1200 calories

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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!

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:

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 .

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.

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?????

I looked at your food and exercise diaries. You might want to eat less carbs and maybe eat healthier snacks. Adam's natural peanut butter is better for you. The Jiff stuff has alot of fat. A good snack is air popped popcorn. You can have 6 cups and it fills you up good. I don't put butter on it. I'll spray it with some olive oil pam spray, sprinkle with garlic salt, toss and do it one more time. Also, those little sweet peppers are good sliced in half with a small amount of neufchatel cheese on them. It's like cream cheese but with 1/3 of the fat. Tastes just like cream cheese. Hope this helps.

I only have 15 pounds to lose. I started the first of January and am down 8 pounds today. The first couple of weeks I ate my exercise calories because I was hungrier. It takes time for your stomach to shrink. Now, for the most part, I don't eat my workout calories. I've noticed that people who have more to lose, see the pounds come off faster. Stick with it and you won't regret it. 8 pounds in 5 weeks is pretty good...especially the healthier way to do it.

Also, I was told from a personal trainer-like person (I never know her exact title!) that I should have 80 - 100 grams of protein a day, much more than the site may say I should have. So I try not to worry about going over protein, I feel like it really does make you feel full longer. Oh, a friend from work found a recipe on a body builders site for turkey muffins that are low cal yet high protein, that I thought were also delicious.

Add a salad when you're hungry and track you sodium instead of sugar ( because your sugar is coming from good sources). Sugar is included in your carb count.