1200 calories day??

PepperWorm

I eat 1200 before lunch.

Siegel15

Really? Yikes! I am 57, and I have been at 1200 cals a day, burning about 400 cals a day. I don't feel hungry at all as I eat nutritionally strong foods so that I CAN eat less. How ever, the weight is not coming off too fast, I keep stalling. So, may be should up it a bit. If I eat back the calories I lose NOTHING at all.

Siegel15

When I started MFP 3 weeks ago it set my calorie goal at 1200 but I am thinking I need more too. Of course starting out I put that I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week (doesn't everyone?), but compared to the amount of activity that I am doing and the calories I eat I am not seeing the results I think I should. I think a slight adjust in calories would help me personally.

Hope you get things adjusted so you can be on your way to obtaining your goals!

^^^^^
This

Siegel15

I have tried now for two days, eating back my burned off calories and I have gained 4 pounds. This is what I was afraid of.

j6o4

i have adjusted to the 1200 cal's a day and have lost a lot of weight. now that i am used to the calories i sometimes go over but not by much. You will find that you have to cut out all the fast food, junk food, sodas and such. But you will feel lots better. Its more of a lifestyle change not a diet.

1200 is the minimum calorie intake for a sadentary women, i do believe you are a male and the minimum for a male is 1800.

I_Will_End_You

Hell no. Food is too delicious for 1200 calories a day.

I have tried now for two days, eating back my burned off calories and I have gained 4 pounds. This is what I was afraid of.

You would have had to consume around 14,000 calories the past two days in order to gain 4 pounds of fat. I doubt you exercise THAT much! Probably water weight, I wouldn't stress over it.

stormpike

1200 kcal is possible for me. I started off at 97.1kg on the 20/06/2013 and so far I have lost 4.8kg. I only discovered this website beginning of July. It is definitely possible. Some days I go over 1200kcal but most days I managed to stay below 1200kcal. Manage to clock in weight loss of 1kg/week. Plateau a bit but usually start falling again after a few days. It is definitely doable.

Mitchlou84

I am on 1200, which for me is to lose 1.5lb a week.

I try to stick to it, but don't get upset if I go over. For me though I exercise every day, sometimes up to 800 cals (I wear a HRM) and I eat every single exercise calorie going, so I eat at least 1800 cals a day, often 2000.

There is no way I would be willing to eat only 1200 cals of actual food, I would be miserable

unFATuated

I used to eat that (plus breastfeeding calories) but then I worked out my BMR and realised I was eating far too few calories. It would depend on your personal needs, how much you currently weigh and how much you have to lose, but I think it's probably far too low for most people.

I'm currently 76kg (167lbs) down from 86kg (189lbs) in 11 weeks and eat no less than 1800cals per day, and usually eat back the calories burned in training.

digyan

MFP formula is overly aggressive in my opinion. If you're petite, i.e. 5ft and on your last 5-10 lbs from goal weight you can get away with eating 1200 calories for a few months, but it's not sustainable in the long run. Sooner or later you'll plateau and have no more calories to cut to break the plateau. Generally you should aim to eat at a deficit to lose 1% of your body weight per week, and steadily reduce calories to maintain that lose for longer than be aggressive at the outset which can make things unsustainable down the road.

TubbyChubb

Now that I have cut out most junk food from my diet for the past 4 days I am having trouble even getting to 1200 a day! Today I ate dinner out so got to 1400, but the prior two days I was around 1100 and didn't feel hungry at all.

I'm wondering if I'm not eating enough now. I haven't been a big eater in the past, but have made poor food choices. I'm 163cm (5'4) and currently 58kg (129 pounds).

What higher calorie yet healthy food do others suggest?

andiebaco

I do..

My BMR is 1498, losing the 20% for diet loss, it comes to 1200.

Right now I try to eat around 1400 - 1500 because I'm following the 5:2 diet, and honestly? Sometimes it's hard for me to reach the calories allowance so I end up eating a bit less..

I'm a firm believer that you have to listen to your body. If you are hungry? you should eat a little bit more but no more than your BMR, however, if you're not hungry, I don't believe in eating just for the fact that you need to reach a calorie goal.

Everybody is different and part of this journey is to learn how to read our body and give it what it needs and no more than that

RhondaLDean

If you are active, you would likely need to take in more than 1200 calories. The trick is what you choose to eat as those calories! I can eat more or less all day, keeping my blood sugar steady and my stomach satisfied by choosing healthy, low calorie snacks like snap peas, celery, greek yogourt, raw carrots, etc. I find the crunching helps too....

randomtai

Old thread is old.

jmthib58

I tried doing the 1200 calories last year, and did it for a couple of months. I lost next to nothing for weight and was hungry all the time. I ended up giving up. Now I'm trying again, and adjusted upward to 1400 calories (before exercise). Hopefully, this will be more sustainable. I'm also not trying to focus too much on the numbers. I think tracking food may make the difference in the long run, as long as I don't start playing games with myself.