1200 calories... very difficult

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  • kmjudge
    kmjudge Posts: 25
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    Veggies veggies veggies!!!!! Big salads, pile it on without cheese or meat, add apple cider vinegar. Basically no calories, tons of great benefits, helps curb the appetite
  • lbgano
    lbgano Posts: 234
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    Protein Protein Protein

    Make a dozen hard boiled eggs and take them with you. It may sound strange but I eat one before I eat anything else because they fill me up :smile: Good luck!

    Yes, protein plus fiber is the key to not being hungry!

    Eat often throughout the day.

    Drink water first. If you are hungry sometimes it turns out that you were just thirsty.

    And again, exercise and eat those calories!

    My weight loss is set to 1 lb per week and I have a base of 1200. I find that adding even 150 exercise calories per day often makes the difference between enduring and thriving!
  • wildestian
    wildestian Posts: 188 Member
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    She may be like me, very short. No matter what I change my goal to, I always stay at 1200 calories so I have to exercise if I want to eat more than that. Could be that she has her goal set to 1 or 2 lbs though.

    I was going to say the same thing, I'm short too, and I find it difficult to eat just 1200, I usually need to do at least 30 mins of cardio to be able to eat enough in the day.
  • Slimmasaurus
    Slimmasaurus Posts: 141 Member
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    I thought that sticking to 1200 calories would be difficult... but what I do pretty much every day is start with oatmeal for breakfast, then eat a salad for lunch with plenty of protein to keep me full up and to keep those cravings at bay! Those two meals only add up to around 500calories, meaning that I don't have to be too tight on myself for dinner and I can fit in a few snacks in the daytime too! :)
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
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    I'm not really clear on what being short has to do with anything. I'm 5' and on my lowest calorie day with no exercise I still eat 1345 cals. Oh, and yes, I lose weight doing that.
  • lbgano
    lbgano Posts: 234
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    I'm not really clear on what being short has to do with anything. I'm 5' and on my lowest calorie day with no exercise I still eat 1345 cals. Oh, and yes, I lose weight doing that.

    I think height is one of the deciding factors when MFP is "setting" your base calories. I think it asks height, weight, gender, age, and activity level, right? So maybe you have a higher activity level or something if it set your base calories higher...
  • jfluchere
    jfluchere Posts: 346 Member
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    More protein and veggies...less carbs. You will stay fuller eating 4 oz of chicken breast versus same calories in a piece of bread.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    I'm not really clear on what being short has to do with anything. I'm 5' and on my lowest calorie day with no exercise I still eat 1345 cals. Oh, and yes, I lose weight doing that.

    I think height is one of the deciding factors when MFP is "setting" your base calories. I think it asks height, weight, gender, age, and activity level, right? So maybe you have a higher activity level or something if it set your base calories higher...

    I think it's just weight. BUT OP has a goal weight of 140 and a current weight of 155. Both similar to me (I'm 5'9") so my guess is she's not short. I net 1750 calories a day....
  • wildon883r
    wildon883r Posts: 429 Member
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    Increase your FAT intake. 2 TBSP of Natural Peanut butter has about 200 calories and not only is it healthy its also more beneficial then this fiber agenda the medical world is trying to push on us not to mention much more satisfying and filling.
  • lbgano
    lbgano Posts: 234
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    Increase your FAT intake. 2 TBSP of Natural Peanut butter has about 200 calories and not only is it healthy its also more beneficial then this fiber agenda the medical world is trying to push on us not to mention much more satisfying and filling.

    Whoa! Had no idea fiber was a controversial topic...
    Promise I'm not part of the medical world's secret fiber agenda...I just recommend it because it helps keep me feeling full and leads me in the direction of unprocessed foods. I think that healthy fats like those in natural PB are good, and I love almonds and almond butter too. AND I eat the yolks of my eggs, so there. :wink:
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
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    I'm not really clear on what being short has to do with anything. I'm 5' and on my lowest calorie day with no exercise I still eat 1345 cals. Oh, and yes, I lose weight doing that.

    I think height is one of the deciding factors when MFP is "setting" your base calories. I think it asks height, weight, gender, age, and activity level, right? So maybe you have a higher activity level or something if it set your base calories higher...

    No, I get that part. MFP has me set to eat 1200 a day, my point is that I wouldn't do that. What MFP tells you is a guideline and if you are always hungry then obviously it's not right.
  • lbgano
    lbgano Posts: 234
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    I'm not really clear on what being short has to do with anything. I'm 5' and on my lowest calorie day with no exercise I still eat 1345 cals. Oh, and yes, I lose weight doing that.

    I think height is one of the deciding factors when MFP is "setting" your base calories. I think it asks height, weight, gender, age, and activity level, right? So maybe you have a higher activity level or something if it set your base calories higher...

    No, I get that part. MFP has me set to eat 1200 a day, my point is that I wouldn't do that. What MFP tells you is a guideline and if you are always hungry then obviously it's not right.


    Oh! Gotcha.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I couldn't survive happily on 1200 cals either and I don't think it's necessary for most people to drop this low to lose weight.
    I'd agree with the suggestions to set your weight loss at something more realistic and add some exercise into the mix then you will be able to eat more, be more satisfied and more likely to stick to it.
  • landedmapleleaf
    landedmapleleaf Posts: 6
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    I just talked about your type of situation in my blog. Take a long look at the BMR you have to start with and then try to exercise extra calories for weight loss. Just never go over your BMR at any cost. On lazy days, you stick to the 1200 calories. But days where you exercise a lot, eat a little more up to your BMR as your max, but always keep at least a 200 calorie window left over on these days by adding extra calories through exercise. It will make it much easier.:wink:
  • MMFP68
    MMFP68 Posts: 39 Member
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    Oh, my goodness --you guys totally rock. Thank you for all these supportive posts. I was really surprised to get back here and see all your helpful suggestions. As so many of you suggested, I am going to up my daily calories to at least 1350--1400 and reduce my desired rate of weight loss to a more reasonable .5 lb/week.

    I'm 5'4", which isn't all that tall but not terribly short, either. I should be able to swing this, from all I have read since going over your comments.

    I really do think I'm a bit ignorant right now about calories and things. The last time I felt I had to lose some weight, I was using Weight Watchers online, which is really nice, but it hides all the calories and things from you and you never really learn how that all works. It was convenient and very effective, though.

    I just want to thank you for all your posts, and congratulate all of you on your successes. I'm really inspired to be in such determined company.
  • lbgano
    lbgano Posts: 234
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    A lot of people have public diaries and it really helps to see what they are eating . But don't look at mine for yesterday (Monday). That was a terrible day! :laugh:
  • MMFP68
    MMFP68 Posts: 39 Member
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    I think I'll make mine public, too. Everyone will laugh at my menus though! LOL

    Well, I did go back and edit my goals. To lose .5 lbs/week, I will need to keep it to 1440 calories (MUCH more reasonable.) And I imagine I'll have slightly more energy than I've had, too, because I won't be starving myself as badly -- which means I should be able to get in at least a 20 minute brisk walk or swim most days for exercise.

    Looking forward to seeing how things go today.
  • RickinNH
    RickinNH Posts: 73 Member
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    For me the single best feature of MFP is that I can actually see the additional calories I can eat based on how much I exercise. I like to ride my bike between 1-2 hours a day. On days I don't ride, my calorie limit is tight. On days I do ride, I feel like I can eat as much food (well, good food) as I want and still be under my calorie limit.
  • MMFP68
    MMFP68 Posts: 39 Member
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    That's awesome, rjl. You must be in very good shape with your level of activity. I need to get more active myself.
  • craft338
    craft338 Posts: 870 Member
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    i always change mine manually to 1500 so i have some wiggle room. 1200 is pretty much the minimum and is kind of low (in my opinion, unless your really short and are very inactive) so maybe change it to 1400 and aim for AROUND 1300. it doesn't have to be an exact science. i've been calorie counting for just over 6 months. you'll go crazy if you pay too much attention to that number. i do best with a 200 calorie range goal, like my goal is usually between 1200 and 1400 on non active days and between 1400 and 1600 on active days.

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