What would 1200 calories a day FOREVER do to you?

Jcornwa1

The subject is the question. I am within 5-10 pounds of my original goal( went from 178 to 134 in 3.5 months), and as such I have stopped being so extreme with my dieting/exercising and am now eating around 1200 calories a day and only exercising for 30 minutes to an hour a day with off days. I am losing weight slower but i'm fine, I don't look bad where I am, and I am not as impatient to lose the last 5-10 lbs. As I get nearer to when I am going to need to start maintaining I've started wondering what would happen if I ate at 1200 cals a day...forever. Just out of curiosity. Would I keep losing a pound or so a week...until I died. How could that happen if 1200 is supposed to give me enough nutrition? Would my metabolism drop so low that that would eventually just become my maintenance number. I am 5'7.5" 134 lbs. and my BMR is calculated at 1447( though between work and school I am active over 15 hours a day so i'm sure my TDEE is reasonably high). I was just curious about how that all works. Anyone have any knowledge for a poor gal?

SezxyStef

based on my understanding you would continue to lose weight until your TDEE (or maintenance) hit 1200...which would mean a very low BMR...

aarondnguyen

Putting someone on 1200 calories who exercises a couple days out of the week will initially make them lose weight.. but later, that weight loss will stall after a certain point. Your metabolism will adapt and eventually, it is possible that you'll maintain at 1200...

But I wouldn't advise this, since 1200 calories is rabbit food.

Don't be so hell-bent over the number on the scale. Try incorporating some weight-training (if you don't already) into your regimen and increasing your LBM instead. Be strong, not skinny.

Edit: I got beat to replying lol.

AliceDark

Assuming we're talking about someone whose BMR is well above 1200...there's a good chance that, while you were still losing, you'd be losing LBM and not fat. If you work out, you'll hit a point where you stop progressing and can start getting hurt. Your hair can start falling out and your nails can stop growing.

SugaryLynx

Based on your profile info, you really need a better self image. For what it's worth, I think you're very pretty. Don't focus on the scale and fuel your body is my only advice. If you don't love yourself, you'll continue to beat yourself up, no matter what you look like or what you achieve.

1200 calories forever would be a miserable existence. I can't even fathom that. You're taller than me by quite a bit, so I'd imagine you're pretty much at the end if not dipping into a low BMI. Your best bet would be heavy lifting at maintenance and go from there. Starving yourself will never solve the issue.

Greenrun99

Eventually your metabolism will adjust to 1200.. then if you eat anything heavy in sodium or go over your calories.. you will gain water weight and won't lose it.

You wont have a body that is muscular looking (or tone or whatever)

But hey.. do whatever

Jcornwa1

I really didn't mean I was even remotely considering this. Only that, at this point in my weight loss I have started researching how to make the jump to maintenance and just wondered what the long term consequences would be. I do work out... strength, cardio, HIIT, Circuit, Core, and a lotttt of (My favorite) ...Hiking. On the days I work out if I am hungry I will eat more, but if I am not, I am not going to force myself. The same way if I was starving I wouldn't force myself NOT to eat. I listen to my body and I'm getting the results I want to there is no reason to change that. I would like to start weight training more, and that is something I am currently researching as well. I only wondered what would happen with a prolonged 1200 cal a day diet. I know the answer to what would happen with an extreme calorie deficit ( as a teenager I spent months consuming under 500 cals a day, spending around 5 hours on the treadmill a day and not eating any calories back, going on 5-10 day fasts...and i lost hair, nails, period, sanity, the whole nine yards. Of course. I also don't think I lost a pound the entire time.) I only wondered what eating at 1200, which is supposed to be "enough for adequate nutrition", would eventually do. There don't seem to be any scientific studies that I could find. Thanks for the responses though guys!( Except for the "But hey...do whatever" dude. Just a nutrition question. No need for passive aggression. ha)

LeahNMe

Judging by your profile, I think you need more work on your inward image of yourself than you do the outer image. If you can't love you, how do you expect anyone else to.
You have done an amazing job so far, put your 'skinny' glasses on and have a look.
Self loathing is extremely self destructive, enjoy your success.

cookiealbright

You would weigh 120.

WBB55

In five years, assuming my heart didn't stop, if I keep up the same amount of activity, I would weigh a deathly dangerously low 77.3 lbs and have an extremely underweight BMI of 12.7 with a mere 66.2 lbs of lean mass (I currently have about 110 lbs of lean mass) -- According to this simulator http://www.niddk.nih.gov/research-funding/at-niddk/labs-branches/LBM/integrative-physiology-section/body-weight-simulator/Pages/body-weight-simulator.aspx

DO NOT EAT BELOW YOUR BMR

SugaryLynx

You would weigh 120.

How'd you come to that magical conclusion?

__freckles__

You are not being so extreme with your dieting and are now eating 1200 calories a day? Curious, how much were you eating for the last 3.5 months?

PJPrimrose

Personally, I'd starve and die. I'm tall and lanky for a woman at 5'9" and 145 lbs. I cannot think of a time when eating that little wouldn't make me look like total crap. Looking like a skeleton is NOT attractive! Sadly, there are many women on this site who eat waaaaay too little. It breaks my heart to see folks tear themselves up like this.

Jcornwa1

A range. More so I was eating the 1200 just not eating back exercise calories which often kept me at around 500-700 net. Sometimes much lower. Negative even. Not on purpose! I just really didn't log exercise for a while...when I started logging I realized. Also, I don't have a negative body image. Not always in lala daisy land, but you can't take me calling myself "eww" to be a problem. I'm really not being THAT serious. The girl who said "You'd be 120" out of thin air is hilarious. That made me giggle.

SugaryLynx

Your entire profile is riddled with self hate between calling yourself a sloth and disgusting, I'm not sure how anyone could spin it any other way that you being terrible to yourself . What other purpose could you have for asking what would happen besides morbid curiosity about your livelihood to continue on a path to being severely underweight? That worries me, personally.

You may be a total stranger but I do care if someone out there
is putting themselves down a dark path, and that seems to be the direction. I'm 5'3.5" 116 lbs and maintain at 2250ish. I just can't even fathom eating 1200 calories, even at a net perspective...for what?

120by30

I was going to ask how much (or how little) you were eating to lose 44 pounds in 3.5 months, but I see you already answered that. I say this as nicely as I possibly can - you need to be seeking help. You have an eating disorder.

Jcornwa1

My other reason, would be an actual scientific question about the long term effects of a low calorie diet that is not medically considered a starvation diet. I apologize for all of those who were somehow offended by the question. I also apologize for somehow worrying people by a question though I have clearly stated using their answer for my...self destruction?...was not my intention. Also, being new to the site and not understanding I was supposed to log my work out calories was ignorant...not "because I have an eating disorder". I have no idea how this thread turned into this. What started as a quick ponder over my barbecue chicken lunch salad....has somehow turned into a "save the mental girl for her fate lurking on ProAna forums whilst eating her sugar free jello in a darkened room". It is interesting that a conversation involving maintenance plans and weight lifting could get so far out of hand. I truly am sorry to have worried faceless internet people...I must have not made myself clear or asked my question in the right way.

SugaryLynx

It's kind of rude to be joking about eating disorders, OP. How can anyone give advice without looking into the possible motives behind why it's being asked in the first place?

Jcornwa1

I didn't mean to be insensitive to anyone at all. I clearly have had a past with EDs (I have already shared my teen under-eating as an example of the horrible lesson it taught me). Perhaps that is why I am overly sensitive when others jump to that conclusion easily. I felt like I had asked a very interesting question, and was instead, told to seek medical help. That is all. I feel nowadays weight loss has become centered around SOME form of disordered eating with all participants arguing over where to draw the line between "I log every calorie i consume onto an App on my phone but I make it to a magic number every day so i'm fine" and "you need to seek help because you just logged '1 grape' into you MFP". Its an interesting topic. One that I would like to be able to discuss and comment on without looking like im something that i'm not, or worrying other people, or promoting unhealthy dieting. I did not mean to offend.

SugaryLynx

In all honesty, the question at hand has so many variables. For your weight and height, no 1200 calories probably isn't enough. It probably isn't enough for a lot of people long term. As far as damage, it just seems to go with reason that giving your body enough fuel is probably the best option no matter what that number is. That'll vary from person to person based on a crazy amount of factors. Finding that number for whatever goal a person seeks is very hard to pinpoint. I don't think 1200 is an evil number (unless we're talking how I behave with it, I'm a very mean hangry person) but it's not something I recommend people do. I see it as, I'd rather sustain myself on more calories than less.

Jcornwa1

I agree. I actually just found a very interesting/funny article about it ( a little more geared toward women than men, but still entertaining). http://sophieologie.me/2013/09/26/1200-calories/comment-page-3/

I would be interested to see what research went into the health community deciding on that number.

__freckles__

I agree. I actually just found a very interesting/funny article about it ( a little more geared toward women than men, but still entertaining). http://sophieologie.me/2013/09/26/1200-calories/comment-page-3/

I would be interested to see what research went into the health community deciding on that number.

I've seen that article before and I agree. Where the hell did they come up with 1200? If people want to eat 1200 and lose weight, God bless them. But if you can eat more and still lose, why wouldn't you?

ETA: OP, not to get all crazy on you, but just food for thought: We're the same height and I was 136 during maintenance, and my maintenance calories were 2200. So I would lose weight probably at around 1760. (I don't actually know the exact number range cuz I'm bulking right now, but I took 20% below TDEE). Everybody is different, but you could probably eat way more than you are eating and still lose.

SugaryLynx

Ironic you bring up that article. It was a nice read. My friend actually sent it to me via Facebook for my birthday because she knew I was into weightlifting, etc. I too want to know the elusive mystery behind the magical 1200 number! xD

Aaron_K123

There is a show I've watched on British television called Supersize vs Superskinny. Its a bit of a reality show and it is contrived but they take someone who is morbidly obese and someone who is dangerously thin, break down their usual dietary habits and make them swap diets for a short time before sending them off on a healthy eating plan.

Why bring this up? Because you see these rail-thin people who weigh like 90 pounds and have caused themselves a lot of bodily harm with their diets and you get to see what their caloric intake was day to day. Quite often it is around the 1200 range or even a bit higher. You keep that up forever you will be skinny, weak from loss of muscle and a lowered metabolism and you will cause your body harm that will put you at high risk for certain ailments.

Being fat increases health risks but so does being rail thin. There is a happy middle ground.

Just_Bella

Would put me into a perpetual state of hanger

Aaron_K123

Example supersize superskinny episode where 5'9 womans diet is "super healthy" with vegetables and what not. Her diet was 1000 calories a day but I've seen cases where it was 1200 and got basically the same result

Skip to about minute 22:20 to see what she looks like eating that "forever"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0C1dSf3wxQ

lautour

I think it depends on your height, weight and activity level, and perhaps your age since metabolism slows as you get older.

For my height, 1200 would be my BMR if I were a normal bmi and if I stayed sedentary. I'm short.

holly55555

The less you weigh, the less calories you need to maintain.

Eventually you'd hit a weight where 1200 calories would just be maintaining. You probably wouldn't feel very good, you'd shoot your metabolism, and if you ever ate more than 1200 calories, your body would save it all as fat. But some people are really small framed and do end up eating around 1200 a day - just because they're not hungry and their body doesn't need more. It really just depends on you and your activity level, how your body would react.

holly55555

Oh also! We're the same exact height and I started at 138 lbs, but 31% body fat. I have been eating 1600 a day, working out 3-5x a week.

I'm now 125, and lost about 10% body fat (maybe more - only measuring by the scale), and have about 5 lbs more of FAT to lose (so who knows if the scale will change) before I'm at my physical peak (I'm very small frame and have little muscle mass). Unless of course I decided to be a hardcore athlete and gain more muscle - probably won't happen, I don't really enjoy working out.


There is no reason to eat 1200 cal a day at your height. It gets harder to lose when you're getting close to the end - for me, I lose a lb maybe every 10 days now, but doing it slowly and surely is the best way because you will keep it off.

I still drink wine and eat cake and burgers and french fries - just not every day. You will get there!

BlueBombers

I'd die. No way I could live on 1200 calories a day, but that's just me.

kgeyser

The subject is the question. I am within 5-10 pounds of my original goal( went from 178 to 134 in 3.5 months), and as such I have stopped being so extreme with my dieting/exercising and am now eating around 1200 calories a day and only exercising for 30 minutes to an hour a day with off days. I am losing weight slower but i'm fine, I don't look bad where I am, and I am not as impatient to lose the last 5-10 lbs. As I get nearer to when I am going to need to start maintaining I've started wondering what would happen if I ate at 1200 cals a day...forever. Just out of curiosity. Would I keep losing a pound or so a week...until I died. How could that happen if 1200 is supposed to give me enough nutrition? Would my metabolism drop so low that that would eventually just become my maintenance number. I am 5'7.5" 134 lbs. and my BMR is calculated at 1447( though between work and school I am active over 15 hours a day so i'm sure my TDEE is reasonably high). I was just curious about how that all works. Anyone have any knowledge for a poor gal?

Can we back up? I am also 5'7", started at 180 lbs and started losing weight the week of Thanksgiving, which means you started after me. I'm currently 154 lbs and have steadily lost between 1-1.5 lbs per week. You're at 134 lbs in 3.5 months? What in the name of chocolate-dipped marshmallow peeps did you do, eat less than 1200 cal with that activity level the entire time?