1200 cals a day?!

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  • BarbaraJeanAnne
    BarbaraJeanAnne Posts: 2
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    I'm on 1200 cal-a-day diet, too. Sometimes it's too low of a count, but as long as I don't get the crunchies while watching tv in the evenings, I'm fine. (munching on grapes helps). Fiber and water are supposed to be the keys to feeling full longer. Proteins (small pieces of a lean pork tenderloin, etc) are helpful to munch on to keep you feeling full longer.
    I've been advised to steer clear of anything flour-based (breads,pastas, etc) because those carbs give you cravings, and if you have an intolerance to wheat, you don't aways know it, and you'll stop losing weight.
    I'm told by nutritionists that less than 1200 calories a day puts your body into "starvation mode". That means your body will automatically hold onto the calories, you won't lose, and you slow your metabolism.
    I lose slowly, about 4-5 lbs a month, but that's a good rate, I'm told.
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    P.s. forgot to mention I'm 5'2"
    FML hate being small!

    i'm 4' 11-3/4" and eat 1525. i'm on my second and final 15lbs to loose. i'm down 1lb as of today. you need to eat more.
  • Nessiechickie
    Nessiechickie Posts: 1,392 Member
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    Nom Nom! on my 1600cals.
    burn about 300cals.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
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    Hey :)

    Is anyone else on 1200 cals a day?

    I'm finding it impossible.... It's ok on days I go to the gym (usually 5 x a week burning 600 cals each time) but when I don't I'm always over 1200.
    It means every week I'm over my net amount.

    Tips/advice/reassurance appreciated!

    I was to lose the last 5 lbs according to the set up on MFP. Yes it worked and I wasn't starving - if you want you can friend me and check my earliest daily food diaries and get some suggestions. I also made sure I was taking all my supplements just in case. Really not that difficult. Right now I am at 1354 cal and sometimes having to eat a big handful of nuts, or a couple of servings of full fat cheeses. I am 5'8" and 133 lbs now. On maintenance which will be upped once I can do more exercise - I won't get into it here but you can see more on my profile.
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    change your settings to .5lb or 1lb per month. welcome to the world of still eating and still losing.
    .5lb per month?! Way too low.....

    Okay, starve then. Wear down your adrenal system from eating too little. Then when you get to your goal weight and resume eating "normally" again, gain it all back and then some. Welcome to the perpetual life long diet of misery.

    QFT

    Read it again. It says 0.5 lbs PER MONTH.

    One can lose more than 0.125 lbs per week without wearing out the adrenal gland.
    it was a typo. I even updated the original to match.

    amazing restraint with your answer! :drinker:
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    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.

    Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.
    It's because they have no idea how difficult it is to put on muscle mass. And sadly, they won't believe anyone when you tell them that it is 10 times harder, so once they figure it out, the damage is already done.
  • KKishaA
    KKishaA Posts: 160 Member
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    Bump, saving for later
  • KKishaA
    KKishaA Posts: 160 Member
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    Just wanted to add really quick:

    I am petite (5'0ft, 113lbs) and was recently gifted a Fitbit. I was SHOCKED to find that I burn on average 2300k a day - sometimes 3000k a day!! Granted, I am a waitress and an aerobics instructor but even on my day off I burned 2000k. I have struggled with trying to force my self to eat less for years and now I realize why that was always so hard. If I did succeed in eating 1200k, I would eventually binge and undo everything I had done. I would have saved my self a lot of time by just aiming for 1700-1900 in the first place.
  • phys72
    phys72 Posts: 66 Member
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    I'm a relatively new member and these threads leave me feeling so confused.:sad:

    I'm also 5'2", hoping to lose about 15-20 lbs. I'm supposed to eat about 1250 and then I read threads that I'm supposed to eat more.

    I've heard not to rely on MFP because it tells me to eat 1250 and according to so many people 1200 is bad so I've looked at other websites.
    According to Scooby my
    BMR: 1316
    TDEE: 1580
    Daily calories to lose .5 lbs/week is 1343

    So I don't understand when people give others a hard time about eating at 1200. Am I doing something wrong?? I've set my goal low. I'd love to lose more than .5/week but I can't eat that low. How are others my height eating at 1700 and losing weight????? Color me confused…. I don't get it.
  • zolena123
    zolena123 Posts: 5
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    I'm on 1200 - 1300 calories per day, I eat 1600, but it ends up as 1200. That's the best way to do it. It would be away harder if I was just eating that w/out exercise.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    I am, but like you it is only possible because I also eat some of my exercise calories. It is certainly not a lot of food.

    Wait...1200 is the minimum recommendation for females, not males...and too low for most females too (IMHO).


    (And with that...I'm in and catching up.)
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    I have been on 1200 calories a day for about a month now....and I find it very easy. I log everything I eat and find myself checking nutrition labels before I buy anything. I probably dont drink as much water as I should but I don't find myself getting hungry. I don't follow the schedule on the weekends however...but I still try to eat things in moderation. (ex burger NO FRIES OR POP, 1 slice of thin crust pizza and salad vs. 2 sllices of pizza and 2 breadsticks) Hope this helps! :smile:

    Then you are *not* on 1200 calories a day.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    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:

    First post in almost two years of being on MFP...and it's to pitch herbalife. (This happens so frequently, I'm almost convinced it's in the sales materials.)
  • Ashleybrooke8783
    Ashleybrooke8783 Posts: 13 Member
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    1200 SUCKS I won't go under 1400. And even that is lower than where I like to be lol. I like a cool 1750 lol but my stomach doesn't
  • LaNellAngerstein
    LaNellAngerstein Posts: 14
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    When I was still an omnivore, I was down to 1,000 per day working out 5x per week. I lost 60+ pounds but there was one change I made to the diet that helped me tremendously---RAW fruits or vegetables... I did not count. :glasses:

    Truly, RAW fruits or vegetables will add fiber & nutrition but will NOT make you gain weight. It's the best bet when you have a calorie count that low. :tongue:
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    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...

    I would lose almost three pounds/week if I ate 1200 daily...and I'm in my 40s...and that's without any exercise at all. I can't under any reasonable circumstance imagine a situation where a grown man eating 1200 daily is optimal.

    It's mind-boggling, actually...
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
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    You may want to go back and change your settings.

    From what you've said you're in the very active category (burning 600 cals at a work out session), and that should give you a different caloric goal. Also, take a look at how aggressive your weekly weight loss goal might be.

    My goal had been to lose 1 lb a week and that dipped me down to 1300 calories. At 1/2 a lb a week, I get an additional 300 calories.

    I think that this has to be an approach you can sustain. If you lose 1/2 a lb a week, that's 26 lbs in a year.:smile:
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    When I was still an omnivore, I was down to 1,000 per day working out 5x per week. I lost 60+ pounds but there was one change I made to the diet that helped me tremendously---RAW fruits or vegetables... I did not count. :glasses:

    Truly, RAW fruits or vegetables will add fiber & nutrition but will NOT make you gain weight. It's the best bet when you have a calorie count that low. :tongue:
    1. if you weren't counting... how do you know you were eating 1000 calories per day?
    2. Your body doesn't care if you're eating TRULY RAW fruits or buckets of deep fried chicken skin... if you eat over TDEE, you gain.
    3.
    IXUO5zJ.gif
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
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    Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.
    It's because they have no idea how difficult it is to put on muscle mass. And sadly, they won't believe anyone when you tell them that it is 10 times harder, so once they figure it out, the damage is already done.

    Muscle mass is not all that difficult to gain. Up calories gently, while adding protein.
    I eat 150 g or more protein a day.

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