How is 1200 Calories working for you?

fitnwhole

Do you feel deprieved? How do you stretch them (calories)?

modernfemme

Couldn't do it. I had to be perfect every day and there was no room for fun. That's just me personally.

vkpmusic

I find that when I eat fiber rich foods and higher protein I'm fine. When I eat higher carbs, I'm hungry.

sheila1951

My doctor said to not go below 1500 calories a day....1200 is just too hard to do and you DO feel deprived. When I feel that way I just eat more!

jazzie1030

its working ok for me so far... i usually go over because my workouts give me extra calories.

Dom82

I actually have a hard time reaching 1200 calories a day :blushing: And i pretty much eat what i want just watch my portion size. but i love salads so i find it easy

Centerstagekris

I was doing 1200 a day when i had my goal set to lose 2 pounds a week. I couldn't do it. It was too low and I felt hungry. I changed my goal to lose 1 1/2 pounds a week and now can eat 1390. Those 190 extra calories make a big difference to me for some reason. Haha. Good luck!! )

jenneyd

oh I work out to take care of my calories, otherwise I would be over nearly every day!

tjreyes

1200 is too low, you're bordering the line that drives your body into starvation and slows your metabolism (at least that's the line for me according to this site). I rarely have time or breakfast, so my lunch and dinner are usually 700 each and that keeps me energized enough with a snack somewhere in the day. I usually do about 1500-1600. When I go too hard on myself I end up relapsing into constant over eating.

KcFitCoach

I was given 1200 calories a day with my goals, too. On days I work out hard I can handle it (and I do eat my 'earned' calories). On days without exercise (I'm trying to only take one day off a week)...like today...I feel kind of hungry!

ZacFields

Well I have to eat 1,500 at least since I am a male (my goal is actually about 2,000), but my fiance is eating around 1,400. I made her change from 2 pounds to 1 pound per week because I wasn't comfortable with her using 1,200 as a goal.

But I will say this: There are many days where I have to struggle just to get UP to 1,500 calories. Here is a quick analysis of what I've eaten today....

Breakfast: about 500 calories. I had a piece of sausage, some oatmeal, a banana, and a glass of milk. (this is a big breakfast for me).

Lunch: I sauted some vegetables in 1 T of extra virgin olive oil. It was a BIG bowl full of veggies for about 200 calories.

Afternoon: I went on a 1-mile jog and burned 150 calories.

So there was my day before dinner. When dinner came around, I had a net of 550 calories, and that was with a breakfast about 200 calories more than I normally eat. If my goal were 1,200 calories, that'd leave me 650 calories for dinner.

In short: find healthy alternatives that you can enjoy and you'll do great! I'm a 220 pound male and I could easily do 1,200 calories if I wanted to.

iamdesiderata

Lots of fiber and lean protein. You'll find you will naturally eat less. And eating 1200 calories worth of real and raw foods is SOOO much easier than eating 1200 calories of "Low-fat, Sugar-free diet foods."

Hope this helps

cynthiaj777

I do the 1200 calories a day, and I find that I'm overly fully most of the time. I have this no carb, all veggie, lean meat or seafood thing I do. A few months back it made me lose 20 lbs in 8 weeks. Doing no carb, you really have room for TONS of food. For example, you can eat your weight in asparagus but not be over your calories. You just have to pick the right things to eat. I'm doing the no carb, all veggie/lean meat/seafood diet again until Christmas. Since Halloween, I've packed on about 5 lbs. I'll be back down to my lowest by Christmas then enjoy the holiday without feeling like I'm slipping even more off the bandwagon. I'll probably try to keep up the strict diet at least until Valentine's Day or so....

Just remember: if you pick low calorie food, meeting 1200 is easy. On my diet, I'm usually around 800-900 calories a day, and I've had PLENTY of food.

tammietifanie

Lots and Lots of Veggies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They have fiber so it fills you up with little calories!

DeepSeaDoc_Wife

I am fine with it like some said eating raw food like a spinach salad with salmon, legumes, fruits and veggies. Eating whole grains, fiber rich and superfoods in general is what I eat and I feel great.

JaneZv

Can't do 1200. But i have great admiration for those who can.

I've been here for a month and usually hit 1200 by lunch, if i force myself to stay within such low calories i'll feel frustrated and deprived which is what i do not want, i want to change and maintain a healthy lifestyle! I used to eat at least 3000 calories a day now i maintain it at 1800. At 5'1" i could maintain my weight but will need to exercise to lose weight.

dwyadygwyad

Ive only been at it a week, but it's been surprisingly ok...

Since I'm trying for this not to be a "diet", I'm trying to eat how I'd like to eat forever, including days that I go over, as well as under. Haven't had too many "under" days in the past, so it's taking some getting used to.

Plus things taste a lot better when I'm hungry, and it sometimes *not always- takes less to feel satisfied if I'm genuinely hungry, not just wanting to eat more.

So I am going to go easy on myself when I go over 2,3, 400 calories, but I'm going to try not to go over as part of my daily routine.

Also, I graze and pick a lot, so the lower calories have been helping me put myself in a mindset of if I'm going to eat something, I'm going to really eat it, not eat a little bit and pretend it didnt happen, which is where a lot of my calories come from.

jessicayoung82

I find it not too bad on days when I workout but rest days like today I am constantly hungry because I was affraid of going over. I ended up at 1280 today so I didn't do bad, but was not satisfied all day until after dinner.

cbirdso

I can't do it, even for a few days. The minimum I can do and not feel deprived and hungry is 1400. Like another poster, for some reason the 200 extra makes all the difference in the world. Also, I get some form of exercise every day to the tune of at least 250 kcals so that usually I'm at least around 1650 and that has been working fine.

HealthyishWithMaggieG

My daily goal base is 1200 calories. There are some days I have a hard time reaching 1200 and other days where I go way over that. On days that I go over, I just workout and the extra calories that I've eaten were burned off. Just make sure you're loading up on vegetables, fruits, whole grains and protein. Soups that are broth/water based are pretty filling, too. I just made a batch of turkey vegetable soup that's about 700 calories, 6 cups and plenty for a meal and a snack. Make sure to drink lots of water throughout the day. I'm finding out over the past 2 weeks that 8 cups of water isn't enough for me. I'm feeling dehydrated (hands are dry and cracking). I'm going to start upping that to 10 cups of water a day.

And stay away from convenience foods/pre-packaged items! (I have a hard time with this, but I'm working on it.)

charmed2570

I try to eat ALOT of fiber, and I still have some non healthy stuff sometimes. I usually have a problem eating the 1200 a day. But, it is because if you eat the extreme fiber, you are so full all the time that you have to force yourself to eat usually by dinner. I recommend if your hungry eat more fiber, one trick I have learned is blueberries and blackberries will Kill any hunger pain, wash it down with water, and just give it a few and it works. Fiber is your best friend, try it!

jamaka1

o,m about to dtart morrow but as somr mfp says if u exercise u can manage it.

pinksocks73

I am under most days. Because I am afraid to eat anything. Went grocery shopping today with hubby and I think I was ticking him off because I was obsessively reading EVERYTHING and then putting it back: "too many cals", "too many carbs", "too many sugars", "too much (insert soemthing here)". He was like "Jesus, Kristine! You have to eat SOMETHING and not everything is zero this and zero that!" And he is right.

I work nights so my eating times are slightly off, but I record like a day shifter would anyhow. I think today I did ok, and I even had a really good meatloaf dinner! Prob could have done w/o the gravy--it sent my sodium for the day over my allowance, but not by much and I deffinitely feel better today than I did yesterday when I deprived myself of everything good.

watkinsc

You and I have just about the same weight with the same goals. I absolutely CAN NOT do 1200.. I feel starved.. I suppose it is because I am used to FLAVOR in my diet. and I refuse to subside on just veggies and broiled chicken. I have been slowly trying to change my eating habits. But honestly, I know that I will never be perfect with it. I enjoy the socialization that goes along with food. Meet friends over coffee, meet my daughter for lunch, dinner with my friends etc... I think just making slow changes along the way will help me in the long run. But I usually average 1400 to 1600 a day, and that includes eating my earned calories. So my goal is probably a ways off, but I think if I try to change everything all at once, I will get frustrated and fail. And I don't want to do THAT again! Best of luck to you!

✿KẙMb529✿

First of all..THANK YOU for asking this question. I've been wondering the same. Like most of the answers, I find it do-able on the days I exercise and get extra calories (and I DO eat them). On days like today, I didn't exercise because I'm too sore from my race yesterday and ifelt I needed a day off. Therefore, I had only 200 calories left at like 2 PM ..NOT GOOD!! but this happens to me frequently on the days I don't exercise. I just don't stress it and remind myself that I'm still eating less than I used to even if I do go over (and today I REALLY went over--hubby took me to Olive Garden). I've decided that having my calorie goal set at 1200 motivates me to get out and exercise so I can eat more that day :laugh:

schpanks

Salad is my big lifesaver, too. If I've had a day where I'm used nearly all of my calories, or I'm planning on using all my calories, I make myself a big salad with careful attention to my salad dressing. There are some with only 15 or 30 calories per serving. I can eat a HUGE awesome salad for almost no calories and feel like I've treated myself because it tastes so good. I use oatmeal, too, when I need something warm that's going to make me feel full and happy for a while.

NatalieWinning

I can only do it if I eat lots of fiber, lean proteins, watch my portions, eat whole foods, stay away from sugar as best I can, and exercise back some calories to eat.

A salad and raw pineapple can be eaten in large quantities as compared to something like a burger. If I eat less healthy foods I go over quickly and get more hungry. Eating just a fun size halloween type candy bar makes me hungry instead of satisfies!

So better choices, lots of juicy raw or whole foods, watch lables for whole grains less sugar, and be sure to exercise.

AriesGrl

I have been eating 1200 cals for

AriesGrl

I have been eating 1200 cals for

AriesGrl

I have been eating 1200 cals for almost 2 years now and I have lost over 100 lbs. I dont find it hard to stick to but I don find it hard to avoid temptation. Cause once I go over im like over is over whats the diff between 200 cals and 500?? Bad I know....but for the most part I have no problem sticking to the 1200....I find cereal, oatmeal and coffee to be my biggest staples.

Cytherea

It can definitely be hard. I think the hardest thing for me is that now, after 11 months of eating 1200 cals a day, I can no longer lose 2 lbs. per week doing it. In fact, I'm under 1.5 lbs. per week on the 1200 cals a day! So I have much less leeway... before if I went over by a few hundred cals, I was still able to lose. Now, I have to be much more careful... and it is coming at the worst possible time for me (lots of stress + no sleep = I need/want to eat more).

If you can't handle the low amount of cals, then slow your weight loss a bit and change up your goals so that you can eat more and still lose weight. If you stick to it, however, it is quite incredible and gratifying to see your hard work paying off when you start seriously losing!

Best of luck.