1200 calories?

HappyStack

Glad to see the cavalry arrive.

People need to recognise how their body responds to continual crash diets, or prolonged periods of insufficient calories. The basic mechanism is - yes - you lose weight. You lose a decent portion of lean mass as well as body fat, and your bones will begin to lose density.

Then, when the inevitable yo-yoing begins and you gain weight, you gain more body fat without replenishing any of the lean mass or bone density that you once had.

You therefore become more fat at the same weight you were previously. It's unhealthy in so many ways, and people who continue to give advice saying it's worked for them - fine. If you want to "starve yourself thin" and not listen to reason, go ahead. What we object to is you advising other people to do so.

MissBabyJane

I'm having a hard time eating 1200 calories a day, too. I feel full, but sometimes I get scared because people say it's unhealthy and that my body will get used to this low amount of calories and then with the slightest change I will gain weight. I hope it's not true

TeaBea

I'm having a hard time eating 1200 calories a day, too. I feel full, but sometimes I get scared because people say it's unhealthy and that my body will get used to this low amount of calories and then with the slightest change I will gain weight. I hope it's not true

Calorie dense foods pack in a lot of calories for small portion sizes........cut back on the high volume food

Healthy fats - nuts, nut butters, seeds, olive oil, avacado

Protein - treat MFP default guideline as a minimum

Too low for too long......bye, bye muscle .....this actually lowers metabolism

mccindy72

Glad to see the cavalry arrive.

People need to recognise how their body responds to continual crash diets, or prolonged periods of insufficient calories. The basic mechanism is - yes - you lose weight. You lose a decent portion of lean mass as well as body fat, and your bones will begin to lose density.

Then, when the inevitable yo-yoing begins and you gain weight, you gain more body fat without replenishing any of the lean mass or bone density that you once had.

You therefore become more fat at the same weight you were previously. It's unhealthy in so many ways, and people who continue to give advice saying it's worked for them - fine. If you want to "starve yourself thin" and not listen to reason, go ahead. What we object to is you advising other people to do so.

Missing you on the other thread where overeaters are trotting out the starvation mode theory again....

Briargrey

44, 5'1", started at 291, currently at 199.

1200 calories was the one thing I wanted to avoid like the effing plague when I started up last February. Why? Because I KNEW it was too little for anyone, especially for someone starting at almost 300 pounds, and I KNEW I could do it for a few months and have some huge losses and not feel hungry, because I was pumped to be changing. And I also KNEW that I would then fail and binge and do everything else I have ever done. And that it wasn't sustainable.

Read the sexypants post. I think it should be mandatory.

I have MFP set at 1400 calories per day, and I eat back exercise calories. SOME days, I reach the end of the day and have a lot of calories left over and realize I'm going to net under 1200. On those days, I either ignore it and don't fret, because it doesn't happen often, or I run downstairs and grab some cheese or soy nuts or something else even if I'm not feeling hungry.

Hunger is NOT a good metric because it can be mental too.

Stop listening to the people telling you 'everyone is different, if it works for you, great' when you are talking about something ridiculously unhealthy like eating under 1200 calories. Science is on the side of sexypants. Try it. You'll like it.

Juicy_23

Hey I am eating the same amount of calories, could you please let me know what type of meals your eating...

mccindy72

Read the sexypants post. I think it should be mandatory.

Stop listening to the people telling you 'everyone is different, if it works for you, great' when you are talking about something ridiculously unhealthy like eating under 1200 calories. Science is on the side of sexypants. Try it. You'll like it.

^This^. :drinker:

xNouvelleVie

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to reply! There are many different opinions and views out there from all you guys. I think my biggest problem is my breakfast calories aren't high enough. So as someone suggested I think I will start out with a better breakfast to start out my day with higher caloric intake. I do think some people's bodies work differently, than others. Some people might really be able to get by with less calories than other people, but that's just me. I just don't want to see people jumping on other posters cause they said they eat less than 1200. (Since they didn't ask the question.) I do like people suggesting eating good fats like avocados, which I think are delicious. So I might add those to a meal to get a healthy boost.

I will definitely look over the Sexypants thread that several people linked to. As well as the Eat More 2 Lose Weight  that Maple suggested. I certainly don't want to slow my metabolism down in the long run. I guess I am a little scared to add more caloric dense foods, but will try things like nuts, avocados and maybe larger portions of lean meats with my meals. I did seem to have more calories when I ate dark chocolate covered almonds. They were a treat for me, but felt healthy because I hear dark chocolate is good for you. (Don't know how true that is though, but I do love those dark chocolate covered almonds)

tnsumner

I've been "successfully" using this app for over a year. Most days I eat right under 1000 calories. Today, I actually hit 1200. I don't have the usual eating schedule that other people do because I work 3rd shift. To me, it just doesn't sound healthy to eat just to have met a calorie goal that day. Even when the app tells me to recalculate my calorie goals, I rarely do. I know that if I'm allowed 1500 calories per day, I will not make smart choices past a certain point. I'll just say, "Oh I have 300 calories left to eat... WHERE IS THAT CAKE?!!!?!?!?!" Better to eat less with smart choices.

Why? If you have the calories left....what's wrong with cake?

Don't hate me!!! Lol. I love cake. I just don't like to have that sort of enticement around. I ate a whole pie in 3 days because I somehow convinced myself it'd go bad. I allow myself sweets. I just think a yogurt is a better choice than a piece of cake. I kept Little Debbie in business with those Christmas tree cakes.

Samantha5104

WELL SAID! So very true

tyediri

I wish they would introduce 'like' and 'dislike' buttons to the community boards. I'd have left quite a few 'dislikes' on the first page if I was able to.

I read through pretty much the whole of the first page thinking "where is the cavalry????" Made me laugh when I saw your comment coz I was thinking the same thing. lol

You can't sustain a 1200kcal diet. Do you really want to live the rest of your life eating at 1200kcals and would you want to?
Weight loss, for it to be successful in the long term, should be lifestyle changes, not just a temporary diet or a temporary gym membership that you can abandon after losing the weight you want to.

It should be something you can do for the rest of your life, and as such, requires some planning and a long term view for success. The start of any weight loss journey is exciting and motivating and you will feel like you can eat at 1200kcals forever, but once the motivation dies down and you get sick of eating 'diet food' and start craving some Chinese food, a pizza or a melt in your mouth chocolate pud (oh yum!), eating at 1200kcals is not going to be sustainable.

Eat the largest amount of calories you can eat while still losing weight and take it from there.

tyediri

Meant to quote this on my previous post. lol! Fail!

Glad to see the cavalry arrive.

People need to recognise how their body responds to continual crash diets, or prolonged periods of insufficient calories. The basic mechanism is - yes - you lose weight. You lose a decent portion of lean mass as well as body fat, and your bones will begin to lose density.

Then, when the inevitable yo-yoing begins and you gain weight, you gain more body fat without replenishing any of the lean mass or bone density that you once had.

You therefore become more fat at the same weight you were previously. It's unhealthy in so many ways, and people who continue to give advice saying it's worked for them - fine. If you want to "starve yourself thin" and not listen to reason, go ahead. What we object to is you advising other people to do so.

Sweet_Potato

I ate fewer than 1200 yesterday. I've been really dehydrated this week, so I've been drinking a lot of water which fills me up and doesn't leave much room for food. I was also using the cold weather as an excuse to not go exercise, or even walk to work like I normally do. 1150 calories for a small woman on a very sedentary day is not a problem, in my opinion, especially if it's just an occasional thing as it was in my case. I'd still eaten four very satisfying meals, and even some chocolate.

ihad

Bump - marker for later reference

ihad

I've been "successfully" using this app for over a year. Most days I eat right under 1000 calories. Today, I actually hit 1200. I don't have the usual eating schedule that other people do because I work 3rd shift. To me, it just doesn't sound healthy to eat just to have met a calorie goal that day. Even when the app tells me to recalculate my calorie goals, I rarely do. I know that if I'm allowed 1500 calories per day, I will not make smart choices past a certain point. I'll just say, "Oh I have 300 calories left to eat... WHERE IS THAT CAKE?!!!?!?!?!" Better to eat less with smart choices.

Why? If you have the calories left....what's wrong with cake?

Don't hate me!!! Lol. I love cake. I just don't like to have that sort of enticement around. I ate a whole pie in 3 days because I somehow convinced myself it'd go bad. I allow myself sweets. I just think a yogurt is a better choice than a piece of cake. I kept Little Debbie in business with those Christmas tree cakes.

Perhaps then, EAT ENOUGH with smart choices might be the way to go.

sillyvalentine

No. No 1200 calories. 1200 calories for lunch? Yes.

mccindy72

I've been "successfully" using this app for over a year. Most days I eat right under 1000 calories. Today, I actually hit 1200. I don't have the usual eating schedule that other people do because I work 3rd shift. To me, it just doesn't sound healthy to eat just to have met a calorie goal that day. Even when the app tells me to recalculate my calorie goals, I rarely do. I know that if I'm allowed 1500 calories per day, I will not make smart choices past a certain point. I'll just say, "Oh I have 300 calories left to eat... WHERE IS THAT CAKE?!!!?!?!?!" Better to eat less with smart choices.

Why? If you have the calories left....what's wrong with cake?

Don't hate me!!! Lol. I love cake. I just don't like to have that sort of enticement around. I ate a whole pie in 3 days because I somehow convinced myself it'd go bad. I allow myself sweets. I just think a yogurt is a better choice than a piece of cake. I kept Little Debbie in business with those Christmas tree cakes.

Perhaps then, EAT ENOUGH with smart choices might be the way to go.

^This^. I have a wonderful blueberry pie in the refrigerator. I am eating it in eight days, because there are eight slices. I am not sure why having a yogurt would be a better choice than my pie... it's made with nice fresh blueberries, so I'm getting some delicious fruit, and it fits into my daily calorie goals.