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

martysa

I'm on 1200 calories a day and i find that on the days i dont exercise, im starving. When i exercise and i eat back some of the calories i feel soooo much better and less hungry.

JustME1611

I do 1250 calories a day and burn about 200-450 with working out. Sometimes I eat back my calories sometimes I don't. I eat a small breakfast (cereal mostly), a decent lunch (salad, sandwich, or tuna), and then I eat pretty much what I want at dinner just watch my portions. I also have a couple of snacks in between. I'm never starving. I've lost 33 lbs and I tend to lose about 1-2 lbs a week.

Roxiehart9

I just looked through your diary, and it look slike you are super high in carbs and quite low in protein. If you just started on this diet, it's going to take at least 4-5 days worth of discipline so your body can get used to this adjustment...but it looks like you went a little over yesterday, which i going to reset your body. Dieting and eating healthy is NOT easy. No one ever said it was. But if you truely want to do it, it's mind over matter. 1200 seems very low since your body needs at the very least 1200 calories to function every day just to walk, breath, pump blood...etc.

Also, remember every calorie is NOT made equally. The low carb diets work for a reason. You are re-balancing your body and getting rid of excess insuline and glucose that you would need to lose weight or that is stopping yoru body from losing weight. when you have a large carb intake, you add more insulin to yoru body and it has to work to get rid of that before it can work on getting rid of your fat.

Not all carbs are bad. But you want to take about 1-2 weeks to go super low carb, like between 50-100 carbs a day only then gradually put them back into your diet according to how yuor body reacts. Unforunately, I know my body eats and holds onto carbs, so I stay away from all processed carbs and only get them from fruits, veggies, and yogurt.

If you ar eexercising, you are going to want to up your cal intake to about 1400-1600. At 1200 calories you'll loose weight for abou ttwo weeks but once your body adjusts to it, it'll stop losing weight. Then you'll have to drop to 1000 calories and eventually if you follow this pattern, you'll be eating 100 calories a day, which is obviously not going to happen.

Always remember clean and original foods are much easier on the body to digest and turn to nutrients than processed foods. so if you have a 100 calorie pack of chips vs 150 calorie banana, the banana wins. Your body wants that WAY more than the chips.


Good Luck! Everyone is different and it takes everyone different speeds to learn and get used to healthy living and dieting. Hope this helped!

TeaBea

I do 1200 calories and only eat back my exercise calories on Sundays. I eat 3 meals and drink 1-2 protein shakes a day. I personally found the higher my protein intake that day, the less hungry I feel. I stay low carb, low fat and low sugar. I've lost 26.8 lbs this way since 4/13. I have a smart scale at home and calculates body fat, muscle and water.. I've increased my muscle and decreased my fat... I also drink anywhere from 1 gallon to 1.5 gallons of water a day. The water keeps me full! Good luck

GAINING muscle mass and netting below 1200 calories 6 days a week ?...... um no. Home scales are not reliable for measuring muscle mass.... eating lots of protien is good .... but below your BMR ..... you would be lucky to hang onto existing muscle.

Obviously a home scale isn't 100% and you are entitled to your opinion, but it is my opinion when done right you CAN lose just fat, keep your muscle and even possible gain some muscle. I keep my fat low so I tap my reserves and my protein high to keep my muscle. I base this on the fact my diet was designed by a body builder/personal trainer. This diet has been used by multiple clients and they are the proof. You lose your weight your way, and I'll lose mine my way.

Again - look at the boards here ..... building muscle on a number less than your BMR ..... no way. Not just my opinion ... we just disagree.

FAT does NOT make you fat .... very old school. My guess would be most of your PT's clients are body builders and not netting below their BMR. Very low calorie diets are the issue.... they are very hard on your body.

EricaahMcK

I'm eating 1200 calories and exercising. I don't really eat breakfast and just have coffee(I know, don't lecture me). I usually have a shake or a salad for lunch. I don't eat bread or pasta or potatoes, but I occationally have some chocolate if I have some calories left over. I also try to eat things with lots of bold or full flavors so I'm not craving something when I've finished eating. One major change I made - I don't drink. I realized I was drinking too many of my calories with alcohol or just sugary coffee drinks, so I gave it up. I eat a lot of broiled meat and veggies. I find that protien leaves me feeling more full than a bowl of lettuce or celery though.

nuttingh

When I first joined MFP, I was hungry all the time at 1200/day. I exercised and ate about half of my exercise calories and was still hungry all the time. Then I changed my daily intake to about 1700/day, whether I exercise or not. I'm far better off and started losing again. I also started incorporating even more fresh fruits and veggies and proteins, which is what my body was craving. Now my daily intake is around 1200-1400/day without trying. When my body evened out with exercise, water, metabolism and healthier foods, it became easier to consume less calories without trying. It just took time for me and to find what my body was really craving.

nuttingh

Protein and lot's of it would be my suggestion...I don't count calories-I count carbs-- BUT, I have noticed that I eat WAY LESS calories in general by counting carbs instead of calories. Also, I would suggest eating REAL FOOD...not the packaged edible PRODUCTS (those products are not REAL FOOD) if you eat real food you will probably discover that you are more satisfied and eating less calories in general. Good luck to you!

Agree 100%

JessicaMcguigan123

If i eat heatlhy foods i find im not hungry, like nuts,vegtables salads, grilled chicken. If i eat a choclate bar or cheese sandwich, i will be hungry a couple of hours later!

PcShed

You should try intermittent Fasting

Francl27

To repeat what's been said, it's supposed to be 1200 NET. Which means you often end up eating more. I'm close to 1200 NET every day (sometimes less when I'm really not hungry), I don't log exercise but probably burn 200-300 most days.

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....