1200 calories a day and I feel terrible!!! Advice????
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trinabot19
Posts: 37 Member
Hi everyone!!! I have been on myfitnesspal for a while, its been a very on again off again relationship haha I can never seem to stick with it but this summer Im going to try my hardest!
MFP has set my calories a day to 1200 and Ive been doing this for about 2 weeks now, while I havent been recording everything I eat into MFP I have been very very conscious about my meals and the calories they have in real life, always trying to keep breakfast and lunch at around 300 cal each so dinner can be a little more and so I can have a light snack between lunch and dinner or after dinner depending......
My husband and I recently joined the gym which has been fantastic and I have been taking up running, Im always doing some form of medium to intense workout every day for 30 mins or more but my problem is food..I just cant seem to feel satisfied on such low calories I usually have my breakfast, do my exercise,and then have my lunch but the period between lunch and dinner is KILLING me I get really faint, even when I snack I am still so ravenous!
The amount of calories Im supposed to 'get back' from exercise doesnt seem to be enough as I will usually consume them with just my snack (typically MFP says I get back 100-200ish calories when I feel like I worked much harder than this)
I just dont understand!!! I try to eat more vegetables too because I know they are low cal and healthy but I honestly just hate vegetables..I can eat canned green beans or steamed carrots but I dont really want to eat them every day of my life lol?
Anyways I need advice...Im only trying to lose this extra 15 pounds i have gained the last 3 or so years as Ive just had enough of it. Im only 5'1 at 123 lbs trying to get back to my 105-110ish lbs that I had been for the longest time in my life (im 26 now). When you are so short this extra weight is super noticable and I just want it gone, especially since in the next 2-3 years my husband and I want to start having kids, I want to have lost this weight way before then!
Ive only been really working at this for a couple weeks so will it get easier as my body gets used to this? I feel so stressed out about food now its ridiculous..I get so anxoius to see results and I havent lost anything so far...Ugh not sure what Im doing wrong!
Any advice would be great!
MFP has set my calories a day to 1200 and Ive been doing this for about 2 weeks now, while I havent been recording everything I eat into MFP I have been very very conscious about my meals and the calories they have in real life, always trying to keep breakfast and lunch at around 300 cal each so dinner can be a little more and so I can have a light snack between lunch and dinner or after dinner depending......
My husband and I recently joined the gym which has been fantastic and I have been taking up running, Im always doing some form of medium to intense workout every day for 30 mins or more but my problem is food..I just cant seem to feel satisfied on such low calories I usually have my breakfast, do my exercise,and then have my lunch but the period between lunch and dinner is KILLING me I get really faint, even when I snack I am still so ravenous!
The amount of calories Im supposed to 'get back' from exercise doesnt seem to be enough as I will usually consume them with just my snack (typically MFP says I get back 100-200ish calories when I feel like I worked much harder than this)
I just dont understand!!! I try to eat more vegetables too because I know they are low cal and healthy but I honestly just hate vegetables..I can eat canned green beans or steamed carrots but I dont really want to eat them every day of my life lol?
Anyways I need advice...Im only trying to lose this extra 15 pounds i have gained the last 3 or so years as Ive just had enough of it. Im only 5'1 at 123 lbs trying to get back to my 105-110ish lbs that I had been for the longest time in my life (im 26 now). When you are so short this extra weight is super noticable and I just want it gone, especially since in the next 2-3 years my husband and I want to start having kids, I want to have lost this weight way before then!
Ive only been really working at this for a couple weeks so will it get easier as my body gets used to this? I feel so stressed out about food now its ridiculous..I get so anxoius to see results and I havent lost anything so far...Ugh not sure what Im doing wrong!
Any advice would be great!
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Replies
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Ease up for a little while. It can sometimes help to ease down into the deficit a few hundred at a time. I went down to 1300ish, the deficit I have now and couldnt maintain it at all. I went back up to 1500. After two weeks at that I went back down and haven't had problem since.2
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1200 calories is the bare minimum. How aggressive is your weightloss goal? If you only have 15lbs to lose and you're set to 2lbs/week, then no wonder you're hungry!13
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1200 calories is the bare minimum. How aggressive is your weightloss goal? If you only have 15lbs to lose and you're set to 2lbs/week, then no wonder you're hungry!
hi there! Well I think I have it set to 2 lbs a week, im being pretty aggressive haha. But when I change the settings for only .5 pounds a week MFP only suggests an extra 90 cal (so total 1290) : /
I Have it set to sedentary as I dont do a whole lot through out the day when Im not exercising..I usually am cleaning, playing with my animals, shopping or hanging out on the couch, it just depends on the day Id say im more between sedentary and lightly active, some days being more active some days not so I wasnt really sure on that one. I dont have school/job during the summer, I am in college fall-spring.
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trinabot19 wrote: »1200 calories is the bare minimum. How aggressive is your weightloss goal? If you only have 15lbs to lose and you're set to 2lbs/week, then no wonder you're hungry!
hi there! Well I think I have it set to 2 lbs a week, im being pretty aggressive haha. But when I change the settings for only .5 pounds a week MFP only suggests an extra 90 cal (so total 1290) : /
I Have it set to sedentary as I dont do a whole lot through out the day when Im not exercising..I usually am cleaning, playing with my animals, shopping or hanging out on the couch, it just depends on the day Id say im more between sedentary and lightly active, some days being more active some days not so I wasnt really sure on that one. I dont have school/job during the summer, I am in college fall-spring.
That's strange - it should be much, much more than an extra 90cals. Maybe try putting your goal & details in again and see if the bug fixes itself. I have mine set to sedentary and when I dropped my loss rate I got about 200 calories, but that was from 1lb to .5lb.
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You only have 15lbs to lose. Change your setting to lose 0.5lbs a week. 2lbs a week is waaay too agressive for you. That amount of weekly loss is reserved for very overweight/obese people.
Kudos to you for lasting 2 weeks! I did the 1200 calories thing for 3 whole days before I caved, and haven't tried to eat so low again since I'm not into self torture :noway:
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That's strange - it should be much, much more than an extra 90cals. Maybe try putting your goal & details in again and see if the bug fixes itself. I have mine set to sedentary and when I dropped my loss rate I got about 200 calories, but that was from 1lb to .5lb.
Oh I tried what you suggested! Seemed to work a bit better...I reentered the info and changed it to lightly active (maybe im more active then I thought?? idk haha) and now MFP is saying 1240 cal for 1 pound a week (so not very much) or 1490 cal for .5 pound a week (its 1300 if i keep it at sedentary for .5 a week)
The 1490 would be more doable Im thinking..but I feel like that will take ages for .5 a week!! Is that better this way? Especially since Ive been trying this dang 1200 a week and havent lost anything at all so far!0 -
trinabot19 wrote: »
That's strange - it should be much, much more than an extra 90cals. Maybe try putting your goal & details in again and see if the bug fixes itself. I have mine set to sedentary and when I dropped my loss rate I got about 200 calories, but that was from 1lb to .5lb.
Oh I tried what you suggested! Seemed to work a bit better...I reentered the info and changed it to lightly active (maybe im more active then I thought?? idk haha) and now MFP is saying 1240 cal for 1 pound a week (so not very much) or 1490 cal for .5 pound a week (its 1300 if i keep it at sedentary for .5 a week)
The 1490 would be more doable Im thinking..but I feel like that will take ages for .5 a week!! Is that better this way? Especially since Ive been trying this dang 1200 a week and havent lost anything at all so far!
I eat 1450 a day & i'm set to sedentary.
It's definitely slower, but for me, I would've gone crazy on 1200. And going crazy usually ends up with booze, pizza, icecream, chocolate etc - putting me back to where I started. Remember who won the race between the tortise and the hare?
Go get yourself a food scale so you know exactly how many calories you're having and then eat to 1490 calories. It will be slow but your results are virtually guaranteed, it's at least easier than guessing.4 -
I eat 1450 a day & i'm set to sedentary.
It's definitely slower, but for me, I would've gone crazy on 1200. And going crazy usually ends up with booze, pizza, icecream, chocolate etc - putting me back to where I started. Remember who won the race between the tortise and the hare?
Go get yourself a food scale so you know exactly how many calories you're having and then eat to 1490 calories. It will be slow but your results are virtually guaranteed, it's at least easier than guessing.
Oh that is true and yea I do feel like I am going a bit crazy LOL! I will have to find a scale thank you for your replies It definitely helped!!!!!!0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »You only have 15lbs to lose. Change your setting to lose 0.5lbs a week. 2lbs a week is waaay too agressive for you. That amount of weekly loss is reserved for very overweight/obese people.
Kudos to you for lasting 2 weeks! I did the 1200 calories thing for 3 whole days before I caved, and haven't tried to eat so low again since I'm not into self torture :noway:
Thank you for the suggestion haha yes I dont know how I lasted this long tbh even now my tummy is rumbling!!! LOL. I think i was being a little overzealous perhaps, I just cant wait to look good again!0 -
trinabot19 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »You only have 15lbs to lose. Change your setting to lose 0.5lbs a week. 2lbs a week is waaay too agressive for you. That amount of weekly loss is reserved for very overweight/obese people.
Kudos to you for lasting 2 weeks! I did the 1200 calories thing for 3 whole days before I caved, and haven't tried to eat so low again since I'm not into self torture :noway:
Thank you for the suggestion haha yes I dont know how I lasted this long tbh even now my tummy is rumbling!!! LOL. I think i was being a little overzealous perhaps, I just cant wait to look good again!
I know what you mean.. I'm down to my last 4lbs and I'm lucky if i lose 1lb a month!4 -
I'm on 1200 too and go to the gym or aerobics class an hour plus a day...at first I was soo hungry...particularly for sugar...but I pushed through and it's easier now. What does help is coffee...I drink like 6 cups or more a day, not great lol but it's just short term...0
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Oh and I've been losing a kg a week... That's what motivates me to stay on track...as well as compliments from people at the gym..0
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You might want to rethink your food choices too. Try making veggies another way (canned green beans are disgusting - try roasting broccoli or something). Beans are great too. Basically, try to eat less carbs (especially things like bread and obviously refined sugars, as they are not very filling) and focus on more protein, fat, and fiber (beans, whole grains, veggies, some fruit).1
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Is enough of what you're eating protein? For snack try a hard boiled egg, yogurt, quest bars, shakes, etc.0
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In terms of controlling hunger, I do fine on 1200 as long as I get lots of protein and fat. I try to limit my carbs to 100-120 grams so I have enough to spend on the other two.0
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trinabot19 wrote: »
That's strange - it should be much, much more than an extra 90cals. Maybe try putting your goal & details in again and see if the bug fixes itself. I have mine set to sedentary and when I dropped my loss rate I got about 200 calories, but that was from 1lb to .5lb.
Oh I tried what you suggested! Seemed to work a bit better...I reentered the info and changed it to lightly active (maybe im more active then I thought?? idk haha) and now MFP is saying 1240 cal for 1 pound a week (so not very much) or 1490 cal for .5 pound a week (its 1300 if i keep it at sedentary for .5 a week)
The 1490 would be more doable Im thinking..but I feel like that will take ages for .5 a week!! Is that better this way? Especially since Ive been trying this dang 1200 a week and havent lost anything at all so far!
It may take longer at 0.5 pounds/week, but with someone who has as little to lose as you do, it's a much healthier strategy. You said you're aiming to have a family in the future, so I'll bet being as healthy as possible would be a goal, right?
Your body can only burn a limited amount of fat per day (down at the biochemical level). The less fat there is on your body, the lower that amount is. If your calorie deficit is bigger than the amount of fat your body can burn, it will start to look for other energy sources . . . like lean body mass, i.e., muscle among other things. If you burn muscle, you not only get weaker, but your resting metabolic rate drops - you burn even fewer calories. This is a small effect, but it's real.
That's the source of advice to limit your loss rate as you get closer to goal weight. Obese people can lose 2 pounds a week, and stay healthy. People with less than 20 pounds to lose can't lose 2 pounds a week for long, and stay at peak health. (I gradually reduced my loss rate while losing 60+ pounds, for exactly this reason.)
Besides that, doing some crazy-low calorie goal does little to help you learn how to eat in a healthy, sustainable way forever.
And +1 to the idea of trying some different vegetables and fruit. Roasted vegetables (various types) are delicious and easy. Steamed vegetables are great with a simple vinaigrette dressing (mix a little vinegar with some herbs or some prepared mustard, for example), or a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. Search & take a look at some of the vegetables threads in the Food & Nutrition or Recipes threads here.
In the short run, eat more, eat better, get those workouts, and you'll feel better. There's no point in making the loss process a race. Patience!6 -
Have you ever tried Carb-cycling?0
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so it seems your problem is something else. if you hate vegetables you are to avoid them, don't fatigue your stomach, it also puts adverse effect on your metabolism, don't push yourself for the things you dislike. don't rush for your weight management, it will make you tired. why don't you try something that can boost your efforts, beyond weight management tea is really a good thing for weight management, you can give it a try.0
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1490 sounds much more reasonable, that should work out a lot better. Yeah, it'll take a bit longer at a .5 lb deficit but no point in racing; you push hard at 1200 calories and your body is going to be more likely to rebel as soon as you try to hold at maintenance. If you have to lose the same 5 - 15 lbs two or three times because as soon as you stopped eating at a deficit the weight started to creep back on, then your not going to arrive and maintain your goal any faster than if you chipped away at it with a .5 lb deficit. Hare and tortoise and all that.
Anyway, lots of sage advice already posted, so that's my two cents Good luck! 0 -
Not to take away from anything anyone else has said, but my own personal experience I'm super hungry more during the day than at night. So I eat 90-99% of my cals from 7am breakfast and then stop by 3pm. So for *me* my experience I was losing within my calorie goals with a 12-14hr fast from 3pm - 6:30/7a.m. (tho not hungry, so fast is an odd term to use imho). I didn't feel hungry and feel very satisfied, too.1
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