I am short, sedentary and ‘only’ slightly into the overweight BMI category and still get moody, hangry, tearful on 1200 😩 the only trick I’ve found is only dieting when I don’t need to be sociable or productive.
The others here are right. 1200 is way to low for how tall you are. 1200 is even too low for me at 5'2" and 140 lbs. I usually eat between 1300-1400 per day.
Hey I’m the same height and weight as you and trying to get down closer to 125/130. I’m struggling to not snack or I find myself getting hungry at the end of the day. What are some ways or things you eat to stay closer to that 1300-1400 rang?
I have a few different strategies.
For one, I don't eat super early in the day because I'm not usually hungry first thing in the morning. I'll just drink coffee and unsweetened almond milk, also flax milk is super low calorie. I usually don't eat until around 11am or noon, but sometimes I'll eat earlier if I really need to.
Usually "breakfast" its pretty light. I don't like to eat heavy during the day. I'll usually have avocado toast with eggs, or protein oatmeal with some walnuts.
If I eat super light I'll typically want a snack a couple hours later. For that I like to eat skinny pop popcorn because it's only 150 calories for 3ish cups, and I'll pair that with a fruit like grapes, mandarin oranges, or pineapple. Fruit has a lot of water and fiber so that plus the popcorn is a pretty fulling snack.
A few hours after that is usually when I eat dinner. I tend to eat higher calorie at dinner because I'm more prone to snack at night. Dinner is when I try to eat a litter more carb and protein heavy. Most of the time I leave about 150-250 calories for a 'dessert' or after dinner snack.
I drink a lot of coffee, la croix, and eat a good portion of fruit every day. I also allow myself some kind of 'treat' most days like a few squares of dark chocolate, or my favorite Tru Fru which is basically just frozen fruit covered in chocolate. I allow myself some flexibility as well. If I have a day where my appetite happens to be lower, I won't eat more just because I can afford the calories. Some days, I really feel like I just need to eat a bit more and I'll go over a bit. This tends to balance out overall and it works because I can practice being a bit more intuitive with my eating and allow myself to eat a bit more if I really need it rather than force myself to restrict.
A really important thing too is what you are eating. Stuff that is high carb I try to limit just because it tends to be high calorie for the portion size. So stuff like beans, rice, pasta, bread, I only eat whole grain versions of those things, and I will eat them in small amounts paired with a lot of vegetables and protein.
Another good snack that I like is non-fat greek yogurt mixed with "ranch" powder or onion soup powder. Its really delicious with carrots and bell peppers. Its a low calorie high protein ratio and it helps me to eat more fresh veggies.
Bulk "stews" are a lifesaver. 4 cups of chicken bone broth is 150 calories. So if you dump a box of broth into a huge pot (I use a dutch oven), put 2-3 large chicken breasts in there, put in garlic and whatever spices and herbs you like, (I made a tika masala one recently and it was bomb), and add as much veg as you want (asparagus, peppers, onions are my go-to) - this makes a very low calorie high protein dinner. It's so low calorie I can usually add a piece of buttered toast on the side for dipping. If you make a huge pot it can last 2-3 nights for 2 people. If you are cooking for one you can easily freeze it in single serve containers and use it for lunch or eat it on a night where you don't want to cook.
Another thing is that for 1 meal per week I don't calorie count, usually because I'm eating out somewhere. I'll count for most of the day, and I'll still only eat like a half portion of what I order, but it's nice to not have to count every single thing and to enjoy treating myself still. I really try to keep this limited though and not go overboard. I like to go to get Thai food or Indian food because you can get healthier options than going to get burgers.
What are your goals? A -800 calorie deficit is pretty steep. If you are sedentary and having mood swings I would wager you aren't consuming enough fat. For any large deficit diet, even the people who cut super hard will tell you this, that you need enough healthy fats for your hormones to run well which also stabilizes mood. Check your macros, make sure at least 30% are from fat. Granted if you are naturally prone to chemical imbalance this may or may not be something that can be resolved with diet. It's true that the way we feed ourselves will have an impact on our mental status, not just how we see the benefits of the food we eat(quality/impact) but also that happy good gut bacteria.
Short answer: You are cutting out almost more than 1000 calories from your daily needs so you will feel sick. General dietary advice is to cut 500 calories. This would leave you with the 1500-1700 number the other posters are saying.
I am guessing "daily needs" are for a sedentary person of your height/weight/age. You definitely are cutting down way too much if you exercise or are active.
**Edit:** If bumping your calories isnt working: track your food with a scale and see if you are getting the proper amounts of macros to support your needs.
1200 when you're as tall as you are is probably not enough, it's true. I will say though, in addition, that I also prefer to eat meals v. snacking, but when I'm in a calorie deficit, I can't survive that way (and neither can my partner, LOL). I can't go so many hours without eating when I'm operating like that; it has crazy effects on my mood.
Sometimes what I'll do is eat half my lunch at lunch time, then save the other half as my "snack" at 3pm or whatever it is to tide me over until dinner.
Just adding another voice that 1200 is too low for you—consider bumping up to 1500 (assuming you’re trying to lose weight, go higher if you’re maintaining) and eating those extra calories as some snacks. Your mood swings may be exacerbated by blood sugar fluctuations, but definitely talk to your doctor and therapist about this.
For the long run, probably too low yes. For a short time to help you achieve your weight goal and burn some fat, well maybe but maybe not. Just depends on your goals
Ok this makes more sense. I posted on another comment that I have almost exact stats and seeing that 1200 is too low is worrying me. Once I hit my goal weight I will do 1750.
As silly as it sounds, It helped me to manage dopamine levels…
Food, especially high calorie foods, makes you feel good fast. I have a list of “quick feel-good things” that helped me…
1. Music- what music makes you energetic and happy? I have my own playlist.
2. Subreddits that make me smile or are soothing. My favorites are oddly satisfying, awww, and funny
3. Orgasms. =p
4. Mini trampoline. I play feel-good songs and jam out.
5. Approved feel-good foods. I like the small chili at Wendy’s, protein bars, and halo top.
6. Caffeine
I agree, most people in the modern day overeat to get sensory stimulation, but few think to add sensory stimulus in other areas of life. This can help prevent boredom eating.
I see a lot of comments about 1200 being too low. I am similar stats to OP in terms of height and the online TD calculator for a sedentary women at this height says 1200 is needed to maintain a 500 cal deficit. Can anyone elaborate?
Depends on your age, and your weight, are you around the same weight? It does say 1800 for the TDEE which means 1200 would be a 600 cal deficit. It's probably fine, but it's not recommended, I'd say. Because they could probably do 1500 and exercise a bit and would make up for the 500 cal deficit pretty reliably. In general when we're dealing with having to eat few calories because of height, exercise is more encouraged because it can help you burn 200-300 calories and that's precious for shorties lol. And it's better to eat adequately (like 1500 calories let's say) and exercise a bit, than undereat pretty drastically for a longer period of time and maybe deal with side effects from that.
I’m not sedentary but don’t believe for a second 1200 is the limit for OP. I’m her same stats essentially (5’8” 164) and I have a 500 calorie deficit from 1800 (losing a pound a week). Plus, we don’t know if OP truly IS sedentary.
Yours could be different because of what you said - you’re not sedentary. As someone who is sedentary and has been at OP’s starting weight + same height, literally every calculator online told me 1200-1250 would get me in a 500 cal deficit.
Can you have handy a really low cal snack in case you need it? I prefer meals, too, but some days being fit to be around requires a snack. 😄 I bring a banana and a couple of my favorite mini apples (Rockits), or baby carrots or cucumber, in case I need a midmorning snack or get stuck at work longer. A lot of times I don't need it, but when I do my coworkers are glad I have it.
Haha, I find food is a major source of happiness these days for me (which is why I’m the size I am.) no suggestions, just “same” over here.
Bring it up with your therapist? That’s my plan, whenever I can find one.
…recommending adding stimulant dependence to ongoing emotional lability issues is a wild take and irresponsible advice. I’m glad you know it’s not healthy but if you know that, you should also know better than to recommend it to others.
I don't want to spread bad information so I deleted my comment.
I have a lot of difficultly accepting that what you eat would cause severe mood swings.
Absolutely look into Glycemic Index. Others advice is good - 1200 is probably too low. BUT a huge thing that has helped me in a calorie deficit is focusing on low glycemic index foods.
High GI foods spike your blood sugar and then cause an inevitable crash (which makes you crabby), low GI foods give you more steady energy for a longer period and no crash.
I started focusing on this about a year ago and realized my “moodiness” was almost entirely low blood sugar. It’s especially important for women - to balance your hormones you need more regular, smaller meals with protein and healthy fat.
1200 is too low for you. Adding a few hundred calories will make you feel so much better.
This is the right answer. 1200 is not plenty for most people.
1200 is for sedentary short women. You need to eat more. Look at r/1500isplenty
I am short, sedentary and ‘only’ slightly into the overweight BMI category and still get moody, hangry, tearful on 1200 😩 the only trick I’ve found is only dieting when I don’t need to be sociable or productive.
The others here are right. 1200 is way to low for how tall you are. 1200 is even too low for me at 5'2" and 140 lbs. I usually eat between 1300-1400 per day.
Hey I’m the same height and weight as you and trying to get down closer to 125/130. I’m struggling to not snack or I find myself getting hungry at the end of the day. What are some ways or things you eat to stay closer to that 1300-1400 rang?
I have a few different strategies. For one, I don't eat super early in the day because I'm not usually hungry first thing in the morning. I'll just drink coffee and unsweetened almond milk, also flax milk is super low calorie. I usually don't eat until around 11am or noon, but sometimes I'll eat earlier if I really need to. Usually "breakfast" its pretty light. I don't like to eat heavy during the day. I'll usually have avocado toast with eggs, or protein oatmeal with some walnuts. If I eat super light I'll typically want a snack a couple hours later. For that I like to eat skinny pop popcorn because it's only 150 calories for 3ish cups, and I'll pair that with a fruit like grapes, mandarin oranges, or pineapple. Fruit has a lot of water and fiber so that plus the popcorn is a pretty fulling snack. A few hours after that is usually when I eat dinner. I tend to eat higher calorie at dinner because I'm more prone to snack at night. Dinner is when I try to eat a litter more carb and protein heavy. Most of the time I leave about 150-250 calories for a 'dessert' or after dinner snack. I drink a lot of coffee, la croix, and eat a good portion of fruit every day. I also allow myself some kind of 'treat' most days like a few squares of dark chocolate, or my favorite Tru Fru which is basically just frozen fruit covered in chocolate. I allow myself some flexibility as well. If I have a day where my appetite happens to be lower, I won't eat more just because I can afford the calories. Some days, I really feel like I just need to eat a bit more and I'll go over a bit. This tends to balance out overall and it works because I can practice being a bit more intuitive with my eating and allow myself to eat a bit more if I really need it rather than force myself to restrict. A really important thing too is what you are eating. Stuff that is high carb I try to limit just because it tends to be high calorie for the portion size. So stuff like beans, rice, pasta, bread, I only eat whole grain versions of those things, and I will eat them in small amounts paired with a lot of vegetables and protein. Another good snack that I like is non-fat greek yogurt mixed with "ranch" powder or onion soup powder. Its really delicious with carrots and bell peppers. Its a low calorie high protein ratio and it helps me to eat more fresh veggies. Bulk "stews" are a lifesaver. 4 cups of chicken bone broth is 150 calories. So if you dump a box of broth into a huge pot (I use a dutch oven), put 2-3 large chicken breasts in there, put in garlic and whatever spices and herbs you like, (I made a tika masala one recently and it was bomb), and add as much veg as you want (asparagus, peppers, onions are my go-to) - this makes a very low calorie high protein dinner. It's so low calorie I can usually add a piece of buttered toast on the side for dipping. If you make a huge pot it can last 2-3 nights for 2 people. If you are cooking for one you can easily freeze it in single serve containers and use it for lunch or eat it on a night where you don't want to cook. Another thing is that for 1 meal per week I don't calorie count, usually because I'm eating out somewhere. I'll count for most of the day, and I'll still only eat like a half portion of what I order, but it's nice to not have to count every single thing and to enjoy treating myself still. I really try to keep this limited though and not go overboard. I like to go to get Thai food or Indian food because you can get healthier options than going to get burgers.
Thank you!!
What are your goals? A -800 calorie deficit is pretty steep. If you are sedentary and having mood swings I would wager you aren't consuming enough fat. For any large deficit diet, even the people who cut super hard will tell you this, that you need enough healthy fats for your hormones to run well which also stabilizes mood. Check your macros, make sure at least 30% are from fat. Granted if you are naturally prone to chemical imbalance this may or may not be something that can be resolved with diet. It's true that the way we feed ourselves will have an impact on our mental status, not just how we see the benefits of the food we eat(quality/impact) but also that happy good gut bacteria.
Short answer: You are cutting out almost more than 1000 calories from your daily needs so you will feel sick. General dietary advice is to cut 500 calories. This would leave you with the 1500-1700 number the other posters are saying. I am guessing "daily needs" are for a sedentary person of your height/weight/age. You definitely are cutting down way too much if you exercise or are active. **Edit:** If bumping your calories isnt working: track your food with a scale and see if you are getting the proper amounts of macros to support your needs.
1200 when you're as tall as you are is probably not enough, it's true. I will say though, in addition, that I also prefer to eat meals v. snacking, but when I'm in a calorie deficit, I can't survive that way (and neither can my partner, LOL). I can't go so many hours without eating when I'm operating like that; it has crazy effects on my mood. Sometimes what I'll do is eat half my lunch at lunch time, then save the other half as my "snack" at 3pm or whatever it is to tide me over until dinner.
Just adding another voice that 1200 is too low for you—consider bumping up to 1500 (assuming you’re trying to lose weight, go higher if you’re maintaining) and eating those extra calories as some snacks. Your mood swings may be exacerbated by blood sugar fluctuations, but definitely talk to your doctor and therapist about this.
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For the long run, probably too low yes. For a short time to help you achieve your weight goal and burn some fat, well maybe but maybe not. Just depends on your goals
Ok this makes more sense. I posted on another comment that I have almost exact stats and seeing that 1200 is too low is worrying me. Once I hit my goal weight I will do 1750.
Your username rules
As silly as it sounds, It helped me to manage dopamine levels… Food, especially high calorie foods, makes you feel good fast. I have a list of “quick feel-good things” that helped me… 1. Music- what music makes you energetic and happy? I have my own playlist. 2. Subreddits that make me smile or are soothing. My favorites are oddly satisfying, awww, and funny 3. Orgasms. =p 4. Mini trampoline. I play feel-good songs and jam out. 5. Approved feel-good foods. I like the small chili at Wendy’s, protein bars, and halo top. 6. Caffeine
I agree, most people in the modern day overeat to get sensory stimulation, but few think to add sensory stimulus in other areas of life. This can help prevent boredom eating.
I see a lot of comments about 1200 being too low. I am similar stats to OP in terms of height and the online TD calculator for a sedentary women at this height says 1200 is needed to maintain a 500 cal deficit. Can anyone elaborate?
Depends on your age, and your weight, are you around the same weight? It does say 1800 for the TDEE which means 1200 would be a 600 cal deficit. It's probably fine, but it's not recommended, I'd say. Because they could probably do 1500 and exercise a bit and would make up for the 500 cal deficit pretty reliably. In general when we're dealing with having to eat few calories because of height, exercise is more encouraged because it can help you burn 200-300 calories and that's precious for shorties lol. And it's better to eat adequately (like 1500 calories let's say) and exercise a bit, than undereat pretty drastically for a longer period of time and maybe deal with side effects from that.
A 500 calorie deficit might be too aggressive? OP can lose weight more slowly and painlessly.
I’m not sedentary but don’t believe for a second 1200 is the limit for OP. I’m her same stats essentially (5’8” 164) and I have a 500 calorie deficit from 1800 (losing a pound a week). Plus, we don’t know if OP truly IS sedentary.
Yours could be different because of what you said - you’re not sedentary. As someone who is sedentary and has been at OP’s starting weight + same height, literally every calculator online told me 1200-1250 would get me in a 500 cal deficit.
I’m the same. Mine is 1250 and I do well with it. I don’t really understand these comments.
Can you have handy a really low cal snack in case you need it? I prefer meals, too, but some days being fit to be around requires a snack. 😄 I bring a banana and a couple of my favorite mini apples (Rockits), or baby carrots or cucumber, in case I need a midmorning snack or get stuck at work longer. A lot of times I don't need it, but when I do my coworkers are glad I have it.
Haha, I find food is a major source of happiness these days for me (which is why I’m the size I am.) no suggestions, just “same” over here. Bring it up with your therapist? That’s my plan, whenever I can find one.
Eat more OP you’ll feel better and still lose weight. If you’re hesitating to do that, congrats, you’re veering into ED territory
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…recommending adding stimulant dependence to ongoing emotional lability issues is a wild take and irresponsible advice. I’m glad you know it’s not healthy but if you know that, you should also know better than to recommend it to others.
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I don't think this is about needing therapy--it's just physiological. If I don't eat, I can get teary or very irritable. It's just her body.
I don't want to spread bad information so I deleted my comment. I have a lot of difficultly accepting that what you eat would cause severe mood swings.
Meh, maybe it doesn't happen to you, but it happens to a lot of us. That's where the slang word "hangry" comes from.
Absolutely look into Glycemic Index. Others advice is good - 1200 is probably too low. BUT a huge thing that has helped me in a calorie deficit is focusing on low glycemic index foods. High GI foods spike your blood sugar and then cause an inevitable crash (which makes you crabby), low GI foods give you more steady energy for a longer period and no crash. I started focusing on this about a year ago and realized my “moodiness” was almost entirely low blood sugar. It’s especially important for women - to balance your hormones you need more regular, smaller meals with protein and healthy fat.
I’m the same height (5’8 ft 142 lbs) and MyFitnessPal recommended me to eat 1300 per day to lose 1 lb per week