Hard to reach 1200 calories?

nmbasilico
nmbasilico Posts: 28 Member
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
Anyone else have a hard time eating 1200 calories? Today was a very unusual day since I was up earlier than normal, and I ended up eating about 1600 calories. On a typical day I eat less than 1200 calories. I've never counted calories so I thought for sure I was eating an enormous amount! This is a new and confusing area for me. I'm afraid that if I keep eating how I have been (which is already less than the recommended amount), I won't lose anything! So what do I do?

(Side note) We eat natural, homemade food as much as possible so processed foods are not a problem.

Replies

  • Raf702
    Raf702 Posts: 196 Member
    Anyone else have a hard time eating 1200 calories? Today was a very unusual day since I was up earlier than normal, and I ended up eating about 1600 calories. On a typical day I eat less than 1200 calories. I've never counted calories so I thought for sure I was eating an enormous amount! This is a new and confusing area for me. I'm afraid that if I keep eating how I have been (which is already less than the recommended amount), I won't lose anything! So what do I do?

    (Side note) We eat natural, homemade food as much as possible so processed foods are not a problem.


    I wish eating 1200 calories was hard, I can easily eat that in one meal if I wanted to, lol. What is your maintenance calories for your current height, weight, age? If you can find that out, then you can determine if your goal is to maintain, or lose weight.
  • mznisaelaine
    mznisaelaine Posts: 2,262 Member
    Yes! I want to see all the responses to this. Today was the first I ate all my calories and it was just too much.. I felt I overate a bit and just made me feel I binged...But I ate all of them today and was happy because it is so hard to do, and my MFP friends encourage me to eat them all and I did. But it wasnt easy...
  • natersmama
    natersmama Posts: 157
    try higher calorie foods that still have nutrients. nuts are good for that. small portion has more calories than what you would think while also providing healthy fat. just watch the sodium. peanut butter is another. kudos to you for the homemade route. =)
  • choconuts
    choconuts Posts: 208 Member
    Quick ideas: Olive oil, peanut butter, nuts---all easy ways to get nutrient packed calories.
  • skye_logan
    skye_logan Posts: 20 Member
    I have this same problem! I tried to get all the way up to 1200 today and I felt like I was constantly eating, but I'm still 200-300 calories off. Usually I'm a lot closer than that, but it's hard. The major difference I have with my calories after starting MFP is that my calories are now coming mostly from healthy, natural things instead of sweets and junk. But it's still hard to meet that minimum goal most days!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    as stated above add in more calorically dense foods;

    nuts
    nut butters
    avocados
    oils
    full fat dairy
    pasta
  • kamoira23
    kamoira23 Posts: 193
    dang! i have the opposite problem!! :]

    but there are some days where i'm just not hungry - so peanut butter and cheese are usually my go-to items to add some calories.
  • dscott2012
    dscott2012 Posts: 3
    same here..........eating 1200 is easy
  • ♥_Ellybean_♥
    ♥_Ellybean_♥ Posts: 1,646 Member
    I ate 979 calories today and I am happy with this. As a bigger person I can afford to eat less... As long as your body is not screaming for food, I would just stick with what your doing... is it working for you?

    Many people will rant about starvation mode. Keep in mind we are here because we have weight to lose... starvation mode typically takes SEVERAL days of a LOW (300-400) calorie diet to begin. When people have more weight to lose they can afford to eat less calories because there is more fat to feed off of.. your body will take longer to go into starvation mode.

    As long as your not hungry and your body isn't screaming for food... stick with what works for you.
  • dscott2012
    dscott2012 Posts: 3
    the more i exercise, the hungrier!!!
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
    Add nuts to salads, avocado to sandwiches, and consider natural products like flaxseed and chia seeds to add more Omega 3 sources with a cal punch. Good luck.
  • nmbasilico
    nmbasilico Posts: 28 Member
    I ate 979 calories today and I am happy with this. As a bigger person I can afford to eat less... As long as your body is not screaming for food, I would just stick with what your doing... is it working for you?

    Many people will rant about starvation mode. Keep in mind we are here because we have weight to lose... starvation mode typically takes SEVERAL days of a LOW (300-400) calorie diet to begin. When people have more weight to lose they can afford to eat less calories because there is more fat to feed off of.. your body will take longer to go into starvation mode.

    As long as your not hungry and your body isn't screaming for food... stick with what works for you.

    This is exactly it. At first I was planning on eating healthy and just eating when I'm hungry but then I counted the calories and I was worried about the dreaded "starvation mode". My BMR is 1528. I ate 1600 today and was very very full, feeling pretty fat!
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    6-SkippyNaturalPeanutButter.jpg

    Hope that helps
  • jessp1993
    jessp1993 Posts: 3
    hey guys so ive only just started on this and im not to sure where i go to find out how many calories I should be consuming . Iam 18 170cm in height and i weight 73 and want to get to 60
    Thanks
  • ThinnerHill
    ThinnerHill Posts: 254 Member
    OK I totally feel you here. Today was a little worse then most days but so I consumed 730 calories and I exercised off 465 so I only netted 265 calories. But I have cut out a lot of processed foods and carbs and eat a lot of fresh veggies, chicken, nuts and good for me foods. I'm not hungry but I know that I should eat more today but it is sooo way to late to eat anything else. I'll try harder tomorrow, but most days are a struggle to get close especially if I exercise. I had PB last night. and had a weight loss stall this morning. oh well tomorrow is a new day.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    OK I totally feel you here. Today was a little worse then most days but so I consumed 730 calories and I exercised off 465 so I only netted 265 calories. But I have cut out a lot of processed foods and carbs and eat a lot of fresh veggies, chicken, nuts and good for me foods. I'm not hungry but I know that I should eat more today but it is sooo way to late to eat anything else. I'll try harder tomorrow, but most days are a struggle to get close especially if I exercise. I had PB last night. and had a weight loss stall this morning. oh well tomorrow is a new day.

    don't weigh in everyday.
  • ThinnerHill
    ThinnerHill Posts: 254 Member
    I'm trying to cut back on it but I can't yet. I don't trust myself yet with my eating and exercise to stay on track or I don't truxt it yet. IDK It's an obsession. I quit smoking 2 weeks ago tomorrow cold turkey and I'm so terrified that I'm gonna start gaining.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    I'm trying to cut back on it but I can't yet. I don't trust myself yet with my eating and exercise to stay on track or I don't truxt it yet. IDK It's an obsession. I quit smoking 2 weeks ago tomorrow cold turkey and I'm so terrified that I'm gonna start gaining.

    Just stick to your cal/macro goals. Get some exercise. Weight loss is not linear and there are so many things that affect the random number generator (I mean scale) that there is no point in fussing over it every day :smile: Fat loss is the goal, not weight loss.
  • nmbasilico
    nmbasilico Posts: 28 Member
    I weigh everyday too. I know not to get too caught up with the daily numbers but I figure if I see a constant gain, I'll know where it started and be able to change something. Plus I'd rather see it gradually than have a 5 pound gain punch me in the face after a week!
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    if youre finding it hard to get to 1200 calories, then how come youre even at a point of wanting to lose weight?
  • GRINWITHIN
    GRINWITHIN Posts: 26 Member
    I could give you the details of my wight gain/loss history and the things that triggered the change.. But essentially the problem of every weight gain has been an erratic eating schedule and not eating enough.

    There comes a point that the body will go into a starvation mode and hold onto calories, convert them into fat rather than burn them. I actually gain weight when I do not hit the minimum intake.
  • nmbasilico
    nmbasilico Posts: 28 Member
    Apparently, my post has made some people upset. Not necessarily in this thread, but on some others. Let me clarify my reason for this post...

    I NEVER counted calories before. Never looked at them at all. Therefore, I assumed I was eating something like 3000 calories a day! When I found this site and plugged in my food for the day (normal eating habits) I had about 1150. I was very surprised. As I said before, we eat natural and from scratch foods as much as we can. That's not saying I don't have store bought cereal or something, it's just healthy stuff when we do. So when I eat apples, carrots, and salads with different greens, my calories don't just jump up to 1200. The "eat a snickers bar" comments are inappropriate since this is a place where everyone is trying to get healthy. Yes, I could eat a candy bar or sundae and reach my goal but that really defeats the point of me being here.

    Why do I need to lose weight if I can't reach 1200 calories? Good question! How does eating well and chasing a toddler not make me stick thin? Having a baby 21 months ago put my body in a slump. I wasn't trying to lose my baby weight yet I was able to lose about half easily. Not trying, however, made me gain about 10 extra pounds since then.

    So hopefully that clears things up a bit for the ones who get annoyed by posts like mine. I will definitely be limiting how much I post and be using my time and energy getting to my HEALTHY goal.


    ETA: Thank you for those of you who gave me ideas of healthy calorie packed foods. I will definitely look into them!
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    I find it hard to believe that you are over weight and can't eat 1200 calories......obviously you could before. So what's up?
  • TheDeviation
    TheDeviation Posts: 149
    (Side note) We eat natural, homemade food as much as possible so processed foods are not a problem.
    Are you sure you're counting them correctly? Homemade is a little tougher to factor in.
  • elysecea
    elysecea Posts: 161 Member
    Do you work out? I wish I had that problem...trying to reach 1200 LOL!! I know because I work out 5 or 6 times a week I am constantly hungry, so I eat every 3 to 4 hours.
  • nmbasilico
    nmbasilico Posts: 28 Member
    I recently started working out regularly. I used to do the occasional elliptical or something. I know when you work out you need to eat even more calories so I was worried about the fact that I wasn't even able to make the minimum. I know I'll be eating a bit more too once I get into a routine. I think I'll just keep eating when I'm hungry. I believe your body tells you everything you need to know!
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