Results on 1200 calories

VickiMe89
VickiMe89 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey! I wanted to hear positive stories from those that have lost weight following a 1200kcal diet. I find it strange how everyone sees it as dangerous or the cause of eating disorders. And I can google that if I need to - so only positive stories please :smile: it’s working well for me so far so I just wanted to find some similar people! I have 50lb to lose altogether ❤️
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Replies

  • hoodlisa1979
    hoodlisa1979 Posts: 38 Member
    I'm also following the 1200 diet plan and am similary interested to hear success stories, I haven't seen anything negative about the 1200 cal diet though? I think its perfectly fine if you have plenty of weight to lose & are eating a good range of healthy foods 🙂
  • Brigit42
    Brigit42 Posts: 39 Member
    In the past I've tried 1200. I couldn't do it.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,630 Member
    At least once a week I have a single meal of 1,000 calories, and once a month hit 1,200 in a single meal. I always find it amazing people are satisfied with 400 calorie meals or whatnot. But if you can get enough protein, fiber and assorted micronutrients in that small a space, then good on you.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    It's fine for some people. If MFP tells you that's the right amount to achieve sensibly moderate weight loss, that'll be great.

    I was non-tall (5'5"), not very active outside of exercise (which I log separately and eat back), older (59) and still pretty overweight (at least 25-30 pounds when I joined, part way through losing 50-ish pounds). MFP suggested 1200 based on what should've been a sensible loss rate (it thinks I'd maintain on around 1500 + exercise calories at this point, would've been slightly more when heavier). So I ate 1200 + exercise calories, which was gross intake of 1400-1700 or so calories most days. I made it a point to get as good nutrition as feasible.

    I felt great, energetic, not hungry . . . until a few weeks in, I hit a wall. I got weak and fatigued, and it took multiple weeks to feel normal after I started eating more. It's not always a question of willpower.

    If 1200 is right for you, eat 1200 (not less). Do it for 4-6 weeks (whole menstrual periods if that applies to you). If your weight loss rate is the sensible pace you asked for, keep going. If it's too fast for best health or too slow to be satisfying, adjust at that point.

    Other people's experiences aren't going to tell you for sure what your experience will be.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,226 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    It's fine for some people.

    Other people's experiences aren't going to tell you for sure what your experience will be.
    This

  • jyoti_0
    jyoti_0 Posts: 87 Member
    edited January 2023
    Thank you everyone for your support and insights!
    I have a very sedentary lifestyle (am a writer, so I sit in front of my laptop the whole day, except for walking a few steps inside my home).
    And I have gluten +dairy allergy. So, I eat mostly local food which is made from fermented rice (lots of fiber, less calories), and make sure that I do not go hungry.
    I also keep sipping water through the day. Since I'm sitting at one place the whole day, it's easy to keep a mug full of water next to me and "snack" on it.
    I can't eat packaged food due to allergic response.
    My all meals are mostly steamed or boiled food and I take multivitamins.
    In the last 90 days, I have become more energetic and active and do not feel tired at all. So, I guess, my body is happy with the changed diet.
    I really appreciate everyone for their insightful comments and support, It means so much to me!
  • Brigit42
    Brigit42 Posts: 39 Member
    LiveOnceBeHappy wrote: »
    I did 1200 calories for about 9 months while I lost 50 lbs. I didn't adjust for my very little exercise (walking). It worked well for me. There were occasional splurges, but I was pretty consistent in weighing my food and tracking every bite. I've slacked off now and have gained 5 lbs back, but I'm still okay. I did not develop an eating disorder! I am healthy! 53, female. 173 lbs to 125 lbs (this am). 5' 2.5".

    125 is my dream weight but that doesn't seem realistic.

    I give you credit for doing 1200 calories for nine months! I don't feel satisfied on 1200 on a daily basis.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    noodlesno wrote: »
    Everybody is different and I am a big advocate for doing what works for you. So if you are doing well on 1200kcal and it suits your outcomes and lifestyle then good on you.

    I did 1200 kcals for a couple of weeks when I started with MyFitness Pal. It was WAY too low for me and the pain from hunger was too much. I worked out through experiment that 1800 kcals a day is good for an aggressive weight loss (2lb -3lbs a week), 2000kcal gives me a moderate weight loss (1-1.5 lbs a week) and 2500 - 2800 is maintenance. This resulted in a 100lbs loss in 11 months. (These numbers are just what suits my body and not for a second suggesting that this is what it should be for other people)

    Honestly, one of the best things I did in my weight loss journey is work out what was good for my body, rather than take what MFP or the internet has to say. Yeah, it may have delayed things a bit more but it has set me up for success in the future.

    After a horrendous year last year, I am just losing a bit of weight that I regained (30lbs). I have been doing between 1800 - 1900kcals and have lost 12.4lbs in 24 days. (before anyone comes at me there would have been a lot of water weight in the start!)

    Good luck with your journey xx

    This is one of the best posts I’ve seen in a while.

    Weighing and logging accurately and consistently will give you data to make sure what you’re doing is appropriate for you.

    I increased my calories three times while still continuing to lose. At one point I was maintaining at 3200 a day. At 60, I need to reel it in and have some recovery and down time. I’m studying my very useful cache of data to reevaluate how many calories I can enjoy at a slightly slower pace.

    Don’t get locked in to the 1200 mindset. Remember that food is also nutrition and fuel for the wonderful cluster of cells that is your body. Listen to your body, and above all, listen to family and trusted friends. It’s possible to be chasing low calories or a low weight goal, drop too low and not recognize it in the mirror.

    It’s also possible to smack that horse with the 1200-calorie whip to the finish line, congratulate yourself and let go, finding yourself back to Square One.

    This has to be something you and I can continue forever, and that requires good habits well into maintenance.

    100% endorse both those posts. I'd underscore this part of it: What matters is not so much the calorie level, but the actual weight loss rate and the subjective experience.

    MFP, a fitness tracker, or a TDEE calculator can be used to provide a starting point, but after 4-6 weeks on a new regimen (whole menstrual cycles if that applies), a person has enough personal experience to stop relying on population averages from those tools, and start exploiting his/her own personal experiential weight loss data.

    I'd repeat myself from earlier: The various calculators (and my fitness tracker) thought I needed to eat 1200 calories to lose at a sensible rate, when I gave them accurate descriptions of myself. It was not hard to eat 1200 (plus exercise calories), I was not hungry, I didn't feel deprived - none of that. It was very doable, in that sense. But I lost so fast at the calculated calories that it had negative health consequences very suddenly. (It was fortunately only mild consequences!)

    Pay attention to your actual loss rate, once you have enough experience data. Even before that, watch out for hints of negative symptoms (weakness, fatigue, etc.) alongside what looks like could be faster loss based on limited data.

    Whatever calorie level gives you a sensibly moderate, sustainable loss rate, and keeps you energetic, strong, and healthy - that's a good calorie level, be it 1200 or 3000+.
  • BartBVanBockstaele
    BartBVanBockstaele Posts: 623 Member
    edited January 2023
    sbelletti wrote: »
    I love the comments about how 1200 calories can be different for different people. As a vegetarian, 1200 calories can be a LOT of food for me, so I never really had to "manage" hunger. If I chose 1200 calories of peanut butter and ice cream, I can see where there might be some issues. 😁
    I do have to manage hunger and it is very tricky, but only because we are different people. That said, we are in complete agreement. I had to stop eating cheese, nuts and a slew of other delectables in order to minimise both hunger and food-related stress. The result is that nobody wants to eat what I make, although it is palatable-enough for myself. I am no vegetarian and never intended to become one, but if I removed sardines from my diet, I would actually be a vegan. Not by intention, but simply by following the "path of least hunger" for me.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    LiveOnceBeHappy wrote: »
    I did 1200 calories for about 9 months while I lost 50 lbs. I didn't adjust for my very little exercise (walking). It worked well for me. There were occasional splurges, but I was pretty consistent in weighing my food and tracking every bite. I've slacked off now and have gained 5 lbs back, but I'm still okay. I did not develop an eating disorder! I am healthy! 53, female. 173 lbs to 125 lbs (this am). 5' 2.5".


    that sounds good for you - and you meet the criteria of people for whom 1200 can be appropriate - female, older, shorter, not very active.

    The pushback usually comes when somebody 30 years younger, 6 inches taller, and higher activity level plans to do same calorie level as you.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    sbelletti wrote: »
    I love the comments about how 1200 calories can be different for different people. As a vegetarian, 1200 calories can be a LOT of food for me, so I never really had to "manage" hunger. If I chose 1200 calories of peanut butter and ice cream, I can see where there might be some issues. 😁

    Speaking as someone who's also vegetarian, I don't think that's the whole story. I think some people are more subject to hunger on any given mix of food than others.

    I also suspect the number of calories a person needs to maintain also makes a difference in how hungry they get even on a perfect-for-them mix of foods at a given calorie amount, i.e. I'd speculate that someone who needs 3000 to maintain may well be more hungry at 1200 than would be someone who needs 1500 to maintain. Calorie needs aren't purely a matter of size and age, either, or entirely those plus current activity level - it seems like there are some mystery factors that lead some relatively rare few of us to be significant outliers when it comes to calorie estimates from MFP (or TDEE calculator, or fitness trackers).

    Like you, I didn't have trouble appetite-wise at 1200, even though it was too low for me (as measured by loss rate and eventual health consequences). In my case, I don't really attribute that lack of appetite struggle to being vegetarian (I became obese as a vegetarian after all, and not entirely on non-sating foods). I attribute it more but to simply being lucky to be a person not inclined to (or sensitive to?) major hunger sensations. Even when I've been underfueled in my subjective opinion - like on some long days on vacation paddling a canoe and portaging for hours with minimal intake - the need is more likely to manifest as brain fog or fatigue, rather than hunger sensations.

    There's a lot of variation in people's reported subjective experience with hunger, appetite, and cravings, and I don't disbelieve their reports just because they're unlike mine, or because I think my way of eating is necessarily objectively and universally more filling (though I do suspect most people will find whole foods more filling, generally).

    On top of that, it seems that mindset about one's food matters physiologically, bizarrely enough.
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21574706/

    That has some interesting implications, potentially.

    But we digress from OP's question.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,457 Member
    Digress? Who? Us?
  • Brigit42
    Brigit42 Posts: 39 Member
    @AnnPT77 & @springlering62 hey I'm not sure if you guys remember RaquelFit2 but that was my old user name. I got frustrated with lack of movement in the scale and decided to take a MFP break. I gained about 8 pounds so now I'm back to square one.

    I definitely need more that 1200 calories in order to stay healthy.
  • Brigit42
    Brigit42 Posts: 39 Member
    @springlering62 Hugs! Thank you.

    When you come on to the site and it defaults you to "1200 calories" it's easy to think this is how much I should eat. I just know from experience it's not happening.
  • LiveOnceBeHappy
    LiveOnceBeHappy Posts: 448 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    LiveOnceBeHappy wrote: »
    I did 1200 calories for about 9 months while I lost 50 lbs. I didn't adjust for my very little exercise (walking). It worked well for me. There were occasional splurges, but I was pretty consistent in weighing my food and tracking every bite. I've slacked off now and have gained 5 lbs back, but I'm still okay. I did not develop an eating disorder! I am healthy! 53, female. 173 lbs to 125 lbs (this am). 5' 2.5".


    that sounds good for you - and you meet the criteria of people for whom 1200 can be appropriate - female, older, shorter, not very active.

    The pushback usually comes when somebody 30 years younger, 6 inches taller, and higher activity level plans to do same calorie level as you.

    But if I were 6" taller and had a higher activity level, then the calculator also wouldn't have given me 1200 calories either! I did the calculator at my previous weight, moderate exercise, and 6" taller. I would have been barely overweight and have been given 1600 calories per day to lose 1 pound a week.

    I think the calculator works. It gave me 1200, and that's what I did. So I find it weird that people provide cautionary tales of failure when the calculator gives the person 1200 calories.

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