So hungry !

Ouch, 1200 is brutal. If you can pick up some hobbies to keep yourself busy you might not notice how hungry you are. Are you eating filling foods? I know if I eat high calorie stuff i'm way more hungry than if I eat lower cal stuff. Just because I can eat a lot more of the lower calorie packed stuff. I recently learned how to make a ground turkey and cheese quiche that's pretty filling and pretty low in calories. I eat two servings at about 360 calories added up. I've never been big on cooking, but eating right is making me a chef! Well, maybe a line cook...

I have some meal replacement shakes I got from gnc they only have170 calories I believe and I feel full for hours after drinking one

I have been on 1200 cals for almost four months. No problem as I work out (walking usually) almost everyday which allows me a little more. I really have not found it difficult at all.

Very occasionally I get 'stupidly' hungry but really know (now) it is emotional eating that is raging (when I am stressed) and not true hunger.
Hang in there - each day it gets easier.

My base is 1200 cals (only 5ft tall) but I eat all my exercise calories so typically average 1400 cals a day. It IS worth considering whether 1200 is too low for you. You'll find MFP'ers believe in eating as much as possible while losing weight. It really makes this journey more manageable

The beginning was a little hard, especially the first few days. To help, I started a water hack - anytime I felt hungry (which was about every hour), I would drink a big glass of water. This made a big difference. A couple of weeks later, I started a workout hack - if I was starving at the end of the day, I would workout first. The two times I did this, I was not hungry afterwards.

I'm now on Week 7 and the last few days, I've been snacking on empty junk food since I have been satiated on 1000-1100 cals a day. Weird!

Also, skinnytaste.com has the BEST low cal recipes that are amazingly filling. Seriously - it has made all the difference for me.

kimyrachel wrote: »

No wonder you are hungry i don't know your body statistics but you should definitely get more calories. If you don't get enough calories your body will go into a starvation mode and start storing fat. Not only this, from hunger you will definitely backfire. Please consider getting more calories but the right food! Also feel free to add me!

Please stop spreading this myth. 'Starvation mode' just doesn't work like that. It is something that happens when your body is literally starving, as in there is no stored fat left to burn for energy. Think of it like your laptop switching to battery-saving mode when there is very little power left. The power will drain a bit slower as the machine powers down some functions to conserve energy, but it will continue to drain power. It doesn't just stop losing power because it's not plugged in, or somehow start gaining power by magic. The term 'starvation mode' came from the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, which found that men who had lost a LOT of body fat from a long period of lowered calories showed a decreased BMR. This is what the participants in 'starvation mode' looked like:



You are right about the hunger though, the main reason people on too severe a deficit fail is because they are unable to stick to it and end up giving up or binging. OP, if you're hungry all the time you should either raise your calories or examine your nutrition to make sure you're getting enough protein, fat, and fiber to help you feel full

I've been at 1200/day for a couple months now (sedentary, desk job and I don't work out) and the huge help for me is eating tons of veggies. Fiber is super important at such low cals. Also making sure to drink enough water and eat enough healthy fat. The fat can be tricky with lower cals but I've lowered my complex carbs(pasta, etc) to be able to eat more healthy fats to stay fuller. I'm usually not super hungry, but if I just can't resist the urge to snack(usually I'm not actually hungry hungry but sometimes you just want a snack haha) I'll have a few carrots and hummus or cucumbers and a tiny bit of Italian dressing. It's a challenge but its doable. Veggie soups with chicken, fajitas with shrimp or chicken, zucchini noodles with mushrooms/ground beef marinara, roasted veggies, all super filling and low cal!