Is it going to get easier?

You will need lots of vegetables of different types to snack on, and some fruit.

Fruitylicious03 wrote: »

5'4 and 1200 a day or less?


I'm 5'2 and eating 1400 a day and losing 1lb a week. That's not even TDEE. My TDEE suggests I eat 1300-1600 depending on activity to lose 1lb a week. And I'm smaller than you. I doubt 1200 is enough for you.

Yup, I'm 5'2 and eating 1600 a day and losing weight pretty quick (when I don't binge). My TDEE was estimated at around 1700, so I'm barely eating less than it and still losing weight. I never recommend 1200 for anyone.... I feel soo starved when I go that low and I don't know how any adult could be satisfied off that. Up your calories! You don't have to eat 1600 necessarily, but try 1400 or something. You want this to be a sustainable and healthy lifestyle change, not a starvation diet that's going to lead you to overeat later because you're so deprived.

In agreement to eating more whole dense foods, watch your sugar intake. I see you switched up to 1350 kcal a day - GOOD! yay! Keep your sugars at or below 50g daily. If you're not burning fuel (sugar) it will be stored in your liver then if theres too much, it will overflow from the liver and stored as fat! (yuk!)


Normally I'm 1500 kcal daily with activity etc., some days 1200 is easy when all whole foods are eaten (oatmeal, lean meats, fresh veg and fruit, etc) Is it sustainable? Not really, but it is doable. I have a few MFP peeps who are around 5ft tall and at maintenance between 1200-1400..

Any questions please do not hesitate to inbox me

all calories are NOT created equal... stay away from "packaged" anything...so.. you can "waste your calorie allotment by eating a bag of potato chips... OR you can fill yourself with a bag of baby carrots... it is NOT the number of calories.. it's where you are getting them from that matters... you want to feel full? increase protein intake... along with leafy greens and veggies from the "cabbage family"... broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts... get your protein from boneless skinless chicken breasts... fish... nuts...boiled eggs, nonfat plain Greek yogurt... get your sugar fix from raw fruit with skin... like berries, apples, pears, grapes... get your fats from olive oil, peanut oil, moderate use of butter... you don't have to weigh your food to begin with... take small steps... begin with just cleaning out the fridge of all the cr*p... and filling it with good stuff... THEN... figure out how to weigh and measure the good stuff to suit your needs... I heard once that Jennifer Aniston has a cob salad everyday for lunch... I personally NOW start my day with 2 slices of dry toast a small tomato and a scoop of whey protein isolate... food is fuel... make that your mantra and you will begin to embrace the change you vowed to yourself you would make.

Fruitylicious03 wrote: »

RavenLibra wrote: »

all calories are NOT created equal... stay away from "packaged" anything...so.. you can "waste your calorie allotment by eating a bag of potato chips... OR you can fill yourself with a bag of baby carrots... it is NOT the number of calories.. it's where you are getting them from that matters... you want to feel full? increase protein intake... along with leafy greens and veggies from the "cabbage family"... broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts... get your protein from boneless skinless chicken breasts... fish... nuts...boiled eggs, nonfat plain Greek yogurt... get your sugar fix from raw fruit with skin... like berries, apples, pears, grapes... get your fats from olive oil, peanut oil, moderate use of butter... you don't have to weigh your food to begin with... take small steps... begin with just cleaning out the fridge of all the cr*p... and filling it with good stuff... THEN... figure out how to weigh and measure the good stuff to suit your needs... I heard once that Jennifer Aniston has a cob salad everyday for lunch... I personally NOW start my day with 2 slices of dry toast a small tomato and a scoop of whey protein isolate... food is fuel... make that your mantra and you will begin to embrace the change you vowed to yourself you would make.

Actually calories are units of measurement. Therefore they are all equal. A centimetre is no different from another centimetre. Same with calories.

However, NUTRITION in food is different.

Yes, indeed.

I think part of the problem is that people equate weight loss automatically with health, so "healthy" will make you lose weight. That ain't even close to true.

Weight loss is indeed ultimately taking in less than you burn.

How COMFORTABLE you are doing that is a lot more subjective. 500 calories of oatmeal (certainly a healthy food) won't keep me going as long as 500 calories of meat and veggies.

As I said, this can be pretty subjective. Oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit would be a crap breakfast for me, but I have a friend for whom this is absolutely optimum. I'm a bacon, eggs and fruit kinda gal.

You may find you want to eat more fat. You may find you are more comfortable and sated longer on lots of protein. You might find that unless your diet contains mongo amounts of fiber, you just don't feel right.

The important thing is finding what works. Me? I think there is little downside ('cept maybe to your wallet!) of trying your best to fill up on as much produce as you can get yourself to eat, and try to stay away from pre-packaged stuff.

NoelFigart1 wrote: »

Fruitylicious03 wrote: »

RavenLibra wrote: »

all calories are NOT created equal... stay away from "packaged" anything...so.. you can "waste your calorie allotment by eating a bag of potato chips... OR you can fill yourself with a bag of baby carrots... it is NOT the number of calories.. it's where you are getting them from that matters... you want to feel full? increase protein intake... along with leafy greens and veggies from the "cabbage family"... broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts... get your protein from boneless skinless chicken breasts... fish... nuts...boiled eggs, nonfat plain Greek yogurt... get your sugar fix from raw fruit with skin... like berries, apples, pears, grapes... get your fats from olive oil, peanut oil, moderate use of butter... you don't have to weigh your food to begin with... take small steps... begin with just cleaning out the fridge of all the cr*p... and filling it with good stuff... THEN... figure out how to weigh and measure the good stuff to suit your needs... I heard once that Jennifer Aniston has a cob salad everyday for lunch... I personally NOW start my day with 2 slices of dry toast a small tomato and a scoop of whey protein isolate... food is fuel... make that your mantra and you will begin to embrace the change you vowed to yourself you would make.

Actually calories are units of measurement. Therefore they are all equal. A centimetre is no different from another centimetre. Same with calories.

However, NUTRITION in food is different.

The important thing is finding what works. Me? I think there is little downside ('cept maybe to your wallet!) of trying your best to fill up on as much produce as you can get yourself to eat, and try to stay away from pre-packaged stuff.

Many here say Eat everything in moderation. I too believe in that and it includes packaged food.

However, I think a good reason for cutting something out, is only if you have no self control around it and it constantly hurts your progress.

Personally I see no problem with having a little treat after one has met all their macros, and have eaten a well balanced diet throughout the day. (That is if you still have calories left)

NoelFigart1 wrote: »

I have no problem with a treat, either. If I have the calories for it, I'll eat that chocolate truffle and totally enjoy it.

I mean in general.

That's true.

When I'm on a calorie deficit kick, I literally gorge myself on raw veg / salad, and keep sugar free jello in the fridge to bloat myself out on if I get hungry. If you are feeling stuffed, it's easier to ignore any craving for snacks...

A lot of snacks are marketed as 'healthy' being around 100 calories or less, but at the end of the day they aren't nutritious or particularly filling, so it's 100 calories wasted that could have been spent on something like boiled eggs, which are nutritious and filling.

Im on 1200 a day (most days, at least) and the trick I found is to find foods that you can eat a lot of, but dont cost a lot of calories. And also instead of whole meals, go for smaller meals and have snacks every few hours.

An example of my day would look like...
8 am Breakfast - Yoplait Light Yogurt ~90 cals [Im never very hungry until at least 10am]
10 am Snack - 1 cup of grapes ~100 cals
12:30 pm Lunch - Lean Cuisine Steak Portobello ~150 cals
3 pm Snack - 1 apple ~ 80 cals
5 pm Dinner - 1/3 Palmeros Margarita Pizza ~ 290 cals
6:30 pm Snack - Nabisco oreo snack pack ~ 100 cals
8 pm Supper - Lean Cuisine Shrimp Alfredo ~ 200 cals
9:30 pm Snack - 1 Low Fat String Cheese ~ 50 cals

And all this is only 1060 so you can indulge in a serving of some favorite snack. I have sugar free vanilla pudding(60), and Hostess Mini Donuts(250 for 4), and Fun Size Twix(80), that I keep around for when I have enough calories left to eat them. Or, if you are still very hungry, you can double the servings on one meal... have 2 yogurts instead of one... Or you can have juice/soda with a meal... I personally tend to just not eat the rest if im not hungry, as long as MFP says you had over 1000, because the labels on food can be off by like, 20% legally so I assume Im eating more than what the label says.

I also avoid eating back too many exercise calories. I usually just eat about 1200 a day and leave it at that. Its worked for me so far. I never feel much like cooking so I mostly eat pre-prepared foods, or when I do cook I make plenty and portion it out into separate containers...

Yes, it does get easier after a few weeks once you get used to it. At least, it did for me...