Eating 1200 calories a day and famished

I'm assuming you set your goal to 2 pounds a week? That will be too aggressive for you since you're in a healthy BMI range and therefore have little to lose. Change your goal to half a pound a week so you'll be able to eat more, and it is okay to eat a bit of your exercise calories if you're even hungrier.

These are my really general tips for hunger:

1. Make sure that your calorie goals are actually set appropriately. Don't skip this step. A lot of people set goals that are too aggressive and then wonder why they're having a hard time. If you're using MFP's default goals, this includes eating at least a portion of your exercise calories. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

2. Look for foods higher in protein, fat, and fiber. These help us stay full and more satisfied longer. If you're using MFP's default settings, try to consider protein, fat, and fiber as minimums to reach every day rather than maximums to stay below.

3. Drink plenty of fluids. Some people really do confuse thirst and hunger.

4. Get plenty of rest. This includes sleeping enough and taking rest days from the exercise. Sometimes our bodies look for food when they're exhausted.

5. Play around with your meal timings. Some people do really well on 5-6 small meals a day and others feel like they want to gnaw their own arm off eating like that. Skipping breakfast, eating breakfast, 16:8 fasting, 6 small meals, 3 larger meals, snacks, no snacks, meal timing won't make a big difference to your weight loss, but it may help your hunger levels, mood, concentration, gym performance, etc. throughout the day. Don't be afraid to try a different way and see if it helps.

6. Wait it out. If you know you're eating enough and the other steps above aren't helping, you may just have to wait it out. Our bodies send out hunger signals partially out of habit. If you eat at a certain time every day your body will start to get hungry at that time. The good news is that these signals can be retrained to stop telling you to be hungry all the time. The bad news is that you may just have to be hungry for a little bit while that happens.

7. I also think it's important to remember that there's a habitual component to hunger. This goes along with point #6, but if you eat because you're bored or you're used to eating in front of the TV or in the car or whatever it is, then you can replace those habits with others that are better for you. Things like keeping water on hand to sip instead of snacking or picking up hobbies that keep your hands busy or that get you out of the house more can help out a little while you're retraining your hunger cues. You might need to pay attention to why you're eating/hungry or what you're feeling when you eat and try to replace food with other things, but it can be really beneficial over time.

you're supposed to eat back exercise calories...that's how you account for that activity. also, 1200 is aggressive...you're at a healthy BMI...you shouldn't be that aggressive. I'd be famished too...you're eating like a sedentary 90 year old 5' nothing woman.

Eat more. So much more. I'm losing on 1550 and I'm like six inches shorter than you. I'm actually jealous thinking about how many calories I could eat and still lose if I was your height. 1200 is not sustainable for many, especially with all of the exercise you're doing.

I'm 5'8" and weigh 155. I'm trying to get down to 145. I have 1220 calories to spend a day. I exercise almost every day and I find myself eating almost every calorie back. I would be way too hungry otherwise. I lose steadily, not super fast, but I lose. Only hungry an hour or so before meals but I feel fine- plenty of energy.

I've been having the opposite problem lately. I'm supposed to have 1800 calories right now and have trouble getting over 1200 without eating nonsense. i was aiming to eat 300 calories every 2-3 hours but most snacks end up being around but 170 calories and because i eat 6 times a day I'm not even hungry unless i workout for like 2 hours. I need to work on upping my calories each time i think

Set your weekly weight loss goal to 1/2 pound a week....then MFP will move off it's lowest default minimum...and you will get calories suited to your height and age.

I agree with the other posters on this one. I'm 5'10 but I'm heavier than you at around 165 right now. I don't eat back exercise calories either but I eat between 1500-1700 a day. 1200 is not enough for me. I would always be hungry & it would cause me to binge eat frequently.

Eat more

I am a guy 45yrs old 5ft4 and weigh 140 with a slim build. Mfp wants me to eat 1500 calories a day but I gain weight eating that much. I don't exercise very much I chose sedentary for activity. I changed my goals to 1200 calories a day. Do you think this would be good or to less. I want to get back to 130. Thanks for any help.