1200 cals this way works...

liftingheavy

For the 1200 cals: What's calorie plan once you're done losing? Continue eating 1200 into perpetuity for fear of gaining again?

If someone told me that upon reaching my goal weight of 120 lbs that I would have eat 1200 cals for the rest of my life, they would get punched in the face.

I reach my goal weight about 6 months ago, and I still eat right around 1200 clean calories a day and approx. 1/2 of my exercise calories. Feel great. If your body does not respond well to 1200 calories, eat more.

I very rarely see anyone at 1200-1300 calories a day criticizing those that eat 1800-2000+ a day. I may have never seen it here.
But wowza, the fights that go in the other direction.

When someone asks for advice re: a plateau, it's great when folks give advice in either direction. When someone doesn't ask for advice, they're not asking for advice, not sure why some folks are so judgemental about it. Makes me think they wish they could eat less, truthfully.

20shan08

Nicely put, OP.

I aim for 1300, usually end up around 1250.

I find it odd that people claim to know that every single female needs to eat 1200 calories each day in order to live...

Also, I burn around 250 a day, I dont do anything major. So if I eat 1250 calories in a day and then go on my elliptical at night, the food I ate that day just leaves my entire system? So really I'm only eating 1000 calories? I dont think so, I ate what I ate all day, it's still in there! Lol. I eat like you, i'm satisfied all day because I eat every few hours. I'm not going to eat more after I'm full, just so I can reach a certain number of calories.

I've lost over 55lbs this way. I've seen a few doctors and they also say it's fine. Some people need more, some people can do with less. Your body will tell you if its not enough

jessy1225

Hello! Very new to the diet, started on Monday, I've been on 1200 calories a day and feel really good! So good in fact that I feel I must be totaling up my calories wrong! For instance tonight (day 4 of my diet) I had a small bowl of beef, potato, carrot and cabbage soup and I was stuffed and felt guilty about it!

Today I had:
porridge with semi skimmed milk
Beef nd vegetable stir fry with fried rice
1 piece of toast and jam
Beef, cabbage, carrot and potato soup

Am I eating too much?

xxcandywrathxx

I had to make myself eat vesterday, Vegetables are terrible!
I hate it when people say were deliberately starving ourselves. I didnt know that 3 full sized dinner plate meals, including a drink would only come to 700 and something cals.
(which then shows why I ate a bar and some fruit)
people need to get over themselves, its no them eating it so they can deal.

rogerbosch

Of course you will lose, you are in a deficit. The problem is 1200 cals and exercising is like eating less than 1200. On days you burn 400 calories, if you only eat 1200, it is the same as eating 800 cals (1200-400) on days you don't exercise. 800 calories is not enough for anyone, even if you are short. (I am 5'6" 136, and I eat 2000+ calories)

The problem with not eating enough is a large % of your weight loss will come from lean muscle, not just fat. Higher protein will help but not eliminate the loss of lean muscle.

This is very true. I to was on 1200 cal diet working out 5-6 x per week. I wasn't getting much definition. I wasn't feeding my body properly and I was always hungry.

Same here. After adding more calories I went down in weight again. With 1200, either man or woman, you will soon reach a plateau or go up in weight.

peachyxoxoxo

My main concern with calorie restrictive diets has to do with how people respond when a)their bodies plateau and b)they switch to maintenance. I see a lot of threads by those who plateau and their solution is to cut calories even more. Furthermore, once they reach maintenance, they experience weight gain so they return to their previous intake. In short, they become prone to eating disorders and have a very difficult time adjusting to and continuing maintenance.

If people choose to restrict their calories to such a degree, it isn't all that bad if its maintained for a very brief period - lets say three months at a time. However, too many people maintain such restriction for years which puts them at health risks including eating disorders, hormonal imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, etc..

Happened to me after several months on a 1200 calorie diet. So I agree with this. It's scary once you get to the point where it's okay to up your intake to maintenance. When I got to my goal weight I lost an additional 10 lbs on accident, taking my BMI down as low as 17.8, because I was so scared to changed my habits and fearful of gaining weight back.

kiminikimkim

1200 worked for me.

During my journey, I started to be complacent. I fit in donuts and baked cookies in my 1200 calories, but I had plateau-ed.

I got strict again and ate more healthily and finally reached my goal.

mommyrox05

I ate 1200+exercise cals for the 1st part of my journey...worked for me Maintinance now for the past 5 months or so.

jedibunny

If you're eating 1200 NET - you're eating back all of your calories. 1200 net might be enough if you're "vertically challenged" (as OP put it).

The end story is

FIND OUT YOUR BMR
+
Eat at least that, and eat it healthily
=
Win.


I'm not the best example right now as I've been sick for a little while, but I'll tell you that I started at 1200 when I got here (and I'm 5'6.5") and was ok, then started plateauing after I actually began to work out. Then I learned what I should actually be eating in order to function. Turns out that for me, at my height, with my body fat% and my current weight/weight loss goals, I need at least 1370 just to get up and moving in a day. I should be eating between that and 1900 depending on activity level, and yes, of course it should be "good" calories (and lots of protein)!

That's ME.
Learn about YOU.
And good luck. Congrats to OP eating more healthily!
:drinker:

liftingheavy

Of course you will lose, you are in a deficit. The problem is 1200 cals and exercising is like eating less than 1200. On days you burn 400 calories, if you only eat 1200, it is the same as eating 800 cals (1200-400) on days you don't exercise. 800 calories is not enough for anyone, even if you are short. (I am 5'6" 136, and I eat 2000+ calories)

The problem with not eating enough is a large % of your weight loss will come from lean muscle, not just fat. Higher protein will help but not eliminate the loss of lean muscle.

This is very true. I to was on 1200 cal diet working out 5-6 x per week. I wasn't getting much definition. I wasn't feeding my body properly and I was always hungry.

Same here. After adding more calories I went down in weight again. With 1200, either man or woman, you will soon reach a plateau or go up in weight.

Well, it's been almost 7 months for me at goal weight, lifting heavy, and lost a pound. Body fat is 21%. Let's revisit this 6 months from now.

marketdimlylit

If you're eating 1200 NET - you're eating back all of your calories. 1200 net might be enough if you're "vertically challenged" (as OP put it).

The end story is

FIND OUT YOUR BMR
+
Eat at least that, and eat it healthily
=
Win.


I'm not the best example right now as I've been sick for a little while, but I'll tell you that I started at 1200 when I got here (and I'm 5'6.5") and was ok, then started plateauing after I actually began to work out. Then I learned what I should actually be eating in order to function. Turns out that for me, at my height, with my body fat% and my current weight/weight loss goals, I need at least 1370 just to get up and moving in a day. I should be eating between that and 1900 depending on activity level, and yes, of course it should be "good" calories (and lots of protein)!

That's ME.
Learn about YOU.
And good luck. Congrats to OP eating more healthily!
:drinker:

Well put.

I also started at 1200 or less a day.
On 1500 now, and still lose weight when I eat more then that.

elenakristine

Actually I haven't said this before and I don't care if I get blasted, when I ate 800-1000 calories a day and exercised I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. Yes laugh under your breath at the fact my lowest weight was fine but I was not diagnosed with Anorexia but I was diagnosed with an eating disorder hence my 43lb loss and then gain for a constant battle both binging and restriction. I brought myself here in an attempt to recover and lose weight healthily and trust me if you are eating 1000 calories a day or making a deficit for under 1000 calories a day that is not healthy.

You need a minimum of 1200 NET calories a day, and that is the bare minimum just to keep your organs surviving and most people NEED more. What you are doing to your body is slowing down your metabolism and eventually you WILL gain weight when you go into maintained calorie amount (that's if you even get through the plateau that will come along with this.) you will gain. Unless you are seeing some wako doctor or are obese (even then a lot wouldn't recommend it) they would never recommend going under 1200 net calories, thats unless you would like to gain more than you started with or if you plan on keeping it up losing muscle and playing around with your organs.

Just make sure please that you are eating a net of 1200, it's healthy and safe. Don't be eating 1200 and then netting 800 which is far from safe.

Blast away not saying it to be a *****, just honesty and I know a lot of what people do is trial and error, but never kid yourself under 1200 net calories is healthy. you need to be healthy to be awesome x

The problem with your answer here isn't that you claim 1200 calories is too little for -everyone- (newsflash, BMR varies for everyone!) it's that you think the OP claims she is working out several times a week as well as eating 1200 calories like you did, which is potentially harmful to your body and yes, pretty stupid. You did this, you know. But you apparently didn't read the same post I did, I found nothing in there saying you should exercise while being on a 1200 calorie diet.

None of the low calorie, low carb, high protein/fasting diets I've ever come across so far has adviced people on less than 1200 calories per day to EXERCISE HARD. 1-2 times MAX per week are what's recommended, and then it is heavily adviced that you up your calorie intake on those days, and eat/drink extra protein to avvoid your body to eat off the muscle that you are trying to maintain/build while losing weight.

Also, this myth that you gain more weight than what you took off while dieting if you up your calories from 1200 is pure and utter ignorance. How will you gain "all your weight loss and more" on i.e 1600 calories from 1200? Explain this, please, and don't try the good old "your metabolism slows down and doesn't go back up if you up your calories"-version. This is bogus. Serious studies show your metabolism slows down about 8% if you stop eating altogether during a period of 60 days. Google it, honey. What you are talking about here is you stopped dieting and went on a binge of 2000 cal+ and gained back all the weight. Too bad, just don't try to tell the world it was because "your body couldn't handle the increased intake due to your metabolism having slowed down". It is entertaining, but it is so wrong. This is why people like you who think they know nutrition, lose 100 lbs and gain 150. It's so neat to blame your metabolism, isn't it? "it's broken". Nope, if it was broken, you'd probably be dead by now.

Helloitsdan

Actually I haven't said this before and I don't care if I get blasted, when I ate 800-1000 calories a day and exercised I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. Yes laugh under your breath at the fact my lowest weight was fine but I was not diagnosed with Anorexia but I was diagnosed with an eating disorder hence my 43lb loss and then gain for a constant battle both binging and restriction. I brought myself here in an attempt to recover and lose weight healthily and trust me if you are eating 1000 calories a day or making a deficit for under 1000 calories a day that is not healthy.

You need a minimum of 1200 NET calories a day, and that is the bare minimum just to keep your organs surviving and most people NEED more. What you are doing to your body is slowing down your metabolism and eventually you WILL gain weight when you go into maintained calorie amount (that's if you even get through the plateau that will come along with this.) you will gain. Unless you are seeing some wako doctor or are obese (even then a lot wouldn't recommend it) they would never recommend going under 1200 net calories, thats unless you would like to gain more than you started with or if you plan on keeping it up losing muscle and playing around with your organs.

Just make sure please that you are eating a net of 1200, it's healthy and safe. Don't be eating 1200 and then netting 800 which is far from safe.

Blast away not saying it to be a *****, just honesty and I know a lot of what people do is trial and error, but never kid yourself under 1200 net calories is healthy. you need to be healthy to be awesome x

The problem with your answer here isn't that you claim 1200 calories is too little for -everyone- (newsflash, BMR varies for everyone!) it's that you think the OP claims she is working out several times a week as well as eating 1200 calories like you did, which is potentially harmful to your body and yes, pretty stupid. You did this, you know. But you apparently didn't read the same post I did, I found nothing in there saying you should exercise while being on a 1200 calorie diet.

None of the low calorie, low carb, high protein/fasting diets I've ever come across so far has adviced people on less than 1200 calories per day to EXERCISE HARD. 1-2 times MAX per week are what's recommended, and then it is heavily adviced that you up your calorie intake on those days, and eat/drink extra protein to avvoid your body to eat off the muscle that you are trying to maintain/build while losing weight.

Also, this myth that you gain more weight than what you took off while dieting if you up your calories from 1200 is pure and utter ignorance. How will you gain "all your weight loss and more" on i.e 1600 calories from 1200? Explain this, please, and don't try the good old "your metabolism slows down and doesn't go back up if you up your calories"-version. This is bogus. Serious studies show your metabolism slows down about 8% if you stop eating altogether during a period of 60 days. Google it, honey. What you are talking about here is you stopped dieting and went on a binge of 2000 cal+ and gained back all the weight. Too bad, just don't try to tell the world it was because "your body couldn't handle the increased intake due to your metabolism having slowed down". It is entertaining, but it is so wrong. This is why people like you who think they know nutrition, lose 100 lbs and gain 150. It's so neat to blame your metabolism, isn't it? "it's broken". Nope, if it was broken, you'd probably be dead by now.

Best answer yet!
We actually have a smart one here!!!!
The voice of reason!

amy1612

Hello! Very new to the diet, started on Monday, I've been on 1200 calories a day and feel really good! So good in fact that I feel I must be totaling up my calories wrong! For instance tonight (day 4 of my diet) I had a small bowl of beef, potato, carrot and cabbage soup and I was stuffed and felt guilty about it!

Today I had:
porridge with semi skimmed milk
Beef nd vegetable stir fry with fried rice
1 piece of toast and jam
Beef, cabbage, carrot and potato soup

Am I eating too much?

No, no youre not. Dont feel guilty about eating a bowl of soup. Dat *kitten* cray.

47Jacqueline

I aim at a 1200 calorie diet although my nutritionist would like me to do 1300. I have trouble reaching 1200 some days and I don't tend to eat more if I exercise even though it is recommended. I find that 1200 calories lets me have a very varied choice of food including some sweets which is helpful in making me feel like I'm splurging. I eat a combination of foods including some processed foods. The other day I did some extra exercise so I could have some movie popcorn - what a treat!

A typical day for me includes fiber one for breakfast with either a banana or raisins; a turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch using lo cal hi fiber bread; a snack of fruit or yogurt; and my dinner might be protein and vegetables and rice or a frozen dinner from Trader Joes and vegetables. I found this 100 calorie pack of cookies at Trader Joe also which is not a low calorie food, but rather mini cookies made with whole grains. I have enough calories in my plan to have a couple of pieces of fruit a day.

Fiona_Bullough

Great post. Only read first couple of pages so bumping for later. Need to read your diary as it sounds exactly what I'm aiming for.

LastSixtySix

Well stated.

-Debra

JoAlberts

Well, seeing as this site recommended that I eat 1282 cals a day (5'2" and office worker) I would have thought that was a healthy way to lose weight!

When I add exercise into the mix I find it tough to add in the extra calories, I have an extra 120 cals today that I dunno what to do with.

orishp

don't have time to read all this now, but i agree with you, it has been working for me. I started netting 1000 cals/day, of GOOD food, low carb, no dairy. Now that i have added dairy I have been slowly upping my cals to 1200 net, if I am a bit hungrier, I eat a bit more that day, if not I am not going to shove food down my throat just to hit a certain calorie number.

And most of my weight loss has been from fat, my scale tells me that, so I have not been on starvation mode, this is sustainable for me long term, I have lots of energy and feel great. I keep thinking if I hit a plateau I'll try upping my calories, that has yet to happen .......

GemskiB

People should also keep in mind food allergies and associated dietary requirements. Having recently been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease I am now finding it difficult to reach my daily target of 1350 cals/day when I'm eating a very plain, and simple AND gluten free diet.

Brown rice is your friend, and Quinoa