Do i eat too much?

Okay so i have a restricted diet to 1200 calories a day to lose weight.. i give or take a little cuz sometimes it is inevitable to go over, with eating out and schedules. so i usually have cereal or 2 whole grain waffles with sugar free syrup or eggbeaters for breakfast..i try to mix it up for variety. then about 3 hours later i have a specail k bar...then usually 3 hours after that is lunch time- so i have been eating 100 cal packs with a large apple and water...then i eat another apple about 2-3 hours later. then when i am home..i TRY to eat dinner aboout 4:30-5 ish. and that sometimes consists of..PBJ (light wheat bread 40 cal a slice) and better n' peanut butter..100 calories instead of the 200 most pnut butter has..with fruit. orrr i could have different meats with veggies..depends on whats cooked that night.. but then lately ive been have no sugar added fat free ice cream after dinner (110 calories..plus 15 for the cone) then later i have been getting hungry like bout 8 at night.. so i have a 60 calorie sugar free pudding and an apple.. or a granola bar.

i do 100 + crunches every day..i work my legs and thigh muscles..and a couple times a week i go for a walk (when the weather is nice and i get a chance to go out).

Last year i weight 153 at this time and im 5'4. now i weigh 126.. my goal is 120.

but im afraid i eat too often or too much cuz i get up there in calories.. like today i got bout 1100. i get nervous when its close to my limit.

also when i eat out to dinner- like the chinese buffet my absolute FAVORITE rest. i want to enjoy things i love there without being paranoid.. so how can i go about doing that without gaining..if i have to eat beforehand?

Hi,  i've just started this whole diet thing, if i lost 27kgs in the next year id be wrapped! i've got no real advise but just stay positive!

no, you do not eat too much. infact, having small meals every 2-4 hours is RECOMMENDED to lose weight.

but honestly, get those cals at 1200 or higher, trust me from experience, you do NOT want to go into starvation mode. also, maybe lower the carbs (waffles, cereal, cereal bar, granola bar, bread for lunch, bread for dinner, etc) and add some dairy like milk or more yogurt. and.. maybe only have the icecream every other day?

Oohhh im very similiar to you

:)

5'4, 122 lbs (120 with no food in stomach)

I don't think you eat too much

I got how I am today because of 1200 calories.

It might have screwed up my metabolism because I'm only 14, but my metab is about normal again

If you want to eat something you like at a restaraunt and don't want to care, order something and either share it, or only eat a small portion. You can eat what you like as long as it isn't too much. I found that out myself

Good luck :)

well today my boyfriend took me to East dynasty- this amazing chinese buffet..its my favorite place to go. and chinese is relativly healthy..but high i calories in some. so i got 2 plates of food.. but the first plate was 2 small fork size peices of peanut butter chicken..3-4 small fork size pieces of sesame chicken.. and 1 small peice of walnut chicken. i had some crab meat..which is healthy and lower in cals..water..small chinese dough with sprinkled sugar(prolly not so great but hey i dont eat there much) and the second plate was grapes..corn..and little more crab meat. and a soft serve small cone for desert.

but today for breakfast i ate egg beaters (30 cal) and an apple.water bottle

then snack between break. and lunch was a specail k bar..

then i went to gym for 40 mins..ran for warm up..then played european handball. which is alot of running around..

then lunch time was 100 cal pack of pretzels with an apple  and a water bottle.

so i think i ate more healthy/lower cals which fit in the chinese buffet better than if i ate something bigger for the morning.

do u think im alright??

im really worried bout gaining weight. cuz i struggle hard to lose and gain so i dont want to be any more than i am.

1200 calories is fine, especially since you are exercising... its better to lose weight slowly and consistently then it is to go into starvation mode and not lose weight, gain fat and end up heavier.

The thing about diets is that they are diets. At some point, you'll reach your goal and go into maintenance. It sounds as if you're pretty active, so that's a great start, but if I were eating what you are, I'd be really bored. In fact, the Chinese buffet would seem like heaven! It doesn't have to be that way. Do you enjoy cooking? There are great wraps and curries and such on this site, especially vegetarian (low, low fat ones, as well) and asian dishes. That way, you don't have to feel paranoid about food because you know what's going into it.

What brand of bread has 40 cals?  I totally want that!

Wonderbread Light wheat..but the bag looks just like wonderbread WHOLE wheat..make sure u look..right on the bag it will say Only 40 calories per slice!

You just made my day!!! 

im glad i could help :)

I'm curious about the 100 calorie PB too, where can you find it and what's the brand name?

It's called Better N'Peanut butter. i havnt seen chunky yet, thats my fave. but i got the creamy the other day-theres regular..and reduced sodium and i dont like saltty things so i got that one. its 100 calories per serving..its not AS tastey but its still good .. some stores dont carry it. .and some its hard to find.. i didnt even find it til i was lookin in the organic section at hannafords.

Ok STOP
*Screeeech*

No.

No.

And, Um, NO.

1,200 Cal's is what a Woman's body needs just to live. For the lungs to work, for the brain to work, for the kidney's and liver, and heart ect ect. When you are working out you are burning calories. Meaning that you take away from the total you ate. So say you ate 1300 cals that day and you also went and walked and bured 50 cals, and then you did some Crunches and burned 25 cals more, and then went and played b-ball for an hour and burned 200 cals (I serrisouly dont know the exsact #, I'm just makeing an example). That means you burned a total of 275 ON TOP of your normal 1200 cals per day. Beacause you only ate 1300 cals that day you are negative 175 cals. Seems like a little number right? But where do you think your body gets the negative calories from? You might think fat, and yes that is slightly true, but your body has primal instincs for things like that, and it wants to keep onto the fat. It keeps it as reserves and for heat. Meaning you also lose muscle mass and organ mass when you deprive yourself from calories. Sounds bad right? Well it is, and thats what the dreaded 'Starvation Mode' is. Also eating like that for so long can screw up your metabolism for a good while. Making your body want to hold on to as much fat as it can because you are starving it.

Have you explored all the nifty tools on this site? They have some you can use that tell you how many calories you should eat with your height and weight just to maintain your current weight. It also tells you how many calories you should be eating to safely go down in weight. I suggest that you check them out! They have helped me quite a bit!

Try putting more fresh veggies in your diet. I love to snack on Baby carrots all afternoon, also green tea is good for you. Try tuna once or twice a week (not too often becuase the heavy metal content is not good for you). Get some protien and vitamines in you.

Lets see... So me, I'm about 5'5-5'6, I'm 122-125 and 19 years old, and it tells me to eat 1597 to lose 1 lb a week. Thats without excersize. If I work out I ususally add on 100-200 extra calories that I can eat. So I can eat on a good day around 1800 cals. Thats not bad. If I'm having a day where I dont really care and I can eat up to my maintenance calories I can eat up to 2000 calories.

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF EATING! Eating is good for you! Its like Breathing! You need to do it!

Just be careful and fill yourself with knowlage before you do something that might hurt yourself...

I'm not saying all this to be mean or make you feel scared... Its just I was there. I was limiting myself and I could feel it harm me. I felt light headed. I saw spots. I had heart flutters. I was very irritable. I was tired all the time but couldnt sleep. And MAN did it ever hurt to do the #2. But I filled myself with knowlage and I learned that I didnt have to suffer so much to get the way I wanted... I just want you to know that...

 Hope all goes well,

 

- J

 

Well the tools on the site said i need about 1200 to lose one pound per week.

its just..in the past week i honestly feel like i gained weight, my stomach looks bigger.. but idk if thats cuz my period is JUST ending (sorry if thats too much info..just trying to figure out things)..

i dont want to gain. i dont do too much exercise like i honestly dont know what to consider enough to burn anything cuz i just basically do the crunches.. and dance one in a whlie.. and clean/lift..go online.. im not too active..id love to be but i have no money to go to the gym and i dont really do running by myself.

today ive had.

pbj toast for breakfast (230) calories.

special k bar for snack.(90calories)

apple and 100 calorie pack of kettle corn(no sugar in it)..(180 calories)

south beach diet granola bar (100 calories)

and i still do feel hungry..but for dinner im having either..eggbeaters(60 calories..2 serving) orrr having 2 whole grain wheatr waffles with sugar free syrup(130 calories total)

any tips?

I dont know what to tell you. 1200 sounds far too low to me, but thats my opinion and I'm no Dr.

Be carefull of your sodium and water intake. I noticed after I got my 8+ glasses of water a day I lost a bit of tummy bloat. Also when its that time of the month you bloat in odd places and you cant really stop it.

I serriously think you need more Veggies in there. Go to the store and get some Baby carrots, Cherry tomatoes, and celery. Cut them up (and wash the tomatoes) and snack on them all day. Veggies have very low calories, and are full of happy vitamines.

Ok, another thing, I added up all you ate and its only 730 calories. Thats bearly half of what you need. Why arent you eating real food? All your eating is Bread, PB, and those egg things. Have some real food. Go cook some Chicken Breasts, have a salad, and for gods sake EAT MORE! Dont worry about eating more! Your letting food consume your life!

Oh and last thing, dont mean to be prying or anything, but how old are you?

If anything go see an Dr about this. Most are reasonable and can help you plan out a food guide and eating plan.

I'm with raz. If you are exercising, I think the chances are very very good that you are not eating enough. 1200 is the minimum for a sedentary, not very tall woman (over 19) -- I've forgotten the specifics, but I'm sure you can find them posted in various places.

1200 calories/day if you aren't exercising. If you are, you can eat more. How many calories do you burn just in living? (Use the tools to figure that out.) As long as you eat less than that, or eat that amount and burn more by exercising, you'll lose weight (absent medical conditions/crashed metabolism/etc.). The closer you get to your goal, the harder it will be to lose. Is there something magic about 120 pounds? You're so close to your goal that you might be better off concentrating on maintaining your weight and toning your muscles instead. (You will be burning more calories, and will look better with toned muscles, too.)

I assume you are logging your food. How does the analysis look? Are you getting enough protein? Enough fat? Your diet strikes me as very high in carbs and very low in real food that is nourishing. Where are the veggies? And an apple and a 100-calorie pack for lunch? Doesn't sound very good to me; sorry! (I had a wrap: roasted pepper hummus with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and diced celery on a whole wheat tortilla. I also had a peach.)

I have a question.....the fact that you eat small meals is GREAT? But PLEASE READ YOUR LIST AGAIN?

Its all Carbs? Wheere is the protien besides the peanut butter & eggs? Where is the chicken? Ham, pork, ? Cottage cheese? SOMETHING? The Veggies? Green beans, brussells, cauliflower, sweet potatoe, broccoli,??????

Lean meats, Veggies, then Fruits.... THEN processed foods......  Where is the "NUTRIONAL VALUE" in what your eating?

 I am not being mean please.. just curious? If you were asking me? ( as on here you are asking EVERYONE for advice) I would tell you that your eating not quite so many good foods? ie: pudding, 100 calorie packs ( Meant for treats not incorporate into everyday meals) syrup? pancakes? I know you stated they are fat free or sugar free, but remember if they are lacking in fat or sugar..... they are MADE up with "SOMETHING" else...... I have lost 118+ since Jan.. If you have any questions please just ask.... Im not sure your weight but I can offer any knowledge I may have. Good Luck!

i never had cottage cheese. til the other day..it was kinda a funkyy taste but i think i could deal..is there any things u can add to it like fruits or anything to make it more bearable