I can't do 1200 calories!!!! I'm so hungry!!! Why?!?!
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VintageFeline wrote: »natasha7573 wrote: »I have 1200 calories too and I'm ending my first week tomorrow. It was a little hard the first 3 days but then my body accepted it. I'm 28 so yes, things are starting to move harder.
28 is not an age where it gets harder. At all. I'm 35 and I have always lost exactly as expected and I most certainly don't eat 1200 calories to do it.
Agreed. I lost 55# at age 38 & after having 2 babies and it was far easier than the multiple attempts throughout my 20s & early 30s because I was better informed & did it right (measuring, tracking, maintaining a caloric deficit).15 -
I'm 5'3", 38 years old and eat about 3000 cals per day and was losing (I don't lose now because I am pregnant and am not doing as much activity as before, but cals have always been about the same). I have lost just under 100lbs prior to pregnancy. Basically if you are even moderately active you need more than the 1200 which I can bet you are if you are hungry. Anyone who says they are fine eating that little or less are losing lean muscle and will just be skinny fat and unhappy forever because they are hangry.10
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I eat 1200 calories by lunch. If that was all I had for an entire day, I'd be gnawing on my arm.25
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You can't stick to 1200 cals because it's not enough fuel. Unless you have a LOT of weight to lose, set your weekly goal to no more than 1 lb per week. Plus, you should be logging your exercise and eating back at least some of those calories too.
So many of us have been brainwashed by women's magazines that 1200 calories is "right" for every woman, but there are only a very small minority eating that low is appropriate for.
And as I posted in another thread like this, many women who say they are eating 1200 cals are eyeballing portions, choosing bad entries in the database, and actually eating more than that.
Get a kitchen scale, log accurately, make sure you are getting enough protein fat and fiber, and lose the weight without suffering :drinker:6 -
I am 4'9" and found it hard to stick with 1200 but knew I couldn't eat more if I actually wanted to lose weight. That is where exercise is great. I could bump it up an extra 200 calories and feel much more satisfied. It also gave some wriggle room for treats occasionally because there is no room for treats and meeting important nutritional goals on 1200.9
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1200 is minimal for safety reasons for average sedentary woman.
Don't be average - don't be sedentary - don't eat 1200 (unless 5 ft or under and very overweight which isn't average).
Being in the 5' club makes things more difficult. 1200 calories have always been my recommended caloric intake because of my sedentary job and diminutive stature
. You're right on with the exercise - I do better when I can fit in activity at least 4 days a week.
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VintageFeline wrote: »natasha7573 wrote: »I have 1200 calories too and I'm ending my first week tomorrow. It was a little hard the first 3 days but then my body accepted it. I'm 28 so yes, things are starting to move harder.
28 is not an age where it gets harder. At all. I'm 35 and I have always lost exactly as expected and I most certainly don't eat 1200 calories to do it.
This^^
35 as well. Losing at the rate expected.2 -
If you can move to 1500 calories and continue to lose weight at a satisfactory weight, then there is no need for you to be at 1200 calories.
If eating 1500 calories does not result in a satisfactory rate of weight loss, then you have some more difficult choices to make. You'll have to adjust your expectations and accept a rate of loss that is slower than you prefer, increase your activity level to accommodate for the extra calories you consume, or find ways to make the 1200 calories more satisfying to you.6 -
Stick to more protein and bulky fibrouse food. Your deit has to satisfy u. Diet has to be fun, likable by you and only you. Some food can be good for you, but poison to somebody else. Listen to your body4
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I always try but I'm so hungry... thinking about moving back to 1500 calories... I just entered my 30's and I feel like everything is so different!!!
Unless you're a very petite person or needing to lose weight very rapidly for medical purposes, 1200 calories isn't necessary. If you felt fine, that would be one thing. But, no need for misery. Eat some more and still lose weight.1 -
I was on 1200 for the last couple of months and lost weight. I ate back almost all of my exercise calories, so actually averaged about 1500 calories a day. I will say this: it's possible, it's not necessarily uncomfortable for me, but I don't think it's sustainable any more. I'm 5' 6" and when I input a loss of 1 pound per week (starting weight 173, goal of 145 pounds), MFP said I could eat just 1200 calories. After losing 20 pounds, I just shifted down to losing half a pound a week and get a measly 1370 calories a day. I was hoping for more. I think I need more calories to function and to perform better during workouts.1
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I only eat 1200 but I'm 5 ft. I see these posts from women who are like 5'8 doing 1200 and I know they must be starving. I'm not hungry but I can also eat very healthy and get tons (tons) of healthy protein. I do light exercise (i.e walking, elliptical, some weights). 1200 can be easy (for shorter women) as long as you can make sure you eat the right foods and get your nutrients. My maintenance is only around 1600-1700 so...this is only about a 500 calorie a day cut for me. With 1200 calories size def matters! I also drop a bunch of weight then maintain for awhile so my body can get a break and adjust.5
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1200 calories a day can be really difficult. The last time I did that, was only because I was sick and didn't feel like eating. Set your rate a bit slower, you'll feel better in the long run.0
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Because it takes 1200 calories for a 3 year old to function. 1200 calories is below your BMR, the amount of calories it takes for your body to survive in a coma!!!! You need to calculate your TDEE numbers to get an accurate number of calories you need to consume. You are starving yourself. Your body will start to eat muscle, bone mass and even brain tissue when you starve it. Good luck11
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I'm pretty sedentary, 5'3," 125 lbs, and trying to get back to 110. 1,200 calories has been... miserable. Honestly I think I'm going to raise my caloric intake.2
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I tried 1200 calorie diets off and on all my life. I never lasted more than two weeks. Usually I didn't last three days. I just couldn't handle the constant sense of deprivation. I'd get obsessed with food. And as soon as I could, I'd eat everything I felt I'd missed out on.
I had a lot more success with low carb diets, where I didn't worry about calories at all, though I know that they work because you do actually cut your calories when you drop all the sugar and processed food. I also had success with exercise + calorie control. MFP works for me because I do enough exercise I can eat a lot, but because I log everything, I also control how much I eat. When I started with MFP I was given 1200 calories as my goal to lose a pound a week (I'm 60 and basically sedentary). However I exercise about 2 hours a day, so end up with 500 - 1000 calories extra. That I can live with.2 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »I tried 1200 calorie diets off and on all my life. I never lasted more than two weeks. Usually I didn't last three days. I just couldn't handle the constant sense of deprivation. I'd get obsessed with food. And as soon as I could, I'd eat everything I felt I'd missed out on.
This is exactly how it went for me too. I lasted 3 miserable/hungry/obsessed days on 1200 calories
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Don't be afraid to increase the calories from what MFP has recommended for you. When I went with what MFP recommended for me (1600 calories/day for 2 lbs/week loss for sedentary), I ended up having eating binges 1 to 3 times per week. It turns out the correct calories/day for me for that rate of weight loss is about 2200 calories/day which explains why I couldn't stick to my diet for more than a few days without binging. Those calories/day calculations are just "estimations" based on averages and there will always be some who will need something different.3
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So this is my experience... when I was eating 1300- 1400 calories, I was so hungry all the time! Why? Because I was trying to spread out the calories throughout the day 3 meals plus snacks. That meant my meals were only about 400 calories give or take. It wasn't filling me enough. So now I eat my calories in one or two large meals. That gives me larger portions and it includes anything I want to eat, no restrictions on what I eat. I feel much more satiated after having huge meals, instead of having multiple small meals. Most days, I will consume one meal worth all my calories. This definitely works for me.
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1200 calories is not a death-sentence. I ate 1200 calories on sedentary days and I was fine. BUT my goal was only to lose 500g a week. Not 900g. And I filled up on lots of low-cal veggies. Readjust your goal or add in more exercise or become a volume eater. Or do all 3.1
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