1200 calories? Anybody doing it?

KBmoments

WBB55 wrote: »

KBmoments wrote: »

People are saying you lose more lean muscle on 1200 per day... Why would this happen at 1200 and no other calorie goal? Isn't a deficit a deficit?

When you aren't getting enough protein and other nutrients your body will cannibalize itself to ensure your heart has the nutrients it needs to continue to beat. The larger your deficit, the less likely you're eating enough nutrients to maintain your organs, then the more likely your body will cannibalize "unimportant" muscle (like your biceps or quads) in order to maintain the "important" muscle (your heart).

I see... thanks for the info!

janjones2

beachbunny90 wrote: »

So I know this site reccomends everyone trying to lose weight to eat 1200 calories... I was wondering how many people actually are? And how it is going for you?

Also even though I'm new I realize 1200 is too low for most people. I am just curious about if it's working for some.

Hi ...I'm jan.im finding that I'm actually only maintaining on 1200 cals .this is my 8 th week now and even if I don't use my exercise cals I'm not losing. I only need to lose half a stone but I'm stuck . I would never dream of going under 1200 cals but I am wondering if I need to drop carbs

Serah87

janjones2 wrote: »

beachbunny90 wrote: »

So I know this site reccomends everyone trying to lose weight to eat 1200 calories... I was wondering how many people actually are? And how it is going for you?

Also even though I'm new I realize 1200 is too low for most people. I am just curious about if it's working for some.

Hi ...I'm jan.im finding that I'm actually only maintaining on 1200 cals .this is my 8 th week now and even if I don't use my exercise cals I'm not losing. I only need to lose half a stone but I'm stuck . I would never dream of going under 1200 cals but I am wondering if I need to drop carbs

No to the drop carbs. If you are not losing you are in surplus. Are you weighing your solid food??....measure liquids only?? If not there is your problem, get a digital scale and weigh your food.

petitehealth

I'm averaging between 1200-1400 cals gross. Please add me if you are in a similar cal range for support!

RBracken34

Me! I know that, for me, this is the only sustainable route to weight loss. I can come up with a TON of so-called external excuses not to exercise, but I can't excuse eating too much or being hungry because I chose calorie dense foods that didn't fill me up. When I stay on track with a healthy 1200 calorie diet, I feel great and I lose. When I commit to exercise more so I can eat more, I crave more calories... even when I don't move my body. And I ALWAYS fail to keep those commitments. Call me lazy, I don't care. I know myself, and I know this is the only way I can lose and maintain weight over the long haul. And when I DO exercise? I never eat back the calories. #justwhereimat

Lost almost 40lbs since May 1st.

Liftng4Lis

Remembering that 1200 is the base and exercise calories are added to that, I will say that days I sit on my lazy butt, I have eaten at 1200.

Talkativeartist

I only intake 1200 or less when you factor in my exercise.

lauraesh0384

I manually set my calorie goal to 1500 since MFP suggested 1300. I think I'm between lightly active and active, so I'm rolling with 1500 calories and seeing how that goes. I felt so hungry eating 1200-1300.

titania_one

MFP recommended close to that for me and for a while I did it, but it was too low - I lost weight super fast, was freezing cold constantly, and found I couldn't concentrate on anything but food. Now I do 1500 and lose slower, but feel soooo much better.

Sunny_Bunny_

I've averaged 1275 calories a day consistently for almost 3 months and have averaged 1.58 lbs a week for a total of about 19 lbs, from 164 to 145.
I don't do any particular exercise. It's been very sporadic and I haven't stuck with anything since the first couple weeks I started. And my loss didn't slow down when I stopped. I only average just under 3000 steps a day.
Consistency is key for me and I don't do cheat days. I don't allow myself to make any food excuses and I'm working on changing my ways as it comes to exercise excuses.

TiaGia101

I just started on 1200 and I am hungry!

rhoda1990

beachbunny90 wrote: »

So I know this site reccomends everyone trying to lose weight to eat 1200 calories... I was wondering how many people actually are? And how it is going for you?

Also even though I'm new I realize 1200 is too low for most people. I am just curious about if it's working for some.

That's crazy!!! 1200 CALS is extremely low and sickening. You can surely, lose weight but I'm positive you won't be happy or healthy. Try 2000 cals and a good exercise routine, then track your progress from there.

kimmiebrito

I do 1200 cals! But then again I am just 5'1

Unknown

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Fujiberry

Ugh, I would be hungry, angry, miserable, and extremely unhealthy if I ate 1200. I'm 5'2" and I lose weight eating at 1800 (very slowly, but I do lose). I workout 4x a week, and I'm aiming to lose fat while maintaining as much muscle as possible. I feel like a lot of people just want the weight off immediately without thinking about body composition and how much muscle they'll lose in that time.

More muscle = faster metabolism

Whitezombiegirl

The site now states 1000 to 1200 cals. I do 1000 ad I'm 5f0 and almost 100 lbs and sedentary due to current I'll health. Occasionally I go over when I'm doing a lot of walking. I dont really get hungry but then i've always had s small appetite.

littlekitty3

Those who claim they eat 1200 and are just fine and stable weight....you're body is running metabolically efficient. Meaning you can run fine on less calories.

WBB55 wrote: »

KBmoments wrote: »

People are saying you lose more lean muscle on 1200 per day... Why would this happen at 1200 and no other calorie goal? Isn't a deficit a deficit?

When you aren't getting enough protein and other nutrients your body will cannibalize itself to ensure your heart has the nutrients it needs to continue to beat. The larger your deficit, the less likely you're eating enough nutrients to maintain your organs, then the more likely your body will cannibalize "unimportant" muscle (like your biceps or quads) in order to maintain the "important" muscle (your heart).

Edit to add: your intestines are also a long bit of muscle your body will cannibalize other parts of your body in order to maintain. Your blood vessels also need protein. All of these organs are more important than your 6-pack, which your body will devour in order to feed the other needs. All of these organs have 24-hour per day protein/nutrient needs.

Exactly ^^^^^

erickirb

eternaltears wrote: »

The app Lose It says for me to take in 930 calories and this app says 1200 so I do 1000 to average it out

bad idea, the reason the other site says 930 is that your weekly weight loss goal it too aggressive. change it to either 0.5 or 1lb/week and you will get more calories.

rowantb

I eat around 1250-1350 on average a day. I'm a stay at home dad and work at my desk in the evenings. The only exercise I generally get is some basic weights at home. I don't struggle with this amount of intake, I'm rarely hungry or have cravings and I don't feel 'crashy' but Im now on a plateau. I lost 12 pounds and haven't budged since. I'm wondering if I need to up my intake to 1500 but i feel like it's counter intuitive at this point.. More often than not I have to remind myself to eat something else to up my intake.

erickirb

rowantb wrote: »

I eat around 1250-1350 on average a day. I'm a stay at home dad and work at my desk in the evenings. The only exercise I generally get is some basic weights at home. I don't struggle with this amount of intake, I'm rarely hungry or have cravings and I don't feel 'crashy' but Im now on a plateau. I lost 12 pounds and haven't budged since. I'm wondering if I need to up my intake to 1500 but i feel like it's counter intuitive at this point.. More often than not I have to remind myself to eat something else to up my intake.

I would never go below 1500 even if bed ridden. That said, if you are not losing on 1250-1350 then I would suggest you are acutally eating much more than you think you are.

Do you weigh all solid foods you consume and measure all liquids? If not you may be eating 10-50% more than you think you are.

chill21516

I have been doing this since January. I try to stay to 1000. In a wheel chair, so cutting calories is just about the only option to lose weight. Started at 210 and now, 167. Some days it was hard, some easy. I was determined. So I stuck with it. I only went totally off the diet about 5 times. I was starving and I ate everything in the house. But when I went off, all it did, was get me stuck at that weight. Maybe because I only went off one day and right back on the next. I never one time went the other direction gaining weight back just stalled for a week or two. I failed at every single other diet I have tried. I like MFP because it educates you to what a serving is and which foods are better than others. I LOVE bread. I have to have it. Every low carb diet I ever went on I failed. MFP did not tell me not to eat bread. It just educated me about which kinds are better. I will NEVER go back to 210. Every day I get up and drink a 2 cups of black coffee and have two pieces of toast. Lunch is a sandwich. Lunchmeat, lettuce, light mayonaise and tomato. Typical supper, grilled chicken breast, salad, corona light with ounce and a half of tequilla.

elkasterling144

I started using MFP two and a half years ago. I have never had a BMI of above 21, but I was pretty determined to shed some extra weight and started at 1200 calories a day. I lost 15 pounds in about three months and have tried to stay at a 1200-1300 net range since. The first month was the hardest, for sure, but since then I've adjusted and I can easily get by within that range for the day and still feel totally energized. Your body does adjust! However, that does mean that it's harder for me to lose weight by eating any less now. I gained back a lot of weight after moving (which is why I started a new account), even though I wasn't eating much more than 1800 calories a day and still riding (horses) for at least an hour six days a week. When I tried restricting back down to 1200 after that, it didn't make as much a difference in my weight loss as last time. At that point I discovered the only way I could lose any more weight was by eating 800-900 calories a day, which I maintained for about 2-3 months, before I nearly collapsed and my mom started forcing me to eat more.

Today, I'm a bit higher than I would like, but still maintaining a 1200-1300 range and feeling totally fine in terms of energy, but still finding myself wishing I could allow myself to eat a bit more freely. My advice would be to take it slow. Don't jump down from 2400 to 1200 immediately, because that is brutal. If possible, reach a net of 1200 by exercising more and not not eating. If you feel ok at 1200, try it for a little bit, and then increase again. The last thing you want to do is starve yourself all day and then either faint or binge on everything in sight.

amr32r

Depending on your stats 1200 cal may not be enough...i tried it for a couple weeks and was fine until i started exercising and found it wasnt enough for me snd my activity level. You can try it and see how you do and adjust accordingly..good luck.

MarilynTC

KarenJanine wrote: »

beachbunny90 wrote: »

So I know this site reccomends everyone trying to lose weight to eat 1200 calories...

Only if 'everyone' is female, puts that they want to lose 2 lbs per week, and does not exercise.

Not true. I am female and want to lose less than 2 lbs per week and do exercise and it still recommended 1200 for me.

I stick to 1200 or so when I am not exercising, but I eat more like 1350 when I do exercise.

rowantb

erickirb wrote: »

rowantb wrote: »

I eat around 1250-1350 on average a day. I'm a stay at home dad and work at my desk in the evenings. The only exercise I generally get is some basic weights at home. I don't struggle with this amount of intake, I'm rarely hungry or have cravings and I don't feel 'crashy' but Im now on a plateau. I lost 12 pounds and haven't budged since. I'm wondering if I need to up my intake to 1500 but i feel like it's counter intuitive at this point.. More often than not I have to remind myself to eat something else to up my intake.

I would never go below 1500 even if bed ridden. That said, if you are not losing on 1250-1350 then I would suggest you are acutally eating much more than you think you are.

Do you weigh all solid foods you consume and measure all liquids? If not you may be eating 10-50% more than you think you are.

I weigh all foods as of three weeks ago now maybe more. Was surprised how close I was prior on some things and shocked with others! I'm very strict with it so it should be pretty much spot on. The only liquids I don't measure accurately is water and coffee may go over but only because it's a larger mug so I add more water not milk. I think I may need to up my fibre but other than that I think I need to focus on my macros a bit more.

chatterbox3110

Mine is set at 1270 to lose 1½lbs a week. I'm generally just under that, although I do have days when I've gone over, and I'm losing a steady 2lbs a week. I've had to bump my speed up a bit as I'm waiting for surgery.

I don't eat back my exercise calories now as I found they weren't accurate, and my loss was actually slowing down, so I just work on my gross calories.

What seems to be helping is that I'm only eating 'real' foods most of the time, with no bread or potatoes.

shadowfax_c11

I tried it for almost a week on the recommendation of my Dr. Found that my brain wouldn't work right, I couldn't focus or think straight and was exhausted and starving all of the time. I did loose about a pound a day. It was not however something I could continue for the long term with 100 pounds to lose and a highly level of daily activity. I found MFP and got an activity tracker and have been losing a more sedate and much more sustainable 1-1.5 pounds a week on average, eating between 2300 and 3000 calories a day depending on activity level.

I am always impressed with people who seem to be able to practically live on air ,on a 1200 a day goal, but nope, not for me. I enjoy eating real food and am active enough to be able to be able to do so while still loosing weight.

VintageFeline

I tried the 1200 thing a while ago but it was just too miserable a target and I was often hungry.

Now, I net on average 1300-1400 I think, some days I eat a lot more, some days less. I take a weekly view. Exercise doesn't make me hungrier, the opposite in fact so those are nice calories to play around with for a treat. I'm losing steadily and slowly which is perfect as far as I'm concerned.

I'm 5'5 and female. I think if you are a petite female then 1200 may be pretty easy but less than that and for anyone not petite I'd be concerned about long term health and the impact undereating and lack of nutrients would have.

Chiqui74

So, I had my goal set to 2lbs per week and my calorie allowance was 1200. Just for kicks, I set it to 1.5lbs per week and my calorie allowance is still 1200. I'm 5'1.5 and have just under 30 pounds to lose. I pretty much always eat my exercise calories/Fitbit adjustment.

beachbunny90

Hey didn't mean to abandon this thread. Fellow 1200ers can add me. It's my first week but I'm losing very very fast on 1200. Lost 5 lbs in the last two days alone. Definitely water weight but my clothes are already looser