Who here is eating 1200 calories after ...

You only have 28 pounds to lose, your goal is likely too aggressive.

You should set it to lose .5-1lb a week (my guess is that you're at 2).

Eat more

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. 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.

1200 is fine for me. I don't get hungry. Some days, I eat less. Some days I eat more.

I averaged 1147 last month. It wasn't hard.

It's really easy to stay full if you eat a lot of fruits and veggies.

I stick to 1200 only on sedentary days. If I work out I have to eat up to 1400 at least or I feel famished. (I'm 5'4)

This all kind of depends on your current height and weight, though. If you're of average height or above, 1200 might just not be enough for you.

I guess it depends on what you're used to? I have a hard time getting to 1,200. I lost 5lbs and it raised me to 1,230. Then I go walking and mfp gives me another 400 calories or so. It's hard to eat more!

I exercise so I have 400 or so additional calories to play with.

pandapotlovebug wrote: »

...not counting calories for a long time and gaining weight. 1200 is tough! (Isn't it?)im hungry! any tips on how to eat so little? How many of you are successful at this allowance?

I can only speak about myself and because I do well on 1200 calories a day, does not mean the same is true for you. I am going on 70 and am under 5 feet tall. I gained a lot of weight ( after being in my normal weight range all my life ) after being diagnosed and treated for thyroid cancer. I figured that without thyroid I would gain and started to eat ( mostly rice, pasta and bread in exaggerated portions in addition to other healthy foods) out of self pity and gained a lot of weight.
When I started MFP in April 2013 I ate first 1400, then 1300 calories and only after I went down to 1200 calories after not losing anything for six month, did I start to lose the planned .5 pounds a week. I have since lost 65pounds.
I now eat more than I ever did, because I also stopped eating breakfast. I had forced myself to do so all my life, because I was made to believe that it was the most important meal of the day. I am a volume eater and now eat two largish meals between 2-9pm. This is a way of eating that works for me and might not work for many others.
Eating almost 100% natural foods and not snacking ( which is easy for me, because I don't like sweet stuff ) has made a big difference.
This is what I get to eat today, including half a pound of potatoes, half a pound of fresh strawberries with cream.

Home Brewed Coffee - Black Coffee No Sugar or Sweetener, 12 oz 4 0 0 0 0 0

1st Meal ( After 2pm)
Homemade - Hiyashi Chuka Cold Japanese Noodles, 1.5 cups 289 38 6 19 2,149 32
radishes - veg, 50 grams 30 1 0 0 0 0
Generic - Fresh Sliced Cucumbers, 314 g 38 5 0 4 8 0
Marcum - Coarse Ground Black Pepper, 1/8 tsp 3 1 0 0 0 0
Fresh - Lime Juice, 2 tbsp 8 3 0 0 1 0
Red Onion - Chopped, 0.12 Cup 6 1 0 0 0 0
Tetley - Earl Grey Tea, 2 cup 0 0 0 0 20 0
Fresh Herbs - Cilantro, 2 tbsp 4 0 0 0 0 0
Fresh - Serrano Pepper, 2 pepper 4 0 0 0 2 0
Tomato - Tomato Slices, 6 slice 30 0 0 0 0 0
Total: 412 calories

2nd Meal ( Before 9 Pm )
Homemade - Tzatziki, 1 cup 136 16 4 12 144 16
Haddock - Haddock (Baked), 4.9 oz 178 0 1 39 139 118
Generic - Fresh Sliced Cucumbers, 400 g 48 7 0 5 10 0
Potato - Small Steamed, 225 g 173 38 0 5 14 0
Total 535 calories

Other Foods (1pm - 10 Pm)
Nespresso - Café Con Leche, 200 ml 52 4 3 3 0 0
Strawberries - Raw Strawberries (Fresh), 250 g 80 19 1 2 3 0
Lala Light - Crema Acida, 3 tbsp 80 3 7 2 41 0
Total: 212 calories

Totals 1,163 136 22 89 2,528 165
Your Daily Goal 1,200 150 40 60 2,300 300
Remaining 37 14 17 -29 -228 134

Total: 1136 calories
Btw: I have never had a cheat meal or cheat day, don't force myself to eat anything I don't like and had no problems on holidays.....I just ate at maintenance. Sustainability is not a problem.

I don't know how you could go so low especially after putting on weight. I was more successful when my goal were more realistic. Better to eat more, I started out a 1800 and lost 25 lbs very slowly. I am now on 1590 to reach my goal and I am getting there. It's not easy but it would be more difficult to do being hungry all the time. Now I am unable to overeat as I did before because I trained myself by sticking to the designated amount. I feel I was successful because I was not hungry. Take it slow, that works best. Also don't forget that exercising allows you to eat a little more.