1200 calorie diet
nationalvillage3215
Posts: 78 Member
Is anyone else having a hard time managing a 1200 cal/day diet? I seem to be hungry all the time and have a hard time hitting my daily macros (30g fiber, and 60 g protein) and stay within 1200 calorie limit. I can eat a ton of vegetables and then I am hungry and hour later. I am 5'2-1/2" and need to lose 30 lbs.
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Replies
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you likely don't need to stay at 1200 calories a day.
select a rate of loss closer to 1lb/week and see what MFP spits out as calorie.
what activity level did you select?
eat back exercise calories (at minimum half)
what has helped me is eating lots of non calorie dense foods. so you can eat more volume and get fewer calories. lots of vegetables and low fat protein like chicken (and eggs)
if you want to open your diary so we can see maybe we can offer more specific advice. but likely you CAN eat more than 1200 and still lose weight.7 -
My diet is around 1200-1300 cal 4 days per week, on these days i manage 90 - 110g of protein, message me if you like.1
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If you are hungry that soon after your meals then try adding some protein and fat to them to go with the veggies.1
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Don’t be afraid to eat more when you are hungry. Finding more ways to increase your protein likely will help. Greek yogurt is your friend on protein. I personally don’t care for the texture of it eating it straight, but I have found using it to cook with helps a lot in my protein goal. I don’t worry about fiber as much, but I do try to keep my macro percentages in balance.0
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5'2" here also, I can do 1200kcal/ day but it's not nice and I can't do it for very long before I snap and eat anything that isn't tied down. There's virtually no room for "fun food" in 1200kcal and I don't think there's a lot of people who can keep going that way for any real length of time.
Think about just eating more, is my advice. You could try for more protein, I find that keeps me satisfied, though of course everyone is different. You could benefit from some more fat. Have a play about and see, that's a great benefit of a food diary, spotting patterns.4 -
I generally eat between 1200-1300 calories a day (workout days are different). Learning how to time my meals was important. It’s different for everyone but I typically have a big breakfast and dinner with a small lunch. Carbs are important for me to stay full.
If you are really struggling though, don’t be afraid to up your daily calories. Yes, you may lose more slowly but it will be more sustainable and lead to more long term success.1 -
i also get 1200 cals a day. i am 5'4'', 130-135 lbs, give or take. i'd like to be at 120, but i am more concerned about muscle building and flab reduction. i exercise about 6 days a week, anywhere between 300-600 calorie burn. should i be eating my activity calories plus my 1200 calories? so, 1800 calories with exercise or so? i heard somewhere you need a 1000 calorie defict to lose weight...not sure exactly what i should be doing. any advice would help.
also, to add on to the hunger issue with 1200 cals...i dont find myself hungry. i eat a lot of protein, and eggs. lots of leafy greens and fruit. if i feel hungry, i have a handful of almonds and water.
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Are you set to 2 lbs per week? With 30 lbs to lose, 1 lb is more realistic. Also remember you are supposed to log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories. Losing faster doesn't help if it makes you miserable and you quit.
I was never able to go much lower than 1500 on a regular basis3 -
LaurenMT96 wrote: »My diet is around 1200-1300 cal 4 days per week, on these days i manage 90 - 110g of protein, message me if you like.
What happens on the other 3 days?3 -
I am hoping eventually my body will adjust to less calories If I up my protein I seem to go over 1200 calories (even with eggs, fish and chicken). This diet certainly doesn't leave any room for wine or "fun foods". Going to try the sugar free jello when I get hungry.0
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i also get 1200 cals a day. i am 5'4'', 130-135 lbs, give or take. i'd like to be at 120, but i am more concerned about muscle building and flab reduction. i exercise about 6 days a week, anywhere between 300-600 calorie burn. should i be eating my activity calories plus my 1200 calories? so, 1800 calories with exercise or so? i heard somewhere you need a 1000 calorie defict to lose weight...not sure exactly what i should be doing. any advice would help.
also, to add on to the hunger issue with 1200 cals...i dont find myself hungry. i eat a lot of protein, and eggs. lots of leafy greens and fruit. if i feel hungry, i have a handful of almonds and water.
If your goal is to build muscle and reduce "flab" then you'd probably be better off recomping since you're already within a healthy weight range. To answer your question about exercise calories, yes, you should be eating them back. Keep in mind that calorie burn estimates are often inflated so most people only eat back about half. You do not need a 1,000 calorie deficit to lose weight. In fact, I would urge you to take on a much less aggressive deficit considering you have less than 20 lbs you want to lose. With a daily 1,000 calorie deficit youd lose 2 lbs a week, you should be aiming for about half a pound to max 1 lb given your stats, which is a daily 250-500 calorie deficit.5 -
i eat 1200 a day (or thereabouts) eat what i want (make it fit in my calorie goals or just be over) and have lost 120 pounds.3
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Are you logging your exercise and eating those calories too?
I’m an inch and a half taller than you and 1200 NET is where I am to lose less than a pound a week. But I NET 1200-meaning I log my exercise and eat those calories. So I’m eating an average of 1600 or so.4 -
No I haven't been eating back my exercise calories. Due to some spinal stenosis, I am having to ease back into exercise. So not enough yet to eat back. Working up to it.0
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what rate of loss did you select?0
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I would suggest eating more healthy fats. Avocado, pistachios, fat bombs, Kerry Gold butter, bullet proof coffee in the morning, olive oil...etc
It is how I have stayed on track. I'm 29 days into my Keto journey and it's going great. I'm hardly ever hungry, so I started intermittent fasting and eating twice a day. Also log absolutely everything you eat and drink so you make sure you are within your calories.11 -
Your rate of loss per week is probably too high. Change how much you want to lose per week and you can eat more.2
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I chose a 1lb/week weight loss and it comes up 1210 calories/day0
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nationalvillage3215 wrote: »Is anyone else having a hard time managing a 1200 cal/day diet? I seem to be hungry all the time and have a hard time hitting my daily macros (30g fiber, and 60 g protein) and stay within 1200 calorie limit. I can eat a ton of vegetables and then I am hungry and hour later. I am 5'2-1/2" and need to lose 30 lbs.
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/
Also, your calorie target is before exercise...if you exercise you get to eat more.0 -
nationalvillage3215 wrote: »I chose a 1lb/week weight loss and it comes up 1210 calories/day
I would recommend choosing a slower rate of loss so you can eat more. Try 0.5 lb/week, and make sure you're using a food scale to measure all your food accurately.1
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