1200 calories a day and hungry, scared to up the calories
laurenebargar
Posts: 3,081 Member
Hi everyone,
Im new here, I currently have my calories set at 1,200, but most days im still hungry, If I work out I eat half my Exercise calories back, but the thing is im worried about lowering my "goal" to loosing maybe one pound a week because even eating 1,200 calories a day, im averaging about 1.5 lbs a week lost. Is it normal to be so hungry at 1,200 calories a day? Also im measuring all of my food with a scale.
My Info:
5'4
Current Weight 209 Lbs
Goal weight 143
Excerise: Hiking on the weekend, walking / going to the gym 2-3 times a week.
Im new here, I currently have my calories set at 1,200, but most days im still hungry, If I work out I eat half my Exercise calories back, but the thing is im worried about lowering my "goal" to loosing maybe one pound a week because even eating 1,200 calories a day, im averaging about 1.5 lbs a week lost. Is it normal to be so hungry at 1,200 calories a day? Also im measuring all of my food with a scale.
My Info:
5'4
Current Weight 209 Lbs
Goal weight 143
Excerise: Hiking on the weekend, walking / going to the gym 2-3 times a week.
0
Replies
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1200 is quite low maybe you are eating too much sugar / carbs and that's what is making you hungrier?4
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Yes it's normal to be hungry when you're not eating enough. I usually don't hear of 1200 calories working well for most people purely because it leaves them too hungry.
Do you want to lose weight, albeit slower than you are now? Or would you prefer to stay miserable/hungry? Miserable might include you giving up in a month or two and not losing weight at all.
I think sometimes, faster loss is just not worth it.
But it's really up to you.10 -
One of the HUGE and common mistakes for newbies (almost always female) is setting goals too high and calorie amounts too low.
1200 is really appropriate for very short and inactive women, and you are not either.
I'm about 5'7", and started at about 200 lbs, and I am at about 1600 calories a day. I've successfully lost 30+pounds. And not starving, cranky, or miserable.14 -
It depends what you are eating. I eat 1100-1200 calories a day and I am not hungry. But I eat lots of protein, greens and some fruits. I feel stuffed almost with a bloated feeling.7
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Yeah...it's pretty normal to be hungry when you have a large deficit...which is why I've never had one.
ETA: you also likely need to play around with what you're eating which will play a pretty substantial roll in satiety...calories themselves don't result in being satiated...what you eat matters in that regard.6 -
It's also normal to be a little hungry sometimes, rather than eating enough that you never feel hunger.4
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Don't be scared - up those calories, girlfriend!!! I refuse to be hungry! I only have about 10 lbs to lose and I have my weekly weight loss goal set at losing 0.5 lbs! I look at it as trying to be able to sustain these habits rather than race to the finish.
*Also, how often do you eat and what are you eating can be a factor. But I still think that 1200 is Way low.7 -
Can you keep going as you are for 6, 9, 12 months? If not then losing slower makes more sense than giving up. Add 250 calories per day, which should move you from 1.5 to 1 pound per week average.5
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laurenebargar wrote: »Is it normal to be so hungry at 1,200 calories a day?
The majority of people would be. There are outliers, because humans are incredibly diverse in height, build, lifestyle and health, but generally 1200 wouldn't be enough.
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heiliskrimsli wrote: »It's also normal to be a little hungry sometimes, rather than eating enough that you never feel hunger.
I agree with you here, its normal to be a little hungry, I just dont feel satisfied even after dinner for instance, although the past few days I havent been perfect with my eating, I have stayed at my calorie goalhappysherri wrote: »Don't be scared - up those calories, girlfriend!!! I refuse to be hungry! I only have about 10 lbs to lose and I have my weekly weight loss goal set at losing 0.5 lbs! I look at it as trying to be able to sustain these habits rather than race to the finish.
*Also, how often do you eat and what are you eating can be a factor. But I still think that 1200 is Way low.
I think ill try to up the calories a little bit, and see how I feel, if Im a little under the new calorie goal then thats fine, as long as im meeting my Macros and wont be as miserable!0 -
Change your calorie goal to lose 1lb per week.
Enjoy not feeling so hungry.6 -
kenyonhaff wrote: »One of the HUGE and common mistakes for newbies (almost always female) is setting goals too high and calorie amounts too low.
1200 is really appropriate for very short and inactive women, and you are not either.
I'm about 5'7", and started at about 200 lbs, and I am at about 1600 calories a day. I've successfully lost 30+pounds. And not starving, cranky, or miserable.
Yeah I think one of my problems is thinking I am less active than I am. I get in my 10K steps a day, and on the weekend go for 5+ mile hikes and am out with my husband and dog especially now that its getting warmer, but I am set at sedentary on MFP because I sit at a desk all day. Ive lost almost 10 lbs in 25 days, which im happy with, but would prefer to lose slower and have a little more wiggle room.3 -
motivated310 wrote: »1200 is quite low maybe you are eating too much sugar / carbs and that's what is making you hungrier?
I think sugar is definitely not helping, I cut out all drinks except for water / carbonated water but still have been having an occasional treat, so I might be eating too much sugar still even without all of the added soda I used to drink.2 -
Are you drinking enough water and getting enough protein? Looking at your diary I would suggest starting your day off with more protein with perhaps eggs of some kind. I find that when I skip my protein in the morning I get hungrier quicker. Also add more real veggies and fruits for snacks also. Apples with peanut butter is one one my favorite mid day snacks.3
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laurenebargar wrote: »motivated310 wrote: »1200 is quite low maybe you are eating too much sugar / carbs and that's what is making you hungrier?
I think sugar is definitely not helping, I cut out all drinks except for water / carbonated water but still have been having an occasional treat, so I might be eating too much sugar still even without all of the added soda I used to drink.
Some things are more filling for longer periods of time than others, including food that isn't calorie dense. Things like the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts) are very low in calories by weight, are filling, and provide vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Eating those along with proteins and fats satisfies nutritional needs and tends to prevent the extreme hunger feeling of eating a lot of sugary things.
Note that I'm not saying sugar is bad; it absolutely can be part of your diet. Take a small amount of calories and save it for the sugary thing if that's what floats your boat, but sugar and simple carbs are things that a lot of people find lead to them eating and the being hungry soon after.2 -
Are you drinking enough water and getting enough protein? Looking at your diary I would suggest starting your day off with more protein with perhaps eggs of some kind. I find that when I skip my protein in the morning I get hungrier quicker. Also add more real veggies and fruits for snacks also. Apples with peanut butter is one one my favorite mid day snacks.
Definitely getting enough water, at least in my opinion I get over 70 ounces of water a day, and that is all I drink. I think having something with more protein in the morning would help a lot though. Over the weekend and today have not been the best nutritionally, I will try that out starting tomorrow and see if it helps with my hunger! I think I just need to focus on finding the right foods that will keep me full.2 -
Er. That's more than the almost 1.5lbs a week you said earlier. A lot more.laurenebargar wrote: »kenyonhaff wrote: »One of the HUGE and common mistakes for newbies (almost always female) is setting goals too high and calorie amounts too low.
1200 is really appropriate for very short and inactive women, and you are not either.
I'm about 5'7", and started at about 200 lbs, and I am at about 1600 calories a day. I've successfully lost 30+pounds. And not starving, cranky, or miserable.
Yeah I think one of my problems is thinking I am less active than I am. I get in my 10K steps a day, and on the weekend go for 5+ mile hikes and am out with my husband and dog especially now that its getting warmer, but I am set at sedentary on MFP because I sit at a desk all day. Ive lost almost 10 lbs in 25 days, which im happy with, but would prefer to lose slower and have a little more wiggle room.
Could you clarify what has happened? Do you mean that it was a 1.5lb drop in this last week?
25 days is 3 and a half weeks, give or take half a day.
Conservative calculations: 9 lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks= 2.57lbs a week.
More realistically, as you said nearly 10 lbs, 9.7lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks = 2.77lbs.
2 -
^^^This. Even if you do up your calories, I think if you up your lean healthy protein you might see a difference. You seem to be leaving a lot of protein on the table so to speak at the end of the day.laurenebargar wrote: »Are you drinking enough water and getting enough protein? Looking at your diary I would suggest starting your day off with more protein with perhaps eggs of some kind. I find that when I skip my protein in the morning I get hungrier quicker. Also add more real veggies and fruits for snacks also. Apples with peanut butter is one one my favorite mid day snacks.
Definitely getting enough water, at least in my opinion I get over 70 ounces of water a day, and that is all I drink. I think having something with more protein in the morning would help a lot though. Over the weekend and today have not been the best nutritionally, I will try that out starting tomorrow and see if it helps with my hunger! I think I just need to focus on finding the right foods that will keep me full.
1 -
HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Er. That's more than the almost 1.5lbs a week you said earlier. A lot more.laurenebargar wrote: »kenyonhaff wrote: »One of the HUGE and common mistakes for newbies (almost always female) is setting goals too high and calorie amounts too low.
1200 is really appropriate for very short and inactive women, and you are not either.
I'm about 5'7", and started at about 200 lbs, and I am at about 1600 calories a day. I've successfully lost 30+pounds. And not starving, cranky, or miserable.
Yeah I think one of my problems is thinking I am less active than I am. I get in my 10K steps a day, and on the weekend go for 5+ mile hikes and am out with my husband and dog especially now that its getting warmer, but I am set at sedentary on MFP because I sit at a desk all day. Ive lost almost 10 lbs in 25 days, which im happy with, but would prefer to lose slower and have a little more wiggle room.
Could you clarify what has happened? Do you mean that it was a 1.5lb drop in this last week?
25 days is 3 and a half weeks, give or take half a day.
Conservative calculations: 9 lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks= 2.57lbs a week.
More realistically, as you said nearly 10 lbs, 9.7lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks = 2.77lbs.
I was at 8.2 lbs lost and missed my weigh in this morning so I will do it tomorrow, I was assuming it would be another pound, but I could have gained. Im eating the 1,200 calories and MFP is set at sedentary, I have a fitness tracker but it doesnt work with MFP so those calories dont get added in unless I do it manually. I was assuming that since I have a bit to lose and I cut out all soda/ juice that was the reason for an extra lb or two the first week. It seems to be pretty consistent the past two weeks about a 1.5 lb loss. I realize two weeks may not be long enough to *kitten* how much I will truly be losing a week, but thats all I have to go off right now.0 -
^^^This. Even if you do up your calories, I think if you up your lean healthy protein you might see a difference. You seem to be leaving a lot of protein on the table so to speak at the end of the day.laurenebargar wrote: »Are you drinking enough water and getting enough protein? Looking at your diary I would suggest starting your day off with more protein with perhaps eggs of some kind. I find that when I skip my protein in the morning I get hungrier quicker. Also add more real veggies and fruits for snacks also. Apples with peanut butter is one one my favorite mid day snacks.
Definitely getting enough water, at least in my opinion I get over 70 ounces of water a day, and that is all I drink. I think having something with more protein in the morning would help a lot though. Over the weekend and today have not been the best nutritionally, I will try that out starting tomorrow and see if it helps with my hunger! I think I just need to focus on finding the right foods that will keep me full.
Yeah I think thats going to be what im going to try to focus on, making sure I eat protein at breakfast lunch and dinner, I try to get it at lunch, but sometimes I rely too much on getting the protein I need at dinner and I am not consuming enough protein to keep me full throughout the day.0 -
Ah, so you're excluding the first week's losses as unrepresentative, for the purpose of more accurate projections? That makes sense. Thank you.laurenebargar wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Er. That's more than the almost 1.5lbs a week you said earlier. A lot more.laurenebargar wrote: »kenyonhaff wrote: »One of the HUGE and common mistakes for newbies (almost always female) is setting goals too high and calorie amounts too low.
1200 is really appropriate for very short and inactive women, and you are not either.
I'm about 5'7", and started at about 200 lbs, and I am at about 1600 calories a day. I've successfully lost 30+pounds. And not starving, cranky, or miserable.
Yeah I think one of my problems is thinking I am less active than I am. I get in my 10K steps a day, and on the weekend go for 5+ mile hikes and am out with my husband and dog especially now that its getting warmer, but I am set at sedentary on MFP because I sit at a desk all day. Ive lost almost 10 lbs in 25 days, which im happy with, but would prefer to lose slower and have a little more wiggle room.
Could you clarify what has happened? Do you mean that it was a 1.5lb drop in this last week?
25 days is 3 and a half weeks, give or take half a day.
Conservative calculations: 9 lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks= 2.57lbs a week.
More realistically, as you said nearly 10 lbs, 9.7lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks = 2.77lbs.
I was at 8.2 lbs lost and missed my weigh in this morning so I will do it tomorrow, I was assuming it would be another pound, but I could have gained. Im eating the 1,200 calories and MFP is set at sedentary, I have a fitness tracker but it doesnt work with MFP so those calories dont get added in unless I do it manually. I was assuming that since I have a bit to lose and I cut out all soda/ juice that was the reason for an extra lb or two the first week. It seems to be pretty consistent the past two weeks about a 1.5 lb loss. I realize two weeks may not be long enough to *kitten* how much I will truly be losing a week, but thats all I have to go off right now.
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HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Ah, so you're excluding the first week's losses as unrepresentative, for the purpose of more accurate projections? That makes sense. Thank you.laurenebargar wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Er. That's more than the almost 1.5lbs a week you said earlier. A lot more.laurenebargar wrote: »kenyonhaff wrote: »One of the HUGE and common mistakes for newbies (almost always female) is setting goals too high and calorie amounts too low.
1200 is really appropriate for very short and inactive women, and you are not either.
I'm about 5'7", and started at about 200 lbs, and I am at about 1600 calories a day. I've successfully lost 30+pounds. And not starving, cranky, or miserable.
Yeah I think one of my problems is thinking I am less active than I am. I get in my 10K steps a day, and on the weekend go for 5+ mile hikes and am out with my husband and dog especially now that its getting warmer, but I am set at sedentary on MFP because I sit at a desk all day. Ive lost almost 10 lbs in 25 days, which im happy with, but would prefer to lose slower and have a little more wiggle room.
Could you clarify what has happened? Do you mean that it was a 1.5lb drop in this last week?
25 days is 3 and a half weeks, give or take half a day.
Conservative calculations: 9 lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks= 2.57lbs a week.
More realistically, as you said nearly 10 lbs, 9.7lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks = 2.77lbs.
I was at 8.2 lbs lost and missed my weigh in this morning so I will do it tomorrow, I was assuming it would be another pound, but I could have gained. Im eating the 1,200 calories and MFP is set at sedentary, I have a fitness tracker but it doesnt work with MFP so those calories dont get added in unless I do it manually. I was assuming that since I have a bit to lose and I cut out all soda/ juice that was the reason for an extra lb or two the first week. It seems to be pretty consistent the past two weeks about a 1.5 lb loss. I realize two weeks may not be long enough to *kitten* how much I will truly be losing a week, but thats all I have to go off right now.
Yeah im not sure if thats what I should be doing, but Ive seen on the forums alot of times people experience a bigger lost in the first week if the drastically change their habits.0 -
I would recommend more protien. That helps with satiety for a lot of people. Occasional treats are fine as long as you aren't using too many of your calories on foods that don't fill you up. If you are losing more than 1.5 per week then you need to be eating back more than half of your exercise calories. People will recommend eating half because it is easy to overestimate calorie burns, but if you are losing faster than your expected rate then you do need to eat more than half of them. I am 5'4.75" and lost most of my weight with my goal set around 1350 and with exercise calories I usually ate 1400-1600 calories per day.1
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I would recommend more protien. That helps with satiety for a lot of people. Occasional treats are fine as long as you aren't using too many of your calories on foods that don't fill you up. If you are losing more than 1.5 per week then you need to be eating back more than half of your exercise calories. People will recommend eating half because it is easy to overestimate calorie burns, but if you are losing faster than your expected rate then you do need to eat more than half of them. I am 5'4.75" and lost most of my weight with my goal set around 1350 and with exercise calories I usually ate 1400-1600 calories per day.
Yeah that makes sense, sometimes im not sure how accurate my exercise calories are which is why I only eat about half back, for instance I went for a hike yesterday that said I burned around 850 calories, but we only hiked for about two miles, so im never sure if they are accurate or not, and dont want to wind up over eating.0 -
Also should I be adding my calories that my fitness tracker says I burned throughout the day from walking (between 6-10K depending on the work day) my tracker doesnt link to MFP0
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laurenebargar wrote: »Hi everyone,
Im new here, I currently have my calories set at 1,200, but most days im still hungry, If I work out I eat half my Exercise calories back, but the thing is im worried about lowering my "goal" to loosing maybe one pound a week because even eating 1,200 calories a day, im averaging about 1.5 lbs a week lost. Is it normal to be so hungry at 1,200 calories a day? Also im measuring all of my food with a scale.
My Info:
5'4
Current Weight 209 Lbs
Goal weight 143
Excerise: Hiking on the weekend, walking / going to the gym 2-3 times a week.
We have the exact same stats. I'm 38. I'm losing near 2 lbs a week and I'm eating 1600-1700 calories a day. I'm eating back the calorie adjustment from my garmin, but I'm not logging any actual exercise, if that makes sense. So, if I run I eat the calorie adjustment from the steps, but I don't log that I ran 5mph for 40 minutes because I'm not as tight with my logging as I should be. I'm not too hungry.
Weight loss is calories in vs. calories out, but fullness is more a macro thing for me. I've upped my protein, particularly in the morning and it helps a lot. I do save space for some chocolate right before bed.2 -
laurenebargar wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Ah, so you're excluding the first week's losses as unrepresentative, for the purpose of more accurate projections? That makes sense. Thank you.laurenebargar wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Er. That's more than the almost 1.5lbs a week you said earlier. A lot more.laurenebargar wrote: »kenyonhaff wrote: »One of the HUGE and common mistakes for newbies (almost always female) is setting goals too high and calorie amounts too low.
1200 is really appropriate for very short and inactive women, and you are not either.
I'm about 5'7", and started at about 200 lbs, and I am at about 1600 calories a day. I've successfully lost 30+pounds. And not starving, cranky, or miserable.
Yeah I think one of my problems is thinking I am less active than I am. I get in my 10K steps a day, and on the weekend go for 5+ mile hikes and am out with my husband and dog especially now that its getting warmer, but I am set at sedentary on MFP because I sit at a desk all day. Ive lost almost 10 lbs in 25 days, which im happy with, but would prefer to lose slower and have a little more wiggle room.
Could you clarify what has happened? Do you mean that it was a 1.5lb drop in this last week?
25 days is 3 and a half weeks, give or take half a day.
Conservative calculations: 9 lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks= 2.57lbs a week.
More realistically, as you said nearly 10 lbs, 9.7lbs ÷ 3.5 weeks = 2.77lbs.
I was at 8.2 lbs lost and missed my weigh in this morning so I will do it tomorrow, I was assuming it would be another pound, but I could have gained. Im eating the 1,200 calories and MFP is set at sedentary, I have a fitness tracker but it doesnt work with MFP so those calories dont get added in unless I do it manually. I was assuming that since I have a bit to lose and I cut out all soda/ juice that was the reason for an extra lb or two the first week. It seems to be pretty consistent the past two weeks about a 1.5 lb loss. I realize two weeks may not be long enough to *kitten* how much I will truly be losing a week, but thats all I have to go off right now.
Yeah im not sure if thats what I should be doing, but Ive seen on the forums alot of times people experience a bigger lost in the first week if the drastically change their habits.
I always included it as it's part of what makes up the average over time...0 -
When I was losing, I ate between 1200 - 1500 calories a day. Once in a while I would hit the 1200, but I couldn't have done it every day. It was usually more like 1400 - 1500. I never ate exercise calories back though, not even half. Now that I'm in maintenance I do eat exercise calories back.0
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enterdanger wrote: »laurenebargar wrote: »Hi everyone,
Im new here, I currently have my calories set at 1,200, but most days im still hungry, If I work out I eat half my Exercise calories back, but the thing is im worried about lowering my "goal" to loosing maybe one pound a week because even eating 1,200 calories a day, im averaging about 1.5 lbs a week lost. Is it normal to be so hungry at 1,200 calories a day? Also im measuring all of my food with a scale.
My Info:
5'4
Current Weight 209 Lbs
Goal weight 143
Excerise: Hiking on the weekend, walking / going to the gym 2-3 times a week.
We have the exact same stats. I'm 38. I'm losing near 2 lbs a week and I'm eating 1600-1700 calories a day. I'm eating back the calorie adjustment from my garmin, but I'm not logging any actual exercise, if that makes sense. So, if I run I eat the calorie adjustment from the steps, but I don't log that I ran 5mph for 40 minutes because I'm not as tight with my logging as I should be. I'm not too hungry.
Weight loss is calories in vs. calories out, but fullness is more a macro thing for me. I've upped my protein, particularly in the morning and it helps a lot. I do save space for some chocolate right before bed.
Alright thats great im 23 but thats the only difference, I think I def need to up my protein and see how I feel after that!0 -
When I was losing, I ate between 1200 - 1500 calories a day. Once in a while I would hit the 1200, but I couldn't have done it every day. It was usually more like 1400 - 1500. I never ate exercise calories back though, not even half. Now that I'm in maintenance I do eat exercise calories back.
i think I would be comfortable with that amount, and then some days if I get the 1,200 then I reach it, but if I go over, I still wouldnt be "off track"0
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