1200 calorie struggle

samanthalsimmons1994
samanthalsimmons1994 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm having a hard time sticking under 1200 calories. I'm not sure what foods are filling but also healthy so that I stay under 1200 calories to lose weight. Any meal suggestions that are simple and quick that could help me stay under my daily calories? And are net calories supposed to be 0 at the end of the day or around how many calories you are supposed to consume?

Replies

  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Hi Samantha, do you need to be at 1200, or did you select to lose 2lb per week when you joined? With only 25lb to lose you would be better with 0.5-1lb per week. How far under are you staying? You should be aiming to eat that whole 1200 each day. If you are struggling you may have room to increase your cals. Are you exercising? And are you eating back those calories? If not, you should be, 50-75% of them.

    If you set your diary to public people can take a look and give you suggestions.
  • samanthalsimmons1994
    samanthalsimmons1994 Posts: 4 Member
    I'm just kinda confused because today I ate about 1300 calories and exercised to burn close to 400 so thought I did good but this app predicted that if everyday was like this I would gain a pound or 2 in 5 weeks. So I'm just not really sure what I am doing wrong.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Hmmm, that doesn't sound right! What are your stats - age, height and current weight? What have you selected as your weekly weight loss amount?
  • darkriver2012
    darkriver2012 Posts: 21 Member
    If your eating foods high in fat then this will ha
  • samanthalsimmons1994
    samanthalsimmons1994 Posts: 4 Member
    I'm 20, 5'2, and currently about 145 pounds.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    darkriver2012 wrote: »
    If your eating foods high in fat then this will ha

    Not if she's eating at a deficit - calories in vs calories out.
  • BeTheChange352
    BeTheChange352 Posts: 253 Member
    edited March 2015
    go back into your goals and change your settings to lose 1 pound per week so you can eat more. there's no reason to torture yourself.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Samantha, can you open your diary? Go to settings at the top of the screen, then select diary settings, and switch it to public.
  • samanthalsimmons1994
    samanthalsimmons1994 Posts: 4 Member
    Changed it
  • Cryptonomnomicon
    Cryptonomnomicon Posts: 848 Member
    edited March 2015
    First off it is best to set up your calorie allotment and macro goals optimally...

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p1

    It is also an issue of figuring out what foods are nutritionally dense and have a high level of satiety. Satiety is the feeling of fullness after eating that suppresses the urge to eat for a period of time after a meal.

    An example of a satiety index (the nutritional/calorie values are not represented)...

    DQynagG.jpg

    Tips on how to feel fuller

    • Foods high in protein seem to make us feel fuller than foods high in fat or carbohydrate, so including some protein at every meal should help keep you satisfied. Foods high in protein include meats such as chicken, ham or beef, fish, eggs, beans and pulses.

    • Foods that are high in fibre may also enhance feelings of fullness so try to include plenty of high-fibre foods in the diet such as wholegrain bread and cereals, beans and pulses and fruit and vegetables.

    • Alcohol seems to stimulate appetite in the short-term and therefore drinking alcohol is likely to encourage us to eat more. Alcoholic beverages can make you forget about your intentions to eat healthily by making you lose your inhibitions. Alcoholic drinks are also calorific, so you should cut down on alcohol consumption if you are trying to control your weight.

    • The ‘energy density’ of food has a strong influence on feelings of fullness or satiety. Energy density is the amount of energy (or calories) per gram of food. Lower energy density foods provide less energy per gram of food so you can eat more of them without consuming too many calories. Low energy density foods include fruit and vegetables, foods with lots of water added when cooking such as soups and stews, and lower fat foods.

    Lastly beyond the many hormones and other factors of your physiology that are involved in regulating appetite, human psychology also plays a powerful role in appetite. Simply put are you really feeling hungry or is it an emotional response to things like boredom, depression etc try to recognize the triggers for what they truly are.

    sources:

    http://weightology.net/?p=327

    http://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/fuller/understanding-satiety-feeling-full-after-a-meal.html

    ETA: concerning exercise calories...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Ok, thanks. I see lots of generic entries in your diary, and I'm guessing you're not weighing your food, just estimating serving sizes?

    I'm really not sure why MFP gave a prediction of weight gain for today, but honestly, most people ignore that. It's not a reliable indicator.

    Best advice at the moment is eat the number of calories MFP gives you as your base, plus 50-75% of the extra you get from exercise (MFP tends to overestimate calories burned for a lot of things, so it's safer to only eat some exercise cals back). Get a set of kitchen scales and weigh all your solid food, measure your liquids. Select database entries without an asterisk where possible, loads of inaccurate stuff in the database. You don't have a lot of room to move on 1200 cals, so try to limit eating out, buying your lunch etc and go for stuff you prepare yourself, then you know exactly what's in it. Do that for a few weeks and see how you go.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Oh, and everything Cryptonomnomicon said :)
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