1200 Calories a day!

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sandimejia25
sandimejia25 Posts: 7 Member
in Getting Started
Supper excited to start a weight loss plan!
Need to stick to 1200 calories or less.

What is your plan??
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Replies

  • Ctbiggs
    Ctbiggs Posts: 99 Member
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    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
    mjenkins74mj Posts: 59 Member
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    1500 or less for me, and some days its harder than others to stay under.
  • MeiannaLee
    MeiannaLee Posts: 338 Member
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    I started out with 1400! :}
    Now I'm at 1600
  • learningtolove
    learningtolove Posts: 288 Member
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    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
    Sabretooth333 Posts: 7 Member
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    "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
    timtakel Posts: 50 Member
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    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
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
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    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
    courtneylykins5 Posts: 168 Member
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    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
    Moop87 Posts: 71 Member
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    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
    PrettyPearl88 Posts: 368 Member
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    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
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    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
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    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
    chismmegan Posts: 45 Member
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    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
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    edited August 2015
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    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
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    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
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    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
    lucstone Posts: 41 Member
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    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
    amandakatherine968 Posts: 13 Member
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    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
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    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
    ClarityPeace Posts: 81 Member
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    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.

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