1200 Calories a day!

sandimejia25

Supper excited to start a weight loss plan!
Need to stick to 1200 calories or less.

What is your plan??

Ctbiggs

Wow only 1200? Please don't disappear! Lol I'm working on 2000 and looking to drop 40 lbs. Add me if you want some support.

mjenkins74mj

1500 or less for me, and some days its harder than others to stay under.

MeiannaLee

I started out with 1400! :}
Now I'm at 1600

learningtolove

You must be tiny to stick to 1200 or less. Even at 5'3 when I got down to 110 lbs I had to eat 1500 to maintain.
Now I'm 145 and have to eat 1600 or under to lose.
Good luck!

Sabretooth333

"Need to stick to 1200 calories or less."

No one "needs" to stick to so little calories! I'd highly recommend upping this to start with!

timtakel

I stick to 800 to 900kcal. The hard part is to find nutritious food, so you can have less calories, while still getting all the nutrients - but is helps you building a healthy diet. You should be fine with 1200kcal.

Pinnacle_IAO

sandimejia25 wrote: »

Supper excited to start a weight loss plan!
Need to stick to 1200 calories or less.

What is your plan??

1200 is a popular number, but sometimes it's not enough to eat, and a person loses weight too fast only to gain in all back.
Be careful!
You may want to look into the MFP recommendations for steady, safe and lasting results that might come slower, but again, your results are long-term.
Good luck to you, and welcome

courtneylykins5

It's not too hard when you get used to it. But I don't have a plan per se other than saving most calories for a big dinner. I eat what I want and swap out higher calorie foods for lower calorie substitutions when I can and when they are palatable. Feel free to add me. My diary is open to friends.

Moop87

I have a little over 1500 per day. I find that I go over a bit on some days, but I still have lost. I have to remind myself; Slow and steady, one day at a time".

Good luck!

PrettyPearl88

Are you eating 1200 or netting 1200? I'm trying to net 1200 right now, which means I'll end up actually eating somewhere around 1400-1500. If you're netting 1200 too, we can encourage each other! (But if you're eating only 1200, that might be a little low, unless you're tiny and have very little weight to lose.)

psuLemon

With as little weight as you have to lose, 1200 may not be a beneficial number to you. In many cases, people pick aggressive goals (2 lbs a week) in hopes of hitting a specific number as fast a possible. And generally, that doesn't lead them to their goal aesthetic.

Ultimately, what is your goal? Do you have one outside of meaningless scale number? Do you exercise (if so, then you should eat back your exercise calories).

TeaBea

sandimejia25 wrote: »

Supper excited to start a weight loss plan!
Need to stick to 1200 calories or less.

What is your plan??

With 8 pounds to go.....a moderate weekly weight loss goal is 1/2 pound a week. 1200 is a default minimum on MFP and it's before any exercise. So it's highly likely you can eat more and still lose weight.

I eat more (& lose slower) because my goal is fat loss. The larger the deficit, the harder it is for your body to support existing lean muscle. The choice is yours.

chismmegan

I'm set on 1200 calories also. I changed my goal to 1lb a week and it only gave me 70 extra calories..so I just went back to 2lbs a week. Which I am absolutely not doing so I don't know where MFP is getting these numbers.

RGv2

timtakel wrote: »

I stick to 800 to 900kcal. The hard part is to find nutritious food, so you can have less calories, while still getting all the nutrients - but is helps you building a healthy diet. You should be fine with 1200kcal.

How....and how can you tell a young OP is "fine" at the default minimum calories without knowing any of their stats?

OP, Please check out psulemon and TeaBea's replies.

LeslieB042812

I agree with what everyone else has said about being mindful of why you're choosing 1200 calories and making sure that it's really the right goal for you. With that said, before I started getting active, I was successfully eating around 1200 calories per day and found it much easier when I focused on whole, full fat, high protein, lower carb foods because I found them to be more filling.

TeaBea

timtakel wrote: »

I stick to 800 to 900kcal. The hard part is to find nutritious food, so you can have less calories, while still getting all the nutrients - but is helps you building a healthy diet. You should be fine with 1200kcal.

Um.....promoting very low calorie diets is against MFP rules.

Newsflash - you're male....you're not getting all the required nutrients. Your default minimum on MFP is 1500. Fast weight loss = a fair amount of muscle loss.

lucstone

It's about the nutrients packed in those calories. It's not rare that I have a 1200 calorie day, and I'm 5'9', 190. I eat mainly vegetables and fruits. I've only had breakfast so far today and I'm around or over half of my RDA for most the nutritional values MFP tracks. Unless you're going to work out, 1200 is fine.

amandakatherine968

I'm 1200 too! I'm only 5 feet tall. I put on 46 pounds during my second pregnancy and trying to get back to prepregnancy weight.

gothchiq

Depends how tall/short and how old you are. Had I eaten more than 1200 I would never have taken the weight off. That was only half a pound per week for me.

Nonstarchy vegetables are your friends. Fill up on them so you aren't hungry enough to eat the furniture.

ClarityPeace

Mine is 1200 but ends up being around 1500 with exercise. It's been going well 1-2 lbs lost / week.. At first I was hungry but then I started eating more roast vegetables, and kept more low calorie foods around.. If I want to splurge on a pint of ice cream, I just buy a pint of artic zone ice cream (has no fake junk in it and is only 150 calories)..so cravings are covered. I drink seltzer and water, eat outshine bars when I'm hot, do cardio 4-5 x / week and strength training 2-3 x per week. I am 5'3" 135lbs (current weight). I buy quick foods from the natural food store deli like tuna salad, zucchini salad and egg salad; I just make sure there is no added sugar in them.. works for me even not knowing the exact calorie count.. I just weigh it and eat about 4 oz per sitting.

brittanyhiatte

im at 1200 and its hard at first but if you dont cheat on it, mine got easier in just two weeks! add me if you want some food ideas or support!

Cynthiamr2015

I am 5' 4' and my Dietitian has me at 1800 or 2000 calories a day, when I started the program I weighted 230. I am now at 216 lbs. I am suppose to try each one or in between to see what number works for me. I found that I do lose weight and that on most days what I eat dose not even get to 1800 so 1800 is my calorie intake for now. The reason for this is because I am getting my body use to the amount of calories each day which in turn I am NOT starving myself but I am still losing weight. I am learning to eat right, watch my portions, and yes I'm even trying to make peace with the foods that are not good for me. I have not cut out anything other then I do not eat much cheese or drink milk (Silk Soy, unsweetened, in place of milk). I DO eat fast foods but I have cut down on them and I am working on making my own recipes. I DO NOT ADD SALT to anything, not even in recipes (salt make me blow up like a balloon)! I use Organic Stevia in place of sugar, I do eat sugar when someone else makes something but I do not put it in my coffer or tea. I drink more water then what I most likely log. Also, I exercise at least 5 days a week, I either go to the gym or if the weather is bad I do chair exercises and other exercises, and weights at home. I am not that active because of health problems so what I am doing now is working and I want it to be the new norm for me. Just like breathing!

SconnieCat

timtakel wrote: »

I stick to 800 to 900kcal. The hard part is to find nutritious food, so you can have less calories, while still getting all the nutrients - but is helps you building a healthy diet. You should be fine with 1200kcal.

What?! Oh Lord, no. You can't possibly be getting all of the nutrients your body needs. Why on earth would you be "sticking" to 800-900 calories?

ki4eld

A few thoughts...

--Whether 1200 is ok is based on a lot of factors. The "guided goals" is a good way to help make sure your food, lifestyle, and exercise goals are compatible.
--Don't just drop to 1200. You'll feel like you're starving to death. Drop slowly over a few weeks, say 100 a week, until you're there.
--If you're going to have low calories, every calorie you ingest must be high quality nutrition. Make sure you're prepared to eat that way.
--Don't just use MFP to track what you've eaten, use it to plan your food plan for the entire day. You can then make changes to ensure you're meeting your nutrition goals.
--Please ensure your doctor is ok with 1200 per day. Don't just do it.

Good luck!

sandimejia25

Thanks so much for all your comments!
I'm feeling just fine with what I am eating. Altough I am calculating how many calories I'm taking in according to the meals online. The 1200 calories end up being 1500 more or less since I don't use exact measurements.

I am 5'1 and currently weight 128. So the suggested calorie intake was 1200 to meat my goal of 120 in 5 weeks. With 2-3 days of exercise.

I have now men recording my meals for 5 days. 4 more weeks to go!


Good luck everyone!!

salaita1968

I'm on 1200 for the last 10 weeks lost 43 lbs

Ella_hana

Hmm I usually consume around 1,200 calories a day too! I am switching my diet Up to basically vegan because I am trying to lose both muscle and fat in order to slim down about 3 inches km both my waist and hips. Lmk if anyone has similar goals

HankD50

I'm supposed to take in a lil over 3000 calories a day. I usually can only get around 2800 in me.

psuLemon

sandimejia25 wrote: »

Thanks so much for all your comments!
I'm feeling just fine with what I am eating. Altough I am calculating how many calories I'm taking in according to the meals online. The 1200 calories end up being 1500 more or less since I don't use exact measurements.

I am 5'1 and currently weight 128. So the suggested calorie intake was 1200 to meat my goal of 120 in 5 weeks. With 2-3 days of exercise.

I have now men recording my meals for 5 days. 4 more weeks to go!


Good luck everyone!!

Remember that aggressive weight loss goals, can increase the amount of muscle loss. When you lose muscle, you aren't generally decreasing body fat. Body fat is what people actually wants to lose, but that is what is going to make you have a flat or defined stomach. But if you follow a lcd, don't eat enough protein (.8-1g per lb of lean body mass or .6-.8g per lb of mass) and not doing resistance training, you can be guaranteed to increase the amount of muscle lost.

Also, weight loss isn't linear so you can't expect to lose exactly as the math would suggest.

psuLemon

salaita1968 wrote: »

I'm on 1200 for the last 10 weeks lost 43 lbs

As a man, you should be eating more. The minimum recommended for a male is 1500 calories. At 1200 calories, you will not meet all your nutritional requirements. And if you are eating at the low, you should be supervised by a doctor or dietitian.