1200 calories a day

spara0038

^which means you don't actually do 1200 because your weekly net is more than that.

Actually, it's less. My net on weekends is about 1400, and during the week it's in the 400-1200 range (check my food diary if you don't believe me). My average net is about 1000 and I eat what I want most of the time- whiskey, beer, pizza, chocolate, etc. Today it should be around 895 net after eating a hamburger, yesterday was 1095 net and I had Red Robin for dinner. It's totally doable and not at all miserable if you are active. I feel totally gross if I eat over 1900. But, to each their own. I'm not saying it's right or wrong- that's just what works for me.

What do you have your weekly loss goal set as?

I don't have a goal. I just want to eat enough to be healthy. I find if I eat under 800 I feel weak, over 1800 I feel slow and bloated. I usually try for about 1400 because that's where I feel good. That's not including exercise, which I tend to do about 2200 cal/week on average. I have been losing about 1-1.5lbs/week since upping my calories to 1200-1400

SugaryLynx

Your body can't gain weight without a surplus of calories. Please, enlighten me.

Slowed metabolism, perhaps? I have actually been to a nutritionist and that's what she told me. She told me to up my calories to at least 1200 and that's when I lost weight. Trust me, I'm not pulling this info out of my rear; I did seek medical advice.

SugaryLynx, I respect your opinion, but I am going to take it as that- opinion. I may be wrong, but it appears as though you are attacking me for following the advice my doctor gave me because it's not something that you personally believe in. That comment that I quoted seemed extremely snarky- "Please, enlighten me"- really? That came off as really rude. If you did not mean it that way, I apologize. Everyone is a work in progress, and I am no exception.

I was simply trying to answer the OP's question. Take it or leave it, that's what my answer is.

I'm a tad snarky because this calorie amount is so miniscule. Most people should not be at this calorie amount but there are so many that THINK they need to be to lose. It's sad.

Here's the missing piece to the puzzle. YOU are being monitored by a doctor then? OP is not. Most people who eat so little are NOT. Do I think it's enough? No. But I can only do so much to convince people otherwise. When you choose the bare minimum number of calories to fuel your self, be prepared to lose not only fat but muscle, if you sustain it. That is the possibility. One I assume most people don't realize and would like to avoid. IF your metabolism is damaged (OPs may not be, why assume and why encourage eating so little), that's a different circumstance and parading around insisting it's fine isn't exactly a good way to go about. I'm sorry if that is the case and I wish you the best but I stand behind finding a less aggressive deficit ffor the general populace.

spara0038

I'm a tad snarky because this calorie amount is so miniscule. Most people should not be at this calorie amount but there are so many that THINK they need to be to lose. It's sad.

Here's the missing piece to the puzzle. YOU are being monitored by a doctor then? OP is not. Most people who eat so little are NOT. Do I think it's enough? No. But I can only do so much to convince people otherwise. When you choose the bare minimum number of calories to fuel your self, be prepared to lose not only fat but muscle, if you sustain it. That is the possibility. One I assume most people don't realize and would like to avoid. IF your metabolism is damaged (OPs may not be, why assume and why encourage eating so little), that's a different circumstance and parading around insisting it's fine isn't exactly a good way to go about. I'm sorry if that is the case and I wish you the best but I stand behind finding a less aggressive deficit ffor the general populace.

To answer your questions, yes I am being monitored by a doctor, and no, I don't care about losing muscle. I'm looking to get healthy by following a plan my doctor is comfortable with. And I am "parading around" insisting it's fine because it is. My doctor cleared it. The general populace may be a different story- but that is something that works for THEM. I think you and I can both agree that there is no such thing as "one size fits all" as far as food is concerned, and if someone is genuinely looking for advice for a diet plan to follow, they should ask their doctor, not an internet forum. I am not a doctor, and I would assume you are not either. Realistically, they shouldn't listen to either of us.

I took the OP's initial question as one of curiosity, as in "hey, you people who eat 1200 cal/day, what do you eat to get to 1200?". For me, I'm fascinated with how anyone could eat more than 2400 cal/day, but that's more of a curiosity on my part.

Geez. I should start putting disclaimers at the end of my posts!

jchenks

I'm on 1250... here's how I do it:

General split I'm going for: 150 breakfast, 400 lunch, 600 dinner, 100 snack.

Breakfast: Usually something quick and usually more carb-y.
Examples:
--half a bagel with light cream cheese
--1 package of Quaker reduced sugar apple and cinnamon oatmeal
--1 Sticky Fingers Bakery scone
I usually have a cup of tea with breakfast as well, so add in 20ish for milk.

Lunch: I work in an office and my only time out of the office is going out for lunch, but I've found a bunch of places around work that give good calorie lunches.
Examples:
--Subway and PitaPit: lots of sandwiches for ~350ish if you skip the cheese and load up on veggies
--Wendys: Ultimate Chicken Grill sandwich is 360, plus 20 for ketchup because I love me some Heinz
--Panera Breads: half a Turkey Avocado BLT, half a spinach power salad (about 450)
--Swiss Chalet: quarter chicken leg with coleslaw, 400 normally, add 100 if I want the bun.
--The burrito place around the corner does a burrito in a bowl for about 450 (skip the cheese and sour cream, but I get the guac because it's delicious.)

Dinner: Homecooked stuff. I use BBC Good Food for recipes as you can filter on calories. I usually manage to bring my dinners in around 500 or so. Tips for cooking:
--Load up on the veggies. Seriously. Lots and lots of veggies.
--If you make pasta, make it more about the sauce and what's in the sauce (and veg!) than the pasta.
--If you make potato, only use small amounts
--Measure how much oil you cook with, often you only need a bit if you're sauteeing
--Cream cheese or Philadelphia Cooking Cream is a great way to make recipes more rich without packing in calories
--Making your food spicy often makes you eat less of it. Don't blow your head off but you tend to eat less generally if it's spicy!
--Have water, fizzy water, or diet drinks with your meal, the extra liquid helps fill you up so you eat less.
--Take a smaller portion the first time around so that if you do want to go for seconds you have "room"

Hope that helps.

I'm going to bash your breakfast right now..... actually your whole post is awful.

If you are aiming for a 150 cal breakfast..... and you are eating half a bagel, oatmeal AND a scone...... you are wayyy above your 150 cal.

I could be wrong but I think this poster is saying bagel OR oatmeal OR scone, not AND.

Also, are you putting people down to make yourself feel better or because you're actually that rude? This poster is simply trying to be helpful by answering OP's original question.

Forgive my ignorance. I read it that she was having all 3 items for breakfast haha. I'm not normally rude but at times I can be but it wasn't my intentions to be rude that time!

Hoop4la

I am on that - 1000-1200
I am eating pure foods - nothing processed
i have given up alcohol
I do 12,000 steps a day
At the moment I am not losing !
i dont know what else I can do !

ElaizaWaters

Ok i do understand that we are here to lose weight, but really 1200 per day it is amount of calories what my 8 years old daughter should eat...Not even talking about less. I dont even want to think what happens with body in long term. cuz weight loss aint for week or two it is lifestyle change...its when people decide to change their lives to have slimmer healthier body.

I wanted to lose 1kilo (2.2lbs) a week and MFP offered me to live on 1200cal diet, so i changed it to lose 0.7kilos a week and have normal 1500cal diet...but as i workout hard usually it is 1500+1500...i prefer to lose weight by doing exercises not starving and destroying my nice body.

Sure in my food diary there is some days that in net i eat around 500cal but i always feel bad about it and try as hard as i can eat enough even if i`m not hungry, my body needs it, cuz it have burned lot more.

Annie_01

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.

Actually...MFP is fairly correct if one is sensible entering their information.

If you take your TDEE figures and compare them with MFPs + exercise...the are usually within range of each other. At least that has been my experience.

What happens most of the time is that people will enter sedentary + lose 2lbs a week...then yes MFP will give you low calorie goals...but that is because of the info that you entered.

ElaizaWaters

I am on that - 1000-1200
I am eating pure foods - nothing processed
i have given up alcohol
I do 12,000 steps a day
At the moment I am not losing !
i dont know what else I can do !

You should try gym and cardio workouts and eat bit more it sure will help...

Walking is good thing it keeps us in shape, but it doesnt really help to lose weight, You need to do more.

i have 1500cal diet
but i have in day 2 cardio workouts each 1hour long where i burn 500 to 600cal each hour
i do body weight exercises where i burn aprox more 150cal
and as i have dog i have at least 30 to 40 min walk with him where i burn more 100 to 130cal

and in last week even if in few days i over ate daily plan i still lost 0.7kilos...

SugaryLynx

I'm a tad snarky because this calorie amount is so miniscule. Most people should not be at this calorie amount but there are so many that THINK they need to be to lose. It's sad.

Here's the missing piece to the puzzle. YOU are being monitored by a doctor then? OP is not. Most people who eat so little are NOT. Do I think it's enough? No. But I can only do so much to convince people otherwise. When you choose the bare minimum number of calories to fuel your self, be prepared to lose not only fat but muscle, if you sustain it. That is the possibility. One I assume most people don't realize and would like to avoid. IF your metabolism is damaged (OPs may not be, why assume and why encourage eating so little), that's a different circumstance and parading around insisting it's fine isn't exactly a good way to go about. I'm sorry if that is the case and I wish you the best but I stand behind finding a less aggressive deficit ffor the general populace.

To answer your questions, yes I am being monitored by a doctor, and no, I don't care about losing muscle. I'm looking to get healthy by following a plan my doctor is comfortable with. And I am "parading around" insisting it's fine because it is. My doctor cleared it. The general populace may be a different story- but that is something that works for THEM. I think you and I can both agree that there is no such thing as "one size fits all" as far as food is concerned, and if someone is genuinely looking for advice for a diet plan to follow, they should ask their doctor, not an internet forum. I am not a doctor, and I would assume you are not either. Realistically, they shouldn't listen to either of us.

I took the OP's initial question as one of curiosity, as in "hey, you people who eat 1200 cal/day, what do you eat to get to 1200?". For me, I'm fascinated with how anyone could eat more than 2400 cal/day, but that's more of a curiosity on my part.

Geez. I should start putting disclaimers at the end of my posts!

You realize losing muscle means the odds of you looking lean at a smaller weight aren't very good right? Muscle is what gives you that "toned" or whatever its been coined as look. Losing muscle along with fat leads to what is so affectionately called "skinny fat". Muscle also is a very important factor in metabolism. The more muscle, the more you can consume without gaining. What kind of doctor is okay with you losing muscle? Losing healthily should include retaining muscle mass...

MeganAnne89

Everyone is so touchy about 1200 calories no matter what each person's daily requirements are.

I almost feel like there needs to be some sort of disclaimer like, "I eat 1200 calories a day **but I swear I'm eating when I'm hungry and I'm eating good foods*" or "I don't believe in eating 1200 calories a day **but that's okay if your body is different than mine and it works for you and it's healthy for YOU*"

Honestly. This is getting so ridiculous. She posted one question about other peoples' meals and it turned into this, just like it always does.