Struggling to keep calories to 1200!!

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Replies

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    naltadonna29 wrote: »
    The 1200 calories is very difficult to stick with, and yes MFP will set you at this. It does not matter how old you are or if you only have a little or a lot to lose, it is still hard. My nutritionist who got me turned on to MFP had advised not to be so obsessed with sticking to the 1200 calories. She says that it is a guideline, and that if I was still hungry, the worst thing you can do is starve yourself. The body will start to store fat at that point and none of us wants that :) What she said is the most important, is that even if you stick within close reason, say 1600 or 1800, and writing down what you eat, and eating healthy, that is the most important. It's just a tool to make you more aware of what you are doing.

    The bolded part is not true.

    Also? If 1800 calories is over the amount of calories you need to eat to create a deficit for weight loss? You won't lose weight. I, for example, would not lose weight eating that many calories.

    Nutritionists often spew a lot of garbage.

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited April 2015
    You should be trying to lose on as many calories as possible.

    Coffee has no calories, tea negligible. If you need these things to function, have them black with artificial sweetener... Or less of whatever calorie adding stuff you currently have in there.
  • bunnywestley81
    bunnywestley81 Posts: 178 Member
    My cup of tea works out at 50 cals with semiskimmed milk and one sugar. Cannot STAND any fake sugar...they all taste weird to me.
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
    1200 calories is quite low- the lowest MFP will set anyone. You'll still lose weight if you eat more calories but the progress will be slower (this is not bad, as it gives your skin time to keep up and limits the muscle you're burning along with the fat). Try adding 50 cals to your goal for a week, then if you're still super hungry add another 50 the next week. I found that I was losing weight and not 'hangry' at 1400 plus exercise cals.

    The thing is, if you're hungry all the time you're less likely to stick with it. In order to reach your goal you should be finding it manageable not painful! Otherwise how will you make good food choices once you're at your target weight?

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    naltadonna29 wrote: »
    The 1200 calories is very difficult to stick with, and yes MFP will set you at this. It does not matter how old you are or if you only have a little or a lot to lose, it is still hard. My nutritionist who got me turned on to MFP had advised not to be so obsessed with sticking to the 1200 calories. She says that it is a guideline, and that if I was still hungry, the worst thing you can do is starve yourself. The body will start to store fat at that point and none of us wants that :) What she said is the most important, is that even if you stick within close reason, say 1600 or 1800, and writing down what you eat, and eating healthy, that is the most important. It's just a tool to make you more aware of what you are doing.

    The bolded part is not true

    MFP will not set you at 1200 unless you set unreasonable goals or are a very small woman. When I started I set it to 1lb a week at my stats it gave me almost 1500 a day...plus whatever I exercised.

    and no your body does not hold onto fat...



  • ChelseyWoo88
    ChelseyWoo88 Posts: 25
    yeah me to, dunno why but it looks bubbly too (if that makes sense?!?)
  • fleurk126
    fleurk126 Posts: 43 Member
    I'm on the same 1200 MFP imposed calorie deficit and found it really hard to stick to when I first started. I found that not only was I NOT losing weight, but I WAS losing my sanity and will to live. Now I'm healthier and happier by either not logging tea/coffee (assuming you drink it black) or accepting that if I'm going 30 over my "allowance" it's due to tea/coffee. Also if I went over because of fruit, that is OK because yes, they are calories, but they also contain a lot of nutrients that your body NEEDS to function. I basically use MFP as a guide to help me keep track of what I'm eating and make appropriate choices. Good luck! :)
  • PhatPat2be
    PhatPat2be Posts: 7 Member
    I am back here again for the first time...I am using this first week to see just how much I eat. Man what an eye opening week this has been. No wonder I am 20 over my goal!
    That being said, I have never tracked my coffee.
    I do use creamer in my coffee, but I have never tracked it. I have lost weight many many times never counting my morning addiction. For me it would just be to overwhelming to do that.
    I do count chips and crackers so I stick to the serving size and that is maddening! I just draw the line with my drinks. I drink mostly water. The only time I have a sweet tea is maybe once a week when out to dinner. I do not track the tea either. That is just how I do it.
  • Selah722
    Selah722 Posts: 86 Member
    I'm at 1200 calories too, 5'5, losing 1.5lbs/week. (shorter girls have it tougher) I find it hard because I get bored, not because I'm actually hungry-although it took a couple weeks for my brain to actually comprehend the difference! I do best when I drink a lot of water, and snack on almonds ( I weigh an ounce and then just pop one or two at a time throughout my day at work) I work at a coffee shop so I understand your addiction to coffee ;) however, I drink it black or occasionally do just a couple shots of espresso with a dash of cream and real maple syrup. the calories aren't too bad if you do it that way. when you have this few calories/day you most definitely don't want to be drinking them away. make sure that if you work out you eat most of those calories back. with that said.. I agree with the above posters you don't have that much to lose so it would probably be better if you adjusting your "weekly losing rate" so its easier to stick with and such.
  • LA723
    LA723 Posts: 92 Member
    I lost 30 lbs 2-3 years ago. I did it by being on a 1200 calorie diet. At first it was really hard. But remember the more you exercise the more you can eat. So even though NET calories were 1200 I was actually eating more because I exercised. Also, I chose healthier versions of the foods I liked or had less of the food I liked but enough so I could still have it. Example: I switched to super skim milk because I LOVE milk. Its half the calories of regular. Or I had one tablespoon of peanut butter on my toast instead of two. That kind of thing.
  • lexbubbles
    lexbubbles Posts: 465 Member
    Selah722 wrote: »
    I'm at 1200 calories too, 5'5, losing 1.5lbs/week. (shorter girls have it tougher)

    I feel. 1200 cals, 5'4 losing 1lb. That's why I do a LOT of exercise. I eat back half my exercise cals to allow for MFP estimate discrepancy and end up with 1,700-1,900 on most days. I'd lose 1lb if I stuck to 1,200 but I mostly lose 1.25-1.5 because of the exercise and being generous with my 'buffer zone'

    Although I've never ever found it hard to stick to 1200 purely because I don't take my tea with milk or sugar (I mostly drink green or fruit tea, anyway) and don't drink coffee.
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
    For the regular person 1200 is too low anyway. I am 5'2, in my 30s and my bmr is 1321.

    If you're struggling on 1200, eat a little more.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,641 Member
    edited April 2015
    ChelseyWoo88 wrote: »
    Hello, new to this.
    Finding it so hard to keep to 1,200 calories a day. When i look at my food diary i feel like most of my calories goes on tea and coffee and fruit! feel like there's hardly any 'real food' on there!
    Help Please :)

    Tea and coffee don't have any calories, or very, very few calories like maybe 2 or 3 ... unless you add something to them???

    And I've cut way back on my fruit intake because fruit is actually quite high in calories. Go with veg instead.

    BTW - I'm on 1250 calories, and it would be difficult (just barely doable) if I didn't exercise. So I exercise a lot.

  • lynndot1
    lynndot1 Posts: 114 Member
    edited April 2015
    I find if I eat below my BMR I tend to feel sluggish and get the urge to eat more which results in killing my deficit. My BMR is 1388, so I usually end up eating around 1400-1450 not counting exercise, and that works for me. It means I lose pretty slow, not even 0.5lb/week, but I don't really have much to lose anyway I'm just getting my bf% down so I don't care. This is net calories of course, on days I jog or do long walks with the dog I eat more.

    If 1200 is very much below your BMR I suggest adding some back. Some people do that 1200 calorie diets just fine, others don't, it really depends on your lifestyle.

    And also your specs. I'm 5'4" on a good day :) My BMR is going to be lower than someone much taller than me. My boyfriend, for instance, his BMR is closer to 1900, if he were to eat 1200 with me every day he'd be so miserable.

    Some people don't mind eating below their BMR, but I think because of how much I lift weights it just kills me to do it too many days in a row, I'm too exhausted all the time. The good thing about weight loss is it's very simple - eat less than your daily burn and you will lose. It may be slow, or fast, but you'll get there.

    As for drinking your calories - I think I lucked out growing up in that my parents only ever drank coffee and tea black, so that's how I take it unless I'm having a latte urge. But those calories definitely add up. If you're worried just taper yourself down. So if you add 2 spoonfuls of sugar to your coffee, next time try 1.5 spoonfuls for a few days, then 1, etc, and you might find you enjoy coffee black just fine after a while. That's what my boyfriend did - he used to load his coffee on milk and sugar and now we have an espresso machine and he drinks a shot of strong espresso by itself just fine.
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    This past week I averaged 1200 per day. It's low, but doable. It's my first week back, so it didn't seem to hard since I'm motivated, and I ate well so I wasn't hungry. I won't stick to this level forever.

    You've got to stop drinking so many calories if you want to be full... There's no way around it. Eat lots of protein, vegetables, and whole grains. You also might try setting a calorie range--say 1200 to 1500. That way you can stop at 1200 on the days where you feel satisfied, and on days when you're hungry you eat more. You'll still lose weight, but you won't be miserable.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Lower the aggressiveness of your goal and earn more through exercise.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I have never done as low as 1200 calories a day, even before exercise. I am a bit tall, though (5'9"). I am set to lose 1.5 lbs/week now on 1570 cal/day before exercise. I usually end up eating at least 1800 calories after exercise. I do know, when tried to set my loss to only 1 lb/week, I stalled for a while, so I did have to drop my calories more to see some progress. It's actually easier for me to be stricter with my eating, as I don't get as tempted to overindulge with the extra calories, and seeing at least a pound loss nearly every week keeps me motivated. I will eventually increase my calories when I get closer to my goal.
  • ChelseyWoo88
    ChelseyWoo88 Posts: 25
    when i put in a regular coffee with semiskimmed milk one sugar, says 40 calories. tea with 1 sugar and same milk. Didn't know if i exercised and logged it i would get more calories back. im new to all this and its hard to get my head around,
  • 99clmsntgr
    99clmsntgr Posts: 777 Member
    Your calories aren't coming from the coffee, they're coming from the milk and sugar. The USDA database lists an 8-ounce cup of coffee at 2 calories (sorry, all you "it has no calories" crew). Tea is about the same.

    Coffee, brewed from grounds, using tap water: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4287?
    Tea, black, brewed, prepared with tap water: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4337?

    Switch to the low-calorie sweeteners to cut the sugar calories (and insert "artificial sweeteners are the devil!" threadjack opportunities here). For the cream or milk...not much you can do there other than cut what you use or cut it out completely. If you wean yourself down from the milk and sugar, you'll probably come to find that you enjoy a cup of good black coffee or tea.

    The system will add your cardio exercise calorie deficit back into your total calories you can consume for the day. Just be careful, everything that's in the MFP database is an estimate. There's eleventy different "exercise calories" websites out there, they'll all be a little different, so take whatever you add back in as just that -- a rough estimate. And, no, logging resistance/weight training doesn't apply specific calories to your daily budget, and there's a lot of different threads out there that will explain why.
  • ChelseyWoo88
    ChelseyWoo88 Posts: 25
    99clmsntgr wrote: »
    Your calories aren't coming from the coffee, they're coming from the milk and sugar. The USDA database lists an 8-ounce cup of coffee at 2 calories (sorry, all you "it has no calories" crew). Tea is about the same.

    Coffee, brewed from grounds, using tap water: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4287?
    Tea, black, brewed, prepared with tap water: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/4337?

    Switch to the low-calorie sweeteners to cut the sugar calories (and insert "artificial sweeteners are the devil!" threadjack opportunities here). For the cream or milk...not much you can do there other than cut what you use or cut it out completely. If you wean yourself down from the milk and sugar, you'll probably come to find that you enjoy a cup of good black coffee or tea.

    The system will add your cardio exercise calorie deficit back into your total calories you can consume for the day. Just be careful, everything that's in the MFP database is an estimate. There's eleventy different "exercise calories" websites out there, they'll all be a little different, so take whatever you add back in as just that -- a rough estimate. And, no, logging resistance/weight training doesn't apply specific calories to your daily budget, and there's a lot of different threads out there that will explain why.

    Thankyou thats very helpful :)
  • BaniArmour
    BaniArmour Posts: 16 Member
    I also have a bit of a hard time, though with university it's a bit easier, since i sometimes get up late and don't have time to prepare snacks . I'm short (158) and extremely sedentary (on my busiest days i walk ~3500 steps at most), so 1200 is the right way for me to loose weight and see a change not too long after...well after 2 months I've only lost 1kg so i'm not doing very well, oops.
    I think you should try to see more as a suggestion than some sort of rule.
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