1200 calorie diets?

Therealobi1

I ate 1200 calories on Sunday...not on purpose...took me till Wednesday to feel better...get my energy back, stop feeling dizzy, weak and lethargic...no joke.

I am 5 ft 7, 160lbs, lift 3x a week and eat on average 1700 a day....

I don't understand how people do it to be frank...

+1
i realised straight away when i joined mfp that 1200 calories was never going to work for me. If I hadnt I would have given up long time ago.

tigersword

Oh, I do eat back my exercise calories. I know it's not healthy to eat below 1200 calories, so its important to do so.

So then you AREN'T eating only 1200 calories. So then what exactly is the point of this thread?

deksgrl

Oh, I do eat back my exercise calories. I know it's not healthy to eat below 1200 calories, so its important to do so.

So then you AREN'T eating only 1200 calories. So then what exactly is the point of this thread?

Othelie24601

Not true. My calculated BMR is 1266 and I'm 5'6".

Are You Sure?

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

seansocal

I ate 1200 calories on Sunday...not on purpose...took me till Wednesday to feel better...get my energy back, stop feeling dizzy, weak and lethargic...no joke.

I am 5 ft 7, 160lbs, lift 3x a week and eat on average 1700 a day....

I don't understand how people do it to be frank...

The human body is very weird to me...

I'm 5'9, 200lb, 23 years old and lift 4x a week and run 3x a week, and 1200-1300 calories work fine for me.

I've never been a big eater, so maybe thats why it works. Different people have different appetites so I guess a calorie limit in and of itself cant be "wrong", but it just wont work for certain people.

An active young man eating 1200-1300..... *shakes head sadly*

I'm in the same boat. I am a 6'0, 205lbs, 28 years old male that consumes 1200-1300 calories per day. I run 4x and lift 3x a week. I feel fine, my runs are fine, my lifts are progressing. MFP states I should be eating 1800 calories after inputting exercise, but I simply do not feel hungry. If my energy levels are high and I feel full, why would I force myself to consume more food than my body is asking for?
Yes I weigh all my food, and measure my liquids. I also consume wayyy more protein than MFP recommends, and my body fat% is steadily dropping while my muscle mass has seen a negligible decrease.
Everyone functions differently, but the "expert posters" will tell you other wise. Do what you are comfortable doing, remember this is about you.

tigersword

Probably because hunger is not a reliable system to gauge proper nutrition, as it's hormonally based and trained by habit.

When a deficit is too large, the hormones controlling hunger to out of whack, and in very extremem deficits, the hormones don't get created at all (part of a sort of "triage" system to combat starvation, body functions get shut down based on necessity for survival.)

Once you return to eating normally, your body regulates itself. This is why there are countless stories of people eating 600 calories a day and claiming to not be hungry, but then increase to 1600 calories a day and claim to be starving all the time.

fernwehwanderlust

God, the way some people are acting its like I said I wanted to go on a 500 calorie diet. So anyway, I decided to stick with my diet, but increase my protein intake, as well begin to strength-train. It's only 200 calories below my BMR, so its not that big of a deal. I simply can't see how the extra 200 calories each day will affect me. However, if I feel sick, or tired, and think its because of my diet, I will definitely reconsider. But so far, I've been eating healthier, and drinking more water than ever, and without feeling deprived. Besides, this will help me with maintaining, because I'm learning to pick healthier foods over more fattening ones. I guess everyones different. If theres any studies or actual evidence contradicting my plan, please feel free to tell me. If you don't have any, please keep it to yourself.

19TaraLynn84

God, the way some people are acting its like I said I wanted to go on a 500 calorie diet. So anyway, I decided to stick with my diet, but increase my protein intake, as well begin to strength-train. It's only 200 calories below my BMR, so its not that big of a deal. I simply can't see how the extra 200 calories each day will affect me. However, if I feel sick, or tired, and think its because of my diet, I will definitely reconsider. But so far, I've been eating healthier, and drinking more water than ever, and without feeling deprived. Besides, this will help me with maintaining, because I'm learning to pick healthier foods over more fattening ones. I guess everyones different. If theres any studies or actual evidence contradicting my plan, please feel free to tell me. If you don't have any, please keep it to yourself.

So basically, you asked a question, didn't like the answers, then decided to do what you wanted to do anyway. No problem!

phys72

Every time I read one of these threads I get in a panic and check my BMR. It says 1300 which is close to 1200.

I would think that there are some short people who do ok on 1200, no?

marcksh

I've been doing 1200 cal. Some days under not on purpose, just wasn't hungry. I have had a few over by maybe 100 but not many. I generally don't feel starved or hungry. Im not going to pretend I know much about nutrition andweight loss, only that 1200 cal isn't necessarily a bad thing. Fyi I'm 5ft 5

deksgrl

Every time I read one of these threads I get in a panic and check my BMR. It says 1300 which is close to 1200.

I would think that there are some short people who do ok on 1200, no?

That was answered on page two.

But the OP is not short, and her BMR is 1450. However, since she is also eating exercise calories, she's not eating JUST 1200, she is really eating close to her BMR total when she eats to NET 1200.

smasher_m

Maybe so. I'm just giving my personal insight on how 1200 cal days are possible without fading away.