Hard for me to eat all 1,200 calories a day?

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  • nilbogger
    nilbogger Posts: 870 Member
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    Before you started on MFP, how many calories were you eating in a day? I don't know, I find it hard to believe that all of a sudden someone can't eat to or above 1200 calories a day.

    Yup
  • jenberg777
    jenberg777 Posts: 8 Member
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    Hey friend! I'm in the same boat........but I know for me, I am able to increase my appetite by throwing in at least one high intensity workout per week. (sometimes one every 3 days) - this will absolutely increase your appetite & help your hormones work properly. (particularly your hunger and satiety hormones) If you're truly not hungry, but you're working out and sleeping okay, you might have a hormone issue?.....or you're not working out hard enough. It's a chicken and egg thing with losing weight. To make your body change......you MUST push yourself to the max every workout......to do THAT, you NEED adequate nutrition. I'm 5'6'' and now weight 145ish....I started at 168........when I ate 1200 cals or less I wasn't able to workout as hard and I hit plateaus bigtime......which seems silly because my BMR is something like 1800 cals per day......???..........Anycrap.......one thing to try- bump up the cals 2x per week to 1500 or so......I do this and then am able to push during my workouts harder - and BAM, plateau busted........ :) Pick up Jillian Michaels book "Master your Metabolism" - it is very helpful information on how your hormones play a role......*and other factors. I agree with the girl that posted "peanut butter" earlier too.......eat that on celery at dinner time if you're not super hungry...easy way to get your cals in........ .....I have no idea why that helps my energy - but DOOOD. :) press on sister!
  • TriLifter
    TriLifter Posts: 1,283 Member
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    To help you visualise 1200 calories

    http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/what_does_a_1200_calorie_diet_look_like

    All of that food together would make a good dinner. Glad I'm eating 2400 cals/day.
  • Jennrich0725
    Jennrich0725 Posts: 17 Member
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    Eat lots of veggies and protein and eat MORE, that sounds way too low, you don't have that much to lose.

    If you can't eat it, drink it, smoothies, protein shakes, etc.

    I used to be the same way. It is hard sometimes for me to hit that 12-1500 calorie mark. I began making smoothies in the morning before work. They fill me up before my first snack at 10am. Of course I am drinking my smoothy around 620-700am. I get the whey powder from walmart $15. A scoop of whey powder (i prefer chocolate), a whole banana, a tablespoon of peanut butter, a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and a cup of ice. This comes to about 384 calories for my morning. It is great because it takes less than 5 minutes to make. I play around with my smoothies all the time. My kids love them as well.
  • roni79
    roni79 Posts: 12 Member
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    if you eat under 1200 your body will turn what you eat right into FAT - even if it is all veggies and healthy stuff. Maybe you can try to eat healthy things with more calories like fiber packed fruit (bananas, apples, pears) with peanut butter as a healthy fat. And full fat greek yogurts should help. What about carbs what kind are you eating? You can get some cals in with healthy carbs like brown rice and quinoa? Good luck!!!
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
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    Eggs, peanut butter, and avocado are all high calorie foods filled with nutrients and good fats. I love milk too.

    I know, before I started MFP, and once when I fell off the wagon, I was eating way too many calories, that's why I became overweight. You do not have that much to lose, but if you were gaining weight you must have been eating more than you burned in a day. Which is way more than 1200 calories.
  • littlekitty3
    littlekitty3 Posts: 265 Member
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    Just eat more food in general, not just more protein (where ever the hell this bullsh!t came from just please...please stop it...its stupid). Make smoothies and bring them into work or make higher calorie dense meals.
    Check out eatmore2weighless.com also. There's a ton of good info on there I think you will find helpful.
  • laurenawolf
    laurenawolf Posts: 262 Member
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    Just eat more food in general, not just more protein (where ever the hell this bullsh!t came from just please...please stop it...its stupid).

    Protein prevents you from losing muscle while eating in a deficit.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Are you weighing your food? If you are having a hard time eating it all, you might be eating more than you think.

    If you truly are having trouble getting 1200, eat the foods you used to eat, just less of them.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
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    It's not hard to eat 1,200 calories, eat some ice cream or have a snickers, problem solved.

    I think the problem you have is you think to lose weight you can only have "healthy" foods, tell me if I'm wrong. You can lose weight and still be a real person, what was your go to treat before you started dieting? Starburst jelly beans? Cadberry easter eggs? Twix?
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    if you eat under 1200 your body will turn what you eat right into FAT - even if it is all veggies and healthy stuff. Maybe you can try to eat healthy things with more calories like fiber packed fruit (bananas, apples, pears) with peanut butter as a healthy fat. And full fat greek yogurts should help. What about carbs what kind are you eating? You can get some cals in with healthy carbs like brown rice and quinoa? Good luck!!!

    NO, NO, NO....it will not, you store fat for rainy days (famine), so when it rains your body uses up its stores. Calories are units of energy, calories consumed - calories burned (just living) = a positive number you gain, a negative number you lose or 0 you maintain. Mild metabolic adaptation can happen, but not to an extent of not losing or NEVER packing on more fat. Ever see a fat starving person? If what you stated was true, it would be the end of world hunger.
    Just eat more food in general, not just more protein (where ever the hell this bullsh!t came from just please...please stop it...its stupid). Make smoothies and bring them into work or make higher calorie dense meals.
    Check out eatmore2weighless.com also. There's a ton of good info on there I think you will find helpful.

    Without an extremely rare disorder, she is eating more calories than she thinks. Eating more than 1200 is always recommended but this is NOT the issue, without a disorder. Plus when in a deficient you eat enough protein to help maintain lean body mass and keep your weight loss to mostly your fat stores. Muscle burns more calories at rest and looks better. Also if lifting protein is essential.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Just eat more food in general, not just more protein (where ever the hell this bullsh!t came from just please...please stop it...its stupid). Make smoothies and bring them into work or make higher calorie dense meals.
    Check out eatmore2weighless.com also. There's a ton of good info on there I think you will find helpful.

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/41.full
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24092765
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3665330/

    Lean Mass Loss Is Associated with Low Protein Intake during Dietary-Induced Weight Loss in Postmenopausal Women

    The health and quality-of-life implications of overweight and obesity span all ages in the United States. We investigated the association between dietary protein intake and loss of lean mass during weight loss in postmenopausal women through a retrospective analysis of a 20-week randomized, controlled diet and exercise intervention in women aged 50 to 70 years. Weight loss was achieved by differing levels of caloric restriction and exercise. The diet-only group reduced caloric intake by 2,800 kcal/week, and the exercise groups reduced caloric intake by 2,400 kcal/week and expended ~400 kcal/week through aerobic exercise. Total and appendicular lean mass was measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between changes in lean mass and appendicular lean mass and dietary protein intake. Average weight loss was 10.8±4.0 kg, with an average of 32% of total weight lost as lean mass. Protein intake averaged 0.62 g/kg body weight/day (range=0.47 to 0.8 g/kg body weight/day). Participants who consumed higher amounts of dietary protein lost less lean mass and appendicular lean mass r(=0.3, P=0.01 and r=0.41, P<0.001, respectively). These associations remained significant after adjusting for intervention group and body size. Therefore, inadequate protein intake during caloric restriction may be associated with adverse body-composition changes in postmenopausal women.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Just eat more food in general, not just more protein (where ever the hell this bullsh!t came from just please...please stop it...its stupid).

    Protein prevents you from losing muscle while eating in a deficit.

    .............to a point. A 600 (net) calorie diet of 100% protein is not enough fuel for the vast majority of people. Morbidly obese people can go very low (usually medically supervised) without muscle loss.

    Strength training is also needed to reduce muscle loss..... bur exercise increases the amount of fuel your body needs too.
  • laurenawolf
    laurenawolf Posts: 262 Member
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    Just eat more food in general, not just more protein (where ever the hell this bullsh!t came from just please...please stop it...its stupid).

    Protein prevents you from losing muscle while eating in a deficit.

    .............to a point. A 600 (net) calorie diet of 100% protein is not enough fuel for the vast majority of people. Morbidly obese people can go very low (usually medically supervised) without muscle loss.

    Strength training is also needed to reduce muscle loss..... bur exercise increases the amount of fuel your body needs too.

    I was just stating a general fact to conclude that it is not "bullsh!t".
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    Just eat more food in general, not just more protein (where ever the hell this bullsh!t came from just please...please stop it...its stupid).

    Protein prevents you from losing muscle while eating in a deficit.

    .............to a point. A 600 (net) calorie diet of 100% protein is not enough fuel for the vast majority of people. Morbidly obese people can go very low (usually medically supervised) without muscle loss.

    Strength training is also needed to reduce muscle loss..... bur exercise increases the amount of fuel your body needs too.

    First a vlcd is irrelevant here, second all ( rare few lifters that can balance their cuts perfectly are the exception) people in a deficient have muscle loss, the goal is to limit it. Plus nobody said anything about 100% protein, 40% is more than good enough for most people lifting.

    Speaking of the vlcd, they don't get fatter, they have rapid loss. (For the starvation mode people)
  • skyblue2001
    skyblue2001 Posts: 19
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    I get this... I'm trying to do better at eating more but still struggle. My biggest problem is I'm not hungry and I don't have foods that I really crave, so I literally just eat to survive. Last year I decided I was going to force myself to gain weight because I was under 100 lbs, wanted to gain 10 but gained 20 instead forcing myself to eat snack cakes and chips just to add some weight. It added quickly and now I'm back to eating the way I normally eat to lose the 10 I didn't want and now I see that I may not be eating enough again now that I'm tracking. It's a vicious circle. I guess I never mastered the art of maintaining, so when my weight gets too low, I start eating junk and then bam! I'm too high again. I think I inherited my dad's attitude toward food, I've just never got excited about certain foods. I taste it, don't get me wrong, I know cake tastes better than peas, but it's just never mattered to me. I've always been skinny fat, so now I'm lifting and trying to eat at a slight deficit, but see sometimes at the end of the day, I need more calories, but I really just don't want them.

    I hope you get some great advice. Don't let the negative bother you. Not all of us are designed to throw down 2000 calories a day. but like you, I would like to find a way to eat more without feeling stuffed.
  • _mlee_
    _mlee_ Posts: 90
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    How? Just how? my lunch was 1200 calories... It's really not that hard
  • 75dsk
    75dsk Posts: 18 Member
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    I really didn't know how little I was eating till MFP. Now I do understand why I haven't been able to reach my weight and fitness goals. Not enough fuel means I have little energy which results in poor workouts. Just wanted to thank the original poster for posting, as I have a low calorie diet issue as well. Thanks also to the helpful and positive tips posted, with a few changes this will be a fun adventure to health and fitness instead of a painful one.

    A smoothy in the morning and some nuts for snacks will really help my nutrition.

    Thanks everyone.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    Before you started on MFP, how many calories were you eating in a day? I don't know, I find it hard to believe that all of a sudden someone can't eat to or above 1200 calories a day.

    Now maybe you have a fear of gaining weight or you're desperate to lose weight so you may be ignoring your hunger.

    I confess, I always think the same thing when I see these posts.

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