I really can't grasp this...

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JacksMom12
JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok, I get the science behind it and I've read articles like the popular one titled "obesity at 700 calories"... But when I continuously see people on the forums saying how hard it is to eat 1200 calories a day and that they just can't possibly eat that much, I have to say it never fails to baffle my mind. I could easily put away 3,000 calories a day if I could. I just love to eat. That is all. :)
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  • ccb1030
    ccb1030 Posts: 84 Member
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    Me too! I could probably easily put away 1200 calories in one meal.
  • cassblue21
    cassblue21 Posts: 207
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    Same here! I love me some food! Guess that is what got me here in the first place. Haha!
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
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    These ppl are trying to eat just eggs, chicken, oatmeal, and veggies...more or less. I'd have a hard time eating 1,200 cals of just that too! But give me more variety & no prob eating over 2,000.
  • summer827
    summer827 Posts: 516 Member
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    I knooowww. I can't fathom this either. I have a naturally large appetite (which is unfortunate, being 5' tall and female) and I rarely have ever eaten only 1200 calories a day. When I have, it's taken all the willpower I could muster and has never lasted. I'll happily exercise to earn more food on my plate!!
  • Elixandra
    Elixandra Posts: 299 Member
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    Yea I don't get it eather. I rarely eat under 1200 cals a day.
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
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    Ok, I get the science behind it and I've read articles like the popular one titled "obesity at 700 calories"... But when I continuously see people on the forums saying how hard it is to eat 1200 calories a day and that they just can't possibly eat that much, I have to say it never fails to baffle my mind. I could easily put away 3,000 calories a day if I could. I just love to eat. That is all. :)


    My heart goes out, but I am here to connect with can-do people who are as determined as I am to reach these goals.
  • Edithrenee
    Edithrenee Posts: 546 Member
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    I knooowww. I can't fathom this either. I have a naturally large appetite (which is unfortunate, being 5' tall and female) and I rarely have ever eaten only 1200 calories a day. When I have, it's taken all the willpower I could muster and has never lasted. I'll happily exercise to earn more food on my plate!!

    I agree... It is hard for me to eat only 1200 a day, this is why i exercise.. well i also love to exercise, but im thinking 1200 may be to much for my body i dont know. Still feeling my way around this food stuff really. But i soo love food!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    I'm with you. Really, it's not hard to add in a few higher calorie foods. 2 glasses of milk adds almost 300 calories! You really can't add 2 glasses of milk in a day?
  • cgrout78
    cgrout78 Posts: 1,679 Member
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    I know what you mean. I was looking up my favorite food on calorieking the other day, it's 1100 calories, just for that, and I would eat that JUST for lunch. So yeah...apparently I was eating 3000 calorie a day, no wonder now I need to take off a few...LOL. 1200, my tummy would be growling all the time. 1500 is about as low as I can go, and if I think I'll be too low, it's pretty easy for me to grab a glass of milk and pick up that extra couple hundred calories.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I totally agree!

    I love to eat and I can easily consume 1200 calories between breakfast and lunch. I really don't understand the whole "I can't make myself eat 1200 calories" mindset.

    I am allowed quite a few calories in a day (right now I'm averaging around 2500) and there are days when I'm STILL over.

    I can't imagine only getting 1200 calories and then "not being able to eat them all".


    I'm really confused by the whole thing.
  • mea9
    mea9 Posts: 561 Member
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    Ok, I get the science behind it and I've read articles like the popular one titled "obesity at 700 calories"... But when I continuously see people on the forums saying how hard it is to eat 1200 calories a day and that they just can't possibly eat that much, I have to say it never fails to baffle my mind. I could easily put away 3,000 calories a day if I could. I just love to eat. That is all. :)


    My heart goes out, but I am here to connect with can-do people who are as determined as I am to reach these goals.

    I gained weight eating unhealthy “food” (ex: fast food, sugar, way too much cheese, white bread….). When you take that out you have to learn to eat healthy food. It’s very hard to get enough calories eating fresh fruit, veggies and lean protein. You learn to add in nuts and seeds, fresh nut butters, and healthy fats. You have to learn to cook.

    I think that some of these statements are unfair, judgmental, mean and more than a little rude. It took me months and help from my doctor and nutritionist to be able to get to 1200.

    Be baffled no more.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    People who "can't eat 1200 calories" are usually people with eating disorders or people who think "dieting" means eating only carrot sticks and salad all day.

    Toss some olive oil into your meal, you can easily add a couple hundred extra calories, plus one of the healthiest fats around, with no problems. I very rarely eat below 2000 calories.
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
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    While I respect the struggle that some face to eat 1200 calories, I completely agree with you. About a year ago I was eating about 3000 calories a day without even realizing it!
  • Ivanx00
    Ivanx00 Posts: 3
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    Well, personally I don't think eating 1200 calories a day is not that hard.....NOW! I think is not about how much you eat....but how healthy you eat. The thing is that before I discovered this site I used to think that I was eating healthy but I had never been able to loose weight. Well, once I started logging my foods and seeing the details behind everything I eat I discovered that I really wasn't eating too healthy. A simple example is that I have always enjoyed preparing my own salads as dinner during the weekdays. Salad should be healthy just by name right? WRONG! It turned out that I was putting so many toppings (you know, the sunflower seeds, the french fried onions, the sesame sticks, etc, etc) and dressings on my salads that each of them actually ended up having close to 3000 calories. By making a couple of changes to the way I prepare my salads I was able to cut down the calories to 500-600 per serving.....and is still a pretty big salad which satisfies me. Some simple changes include: use lemon instead of dressing, use fruits instead of packaged toppings, etc Anyway, long response to just say: watch the quality of the food you are eating and it shouldn't be too hard to stick to the 1200 calories a day.
  • Phoenix24601
    Phoenix24601 Posts: 620 Member
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    Ok, I get the science behind it and I've read articles like the popular one titled "obesity at 700 calories"... But when I continuously see people on the forums saying how hard it is to eat 1200 calories a day and that they just can't possibly eat that much, I have to say it never fails to baffle my mind. I could easily put away 3,000 calories a day if I could. I just love to eat. That is all. :)


    My heart goes out, but I am here to connect with can-do people who are as determined as I am to reach these goals.

    Not wanting to sound rude, but that in itself is false. I have a naturally small appetite and even on days that I am trying to splurge (like today) I have a problem eating 1200 calories a day. I have my fiance on here monitoring it because 1) I am not lying and 2) I do not have an eating disorder. I just do not get hungry that often. I joined MFP not knowing that and it has been a shock to know that on days like today where I had both arbys and in - n - out that I stilll needed to eat when I got home to hit that minimal mark. I was 145 when I started losing weight and am now at 129 at 5'7''. I am still in my healthy weight range so that is not classifiable as an eating disorder. As long as someone is still in their healthy BMI and does have that issue of not having a large appetite it is not right to judge them just because you think that they don't need to lose weight. I know that there are people on here with legit ED's but it is not right to make a generalization that either these people are liars or have a disorder. You don't know everyone on this site and that comment did not need to be made in multiple threads (Skinny People Dieting thread). The judgmental generalizations are not needed. Just sayin.

    Sorry OP for getting off topic.
  • AI1108
    AI1108 Posts: 488 Member
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    i hear ya! not being able to eat at least your maintenance calories is a sign of either a physical or mental disorder. you don't gain fat by eating less than maintenance without a dysfunctional metabolism.
  • fvincentelli
    fvincentelli Posts: 15 Member
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    It depends on what you eat. A two-egg omelette (made with egg substitute and lots of diced veggies) comes in at around 180 calories; add two slices of swiss cheese and one tablespoon of olive oil (for cookking) and the same omelette comes in at 592 calories. So making some simple (even if sometimes hard) choices on how you prepare your meals can make 1200 calories go a really long way.

    Another example: a 900+ calorie turkey sub from a local shop comes down to about 480 calories simply by substituting mustard for mayo, taking off the olive oil they use on the lettuce and the cheese. It's just as filling (though I really miss the cheese.)

    That said... I have NEVER had a hard time putting down 1200 calories in a single meal, let alone a day. I work out hard and often to buy myself some room for food; otherwise I would have not been able to get anywhere near as far as I have.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Ok, I get the science behind it and I've read articles like the popular one titled "obesity at 700 calories"... But when I continuously see people on the forums saying how hard it is to eat 1200 calories a day and that they just can't possibly eat that much, I have to say it never fails to baffle my mind. I could easily put away 3,000 calories a day if I could. I just love to eat. That is all. :)


    My heart goes out, but I am here to connect with can-do people who are as determined as I am to reach these goals.

    Not wanting to sound rude, but that in itself is false. I have a naturally small appetite and even on days that I am trying to splurge (like today) I have a problem eating 1200 calories a day. I have my fiance on here monitoring it because 1) I am not lying and 2) I do not have an eating disorder. I just do not get hungry that often. I joined MFP not knowing that and it has been a shock to know that on days like today where I had both arbys and in - n - out that I stilll needed to eat when I got home to hit that minimal mark. I was 145 when I started losing weight and am now at 129 at 5'7''. I am still in my healthy weight range so that is not classifiable as an eating disorder. As long as someone is still in their healthy BMI and does have that issue of not having a large appetite it is not right to judge them just because you think that they don't need to lose weight. I know that there are people on here with legit ED's but it is not right to make a generalization that either these people are liars or have a disorder. You don't know everyone on this site and that comment did not need to be made in multiple threads (Skinny People Dieting thread). The judgmental generalizations are not needed. Just sayin.

    Sorry OP for getting off topic.

    Eating disorders have nothing to do with how much you weigh.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Yeah one of my pet peeves. Either eating disordered or attention seeking, depending on how it's broadcasted..
    Please people it's really not that hard. Some olive oil, nuts, peanut butter, etc etc
  • Phoenix24601
    Phoenix24601 Posts: 620 Member
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    Ok, I get the science behind it and I've read articles like the popular one titled "obesity at 700 calories"... But when I continuously see people on the forums saying how hard it is to eat 1200 calories a day and that they just can't possibly eat that much, I have to say it never fails to baffle my mind. I could easily put away 3,000 calories a day if I could. I just love to eat. That is all. :)


    My heart goes out, but I am here to connect with can-do people who are as determined as I am to reach these goals.

    Not wanting to sound rude, but that in itself is false. I have a naturally small appetite and even on days that I am trying to splurge (like today) I have a problem eating 1200 calories a day. I have my fiance on here monitoring it because 1) I am not lying and 2) I do not have an eating disorder. I just do not get hungry that often. I joined MFP not knowing that and it has been a shock to know that on days like today where I had both arbys and in - n - out that I stilll needed to eat when I got home to hit that minimal mark. I was 145 when I started losing weight and am now at 129 at 5'7''. I am still in my healthy weight range so that is not classifiable as an eating disorder. As long as someone is still in their healthy BMI and does have that issue of not having a large appetite it is not right to judge them just because you think that they don't need to lose weight. I know that there are people on here with legit ED's but it is not right to make a generalization that either these people are liars or have a disorder. You don't know everyone on this site and that comment did not need to be made in multiple threads (Skinny People Dieting thread). The judgmental generalizations are not needed. Just sayin.

    Sorry OP for getting off topic.

    Eating disorders have nothing to do with how much you weigh.

    I am aware of that. I was simply giving a rebuttal to the comment of because you struggle to eat 1200 calories a day means you are either lying or have an ED. :smile: I am a 8 year recovered bulemic myself so that generalization bugs me.

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