To eat just 1200 calories a day...

[lostmyslippers]

I really really need to shift my flab!! Nothing fits me :-((
How many calories do you eat per day and what do you eat? I am trying to walk a bit more too as I hate the gym and never stick to it anyway. So I am trying to curb the calories...

My calorie consumption wouldn't mean much to you, as I have auto-immune hypothyroidism and my calorie consumption is ridiculously low for my weight :D.

I would say get a fitness tracker and start using MyFitnessPal so that you can first get an insight into your eating habits.

Only then can you start to sensibly lose your weight. :)

@Idontdowindows I have both but I'm really struggling with what I can actually eat within 1200 calories...I'm getting bored of carrot sticks!

I need to stick at 1200 to keep my weight what it should be. I love food though so I rarely do. It is doable though, I was the strongest and fittest when I was keeping to 1200 and only eating more when I was training hard.

@lostmyslippers then don't do 1200 calories. What does MFP say your BMR is?

I'm 5 foot 2 inch, small frame in a sedentary job. My basal metabolic rate per day is about 1200 calories. To maintain/lose weight I aim for 1000 calories per day monday-Friday. 1500 at weekends. 8000 calories per week. This seems to work for. I'm just under 40 years old and just under 9 stone, looking well I think.

Not unreasonable I suppose but quite difficult to sustain I would've thought. I use a calorie counting app that allows 1400 to lose at a steady rate and it is a challenge to stick to.

You could try 1200 for a week or two as a kick start, but personally I would feel like I could eat pretty much nothing.

I lost almost 2 stone doing 1500 cals a day. I'm about 5ft 8 and start weight was 11st 11. Took me about 3 months I think but did have a cheat day every week!

If I calorie count, I can't lose on more than 1000 a day .

1000 cals a day Ticket? what does your day look like, food wise?

@ScreamingValenta have you ever had your thyroid checked? If you're not losing weight on 1000 calories, something else is going on.

I BSD. 800 cals per day, low carb, for 8-12 weeks at a time. Lost 4 stone last year in 2 8 week rounds.

I can do 1200 calories if I skip carbs. They soon add up.
It would be eg bacon and tomatoes for breakfast, soup for lunch, bolognese sauce with broccoli/lettuce, or if I make fajitas for the family just have the innards and salad.
You can get a few treats in there too.
The trick is to up your protein so it keeps you full, and cut back on carbs which ramp up the calories.

What you eat is as/more important than calories.

The trick is to up your protein

You need more good fat than protein.

Can I just say that you need carbs to convert inactive T4 to active T3 and if you have a thyroid condition a low carb diet is not a good idea.

Even in healthy people it can cause changes in thyroid function.

Yes, my thyroid is OK - though I had often wondered about it in the past. I had major surgery last year and in the run up, all my bloods were tested to the nth degree. I gave up with calorie counting as it was too restrictive and have been low-carbing for almost a year, which is working, albeit v. v. slowly (typically half a pound a fortnight). I am just cursed with a slow metabolism; also have a relatively low amount to lose (1.5 stone) which also affects how much I can eat.

@ScreamingValenta yeah, if your metabolism is slow, it's going to be a bit of a slog :)

I've recently started doing this most days as I was finding i just wasn't losing weight. What's working seems to be:
Drinking apple cider vinegar with hot water first thing as an appetite suppressant (controversial but I've noticed it helps.
Breakfast includes an egg (then full til lunch)
Normal but moderate lunch and dinner, and only snack on fruit.
I've gone to bed very slightly hungry but tried to ignore it. Quickly realised I was needing less to feel full.

No breakfast except 1 tea and 2 coffees over the morning period. I know people don't agree with skipping breakfast but I actually don't like eating early and find it makes me hungrier. I have 2 sachets of slimfast porridge (200 cals total) or chicken/veg for lunch and chicken/veg dinner in the evening. Cup of coffee/options hot chocolate in the evening. It's hard but I've done it for years. The extra calories at weekend are used for snacks/wine. I'm slim and I exercise a couple of times a week. I know this doesn't sound much but I am petite so it's all relative.

Are you eating the calories you're getting from your fitness tracker? I eat all mine back and lose at the expected rate when I'm on a deficit. You might need to tweak what proportion you eat back depending on your tracker and what kind of exercise you do.

What have you set your loss rate to be? Might be better to go slower if it means you're more likely to stick to it.

I know people don't agree with skipping breakfast

That’s another area where the science has moved on. I believe it was cereal manufacturers that peddled the “most important meal” bollocks.

Idontdowindows That is interesting what you say about the low carb/thyroid issues thing.

I've been low carbing on and off (mostly on) for about four years now. I had a regular NHS health check, including all bloods, three weeks ago and they show I am producing high levels of TSH and my thyroid is under-performing slightly. I've been finding it harder and harder to lose weight and I'm pretty much down to one meal a day now and still stuck at 10st 11, and have been for the last month, despite hardly eating.

Of course not, that's hardly a super restrictive amount. I'm 5ft so 1300cal is normal for me if I'm not exercising or i put weight on. I pretty much eat what I want just smaller amounts.

try Lots of ideas- some are crap though

I do 8:16 during the week, ticketstub, so not totally different to you. I often don't eat at all until lunchtime, possibly even 2/2.30 depending on work. I drink about 1.5l of herbal tea until then. Then I'll have lunch and dinner and maybe something (toast) about 9/10pm after exercising. I'm always starving the nights I go swimming. I've been very undisciplined in the last couple of weeks and really notice that I'm hungry earlier in the day when I eat more.

I also do BSD. I aim for 800-1000 calories Monday-Thursday then have 1200 at the weekend. I’m losing around 1-2lb a week at the moment, but consistently. I run or do a dvd every day (since Jan 1st)

My weekday consists of:
milk in coffee,
a shake made from almond milk, frozen berries, maca powder and avocado (or peanut butter), or a green salad with 100 calories of cheese/ham
Evening meal around 450-500 calories.

No pasta, rice, potato, grain or sugar. I still eat carbs, in veg and dairy.

I’ve lost about 15lb but I have lost lots of inches. I have another 15lb to go, I’d like to be at target by our holiday at the end of May.