1200 calories

I'm drinking 8 oz of water, I think I'm eating decently these last few days, but I'm still hungry. I get done eating and can't wait to get to the next meal. What am I doing wrong, should I consider my life style more active then I have my profile set for, I run a daycare so I watch kids all day, pick up toys not to mention hold my 20lb son quiet a bit, and the other baby if I have them that day.

Please look at my food diary and give me any advice if you see me doing something wrong, the last two days are where I really climbed on bored, I was still just doing my own thing sunday but logged my food for that day.
«1

Replies

  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
    reduce your carbs some and increase protein. Add more fiber. Fiber gives you feeling of being full. Protein keeps you from feeling hungry an hour after you eat. Space your carbs out as they are what really makes your blood sugar level go up. You get rid of peaks and valleys in your blood sugar and that helps control cravings better. From your diary, you're not really eating much protein and that could be big reason you feel hungry. And 1200 is sort of low if you're semi active already.
  • AmyM713
    AmyM713 Posts: 594 Member
    lol I thought I was increasing protien from what I was eating, this eating stuff is more difficult then I thought. I guess what I thought was healthy isn't really. Anyone know of any good websites or a place on this website I can go to and look up protien rich foods. What if I take a fiber supplement each day would that help since I'm not eating enough of it?
  • SophieB74656
    SophieB74656 Posts: 81 Member
    I try to have a big salad with dinner and lunch. That way my tummy feels full but there's not much in the way of calories
  • AmyM713
    AmyM713 Posts: 594 Member
    I'm definately going to be buying salad stuff this weekend when I go shopping and will be trying to find some other healthy foods that will fill me up, but not be loaded with carbs.
  • jenniet04
    jenniet04 Posts: 1,054 Member
    1200 is generally not enough for anybody. If you are that busy, I would definitely change your activity levels. I sit at a desk all day, but am very busy once I get home so I have mine set to "light" activity. I would bet you could have yours set to "moderate" at least and still lose weight. I would also recommend looking up what your BMR is and eating AT LEAST that amount in calories. Mine is 1400 and that's the minimum I eat every day. Also, since you don't have much to lose, you should have your setting to lose 1 lb a week at the most. Try to get some protein at every meal and snack and that will help keep you full longer.

    ETA - protein foods
    cottage cheese
    eggs
    string cheese
    peanut butter
    have some chicken breast with your salad
    milk
  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
    lol I thought I was increasing protien from what I was eating, this eating stuff is more difficult then I thought. I guess what I thought was healthy isn't really. Anyone know of any good websites or a place on this website I can go to and look up protien rich foods. What if I take a fiber supplement each day would that help since I'm not eating enough of it?
    no need to take supplements. Protein sources- MEAT, Beans, cheese, peanut butter, eggs, fish, yogurt, etc. etc.

    Your food diary here shows you a good view of your protein intake. If you're consistently low, eat a couple spoons of peanut butter. Or a cup of yogurt, piece of cheese.
  • loseweightjames
    loseweightjames Posts: 360 Member
    I'm drinking 8 oz of water, I think I'm eating decently these last few days, but I'm still hungry. I get done eating and can't wait to get to the next meal. What am I doing wrong, should I consider my life style more active then I have my profile set for, I run a daycare so I watch kids all day, pick up toys not to mention hold my 20lb son quiet a bit, and the other baby if I have them that day.

    Please look at my food diary and give me any advice if you see me doing something wrong, the last two days are where I really climbed on bored, I was still just doing my own thing sunday but logged my food for that day.

    8 oz of water? Aren't you suppose to be drinking at least 8, 8 oz of water = 64 ounces a day?

    Looked at the diary. Forget the 1200 calories. Eat cake in the morning. Seriously, it removes all the cravings. Cake. Every. Morning. Or snickers, or whatever, but nothing crazy, nothing like a whole pizza, just eat a few servings of whatever you crave every day, just make sure to do it before 10am, then you have the rest of the day to burn it off.

    Here's what I do:
    -- over a gallon of water a day (yes seriously)
    -- small meals all day, my favorite is a can of tuna
    -- eat lots of junk food before 10am
    -- last meal before 6pm (sometimes I cheat on this)

    I've lost 8 lbs in the past month doing this without exercise and feel fine, I'm not hungry.
  • eat more :) aim for 1500 cals. I'm the same, I actually always end up eating 1500-2000 a day
  • rjt1000
    rjt1000 Posts: 700 Member
    I'm drinking 8 oz of water, I think I'm eating decently these last few days, but I'm still hungry. I get done eating and can't wait to get to the next meal. What am I doing wrong, should I consider my life style more active then I have my profile set for, I run a daycare so I watch kids all day, pick up toys not to mention hold my 20lb son quiet a bit, and the other baby if I have them that day.

    Please look at my food diary and give me any advice if you see me doing something wrong, the last two days are where I really climbed on bored, I was still just doing my own thing sunday but logged my food for that day.

    8 oz of water? Aren't you suppose to be drinking at least 8, 8 oz of water = 64 ounces a day?

    Looked at the diary. Forget the 1200 calories. Eat cake in the morning. Seriously, it removes all the cravings. Cake. Every. Morning. Or snickers, or whatever, but nothing crazy, nothing like a whole pizza, just eat a few servings of whatever you crave every day, just make sure to do it before 10am, then you have the rest of the day to burn it off.

    Here's what I do:
    -- over a gallon of water a day (yes seriously)
    -- small meals all day, my favorite is a can of tuna
    -- eat lots of junk food before 10am
    -- last meal before 6pm (sometimes I cheat on this)

    I've lost 8 lbs in the past month doing this without exercise and feel fine, I'm not hungry.

    Yeah, that's a healthy way to approach things......Why would eating the junk before 10AM make a difference? What if I'm a night shift worker? Do I need to eat all my junk food between 6pm and 10pm? And if I live in Australia, do I need to eat it spinning in the opposite direction?
  • gleechick609
    gleechick609 Posts: 544 Member
    What you're doing wrong is only eating 1200 calories.

    PM me if you want to eat more. I can help you.
  • kd80538
    kd80538 Posts: 97 Member
    Try this site for Protein Rich Foods:
    http://www.howmuchprotein.com/foods/

    As for the fiber, everyone says you should try to get your nutrients as much as you can from your food choices. Most of the time, you'll find that your nutrient rich foods will make you feel fuller and are fairly low in calories. For me, I started with small steps...finding whole grains that were rich in fiber and that I enjoyed the taste of. I like the Sara Lee whole grain breads...it's not too dry, and tastes good. I started switching out anything "white" for "whole grain" little by little...including flour in recipes, buns/bread on sandwiches, pastas, etc. You can also find fiber in your veggies, in beans, in fruit - etc. Here's another site you might find helpful:
    http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/063008p28.shtml

    I also struggle with the "always hungry" animal. I've found if I try to eat something every couple of hours, like a small, healthy snack of nuts or fruit in between meals, it helps. During the day, I keep busy enough to not get too hungry...but my body can usually tell when it's been 3 hours or more since I last ate...and it is sure to let me know to fuel up!! Night time is my nemesis...it's when the beast rages the most. If I have a workout in the evening, I do better ... which tells me that part of my hunger is likely boredom. Additionally, the workouts give me a bit of wiggle room to eat more when I really need it.

    Hang in there and good luck!
  • Kellyklug
    Kellyklug Posts: 3 Member
    Just google high protein food. Think about eggs, chicken, yogurt, fish etc. 1200 seems really low to me, too.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    You need more protein and less carbs. Also, you are not eating all 1200 cals based on today. No wonder you are hungry! Go into goals/ change goals/ custom and set your carbs at 35 or 30%. The fat and protein will just fall in. Then eat all 1200. More if you work out. You are always hungry and if you are consistently below 1200 your metabolism will work against you by slowing down. Eat less doesn't cause you to lose more faster and can cause you to lose muscle mass that will help you to lose over the mid and long term.:happy:
  • AmyM713
    AmyM713 Posts: 594 Member
    You are all so great, I have increased my daily activity . I have been so nuts about trying to stay in the range of calories the site has set for me its been hard to find and eat enough food that I think is healthy and gives me enough calories for each meal of the day. I meant 8 glasses not 8 oz this is my brain after a day of watching children and a cranky 11 month old of my own that doesn't want to be put down:yawn: . I love eggs, cheese, pnut butter, etc so increasing protien shouldn't be that hard for me, I guess I just have to look at this as a learning process and once I find what works I will stick with it. Thanks for all the great advice:happy:
  • spskinny
    spskinny Posts: 96 Member
    I make sure I exercise. It gives me that one extra meal that makes my tummy happy, and honestly on those day that I do exercise I find that I am not as hungry, even before I eat the bonus cals .
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    when I was losing weight, I was on a low calorie diet of 800 to 1k cals/day. In the 7 months that it took to lose 95 pounds, I was hungry a total of 5 times.

    When I started my diet, I decided to switch carb and protein percentages to try to cut down on being hungry. I don't know to what extent it helped.

    And drinking lotsa water? didn't need to. Water helps control the urge to eat — keep your stomach full and…it thinks it's full. :-) It helps reduce hunger pangs but, other than that, I haven't been able to find a medically sourced document that even implies that drinking lotsa water is needed to lose weight. It certainly wasn't for me.

    Good luck with your weight loss.
  • reaolliemama
    reaolliemama Posts: 483 Member
    You need more protein, it will help you saty full longer that the carbs do... carbs tend to make me hungrier rather than fuller...I've also drastically cut down on processed foods, and rarely eat more than 1200 calories, I am full and satisfied! I sugest looking into Clean Eating, it's working for me and a lot of other people.
  • nmgn87
    nmgn87 Posts: 1 Member
    I like the 17 Day Diet plan. I don't really agree with some of the principles that the doctor talks about, but the eating plan is simple, and I find it difficult to get all of my 1200 calories a day because I am so full :) Generally, it's 2 fruit servings (although some fruit is off limits for the first cycle) 2 servings of probiotics (I love greek yogurt with sugar free preserves...any flavor), All of the lean meat (fish and chicken mostly) and all of the vegetables that you want! Eggs are in there too, although he recommends only 2 yolks per week. I really appreciate the fact that it's forced me to eat healthier, and to be aware of the nutritional value of food. It's hard to cut out the sugar and the "fun carbs" like bread and pasta, but I definitely feel better and have much more energy! Good luck!
  • Ok, I've been thinking about this and kind of confused. My goal is 1200 cal too and I'm not sure how to go about this. Should I eat above that and then work out a lot to burn off the amount I go over? Eating just 1200 cal and then working out on top of that doesn't sound right. I wouldn't say I'm tiny, I have an average body with excess :) I just need to loose one pant size and tone up. Can anybody help me?????
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    Ok, I've been thinking about this and kind of confused. My goal is 1200 cal too and I'm not sure how to go about this. Should I eat above that and then work out a lot to burn off the amount I go over? Eating just 1200 cal and then working out on top of that doesn't sound right. I wouldn't say I'm tiny, I have an average body with excess :) I just need to loose one pant size and tone up. Can anybody help me?????

    Erica, what have you set your weekly goal loss to be? If you're looking to lose only a pant size then you should be aiming for a smaller deficit than someone who has, say, 50lbs to lose. Try setting your weekly loss at 0.5lbs per week. Work out your activity level, you're also probably more active than you realise.

    I eat 2000 a day and I'm still losing - I lift heavy, I run and I will never believe that 1200 calories is the 'perfect' number for weight loss