Busting the myth that 1200 calories is enough

245

Replies

  • theoriginaljayne
    theoriginaljayne Posts: 559 Member
    So what is the right formula? I tried Atkins no carb diet for two weeks and maintained a 1,200 calories for such a long time and my weight loss has plateud already. I'm in a rut.

    I recommend searching "in place of a road map" on the forums. There's also a post called "Welcome to MFP. Don't worry, there's Cliff Notes." Read them both.
  • JulesAlloggio
    JulesAlloggio Posts: 480 Member
    Honestly, if its working for you, then good for you. Everyone is built different, everyone's metabolism is different. I give a lot of credit to people who eat 1200 calories. I would be angry and hungry all day long if I did that but hey.."to each their own"

    There is no right or wrong with this way of eating...

    Like I said, everyone is different.

    so can we just get over it already?
  • celadontea
    celadontea Posts: 335 Member
    This doesn't really prove anything. It's just an apology letter from someone who played into assisting people to lose weight who obviously didn't need it and now she feels guilty.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I thought this article was very interesting and insightful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-higgins/an-open-apology-to-all-of_b_3762714.html

    Well I am not sorry I am on 1200 calories per day, do running, some weights and work fulltime. I am not sorry that I am losing weight. I am not sorry that I feel full of energy. I am not sorry that I eat 100% better than I used to when I ate many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many calories.

    I am not sorry.

    That is all I have to say really....

    I am not sorry.

    :drinker:

    you probably will be eventually :flowerforyou:
    good luck on your journey.

    Well not really, this is my third flipping time doing 1200 calories, the first time I lost 33lbs, the second time 41lbs, and now this time.

    I put weight back on because of my abyssmal lack of control for eating crap LOL!

    I never regretted before and I don't this time :)
    Hmm.

    ^ This mirrored my reaction to this rather ironic statement.
  • Fiercely_Me
    Fiercely_Me Posts: 481 Member
    I thought this article was very interesting and insightful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-higgins/an-open-apology-to-all-of_b_3762714.html

    Get off of your god damn high horse. I am so sick of these threads.
    Amen a thousand time, Amen. Do what works for you and leave the rest of the people alone.

    Thank you!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I thought this article was very interesting and insightful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-higgins/an-open-apology-to-all-of_b_3762714.html

    Get off of your god damn high horse. I am so sick of these threads.
    Amen a thousand time, Amen. Do what works for you and leave the rest of the people alone.

    Personally, I'm eternally grateful for the people who didn't "leave the rest of the people alone," because then I would have continued "dieting" in the same stupid way I was before, and I'd keep having the same lousy results.

    I never thought weight loss could be as easy as it was, after the intervention of those on their high horses, and never thought maintenance would be this delicious. :drinker:
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    I realize that 1200 calories is not a lot of calories. However, for some women who are petite and have a small frame it can be the correct amount to eat to lose weight. I'm not saying it's right or wrong. Just saying there are other factors to consider!:flowerforyou:

    Not only that, but since I feel I eat right for me ( for my age and height ) I eat much more food by volume than the average person who eats 16-1800 calories including fast food and junk. Just look at my food diary today. I ate more vegetables than most people, four portions of black beans, chicken, full milk yogurt, oatmeal cookies and 6 cups of buttered popcorn among other things. My calories are correct for the food eaten and I still only got to 1101 calories. I believe it's not so much the number of calories, but what we do with them. Of course this applies only to myself and I am not going to tell what others should eat, but do sometimes wonder that so many people are supposedly making a " lifestyle change " ( supposedly for weight loss and HEALTH) while all their focus is still on a lot of unhealthy food trying to find ways to get away with eating those foods as much and as often as they can. But that's just me and my thoughts, which should not be of any importance to anyone else....:o).
  • rosemaryhon
    rosemaryhon Posts: 507 Member
    ...I give a lot of credit to people who eat 1200 calories. I would be angry and hungry all day long if I did that but hey.."to each their own"...

    I just took a curious peak at your open diary and despite I usually eat 1200 - 1300 calories a day, I'd say I would truly be hungry on *your* food input. Seems it consists of quite a bit of protein powder. I've had meat/cheese lasagna and eggplant parma for dinner and am now having a late-nite snack of an omelet with chicken, cheese, and peppers. I don't go hungry, am rarely angry ;), always satisfied with my delicious meals.

    I actually find this to be the case often when I read diaries of those who explain they pity others who eat a bit less (I mean, you're eating what? 1500?).
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
    I bulk on 1200 calories:smokin:
  • horrorstory
    horrorstory Posts: 125 Member
    I thought this article was very interesting and insightful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-higgins/an-open-apology-to-all-of_b_3762714.html

    Get off of your god damn high horse. I am so sick of these threads.

    ^^THIS.
  • karenertl
    karenertl Posts: 271 Member
    Food is too delicious for me to always stick to 1200 calories no matter how I try. Some days I can, but other days I can dream on. It really depends on how hungry I am each day. I don't see the point in starving myself to death or of eating until I feel like I could explode and can't stand up under my own weight.
  • mahanaibu
    mahanaibu Posts: 505 Member
    No matter how you feel about 1,200-calorie daily intake, this article doesn't bust any myths. The writer has no real expertise, she offers no real arguments and clearly her past lives aren't the only things regressing.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,656 Member
    I thought this article was very interesting and insightful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-higgins/an-open-apology-to-all-of_b_3762714.html

    Well I am not sorry I am on 1200 calories per day, do running, some weights and work fulltime. I am not sorry that I am losing weight. I am not sorry that I feel full of energy. I am not sorry that I eat 100% better than I used to when I ate many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many calories.

    I am not sorry.

    That is all I have to say really....

    I am not sorry.

    :drinker:

    you probably will be eventually :flowerforyou:
    good luck on your journey.

    Well not really, this is my third flipping time doing 1200 calories, the first time I lost 33lbs, the second time 41lbs, and now this time.

    I put weight back on because of my abyssmal lack of control for eating crap LOL!

    I never regretted before and I don't this time :)

    Don't you think you might have better control if you didn't deprive yourself and ate more?

    I DID eat more, hence why I put the weight back on.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,656 Member
    I thought this article was very interesting and insightful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-higgins/an-open-apology-to-all-of_b_3762714.html

    Well I am not sorry I am on 1200 calories per day, do running, some weights and work fulltime. I am not sorry that I am losing weight. I am not sorry that I feel full of energy. I am not sorry that I eat 100% better than I used to when I ate many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many calories.

    I am not sorry.

    That is all I have to say really....

    I am not sorry.

    :drinker:

    I don't think anyone expects you to be if you're doing what works for you. Although if you are one of the "clients' the author feels they've wronged you might consider firing off an email or comment on the article so she knows that at least one person doesn't hold her advice against her.

    No I am not one of the clients.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,656 Member
    I thought this article was very interesting and insightful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-higgins/an-open-apology-to-all-of_b_3762714.html

    Well I am not sorry I am on 1200 calories per day, do running, some weights and work fulltime. I am not sorry that I am losing weight. I am not sorry that I feel full of energy. I am not sorry that I eat 100% better than I used to when I ate many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many calories.

    I am not sorry.

    That is all I have to say really....

    I am not sorry.

    :drinker:

    you probably will be eventually :flowerforyou:
    good luck on your journey.

    Well not really, this is my third flipping time doing 1200 calories, the first time I lost 33lbs, the second time 41lbs, and now this time.

    I put weight back on because of my abyssmal lack of control for eating crap LOL!

    I never regretted before and I don't this time :)

    Don't you think you might have better control if you didn't deprive yourself and ate more?

    ^QFT.

    And off topic - I find it funny how people have to create new accounts in order to say things that they don't dare say on their real account. Carry on....

    Who Joy?
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,656 Member
    cookies.jpg?w=500&h=373

    Mmmmm cookies......:ohwell:

    Yes I know cookies very well, eating lots and lots of those is what enabled me to pile the weight back one.

    You may continue :)
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,656 Member
    I wasn't sorry either all those times I was losing by not eating enough. I was very sorry after I gained it all back. Every time.

    THIS.

    Losing weight is easy, especially if you're following a very low-calorie diet. The pounds will melt off. You'll feel wonderful.

    But maintaining a lower weight, keeping yourself in good health, and optimizing your body composition? Yeah, that's a lot harder, and losing weight on a VLCD often makes it next to impossible.

    Yes, on a VLCD it would be. 1200 isn't considered VLCD, so all is okay phew :)
  • fuzzieme
    fuzzieme Posts: 454 Member
    I feel sorry for the people who slam the 1200 because they don't know how varied and delicious it can be. On exercise days I have to just use extra olive oil etc because I'm eating the way I LIKE to eat and see it neither as being depraved of high calorie foods - because I eat them if I want them - or my being hungry all the time. I'm NEVER hungry. I suppose not everyone can cook with creativity :wink:
  • cavia
    cavia Posts: 457 Member
    I thought this article was very interesting and insightful.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/iris-higgins/an-open-apology-to-all-of_b_3762714.html

    Get off of your god damn high horse. I am so sick of these threads.
    Amen a thousand time, Amen. Do what works for you and leave the rest of the people alone.

    Personally, I'm eternally grateful for the people who didn't "leave the rest of the people alone," because then I would have continued "dieting" in the same stupid way I was before, and I'd keep having the same lousy results.

    I never thought weight loss could be as easy as it was, after the intervention of those on their high horses, and never thought maintenance would be this delicious. :drinker:

    I had the same epiphany as a lurker on a different site. I was beginning to drink the koolaid that my bum thyroid was keeping me fat. The poster who changed my life doesn't know I exist but 3 simple sentences flipped a switch in my brain: "No one violates the first law of thermodynamics. If you're in a deficit, you lose. If you're in a surplus, you gain." That day I dug out my food scale, figured out my TDEE and saw the scale start moving downwards instead of up for the first time in a decade.
  • daraxox
    daraxox Posts: 7
    its like half of what healthy fit women are shown to actually eat. not good./

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