Calorie confused!!

Hey everyone,

I have been trying to lose weight for about 4 weeks now...and I have lost about 6 lbs.  However, since reducing my calorie intake to the 1200 that the site recommends, as time goes on, I find that I am less and less hungry!  As long as I eat healthy for the day, I find that at the end of the day..around 8PM, I might have only eaten 800-900 cals.  I know this isn't good, so I usually try to eat some slices of cheese etc. to get my intake higher. Why is this happening?  Shouldn't I feel hungry?  Pretty much the only time I ever feel hungry these days is a couple of hours after breakfast...around 11.  Other than that....I could probably fast and feel fine (don't worry I won't).

Here is a little sample of what I usually eat:

Breakfast:  Special K Cereal and milk

Lunch:  Piece of fruit, 1/2 sandwich (turkey w/ cheese, lettuce, tomato or PBJ)

Dinner:  Depends...today carrot and ginger soup, thomas's english muffin w/ laughing cow cheese wedge, and parsley&beet salad

Desert:  SO delicious icecream bar (100 cal, totally recommend these!)

Snacks:  Frozen peach slices or 1/4 cup cereal

Am I doing something wrong?  It feels horrible to force myself to eat at the end of the day when I am trying to lose weight, but I am afraid of going into the 'starvation mode' phase.  I also don't think the weight has been coming off as fast as it should be.  Right now I'm 129ish, I workout 6 days a week..3-5miles on the treadmill walking/running and about 15 mins of calisthenics.  Is it possible I am in starvation mode?  If so, what do I do?  

Help!  Thanks everyone =)

i need help with this also...i just started counting calories about 2 1/2 weeks ago..i lost 3 lbs so far but everyday i find that my calorie intake is lower and lower and im not hungry...i only started going on my treadmill this week..so im hoping that once i get into exercising more, i'll get hungry enough to eat more..

you probably are in starvation mode if this has been your routine for quite some time, with exercise you should be eating much more than 1200, so if you've been getting 800 you are STARVING, LITERALLY!! 

this exact question has been asked TONS of times so please search the forums for answers. i will respond though since you need help but in the future try to be more resourceful since this is a popular question :)

eat more. get healthy fats and enough dairy and whole grains.

1 cup oatmeal, 1 banana, and 1 yogurt in the morning is balanced, light enough and about 250 calories if it's a 100 cal pot of yogurt

1 oz nuts and 1 string cheese is about 250 cals for a snack

2 slices regular ww bread and a serving deli or veggie meat with 1 slice low fat cheese and some veggies is about 350 calories, add in a salad and a tbsp light dressing for another 75 calories

3 oz lean protein, 1 serving brown rice, and 1 cup veggies is about 400 cals

Total 1325

add in a snack for a treat after dinner to add another 150 cals or so [1 serving ice cream, some yogurt and granola]

very balanced and by no means a TON of food. you just have to eat NORMAL foods that are healthy if you are having difficulty meeting your calorie goals. hope this helps but immediately increase your cals, you might see a temporary gain but it is worth it!!

I think it's good you're not craving bad foods anymore, I'm still waiting for that to happen to my body. My advice, just eat higher calorie food. It can still be healthy of course. I would put the calories in your snacks, that's what I tend to do. A healthy snack with higher calories could be graham crackers spread with peanut butter and banana.

listen to your body. If you're not feeling hungry, your body is not hungry. I don't think you should force yourself to eat so long as you feel you've had enough. No one knows your body and what it needs like you do. If you were starving your body, you would feel hungry. I am in no way an expert, but you've lost 2 lbs a week consistently so far, that is very healthy. If you were losing more than that there would be more cause to worry. I think you're doing great. Before bed try having a glass of milk. Your body can never have enough calcium. Hope that helped!