1200 calories, my stomach is growling?

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Hello Everyone,

I have only started my 1200 calorie diet and my stomach is growling and I am so dizzy! I am 19 years old 5,3 and 125 and I have 20 pounds to lose maybe a bit less, I was hoping to start back on track but today the dizziness has put me in bed and my stomach is growling horribly, any suggestions?

Thanks

Replies

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Hello Everyone,

    I have only started my 1200 calorie diet and my stomach is growling and I am so dizzy! I am 19 years old 5,3 and 125 and I have 20 pounds to lose maybe a bit less, I was hoping to start back on track but today the dizziness has put me in bed and my stomach is growling horribly, any suggestions?

    Thanks
    You have 20 pounds to lose, which means you need to up your calories significantly and set your goals to lose .5 pounds per week. Eat some calorie dense food that will keep you full too. Your stomach will stop growling and you will feel loads better.

    If the dizziness continues, go see your doctor.
  • michikade
    michikade Posts: 313 Member
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    Because you're within the range of a healthy body weight for your height, you can easily eat more and still lose weight at a healthy rate, along with strength training for body composition. You don't need such a drastic cut of calories at your level. :)
  • One2Run
    One2Run Posts: 63 Member
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    Eat.

    Exercise more if you want to keep your net to 1200. A boiled egg is 80ish cals, combined with a fruit or veg is a low cal snack. If you are eating so little that you are in bed, what is the point? This should be lifestyle change, and I doubt that staying in bed all day miserable is sustainable.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    If you start dieting and get dizzy, odds are pretty high that you need more food. See the doctor, of course. Better to be safe than sorry! But try more food.
  • bonbons324
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    1200 may be too low for you. Consider going up to 1500. Make sure you're getting enough fruits and vegetables but especially calcium. You're 19 and don't want to have osteoporosis in a few years. If you're exercising then 1200 cal/day is definitely not enough. Be patient with yourself. :)
  • SairaJ28
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    I can relate. I ate 1000-1350 calories for around a year, but I then had around 13 days of binge eating, where I ate huge amounts of food. Since then I've tried upping my calories by allowing myself to eat back exercise calories, but today I didn't exercise. I'm super hungry on 1200 calories, but I'll eat more tomorrow so should be alright. If you're hungry, I definitely recommend upping your calories. 1200 calories no longer seems enough.
  • ThatSoundsHard
    ThatSoundsHard Posts: 475 Member
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    As others have said, you're not eating enough.

    Are your goals set to 1 or 2 pounds per week? If so, your goal is just too aggressive. Set your goals to .5lbs lost weekly, that should give you more calories to work with.

    Many people find it helpful to find a BMR/TDEE calculator online.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    I'm 2 inches shorter than you and look pretty dang good at 125. Maybe what you want to is reduce body fat while maintaining weight ... which would mean some more muscle.

    You can probably eat at least 1800 calories a day and lift heavy along with whatever cardio you want to do. You'll "tone up" and look hot without depriving yourself and feeling faint or dizzy :wink:

    Check out this thread ... there are a lot of pictures posted in there that can give you an idea of what maintaining weight and gaining muscle does for women:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1366368-women-lifting-heavy-and-being-bulky
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    You do not have 20 pounds to lose. 5'3" at 105 is extremely underweight. You will not be happy with yourself, I can almost guarantee it. Eat more, and start lifting heavy weights and you will start to see the results that all women long for, a tight, lean and fit physique.

    Also, MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, not even quite 5 feet! So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

    Go to

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    and enter your height/weight/activity level.

    Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.
  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
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    I don't think you need to cut down to 1200 if you only go 20 lbs till your goal. Like someone said before, try 1/2 lb of weight loss per week. If you don't want to do that then all I can say is that it will take time to adjust to that amount of calories if you're used to eating more than that. Your stomach will be growling. So if you don't want to raise your calories, drink tea or water or spread out your calories throughout the day. But I highly recommend eating more. 1200 is the bare minimum. I have about 80+ pounds to lose and eat about 1400 calories a day and am still losing. I've seen others here who eat more than that and can still lose. So, yeah, eat more.