Am I The Only Eating 1200 Cals A Day?

SezxyStef · June 2013

I have my food diary open and based on that (esp yesterday) I had to eat more after my workout to get over 1200....eek. for me I eat a lot but it is all about what you eat in my opinion. if you stay at 1200 all the time your body will get used to it, try upping it for a day or two in a healthy way, then back down to your regular food. You don't want to go into starvation mode....

toutmonpossible · June 2013

I have my food diary open and based on that (esp yesterday) I had to eat more after my workout to get over 1200....eek. for me I eat a lot but it is all about what you eat in my opinion. if you stay at 1200 all the time your body will get used to it, try upping it for a day or two in a healthy way, then back down to your regular food. You don't want to go into starvation mode....

For the last time, 1200 does not put you into starvation mode. It is not even classified as a Very Low Calorie Diet.

scrttwtt · June 2013

I'm on 1200... basically because I am short (so need fewer calories than a tall person), and have a low level of activity in the day (so need fewer calories than an active person). That said, with some exercise, I actually end up being able to eat 1600, which is plenty.

caitlynah12 · June 2013

When I tracked my food religiously, and before I started going to the gym regularly, I was at 1,200. Made sense as I'm short. I've fallen off the food tracking w/ MFP wagon and need to start at it again. I think now mine should probably be bumped up to 1,250.

nilbogger · June 2013

Why Are Some People Capitalizing Every Word Of A Sentence Like This?

__Di__ · June 2013

Hey There..

I've been Reading Posts And It Seems Like Everyone Is Eating 2000+ Calories.And They Think 1200 Is Too Low.But Then MFP set me for 1.2 A Day.Is There Anyone Else On 1200?

I am on 1200 calories per day, there are loads of people on MFP doing the same, however, many never post on these forums because of the anti-1200 calories brigade.

I think that must be so. I keep telling myself not to waste my time responding to alarmist posts about 1200, but I hate to see people misled, and the fact is that 1200 healthy calories is not starving oneself and it's an absolute necessity for some people to lose weight. Some need to go below that.

Then you and I are of the same mindset, because that is exactly what I tell myself too, but then I see some anti-1200 posts on the forums, couple that with some of the bro-science incorporated into some of those postings and it could be a recipe for disaster for some poor sod trying to do their best with their weightloss attempts - then when they are told to eat more......... scary isn't it

__Di__ · June 2013

I have my food diary open and based on that (esp yesterday) I had to eat more after my workout to get over 1200....eek. for me I eat a lot but it is all about what you eat in my opinion. if you stay at 1200 all the time your body will get used to it, try upping it for a day or two in a healthy way, then back down to your regular food. You don't want to go into starvation mode....

For the last time, 1200 does not put you into starvation mode. It is not even classified as a Very Low Calorie Diet.

Is it doing your head in too? :laugh:

The bolded quoted post above should be taken notice of, because it is true whether people like it or not.

SydneyRenee2 · June 2013

Really depends on your age & height. I'm 40 and 5'8" and I try not to go over 1300. I take about a 750 calorie deficit from my TDEE.

tjthegreatone · June 2013

In my opinion 1200 is only sustainable maybe if you're a 5 foot nothing woman who is mostly sedentary. Otherwise :noway:
There is NO WAY I'm buying that women at average height and above feel, living lives with even light activities can feel 'satisfied' with that amount of food everyday...no. I think there is a lot of denial, people ignoring hunger cues and being too scared to eat more because they are on a 'diet'.

If you are overweight or obese your body is clearly well used to receiving a lot more than 1200 a day, and it doesn't matter that it's all low energy foods now, you can't fool your body into accepting that a plate of veggies provides the same amount of energy as whatever your normal dinner used to be. Once your body has used up that fuel you will be hungry.

Starvation mode is something that gets touted a lot. I don't believe that it kicks in at 1200...probably at a much lower level. And even then, people should still continue to lose weight. HOWEVER, if you eat that little over a long period of time, your body is bound to adapt to become more efficient at using fuel, so weight loss may be rapid initially but will slow down. More importantly you will probably lose far more muscle than fat (if you are morbidly obese, you will probably have enough of both to spare so that the loss of lean body mass is not so devastating...which is probably one of the reasons why some nutritionists advocate VLCDs for morbidly obese people).

I reckon this is why many 'dieters' experience rebound weight gain when they go back to eating normally again.

MzManiak · June 2013

1200/day isn't even enough for me at 5'1" 109lbs sedentary...

But if you think it's working for you.... :drinker:

nickymarie011 · June 2013

I am 5'5 and 125 pounds and eat 1,200 calories per day. I sometimes will have an additional 200-300 calories in there but its usually closer to 1,200. It works for me. In fact, it's the ONLY way I can lose weight while working out. Mind you, I also do an Insanity/ P90X hybrid and those 1,200 calories work just fine for me for the amount of energy I am putting in. I had upped my calories to 1,500 -1,800 and gained like a mad woman till I lowered them again. Really, everyone's body is different and you gotta do whats right for YOU! No one here has all the answers.

KenosFeoh · June 2013

Yup you're probably the only one.

haha - kidding

run2bfree · June 2013

Use this website to calculate...

http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

j6o4 · June 2013

Everyone is different and has different calories needs, yet so many people are doing 1200 calories.

teleaht · June 2013

I am also eating 1200 calories a day because that is what MFP set my original goal at. I am also exercising but not nearly as often as I should be. It was has worked well, I joined about 5 weeks ago and have lost 12 lbs already of the 30 I want to lose. I will have to exercise more often though because while I haven't gained more weight I didn't lose any last week. I know that after so much weight loss so quickly my body is probably adjusting so I am just maintaining my loss right now, but that is OK too! :happy:

Frostbitten007 · June 2013

Hi there! It put me on 1260 calories a day. You do get extra calories if you exercise. The amount of extra calories you get is based on the type of exercise, the effort of it, and the duration of it. For example, today I got over 500 extra calories to eat a little extra because I walked for 120 minutes. Feel free to add me.

teleaht · June 2013

Lots of people are making great points. I am 5'6" tall and weigh about 168 lbs right now and I am doing 1200 calories a day with basically no exercise, only really when I eat significantly more than 1200 calories in a day. It matters WHAT you are eating. If you only eat higher calorie foods then yes, you will be hungry because you cant eat much. If you have incorporated lots of vegetables, fruits, and lower calorie foods into your diet then you can eat more and not be hungry. At least that is what I have experienced anyway. I used to eat WAY more calories in a day and I thought I couldn't do it until I took a look at what I was eating. I like MFP because it has helped me to make smarter decisions about what I am eating, so I don't just eat less I eat better foods. I wouldn't really call it a diet though, I still eat cookies, cake, pizza, pasta, whatever, just not more than 1200 calories total in a day and not every day. I have lost 12 pounds basically from that alone.