1200 Calorie People..How do you do it and stick with it?

Cher_Z

I'm with the person who upped their calories.

I started doing this last year at 1200 calories and I was hungry all the time. Felt miserable and couldn't stay with it, I eat a lot of veggies etc but I like to graze, keeps my energy up etc. Also even when I don't exercise I'm a natural fidget, so I was probably not eating enough.

This year I manually changed it to 1600. Perfect for me. I'm no longer hungry. Lost some weight in a short period of time and feel energetic and happy. 1200 calories may work for some but it definitely didn't work for me. If you're hungry all the time then it's probably best to increase your caloric intake.

ushie2611

do what is right for you...if it works for you thats good...i plateaued for almost 6 months because i followed everyone elses advice

jakichan

For me 1200 calories works with low-energy-density foods. A lot of broth-based soups, salads with zero-cal dressing, etc. Stuff that fills you up without a lot of calories.

nycolepinkgirl

I started with 1,240, set by MFP in June 2014. It started out hard but eventually got used to it. example Cheerios in the morning with 1% milk, a fruit and yogurt. Snack- anything around 200 calories. Lunch 300 calories (mostly protein) dinner for the rest of the calories. Lost 2-3 Lbs a week. Then I reset it down to 1000 calories and used the additional calories as if I'm "cheating" to get back up to 1,200 and I usually eat my calories on days I feel deprived or hungry which is about 200-300 calories. it's all in my head, because if "cheat" I feel fuller and it has worked 18Lbs later as of 8/30/14! Oh and I live in New York and walk everywhere so I'm burning calories without trying.

paperpudding

This is an old thread and OP has deactivated now.

LAT1963

Snark: By lying?

astroophys

Snark: By lying?

Nope, many people are able to do it.

Truth: Crab mentality.

DalbozTheLantern

A few years ago, I ate 1,200 calories a day for months because some medication I was on had made me gain weight. I did lose all the weight and more... but I didn't exercise. I'm also a vegetarian, so I could probably eat more than a meat eater because the food I eat doesn't have a lot of calories most of the time.

Now I AM exercising, and I tried to eat 1,200 calories when I first started working out to lose just a few pounds, then gain it back with muscle, but I was so hungry all the time. I also seemed to be getting fatter. I started eating more and quit dieting because I really didn't need to lose weight anyway, and I have been doing weights and cardio and feel so much better and my muscles are getting bigger, I'm losing fat, and my clothes are looser.

You don't need to eat 1,200 calories when you exercise. You need to just eat mostly healthy foods and don't overeat. Get a heart monitor if you don't have one already to see how many calories you are burning and maybe try to aim for 1,700 or 1,800 calories AND eat the calories you burned exercising back. I don't count my calories really closely and just hold myself accountable with MFP, but I probably end up up 1,700-1,800 net calories on average, and it seems to be working for me. I think I may need to eat more, though. I ate more than usual yesterday and was sure I was going to feel fat this morning, but my endurance was better when working out today, and I looked a lot smaller.

Just experiment around with your calories, but you definitely don't need to starve yourself. You'll screw up your metabolism, or so I've heard.

serenahhhhh

Find your bmr and make sure to eat above that and below your tdee. Many people find that subtracting 20% of your tdee puts you on a good track to weight loss. But for most people, 1200 cal is under their bmr and they end up binging because the body cant sustain itself well enough. your body needs at least your bmr to SURVIVE. I eat 1400 cal for weight loss which is going by the tdee-20% for me and its working great. Find whatever works for your body, as we are all different but make sure you are nourishing yourself well enough and taking care of you body by eating enough!

LAT1963

Snark: By lying?

Nope, many people are able to do it.

Truth: Crab mentality.

You do realize that "snark" means I was joking....

MKEgal

If you are feeling hungry all the time on any diet.... it's not the diet for you.

This.

I'm currently trying to find the best calorie intake for me to lose weight and not feel hungry all the time.
The times where I stick to 1200 are hard but they sure do work for weight loss!

I did a blog post about setting goals:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-06-08-setting-goals-667045

Start by deciding on a healthy goal weight. Here's a BMI chart: http://www.shapeup.org/bmi/bmi6.pdf
Multiply that by 10 to get calories. That's total calories, not net.
Ignore net, ignore exercise. (This is what my doctor & dietician told me.)
As you lose weight, you'll eventually plateau, and then you drop another 50 calories.
Don't go under 1200 unless you're very short or your doctor is monitoring you.

The closer you get to your goal weight, the slower you should lose weight.
Here are a couple of useful threads:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

As a rule of thumb, the following weekly targets would give a balance between minimizing these negative side effects and seeing a reasonable weekly weight loss:
More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

MKEgal

when she WAS exercising and eating 1200 calories, the weight wouldnt come off, because it was too much of a deficit...
I don't want my body to be deprived to the point it can't burn the calories, but must hold on to them

That makes absolutely no sense.
If you eat fewer calories than your body burns, you will lose weight.

I usually eat between 800 and 1200 (please don't ***** at me about it, I don't judge your weight loss choices, don't judge mine).

Unless you're very short, that is an unhealthy low amount to be eating.
Since you're also exercising a lot, it's a very unhealthy low amount.
That's what medical science says, it's not people judging you.

I've lost 13lbs in 3.5 weeks so I'm obviously doing something right

Again, that's an unhealthy rate of weight loss unless you're starting out very fat, having a couple hundred lb to lose.
And this is unhealthy no matter what:

My hubby has lost 50 pounds in 1 1/2 months and I am down about 25 in a month

Same here:

I am also at a 1200 per day calorie intake and for the most part, I stick to it. Someday's (sic) I go over but not by much.
I exercise 4-5 times a week for about 90 minutes a day so I'm burning a little over 1,000 every day

lemonsurprise

For some odd reason, 1200 a day does work for me. I've been doing it a month so far and it's fine for me. I've had the odd days where I go over if I go out for a birthday meal/drink but other than that, I really don't need anymore. To watch me for a day you wouldn't think I'm on a "diet". I've only told one friend what I'm doing but the others haven't noticed anything different in my eating. I still eat huge meals but it's all veg, soya, nuts etc
BUT, a big factor is I don't exercise. I literally do nothing other than getting my steps in so my calories will have to go up when I start.

DorseyJ618

I know other people have said this, but it's really what works for you. I've tried 1200 and I don't lose. I will lose at first, but then I plateau SO quick. Even if I eat back the calories burned, it's just not enough for my body. My base is 1500 and I eat back what I burn. On workout days, I eat around 1800 and on off days I try to stay under 1500. My weight loss at this rate is about .5-1 a week. It seems like such a small amount, but I never feel like I'm starving. Keep tweeking until you reach the place where you feel most comfortable