Why 1200 calories isn’t for me

SisterSueGetsFit

The 1200 calorie diet seems good in theory. For some reason several women seem to think this is the magic number. Let me tell you it’s not.

With that being said, I lost almost 60 pounds in 9 months following it. BUT... in the long term it just wasn’t sustainable. I Gained back almost 20 of those 60 pounds once I started eating normally again. While I lost the weight, it wasn’t healthy and it wasn’t safe. I don’t look good naked because I lost too fast and have no firmness. I’m skinny fat, so to speak. I didn’t learn how to “really eat” I only learned how to eat very little and get by. It was stupid and I was stupid.

1200 calories doesn’t allow me to live my life. It doesn’t allow for that extra drink or dessert. It causes me anxiety.

I’m back at it after maintaining at a 45 pound weight loss for a year. Doing it better this time. My goal is 1400 to 1500 cal a day and I’m so much happier. I want to comment so badly on every thread about 1200 calorie diets, but I simply don’t have the energy and people need to learn for themselves.

So, what’s your reason for not following a 1200 cal a day diet?

quiksylver296

I would freak out and binge after a week! But I’m 5’9 and my maintenance calories are about 2300. So I can lose a half pound a week on about 2000 calories and not lose my mind! Which is awesome!

NovusDies

Many people will probably give you the health reasons so I will just say that I follow my rules not a prescribed diet. My priority is to keep it simple and keep me happy.

bbell1985

Yeah, some people have to go there to lose. But if you don't have to, definitely don't.

KaleiAlanaSmith

I definitely stopped doing the 1200 calorie count that MFP gave me. I was starving and had no energy to exercise these past 4 months. I was also developing a bad relationship with food because I was so restricted with my choices to stay in 1200 calories. I also learned I was slowing my metabolism down and was not doing anything good for myself to stay that low. I'm eating 1500 now and plan on adding 100 calories every 3 weeks to help with my metabolism and becoming lean. I am so much happier now!!!!!!!!! 1200 calories is a trap to me.

Lounmoun

So, what’s your reason for not following a 1200 cal a day diet?

1200 calories is right for some people's healthy rate of loss and aggressively low for others.
I do not pick a calorie goal out of the air. If I do not exercise that is about the calorie goal I would need as a sedentary 40+ year old 5'4" woman to lose 1 lb a week. I have never set my goal for 2 lb a week as I was not 50+ lbs overweight. My goal is health improvement not meeting a deadline, fitting a piece of clothing or looking a certain way for an event.
It is harder to stick to 1200 calories and eat the things I enjoy. I increased my activity level so I get more calories than 1200.
I would advise anyone to eat a sustainable amount for them.

jbrooks3645

I've tried mfp soo many times with 1200 calorie goal and failed and quit after a week bec it's just not enough. This time I bumped it up to 1400 calories and have stuck with it for 27 days now and have lost 4lbs. 1200 calories just makes me feel miserable and I get to where i just want to binge eat. 1400 calories has been easy for me to stay under and I dnt feel like I'm starving either.

mph323

It really depends on your height, weight, age and activity. Older, shorter sedentary women (me) will need to go that low to lose ounces a week. Most women don't fall into that category and as you shared, 1200 calories causes weight loss at an unhealthy rate and the accompanying issues.

Too many fad diets set a blanket 1200 calorie limit for all women (and sometimes men), setting people up for failure either because it's unsustainable in real life, or because of health issues associated with under eating. I've been there myself, and I get sincerely pissed when I get those kinds of diet woo articles in my news feed knowing there are so many people who are new to weight loss who will be sucked into the madness.

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estherdragonbat

I wanted to make it easy on myself. I was 254lbs when I started and, at 5'3", with at least 114lbs to lose, I could have safely gone with a 2lb/week target, but I opted for 1lb/week instead. MFP gave me 1720, I stuck to that, and I lost.

Now, I'm closing in on a healthy BMI with just over 9lbs to go (just over 19 to theoretical goal, though it's possible I'll decide to maintain before that) and shouldn't be losing more than 1/2lb/week. That puts me at 1400 before exercise. With exercise, I have more to play with. Today, that's 1680. And it's just... easier that way. I'm not constantly hungry. I have room for snacks. I don't stress as much as I used to over what I'm eating.

Megg82

Eh. Unfortunately for my height and weight, 1200 is needed to lose ounces if anything at all per week. 1200-1300 is my BMR and because I’m petite, I don’t burn as much for calorie expenditure. It’s pretty much maintenance for me.
I’m healthy weight but have higher body fat percentage than I’d like. Gaining muscle will hopefully increase BMR and create the toned look I want. I do IF which makes it easier. I don’t really get hungry and I get to eat a decent size meal or two in my 4 hour eating window.
I’ve been heavier and had to eat 1200 and exercise to lose and it was painful as I got smaller and the scale wouldn’t budge because I was at maintenance IF has really helped and I don’t feel deprived at all. Sometimes I have to figure out how I’m going to get all 1200 calories in & stay within my macros; I like to stay low carb & high protein. The struggle is real with that 1200 number tho. If I wasn’t doing IF I honestly know I’d be miserable spacing tiny meals all throughout the day, never eating until full.

SisterSueGetsFit

estherdragonbat wrote: »

I wanted to make it easy on myself. I was 254lbs when I started and, at 5'3", with at least 114lbs to lose, I could have safely gone with a 2lb/week target, but I opted for 1lb/week instead. MFP gave me 1720, I stuck to that, and I lost.

Now, I'm closing in on a healthy BMI with just over 9lbs to go (just over 19 to theoretical goal, though it's possible I'll decide to maintain before that) and shouldn't be losing more than 1/2lb/week. That puts me at 1400 before exercise. With exercise, I have more to play with. Today, that's 1680. And it's just... easier that way. I'm not constantly hungry. I have room for snacks. I don't stress as much as I used to over what I'm eating.

You are so inspiring! Congratulations on your hard work and dedication. I wish you nothing but continued success.

SisterSueGetsFit

Megg82 wrote: »

Eh. Unfortunately for my height and weight, 1200 is needed to lose ounces if anything at all per week. 1200-1300 is my BMR and because I’m petite, I don’t burn as much for calorie expenditure. It’s pretty much maintenance for me.
I’m healthy weight but have higher body fat percentage than I’d like. Gaining muscle will hopefully increase BMR and create the toned look I want. I do IF which makes it easier. I don’t really get hungry and I get to eat a decent size meal or two in my 4 hour eating window.
I’ve been heavier and had to eat 1200 and exercise to lose and it was painful as I got smaller and the scale wouldn’t budge because I was at maintenance IF has really helped and I don’t feel deprived at all. Sometimes I have to figure out how I’m going to get all 1200 calories in & stay within my macros; I like to stay low carb & high protein. The struggle is real with that 1200 number tho. If I wasn’t doing IF I honestly know I’d be miserable spacing tiny meals all throughout the day, never eating until full.

We are each different. I’ve thought about IF, but I know I couldn’t stick to it on the weekends, mostly due to evening eating. I hope you find what works best for you!

eleonora1809

I’m currently on 1200 cal and this is what I feared. What if I eat normal again and gain all the weight I loses back? I’m worried about eating over my calorie deficit but at the same time, I don’t want this to be another yo-yo diet.

I’ve read somewhere it’s better to eat 3 balanced meals with no snack and aim for 1500 cal instead but I don’t know and now I just eat between 1200-1500.

DomesticKat

As a 5'1" woman in her 30's, MFP will spit out 1200 for me if I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week. At least it did 4 years ago. I don't want to lose 2 pounds a week, and I don't want to even attempt only 1200 calories a day. I would never stick with it. Clearly, I liked food enough to become obese, and that didn't change once I decided to lose weight. I would rather lose a little slower and eat more food and enjoy myself. I can go out to dinner with my husband. I can eat my children's birthday cake (all 5 of them). I can have a donut with my morning coffee if I want. That's what feels sustainable to me, and so far that seems to be working pretty darn well.

SisterSueGetsFit

eleonora1809 wrote: »

I’m currently on 1200 cal and this is what I feared. What if I eat normal again and gain all the weight I loses back? I’m worried about eating over my calorie deficit but at the same time, I don’t want this to be another yo-yo diet.

I’ve read somewhere it’s better to eat 3 balanced meals with no snack and aim for 1500 cal instead but I don’t know and now I just eat between 1200-1500.

I didn’t mean to scare you! This is just my story. The only thing I would say is I think losing slower is better. What do you have your goals set at? Put your stats in MFP for a pound loss a week. Well I was happy to lose the weight someone quickly, I wish I would’ve done it in a better manner.

And for the record, you’re not going to gain the weight back once you start eating more than 1200 calories. It’s important to find out where you maintain and stay in that range. It’s all trial and error and everybody is different.

malibu927

I work in retail and get at least 12,000 steps every day. Anything below 1500 and I get hangry.

Also I was 248 pounds when I started (at 5'6") and didn't know anything about people eating 1200. I'm pretty sure if I had been given 1200 calories to begin with I wouldn't have made it a month before I quit.

rheddmobile

1200 gross was hard on my energy levels and made my hair thin, but 1200 net worked pretty well for me. I lost most of my weight eating no fewer than 1600 gross and exercising at least 400 cal / day to maintain enough of a deficit to lose 2 lbs / week. When I was thinner I swapped to 1 lb and now .5 lbs for the last bit of vanity weight.

When I started I was under medical instructions to lose weight quickly.

try2again

Some of the comments seem to indicate that people do randomly choose a calorie goal, as @Lounmoun mentioned. For those who have indicated this, is there a particular reason you choose not to use the calorie goal MFP gives you?

lorrpb

Glad you've achieved a useful perspective. 1200 really isn't that good even in theory, except for very small ladies with a low TDEE. Whenever I see someone saying 1200 I know that they've adopted too aggressive of a goal. That's because 1200 is the minimum MFP will give a woman, so every weekly loss goal that would put someone below 1200 results in a 1200 goal from MFP.

PS Consider recomp and/or a structured lifting program. It will help firm up and shape your body.

PokeyBug

Small woman with a low TDEE, here! On the days I work out, I generally have around 2.000 calories to eat. On days when I don't, that number is around 1.300. Kind of depressing, but I can totally see someone who doesn't want to or can't exercise having to eat 1,200 calories or less to lose weight. My low TDEE is one of the reasons I work out, lol.

darlibby

I maintain on 1300s. Sucks.

fr33sia12

When you say "eat normal again" what do you mean?
Do you mean eating like you did before you started losing weight, or at maintenance calories you should be eating? Just wondering because a lot of people use this phrase. For me I'm eating normally now, just less calories than I burn and when I get to my goal weight I'll still eat what I'm eating now, just more calories.

MFP tells me I should be eating 1200 calories to lose 2lb a week. I'm eating around 1400 calories (more when I exercise) and am still losing 2lb a week.

MandaLuvsHockey

This has been a good food for thought post for me. I was doing MFP last year and did ok but I got so fed up trying to make meals I liked and stay within my set goals.
I have started again and while I am at 1200/day I will look at it differently. I have already hooked up my fitbit to my account and I will use those extra calories when I choose to. I think this will make a huge difference as for the most part I felt full last time, I just just missing that little extra - the ketchup, a slice of cheese etc. Using just a 100-200 more per day should make a hugh difference.

There is so much information out there, and most of it contradicts so its really hard to know the right path to take at times

Semele0

SisterSueGetsFit wrote: »

The 1200 calorie diet seems good in theory. For some reason several women seem to think this is the magic number. Let me tell you it’s not.

With that being said, I lost almost 60 pounds in 9 months following it. BUT... in the long term it just wasn’t sustainable. I Gained back almost 20 of those 60 pounds once I started eating normally again. While I lost the weight, it wasn’t healthy and it wasn’t safe. I don’t look good naked because I lost too fast and have no firmness. I’m skinny fat, so to speak. I didn’t learn how to “really eat” I only learned how to eat very little and get by. It was stupid and I was stupid.

1200 calories doesn’t allow me to live my life. It doesn’t allow for that extra drink or dessert. It causes me anxiety.

I’m back at it after maintaining at a 45 pound weight loss for a year. Doing it better this time. My goal is 1400 to 1500 cal a day and I’m so much happier. I want to comment so badly on every thread about 1200 calorie diets, but I simply don’t have the energy and people need to learn for themselves.

So, what’s your reason for not following a 1200 cal a day diet?

I think this way of putting things is wrong! It was not the 1200 per se that were wrong for you, you just had a too high deficit for you build and activity level, so you lost too much too fast without building muscle. If you lost with 1500 it means that 1500 is already a deficit, so 1200 is too much, but it's not true for everybody! 1500 is my maintenance level, and I'm not saying BS, before starting I tracked everything I was eating for two weeks without trying to limit myself and I was between 1400/1600 a day. I feel full with 1500, I wouldn't lose! Yesterday I went over my calories because I went for a pizza with my boyfriend, and I was too full to eat all of eat, so I just ate half. I then put my dinner in the diary and it said I ate 1470cals for the day. I was too full with 1470 Cal's. People on the forum are always saying that everybody is different and has different needs, so way many cannot see that there are people who are not starving with 1200 Cal's but just lightly restricting? If someone says that 1200 is too low for them usually the problem is that they put a higher weight loss rate than what they could sustain, in fact they usually lose with more calories. So please stop telling everybody that 1200 is too low all the time! If I just have to accept that there are people who eat 3000 cals a day and that's right for them, you have to accept that 1200 is the right number for others!

smolmaus

I lost on 1200 before but just tried again to lose a few vanity lbs (0.5lb/week) and its been a disaster. Huge binge after just 10 days and I'm p sure I've messed up my period cycles. I am only 5'2" and 105lb so pretty small but it's still just not enough for me.

I was kinda doing it as a test of discipline as much as anything but didn't properly account for the fact I lift and run now and even eating back exercise calories to make it 1200kcal net is just not feasible.

callsitlikeiseeit

I average around 1350. i maintain at 1600. As far as being satiated, a lot of it depends on your macros and if youve found the sweet spot of what keeps you full.

LivingtheLeanDream

I never did 1200 either because I would have been hangry! I was able to lose 0.5lb a week eating 1600-1750 cals gross (depending on how active I was). I'm 5ft 2". I had 20lbs to lose. I did TRY to do 1200 but within a few weeks and reading on the forums here I realised I didn't have to deprive myself. In July I will be in maintenance 5 years. Just wish I'd have found MFP years ago.

MrsPinterest34

I’m 5’1.5” (2). Started at 175lb currently 138lb. It’s been 1 year 4 months. MFP recommends 1290 cal for 1 pound a week with light activity. I’m guessing it wil be 1200 calories for 2lbs. Since I like to eat I’m okay with losing at a slow rate of 0.5lb a week or less. I eat between 1400-1500. If I walk 20,000k steps I eat up to 1700-1800. 1200 calories is not realistic for me, I want my body to slowly adjust to my new lower weight. I’m also trying to avoid lose skin since I have been big my entire life. So far the slow weight loss approach is working and I haven’t given up on any food. Im easily bored and enjoy cooking meals from different cultures. I’m just eating in moderation and keeping track of my intake and walking. This works well for me and it’s sustainable.

MandaLuvsHockey

MrsPinterest34 wrote: »

I’m 5’1.5” (2). Started at 175lb currently 138lb. It’s been 1 year 4 months. MFP recommends 1290 cal for 1 pound a week with light activity. I’m guessing it wil be 1200 calories for 2lbs. Since I like to eat I’m okay with losing at a slow rate of 0.5lb a week or less. I eat between 1400-1500. If I walk 20,000k steps I eat up to 1700-1800. 1200 calories is not realistic for me, I want my body to slowly adjust to my new lower weight. I’m also trying to avoid lose skin since I have been big my entire life. So far the slow weight loss approach is working and I haven’t given up on any food. Im easily bored and enjoy cooking meals from different cultures. I’m just eating in moderation and keeping track of my intake and walking. This works well for me and it’s sustainable.

You are my goals -seriously. The only exception is I would like to get to about 160 (currently 180) faster than 0.5 a week, but once that is gone I am happy with a low number per week. What you are doing is sustainable to me so that gives me hope that I may be able to do similar

IDK but somewhere along the line I forgot that at some point I should be able to up the calories a bit as I dont always want to be losing 1-2 per week. That gives me something to look forward to.

Lillymoo01

1200 gave me no more than 1/2 pound a week loss as I am a wee little thing. There was no way I could survive on that little so walked my little butt off to get extra calories. It was so much easier having that wriggle room for a treat here and there. I seriously don't know how people go week in week out on 1200. Even in maintenance I still burn around 500 extra calories a day so that I can enjoy 2000 calories.