1200 calories and struggling!

toebass
toebass Posts: 73 Member
edited November 9 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all!

i'm allocated 1200 calories and i'm struggling, particularly on days where i don't exercise!

help?
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Replies

  • goblue443
    goblue443 Posts: 50
    I know it's been said 10000000 times before but drink tons of water. I usually chug a tall glass before I eat a meal. Also eating things that are higher in fiber help keep me feeling fuller throughout the day. I feel your pain though! It's tough to be on the 1200 calorie plan.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    After looking at your diary you may want to reconsider bananas and all the bread and biscuits.
  • G30Grrl
    G30Grrl Posts: 377 Member
    Please tell me you are eating back your exercise calories. Judging by your profile, you seem to work out a lot, and you need to eat those calories back in order to have enough energy.

    And as a matter of curiosity, who 'allocated' you 1200 calories? You might want to up it a bit. That's on the low end of NET weight-loss calories per day.
  • charlesb22
    charlesb22 Posts: 110 Member
    Google BMR calculator, get your BMR and eat to that, not 1200! MFP sets everyone to 1200 if they want to lose 1-2lbs/week. It's not necessarily enough to actually fuel your body.

    When I started, I was eating to 1200 and sometimes below as I was scared to go over in case SHOCK HORROR I got fat! But I was tired, hungry, and cranky all the time. Obsessed over food - my boyfriedn was cracking it because I weighed everything, it was all I could talk about. OCD behaviour for sure!

    Then I started reading community posts here, and realised I need to eat to my own BMI, not just a stock standard "diet" figure that everyone gets assigned - regardless of height, weight, gender, age and activity level. I now eat minimum 1400 net cals to fuel my body, and feel amazing. And my hair, skin & nails are looking fab in about 2 weeks of eating like this. AND I'm losing cm's on my body and not fussing about scale weight as it's not the best indicator of health.
  • G30Grrl
    G30Grrl Posts: 377 Member
    OK, just looked at your diary, and I agree that you might want to cut out some of the grains in favor of more veggies. And you definitely need to up the protein, especially with all of your workouts. And water, water, water! Good luck to you!
  • Bikini_Bound150
    Bikini_Bound150 Posts: 461 Member
    I know a lot of people have lunch as their largest meals instead of dinner, but I would suggest having something light in the evening. That way you're not starving later in the day and it will help you feel much better.

    I also agree with you eating too much biscuits and crackers.

    Otherwise I think your diary is looking good, especially with exercise. You definitely need to eat more when you're exercising and burning 700+ calories a day. I think you're in pretty good shape. 1200 calories isn't right for everyone. Keep up the good work.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Eat more protein and good fat; it will help fill you up. Also I'd set my goal higher if you're hungry. I've lost all of my weight without ever going hungry; there's no reason that your change in eating habits should mean starving yourself. Just make sure that the things you eat are healthy. I find that legumes are really good as far as being filling and healthy. I get low-sodium black beans, rinse them, and put them in a tortilla with some avacado, sour cream, and salsa. Very filling and low calorie.
  • Strodtbeckp
    Strodtbeckp Posts: 7
    I am in the same boat. 1200 and struggling. I have like plateaued in losing weight also.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    After looking at your diary you may want to reconsider bananas and all the bread and biscuits.

    bananas are good but you need about 1/2 a regular size banana a day. if you want to eat the whole banana that day, eat half early then the other half later
  • pucenavel
    pucenavel Posts: 972 Member
    Fresh Vegetables and Lean Protein (fish, chicken) were my weapons of choice when I just needed to fill my stomach without blowing past 1200.
  • DKBelle
    DKBelle Posts: 585
    Drink 64 oz of water, eat healthy and you will be fine!

    Check out my site for food ideas:
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-ideasHomemade-Healthy-Foods/179121125503371
  • 1viola1
    1viola1 Posts: 1
    Are you eating enough vegetables? That fills me up!
  • AlbertPooHoles
    AlbertPooHoles Posts: 530 Member
    A heftier breakfast might help, along with more protein.
  • Hotrodhoodlum
    Hotrodhoodlum Posts: 148
    Lower your carbs by 100 grams and up your protein a bunch .. Protein will stay with you and make you not as hungery
  • Colie140
    Colie140 Posts: 27
    I to was struggling with 1200 cals, so much so that I wanted to quit. So I bumped it up to 1300 and I feel much better and am still losing weight. You might want to try that and see if it works
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    EAT MORE. 1200 is the minimum any woman should eat. Change your goal weight loss and it will increase your calories. You're probably struggling because you're hungry!
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    Lower your carbs by 100 grams and up your protein a bunch .. Protein will stay with you and make you not as hungery

    this
  • rachelboddy
    rachelboddy Posts: 115 Member
    Eat when you're hungry. Just eat veggies or lean protein. Once you start figuring out better food choices for the rest of your calories, you'll start to find which foods can stretch far and keep you satisfied at 1200 calories. Just takes patience and flexibility, and willingness to listen to us who are here to support you.
  • rachelboddy
    rachelboddy Posts: 115 Member
    Drink 64 oz of water, eat healthy and you will be fine!

    Check out my site for food ideas:
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-ideasHomemade-Healthy-Foods/179121125503371

    I've been told by my physical trainer to get in 94 ounces of water a day. Sounds like a lot at first, but it's so good for you.
  • AmandaCaswell1982
    AmandaCaswell1982 Posts: 170 Member
    Eat more! I lost eating 1200 ( I was obese) then plateaued. Once I kicked up the cals and worked out more *poof* weight is steadily coming off. Good luck!
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    Drink 64 oz of water, eat healthy and you will be fine!

    Check out my site for food ideas:
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-ideasHomemade-Healthy-Foods/179121125503371

    I've been told by my physical trainer to get in 94 ounces of water a day. Sounds like a lot at first, but it's so good for you.
    Totally unneccesary.
  • toffee322
    toffee322 Posts: 186 Member
    same here.. i chose only to lose 0.5 lb a week and i only have 1200 ish calories and is usually couple hundreds since i exercise every day. but still not enough. i can basically eat 3 meals, no snacks if i want to keep it on track.. but i get hungry.. i dont like that feeling! :( so i have been eating over pretty much everyday :x..
  • woou
    woou Posts: 668 Member
    Taking a particular multivit has helped me. Nothing else ever has.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    Eat more.
    I was trying to find my maintenance cals and was eating 1700 cals a day. I started losing more on that a week than I ever did on 1200 cals.
  • AliciaJane82
    AliciaJane82 Posts: 13
    I was at 1200 and found that not only was I hungry, I actually gained weight. I upped my calories to 1440 and I've lost 2 lbs just in the past week (actually it was like 5 days in ). My body wasn't getting enough fuel at 1200 calories...
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    Eat your exercise calories, eat lots of proteins and veggies!
  • aiyana1228
    aiyana1228 Posts: 100 Member
    Looking at your diary shows that you tend to eat several things that are low volume high calorie foods. (The banana is fine). I suggest that you look over the past week and think about other choices you could make in the future that would include things that would give you a higher volume with lower calories. For example. One of the days you ate a cup of broccoli and a cup of scaloped potatos. The potatos were about 4 times the calories of the broccoli. You could have had 4 cups of veggies in place of that 1 cup of potatos. (maybe 2 cups of broccoli and 1/2 cup of potatos? Just makiing little changes will make all of the difference. Note: if you are short like I am no BMR is going to give you more than that 1200 base rate. I just make sure I get in excercise and make good choices.
  • dubois75
    dubois75 Posts: 7
    I've been using MFP for about a month and just this week decided to change my daily cal to 1500. It is a struggle, but like everything else, we start a program and need to learn to adjust it to work for US!! Change your daily cal and go from there.
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
    I struggled at 1200...i bumped it up to 1lb a week which gave me 1370 and I find I do a lot better!
  • lind3400
    lind3400 Posts: 557 Member
    While we are on the topic of eating your exercise calories....if anyone reads this lol....why does MFP warn you about eating too few calories when ur under your calorie goal with no exercise for the day...but when you exercise and don't eat back all your exercise calories and you still have some left over it doesn't warn you???
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