Struggling to eat 1200 Calories a day

rachel_cherie22 · August 2014

1. I was eating 1200cals for 6 months and working out hard buring 1000 cals x 3 a week
stuck at 77.7kg for those 5 months

2. eating 1569 cals 1 month and working out the same as above now 72.5 loss of 5kg

I wasn't convinced either but I gave it a month and now I wouldn't go back

dunnodunno · August 2014

a gym trainer told me you can eat 1,200 and work your *kitten* off, youll burn more fat so its good,, best of luck,,, my aim is to stick to 1,200 and exercise like crazy

Are you going to eat your calories back?

Graelwyn75 · August 2014

a gym trainer told me you can eat 1,200 and work your *kitten* off, youll burn more fat so its good,, best of luck,,, my aim is to stick to 1,200 and exercise like crazy

Your gym trainer sounds like a bit of an idiot then.
Good luck trying that for any length of time. But then, his idea of working one's *kitten* off might not match mine.

nkolli8921 · May 2018

Hi Kaitlin, I am having the same issues. I struggle to eat 1200 calories a day too especially on training days. I see some people have posted that you are lying... well I can say I am in the same boat. I am eating more healthier these days meaning, no biscuits, chocolates, cakes, fried foods. At times I was eating all these bad foods and my weight has pretty much stayed the same. Now that I have basically cut all that crap out my Trainer told me to eat 1200 cals a day and on training days I need to eat back my calories which is usually between 400-500 cals. I am having so much trouble eating the calories back. I could do it easily if I eat chocolates, cakes etc but I don't really want to eat junk food. I have at times had half a mini cupcake or one chocolate clinker but that is as far as it goes. Last night after training I had to force myself to eat an extra 500 cals for dinner from what I lost exercising.. I had 250g breast chicken with 2 cups of broccoli and I will tell you I was nearly crying because I felt I was going to explode. I ended up eating a total of 676 calories for the day after burning off what exercise I did. So in the end I didn't get to my 1200 cal target. I am filling up on protein and good fats and trying to keep my carbs under 50%. I am a young 48 year old, 165cm tall and currently weigh 59kg. I only have 5kg to lose and I have been on this challenge for 3 weeks and I have lost at total of 0.9kg. My Trainer said because I am not eating enough and my metabolism is in starvation mode. I get that and maybe I will have to eat a chocolate bar, but I think that is defeating the purpose. I want to be healthy as I also have high cholesterol and chocolate or greasy food is the last thing I need to consume. One poster mentioned he eats 700cal breakfast I bet that entails quite a few eggs and greasy bacon. 700 cals easily reached but I could not possibly consume that many eggs in the morning. I struggled to eat 2 eggs yesterday for breakfast. Everyone's body is different. There is no one size fits all.

paperpudding · May 2018

These threads come up regularly and no, I do not think people are lying.

I think one of two things is happening.

1. Logging is not as accurate as poster thinks it is and so they are actually eating more than 1200. ( in which case weight loss over time will be slow, as per the person's actual ( not their perceived) intake

2. Person has started eating what they consider ultra healthy and cut all calorie dense items; soda, juice, sweets, bread, pasta, milk, etc and finds that low calorie options are much more filling than they realised and they feel they are eating a lot of volume but not getting to calorie level ( in which case weight loss over time will be faster than a healthy rate)

Best suggestion in both cases is to open your diary so experienced posters can make constructive suggestions.

Just ridiculing the poster and accusing them of lying is not helpful.

diannethegeek · May 2018

paperpudding wrote: »

These threads come up regularly and no, I do not think people are lying.

I think one of two things is happening.

1. Logging is not as accurate as poster thinks it is and so they are actually eating more than 1200. ( in which case weight loss over time will be slow, as per the person's actual ( not their perceived) intake

2. Person has started eating what they consider ultra healthy and cut all calorie dense items; soda, juice, sweets, bread, pasta, milk, etc and finds that low calorie options are much more filling than they realised and they feel they are eating a lot of volume but not getting to calorie level ( in which case weight loss over time will be faster than a healthy rate)

Best suggestion in both cases is to open your diary so experienced posters can make constructive suggestions.

Just ridiculing the poster and accusing them of lying is not helpful.

I don't disagree, but the people who did ridicule the OP haven't logged in for like 3 years.

PAV8888 · May 2018

nkolli8921 wrote: »

Hi Kaitlin, I am having the same issues. I struggle to eat 1200 calories a day too especially on training days. I see some people have posted that you are lying... well I can say I am in the same boat. I am eating more healthier these days meaning, no biscuits, chocolates, cakes, fried foods. At times I was eating all these bad foods and my weight has pretty much stayed the same. Now that I have basically cut all that crap out my Trainer told me to eat 1200 cals a day and on training days I need to eat back my calories which is usually between 400-500 cals. I am having so much trouble eating the calories back. I could do it easily if I eat chocolates, cakes etc but I don't really want to eat junk food. I have at times had half a mini cupcake or one chocolate clinker but that is as far as it goes. Last night after training I had to force myself to eat an extra 500 cals for dinner from what I lost exercising.. I had 250g breast chicken with 2 cups of broccoli and I will tell you I was nearly crying because I felt I was going to explode. I ended up eating a total of 676 calories for the day after burning off what exercise I did. So in the end I didn't get to my 1200 cal target. I am filling up on protein and good fats and trying to keep my carbs under 50%. I am a young 48 year old, 165cm tall and currently weigh 59kg. I only have 5kg to lose and I have been on this challenge for 3 weeks and I have lost at total of 0.9kg. My Trainer said because I am not eating enough and my metabolism is in starvation mode. I get that and maybe I will have to eat a chocolate bar, but I think that is defeating the purpose. I want to be healthy as I also have high cholesterol and chocolate or greasy food is the last thing I need to consume. One poster mentioned he eats 700cal breakfast I bet that entails quite a few eggs and greasy bacon. 700 cals easily reached but I could not possibly consume that many eggs in the morning. I struggled to eat 2 eggs yesterday for breakfast. Everyone's body is different. There is no one size fits all.

Very nice sentiments and thread revive.

Here's the thing.

Most of us not only want to lose the extra weight but also want to maintain our loss over several years.

So people who change their way of eating will, quite possibly, eat MORE "clean/healthy/nutrient dense" food than they used to and less of "junk/unhealthy/calorie dense" food than they used to.

I know I certainly do both of these things (well, depending on how each of us defines each of these categories....)

But, realistically, do you see you eating chicken and broccoli till you cry for months and years at a time? No, right?

So at some point of time (and in my opinion the sooner the better) you will have to come to grips with dealing with calorie dense food... but in more moderate amounts than you may have been used to eating it in recent memory.

Forget good and bad foods. Just make choices such that you feel that what you eat is worth the Calories you spend on it!

Danp · May 2018

And. If your trainer said the word 'starvation mode' then immediately disregard anything else they say about nutrition and limit the advice you take from them to how to pick up heavy stuff and put it back down.

Or better yet, get a trainer who actually knows what they're talking about because if they're peddling rubbish nutrition information like 'starvation mode' their PT information is probably suspect too

paperpudding · May 2018

diannethegeek wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

These threads come up regularly and no, I do not think people are lying.

I think one of two things is happening.

1. Logging is not as accurate as poster thinks it is and so they are actually eating more than 1200. ( in which case weight loss over time will be slow, as per the person's actual ( not their perceived) intake

2. Person has started eating what they consider ultra healthy and cut all calorie dense items; soda, juice, sweets, bread, pasta, milk, etc and finds that low calorie options are much more filling than they realised and they feel they are eating a lot of volume but not getting to calorie level ( in which case weight loss over time will be faster than a healthy rate)

Best suggestion in both cases is to open your diary so experienced posters can make constructive suggestions.

Just ridiculing the poster and accusing them of lying is not helpful.

I don't disagree, but the people who did ridicule the OP haven't logged in for like 3 years.

Oops didn't notice it was a zombie thread

tar2323 · May 2018

1200 a day was easy for me for the first two years, for the most part. Now with 20lbs to go and having had a diet break, I'm struggling to get back into the right mindset. Some good advice in this thread about adding in things you really liked before (there are no bad foods) so you don't eventually feel deprived.

takemetosingapore19 · May 2018

If 1200 seems like a lot then how did you get fat?

DanielleTake2 · May 2018

Graelwyn75 wrote: »

a gym trainer told me you can eat 1,200 and work your *kitten* off, youll burn more fat so its good,, best of luck,,, my aim is to stick to 1,200 and exercise like crazy

Your gym trainer sounds like a bit of an idiot then.
Good luck trying that for any length of time. But then, his idea of working one's *kitten* off might not match mine.

^This.

OMG This is CRAZY! I actually shuddered when I read this. Your trainer is completely wrong and unqualified. I'm scared for you.

cheryldumais · May 2018

Hey folks this thread is from 2014 and the OP hasn't posted since. Not much point in replying.

Struggling to eat 1200 Calories a day

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