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

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  • lmvolk
    lmvolk Posts: 51 Member
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    I struggle with an eating disorder...but I'm learning to control it. Sometimes it really truly is hard to think about eating 1200 calories. It's a mindset thing. *hides behind laptop* don't judge me!!
    I'm sorry :blushing: :flowerforyou:
  • lmvolk
    lmvolk Posts: 51 Member
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    Or are the people who post they can't eat it all the anorexic ones? I'm sure there are some of them on here, maybe trying to learn to eat properly?
    On an ending note I'd just like to add that I think the comment about "must be anorexic" was quite rude and disrespectful.
    Sorry again... I was just asking/curious. Is "anorexic" a demeaning term? I meant it as a medical term, and tried to recognize the fact that not everyone here is trying to *lose* weight.:embarassed:
  • elainegsd
    elainegsd Posts: 459 Member
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    On an ending note I'd just like to add that I think the comment about "must be anorexic" was quite rude and disrespectful.

    I agree, and I also believe the OP didn't intend to be rude. Her post is one of the few I have read here that made me speechless with disbelief.
  • RexyAli
    RexyAli Posts: 4
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    I agree with Sirenism, I don't have an ED but I eat around 600-700 calories a day and that is fine for me. I have energy, I work full time and go to college 2 nights a week and I function fine! I don't know what all this eating 1200+ rubbish is all about. Maybe if you ate less you'd lose weight?
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
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    For me it's not that I am having trouble, like, I can't eat 1200 calories. I have the problem with trying to net 1200 calories. I get 1520 a day. I have a pretty sedentary lifestyle. If I work out and burn 400 calories I actually have to eat more than 1520 (1600) calories to net 1200. I try to eat low fat high fiber snacks and it kills me to work out and burn 400 calories and still have to eat them back, when I would rather not eat them and lose weight faster. It just doesn't work that way.

    Some people here are not overweight just by eating 1000s of extra calories a day, some are people who don't eat enough everyday and their bodies are in storage mode. They are the people who are probably not obese, just needing to lose those pesky 10lbs or so,
  • songofserenity81
    songofserenity81 Posts: 138 Member
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    I have a lap band which limits the amount I can eat so smaller amounts throughout the day is the way to go for me..(or would be if I wasnt so busy with M_I_L that I eat when she does.) I have been trying to push myself to get the base 1200 in and am getting better...but even when I exercise because I only tend to burn between 400 to 600 cals a day max I only eat a small portion of them back because I am never sure how many of what I have burned would have been burned regardless of my exercising or not. There are very few occasions when I actually feel physically hungry , another action of the band . I eat because I know I need to not because of any real desire to indulge. I dont eat any fast foods, breads or pastry but that was my choice and one I do not regret.
  • sbwood888
    sbwood888 Posts: 953 Member
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    I'm with you. I am allowed 1430 calories a day and could easily double that. :laugh:
  • hellsbell
    hellsbell Posts: 33 Member
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    To the poster above with the weight loss question: if you eat your recommended calories for the day without exercising you will still lose weight. I have an injured foot so I can't do any exercise for the moment, I can only restrict my calories. I've been doing this for a few weeks and have been losing weight slowly and steadily. However - I REALLY recommend exercise. When I was exercising regularly I discovered so many benefits: better sleep, clearer skin, more physical energy, more mental alertness, etc. etc.
    Try not to be afraid of your food :)
  • Sirenism
    Sirenism Posts: 100 Member
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    Honestly no. When I work out I just feel good and refreshed. I think there has only been a time or two that I've ever actually felt hungry afterward.
  • tmcoyle
    tmcoyle Posts: 168 Member
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    I am at the 1200 calories a day too and I burn about 330 calories during exercise, but I have not seen the scale budge. I have been eating this many calories for 4 weeks and exercising the same. I don't do any strength training, maybe I should start doing this. I work at a sit down job for 8 hours, then come home and train 3-4 horses a day. I am just counting 90 minutes of exercise for that as I walk, trot and lope throughout the rides, even through I work with each horse for an hour each. Am I counting too many calories burned? I don't feel hungry. I don't eat more calories to make up for my exercise, is this slowing my metabolism down? I am definitely eating more healthy, more veggies and fruit and cutting out unhealthy snacks. Any suggestions?
  • caitlinaudrey
    caitlinaudrey Posts: 5
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    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'.
  • lal73
    lal73 Posts: 116
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    Its not as hard to only eat 1200 calories if you familiraize yourself with Nutrition, cooking, and recipes...That really really helps....But, it certainly takes discipline and pre planning.
  • aschultz9
    aschultz9 Posts: 89
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    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.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
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    I am not a very big eater.Im usally around 1300.Alot of time I make myself eat so I wont be to low.So how did I get fat?Well from ages 12 to 29 I was on drugs,acid and meth but mostly just meth after aboyt 16.I would drink 6 to 7 sodas a day when I would eat it would be fast food needless to say I was on meth so I stayed skinny.At 29 I quit drugs just woke up one day and decided not to do them anymore,a month later I got pregnant with my daughter, 3 months after that I got put on bed rest.I never knew how to eat right so i indulged every freaking pregnancy craving I had.Thats how I got fat.But before I started drugs I was a very very light eater my mom used to drag me to drs thinking there was something wrong with me,but it was just the way I am.it seems thats the way i find myself being again now that ive been sober foralmost 5 years
  • hippiechel
    hippiechel Posts: 170 Member
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    @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.
  • kfarnham9
    kfarnham9 Posts: 29
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    I have the hardest time eating 1200 calories a day. My weight loss is on pause because my body seems to be in starvation mode. I need to eat about 1800 calories a day to keep up with my workout/weight loss program. I eat a lot of wheat/fruit/veggies. After lunch I did eat 2 apples but I feel like I'm about to bust. I don't like eating a lot at night because I don't sleep well. I don't like eating a pile in the morning because that's when I do my work out. Blah. I could eat 1200 for a meal if I ate fast food but I don't.
  • christy_frank
    christy_frank Posts: 680 Member
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    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'.
  • hotmooglelove
    hotmooglelove Posts: 84
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    According to typical calculations, a person would have to be roughly 4 feet tall, 65 lbs, and live a sedentary lifestyle to require 1200kcal in order to maintain weight, which is why most people at those levels do tend to have disorders.

    That being said, everyone is different and those calculations are never exact. I would recommend, however, that someone who maintains weight at that calorie rate have their body fat % properly checked by a professional. It's essential that women stay above 12%, and ideally aim to be above 21% for longevity.

    BTW OP I eat 1,000 calorie hotdogs sometimes, so I feel your pain =P
  • Lisa__Michelle
    Lisa__Michelle Posts: 845 Member
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    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.
  • Katfrench
    Katfrench Posts: 27
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    I wish I could say it's hard for me to eat 1200 calories a day! I come pretty close to eating my exercise calories too. I've lost 6 lbs in 6 weeks so I guess I'm doing something right. Just do what works for you. :smile:

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