having trouble eating 1200 cals....

As far as interpreting your response as sarcastic - I think it was due to the number of "..." which can come off as sarcastic sometimes. Moving on from that:

I used to have the exact same problem as you. Two major things helped.

1. Plan out all your major meals for the day and log in advance so you can clearly see how many calories extra you have to work with. From here you can add things to the meal to make it more or less calorie heavy. Ie. Today I want to make myself a chicken parma for dinner which is higher in calories than I am used to (Around 500 including sides) so I only added one egg to my veg. scramble for breakfast to even it out.

2. Unless you are a vegetarian, meat is your best friend. I was actually shocked when I bought some chicken breast schnitzel the other day to cook up and put through a salad to discover it is much higher in calories than I thought (140grams over 250 if I recall). This is not a BAD number of calories for healthy food but it took my by surprise.

On top of this, milk does help as does finding a treat or snack you like. I'm a fan of 'skinny cow' sundaes, (though not thrilled by the name). That's an extra 140 calories of a night. With that already logged you only need to make up roughly 350 calories for each meal. Chuck a piece of chicken and maybe some potatoes with dinner and you'll hit 400-450 fairly easily and the rest should be fairly easy.

Oh, I'm also a sucker for Danish Fetta on wraps and egg scramble 85 calories for 35 grams. It's a great alternative for healthy cheese but also an easy calorie edition.

Good luck!

A fair amount of my meals are almost double, even close to triple 1200 calories.

You are lucky my friend to not be hungry and maintain your diet.
I had to try many diets to finally hit the nail on the head.
Currently I am on the 3 cheeseburger diet lol.
I get to eat 3 a day, it gives me just the right touch of protein, carbs and taste to loose safe weight and stay sane.
I also cheat once per week lol.

I didn't know using ellipses comes off as sarcastic.

Huh.....learn something new everyday.....

Is your icon from Wonder Showzen, or Adventuretime? (Sorry to hijack thread)

I've noticed that to. It's very hard for me to consume 1200 calories a day now, and I am eating healthy. The more weight I lose, I feel full with less. I assume it's because my stomach has shrunk along with my size?

I am not going to eat unless I am hungry, and I feel great, so I am not going to push that button, if I can help it. I still go over some days, but not too often.

Instead of eating more, maybe you could try eating things that are more calorie dense?

For example, go ahead and use the extra condiments, or have a bit more meat on your plate, or substitute a meal's water with something richer, like milk or whathaveyou.

Small changes can help. And eating healthy doesn't mean you have to cut out every single little possible (in)significant unhealthy thing. Just moderation.

>.< thanks

I didn't know using ellipses comes off as sarcastic.

Huh.....learn something new everyday.....

As an expert in ellipses, I am 99.44% certain that this belief that an ellipsis indicates sarcasm is entirely bogus.

I started drinking protein drinks once or twice a day in between meals and my snacks are all healthy (small) but add the calories on. That's the only way I can get 1200 calories down in a day.

You will and can do it in a healthy way however you have to monitor what you are taking in along with that calorie goal. You have to make sure you are not starving your body of the nutrients it needs while you are doing this dieting. I would suggest cutting down calories gradually as if you go to 1200 right away you might lose a lot of weight quickly but then you will plateau and have no where to go but back up in calories. I would suggest cutting down to about 1800 at first, and just working out more and see if that helps you. That way you're not putting your body into any kind of shock or anything of that nature by making it stop what it's used to.

I'm stunned.... and hurt by that angry response..

Roids will do that to ya

Laughssssssssssss

I'm very much an all or nothing person too. I can't do moderation - it doesn't work for me. So I've committed to eating clean (my personal trainer gave me a meal plan which is pretty easy to stick to) but some days it takes everything in me to choke down enough calories so I don't get yelled at by my friends on MFP.

I have a few suggestions...

Protein shakes are an easy way to get a couple hundred calories in.

Nuts and seeds are awesome to snack on. I made roasted chick peas tonight and they're so yummy and you can grab a handful here and there to get some more calories.

An apple with almond butter or peanut butter is also a good snack that's not too filling.

Hard boiled eggs too, if you like them. I do not.

And, butter is your friend.

Loosing weight is about how much calories you are taking in and for loosing weight you need to eat fewer calories, then you burn more in each day through exercise, and general living.

If you aren't feeling hungry or tired then I don't see the point in forcing yourself to eat. I am generally at about 900-1100 calories. I am losing weight so I know I am not in starvation mode. I don't even know if I really believe in the whole starvation mode thing. If it IS a real thing I think you would have to be below like 500-600 calories a day to get there.

Eating below 1200 is not about "starvation mode," it's about getting to 100% on your nutrients: iron, calcium, vitamins and minerals without resorting to supplements. That is impossible to do on 900 calories.

I am pretty confident I am getting more nutrients out of my 1,000 calories of clean eating than I was in my 38 years of eating 2,000 calories worth of french fries, pizza and mac n cheese. I am feeling healthy and great. When I get to my goal weight I will increase my calories but for now this is working for me.