How does one survive on 1200 calories per day anyway??

AmbieSweetz

Very easily.....I eat 1200 calories a day - eating 6 small meals / breakfast/am snack/lunch/pm snack/supper and a late pm snack

I exercise 5-6 times a week and don't eat back my calories

Works for me

^^^THIS! And I still eat whatever I pretty much want and the weight is melting off---PORTION CONTROL, & WATER WATER WATER!

You CAN do it!

templetation86

EAT 5 eggs for breakfast. This will net you 30-35 grams of protien and good saturated fat to start your day. THIS WILL KEEP YOU FULL longer and reduce your portion size throughout the day while keeping your carbs under 2.... ditch the bagle even whole grain is worse on your midsection than an egg McMuffin FACT

gottaTuscany

Hi there Welcome!

I'm sure you'll get a variety of opinions, but I for one feel that 1200 calories a day is way too little. To lose one pound of weight, you need to burn/reduce 3500 calories. Don't know how tall you are, or how much you weigh...I'm 5'10" and now weigh 220lbs. My goal, is to lose 1/2 pound per week. I run every other day, walk 2 miles every day, and stay under 2000 calories a day.
As you can see from my 'ruler' below, it's working.

Find where you need to be, and then figure a healthy way to get there. TONS of GREAT people here that will help you work through the math

Good luck! And feel free to 'add' me as a friend if you want support, etc.

Tash

Great advice!

hpsNcrvs

It does take some getting use to..but you'll be surprised by how quickly your body adapts to fewer calories.

scpeach04

I have no problem staying at 1200. My advice, no matter how many calories you are set at, is to log your food before you eat. YOu can see how much it is and avoid that surprise after.

I totally agree with you! I plan my meals at least the night before and generally know dinner plans for the week. I lost 90 pounds previously by doing the same thing and when I got off that philosophy I gained that weight plus 30 pounds back! I'm back here tracking daily, exercising and overall making healthier choices in order to change my philosophy of food.

Find foods that fill you up and are not high calorie... like greek yogurt, high protein lean meats, salads with egg or protein... oatmeal with fruit in the morning... Honestly I eat an average of 1200-1440 calories daily and at times struggle to reach this because I'm just not hungry.

On the days I exercise I am hungry for the calories but no exercise = not being hungry for me! All in all you need to find what works for you and what you can handle in the long run so that you will be able to lose and maintain... my mentality this time is that this IS forever not for the short term goal only! Feel free to friend me if you want to see my tracker.

gottaTuscany

As you have found out, you have to make wise choices. Try to divide your calories up into meals. For instance, I try to use around 300 for breakfast---only eat 1/2 half of the bagel or 1 bowl of cereal. Then have a low calories snack mid morning and mid afternoon... That really helped me.. You can choose Yoplait yogurt that has less than 100 calories. or maybe fruit...Then lunch is light using maybe 400 calories and then that leaves 500 for dinner. Remember that you can eat your exercise calories....so those make a difference....Once you have MFP into your head, you will make the best choices,,,,

Great idea!

MyM0wM0w

I would suggest PRElogging (if someone hasn't mentioned it yet).

Regardless of how many calories you go for plan your meals and pre log them. Then you'll know exactly what and when you are eating. No surprises for a while, at least until you learn how to eat better.

pinkraynedropjacki

Take a look at my diary, I am never hungry & never over. I will be lucky if I can force myself to eat 1200 let alone the 1490 that MFP have me at before I workout.

It's not that hard to survive on 1200 at all. Some simple self control, some hell bent willpower & water. Water will actually fill you up.

If you are serious about losing weight then you will find a way NOT to go over.

SammyPacks

I do almost always, along with a lot of my coworkers, sure some days I'm really hungry with munchies, but I find that fiber is a great source of keeping me full...also if you look at my diary it seems like more than what it's really worth which mentally helps me... and I'm getting more use to it.

Water too... I drink 12 cups of water a day (trainer recommended all this for me...) She's helping me get over a plateau I've had for...almost half a year now it seems.

barb1241

I get 1200 a day as well. im in your boat, seems like after lunch im left with just enough calories to have a lean cusine I'm going to try to "earn" more calories by exercising more and see where that takes me. I for sure going to eat the calories I get from logging exercising! feel free to add me for support!

Not criticizing, but you can sure eat a lot of salad, ff dressing on it a serving of barley, brown rice, black rice, couscous, black beans, quinoa, or whatever carb-y side and a piece of bl/sl chicken breast for the same-ish amount of calories in some of those lean cuisines. Only sayin' cause hubs and I were talking about tht on Saturday on a walk. figuring out how we can have insta-food sometimes when we are in a hurry. If you don't have a lot of time to cook, then maybe you could cook bigger amounts once a week and portion it out so you only have to grab that day's food and hotten it up.

Barb

MelisMusing

Up your calorie target a little.

Pre log if at all possible, this way, you know the facts before you take a bite

Plan. Plan, Plan. Make sure you have healthy snacks on hand, and do the research on healthy alternatives to your faves.

YOU CAN DO THIS

77tes

I lasted exactly one day at 1200. :noway: Most of my weightloss was at 1350, and I always eat back my exercise calories. If you are hungry, you will not stick with this LIFESTYLE not DIET. That said, you DO need to make good choices and get lots of protein. Feel free to check out my diary (but not this week -- I'm being very naughty this week).

Good luck.:flowerforyou:

californiagirl2012

Hi! I'm short (5'2") so my calories are on the low side. You can send me friend request if you'd like to look through my diary for what I eat.

It's an adjustment, but I've found a way to eat healthy and a lot of what I want.

1200 is such a stupid number to get stuck on. What you need to eat for a deficit is relative to your RMR. If you are short you really don't have much room for up compared to the 1200. If you are taller you will have a higher RMR and can go up or down and still be in a deficit (way above 1200) so you can lose no matter what. All that matters is a calorie deficit.

To tell everyone eat more is wrong.

To tell everyone to eat less is wrong.

To find the exact amount of calories for you to be in a sustainable calorie deficit is correct. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others. Some people have emotional eating disorders and it comes into play. Even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such and everyone is different.

You just need to find the correct calories for YOU to be healthy and sustainable and still lose weight. It might require some experimentation and tremendous patience. You can always notch up and down by 100 until you find what is sustainable and still allows you to lose weight.

If you have emotional eating issues than you are not going to be able to handle such a deep deficit and if you eat to low it will backfire. A better strategy is to eat at a shallower deficit, and sometimes give yourself a break from the deficit and eat at maintenance. This is not going backwards, but eating to low and then binging because you can't sustain it is going backwards. It's better to stay forwards even if it is slower. The tortoise wins this race in the end.

Your BMR could be lower than you think. You could go to a lab and have this tested. It's the only way to know for sure.

There is no mystery to weight loss, everyone thinks something is wrong, their metabolism is broken, they have low thyroid, they have menopause or whatever issue, they are as unique as a snowflake, whatever. I thought a lot of these things once too but once the doctor helped resolve the health issues for me I learned there is still no magic pill. Most people eat more than they need to and are not at good at estimating calories as they think they are. Most people have a lower BMR than they think they do. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested. It doesn't seem fair to have to eat less and feel a little hunger. It's hard to face the truth of it, very hard. It's not fun. It's drudgery at times. But if you learn to enjoy your smaller amounts of food (necessary to lose weight, since the reason we got fat in the first place was eating too much whether we knew it or not), and rejoice in your victories it can be done.

All I can do is share what worked for me. I achieved my goal at age 50 after beating my head against the wall for 15 years. Yeah anyone can do it, but I can tell you that you are up against a lot when you are older and I believe females have some unique issue to face with hormones and such. The sooner you can get a handle on it the better. DO NOT GIVE UP. As I got older and the weight piled on (and I didn't feel I was eating too much!) everyone kept telling me to give up, this is what happens when you get older. I'm small, and I didn't realize how small I was until I lost the weight. Everyone said I had big bones. I looked hefty because I worked out. Once I lost the weight I realized how small I really was and that small people don't need to eat as much as big people. HINT: If you are short you are probably small.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.


Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).

If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

It really is about calories. I tell people this all the time and they say "Well if calories are all that matter why do you eat so clean???!!" Well, because it makes me feel better, sleep better, and perform better at my sports.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

Terrymichelle

A trick I tend to use is logging before I eat it. I come into work and log my entire day before I even eat the food. That way if their is something I HAVE to have I make sure it fits through the rest of my day. I try and figure breakfast, lunch and dinner out. Sometimes I have no clue on dinner so I eat light throughout the day so dinner is kinda a surprise and I get to eat some more of the things I love... like potatoes, oh potatoes are my weakness

Plan your day in full and you will probably be more likely to stick to what you have planned.

Also, veggies are an amazing thing. You can eat a lot of them without a ton of calories I wish you luck!

rml_16

I haven't updated my diary in a while for various reasons, but I can be quite full and satisfied on pretty low calories. I eat whole foods with a good mix of protein, fiber and fat and that keeps me from being hungry. I usually get between 1,000 and 1,500 calories on a normal day.

vcaisse

Hi there!! I am feeling the same way. I have found that walking or doing yoga helps. If you walk for an hour, you earn more calories to eat. Same with yoga. Stick with it & good luck!!

gaylynn35

Eat lots of veggies and lots of fruit. Use almond milk or something like it (only 30 calories for the unsweetened one). Eat lean meat such as chicken.

lstrachan

Truly it is the choices that you make. The best thing that you are doing is logging your foods, which allows you to "see" exactly that amount of calories that the bagels & cream cheese has. Another great way to "get more calories" is to burn calories. The more calories you burn, the more "additional" calories your are allowed to eat. You will be amazed how many calories a 15 minute walk can burn!

MichelleLaree13

3 fruit servings (strawberries, melon, apples, oranges) about 200
5 servings veggies (greenbeans, carrots, bell peppers) about 200
2 cup almond milk 60
3 servings protein (beans 110, cheese sticks 80, plain greek yogurt 120, lentils 100, 100 calorie pack nuts/seeds, eggs 70) 350
4 servings whole grains (1/3 cup rolled oats 100, slice of whole grain bread, whole grain dried cereals) 400
Drink lots of water and tea
That is about 1200

laurenmcallister

I aim for 1350 per day. This gives me a little more room to eat "normally" or have an extra half-cup of rice at dinner or OJ in the morning if I really want it. And really, the difference weekly is pretty negligable if you add in extra lifestyle changes (e.g. I started walking to the farther bus stop - add 10 min per day each way that I don't log).

It IS hard. There is no way around it. If it's worth doing, it's hard. But log EVERYTHING (even the days you are over - so what?), and try and log it BEFORE you start to prepare your food. I've found tons of ways to kill calories here - if I'm over for a meal target, I might remove half a banana from my usual smoothie (50 cal!), or half my rice with dinner (50 cal!), or choose to have herbal tea rather than black tea with milk and sugar (up to 60 cal!).

This worked great for me last night. Really wanted a Tim Horton's cookie with my tea last night, and I entered it all in. Saw cookie was 280 calories and I broke it in half and told my BF to eat it immediately (he has an active job so I never feel guilty for doing this :P). 140, no problem fits in as dessert

I don't really recommend logging the night before though, just because then you don't get to eat what you "feel like" that day! Sometimes, I just don't WANT egg whites in the morning, and I DON'T CARE how low cal they are!! Other days, love them. Don't feel like you "have to" eat something because you entered it the night before.

It DOES get easier. Soon you'll be adept at food combinations that work for you