Please respond if you're familiar with 1200 cal diets

dnkibble

Hi, I'm back to losing fat again instead of trying to bulk. I am trying to lose body fat and maintain muscle by eating a diet high in protein and low calories (1200) I know that staying in a deficit such as 1200 calories can cause muscle loss over a long period of time so I am planning to only follow the 1200 cal diet for 2-3 weeks.


After the 2-3 weeks on 1200 cal diet I will go back to 1400 /1500 cal per day. Will this cause weight gain?
* I work out 4-5 days per week just depending on how I'm feeling. Strength training and cardio 4-5 days per week.

Is it possible to lose body fat jumping from 1200-1400 ? Will I be able to maintain/build muscle?

ZaCkOX

I'm staying with it, although I get negative comments about it from time to time. I'm just going to lose weight my way.

If you just burn more than you eat, your fine. This isn't hard.

skullshank

i would run my TDEE if i were you and stick to 75-80% of that number.

if youre working out 4-5 days a week, im willing to bet you need more than 1500cals to fuel yourself.

you wont build significant muscle on a deficit (especially a large one), but you should be able to maintain you LBM and reduce your BF.

what are you doing for workouts?

ETA: i just ran your numbers based on a wild guess (24yo female, 5'8", 140lbs, working out 4 days/week) and the TDEE is 2036. 80% of that is like 1630.

why the 2-3 weeks at 1200? just curious

lemonsnowdrop

I'm staying with it, although I get negative comments about it from time to time. I'm just going to lose weight my way.

If you just burn more than you eat, your fine. This isn't hard.

I'm 5'1, 112 pounds and female, and I eat 1300. Why are you eating so little?

cursivepulse

When I first started a few years ago I did 1200 and I found even though I'm not a huge overeater it was hard to maintain. I think for a few weeks it would be fine but I did just read a forum post (can't find it again) that said when you're in a calorie deficit your muscles release water and glycogen stores so that is why you lose weight quickly in the beginning (could be 5ish lbs) but when you start to eat at maintenance you will gain that weight back. It isn't fat but your body will always have that weight if you're not at a deficit. If you lift you can try and maintain the muscles you already have but you cannot build muscles unless you are in a calorie surplus.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, that is just the information I've slowly gathered through these forums.

veg56kg

Its a waste of time imo. The results were temporary, I was malnourished and was only losing muscle. I recommend calculating your TDEE.