7 days, counting Calories, feeling weak n stressful.. Am I doing it right?

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sweetlavender147
sweetlavender147 Posts: 8 Member
in Getting Started
This s the 1st time in my life I'm counting calories n my goal is 1200 cal a day.. I easily reach it n also try to maintain it n not go beyond 1200 cal each day.. But I feel a little weak and also stressed out.. What am I doing wrong?
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  • FreshSage
    FreshSage Posts: 62 Member
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    It could just be the change in diet.. Without seeing your diary hard to say ..Exhale ,log adjust as needed... :-) The only way to do it wrong is not to try... Hang in you got this...
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    How much weight do you want to lose? 1200 is probably too aggressive.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    There isn't really enough information to give you a good answer. How tall are you? How much do you weigh? How much exercise are you doing? How are you determining the calories you are eating, food scale or eyeballing? How much sleep are you getting?
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited February 2016
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    How many calories were you eating before you started 7 days ago? Do you know that..

    Can it possibly be that your body is still getting used to the calorie deficit and making you feel a bit differently? You body has to play catchup now as you have introduced less calories and it may be giving you some fits for a short period of time but it does subside.

    If loosing weight caused absolutely no uncomfortable feelings, no one would have issue with their weight or loosing it.

    I am going to assume that your calorie deficit is inline with your age, height and current weight and is not too aggressive? You may want to double check this number and if it is inline with your weight goals to loose weight, then just try to stick it out for another week, you can always create a smaller deficit if you need to.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Keep in mind MFP will give you a deficit before exercise. So if you are exercising (log that under cardio...all exercise is there) and you will want to eat a portion of those calories also. Start with eating back 50% of the calorie burn MFP gives you (it's an estimate).

    What VivMom said.....if you lower your weekly weight loss goal (a bit) you will get more calories. 1200 is most appropriate for petite & or senior ladies.

    Relax, no one needs to eat perfectly to lose weight. We just need to make some improvements.
  • Mady1911
    Mady1911 Posts: 90 Member
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    Hi, I'm no expert but 1200cals/day is too little. try at least 1400cals/day. You are probably feeling weak because you are not eating enough and your body is revolting because he was used differently. I don't know your stats but probably you should aim to lose 1 pound or around the figure a week. Also, try and fit in some exercise in your day, even walking at a moderate pace counts. And remember, losing quick is not an answer, you need to be patient, results will show...
    Best of luck!
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
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    It's easier to eat 1200 calories and feel satisfied by adopting a whole foods plan without added sugars and space out your meals and calories to actually cover the whole day. I also eat 1200 per day. I had my 400 calorie whole foods smoothie (plain ff yogurt, berries, greens, seeds, nuts) for breakfast with black coffee. For lunch I have 2 cups of my salad (spinach, quinia, black beans, roasted sweet potato, blue cheese, roasted red pepper dressed with oregano lime and olive oil dressing) and a carton of plain ff yogurt. I'll drink water and unsweetened tea today. At dinner I have a chicken collard greens soup. I might add some parmesan to it. If I have calories leftover, I'll have a square of dark chocolate. Today, there is no bread, no sugar, no artificial sweeteners or preservatives. All my food was prepped or cooked in advance of needing convenience today. Food was carefully chosen in the store or came from my garden. That's how I eat 1200 calories without getting shaky or hungry.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    OP this is a quote that's inspired me over the years:

    Weight loss must be gentle and not disrupt your life; it must enhance it.

    Source unknown (anonymous Internet contributor) - it's taken me a while to see the wisdom in this philosophy, but I've come to agree.
  • sweetlavender147
    sweetlavender147 Posts: 8 Member
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    "You body has to play catchup now" this s exactly what I thought..
    I didn't count calories earlier n just by guessing I think I would have had 2000 cal/ day...
    Height 5.2, weight 143lbs ( lost 1 lb from 144), age 28. I get 7-8 hours of sleep, I have just done 1 cardio for 30 mins in the last 7 days..
    N I count cal by simply typing in the food in mfp app, I verify the serving n add the cal it suggests..
    Also my food intake is 50 percent carb 20 percent fat n 30 percent protein ( as indicated by mfp) ...
  • gmcgarv71
    gmcgarv71 Posts: 13 Member
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    I just started 2.5 weeks ago and the first two weeks were very hard. In week 3, now, I'm feeling better. it's a big adjustment. I kept telling myself that if I really want lasting change, it's going to have to be a little uncomfortable.

    I almost gave up this week but I posted here and people had a lot of good advice. They told me to lower my weekly loss goal. I agree with others here that 1200 is probably too low. Make sure you check your Nutrition stats to make sure you're eating enough nutrients -- don't get so overfocused on calories that you are eating crappy food or processed diet "food" and not real food.

    I can give you some ideas of what I'm eating; it's been hard to figure out what to eat to fall within range but now I find that I'm starting to get the hang of it and I'm eating so healthfully: sardines packed in water (Season brand), salsa, mesclun, egg whites, nofat Chobani plain yogurt, whey protein powder, frozen berries, etc. These are some of my staples.

    People also advised that I eat back 25-50% of my exercise calories. That has helped as well.

    So I'd say, consider upping your calorie limit, and make sure you're eating really good food. And then be patient with yourself! Good luck.
  • sweetlavender147
    sweetlavender147 Posts: 8 Member
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    "The only way to do it wrong is not to try... Hang in you got this..." Thankyou FreshSage
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited February 2016
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    cbelc2 wrote: »
    It's easier to eat 1200 calories and feel satisfied by adopting a whole foods plan without added sugars and space out your meals and calories to actually cover the whole day. I also eat 1200 per day. I had my 400 calorie whole foods smoothie (plain ff yogurt, berries, greens, seeds, nuts) for breakfast with black coffee. For lunch I have 2 cups of my salad (spinach, quinia, black beans, roasted sweet potato, blue cheese, roasted red pepper dressed with oregano lime and olive oil dressing) and a carton of plain ff yogurt. I'll drink water and unsweetened tea today. At dinner I have a chicken collard greens soup. I might add some parmesan to it. If I have calories leftover, I'll have a square of dark chocolate. Today, there is no bread, no sugar, no artificial sweeteners or preservatives. All my food was prepped or cooked in advance of needing convenience today. Food was carefully chosen in the store or came from my garden. That's how I eat 1200 calories without getting shaky or hungry.

    OP appears to be quite a bit younger than we are (I'm 54....eat 1400+ exercise). Younger people really don't need to go to the lowest (default) minimum to lose weight.

    OP - if it's all about speed of weight loss....learn how to make 1200 work. But, if you want to maintain more lean muscle mass, slow down your weight loss. Tailor that number to your height, your weight, your age.

    Most of all - lifestyle changes. Losing weight is step 1. Maintaining the weight you lost will require some permanent changes. Eating more (while losing) will make the transition to maintenance smoother (not as drastic).
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
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    sweetlavender147 wrote: »
    "You body has to play catchup now" this s exactly what I thought..
    I didn't count calories earlier n just by guessing I think I would have had 2000 cal/ day...
    Height 5.2, weight 143lbs ( lost 1 lb from 144), age 28. I get 7-8 hours of sleep, I have just done 1 cardio for 30 mins in the last 7 days..
    N I count cal by simply typing in the food in mfp app, I verify the serving n add the cal it suggests..
    Also my food intake is 50 percent carb 20 percent fat n 30 percent protein ( as indicated by mfp) ...

    Do you have your settings set to lose 2lbs a week? Maybe re-set it to lose 1lb a week, so it gives you more calories. Are you eating back your exercise calories?

    You may want to get a food scale and actually weigh out what you're eating. For example, the serving size on the protein powder I have in the morning says 1 scoop (42grams); depending on how I fill that scoop, I can come out either drastically under or drastically over those 42 grams; likewise, a serving size on a granola bar wrapper may be 1 bar (50grams), but the actual weight of the bar itself can vary as much as 20%. You will get a more accurate estimate of your calories if you weigh what you eat and enter things that way, rather than go by the serving size on the label.
  • sweetlavender147
    sweetlavender147 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thankyou Everybody for your input.. I will continue with 1200 cal/ day for another 1 week but this time probably with a healthier choice of foods, will update this post after a week...
  • Nice2BFitAgain
    Nice2BFitAgain Posts: 319 Member
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    You don't have to go on a diet cold turkey! Drop your calories a little bit at a time, you assume you were eating 2000 kcals a day before - cut it to 1600 for 2 weeks and see if you lose weight, if not cut another 100 kcals to 1500, wait for your body to adjust again (1-2 weeks) and reassess - if losing stick with that if not go to 1400.....and so on. This should be a subtle lifestyle change because you don't want to go back to where you were after you get to goal - no need to crash diet. Good luck!!
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    gmcgarv71 wrote: »
    I can give you some ideas of what I'm eating; it's been hard to figure out what to eat to fall within range but now I find that I'm starting to get the hang of it and I'm eating so healthfully: sardines packed in water (Season brand), salsa, mesclun, egg whites, nofat Chobani plain yogurt, whey protein powder, frozen berries, etc. These are some of my staples.

    If those are foods you enjoy eating, great. Personally most of the things on your list would give me the gag reflex. Point being: it is absolutely essential to eat foods that you love while losing weight. It is unnecessary and potentially a waste of time to force yourself to eat foods you dislike.

  • sweetlavender147
    sweetlavender147 Posts: 8 Member
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    Yes ClosetBayesian.. 2lb/week is my goal.. I'll try to put in an accurate count of cals

  • jesscran815
    jesscran815 Posts: 37 Member
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    Sometimes when I'm feeling weak I eat over my goal a little. My goal for a while was 1325, but when I started losing more, it went down to 1290. I have lost weight a little slower, but it's ok with me if I feel good while doing it as opposed to shaky and irritable. I am 5'4" and I weighed 170 before I started losing weight. I have lost close to 20 lb so far but that was over a year or so. I have been hovering around there. I stepped down my calorie intake gradually though so I wouldn't feel some of those feelings, because I knew I would. If it's warm enough (I live in Illinois and it's about zero degrees today) I take a walk in the evening to get rid of a few extra calories. But this is all me just talking because I can't see your diary or current weight/goal weight.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,015 Member
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    You have to find what works for you. Mfp gives me 1240 to lose 1 pound per week. If you are short and have a sedentary job then to lose weight you may have to eat 1200-1400 calories. Lots of people will tell you that 1200 is too aggressive. It might be. But if you are short and sedentary like me then you are not going to be able to eat the same amount of calories as someone who is taller and/or more active. I eat plenty of carbs and I still eat out and have fast food occasionally. If you want to go the whole foods route then that is great. But there is no reason you have to completely change the types of food you eat. You just have to eat less of them. I have cut out a lot of sweets that I used to eat, but I still have sweets occasionally. I still drink my coffee with sugar and half and half because that is non-negotiable for me. But I rarely eat candy and I substitute fruit or Greek yogurt to satisfy my sweet tooth. Try to make sure you are getting plenty of protien and fiber. That will help you feel more satisfied. The key is finding foods that will make you feel full and will fit in your calorie goal. The main reason I choose not to eat candy is because I don't want to waste calories on something that will leave me feeling hungry and won't satisfy my nutritional needs. Boiled eggs are a great source of protien. Oatmeal is also a good breakfast that will fill you up. I love the Fiber One brownies. They have lots of good flavors that are only 90 calories and will really satisfy my desire for something sweet. You should also eat back some of your exercise calories. The first couple of weeks are the hardest. It was frustrating for me at first because I was trying to lose weight, but I felt like all I did was think about food. It really does get easier.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited February 2016
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    sweetlavender147 wrote: »
    "You body has to play catchup now" this s exactly what I thought..
    I didn't count calories earlier n just by guessing I think I would have had 2000 cal/ day...
    Height 5.2, weight 143lbs ( lost 1 lb from 144), age 28. I get 7-8 hours of sleep, I have just done 1 cardio for 30 mins in the last 7 days..
    N I count cal by simply typing in the food in mfp app, I verify the serving n add the cal it suggests..
    Also my food intake is 50 percent carb 20 percent fat n 30 percent protein ( as indicated by mfp) ...

    Your TDEE (maintenance) based upon light activity (exercise 1-3 hours per week) is 1974 calories.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Take 500 calories away (1 pound a week) and you can eat 1474 to lose 1 pound a week (exercise included).

    Take away 750 calories (1.5 pounds a week) and you can eat 1,224.

    These are moderate weekly weight loss goals
    75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
    Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
    Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

    Fast weight loss comes at a price.....a higher percentage of lean muscle loss. If you just want the number on the scale 1200 is fine. If you want to look better; choose a moderate goal, swap some of the cardio for strength training, and meet protein goals.

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