1200 calorie daily allowance and feeling hungry :(

See, this is what I am dealing with. I have 60 pounds to go, and I am set at 1200 calories per day through the MFP calculator. I'm hungry a LOT. Sadly, after my week of 1200 and doing 4 cardio sessions, I gained 2 pounds. I am not sure I understand what in the world I am doing wrong. This is my first time tracking food as well.

Re: 2 pounds......how many days (1 week?) have you been 2 pounds heavier? Short time ......could easily be water weight, TOM, etc. Don't stress over 1 weigh in.

Is the 1200 gross or net? If you are eating calories back (1200 net) ....how are you calculating calorie burns? MFP guestimates are generous....just eat 50-75% back. Because 1200 is already low you want to eat calories back to get to your original deficit. Too much deficit does not allow your body to support lean muscle. This means you lose fat+muscle.

You weight loss goal should fall somewhere in here......

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

Clean Whole food. An example is mesquite bbq chicken breast from daily chef that I get at same. One breast is 110 calories packed with protein to keep you full.


So I guess opt for whole grain, and proteins. anything with milk helps keep me full

Novel ahead...

I'm pretty light and maintain my weight on non-exercise days at around 1500 calories, so for me to lose weight (and nowhere near 2lbs/week...we're talking half a pound a week here) I couldn't go over 1200 calories unless I hit the gym (which gave me a couple hundred extra at most for my usual 5K run.) I'm 5'4" as well and have an office job. If you can devote more time to exercise, you can eat more, but if you're like me and fairly light and inactive already, 1200/day can be a reality that the majority of (heavier or more active) posters here don't understand.

That said...when I was losing, I ate mainly vegetables and lean protein for every meal. It wasn't exciting, but I wasn't often hungry and I had plenty of energy. I had to almost eliminate sauces and cooking oils in favour of baked/poached/etc methods of cooking. I used a lot of vinegars and mustard and hot sauce for flavour, as well as fresh herbs and lots of other spices. I ate a lot of fish, lean 6oz steaks, and chicken breasts, and I had things like eggs or yogurt with chia and hemp hearts for breakfast. I made massive salads and dressed them with vinegar or citrus. I weighed absolutely everything and portioned my calorie-dense foods (nuts and nut butters, any oils I did eat, etc) VERY carefully. I eliminated beverages with calories and stuck to black coffee, teas, and water. And I wasn't tired and I didn't lose much muscle mass at all.

There is no reason you can't be satisfied and well-nourished on a 1200 calorie a day diet if you're fairly small and not super active and if you are very, very careful to get the right proportion of macro and micro nutrients in your diet. It requires a lot of work and it's not for everyone, obviously, but it can be done and done healthfully.

I'm kind of tired of everyone freaking out every time the 1200 number comes up. I understand that 1200/day in white bread, chocolate, and Dr. Pepper is a terrible idea, yes. But with careful attention to nutrients, it doesn't have to be awful. And yes, I know that if I worked out more, I could eat more, but all I was/am willing to make time for is a half-hour run a few times a week and a couple short-ish strength training sessions, and so for me it was well worth the trade-off to eat a little less and not have to spend every waking moment in the gym.

I still feel the same way. I value my leisure time, get a moderate amount of exercise, and happily maintain my weight at about 1500 calories/day without a struggle. I have visible muscle tone and a low body fat percentage, I'm not skinnyfat, and I continue to find that as long as I eat a lot of vegetables and less-processed foods generally (although I do have the occasional restaurant meal/baked good/beer) I am not hungry. I'm jealous of my boyfriend, who's 50 pounds of muscle heavier and loves the gym, because he can put away 3000/day without gaining, but unless I put a ton of effort into building a lot of muscle and spend way more time exercising, I just can't get close to that at my size.

YMMV, of course, but I wanted to offer another perspective.

I am also at 1200 a day. And yes, I get hungry, even drinking enough water to drown a whale.

I had to make up my mind that my body was used to over 4000 calories and this 1200 calorie change was going to mean being hungry. I have to live with that and learn to deal with it until my body is used to the smaller amount of calories.

I just tell myself that the hunger pains mean my body is burning fat stores. May not be true but I'll bull**** myself if it means I'll stick to my plan. :bigsmile:

See, this is what I am dealing with. I have 60 pounds to go, and I am set at 1200 calories per day through the MFP calculator. I'm hungry a LOT. Sadly, after my week of 1200 and doing 4 cardio sessions, I gained 2 pounds. I am not sure I understand what in the world I am doing wrong. This is my first time tracking food as well.

Most likely, that's water weight. Happens all the time when you start new exercise or increase in intensity. Not uncommon to retain up to 5 lbs of water, which will mask any fat loss. Wait a week or three and it'll drop off. Then you'll see how much you've actually lost. General recommendation is not to weigh yourself for several weeks after starting new exercise for this reason - it discourages people who don't expect the gain.

Seriously, if you have 60 lbs. to lose, there is no way you need to be eating 1200 calories to lose weight. At 40 yrs old, 5'3", 123 lbs, and sedentary, I'd lose weight at 1200 cals. And be honest. How long do you think you will want to stay at 1200 cals if you're hungry all the time? Please take the long view, decrease your deficit, and let yourself eat more. Eat back your exercise. MFP and exercise machines are notorious for overestimating how much you have to eat back. Compensate for that by eating back 50% of their recommendation and you'll be fine. You'll be more likely to stick with it this way.

If you try this and still feel hungry all of the time, then examine what you're eating and start going for more satiating foods. Usually higher protein and fat, less carbs will help. I'm not talking low carb or no carb - 40-50% of your diet seems to be a popular target.

Look for 0 calorie butter substitutes, sugar free preserves and snacks with lower calorie amounts.

Larger portions of veg

break it up into more meals per day

That 1 tablespoon of butter is twice as many calories as a big bowl of veg

When you start to get lower needs in your weight loss and increase your calories reintroduce the fats

Really envious of all you lot that get to eat more calories hehehe Ive been around 1200 cal for close to a year ( LOVE big work out days for that eat back! lol )

Please, please, please ignore most of the above. Fats are a necessary macro. Just eat real food, not 0 calorie food substitutes. Food. Nutrient dense foods are nutritious and filling. By avoiding them you will not feel full, not feel healthy and likely your weight loss will get very slow.

Contrary to this post you might actually find a diet higher in fat (and lower in carbs, moderate protein) far more helpful that trying to eat no fat, and by default, a bunch of carbs/sugar.

OMG, let's stop the fat phobia already! Oh, and the "fill up on water" silliness too! Drink what you need, no more, no less and eat food. Move your body, get sleep, enjoy life.

Eat more!