1200 cals but hungrier lately

marston255 · September 2018

Hello,

I’ve been following the 1200 cal protocol for about 45 days...down 18 pounds so far, woohoo!! I’m in the gym 5 days a week, weight training 3 days and cardio all 5 days. This past week I’ve been a lot hungrier than I usually am. I’m eating a lot of protein and carbs, definitely hitting my macros every day, but I just find myself ravenous. I’m still sticking with it, tracking everything I eat and drinking 85-102 ounces of water a day. Just keeping the will power up at this point. I feel like I’m in a tough spot because I’ve been stuck at my current weight for two weeks and can’t crack it no matter what. Anyone else go through this?

Cbean08 · September 2018

Congrats on your weight loss! You're losing quite quickly.... Current height and weight?

Also, are you eating back your exercise calories? Or, are you only eating 1200 calories total?

marston255 · September 2018

Thank you!! 5’3” and 175. I’m not eating my calories back. I may have an extra 100-200 on Saturday’s (leg day at the gym) but other than that, I stick to my 1200. Some days, I can barely hit 1200 and other days, I can’t eat enough 🙁

RAinWA · September 2018

MFP is set up for you to eat your exercise calories back (or at least a portion of them).

I suspect you selected 2 pounds a week for the rate you wanted to lose at and, quite honestly, it doesn't sound like you are eating enough. You might trying slowing your weight loss down to 1 or 1.5 pounds a week and eat back your exercise calories (some people find the MFP estimations way off and start with only eating 1/2 back).

As far as being stalled for a couple of weeks, it happens. You've been losing at nearly 3 pounds a week (if I'm doing the math right) and that's a pretty aggressive rate. Your body needs time to catch up. Plus normal fluctuations, TOM, etc. can mess with the scale weight.

PowerliftingMom · September 2018

Yep I was in the same situation and found out I was literally starving myself @1200 calories and I'm only 5'. I did weight training 3-4x/week and very little cardio. It did some damage to my metabolism and took over a year for me to recover. I eventually bulked for over a year and my calories were 2200. I will never, ever keep my calories that low

kommodevaran · September 2018

Maybe knowing that 1200 calories is not a protocol, but MFP's calorie floor, will help set your mind at ease? I ran the stats you provided, plus "lightly active", and born 1985, in "guided setup", and 1.5 pounds gives you 1310 calories. The rule of thumb "one pound of fat equals 3500 calories" - which means that you need a daily deficit of 500 calories to lose a pound per week - means that to lose 2 pounds per week, you would have to eat 1060, which takes you well into the floor boards, which is MFP's not very clear way of telling you that your goal is too aggressive.

lynn_glenmont · September 2018

kommodevaran wrote: »

Maybe knowing that 1200 calories is not a protocol, but MFP's calorie floor, will help set your mind at ease? I ran the stats you provided, plus "lightly active", and born 1985, in "guided setup", and 1.5 pounds gives you 1310 calories. The rule of thumb "one pound of fat equals 3500 calories" - which means that you need a daily deficit of 500 calories to lose a pound per week - means that to lose 2 pounds per week, you would have to eat 1060, which takes you well into the floor boards, which is MFP's not very clear way of telling you that your goal is too aggressive.

Or, since OP has six and a half weeks of data, with 18 lbs loss (about 2 1/2 lbs/week loss), and is (just barely) class I obese, we could just say add 250 to 500 calories and see how it feels, and if the ravenous feelings go away, track for six weeks to see what the effect on weight is. In theory, loss should slow to 1 1/2 to 2 lbs per week.

Healthy_Libby · September 2018

Same boat. I eat turkey slices, almonds, avocado when "ravenous" If you are hungry eat (protein/fat or fruit and veg). The more muscle you build the more calories you burn, give your body what it needs to do that

good luck

TavistockToad · September 2018

marston255 wrote: »

Thank you!! 5’3” and 175. I’m not eating my calories back. I may have an extra 100-200 on Saturday’s (leg day at the gym) but other than that, I stick to my 1200. Some days, I can barely hit 1200 and other days, I can’t eat enough 🙁

well a) eat back your exercise calories as that is how MFP is designed, and b) reduce your deficit..

its really that simple, you don't need to starve yourself to lose weight.

staticsplit · September 2018

1200 is too aggressive. Fuel your body with nutritious food and have a smaller deficit. It's not a race, it's a lifestyle change. It's more sustainable long-term that way.

marston255 · September 2018

Thank you, everyone! Will try adding some calories and see how that works.

1200 cals but hungrier lately

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