tired of 1200 calories a day, too hard!

Options
2

Replies

  • BeckLowe12
    BeckLowe12 Posts: 3
    Options
    No way! That is a recipe for disaster, there is no reason to be hungry all the time. I love to work out and for me I hover in the 1500-1700 calorie range and maintain pretty easily. They days I work out more I eat more the days I work out less I eat less, your body will tell you what you need. I don't keep anyting in my house that I can possibly cheat on and look up food before I head out to dinner with friends. If I have a drink I find a recipe on line for a skinny version; and I love my eat clean diet cookbook. Don't expect to much to fast, lasting results take time. You can do it!
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
    Options
    Eat more. Bump your calories up to 1500. Bump them up to 1800. As long as you're sustaining a deficit, you will lose. You might not lose as fast, but you will be less miserable.

    I count everything that has calories in it, even if it's just my 10-calorie supplements.

    i dont think so rebekah. when i eat a bit more i didnt lose any weight. and now im losing but extremely extremely slow. so frustrated.

    Have you figured out your maintenance calorie burn? As in the calories you burn ever day simply by living? There are tons of studies that show your metabolism will decrease when you restrict calories. But you can minimize that decrease by exercising and eating more. One recent study that I just looked at yesterday showed that restricting your calorie intake by as little as 15% below maintenance and then reducing net calorie by exercise by another 15% showed a much smaller metabolic change than seen with calorie restriction alone. You are losing weight slowly because 1) you don't have a lot of weight to lose anyway. It's always hardest to lose those last 10 pounds , and 2) you've probably been doing 1200 calories for too long and your body has adapted.

    The choice is yours, but I STILL advocate for bumping your calories up. You confess to being hungry on 1200. How long do you really think you'll last if you're always hungry? Is your will-power really so good that you can be perpetually hungry and not break down and binge? If so, you're a much better person than me.

    I'm pretty confident that you'll still lose weight if you increase your calories. Lots and lots and lots of ladies are doing it. Some are eating as many as 2000 calories a day and still losing weight (though I wouldn't recommend going that high unless you know you're burning more than 2000 calories a day). You might gain a little weight initially as your body restores it's glycogen supplies. But after that initial gain, you'll start losing again. I'm so confident, that I'd bet money on it if I could :D

    At anyrate... good luck and I'm sorry you're frustrated and hungry.
  • peacefulwhisper
    peacefulwhisper Posts: 33 Member
    Options
    Having a cheat day where you add in a little extra calories and give yourself a treat is a good idea. One day will not make you put on tons of weight and it will make you feel less stress. For example if your thing is cheese allow yourself a small piece as a reward or a scoop of icecream ect..... It worked for me in a previouse diet. Sometimes just knowing I could reward myself made me feel better and I didnt always use the cheat day but made me feel good to know I could. My cheat day was Saturday.Aslo Try using Guava nector, or honey as a substitute for sugar it is way better for you.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    Go back into MFP's settings and go with what it recommends you for 1lb a week weight loss. I bet it's a lot more than 1,200! It's easy and sustainable. And eat your exercise calories, or at least some of them!


    Berry, that IS what it recommends! 1210 calories a day!

    Go for half a pound, if you are very close to your goal weight you should make the deficit smaller as you work towards maintenance.
  • krista010105
    krista010105 Posts: 149 Member
    Options
    when calorie counting you want to count every single calorie.
    I have a 1200 calorie goal too though i have it set 300 calories higher since im breastfeeding.
    I drink very little water and drink tons of gatorade. i count every ounce of gatorade i drink. they are about 150 calories per 20 oz bottle and i can easily drink 3-4 bottles a day. be true to your self. if you need to up your calories a day then up then 100-200 or drink less coffee. I used to be a huge dr pepper drinker until 3 months ago. i got very sick with the flu for a week and half. didnt have any in that time and decided to just not drink it any more after that since im nursing and caffene is bad for you. makes me feel so much better in the day. caffene gives you a boost of energy but then you get a fall in energy later on after it wears off. thats why it is better to have no soda or sugars and eat 4-5 small meals a day instead of 3 large ones. and have a protin each time even if it is just some nuts, beef jerky or cheese, keep protin in your body. that is what keeps your energy leveled out rather than the vallys and mountains that it goes through when you drink sodas or coffee or have other things with a ton of caffene or sugar.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Options
    I agree that you should change your weight loss goal to 1/2 pound per week. When you've got 15 or less pounds to lose, it's much more realistic and you'll be feeding your body properly.

    You may notice a bit of a plateau when you first bump up your calories but that is usually due to your body being used to not having enough. Once you start feeding yourself well, it thinks you might go back to not eating enough so it holds on to what it can. Give it 2 or 3 weeks and I bet you'll start seeing the weight come off again. I know it's tough because we're all so desperate to see immediate results from changes but the body just doesn't work like that.

    Not sure what you're doing for activity but if you are active, make sure you're eating at least half of those earned calories.

    ETA: As far as the drinks go, I only count the ones that have calories. Usually have coffee with splenda or diet soda so I don't worry about those. But if I have something different - like the hot chocoalte from Dunkin Donuts this morning or the chai latte kcups I have sometimes, I definitely track those.

    ETA 2: You may also want to look at the quality vs quantity of the foods you're eating. More protein and fiber will help keep you full longer.
  • deekaydee
    deekaydee Posts: 158 Member
    Options
    Is 1210 for 1 lb/wk weight loss?

    I recommend going up to maintenance for 2 weeks. (If 1210 is your calorie deficit for 1 lb/wk, then maintenance should be 1710.) You might gain a few pounds to begin with, but don't freak out, let it go for 2 weeks. You'll stabilize and likely drop anything you gain (I certainly did).

    Then after two weeks, start fresh. If you really only have 5-10 pounds to go, set your goal to 1/2 lb per week. That should be about 1460. Much more doable than 1200, particularly if you add in some exercise.

    I was able to break my plateau by going on maintenance for a couple weeks. It also gave me a fresh start mentally -- less obsessing about calories, etc. I'm 10 lbs from goal and losing slowly at a 1/2 per week weight loss setting.
  • annabellj
    annabellj Posts: 1,337 Member
    Options
    I have mine set about 1380 i think and I want to eat more than that so I always make sure I burn more. i exercise a lot cuz i like to eat a lot!im very rarely hungry, and when i am i eat a cucumber or carrots or celery, plain no dip or ranch and that helps a lot. i like sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes also. very few calories in any of these.
  • mamamia410
    mamamia410 Posts: 15
    Options
    I'm really glad to see this post. I was looking for something like this. I started a couple weeks ago trying to hit 1200 calories a day... I was pretty hungry and stressed. I'm pretty heavy, 100 to lose, so, it was really, really difficult for me to hit 1200 a day. I've recently bumped it up to the recommended calorie from MFP, 1500. I think I'll do better on that than the 1200. That's not a lot of food.
  • soulartp
    soulartp Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    thanx everyone so much for your ideas and support!
  • krista010105
    krista010105 Posts: 149 Member
    Options
    Try eating Grapes and/ Chicken. They are low calorie foods but fill you right up...especially the grapes

    GRAPES ARE A FANTASTIC SNACK. THEY ARE LOW IN CALORIES AND ARE SO YUMMY!!!!!

    NEVER WOULD HAVE PUT THE TWO TOGETHER MYSELF BUT NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT. IT DOES SOUND LIKE A GREAT SNACK. LOW CALORIES AND BOTH ARE GOOD.
  • soulartp
    soulartp Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    if you have a 100 pounds to lose then 1200 calories a day is way too little for you. You might need to change something in your settings. Good Luck!
  • soulartp
    soulartp Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    I'm really glad to see this post. I was looking for something like this. I started a couple weeks ago trying to hit 1200 calories a day... I was pretty hungry and stressed. I'm pretty heavy, 100 to lose, so, it was really, really difficult for me to hit 1200 a day. I've recently bumped it up to the recommended calorie from MFP, 1500. I think I'll do better on that than the 1200. That's not a lot of food.

    if you have a 100 pounds to lose then 1200 calories a day is way too little for you. You might need to change something in your settings. Good Luck!
  • Louise12
    Louise12 Posts: 389 Member
    Options
    Exercise to earn more calories, then eat more.


    Are you exercising at all ? this way you can eat more as long as you net 1200....

    if you did bump your calories up you would probably only see again for two weeks or so until your body gets used to the extra food... If your finding it too hard it ist going to be maintainable for the rest of your life... and when you do hit your goal weight you still wont want to eat anymore with fear of putting on.
  • toriaenator
    toriaenator Posts: 423 Member
    Options
    I think you need to be calorie cycling! Google it, you eat more some days less others and its supposed to be efficient for those last pounds! But u end up with the same net per week. Apparently it speeds up metabolism! Here's what I've been doing:

    Extreme Fat Loss
    Monday:1182
    Tuesday:1024
    Wed:1419
    Thurs: 1182
    Friday: 1064
    Saturday: 1301
    Sunday:1182

    And this is the bare bare minimum btw and just an example! But maybe something like tis will help, plus some days u can eat more
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    Options
    No that many people have the motivation to maintain a 1200 calorie per day diet for an extended period of time. And even if you did, as soon as you reached your goals and stopped dieting, a lot of the weight would just come back. You're much better off eating a more sustainable amount of calories, while also exercising.
  • Ahluvly
    Ahluvly Posts: 389 Member
    Options
    Hello just saw all of the replies! I think you need to work out what's your priority here...losing weight in a certain amount of time OR having something you can maintain (diet and lifestyle wise)! There's no way in hell I could sustain 1200 cals a day, I eat that come 4pm! Then I work out, then I have my tea using those calories!

    My advice to you is, look at what you should be having a day in maintenance mode, then decrease it by 20% if you have a time limit on it but eat your exercise calories back so your body is getting enough fuel to sustain you.

    You mentioned that when you've bumped up your cals, you didn't lose (or you put on?). If that is the case, that is normal. You're eating more and it will take your body time to readjust to the new number of cals.

    For me personally, I want to lose X lbs and I'd rather have something, diet wise I can maintain and be comfortable with than something that is frustrating the hell out of you. Weight doesn't go on overnight, it takes the same for the bugger to come off!!

    Good luck!!!!
  • umachanxo
    umachanxo Posts: 926 Member
    Options
    You should decline slowly to allow your body to adjust.
    I eat 1200 per day, but when I started MFP I was at 1500, then 1300, and now 1200.
  • amsparky
    amsparky Posts: 825 Member
    Options
    If you don't feel good, eat more! I plateaued several times last year and they were all broken because I ate more, not less. As you work out more, your body needs more fuel. Just make sure you eat good calories. :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Eat more. Bump your calories up to 1500. Bump them up to 1800. As long as you're sustaining a deficit, you will lose. You might not lose as fast, but you will be less miserable.

    I count everything that has calories in it, even if it's just my 10-calorie supplements.

    i dont think so rebekah. when i eat a bit more i didnt lose any weight. and now im losing but extremely extremely slow. so frustrated.

    How long did you monitor your weight loss progress when you ate more? it takes time for a body to adjust and can take 3-4 weeks for a body to shed the extra water weight.


    BTW, what is your current weight and height? We can do some calculations but unless you are 5' and weight 130 lbs and don't exercise will your calories be at 1200. Heck, my wife is 5'2" and is 140 and she is eating 1350. Also, do you exercise and if so, do you eat back your exercise calories? Keep in mind, when you eat too little, the only think you preserve is body fat which means your body will attack your lean muscle mass, aka the driver for your metabolism.

Categories