1200 calories...I'm starving!

I'm trying to stick to CC's recommended daily intake of 1200 calories and wow those calories add up fast! Everything I've eaten today has been healthy and a well balanced, but I'm still really hungry. Is 1200 calories really all I should be consuming?

What are your stats (age, height, weight, gender, activity level)?

What are you eating to make up those 1200 cals?  If you list what you are eating, there may be some people that can help you with ideas to give you more volume for the same cals.

eat more.

I try to stick to 1200 cals a day, if I eat really good, ( fruits, lean meats, low fat and fat free stuff) i tend to do really good about staying in my calroies. BUT, if I eat say, a cheese hot dog ( My hubby grilled out lunch at his business with his employees and invited me and the kids down) and have ONE hot dog at like 400 calories, then I am STARVING the rest of the day, and end up going over my calories. Then Im just pissed that I ate the damn thing. (even though it was delicious).

Just try to eat as healthy as you can, better quality stuff, so you can eat more and stay at 1200 cals. and be full.

Cassie

First of all, make sure you are using the Tools right to determine your caloric needs.  I've found that the best way to do it is to figure out my average burn first.  Then I deduct 250 calories from that because I only want to lose 2 pounds a month (health reasons)  If you wanted to lose a pound a week, then deduct 500 from your burn, or deduct 1000 to lose 2 pounds a week, but be careful not to go too low because that is counter productive.

Let's say you did that and 1200 is your limit.  To be satisfied, eat bulky, low calorie foods like green vegetables along with smaller servings of higher calorie things.  For instance, a filling 400 calorie supper might be 3 oz of chicken breast or fish, 1/2 cup of brown rice, and huge servings of those low calorie vegetables to fill you up.  Don't forget to add just a little fat to that, say 1 tsp of olive oil, to help you absorb vitamins. 

 

Personally I think most people can get away with more than 1200 calories unless you are not very tall.  I know people will say a calorie is just a calorie but I totally disagree. I try to keep all my macros balanced  ROUGHLY around 30/30/30, carbs/pro/fat.  For the last year I've played around with these a bunch and I'm convinced that watching carbs dramatically affects my weightloss.  I'm not saying 0 carbs.  But if I eat 1500 calories made up mostly of cereal, bread, pasta, and a little meat and veggies I won't lose like I do if I eat 1500 cals made up of lean protein, veggies, fruit, nuts, and brown rice or oats.  

Some practical advice would be try eating lean protein at every meal, ie, fish, chicken, buffalo, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt ect.  Eat as many veggies as you want!  Add in some fruit and some small servings of complex carbs (brown rice, whole grain bread, I like Ezekiel) a few times a day.  Serving sizes should be the size of you palm. Except for veggies which can be as big as you want and fat should be smaller like a half of handful of nuts.  Eating small meals works wonders IMHO. It really helps to curb off hunger.  

Another thought.  I'm not sure how much you cut your calories by and how quickly.  If you were eating 2500 a few weeks ago then you cut too much too fast and until your body adjusts you will be hungry.  Or if you activity level is really high you may just need more food.

I eat 1200 calories and I am usually pretty full.  I eat 200 for breakfast, a bigger lunch with lots of veggies and fruit and a "snacky" dinner with snacks too.

Tuesday I had:

Breakfast 6oz greek yogurt with splenda. with 3/4 cup Banana nut cheerios

Lunch: tortilla wrap(high fiber) stuffed with 2oz turkey, cup of spinach, pickle slices and mustard.  Cucumber and tomato slices on the side, with carrots and a sugar free jello for a snack..I could not eat it all.

Snack: 100 cal popcorn

Dinner: turkey chili with 1/2 cup of corn added and hot sauce,  nectarine and SF pudding..I still was under.

Yesterday:

Breakfast: greek yogurt with Splenda again

Lunch: ate really late, turkey hotdog and bun with mustard, popchips and watermelon.

Dinner: ate lunch at 4pm..so this was snacks mostly, more watermelon, 100 cal popcorn, 2cups plain cheerios while watching tv, 1/2 cucumber and a tomato, SF pudding...I think that was it.

I like to eat filling snacks, like apples and popcorn and dry cereal.  I eat chicken or turkey once a day usually, or cheese in place of meat...rarely eat them together.  I try to eat 2 servings of fruit at least and 2 servings of veggies as recommended by the Pyramid for 1200 cals.  Most people eat a big breakfast, but I eat around 530am, and cannot eat that much that early!  I get hoem from work around 8pm and like to snack till bedtime..so that's what I do.

I may not work for you, I am giving this advice hoping u are supposed to eat 1200 cals...if not eat more!!

Original Post by mperic81:

eat more.

HA!  Eat WAAAAAAAY more.

I can stay full on 1200 by eating a  large VOLUME of food.  I don't find 100 calories worth of chocolate (less than on oz) satiating, but I find 100 calories worth of strawberries satiating (2 cups worth).  Here's a sample of a fiber-rich, filling 1200 calorie diet:

Breakfast:  1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese (90) mixed with 1/2 cup fiber one cereal (60).  With 1 apple (80) = 230 calories

Lunch:  2 cup mixed greens/spinach (20), carrots/tomatoes/cucumbers (20), 3 oz chicken (110) with 2 TB (or less) light italian dressing (20) with 1 light n' fit yogurt (60) = 230 calories

Snack:  1 oz nuts (160), baby carrots (40) with 2 TB hummus (50) = 250 calories

Dinner:  3 oz tilapia (110) with veggies sauteed in a bit of olive oil (100), small piece of bread (60) = 280 calories

Snack:  2 hershey's kisses (50) with 1 cup strawberries (50) and 1/2 cup low-fat ice cream (120) = 220 calories

Total:  1210 calories

I think 1200 calories aday is so hard! I did that when I started to lose weight last year. I was alwasy hungry and not eating enough and binged a ton since my body was freaking out. Now I work out more and eat healthier.(mins the ice cream or cookies here and there lol). I now range 1500-1700 depending on my activity level. I hated 1200 calories a day it's hard. You should eat more. You seem to eat really well so continue that but add a few hundred calories to your limit.

extend your goal date a month or two or three

I think this is an important question that I see alot on CC. I usually refrain from responding b/c the posters before me have usually irritated me with their ignorance. First things first I dont think anyone can tell you how many calories are right for you b/c it depends on the person. Even if you seek professional advice, you tend to have to mix it up and find what works best for you! I dont think that a prolonged 1200 calorie diet is good for anyone. However, that is just my personal opionion. My preference is to zig zag my caloric intake from time to time, but here is a sample of a 1200cal day for me:

MEAL CALORIES BREAKFAST   Egg Beaters 60 Meat Crumbles 40 Salsa 10 Spinach 10 Coffee 50     SNACK   Banana 100 Yogurt 70     LUNCH   Soup 120 Grapes 35 Milk 90     SNACK   Kashi GoLean 180 Carrots 25     DINNER   Tortilla 50 Beans 50 Salsa/Sour cream 50 Meat Pattie 100 Lettuce 15 Mushrooms 10 Hearts of Palm 10 Corn 35 Special K Bar 110     TOTAL 1220

 

Good Luck!

That is why I always do a range for my cal intake. Workout days its 1400-1650 and non workout days its 1250-1400. So, if im a little hungry I can have a bite of something and not be out of my "range." Also, varing your cal intake will help with the weight loss. It keeps the metabolism guessing, so it is continuously adjusting.

small meals through out the day help too. Instead of cutting up your cal intake into three meals, have something every couple of hours or so and spread it out through the day.

 

 

I'd just like to encourage you...you can do this! I lost 10 pounds in 2 months on 1200-1300 calories a day. The secret is to eat healthier: lots of vegetables, fruits, and protein. It is hard at first, but once you get going and make it a habit, it gets easier. Also, exercise was key for me. I exercise daily for 30 minutes, interval walking on the treadmill or stretching exercises. Keep going...you will have so much more energy and feel better about how you look!

I eat more, but workout more also. You'll see that you're not just losing weight doing this, you're getting in shape too. It's been great.

I totally agree that you need to eat more.  If you are starving that is your body's way of saying it needs more fuel.  Try high protein and high fiber foods.  I love apples and grapes...also I eat practically every 2 hours but only 100-300 calories at a time.  This sustains me soooo much better than three meals a day.  You gotta enjoy eating so don't starve yourself!  pump up your exercise and get to eat a little more:)

Look for low calorie, high fiber foods. Aim for 25 grams at first and then 35. For every gram of fiber you eat, you "excrete" 7 calories. So if you eat 30 grams of fiber, you "excrete" 210 calories, which means you can ingest 1410 calories, but only actually take in 1200.

I'm on a 1200-1400 calorie diet, and I rarely go over. I eat tons of veggies; snack on fruit instead of junk, and I try to be creative with my meals.

Like yesterday, this is what I ate.

B - Scrambled egg with ff cheddar and salsa verda, and a pita toasted and sprinkled with cinnamon.

L - Mixed greens, roasted red peppers, olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and 2 oz. tuna.

S - Kashi roasted veggie crackers and some baby carrots.

D - Italian chicken (6 oz) simmered in tomato sauceand veggies over whole wheat pasta and sauteed squash on the side.

S - Big bowl of melon (cantaloupe, honeydew) and grapes.

interesting, i never heard that bwookie. 

Wow, thanks so much for all the responses! I'm going to try and take in the advice and see how I go. I feel much more informed now, thanks again and good luck to you all!