I have had a really horrible weekend but tomorrow I REALLY want to get back on my health plan

I am trying to eat only 1200 calories everyday
(My biggest issue that I have had every since I can remember is the fact that I have horrible eating skills. I don't eat a lot of bad things like beef and fast food but then I do not like to eat vegetables and fruits. Its something that I have to just deal with)
Therefore the foods that I am eating are low fat things
8 glasses of 8 oz water per day
Exercise for about hr
30 mins in the elliptical and the rest lifting weights and a high resistance bicycling for like 10 mins

I believe this is doable for my life is there any advice or things I should be doing differently?
Also as long as I stick to my 1200 calories per day does it matter what I eat? ...I am not going to eat 1200 calories worth of candy OF COURSE but if I have light food will I be ok?

I think if you are going to work out an hour a day that 1200 calories is much too low. I think you should eat 1500 calories a day if you stick with the 1 hour workout. Merely because if you eat too little 1- your body will be starving and you are more likely to binge and 2- your body will not get enough nutrients to effectively burn fat.

I would stick to stuff that's as nutritionally sound as possible since you will be doing a lot of working out. Lots of lean protein because your muscles are going to need them, and also make sure you are giving your body one day of rest a week. I would suggest for weights do one day upper, one day lower, then one day rest, that way each muscle group gets 48 hours of rest in between workouts- you don't want to tear something by working out too hard.

Other than that yes you don't have to be 100% perfect but given the choice of a whole wheat turkey sandwich and a side salad vs. a bologna sandwich and chips you'd want to go for the first set

I would also advise you to eat more. Start at 1500 or even 1700 a day and see how your weight loss goes. There's time enough to cut back later if it slows down.

What you eat matters in that healthy foods will help you stay on plan. If you eat foods that aren't filling over the long haul (which includes candy, but can also include things like bread and cereal), you'll get hungry, and hunger leads to eating off plan. When that happens, you'll blame yourself for "giving in", but it's not about "giving in", it's about never getting so hungry that you are seriously tempted to "give in". This is why veggies are so convenient: you can eat a serving-bowl full of steamed broccoli or baked cabbage and be stuffed for very few calories.

Whatever you do, keep good records (write down what you eat, how much you exercise, and your weight, even if you aren't happy with one or more of them) and be open to tweaking. This is all a great experiment to find the perfect combination for you. You'll know you've found it when the weight starts coming off and it's easy.

Thanks, I am thinking of only working out 5 days a week .. I was worried about the 1500 calories per day because I hear that one must burn more calories then what they take in. But I'd be burning less then 600 calories per day only 5 days a week I am hoping to loss 2 pounds per week. Doing the math it sounds like I will gain a half a pound per week instead.

If you are planning to calorie count, have you set up an account with a free calorie counting website like thedailyplate.com? 1200 calories is much too low and given that you plan to exercise 5 days a week, you could easily increase your calories and still lose weight. I mention thedailyplate.com because that is what I used while calorie counting and it was wonderful!

Because you are at a higher weight and working out at the rate you are, you need more calories to get your body moving! Your body will think "hey I am being worked to the bone here! And I'm not getting as much food as before! Ah I have to store what I can!" - if you stay at 1200

But if you bump it up! Your body won't think it's stressed! Then tweak it as you go!

Remember that you burn a ton of calories just keeping your heart beating, your lungs moving, and the normal moving of your body around. That burns way more calories than exercise.

I really like this daily calorie estimator: the number will look high, but it's always worked for me.

One note of caution, though: it only works if it's your true average--not your intended goal. That's why you have to include the days where you eat more than you planned in your record keeping, so that you know your true average.

I totally agree with above posters- you need to eat more. I started out that way thinking 1200 was okay but I was hungry all the time and I exercised a lot at the time. Yes, you may lose weight but you have to remember when you get down to a lower weight, you will have to eat lower so are you gonna eat below 1200? I don't think so. Start with 1500 to 1700 calories per day. Listen to your body.

Thanks guys I went on the website for how many calories I should take and it was higher then I imagine. HOPEFULLY IT DOES WORK AND I lose weight thanks!!

Hopefully it will too but don't give up if it doesn't because I've heard from other people that they gain a little bit when eating more calories than usual- this is the body adjusting and it WILL come off!! It happened to me because I was undereating for so long, 1200 would make me gain! >_< But all is well now, I can still lose at 1700 to 1900 calories a day depending on how often I exercised. GL!

I'm going to disagree with everyone and say there is nothing wrong with 1200 calories a day even with working out a hour a day. That's how I started and as a 6'9" male my caloric needs were much higher than yours.

You might find it is not sustainable for a variety of reasons but your body has a ton of energy on board right now.

I'll agree that you want to get a lot of lean protein and you need to eat your veggies.

JohnP- ok but what happens when s/he stops losing at 1200 as she loses weight? Does that mean she has to lower it so she can keep losing?

Good question. First, she isn't going to stop losing any time soon if she eats 1200 calories a day + an hour of exercise. If/when she does I wouldn't suggest lowering calories I'd suggest taking a diet break.

One thing that has worked well for me is alternating periods of dieting with periods of not dieting. When I'm done dieting I slowly raise my calories up to maintinence over the course of a week or so. A full diet break should last at least two weeks but I've taken much longer ones. This gives you a mental break and helps your body reset it's hormonal balance.

I'm surprised people on this board don't talk about diet breaks more.

i am also starting to doubt the old legend that if you eat too few calories your body will reach "starvation mode". As another poster said, if that were true, people lost at sea wouldn't lose weight steadily! Also, people on shows like "heavy" wouldn't lose. i am not saying it has no credence, i just would like to learn more about it before i take it as truth.

That being said she may be able to up her calories, be more comfortable, and still lose weight. But 1200 calories of good whole nutritous foods isn't an awful plan.

To the OP, i suppose the best plan is to start counting & see how it works for you, be it 1200 or 1500

-fm