty dangerous to the general populace here.
Interested in knowing how you managed to come up with that the OP should eat 1800-2000 calories and be able to lose weight without knowing her current weight, height and activity level.I would say 1200 cals a day is bordering on dangerously low. Obviously it depends on your age, height, activity level etc, but i would aim for something around 1800 - 2000. That is more than enough for 3 decent sized (not mountains - that was my problem!) nutritious meals, plus either 1 or 2 snacks, depending on what you choose. If you're used to eating a lot then this might be a struggle, but it's because of the habit/psychological cycle not because your body needs it, so after a week or two, you should find it gets easier. Also, don't listen to people that harp on about cutting out certain food goups (fad diets). It's about healthier eating and having a bit of everything in moderation. Obviously saturated fat is the one to watch, but my diet mainly turned out (unintentionally) to be high protein (mainly fish and roast chicken with skin removed) and high carbs (lots of potatoes, pasta, rice) with a lower fat intake, and i lost 22lbs in 7 months. I used to think i had no will power whatsoever, but since i've lost the weight it has boosted my confidence. I was quite strict with myself but i found using MFP more helpful than willpower alone. I put in absolutely everything i consumed and it turned into a bit of a game with myself! Have some belief in yourself and you'll succeed. Best of luck! Matt
Also, you are comparing yourself to a 51 year old female. Make sense much?
I was trying to point out that 1200 calories was too low, instead of posting tedious, unhelpful criticism of other people's posts. As i stated in my first reply, IT OBVIOUSLY DEPENDS ON AGE, HEIGHT, ACTIVITY LEVEL ETC!
So no, i was not comparing myself to a 51 year old female, i was trying to offer some help and a bit of encouragement, which is what i thought these message boards would be about when i came on them yesterday. Obviously not...
The point of the criticism on your advice was, in my opinion, based on telling the OP to consider 1800-2000 calories... which is what you did... and it was criticized because it wasn't appropriate for the OP. Your original response had absolutely no mention of age/height/weight/activity level.
Yes it did. On the very first line, to be precise.
Also, there is nothing dangerous about eating 1800-2000 calories a day, compared to 1200 which is bordering on malnutrition. That would apply for the vast majority of people. There's is also a disclaimer on the message boards which says the advice on here is not medical advice and can't be considered accurate. I would have thought common sense would make that pretty obvious though.
I'm not saying that it's literally dangerous to eat 1800-2000 calories.
I'm saying that if you're gonna toss out a calorie amount, it should FIT THE OP. If you're gonna throw a number out, do the math/research for them if they aren't going to do it for themselves. If nothing else, give them a link to a calculator or a thread that will point that out for them.
OP was a 51 year old female. They may have taken your advice for 1800-2000 calories... ran with it... and gained because it was 200 calories over their TDEE.
You're new to the forums, you're trying to help folks. That's admirable.
Don't assume that common sense EVEN EXISTS on these forums.
Don't assume that people even READ how to set up an account. If they did, we wouldn't have 75% of the threads that we do.
That's the point that is being made here. It's counterproductive to throw out RANDOM numbers with NO DATA from the OP.0 -
I missed that you actually did point out the age/height/weight. That's my bad. Now... to the point that you're missing in all of this:
Tossing out calorie recommendations without taking that information into context/consideration is pretty dangerous to the general populace here.
Interested in knowing how you managed to come up with that the OP should eat 1800-2000 calories and be able to lose weight without knowing her current weight, height and activity level.I would say 1200 cals a day is bordering on dangerously low. Obviously it depends on your age, height, activity level etc, but i would aim for something around 1800 - 2000. That is more than enough for 3 decent sized (not mountains - that was my problem!) nutritious meals, plus either 1 or 2 snacks, depending on what you choose. If you're used to eating a lot then this might be a struggle, but it's because of the habit/psychological cycle not because your body needs it, so after a week or two, you should find it gets easier. Also, don't listen to people that harp on about cutting out certain food goups (fad diets). It's about healthier eating and having a bit of everything in moderation. Obviously saturated fat is the one to watch, but my diet mainly turned out (unintentionally) to be high protein (mainly fish and roast chicken with skin removed) and high carbs (lots of potatoes, pasta, rice) with a lower fat intake, and i lost 22lbs in 7 months. I used to think i had no will power whatsoever, but since i've lost the weight it has boosted my confidence. I was quite strict with myself but i found using MFP more helpful than willpower alone. I put in absolutely everything i consumed and it turned into a bit of a game with myself! Have some belief in yourself and you'll succeed. Best of luck! Matt
Also, you are comparing yourself to a 51 year old female. Make sense much?
I was trying to point out that 1200 calories was too low, instead of posting tedious, unhelpful criticism of other people's posts. As i stated in my first reply, IT OBVIOUSLY DEPENDS ON AGE, HEIGHT, ACTIVITY LEVEL ETC!
So no, i was not comparing myself to a 51 year old female, i was trying to offer some help and a bit of encouragement, which is what i thought these message boards would be about when i came on them yesterday. Obviously not...
The point of the criticism on your advice was, in my opinion, based on telling the OP to consider 1800-2000 calories... which is what you did... and it was criticized because it wasn't appropriate for the OP. Your original response had absolutely no mention of age/height/weight/activity level.
Yes it did. On the very first line, to be precise.
Also, there is nothing dangerous about eating 1800-2000 calories a day, compared to 1200 which is bordering on malnutrition. That would apply for the vast majority of people. There's is also a disclaimer on the message boards which says the advice on here is not medical advice and can't be considered accurate. I would have thought common sense would make that pretty obvious though.
I'm not saying that it's literally dangerous to eat 1800-2000 calories.
I'm saying that if you're gonna toss out a calorie amount, it should FIT THE OP. If you're gonna throw a number out, do the math/research for them if they aren't going to do it for themselves. If nothing else, give them a link to a calculator or a thread that will point that out for them.
OP was a 51 year old female. They may have taken your advice for 1800-2000 calories... ran with it... and gained because it was 200 calories over their TDEE.
You're new to the forums, you're trying to help folks. That's admirable.
Don't assume that common sense EVEN EXISTS on these forums.
Don't assume that people even READ how to set up an account. If they did, we wouldn't have 75% of the threads that we do.
That's the point that is being made here. It's counterproductive to throw out RANDOM numbers with NO DATA from the OP.
Fair enough i see your point. The common sense comment made me laugh too! Thanks for the heads up 0 -
If you're feeling hungry and deprived, it's going to be almost impossible to stick with what you're doing long-term. By focusing on slow, consistent progress you'll find it easier to be successful. Why the rush? Wouldn't you rather do things in a way that's comfortable and sustainable?
Try upping your calorie goal by a few hundred (fill those calories with nutrient-rich low cal foods like fruit or veggies). Give it a few weeks. If you see progress - ANY progress - stick with it! If you still feel so hungry you can't keep it up, add some more calories and try again. You'll do better eating on a modest plan you can stick with 100% of the time than depriving yourself half the time and binging the other half.0 -
I would be hungry too on 1200 calories a day.0
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First, change to 1# a week loss, that should give you a few more calories. Exercise & then eat back those calories. Greek yogurt is filling, give it a try.
Winner winner chicken dinner. Exercise and eat a little more.0 -
I find what you eat and when you eat it make a huge difference, eating a whole wheat bagel or a cup of oatmeal at 10 for breakfast instead of white toast and sugary cereal at 7:30 and swapping out 2 glasses of water with vanilla chai tea (check the nutrition info for a 0 calorie one) helped a whole lot from keeping me from getting massively hungry by 3 pm0
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I agree 1200 is too low - what is that, 2 pounds lost per week? Not realistic.
I went low-carb and at first 2 pounds a week is easy until you plateau. Hunger was NEVER an issue because I aimed for 1 pound a week, and cut out everything interesting with a high-GI:
rice, wheat, bread, sugar, potatoes, fruit. milk, ice cream, candy, noodles = OFF the menu.
It kinda sucks. But I just didn't get hungry. Food wasn't even interesting. 2 pounds a week for 8-9 weeks!
If I have a cookie or a bunch of rice without much fat, then 1-2 hours later I get hunger pangs. But if I stick with just meat, eggs, fat, greens, butter, salt, water, diet soda, some beans - no problem. It's easy to stay on track this way. Logging on MFP helps.
You will tend to run short on some vitamins so probably a good idea to supplement, calcium too. I still can't make up a deficit of potassium - I know sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and whatnot.
Sugar and carbs are the enemy. Fat is the friend. Protein who knows with that guy0 -
You're welcome.0 -
Low calorie foods.
I am eating at 1200 calories per day, and I can stuff myself. Just not with the wrong foods!
What I usually eat is:
-LOTS of fruits, strawberries for example. Super low in calories and super filling.
-VEGGIES, especially for the quick hunger: CANNED VEGGIES (you must know I looooove canned veggies), like mushrooms have 16 calories per 100 grams, and corn has like 60. And there's so much variety!
-Cottage cheese (salads)! If you make yourself a huge portion of salad with 100g cottage cheese the whole salad will only be around 200-250 calories. SO FILLING.
I even have chocolate and treats while being on a 1200 calorie diet.
And if you're still hungry - eat more!
Especially in the beginning striving for a 1200 calorie diet is super hard. Start off with maybe 1800, then after a week go to 1700 and so on, and if you're happy with your weight loss, stop at whatever amount of calories you and your body feel comfortable with. Best luck to you!0 -
so hey, when you signed up... you picked the wrong goal. 2lbs per week isn't good. Go back, update it to 1lb. Eat more than 1200.Low calorie foods.
I am eating at 1200 calories per day, and I can stuff myself. Just not with the wrong foods!
What I usually eat is:
-LOTS of fruits, strawberries for example. Super low in calories and super filling.
-VEGGIES, especially for the quick hunger: CANNED VEGGIES (you must know I looooove canned veggies), like mushrooms have 16 calories per 100 grams, and corn has like 60. And there's so much variety!
-Cottage cheese (salads)! If you make yourself a huge portion of salad with 100g cottage cheese the whole salad will only be around 200-250 calories. SO FILLING.
I even have chocolate and treats while being on a 1200 calorie diet.
And if you're still hungry - eat more!
Especially in the beginning striving for a 1200 calorie diet is super hard. Start off with maybe 1800, then after a week go to 1700 and so on, and if you're happy with your weight loss, stop at whatever amount of calories you and your body feel comfortable with. Best luck to you!
Problem solved.0 -
so hey, when you signed up... you picked the wrong goal. 2lbs per week isn't good. Go back, update it to 1lb. Eat more than 1200.Low calorie foods.
I am eating at 1200 calories per day, and I can stuff myself. Just not with the wrong foods!
What I usually eat is:
-LOTS of fruits, strawberries for example. Super low in calories and super filling.
-VEGGIES, especially for the quick hunger: CANNED VEGGIES (you must know I looooove canned veggies), like mushrooms have 16 calories per 100 grams, and corn has like 60. And there's so much variety!
-Cottage cheese (salads)! If you make yourself a huge portion of salad with 100g cottage cheese the whole salad will only be around 200-250 calories. SO FILLING.
I even have chocolate and treats while being on a 1200 calorie diet.
And if you're still hungry - eat more!
Especially in the beginning striving for a 1200 calorie diet is super hard. Start off with maybe 1800, then after a week go to 1700 and so on, and if you're happy with your weight loss, stop at whatever amount of calories you and your body feel comfortable with. Best luck to you!
Problem solved.
First of all, problem solved? What problem is solved? I don't have a problem at all.
My weekly loss isn't even set to 2lbs per week, if I may mention that. And I just checked, if I go for 1 lbs per week, that would uppen my calorie intake to 1500 calories per day.
To be honest, that doesn't sound like such a huge change. I don't think my body will feel much different by eating 300 calories more a day. And since I do not lose 1.5 lbs per week now ANYWAYS, I'd rather stick with my 1200 calories.
But thanks for your concern.0
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