Starving at 1300 cals?

At that point, when I couldn't possibly eat more, I added protein powder. I was getting HANGRY, bad. That helped push down the hunger. I hate smoothies, I just mix some vanilla protein powder with skim milk. Once in the morning and sometimes in the afternoons depending on my level of activity.

Protein, fiber, fat, complex carbs .... all these things help you stay full longer.

If you are very active .... 1200 might be too low. I have a desk job ... so 1200 is OK for me.

If you have an active job, you surely aren't eating enough. Hunger is your body's way of telling you it needs more fuel. In my opinion, increase your calories to around 1500 and see what happens after a few weeks. Try adding more protein as well as fiber to your diet.

are you eating properly hun? are you eating the proper amount? calculate your BMR manually... I have to do it every once in a while. I'll show you how using myself.

The formula we use is 655 + (4.35 X weight in lbs) + (4.7 X height in inches) - (14.7 X age in years)

I am 22 years old, I am 5 feet 6 inches, and I weigh 151 lbs. So, here's my BMR:

BMR = 655 + (4.35 X 151 lbs) + (4.7 X 66 inches) - (14.7 X 22 years) BMR = 1298. 65 calories

But, I want to lose weight. I am pretty much sedentary, so I am going to multiply this number by 1.2. If you are moderately active (ex. 5 hours of exercise weekly) multiply your BMR by 1.5. So, 1298.65 X 1.2 = 1558.36 is what I can eat to maintain my current weight.

I want to lose weight, but not go into starvation mode (OR ANY WEIGHT LOSS WILL BE TEMPORARY AND MY METABOLISM WILL BE DESTROYED) , so I am going to decrease my calories by either 10-20%. I am going to use the maximum 20%. So, 1558.36 X 0.8 = 1246.688. I am going to eat 1250 calories daily NET.

is it hunger pangs or like getting light headed from not enough cals?? I am asking because I have a hard time adjusting to small tweaks in cals or even time of day i eat. After upping my cals only to 1300 i felt as if I was starving between meals.. but hunger pangs starving, not famished HUNGRY. i don't know if its the same as what i experienced but after about a week my body got used to eating breakfast regularly and they stopped.

If you EVER feel famished hungry, stop thinking about the cals and just eat, the right stuff, and plenty of it.

If you have an active job, you surely aren't eating enough. Hunger is your body's way of telling you it needs more fuel. In my opinion, increase your calories to around 1500 and see what happens after a few weeks. Try adding more protein as well as fiber to your diet.

I agree with this. I eat 1320 per day but I have a desk job with little activity.

Fiber would help you quite a bit. There is a lot of fiber in a lot of fruits and vegetables as well as snack crackers and so forth. You should look to Self.com for some help with that. One of their current stories is about "super foods" that will help keep you full and satisfied as well and help jump start your metabolism to help you burn fat all day. Plus eating breakfast makes a huge difference. Self.com says eating within 90 minutes of waking is key to starting your metabolism for the day.

I work at a 24 hour Emergency Veterinary hospital. I am helping prep animals for surgery, lifting, carrying dead weight of animals ranging from 1lb to 50+lbs. I am bringing up 6lb to 50lb bags of food that is ordered from clients, and obviously focusing on keeping the animals all clean with fresh bedding, walking the dogs, etc. I did try eating lots of veggies and fruit, but the same thing would happen. I am hoping to find some sort of mid ground. I am afraid to increase my calories too much because I really want this weight gone fast. Would sticking to an extremely high protein and low carb diet help? I did the southbeach diet before and had great results, but it isn't a realistic lifestyle change and the minute you eat carbs you gain back. Just really confused

The veggies and fruit have the fiber you need. But, you need to add protein/fat to them (i.e. peanut butter or cheese to go with the veggies/fruit).

South Beach helps keep hunger at bay, because it focuses on protein and fiber filled foods. Even if you're not doing the SB diet, using it as a guideline isn't a bad idea. Fill up on proteins and fiber filled carbs, you stay fuller longer.

I agree, I think you need to be eating more. In my personal experience, If your BMI is within "healthy" range, and you are not eating AT LEAST at your BMR, you WILL NOT LOOSE. Increase as the other posters have suggested and give it at least a month before giving up and going back to 1200 cals/day because you are afraid of "gaining" weight.

The last few pounds are often very hard to loose and we have to be strategic about getting rid of them! Good luck and make your health your first priority!

If you eat only fresh foods you can eat much more, for less calories. All processed foods are loaded with extra junk and calories. I started eating only lean meat freash foods and have lost 18 pounds in about 5 weeks. It has been a bit hard to figure out what to eat without eating lots of the thing I used to eat, but I'm doing good now....and feeling great too.

Foods higher in fiber keep you full longer also.

Good luck

I'm not reel smart, butt it sounds like your calorie intake is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy to low. I think you need to re calculate everything. And there are plenty of really smart people on this site that can help you with that. Good luck.

are you eating properly hun? are you eating the proper amount? calculate your BMR manually... I have to do it every once in a while. I'll show you how using myself.

The formula we use is 655 + (4.35 X weight in lbs) + (4.7 X height in inches) - (14.7 X age in years)

I am 22 years old, I am 5 feet 6 inches, and I weigh 151 lbs. So, here's my BMR:

BMR = 655 + (4.35 X 151 lbs) + (4.7 X 66 inches) - (14.7 X 22 years) BMR = 1298. 65 calories

But, I want to lose weight. I am pretty much sedentary, so I am going to multiply this number by 1.2. If you are moderately active (ex. 5 hours of exercise weekly) multiply your BMR by 1.5. So, 1298.65 X 1.2 = 1558.36 is what I can eat to maintain my current weight.

I want to lose weight, but not go into starvation mode (OR ANY WEIGHT LOSS WILL BE TEMPORARY AND MY METABOLISM WILL BE DESTROYED) , so I am going to decrease my calories by either 10-20%. I am going to use the maximum 20%. So, 1558.36 X 0.8 = 1246.688. I am going to eat 1250 calories daily NET.

Is this just for women or what? This thing says I am way over my calories per day.

I still have 12 pounds before I am in the "healthy" range, so I thought I would TRY to hold out to 1200-1300 range until I met that and then go up to 1500. I have my days off and on one of those days I stay the entire day in bed watching tv, computer, relaxing, and I never eat a lot on those days, I'm just not that hungry for one. It is only the days I work that I am absolutely famished. I did notice when I ate a bunch of chocolate and didn't log it (leftover easter ****, ate about 1550 cals that day) I lost two pounds over the course of 3 days, and that was freaking chocolate!

So if I do up my calories should I just base it at 1500? Should I switch my goals to eat more protein less carb? This whole thing is super confusing and the easiest part was just trying to stay under 1300 but at least 1200

Change your macro settings to 40% carbs/30% protein/30% fat. Holding at a number below BMR is not going to be a benefit. It will actually hurt in the long run. When eating below TDEE you are going to lose some lean body mass. If you aren't strength training and eating sufficient protein, you will lose much more LBM.