Is it safe to stay on a 1200 calorie diet?

girl_inflames

For an extended period of time, that is. I've been on a 1200 calorie diet since late January and I'm not at my weight goal yet. I'm thinking another 2-4 months and I should be there. However that will have been almost a year maintaining a 1200 calorie diet. Is there any negative outcomes to sticking with a low intake for so long?

fitmom4lifemfp

Of course. 1200 is maintenance for me, so I don't even consider that to be "low".

tulips_and_tea

It depends. Everyone is different. It is dependent on your age, height, weight, activity level, etc. Also, how do you feel? Is it reasonably sustainable for you?

kshama2001

I'm almost 5'7", have a large frame, and am active so 1200 isn't an option for me.

http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp

girl_inflames

I'm 5 ft 6. I'm medium built I'd say. I feel fine on 1200 calories a day but people always remark that it's so low. I just didn't want it to end up lowering my metabolism or something catastrophic I won't be able to reverse. Oh, and currently I'm 155-157 trying to get down to the 140s. I'm 25. I'm semi-active right now but I have a sedentary desk job. I'm going to try working out more to get tone as I lose more weight, however.

fitmom4lifemfp

People that make such comments are woefully unaware of how their bodies work.
I am 5/7", active as far as the gym and daily cardio, but I have a sit-down job, so I don't burn nearly what people think I do.

Dnarules

fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »

People that make such comments are woefully unaware of how their bodies work.

What comments are you referring to?

VintageFeline

I'll never eat below my BMR. For most people that's more than 1200. I tried (deliberate experiment for a week), it was dreadful. I'll take the slower losses!

girl_inflames

1200 calories isn't really a problem for me, I feel like I get plenty of food -- I just don't want to unintentionally harm myself by doing so. Does that make sense?

Forty6and2

I agree with @VintageFeline, you should figure out your BMR and don't go below that. I'm assuming it will be above 1200, but I haven't calculated it. This calculator should help you find out what you should be eating to lose weight: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

I would also suggest dropping your goal to about a half pound a week once you get closer to your goal weight, about 10lbs from there. I think it would make the transition to maintenance easier for you since you'll be eating more then anyway.

And if you have an issue going above the 1200 goal because you've gotten used to it, I suggest adding in things that don't fill you up but are calorie-dense. If you're eating low fat or fat free or light anything, switch to regular. Add peanut butter or hummus or some other condiment to things to increase the calories slowly or just some extra butter on your vegetables. I also like to keep eating snacks that I had before I gained weight in moderation now. So, if I'm having trouble getting to my goal (which still happens sometimes), I shove a nice Snickers in my face. no regrets.

VintageFeline

girl_inflames wrote: »

1200 calories isn't really a problem for me, I feel like I get plenty of food -- I just don't want to unintentionally harm myself by doing so. Does that make sense?

Feeling fine isn't really the issue, it can take time for problems to arise. It could be something as simple as just crashing hard energy wise, or being starving hungry all of a sudden and nothing satisfying it. But eating below your BMR can, over time, gradually and slowly, little by little, lower your BMR. It bounces back but it's just not worth it to me.

Kobz27

Listen to your body. There are days I eat 1200 calories and feel fine as a 200lb male. It's important that those calories have the nutrients your body needs though. A good amount of fats and proteins to keep your Brian at a good level.

mlee981

No I personally don't think 1200 calories is enough, it's enough for perhaps a baby but not a grown woman. I developed anorexia eating around 1000-1200 calories a day, and became extremely obsessed with weight, body and food . I sank to a bmi of 14.5 and was admitted to hospital , I'm only just a few months into recovery, now weight restored with a bmi of around 20-21 , and so much happier, healthier, and vibrant .

Counting calories is ridiculous, I only log my food here as I am trying normalise my eating in a more structured "3 meals a day" type way, but no. 1200 is ridiculous and I doubt you'll be able to stick to it long term, as you will end up crashing and binging out. We are not designed as a species to run on a caloric defecit.

I do recommend you check out the Minnesota starvation experiment, adaptive thermogenesis, look into hclf veganism and completely change your whole outlook on calories and how not all calories are equal.

I eat around 2500-3500 plus calories a day of plant based foods - a majority coming from WHOLE foods and weight train - 4-5 times a week and do like 30 mins of cardio (running - bike) a day sometimes I eat a little less sometimes a little more, it all depends on the day and what I'm doing and all that jazz. And I've managed to maintain my weight eating this way, and I feel amazing . I'm free of calories and self hate and it's just amazing to eat this way.

Nobody should live counting calories and obsessing over food because life is out there and do you really want to spend it obsessing about losing weight and the amount of calories on your plate? No.

It's honestly just as simple as "eat healthy and eat when your hungry and stop when your sasiated"

It's a horrible existence to live calorie counting and exercising just to burn calories, going to bed upset because you've had "too many" , binging because your body is freaking starved and blaming on because you don't have any "self-control"


I also recommend this blog it covers everything from human starvation to how many calories do you need and all that , please check it out - it honestly saved my life - and no I'm not saying you have an eating disorder, but the topics covered regarding caloric needs, binging, the "2000 calorie recommendations" is all :here http://letsrecover.tumblr.com/topics

And this is regarding the "2000 calorie recommendation " - http://letsrecover.tumblr.com/post/83185076107/im-seeing-this-all-over-the-tv-web-people-in


Look at the FAQ section of the site too.


My relationship with food is so much healthier, and the only word I can say I feel now is "free" - before I felt trapped and suffocated like I was playing somebody else's game, but no - I eat my species appropriate diet which is whole foods, lots of fruit and veg, CARBS- lots of carbs, low fat, and I feel amazing. I feel wonderful.

These 1200, 1800 what over calorie restricted diets are good for short term weight loss, but do u really want to be counting forever, when u can just change the foods you eat and eat unlimited food and stop when your satisfied and never have to worry about "I'm gonna over eat , how many calories, ect ect ect ect" never ever again.


Also, my tdee according to the calorie counter on Google is around 1600 lol. I eat around 2500 plus If that was the case I should be freaking overweight or gaining weight but now, these calorie counters maybe true if we are eating crap, but not all calories are created equally.

CattOfTheGarage

As ever when the 1200 calorie conversation comes up, nobody makes clear if they're talking total calories or net calories. There's a difference between someone eating 1200 calories and doing no exercise, and someone who's doing 300cal of exercise, eating 1500cal and netting 1200.

The fact is that at my height and at my goal weight, I'm going to have to net 1200 to maintain. There's nothing I can do to change that, short of somehow growing taller. Even gaining muscle does not add that much to basic calorie consumption, the increase is minimal. So the best option for me is to become more active in order to be able to eat more food and still net 1200.

But what's daft about these conversations is that you have people who use the app as it's designed, and it's telling them to NET 1200 calories because they're average size or short women, and then on the other hand you have people who use a different site to estimate their TDEE and log no exercise at all, and they're all telling the person 1200 is too low, but it's not relevant advice because if you're using a TDEE and logging no exercise there IS no difference between net and total calories, and in that world, yes, 1200 is very low. But no-one ever seems to recognise this difference and so everyone's talking at crossed purposes again! For the fifty billionth time!

OP, 1200 is very low if you treat that as the total amount you can eat, but if you are reasonably active then you should be able to eat more than that and still maintain.

Whether you do that by leaving mfp set to 1200 and logging all your exercise so it raises your calorie goal, or by getting a TDEE estimate based in your increased activity and then NOT logging exercise, it's entirely a matter of personal preference. If you want to go the TDEE route, I'm sure there are people here who can recommend a good site to give you an estimate.