I'm eating clean and can't hit a 1200 calorie goal. Is that terrible?

[vrushton7]

Hi,

I am really trying to stop eating so much processed foods. I want to eat healthy and clean and get all of the chemicals and toxins out of my body, but I find it really hard to hit my 1200 calorie goal. I am not starving, but I know if I don't eat 1200 calories your body will go into a starvation mode. I eat as much as I can. I even eat everything on my plate when I'm full. I just want to be healthy and try to do this the best way possible. Any advice??

what my typical day looks like

Break fast: greek yogurt and a apple with pumpkin pie spice

Snacks: carrots, black berries, and cucumbers for snacks through out the day

Lunch: salad and broth soup

Dinner: 6 oz meat and 1 cup veggies.

[randre]

check out dr oz's two week plan. it has some other ideas of foods you can add in. i would add some nuts if i were you, or another piece of fruite. dr. oz's plan has you eating half cup of brown rice each day, i didn't notice any grains in your plan (maybe i didn't look too close?)

[Jabrat]

your body is like a car fill it up with gas - not enough - add a smoothie and a banana and some seeds - and you can put some fiber in there - really important - air popped popcorn!!  Apples are great fiber too!  

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@vrushton7 wrote:

Hi,

I am really trying to stop eating so much processed foods. I want to eat healthy and clean and get all of the chemicals and toxins out of my body, but I find it really hard to hit my 1200 calorie goal. I am not starving, but I know if I don't eat 1200 calories your body will go into a starvation mode. I eat as much as I can. I even eat everything on my plate when I'm full. I just want to be healthy and try to do this the best way possible. Any advice??

what my typical day looks like

Break fast: greek yogurt and a apple with pumpkin pie spice

Snacks: carrots, black berries, and cucumbers for snacks through out the day

Lunch: salad and broth soup

Dinner: 6 oz meat and 1 cup veggies.

---

[carl669]

here's my thoughts, if you're not hungry, don't force yourself to eat. the body has a pretty good system to let you know when you need food, so why go against it to meet an arbitrary number?

i'm under the impression that starvation mode is a myth anyway. at least the part that says "if you don't eat X amount of calories, you go into starvation mode".

http://www.fattyfightsback.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html

i'm thinking, if you're dieting, constantly feeling hungry and still not eating, then yes, your body might start stockpiling fat.  but, if you're saying you don't feel hungry, then i highly doubt there's a problem.  ever since i completely changed how and what i eat, i've noticed i actually have less hunger and eat FAR fewer calories (1500 now vs 2000+ before).  so, maybe that's what you're experiencing as well.  listen to your body, it knows you better than any other person or website.

[aliciak80]

Have you tried a program that involves a cleanse? I've been using Isagenix since last June and am 68 pounds down.

Nutritional cleansing is about bringing the body into balance by gently cleansing away toxins while feeding it high quality nutrients and minerals.

[gerrymcd]

In general 'clean food' has a much lower calorie density than highly processed food.  In otherwords you will be eating a much greater bulk for the same number of calories  - 1 cup of celery has 16 calories, whereas 1 cup of ice-cream has 300.    Which means you can eat 18 cups of celery instead of one cup of ice cream.  Ok, thats a more extreme example, but in general you can eat a lot of fruit and veg throughout the day and not come close to the calories in a big mac, fries and soda.   I guess your stomach is telling your brain you are full more than it did in the past.  Enjoy it while it lasts! 

[julid]

What toxins are you "cleansing" from your body that your liver fails to do?

OP- The best way to lose weight is to eat less and move more.. there's no magic pill, potion or type of food that will get you quicker results.

As for meeting your calorie goals try nutrient dense items like nuts and avocados

[aliciak80]

Cleansing questions answered:

http://www.mindbodybalance.net.au/what-is-isagenix-australia/

[carl669]

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@aliciak80 wrote:

Cleansing questions answered:

http://www.mindbodybalance.net.au/what-is-isagenix-australia/

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i've seen you and others talk about this Isagenix thing.  i'd be cautious of any product whose website doesn't list nutrition information and an ingredients list for each product.  granted, i just took a quick look around, but i would think it would be readily available on each product's page.  caveat emptor.

there's also quite a few statements in that link that throw up big red flags for me:

"It’s not a ‘’single organ” cleanse….. EVERY SINGLE CELL in your body, including your brain is cleansed without the nasty, ill effects that some detoxes result in."

-- ummm...no. 

"The system is not a liquid or starvation diet, you continue to eat frequently and abundantly throughout the day and your body is rejuvenated and replenished with natural botanicals, trace minerals, enzymes and incredible nutrients that are all scientifically proven to allow the body to be the miracle it is."

• so, everything you could get from just eating whole foods instead of processed junk.  why would you need a powder or a shake or an "Isasnack"?

"Ever wonder why you get that Yo-Yo effect with diets – lose weight then get it all back plus 10% more than you started with? It’s because they don’t address one of the main causes of weight accumulation – Toxicity. The body is protecting our organs from these toxins by creating more and more fat cells with which to coat the toxins and chemicals. Simple isn’t it? Get rid of the toxins and the body doesn’t need to create more and more fat cells."

• wow. i can't even begin to tackle the amount of issues in that paragraph.  so, i'll just address one of them.  the reason people gain the weight back is because they revert to their old habits.

"The Isagenix systems flood your body with all it needs nutritionally and at the same time assists it in removing the toxins and impurities that make us sick, tired and fat."

• toxins don't make us fat.  

"The products are all food. Superfoods in fact."

• there's no such thing as a superfood.  it's a media/marketing buzzword.  while some foods may have more nutritional benefits than others, saying something is a "superfood" is about as useful as saying "pointy things are pointy".

[JenniLacey]

Whatever you do... don't check out that snake oil salesman Doctor Oz's anything.

No, your body will not go into starvation mode if you dip below 1200 cals. The starvation response can kick in at 1500 cals, 1800 cals, at any number of calories depending on many individual factors. There isn't a "set" calorie intake that your body exhibits starvation symptoms. 1200 cals is simply the *bare minimum* a woman can possibly eat to ensure she's still meeting her nutrient requirements and that would be only under the conditions that her diet is flawlessly nutrient rich.

Eating the bare minimum requirements is *not* the best way to lose weight. Less, is not necessarily more when it comes to weight loss. Your body can plateau or hold fat and decide that any time you do pig out that it is necessary to store all those excess calories as fat to prepare for the next time food is scarce or even when you decide that you're done losing weight and want to maintain. You'll find you can't eat at the amount you should be able to eat and maintain without gaining a massive amount of weight back.

And yes, you *should* eat more even if you're not hungry. Part of the starvation response is that you would feel less hungry. Your body shuts down functions that it views as unnecessary in a time of famine to conserve more energy. This means you start burning less calories over all. If someone with aneorexia "listened to their body" they would continue only eating 400 cals a day because they eventually no longer feel hungry on that amount. If you listen to your body and only eat 1200 cals a day how would a person expect to maintain their weight when they need to eat more like 2000 cals? You increase your calories and your body adapts, you eat 1200 cals a day and your body no longer feels hungry on that amount after awhile. You eat 2000 cals a day and after awhile, you'd be starving if you tried to go back to 1200 cals.

Your best bet is to go for a less aggressive weight loss. For *most* women 1200 cals is not even close to enough calories especially if you are of average size or larger and workout or are active. The recommendations are not to eat less than 1200 cals, they are not that you should aim for 1200 cals to lose weight.

Thanks to everyone who already covered "toxins" and "cleanses". There is way, way too many of these cash health fads on the market and far too many susceptible individuals falling for them.

[aliciak80]

**Actually, Isagenix lists the ingredients for each item on their site. http://www.isagenix.com/~/media/product/isagenix-greens/greens-fact-panels/ca-en-fr-fact-panel-isage...

**I was simply responding to the original post who said she was trying to cleanse toxins and chemicals from her body.

**This product HAS worked for me

**I didn't realize we were verbally persecuted on this forum for voicing something that has worked for us and trying to help others.

[carl669]

product nutrition/ingredients - i stand corrected.  from the link you posted, i couldn't see easy links to the nutrional info.  from the main isagenix site, it's there.  my bad.

i did not intend to verbally persecute you or infer the product did not work for you.  i was merely pointing out the items from your link that were red flags for me.  for others, they may not be.  

in my experience, there's a lot of "diet aids" out there that are pure junk.  

[gerrymcd]

I didn't get a sense anyone was being verbally persecuted.  A discussion yes.  Persecution no.  

Topics such as supplements and diet aids can be sensitive.  Some people make money selling them (Isagenix is a multi-level marketed product, ie a pyramid scheme) and don't want their sales to be effected, other people feel bad if their advice appears to be negated by others....... personally, I dislike seeing people duped into spending money on ineffective (and potentially harmful) diet aids.  The diet industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise filled with overblown claims.  Any time I read/hear claims based on clinical/scientific research I read the primary literature critically.  

As for isagenix, the list of ingredients looks quite innocuous.  Mostly powdered veggies.  So, if it helped you then great!  Seriously.  That I'm happy to acept.  But, not claims of 'cleansing each cell'  As a scientist I view that as being one of the more absurd claims I've ever heard.

[julid]

You weren't being verbally persecuted... it's great that it works for you.. now. Will you continue to do it for the rest of your life.

Weight loss is about a lifestyle change and things like this are usually not substainable forever. The OP needs to find something that is substainable 

[sarahl]

 saying something is a "superfood" is about as useful as saying "pointy things are pointy".

hahahaha

Spoiler

[au4all]

Your body tends to go into starvation mode when you get very thin, not when you eat very little. Big people have big metabolisms.

Your diet looks like it's extremely low in protein.  Protein is an essential nutrient. If you don't eat protein your body will use muscle tissue for its needs. When you are dieting your protein needs go up.

Everyone dieting needs to eat protein and lift weights. Otherwise up to half the weight you lose can be muscle instead of fat.

By the way everything is a chemical. Water is a chemical -> H20.

How many grams of chemicals are in your body now? How will you know when 10 grams are gone? Unless you can answer those questions you might want to choose goals where you can measure the results.

[whome]

Quote- 

By the way everything is a chemical. Water is a chemical -> H20.

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Excellent - got to watch out for that dihydogen monoxide - see this post - http://www.snopes.com/science/dhmo.asp - it is almost hilarious

[Inga]

Add some fruit, Have a banana between breakfast and lunch, a mango for your afternoon snack, that's another 244 ultra-clean calories. There are beautiful pineapples, avocadoes and mangoes in every grocery store I visit lately.

[KJScarp]

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@JenniLacey wrote:

Whatever you do... don't check out that snake oil salesman Doctor Oz's anything.

No, your body will not go into starvation mode if you dip below 1200 cals. The starvation response can kick in at 1500 cals, 1800 cals, at any number of calories depending on many individual factors. There isn't a "set" calorie intake that your body exhibits starvation symptoms. 1200 cals is simply the *bare minimum* a woman can possibly eat to ensure she's still meeting her nutrient requirements and that would be only under the conditions that her diet is flawlessly nutrient rich.

Eating the bare minimum requirements is *not* the best way to lose weight. Less, is not necessarily more when it comes to weight loss. Your body can plateau or hold fat and decide that any time you do pig out that it is necessary to store all those excess calories as fat to prepare for the next time food is scarce or even when you decide that you're done losing weight and want to maintain. You'll find you can't eat at the amount you should be able to eat and maintain without gaining a massive amount of weight back.

And yes, you *should* eat more even if you're not hungry. Part of the starvation response is that you would feel less hungry. Your body shuts down functions that it views as unnecessary in a time of famine to conserve more energy. This means you start burning less calories over all. If someone with aneorexia "listened to their body" they would continue only eating 400 cals a day because they eventually no longer feel hungry on that amount. If you listen to your body and only eat 1200 cals a day how would a person expect to maintain their weight when they need to eat more like 2000 cals? You increase your calories and your body adapts, you eat 1200 cals a day and your body no longer feels hungry on that amount after awhile. You eat 2000 cals a day and after awhile, you'd be starving if you tried to go back to 1200 cals.

Your best bet is to go for a less aggressive weight loss. For *most* women 1200 cals is not even close to enough calories especially if you are of average size or larger and workout or are active. The recommendations are not to eat less than 1200 cals, they are not that you should aim for 1200 cals to lose weight.

Thanks to everyone who already covered "toxins" and "cleanses". There is way, way too many of these cash health fads on the market and far too many susceptible individuals falling for them.

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This is some of the best advice I've seen on this site. 

Figure out your BMR, and eat 150-200 calories above your BMR.  So long as you eat above your BMR and below your maintenance calories, you will lose weight.

Your sample diet appears to be woefully deficient in both proteins and healthy fats.  A handful of almonds or macadamia nuts will add a few hundred calories to your budget without adding a lot of volume.  Drizzle olive oil on your salad, and add some avocado.  Eat chicken thighs instead of the breast.  Keep the skin on your chicken.  Add a tablespoon or 2 of butter to your veggies.  Eat whole eggs instead of just the whites.  Sautee your foods in olive oil or coconut oil. 

[Metina]

Well, are you loosing weight?  At then end of the day isn't that what you are trying to accomplish.  No offense to others, but this topic went way off the deep end.  If you are eating clean and loosing weight who cares if you can't get to 1,200 cals.  What works for some, doesn't work for others.