raisinet's Journal, 11 May 20

I hear you. I'm also doing 1200 a day with a goal of reaching 129 pounds and it can be very hard to stick to. I try and plan my meals in advance daily and input what I plan to eat in the app first thing in the morning so I can make adjustments as necessary. I have had luck with losing weight at 1200 calories but find if I go over one day, my weight reflects it. What has worked best for me at keeping my weight down and keeping me full is having oatmeal/overnight oats with berries, cinnamon, almond milk and a sprinkle of walnuts each morning. Good luck to you! 

Also, I find intermittent fasting pretty effective! And lots of warm water with lemon. 

less concern about the calories. more about what foods are you eating. and no sweeteners except for swerve or pure monkfruit! do you have a sample of the foods you eat regularly? 

Thanks! I agree I will have to meal plan more often. I have some restrictions.. no dairy or wheat.. and I find I overeat to compensate for missing out on the foods I love. I have tried intermittent fasting in the past and had some success. Thanks for the reminder, I will try that again too! 

I think there are a lot of women who need to stay down at 1200 calories to maintain their weight at the slim figure they prefer, but it is very difficult to stay that low in calories. Can you increase your calories burned a bit, say by 200 calories per day, to allow you to sometimes eat 1300 to 1500 calories without weight gain? I go for a 55 min walk most days, and then I can maintain my weight. However, at 5'5" you may really have a natural set point of about 150 lb, and that would be very healthy and normal. We just all want to be slimmer, because we look and feel better, more attractive, when we are slim. Clothes fit better too. Good luck.  

I eat 1100 calories per day: smothie (milk, banana, strawberries) around 6 am then any type of stew around 1pm ( rice or beans, beef/chicken and available veggies) then a piece of chocolate or grapes around 4-5 pm then I exercise one hour a day of elliptical workout. around 8 pm lots of filling veggies like brocoli and cauliflower with cottage cheese. These make me bounce around 1100 calories (300 cal for breakfast, 500/600 cal for lunch and 100 cal snack and 200 cal dinner) When i feel hungry between breakfast and lunch i drink water or tea or black coffee. I plan at night my next day food so i have a plan to follow Good luck 

Oh i eat whole wheat pasta too. Well, i eat everything in moderation because i feel a balanced diet is the best when it’s combined with exercise. 

I lost 6 lbs in a week eating just enough to fill my hunger ( ~ 800cals/day or less). I drink coke zero, eat a bit of peanut butter and 3 eggs. I also fast 16 hrs a day. I eat whatever works for me basically. I’m 5’6 at 130lbs. 

if you aren't have you considered eating keto? it just takes the weight to quite a degree off calorie countin and just seems to make this whole thing easier. The only thing I really watch is my carbs number..and my fat number. only reason i watch the fat is I know I need at least 100gm to feel sated, especially because I'm currently eating one meal a day. I look at calories after the fact but its not a driver for me. What foods you eat trump number of calories. 

agreed that 1200 is hard to stay at... especially for the rest of your life. if you eat that amount on a regular basis then your body gets used to functioning at that qty. and you will struggle keeping the weight off. it is unhealthy to diet more than that because your body seriously need the nutrients from food to do all kinds of tasks that we aren't even aware of. yes, at first you will gain a little weight.... that is showing you that you are used to the 12000 caloric intake, but that initial weight gain will only help you actually shed the weight in the future through other means than dietary restriction. what I'm saying is that you can actually loose more weight by maintaining an active lifestyle and enough nutrients to function at a premium quality. best wishes and dont be too hard on yourself! we should feel good in our bodies and still enjoy every day that we live.  

I am roughly the same height and weight and want to get down to 130-135. What I’ve found that has worked in the past is to only eat carbs after I exercise. So breakfast and lunch no carbs and then I’d go to the gym after work and let myself eat carbs for dinner. It worked like a charm, I started to see the weight come off. My bootcamp instructor suggested it.  

Are you weighing the food it going by what the back of the packages say? I've found that the portions listed on things are way out compared to the weights. I got small scale to keep everything in line and probably saved 200 or more calories a day by doing that. 

Try eating high protein breakfast. Heathy smoothie with whey protein in it. 

I know you posted this awhile ago but I am the same height and almost at goal (135). I lose (slowly) at 1600-1700 calories per day but I work out an hour 5 or 6 days a week plus I stay active with walks and house cleaning. So maybe try upping your calories and your activity. No way could I live with 1200 every day- there’s no room for treats!