1200 calories

I absolutely agree. I cannot believe a normal adult would have a problem consuming at least 1200 calories a day. To my way of thinking such an inability would definitely linked to an eating disorder. I can accept that a person who managed to become legitamately overweight would struggle to get to 1200 calories. GMAB. A balanced diet of 1200 calories a day is really a scant volume of food. I don't buy it.

Wow! Are you people being real? The only time I have a hard time eating my calories is when I do some massive workout that burns 1,000 calories or something. Then I just have a hard time eating back the exercise calories. But on a typical day I have NO problem whatsoever eating my calories. And heck...I'm set to 1750!

How is this possible that so many people feel this way? I have two probably very ignorant theories.

1) Maybe you are not logging correctly? I log every bite and crumb that passes through my lips. Liquid calories, condiments, everything! It adds up quickly.

2) Maybe you are very sedentary? I need my calories just to get through my very active days. But on my sick days where I sit on the couch all day, I need very little.

I just don't understand this at all. Enlighten me on how you can be in a position where you need to lose weight and yet you are struggling to eat 1200 calories a day. It makes no sense.

AGREED I eat anywhere from 1600-2000 cals per day and have trouble staying under I find this hard to believe that anyone would have trouble eating 1200 and it's so not heatlhy!

Open that diary!
Opennnnn

*taps foot*

...

Some of you People need to tone it down!!! Come on stop being so rude... she was asking for help. And Just remember Not everyone agrees with all of your theories. My Dr. for example does not believe in "starvation mode" Give advice and don't lecture or belittle

Some of you People need to tone it down!!! Come on stop being so rude... she was asking for help. And Just remember Not everyone agrees with all of your theories. My Dr. for example does not believe in "starvation mode" Give advice and don't lecture or belittle

Havent seen any rude folks here yet.
This is pretty tame!

I posted elsewhere about a similiar dilemma but got no replies (hint, hint, nudge,nudge

Seriously though, I think I may have gotten the hang of it, after reading a lot of different tips and ideas.

However, I don't really think it's helpful to write, "Well, you're fat, so obviously you know how to eat." I was logging every single thing that passed my lips and struggling to meet my quota, mostly because of my eating habits prior to changing my diet. I can definitely understand the skepticism, but it is possible. In my case, I have fibromyalgia and ME (CFS) and am very sedentary, so I'm not experiencing the gnawing hunger back when I was able to go to the gym. I do walk when I can and attend water aerobics once a week.

Thing is, it is possible to eat few "foods" but have them be incredibly high in fat, calories and sugar. So in that sense, when I make a change in my diet, where I can no longer grab a bag of cookies and Coke and eat that and be full for the day, it might be challenging to meat your daily quotas if you aren't used to eating small meals often. (I wasn't-some days I even realized that I had only drank a can of Coke the day before and no other liquids, for example) Everyone is different, and everyone eats differently, and everyone got to be overweight in their own individual way. Some people overate portions, others were just eating too much food, others were maybe even not eating real food, just junk and gaining from that. In the end its all calories, but the means can be very different.

Honestly, sometimes I was shocked that I was gaining weight because visually, I was eating SO little, even if I was probably taking in 2000 calories a day. My daily intake was something like: a cinnamon roll, a large Coke, 4-6 cookies. I was eating this way because I felt too sick to prepare food (ironically leading to a very bad cycle). I just grabbed anything for quick carb fuel. Eating was a chore, preparing food was unthinkable when I was at my worst. Combine eating almost pure junk/fast carbs with being sedentary and you have a combination for weight gain. So, it is possible for some individuals to experience this issue, not everyone is able to do hard workouts, or may be coming from a completely different set of eating problems than you yourself had. The method to becoming overweight is the same, but the roads there are many!

I think it is more of a mental block honestly. You do not need to starve to lose weight. Your body composition will look better if you eat more.

Absolutely! That was the big "AHA!" moment for me. I thought I had to eat nothing but salads and feel hungry all the time to lose weight.

Instead, I lost weight eating all the same foods I always ate, just in better portions. Never felt hungry, never felt deprived.

Not every bite you put into your mouth has to be "diet food." Cook with olive oil.... There's an extra 100 calories. Use regular milk instead of skim.... There's an extra 60 calories. Sprinkle a serving of shredded cheese on your dinner... There's an extra 100 calories. Or if you really want a salad, toss a tablespoon of sliced almonds in the mix... an extra 190 calories. I typically have a cup of lowfat chocolate milk at bedtime... about 150 calories.

Don't panic...eat ONLY when you feel hungry! Try to eat every couple hours, snacks and small meals. Make sure you get fruits and veggies in. I'm NOT eating the calories that I work out... EVERYONE does different with this, just go with what works for YOU. If you are honest with yourself and keep track of everything, and not starving yourself, you should do fine!

that is true.. only eat when you are hungry. Your body knows what it needs and when it needs it so if your not hungry don't eat!

This is false. Ghrelin (hunger hormone) is a crazy thing. just because your stomach isn't growling does not mean you are getting all the nutrients you need.

This^^ You can train yourself not to feel hungry by not eating enough over a prolonged period. That does NOT make it healthy.

What is with the rudeness? I may not be the OP but i have a problem eating 1200 too a lot of the time. I have SEVERE digestion issues. It can take me on average 4 to 6 hours to digest a meal. ANY MEAL. The longest it has ever taken me was 11 hours. FOR 1 FREAKING MEAL. And I don't even eat foods high in fat.

Can you imagine what its like to feel your food in your body for HOURS after consuming it? Why would anyone want to eat when they can still feel the food from 6 hours prior? And then the very thought of having to go through that feeling all over again...just makes eating UNPLEASANT.

Be a little more considerate of people and their various situations.

I don't think the comment was that rude...but on point.

If you're having trouble getting 1200 calories in, chances are you could change your diet slightly to more easily reach your goal. It is likely that you could increase your fat intake to get you much closer to 1200.

Natural Peanut Butter - 200 cals a scoop (and f***ing delicious)
Whole Milk, Grated cheese on your meal, cream in your coffee, olive oil drizzled over your meal, handful of nuts, butter on your toast, sliced avocado, all things that could up your calorie intake drastically without you having to stuff yourself.

For a lot of people, getting down to 1200 is EXTREMELY difficult. I eat a yogurt, a small lunch, and a protein shake and I'm already at almost 1300 calories. Myself personally I could eat 2-3 full meals on top of that without breaking a sweat. If you're having trouble eating up to 1200 calories that's a good thing, changing your diet to increase calories is often a lot easier than going the way in that it requires less drastic steps or alterations.

I'm getting discouraged...my first two weeks on here I lost 11 lbs. Since Sat my weight hasn't moved at all. I couldn't have hit the wall already could I ??? I'm eating my 1200 calories daily faithfully too ! Just seems that as soon as the 2 week mark came..it stopped Help !!

I'm getting discouraged...my first two weeks on here I lost 11 lbs. Since Sat my weight hasn't moved at all. I couldn't have hit the wall already could I ??? I'm eating my 1200 calories daily faithfully too ! Just seems that as soon as the 2 week mark came..it stopped Help !!

Don't get discouraged! It will change! Think hard about what you have changed... Are you more active then you was and not compensating for that? Are you always eating the same foods? Do you eat 3 meals a day or 6 small meals? I found that if I eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks... I was ALWAYS bloated and retained a ton of fluid... went to 6 small meals a day and it helped! Now, what doesn't help is the extra brews I had this past weekend

I'm getting discouraged...my first two weeks on here I lost 11 lbs. Since Sat my weight hasn't moved at all. I couldn't have hit the wall already could I ??? I'm eating my 1200 calories daily faithfully too ! Just seems that as soon as the 2 week mark came..it stopped Help !!

You dont eat enough unless you are 4'10" your BMR is higher than 1200.
Your body wont lose weight eating below BMR.