1200 Calories

JessicaThompson12
JessicaThompson12 Posts: 82 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So question....my MFP is set to 1200 calories. I'm 5'3, currently 127 and want to get to 124. But it just seems lately that I'm tired and moody. I'm not sure if it's stress in my life from moving, the 1200 calories or what I'm eating. My diet lately has consisted of packaged on the go stuff because life is busy these days. I've opened my diary for opinions. I'm scared to eat more because I just want to get rid of the last couple pounds. Opinions? Thanks!

Replies

  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
    What rate did you set to lose each week ie 1lb, 2lbs?
  • JessicaThompson12
    JessicaThompson12 Posts: 82 Member
    LBuehrle8 wrote: »
    What rate did you set to lose each week ie 1lb, 2lbs?

    I've had it set at 1lb since I started.
  • Daveysgirl2014
    Daveysgirl2014 Posts: 41 Member
    I started with a 1200 calorie goal but quickly decided that wouldn't work for me so I upped it to 1300. I've decided that if by June 1st I haven't lost anything, I will scale it back to 1250.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    I looked back at your diary to this past Sunday and you are not just eating 1200 calories... You are eating back your exercise which you are supposed to do.. There was even some 1500, 1700, 1800 days..

    I think you are just tired.. I think you eat fine.. If you think the MFP goal is too aggressive, then change it 1 pound or .5 lb a week...
  • JessicaThompson12
    JessicaThompson12 Posts: 82 Member
    Daveysgirl2014 wrote: »
    I started with a 1200 calorie goal but quickly decided that wouldn't work for me so I upped it to 1300. I've decided that if by June 1st I haven't lost anything, I will scale it back to 1250.

    Even though I'm set to 1lb a week it seems that I'm only losing about .5lb a week, which I'm fine with, but I'm worried that if I up my calories then that rate will slow.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    edited May 2015
    gia07 wrote: »
    I looked back at your diary to this past Sunday and you are not just eating 1200 calories... You are eating back your exercise which you are supposed to do.. There was even some 1500, 1700, 1800 days..

    I think you are just tired.. I think you eat fine.. If you think the MFP goal is too aggressive, then change it 1 pound or .5 lb a week...


    I agree with this. You're averaging more than 1200 with exercise calories, and if you are guesstimating portion sizes, you could be eating more. If you're losing half a pound of week, upping your calories will have you losing even less. Plus if you were eating too little, you'd be losing weight at a faster rate.
  • JessicaThompson12
    JessicaThompson12 Posts: 82 Member
    gia07 wrote: »
    I looked back at your diary to this past Sunday and you are not just eating 1200 calories... You are eating back your exercise which you are supposed to do.. There was even some 1500, 1700, 1800 days..

    I think you are just tired.. I think you eat fine.. If you think the MFP goal is too aggressive, then change it 1 pound or .5 lb a week...

    Thanks for looking!!! :-) I'm going to go with the stress of life at the moment then.
    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    gia07 wrote: »
    I looked back at your diary to this past Sunday and you are not just eating 1200 calories... You are eating back your exercise which you are supposed to do.. There was even some 1500, 1700, 1800 days..

    I think you are just tired.. I think you eat fine.. If you think the MFP goal is too aggressive, then change it 1 pound or .5 lb a week...


    I agree with this. You're averaging more than 1200 with exercise calories, and if you are guesstimating portion sizes, you could be eating ever more. If you're losing half a pound of week, upping your calories will have you losing even less. Plus if you were eating too little, you'd be losing weight at a faster rate.

    I'm ok with half a pound a week and don't want it to be more. Thanks for looking!
  • saeku
    saeku Posts: 11 Member
    Looked at your log. Your calories don't seem too low to me. Have you tried tracking your energy levels along with your diet? Stuff like macronutrient breakdown and meal timing can affect your energy, and what works varies from person to person, so watching for patterns can be helpful. eg: I've noticed that my energy levels tank when I go too long without eating something starchy :)
  • megomerrett
    megomerrett Posts: 442 Member
    Maybe you're pregnant.

    More helpfully though, are you measuring inches too? Could you be toning up but not losing?
  • JessicaThompson12
    JessicaThompson12 Posts: 82 Member
    jgriffit91 wrote: »
    Looked at your log. Your calories don't seem too low to me. Have you tried tracking your energy levels along with your diet? Stuff like macronutrient breakdown and meal timing can affect your energy, and what works varies from person to person, so watching for patterns can be helpful. eg: I've noticed that my energy levels tank when I go too long without eating something starchy :)

    I do notice when I eat starchy stuff my energy tanks but I was even falling asleep after my salad today. :) But I will definitely start keeping track of it. Thanks!
  • JessicaThompson12
    JessicaThompson12 Posts: 82 Member
    megomerrett wrote: »
    Maybe you're pregnant.

    More helpfully though, are you measuring inches too? Could you be toning up but not losing?

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    A bodybuilder coworker and I started new fitness regimes about a month ago. One day he asked me what I was having for lunch and I sent him a screenshot of my MFP. He said, "i wonder how well you are partitioning your macros bro" which I thought was funny, and then started thinking about it. I used to just look at the end of the day and try to not go over my fat grams. Now I look to see how each meal distributes carbs, fat, and protein. I've been adding more protein to some meals. I've learned that I get tired and hungry faster when I don't have enough protein in comparison to carbs.

    What you had for dinner tonight would make me tired, and since you mentioned that's a problem, you could try lowering the carbs and upping the protein. You could also try switching to a less processed cereal, like oatmeal. (I'm not crazy about the texture of oatmeal unless I've cooked it to death.) Sometimes I add an egg to my oatmeal. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/09/protein-oatmeal-add-an-egg-yall_n_6288246.html

    Other times I add protein powder.

    Right now, I'm cooking this Slow Cooker Apple Pie Steel-Cut Oatmeal

    Original recipe:

    Calories: 180; Carbohydrate: 31g; Total Fat: 5g; Protein 5g

    I added protein powder and some other stuff and it's now at:

    Calories: 240; Carbohydrate: 32g; Total Fat: 9g; Protein 10g

    This will be a snack - for meals I like over 20 g of protein. (Of course, I'm a lot bigger than you are. Adjust accordingly.)
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    JessicaThompson12 wrote: »
    Daveysgirl2014 wrote: »
    I started with a 1200 calorie goal but quickly decided that wouldn't work for me so I upped it to 1300. I've decided that if by June 1st I haven't lost anything, I will scale it back to 1250.

    Even though I'm set to 1lb a week it seems that I'm only losing about .5lb a week, which I'm fine with, but I'm worried that if I up my calories then that rate will slow.

    i see a lot of serving sizes in your logging
    Your slow weight loss is normal because you have less to lose.

    because you have a very small deficit you really need to weigh ALL your food on a foodscale
    Not going by serving sizes, cups and spoons it is highly inaccurate

    Look at this short video that gives an example of only two kinda foods we all regular use...hundreds of over miscalculating

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

    Hope it helps

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