1200 calories unreachable? help?

It looks like you did okay yesterday. I don't see the problem.

1200 is tough. I don't have any really good suggestions other than to try to incorporate vegetables into your meals and snacks. You can eat a lot of veggies for very few calories. Going over on protein is fine, and I wouldn't worry about the sugar. I'd switch to tracking fiber rather than sugar, and work on trying to reach that fiber goal rather than staying under. Watch the sodium - even though you are under, it's still a lot given your low calorie total.

Over in protein is good. Over in sugar, only it it comes from fruit, is ok too.... From candy, pastry etc, not.
I can't do 1200 either. It's impossible. Just the milk in my coffee in the morning is 260, and I need my coffee and don't like it black either. Then there are practically 1000 Cal left to eat, which is impossible to break into 3 meals, 300 cal per meal is just impossible. Throw in a snack of an apple for example, the big Apple is 120 cals... Now I gotta figure out a dinner or a lunch for about 200 cals . How in the world people are living on 1200 cal around here is a mystery to me. My solution to this was exercise... One hour in the gym would give me about 600 cal allowance , if I worked hard, so that let me eat 2000 cal a day and get the results of 1200 cal. There is no other way for me, but you must be willing, able, and have the time and energy to exercise.
I've had personal problems and stopped going to the gym for the past 3 months, plus I didn't log anymore... I gained about 10 lbs, I am starting again and hopefully will lose those in about 8 weeks.
Good luck to you

Plenty of protein is good.

Going over on sugar, if it's from fruit or lactose in milk or yogurt, is fine.

Sticking to around 1200 can be done if you eat plenty of vegetables and watch your portions of starchy carbs since they are calorically dense.

I eat around that amount. My diary is public if you want to look. I eat my main meal at lunch, you can see my portions for vegetables are very large.

Happyme2009 wrote: »

Over in protein is good. Over in sugar, only it it comes from fruit, is ok too.... From candy, pastry etc, not.
I can't do 1200 either. It's impossible. Just the milk in my coffee in the morning is 260, and I need my coffee and don't like it black either. Then there are practically 1000 Cal left to eat, which is impossible to break into 3 meals, 300 cal per meal is just impossible. Throw in a snack of an apple for example, the big Apple is 120 cals... Now I gotta figure out a dinner or a lunch for about 200 cals . How in the world people are living on 1200 cal around here is a mystery to me. My solution to this was exercise... One hour in the gym would give me about 600 cal allowance , if I worked hard, so that let me eat 2000 cal a day and get the results of 1200 cal. There is no other way for me, but you must be willing, able, and have the time and energy to exercise.
I've had personal problems and stopped going to the gym for the past 3 months, plus I didn't log anymore... I gained about 10 lbs, I am starting again and hopefully will lose those in about 8 weeks.
Good luck to you

I have the same issue. Right now for me, with a goal of losing 2 lbs per week, my daily allowance is 1200 calories. I easily can eat 2500 calories per day, and that's not even stuffing myself. I *have* to go to the gym in order to earn extra calories, at least 450. Yesterday I worked out for 2 hours at the gym, which gave me an extra 1100 calories. I find that if I don't exercise, it's really hard for me to stay below the daily amount, but with exercise, I can eat that extra amount, and I'm exhausted at night and I fall asleep (instead of eating more).

ndj1979 wrote: »

Happyme2009 wrote: »

Over in protein is good. Over in sugar, only it it comes from fruit, is ok too.... From candy, pastry etc, not.
I can't do 1200 either. It's impossible. Just the milk in my coffee in the morning is 260, and I need my coffee and don't like it black either. Then there are practically 1000 Cal left to eat, which is impossible to break into 3 meals, 300 cal per meal is just impossible. Throw in a snack of an apple for example, the big Apple is 120 cals... Now I gotta figure out a dinner or a lunch for about 200 cals . How in the world people are living on 1200 cal around here is a mystery to me. My solution to this was exercise... One hour in the gym would give me about 600 cal allowance , if I worked hard, so that let me eat 2000 cal a day and get the results of 1200 cal. There is no other way for me, but you must be willing, able, and have the time and energy to exercise.
I've had personal problems and stopped going to the gym for the past 3 months, plus I didn't log anymore... I gained about 10 lbs, I am starting again and hopefully will lose those in about 8 weeks.
Good luck to you

please explain the bolded part…

sugar = sugar

Well, I believe the benefits that come from fruits ( fibre, vitamins, minerals ) outweighs the evil of sugar... There are no health benefits from eating cake , other than maybe a temporary emotional comfort, so it's probably best to avoid.... And I am no doctor, but from my personal experience, processed sugar ( as opposed to that coming from fresh fruit) doesn't make me crave more of it soon after eating it.... In other words, I can have a chocolate croissant and desire one more soon after... So 2 of them, let's say, 400 cals ( if we give 200 cal per croissant, which is actually less then in reality )... But if I eat 2 medium/large apples, for 200 cal average, I won't crave another 2 medium/large apples right after finishing the first round.
See where I am going with this ?

You look like you're doing pretty well. Baby steps. As other people have suggested, try to gradually shift your diet from majority processed foods to more whole foods. Not 100%, we have to be real here.

Exercise when you can, but do not rely on exercise as a strategy for eating more. You don't burn that many calories exercising, it's not possible to tell exactly how many calories you're burning and people overestimate, while underestimating the calories they are consuming. Exercise for strength, balance, and a general feeling of well-being.

LadyLoriAnn wrote: »

LadyLoriAnn wrote: »

segacs wrote: »

Sounds like your issue is that you're trying to dramatically change everything you eat overnight, all in one fell swoop.

Eating 1200 healthily and nutritiously in a way that makes you feel full *is* possible. But it takes some learning about which foods work for you, some experimenting with different recipes, some learning how to cook and shop.

Give yourself a break and do it slowly. Start by aiming to eat 1500 for a few weeks. See if you can stay under that. See if you're losing weight at your desired pace. If so, great, stick to that number. If not, cut to 1400, or 1300. By then you'll have learned quite a bit about how to meal plan and which foods will work for you, and it will be much easier.

Don't try to change too many habits overnight. The key to success is a bit at a time.

The problem I am having is that I am eating all day the things I "Think" are healthy and I am not reaching 1200

so have a COOKIE lol seriously....eat - it won't harm you

I bet i could plug your info (if I had it) and you can eat way more and still lose.. just sayin even with 0 exercise.

what do you weigh right now and how often do you exercise? how tall are you?

LadyLoriAnn wrote: »

LadyLoriAnn wrote: »

segacs wrote: »

Sounds like your issue is that you're trying to dramatically change everything you eat overnight, all in one fell swoop.

Eating 1200 healthily and nutritiously in a way that makes you feel full *is* possible. But it takes some learning about which foods work for you, some experimenting with different recipes, some learning how to cook and shop.

Give yourself a break and do it slowly. Start by aiming to eat 1500 for a few weeks. See if you can stay under that. See if you're losing weight at your desired pace. If so, great, stick to that number. If not, cut to 1400, or 1300. By then you'll have learned quite a bit about how to meal plan and which foods will work for you, and it will be much easier.

Don't try to change too many habits overnight. The key to success is a bit at a time.

The problem I am having is that I am eating all day the things I "Think" are healthy and I am not reaching 1200

While cucumber is a "healthy" nutritious food, you should have more than just a cucumber for lunch...that would be a good start.

There is more to a healthy diet than just fruits and veg...you need protein (it's highly essential and I wouldn't worry about going over MFP's paltry default settings at all). Dietary fat is also essential to hormone regulation, nervous system function, brain function and all kinds of other important things.

You need to look at your diet as a whole rather than individual foods on their own. Whether a diet is "healthy" or not requires context and you have to look at dosage of foods that typically are viewed as "unhealthy". For example, I eat around 6-8 servings of fruit and veg pretty much every day...I eat primarily lean sources of protein from chicken, lean cuts of beef and pork, and fish and get most of my fats from things like avocados, nuts, and oils like olive oil, coconut oil, etc. But I still go out with my kiddos for some pizza now and then...I enjoy a tasty burger from time to time and I eat desert pretty much every night and I love a good craft beer. In the context of my overall very healthy and nutritious diet, my dosage of these things is negligible...

ndj1979 wrote: »

ka97 wrote: »

1200 is tough. I don't have any really good suggestions other than to try to incorporate vegetables into your meals and snacks. You can eat a lot of veggies for very few calories. Going over on protein is fine, and I wouldn't worry about the sugar. I'd switch to tracking fiber rather than sugar, and work on trying to reach that fiber goal rather than staying under. Watch the sodium - even though you are under, it's still a lot given your low calorie total.

why is 1200 tough???? I just had that for breakfast…

ETA - do you mean tough to stay under or tough to reach???

I assumed the OP was having trouble staying under 1200. Looks like I was incorrect. Reaching 1200 should not be a problem. Eat some peanut butter. Or guacamole. Or ice cream.