1200 Calorie Diet???? Seriously???

LeenaGee

Your posts had a couple of quotes in it and it is difficult to read ALL the quotes and sub quotes.

Your post just happened to be the last one, not the most interesting.

Lovestoscrapbook

LessthanKris wrote: »

I think saying a 1200 calorie diet is starving is a bit of a broad statement. I am only 5'1. I can not eat as much as someone who is 5'10 and lose weight. I do fine eating 1200 calories and my exercise calories.

Agreed. I have some health issues and my physician did the math and calculated that my daily need is actually closer to 1100. There is no "one size fits all" based on many different factors including health issues, height, etc.

MKEgal

bygblu21 wrote:

I'm fairly new to this forum and am really surprised at how many people on here are starving themselves to lose weight.

There are a few people on MFP who promote anorexia, VLCD, binge eating (OMAD), etc.
But for the most part we have our heads on straight.

Weight loss is more than just limiting your caloric intake. Its a combination of eating clean and healthy ( I hate the word diet) and exercising on a daily basis...
Exercise is key but that's a whole other topic.

Define "clean". It means different things to different people, so is meaningless.
But you're right that exercise is important. Certainly not "key", but important. (At least, if you want to rely on real-world experience of people who have lost weight & kept it off, which would seem a reasonable thing to do.)

"Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity."
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html

Starving yourself is not a healthy way to lose weight and by limiting your caloric intake to 1200 or so calories is doing just that.

Nope. 1200 is the minumum a woman of average height should eat per day. Not starving, just pretty low, and you have to be very careful how they're allocated in order to get the nutrients you need.

If someone is very short, less than 1200 calories may be perfectly adequate to get all the nutritents she needs for the day. One of my MFP friends is under 5' tall, and IIRC she's aiming for no more than 800. (For her, 80 lb would be a healthy goal weight, so that's reasonable.)

I'm 5'10" or so, and my doctor recently recommended I eat at 1300 cal/day and ignore exercise calories. I'm currently aiming for 1400, and while I sometimes go a couple hundred over, I certainly don't eat back anywhere near all my exercise cal (which are generally around 700-1000), and not every day.

by following some simple rules about eating, you can have it running very efficiently. Follow these few simple rules and you'll see and feel the difference in your energy level.

The only "rule" people need to follow to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than they burn.
Where those calories come from is irrelevant w/r/t weight loss.

Start every day with an 8oz. glass of lemon water

Only if you like lemonaide. Won't do a thing for weight loss, any more than drinking plain water will.

[/quote] Monitor your portions- you should be eating small portion meals throughout the day rather than one, two or three large portioned meals a day [/quote]
Actually, research has shown that eating half your calories for breakfast, a medium lunch, and a small dinner leads to more weight loss than the usual American plan.
See the last half of this post for the studies:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-06-10-some-studies-about-weight-loss-667818

Drink water, all day long

If you're thirsty, drink. If you're not sure you're hungry, have a glass of water. If your urine is darker than straw, drink more water.

Focus on lean proteins like chicken, turkey, salmon etc. and I don't mean processed cold-cuts

Plain lean protein is good. So are beans, lentils, nuts.
Lunchmeat can be OK in moderation, but the main problem there is sodium.

Focus on eating fresh vegetables, steamed when possible

A good way to fill up, with few calories. But be sure to eat from all the food groups.

Limit unnecessary condiments i.e. mayonnaise, oils, salt etc.

Condiments are good. They can make bland veggies edible.
Use the high-fat ones sparingly.

Limit, but don't restrict carbohydrates. Complex carbs are needed by your body

Actually, carbs are the fuel the body runs on. If they're not simple, the body makes simple carbs out of them.
But you're right that eating higher protein & lower carbs leads to more weight loss
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-08-09-high-protein-diet-685553
Try 45% carbs, 20% fat, 35% protein. That's at the high end of a healthy range for protein, and the low end of healthy for the other 2.

Dairy is ok but in limited portions and should be kept to low fat dairy.

There's no reason to limit dairy unless you're allergic.
And some fat helps sate, plus allowing the body to digest fat-soluble vitamins.

Fresh fruit should be kept to 1 or 2 pieces a day. Its high in sugar and you should be limiting your sugar

Fructose is not evil. Fruit is not evil. As long as you have calories / carbs to burn, have fruit if you want. The main reason to limit it is if you're diabetic.

Graelwyn75

I find it amusing that people are flagging such an old topic, lol.

LeenaGee

I find it amusing that they flag at all. Spam is different.

RedArizona5

brraanndi wrote: »

Losing weight realistically requires a very simple concept...take in fewer calories then you are burning (regardless of what those calories are) and don't restrict yourself to "clean" foods or limit something you love...why because you are setting yourself up for failure. If you want to exercise choose something you love that way you know you will stick to it....

This person knows what's up. I've lost almost 50 lbs eating "clean" when I want to and eating Taco Bell when I want to. I walk and hula hoop. I eat sugar if I want. This time it's actually working and you know why? There are no "Bad Foods!" just me using common sense day in and day out.

This is what i have been brought up by and I have never been obese in my life! I have been over weight once and that had not lasted long due to this…but everyone IS different…I am indifferent because as soon as anybody says anything on here off with their heads it is…posters beware lol but thats my story and I'm sticking to it

Tigg_er

I find it amusing that I responded to such and old topic lol. And what is it with all the flags anyways ?

MKEgal

LiminalAscendance wrote:

Water all day long eh... I drink when I am thirsty... too much water isn't good either.

Well, let's get this silly thing out of the way... now water can be bad?
Just like everyone here says we don't need cleanses, since our body can handle it, we certainly don't need to worry about drinking too much water. That's why we urinate.
Show me an example where some non-ridiculous (e.g. a gallon in few minutes) amount of water was actually harmful to an individual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication
"Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning or dilutional hyponatremia, is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside safe limits by over-hydration."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia

My cousin went unconscious & had convulsions from this, and he wasn't intending to drink too much water, wasn't even aware he was drinking what would be considered "too much". He was just hot & working at a physical job. Spent several days in ICU.

MKEgal

.

MKEgal

sullengirl78 wrote:

I love the 1200 cal diet! I can lose weight quickly and I just stick what I want into the 1200 cals. I do this by eating once per day. I drink water and coffee during the day, and at night have a big meal and sometimes a dessert! It's amazing. My body has adapted nicely doing this. I fast for about 23 hours then load up my plate!

Losing weight slowly leads to lasting weight loss / maintenance.
Binge eating is not healthy, no matter what the OMAD guy preaches.

Annr

The person that originated this conversation has 5 friends. He says he likes to help promote a healthy lifestyle in people. Ummmmmm Well one good thing is it started a great conversation. But really to each his own. A persons eating habits, is like someones fingerprint....very individualistic. So I try to eat between 1200 and 1400 calories a day. I am definitely not starving. Hey I could LIVE off myself for a month...hahahaha But seriously, lets just appreciate each ones differences. Eating is like Life. The 100% you take in, 80% you throw away, and 20% you use and learn from.

daybehavior

Losing weight slowly leads to lasting weight loss / maintenance.

This is just an urban legend/old wives tale/broscience. Research shows it really doesn't matter. In fact there was a clinical study done where people who lost weight at a faster pace not only lost more but kept it off longer and were not more likely to regain weight than those who lost it slowly.

If you have any clinical trials showing otherwise I will be happy to read them.

gpstrucker

This thread AGAIN?

Annr

its grown a conscience all its own Im afraid....( cue in the spooky music)

daybehavior

LiveLaughLoveEat1 wrote: »

daybehavior wrote: »

Losing weight slowly leads to lasting weight loss / maintenance.

This is just an urban legend/old wives tale/broscience. Research shows it really doesn't matter. In fact there was a clinical study done where people who lost weight at a faster pace not only lost more but kept it off longer and were not more likely to gain weight than those who lost it slowly.

If you have any clinical trials showing otherwise I will be happy to read them.

Yeah, I don't believe this.

Well too bad because it actually happened in the study. I would link it but im not at my PC right now. In the meanwhile feel free to show me something done under a clinical setting that suggests the opposite.

dbmata

In for the study.

PetulantOne

nomeejerome wrote: »

1. You do not need to "eat clean." (you can eat a variety of foods, lose weight, and meet nutritional needs)
2. Drink the lemon water if you like the taste, but it will do nothing for weight loss.
3. Meal timing is personal preference.
4. You can eat lunch meat and still lose weight. (and be healthy)
5. You do not have to limit condiments. (if it fits into your day, go for it.)
6. You do not have to limit dairy. (unless you have a medical reason)
7. You do not have to limit fruit. (fruit has numerous nutritional benefits)
8. The only reason somebody should be restricting sugar is because of a medical reason. (sugar is carb, so track that.)

Yes