1200 calories a day (help needed)

superwova · July 2014

I'm new to this site and the whole idea of dieting. Last night I messed up my 2 day streak because I couldn't handle being hungry anymore, and started to eat until I was full (very bad foods too).

But I am serious about losing weight though. Exercise is hard for me because I've never seriously exercised in my entire life (like other than skateboarding and activities like that)

I am in general a very unhealthy person. My habit before was to get on with what I was doing in the day and come night time I would eat a good big meal and then eat snacks and basically use that to fall asleep. Also I drink a lot of coffees in the span of a single day.

I'm only suppose to eat 1200 calories a day. On the first day and second day doing this (I found it very hard obviously, having always been able to eat what I want, when I want, etc) I realized that I was going to have to eat in the day and also spread out what I eat through the day and evening.

I'm just really stuck, I'm also on medication which increases my appetite, so it can be really difficult. Still, I'm very serious about this though. The idea of exercising just so I can eat more is something that appeals to me (when I'm actually doing the 1200 calories/day)

So basically I'm hungry all the time, it's just the degree of my hunger it can be unbearable at times with the medication I'm on. I'm 150lbs and 5'9, 31 years old, male. Any suggestions like good foods that are low on calories that fill you up, etc would be greatly appreciated, (or any pointers in general)

Thanks a lot and sorry about the scatterbrained-ness of my post.

Dan

Reprocess · July 2014

Hey,

The hunger is really something you will probably only have for the first week or two. Your body and brain just have to get used to it.

Try to eat small meals but often and eat them very slowly. It will help you to feel you eat more then if you just wolf them down.

Going to bed early. Most people will find food craving in the evening. Going to bed and sleep is one good way of not eating. If you spice up with some excersie you.

As you describe yourself as an unhealthy person. Do no cut yourself off from everything you like to eat as it will probably just doom what you are trying to archive here. Go for the 80/20 diet. 80 healthy and 20 not so healthy... Just watch the calories and make sure the 80% holds all the minerals you need

UmmSqueaky · July 2014

Your BMI is firmly within the normal range. Instead of losing weight, consider lifting weights and doing body re composition instead.

jillyrose0711 · July 2014

You're a 31 year old male. That to me almost guarantees you need far more than 1200 calories to make it through life. The fact that you're hungry all the time is a big red flag that you're trying to restrict waayyyy too much. I'm not sure if you got this 1200 calorie number from MFP or not, but I'd strongly consider recalculating your calorie needs using something like this
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
I entered your stats and it gave me about 2000 calories for the "sedentary" option. Even if you subtract 20% of that to get a deficit to lose weight, that would still be way over 1200 calories. Add in some exercise and you'll be able to "afford" even more calories
Fuel your body with more calories, and you won't be so hungry that you binge!

itsbasschick · July 2014

i'm on 1200 net calories per day, and i only eat foods i really like. i kept from getting hungry by spitting my calories into 5 or 6 smaller meals per day. if you exercise more, you can eat more - i eat back approx half my exercise calories each day.

that being said, 1200 calories is too low for a 5' 9" male - particularly one who's actually not overweight. i rarely say things like that, but where did you come up with 1200 calories per day?

your BMR (that's the minimum calories you should eat per day if you're completely sedentary) is 1640 calories per day
http://www.calories-calculator.net/BMR_Calculator.html

and your healthy weight is between 121 and 153 lbs.
http://www.rush.edu/rumc/page-1108048103230.html

so if you need to lose a few pounds, 1200 calories is way too low - no wonder you're so hungry! it's very bad for your body to cut your calories so low, and you will lose muscle, which means you'll burn less calories, which in turn means it will be harder to keep the weight off.

superwova · July 2014

Okay, thanks a lot guys for you help! I'm just starting out so thanks for giving me that extra boost in the right direction, In genuinely don't know what I'm doing the only thing I know is this stuff works, so I guess it's just a matter of doing more research and pursuing the suggestions everyone gave me. Thanks again, everything you said was all a great relief.

superwova · July 2014

Okay, good to know! wow

slcorey1974 · July 2014

Hi Dan,

In your posting you list your weight as 150 lbs? For your height that's not too bad. I'm 5'9" and weight 254, I wish I was 150.
Anyway, I have the same problem as you. I USE to eat everything I wanted when I wanted it. I have been on a life-style change since March when I weighted 285. My blood pressure was above normal, my cholestral and blood sugar was higher than they should be. Since then I have made changes in my life. I don't like to use the word diet because I'm not on a diet. I'm trying to permanently change my life, not just for a period of time until I lose weight then go back to where I was.

I know night time is the worse because it's down time where I'm watching TV or on the computer. Here's a few thing I have changed to help me.

1. Eat smaller, healthier choices throughout the day. I now eat breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, then supper. Nothing to eat after supper.
2. Keep busy. It sounds easy, but I work on little projects around the house, especially on weekends.
3. Join a local gym. I started by participating in a weight loss program that work sponsored. That included exercise at the local YMCA and change in eating habits. I have since join a local gym for $20 a month and go 3-4 times a week.

I have been using this site for about 2 weeks and it helps me track: what I eat, weight loss, gym workouts. It helps.

One last bit of advise, if you "mess-up" don't worry or feel guilty. You just startup the next day and learn from the previous day.
It's like golf, you screw-up one hole and start over on the next hole.

-Steve

RGv2 · July 2014

Who said you're supposed to eat only 1200 cals per day?

superwova · July 2014

Can you point me to any good websites that cover the body recomposition stuff? I'll check and see what I find, sounds like it would be fun though

superwova · July 2014

That's just the number 'myfitnesspal' gave me after input my 'data' - saying that I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week

hj1119 · July 2014

MyFitnessPal lied to you. 2 pounds a week is unrealistic for someone of your current shape. Change it to .5 or 1 lb a week. Or better yet, determine your own goals. If I were you, I'd shoot for 1650 or so and see how that suits you.

I LOVE this link: http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

RGv2 · July 2014

That's just the number 'myfitnesspal' gave me after input my 'data' - saying that I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week

You're goal is WAYYYYYYY to aggressive. People with 75+ lbs to lose would be shooting for 2-3 lbs a week...for a while. You don't need to lose weight, you need to eat at TDEE and lift heavy things (recomp).

itsbasschick · July 2014

2 pounds a week is WAYYYY too much to lose at your weight. you should be losing half a pound per week, and that will be much healthier and easier for you.

_lyndseybrooke_ · July 2014

I'm only suppose to eat 1200 calories a day.

Says who? You need to recheck your MFP settings, change that to 0.5-1 lb/week, or better yet, use the TDEE method and manually change your MFP numbers.

So basically I'm hungry all the time, it's just the degree of my hunger it can be unbearable at times with the medication I'm on.

Your medication may have something to do with it, but it's more likely that you're hungry because you're not eating nearly enough.

I'm 150lbs and 5'9, 31 years old, male.

Wait, what?! You're male?! Jeez...you need to eat a whole lot more, dude. The lowest a man should ever eat is 1500 calories per day, and even that is too low for most. How much weight are you trying to lose, because you're at a healthy weight already for your height? Regardless, 2 lb/week is way too fast with you already being thin.

Perhaps this is something you should see a doctor about, because this whole thing screams future eating disorder.

superwova · July 2014

Okay, awesome thanks for that. I have basically all the answers I need, the only thing is I have a belly on me I want to lose. Is this again, relating more so to the recomp side of things?

So happy I don't have to try to eat 1200 calories a day anymore! Such a huge relief.

superwova · July 2014

Not at all, basically I'm excited because I found out that this stuff works for real. And the only reason why I wanted to lose weight is because I thought I gained weight after starting my medication because now i have somewhat of a big belly on me which I don't like.

superwova · July 2014

Thanks everyone for your help, good thing I asked on here otherwise I would be going in the opposite direction of where I want to go. I appreciate it a lot. Cheers.

2013sk · July 2014

Your a male, with the same height as me and your eat 1200 calories............!!!

WHY????????????????????????????????????????

Your poor body.......... Food is fuel!!

Work out your BMR & TDEE straight away!

Eat lots of protein, fruits, veggies, nuts, seed, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese etc..........I LOVE EATING & FOOD

WHY STARVE YOURSELF!!!!!!!

superwova · July 2014

Thanks 2013sk, I've only been doing it for 2 days it wasn't working out for me so I came on here for help.

Do you know where I would start if I wanted to lose my belly? It's not a pretty sight, I didn't have a belly like this a few years ago, basically the only reason why I was leanning more towards the 'losing weight' approach as opposed to the 'body recomp' is I thought for me to get rid of it I would simply need to diet. I'm more than happy to lift weights and do situps if I get to eat lots of protein and types of foods you mentioned. Either way, thanks for your help I appreciate it.

RGv2 · July 2014

Thanks 2013sk, I've only been doing it for 2 days it wasn't working out for me so I came on here for help.

Do you know where I would start if I wanted to lose my belly? It's not a pretty sight, I didn't have a belly like this a few years ago, basically the only reason why I was leanning more towards the 'losing weight' approach as opposed to the 'body recomp' is I thought for me to get rid of it I would simply need to diet. I'm more than happy to lift weights and do situps if I get to eat lots of protein and types of foods you mentioned. Either way, thanks for your help I appreciate it.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1161603-so-you-want-a-nice-stomach?hl=nice+stomach

First thing you'll learn is you can't spot reduce (sit ups). Sit ups do nothing for losing fat specifically over the abdomen (as all exercises). Sit ups work the hip flexors more than anything anyway.

1200 calories a day (help needed)

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