1200 cals a day?!

hannaawh

I'm 5'2". I lost my weight eating significantly more than 1200.

I don't understand why people would willingly eat so little.

Look, it was perfectly and totally right for you to eat more than 1200 calories a day. You lost 82 pounds! That is a whole lot (and jesus you can be proud, by the way) so you lost a whole lot by eating 1200+ calories.
But what people seem to not understand is that NOT EVERYBODY HERE IS THE SAME.
If you're let's say 135lbs and you want to be 125lbs and your body is really hard on losing weight, a 1200 calorie diet might be what it takes you in order to lose those pounds.

the range of people that actually need to eat 1200 calories is to lose is MUCH... MUCH smaller than you think.

MFP allows folks to put in information that isn't correct for them, which is why this topic comes up all the time.. and is done to death.

Yes, it is very little, of course you're right! But eating 1200 calories a day is also definitely NOT starvation mode as some people claim it to be. It's definitely the wrong thing to do when you're overweight trying to lose weight and get all frustrated, but, again, it is not even close to starvation.

TheEffort

I did it when I first started on MFP, it was difficut for me to sustain after a while.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TheEffort/view/fat-to-skinny-with-a-touch-of-psychosis-571278

The best way is to figure out your calorie requirements - http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ and go from there.

Good luck.

deksgrl

I'm 5'2". I lost my weight eating significantly more than 1200.

I don't understand why people would willingly eat so little.

Look, it was perfectly and totally right for you to eat more than 1200 calories a day. You lost 82 pounds! That is a whole lot (and jesus you can be proud, by the way) so you lost a whole lot by eating 1200+ calories.
But what people seem to not understand is that NOT EVERYBODY HERE IS THE SAME.
If you're let's say 135lbs and you want to be 125lbs and your body is really hard on losing weight, a 1200 calorie diet might be what it takes you in order to lose those pounds.

Actually it works the other way, as you get closer to your goal, you eat more (not more than maintenance), and you have a more gradual rate of loss. It is not healthy to take an aggressive cut when you have so little to lose.

stummeay

I think it depends on how tall you are, too. I'm 5'2 and have no problem staying at 1200 cals / day. I usually have a protein bar for breakfast, then usually only water until lunch when I have a chicken breast and raw veggies, or black beans and chicken in a tortilla, or a tuna wrap. No afternoon snack, and then often eggs or egg whites with veggies for dinner. On exercise days I eat more. I usually am not hungry, or just a bit hungry.

The_1_Who_Knocks

On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.

If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.

Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.

mschicagocubs

I'm 5'2". I lost my weight eating significantly more than 1200.

I don't understand why people would willingly eat so little.

Look, it was perfectly and totally right for you to eat more than 1200 calories a day. You lost 82 pounds! That is a whole lot (and jesus you can be proud, by the way) so you lost a whole lot by eating 1200+ calories.
But what people seem to not understand is that NOT EVERYBODY HERE IS THE SAME.
If you're let's say 135lbs and you want to be 125lbs and your body is really hard on losing weight, a 1200 calorie diet might be what it takes you in order to lose those pounds.

Actually it works the other way, as you get closer to your goal, you eat more (not more than maintenance), and you have a more gradual rate of loss. It is not healthy to take an aggressive cut when you have so little to lose.

^^THIS! You will lose weight at 1200 calories, of course, you aren't eating over maintenance. But in long term, I feel it is not necessary to do. Sure if you are 5 feet tall, you can probably handle it. But a lot of people on here that eat at 1200 are not short.

If you eat at 1200 calories and don't feel full and satisfied ... don't push yourself to eat that little. In the long term you are setting yourself up for failure.

The_1_Who_Knocks

I drink an herbalife shake for breakfast and lunch and have a snack mid morning and afternoon of fruit/cheese or veggies. For dinner I have meat/chicken and a salad. Staying away from bread, pastas, rice makes it easier to stay at 1200 calories. For snack after dinner I have been enjoying an orange.:flowerforyou:

Agreed. Cut that stuff out of my diet and staying right around 1200 was no sweat after that.

deksgrl

On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.

If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.

Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.

You are a man, you should not eat that little.

The_1_Who_Knocks

I'm 5'2". I lost my weight eating significantly more than 1200.

I don't understand why people would willingly eat so little.

Look, it was perfectly and totally right for you to eat more than 1200 calories a day. You lost 82 pounds! That is a whole lot (and jesus you can be proud, by the way) so you lost a whole lot by eating 1200+ calories.
But what people seem to not understand is that NOT EVERYBODY HERE IS THE SAME.
If you're let's say 135lbs and you want to be 125lbs and your body is really hard on losing weight, a 1200 calorie diet might be what it takes you in order to lose those pounds.

Actually it works the other way, as you get closer to your goal, you eat more (not more than maintenance), and you have a more gradual rate of loss. It is not healthy to take an aggressive cut when you have so little to lose.

^^THIS! You will lose weight at 1200 calories, of course, you aren't eating over maintenance. But in long term, I feel it is not necessary to do. Sure if you are 5 feet tall, you can probably handle it. But a lot of people on here that eat at 1200 are not short.

If you eat at 1200 calories and don't feel full and satisfied ... don't push yourself to eat that little. In the long term you are setting yourself up for failure.

I agree that anybody who makes themselves miserable while losing the weight is only going to gain in back.

jennp9

I only have 1200 calories a day too and it was quite a shock for me at first too considering I was easily taking in 2500-300 day before I started tracking.
You start to really make them count and it is doable... I do add back in my calories when I work out though and I am still losing weight.
You will make changes, healthy changes... but that is the idea. You can manually adjust it higher if you need to but give it a try and track how much you are actually going over every day.
I started cutting back on my half & half in my coffee, then switched to 1% milk to drink, now I drink Skim and put that in my coffee as well. I have increased my veggies and eat more salads. Healthier proteins...

Now when I work out or even when I don't I am still within my range.

The_1_Who_Knocks

On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.

If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.

Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.

You are a man, you should not eat that little.

Maybe. But I've lost 90 pounds and I just had a full physical, and the Dr. says I am a helluva lot healthier than when I was fat.

trogalicious

On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.

If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.

Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.

You are a man, you should not eat that little.

Maybe. But I've lost 90 pounds and I just had a full physical, and the Dr. says I am a helluva lot healthier than when I was fat.

...and you're gonna have an issue if you try to eat more than that from here out.

The_1_Who_Knocks

I am probably going to die from cancer brought on by artificial sweeteners but at least I won't be fat in my casket.

WinoGelato

P.s. forgot to mention I'm 5'2"
FML hate being small!

I am 5'2. I lose 0.5 lb/week weight eating 1900-2100 cal/day. I net around 1700 cal/day. I too started at 1200 cal per the MFP recommendation and then started reading more on these forums about TDEE. Went onto Scooby's calculator to find my TDEE, and then raised my goal to 1400, then 1500 and was losing a lb per week. When I got closer to goal and after getting a FitBit, I raised it again to ~ 1700 based on a 250 cal deficit from my daily burn. Just because you are petite doesn't mean you are doomed to eat 1200 calories.

If that is what works for you - lucky you, really! If I ate 2100 cals a day I would be definitely gaining weight even though I'm 5'7''. It's not really about height, it's about your starting weight and BODY. A 300lbs lady will lose weight on a 2000 cals diet, a 150lbs lady might need a little (or a lot) luck for losing 0.5lbs/week on that diet.

I started MFP at 150 lbs. I weighed in a couple of weeks ago at 125 lbs. I've been tracking daily for 390 days according to my update today. Yes that is just about 0.5 lb/week for a year. I had weeks where I lost 1-2 lbs, and I've had plenty where I've lost nothing. It all averages out to 0.5 lb/week and I go over my allotted calories a few times a week, I'm slightly under a few times a week as well. Weekly I average out to my net goal and am seeing fairly predictable results. I'm getting ready to transition to maintenance but will probably keep my goal the same for a few more weeks to give myself a little bit of a buffer. I'm also trying to add more strength training.

PS - I don't eat very clean either! I have two small children so we eat convenience food, and chocolate and wine are a must.

ETA the wine is for me, not the two small children...

mschicagocubs

Before I bow out of this topic ...

If you CAN lose weight eating more, you should. Especially if you are working out and not extremely short/petite.

I'm 5'5 and I eat 1700-1800 calories. I've lost 13 lbs in a little over 2 months. I'm healthy, I'm feeling great.

Most people who eat 1200 or less are going to be back here in 1 year needing to start over or lose weight they gained after they ate junk food for a month straight because they were so tired of "dieting"

If you can eat that little and not feel hungry...and you can sustain it ... and I mean like for 6 months, not 1 month or 2 months. If you can really eat at 1200 for the rest of your life .... then I will eat the food you are missing out on

The_1_Who_Knocks

On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.

If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.

Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.

You are a man, you should not eat that little.

Maybe. But I've lost 90 pounds and I just had a full physical, and the Dr. says I am a helluva lot healthier than when I was fat.

...and you're gonna have an issue if you try to eat more than that from here out.

I kind of doubt it. If people paid attention to what I initially wrote I said I eat only 1200 calories on days I don't exercise. That is like one or two days a week. Most days I am eating 1500-1800 calories and walking 4-8 miles.

RGv2

On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.

If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.

Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.

You are a man, you should not eat that little.

Maybe. But I've lost 90 pounds and I just had a full physical, and the Dr. says I am a helluva lot healthier than when I was fat.

Dude is also in his 40's. Do I think it's healthy and that muscle mass is most likely being sacrificed, maybe so, but 1200 probably isn't as far off for him as others.

Myself, if I were under or at 1200 at lunchtime I'd be light headed...

The_1_Who_Knocks

Before I bow out of this topic ...

If you CAN lose weight eating more, you should. Especially if you are working out and not extremely short/petite.

I'm 5'5 and I eat 1700-1800 calories. I've lost 13 lbs in a little over 2 months. I'm healthy, I'm feeling great.

Most people who eat 1200 or less are going to be back here in 1 year needing to start over or lose weight they gained after they ate junk food for a month straight because they were so tired of "dieting"

If you can eat that little and not feel hungry...and you can sustain it ... and I mean like for 6 months, not 1 month or 2 months. If you can really eat at 1200 for the rest of your life .... then I will eat the food you are missing out on

Yeah, anybody who calls what they do "dieting" is going to gain the weight back.

The_1_Who_Knocks

On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.

If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.

Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.

You are a man, you should not eat that little.

Maybe. But I've lost 90 pounds and I just had a full physical, and the Dr. says I am a helluva lot healthier than when I was fat.

Dude is also in his 40's. Do I think it's healthy and that muscle mass is most likely being sacrificed, yes, but 1200 probably isn't as far off for him as others.

Myself, if I were under or at 1200 at lunchtime I'd be light headed...

When I get rid of this last 10 pounds of belly fat I'll start worrying about my muscle mass, but I'm not exactly wasting away at 185 and 5'11.

CDCapps

At one point my goal was to eat 1200 cals a day and I was constantly failing. When I failed I thought horrible things about myself and just spiraled out of control emotionally and benged on food. It was a neverending cycle. My husband pointed out that if I would set a more realistic goal, then I would succeed, feel better about myself and make more progress overall. He was right!