1200 cal intake is not working for me.

I know we've talked about this a million times. But...I've tried the 1200 calorie intake for about 3or 4 weeks now and I've seen no weight loss. Soooo....I'm gonna lower my calorie intake but I'm gonna keep my exercise routine up burning 600-700 calories a day.

I'm just fustrated by lost time really. sigh.

Anyone on same page with me here?

How do you measure your food? Most women should be losing weight on 1200 calories per day. Do you cheat at all during the week?

I echo a lot of what's being said already. But here are some suggestions:

1. You don't have a ton of weight to lose, and sometimes that makes it harder

2. You have to increase your water intake! Maybe you're just not tracking it, but in your diary there are many days that you don't reach your water goals. Especially if you're exercising a lot, you have to replenish your water.

3. Eat more whole foods, fruits, veggies, etc. Aim for lean protein (maybe less full-fat cheese), whole fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans.

4. Eat back your exercise calories.

5. Set a weigh-in day, same time, same location, same outfit. Only weigh in on that day/time. Your body fluctuates daily, so the scale will daily too.

6. Don't starve yourself! You are a beautiful, healthy, young woman. Take the time to do this right for yourself. It's a lifetime change, and you have a lot of lifetime ahead! There will be some slow times and some plateaus.

7. Maybe change up your exercise. Add some weights, some variety to what you're doing. Add in some pilates/yoga and stretching.

Most of all, hang in there! Stay positive and take care of yourself. You can find the way.

Wow thanx guys.

I haven't been eating fruits or veggies lately, I didn't realise it until now. :embarassed:
I will however change that immediately. I appreciate the honesty from you guys.

I will try and eat atleast 1800 calories, 1200 plus the 600 calories that I burn.
I can;t promise that I'll eat all that but I'll try.

I'm gonna keep reading and evaluating each of the messages you guys wrote.

Sorry, if this was a dumb entry...I just needed help and opinions.
I feel stuck and I'm trying to move on from where I'm at.

Thank you for reply guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's not a dumb entry. Everyone gets frustrated with this process and needs to sound off once in a while. That's why MFP has message boards! You can do it!

I never once started losing until I ate back my exercise calories, now I am stronger and fitter than ever before and losing weight. You NEED to eat more!!! Programme your goals to one pound per week loss and just do what MFP tells you xx

Your diary doesn't show any fruit or veggies. First, start by adding those. The next thing you need to do is increase your calories, not decrease. I know it sounds strange at first, but it really works.

took a look at your diary. i would suggest a few things first before you lower your cals.

1-try tracking sodium, you are eating a lot of processed stuff, and too much sodium really can make a difference.
2-you need more real food, specially fruits and vegetables.
3-if you are filling out your diary fully, you don't eat enough most days. there are an awful lot of days you didn't break the 1000 cal mark, and even when you did, alot of those cals were empty cals from things like chocolate bars or coconut tarts :P

what you eat can make a huge difference, it's not just about the cals. your body needs the nutrition that comes from real food, even more so because you are eating a deficit to lose weight.
you for sure don't want to lower cals and up exercise, specially as most of the time you are already eating lower cals. i would try making sure you eat your full 1200, plus whatever exercise cals you get everyday, and doing it by eating real food and more fruits and veggies.

this!!!

i was eating 1200 cals and not eating exercise calories back, and ht a plateau.
Only way i was able to move it was to eat those exercise calories back... virtually all of them most days... and seems the closer i am to NET 1200 cals per day, the better my weekly losses even though i am now only 19 pounds from my goal.

trust the mfp system. it does work.

1200 a day??? how do you all do it! I just can't do 1200 cals! I need to eat much more than that, my calories have never gone below 1400 a day

If you're burning 600-700 calories, 1200 can't be enough to eat. Try doing a Basal Metabolic Rate test (you can calculate it online) and figure out how many cals you burn without any activity. Then add in your workouts, and you should eat close to that.

I'm not sure I understand this. Help me out.

According to the BMR tool, my BMR is 1,571. I burn an average of 400 per day in exercise (if you take the weekly amount of 2786/7). I've been keeping my net calories to 1,400. (And I haven't been seeing any weight loss in the last month!) So is this telling me I need to increase my net calories to 1,971 average???

Pretty much yes! However, if you aren't hungry, I wouldn't eat back the calories. But if you are hungry, eat the calories you burnt exercising back. Your body needs fuel!!