Should i force the calories down??

The general rule is make it to at least 1200 calories a day. Maybe you could add in some higher calorie but still healthy foods, like almonds or avocado or drink 8 oz of milk.

it is NOT unhealthy to eat 1200 calories it IS VERY UNHEALTHY to eat less than 1200 calories. I suggest eating higher calorie- HEALTHY foods earlier in the day. Nuts (planters has a really cool pack of nuts with dark choc soy beans YUM) are high in caloreis, as well as almond milk can give you some good calories. Greek Yogurt good source of protein and just above a hundred calories a piece of raisn toast. If you want some more ideas check out my food log but YES you need to have AT LEAST 1200 calories more if you are exercercising.

I'm a big fan of 'listen to your body' - if you're not hungry then don't make yourself eat - especially at the end of the day when you will need to digest it over night...

BUT

You should aim to average around 1200 - so have a big healthy breakfast the next day in order to kick start the catch up.

I agree. The days that I am under my calorie goal of 1200 I don't seem to lose anything, but when I reach that and only have my exercise cals left, I do. Going under tells your body it needs to save the fat for fear of starvation. Try spreading out your calories and make them healthy ones. A great healthy snack are Kind Bars. They are delicious and range from 180-220 calories. Good luck.

If you are eating nutrient dense food and did not before... that will totally happen. It is kind of like your body is going into *what the heck are you doing to me???* mode (my quotes are broken -- cat spilled on the keyboard :-)). This too will pass and soon your body is going to start begging for more... especially if you live an active lifestyle.

It is not going to hinder your progress that much if it happens here and there and does not last more than a week or two. Slimming down and getting healthy is an accrued effort over time... so a day here and there of imperfection really isnt going to negate all the good work you are doing. Well as long as it isnt a whole pizza and a 12 pack kind of day ;-) (believe me I know :-)).

With all this being said I totally agree with the whole idea of just choking down a banana... we can all use a little more freshstuffs in our lives!

I'm a big fan of 'listen to your body' - if you're not hungry then don't make yourself eat - especially at the end of the day when you will need to digest it over night...

BUT

You should aim to average around 1200 - so have a big healthy breakfast the next day in order to kick start the catch up.

Agreed, I wouldn't force yourself to eat something if you aren't hungry but don't let it become a habit or it could inhibit your weight loss. An occasional day under 1200 won't kill you as long as you are stll eating small things periodically throughout the day to keep the body fueled. It will tell you when it is hungry and needs more food.

If you know there are going to be days when you're under 1200 calories, then allow yourslef to go over on other days when you are hungry. Calorie zig-zagging is a well known way of keeping your metabolism guessing - look at your average over a week.

This is really true - the zig zag approach, I do a lot of exercise and work shifts. On nights I always exercise before work, have a low calorie lunch before I set off but only soup during the shift because I have no appitite on nights. However, I tend to eat more on days. I recently asked if you can carry calories over as long as you even out over the week and got a lot of good advice.

It is, as everyone has said, bad to go under your 1200 calories as your body starts to store, but if you REALLY can't eat anything to top it up, just try eating more the next day. Again, as everyone has said nuts, trail mix etc are really really good for you and an easy calorie top up. SO, if you're aiming for 1200 calories each day, then over the week thats 8400 calories - so providing you eat around 8400 calories over the week you should still be ok. I've been using this method since joining and consistantly loose. Unfortunately now I've lost the majority of the weight I needed to it's at a much slower rate, usually a lb a week now - but it was 2-3 lbs a week when I was bigger.

Hope that makes sense!

Good luck x