How hard can it be to eat 1200 calories, what's up with that

I find it quite disturbing that only a few people seemed to acknowledge how disrespectful it was of the OP to make a comment on anorexia like 'they should just learn to eat'
I have friends and family members who have suffered through eating disorders and they could not 'just eat'.

I find staying at 1200 very difficult. I work out, at a pretty high intensity every day and eat all of those cals too and have to say my stomach is still rumbling a lot of the day. I don't, however, count every move I make throughout the day as exercise. I only count my "workout" or my run. I would not be able to function at less than the 1200 for sure.

@Jeanettelr77 - i just want to say how proud i am of you for quitting drugs!!! congratulations on being sober for almost 5 years and i am sure you are a great mum : )))

to those eating less than 1200 calories a day, i just want to know what your weight loss is like (honest question). this is because i have had some disordered eating before, and i am not sure if i messed up my metabolism. i don't want to enter "starvation mode". i am looking for the optimum range of calories i should eat for maximum weight loss while still being healthy.. hmm.

I find it very difficult at times. You switch to lower cal foods and some days I feel like I am shoving food in my face all day long. For breakfast I will have 2 pcs of low cal bread (70 cals), 1 tbs of peanut butter (85) 2 servings of egg beaters (60 cals) and a glass of 1% milk (110) for a total of 325 cals and I am VERY satisfied. Snacks and lunch consists of hard boiled egg (70 cals) Activia (70 cals) granola bar (130 cals) celery (24) carrots (50 cals) orange (100 cals) = 444 calories. Dinner is somewhere between 200-350 calories. We found recipes online at Betty Crocker that are usually under 300 cals. and it is filling food. A chicken breast (4 oz) is only 160 cals, 4 oz of baked fish is 100 cals and then you toss in 3/4 cup of green beans (35) cals and it is pretty filling for dinner. I find myself eating another hard boiled egg or another granola bar (or both) just to up my calories and I am not even hungry. If I will be working out that day, I plan and try to eat more cals. Other days, if I don't make the best choices it's different. I try to plan for things, when I know I am going to need more calories and when I want an 'treat'.

I have a hard time because I am here for weight loss AND health. Because of this, I have cut out most processed foods and eat mostly healthier low calorie things. If someone is eating healthier foods you have to eat WAY more amount of food in order to get 1200 calories. It is really hard when you are eating the right foods.

Not to mention if I am exercising, you have to eat back your exercise calories so your net is at least 1200. That means there are days where I am supposed to consume 1700-1800 calories to get me back to a net of 1200 calories.

I come pretty close to eating my exercise calories too.

Thats a good thing

I find it easy to eat 1200 calories and much much more on occasion.

What I find surprising is how people gained weight if they find 1200 a struggle. I know how much food I eat when I gain weight and it is much more than 1200.

To be honest if I had stuck to 1200 for the last years I would never have had to diet.

I find it easy to eat 1200 calories and much much more on occasion.

What I find surprising is how people gained weight if they find 1200 a struggle. I know how much food I eat when I gain weight and it is much more than 1200.

To be honest if I had stuck to 1200 for the last years I would never have had to diet.

just thought i would answer the question of how did one gain the weight... alot of people ask that... and well, for me personally it was the 2 pregnancies... so when even though i had no problem eating then, im just not as hungry 24/7 now... and i am sure that is the answer for several people... just one answer to that question... i do get what you mean though.

Yes I understand what you are saying.

I just wonder why people stay overweight after the pregnancy if they are not eating more calories than they need, which is usually well over 1200. I think people often under- estimate just what they do eat when not having to record it on here. I lost a lot of weight years ago and a little crept back on following a holiday in November and then Christmas - if I had been recording the calories or just writing down what I was eating I am sure I would not have eaten as much - writing it down is a very good discipline - hurts sometimes though!

I find it very hard to eat 1200 calories a day now.

I started this process being 100 lbs. overweight and I most definitely consumed WAY more than 1200 calories a day then, but it was because I was snacking, not doing anything, and eating junk. Since I've started this journey, I am trying to watch my calories but also eat healthier things, too, but my problem with getting the 1200 calories a day (and I haven't eaten any of my exercise calories back) is that most of the stuff that is good for you (fresh fruits and vegetables), I don't like, so I'm trying my best, but it's really hard.

I think often people struggle because they swap everything for low fat this and low fat that, when there have been numerous articles recently suggesting that low fat is actually not all that good, and often is full of artificial sweeteners, or sugar to replace the fat. There is nothing wrong with full fat as part of a healthy diet, especially if it helps you to hit what is already a low calorie goal. It seems to be common sense.

I have no issues hitting double 1200 on my exercise days, usually with greek yoghurt, seeds, few pieces of fruit, plenty of veggies, couple of fillets of salmon, a sweet potato, some cottage cheese and a wholefoods fruit and nut bar or two. I mean, my dinner tonight consisted of 2 salmon fillets, mixed vegetables and a little brown rice, some beetroot and tomatoes, and that took me to almost 600 and we are not talking a big serving of rice. I guess some people just have smaller appetites, but the issue with eating so low calorie is that it really can mess up your whole system, and it is not sustainable for life. It also seems to me that those eating more seem to maintain much better over a period of time and are less likely to fall back into their old ways or off the wagon so to speak.

But to each their own.