1200, and why it won't work

cpiton

Very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to post this.

savbentley

I agree and disagree. You have to do what works for you. I eat from 12-1600 a day. I'm not hungry at the end of the day. I don't feel like I'm not eating enough. I don't restrict myself. I eat a lot of vegetables and healthy food, half of my meals leave me stuffed. If I didn't track calories for a day and ate whatever I wanted I'd bet anything I'd still be right around that number. It's not a magic number for weight loss, no. Certainly not for everyone. But I'm perfectly okay with it (not that I don't eat more if I'm hungry).

Jackie80taylor

great post, read it all.. twice!

friend request sent and inboxed you a question :-)

silversociety

I liked your post. It was exactly what a lot of people on here need to read.

stephiegirl1215

Very good advice that I think more people need to hear! I've tried 1200 myself twice in the past and for me it is just miserable. Nice anecdote too, I always love stories like that

junerbooner

``Interesting. Bump to read all this later```

fauxfoe

That was exactly what I needed to read. Thanks!

helenld1

I read every single word.

I'm guilty of being a 1200 goal person (who in reality used to aim way lower after exercise) and I suffer chronic binge eating which I attribute to years of eating at 1000/1200 cals a day.

I'm slowly slowly starting to realise what's going on and I thank people like you for taking the time to explain the why's and wherefore's of it all.

MissObstinatiox

I,m disagreeing at this purely because i spent months on 1200 calories. I never felt that i was starving myself I started to workout more so upped my calories to 1400 calories.I struggled to hit this but did most days and never ate into my exercise calories how come then I stopped losing weight and gained instead.
I gave myself a whole month for my body to adapt and still i kept gaining.
I think its an individual choice and what works for that individual.
Also when i was gaining for that month and working out more my inches never changed either.

THOMAS8253

great articile. it makes so much sense. im a first time dieter as of 1 month ago. i will follow your program idea for the near future. i was getting a little upset by not losing any weight the last 2 weeks. i will be patience and continue to work the program guidelines for the long term. thank you so very much. i learn a lot.

juliesmithdiet

I,m disagreeing at this purely because i spent months on 1200 calories. I never felt that i was starving myself I started to workout more so upped my calories to 1400 calories.I struggled to hit this but did most days and never ate into my exercise calories how come then I stopped losing weight and gained instead.
I gave myself a whole month for my body to adapt and still i kept gaining.
I think its an individual choice and what works for that individual.
Also when i was gaining for that month and working out more my inches never changed either.

I agree with you, and also if 1200 is so bad why does MFP recommend that for some of us ? Also why does my nutritionist and Doctor also recommend it ? I know what's working for me and I am carrying on that way.

khall86790

I,m disagreeing at this purely because i spent months on 1200 calories. I never felt that i was starving myself I started to workout more so upped my calories to 1400 calories.I struggled to hit this but did most days and never ate into my exercise calories how come then I stopped losing weight and gained instead.
I gave myself a whole month for my body to adapt and still i kept gaining.
I think its an individual choice and what works for that individual.
Also when i was gaining for that month and working out more my inches never changed either.

I agree. I've been on 1200 calories a day now for 2 months and it isn't a problem for me. However, I exercise almost every day so I actually eat around 1500-1600 and burn off 400-500 with exercise. I adjust my calorie intake depending on how much exercise I do so some days I will only fit in 60 minutes of walking so I aim for 1300-1400. I don't see the problem with this and it doesn't make me miserable.

purplekty

bump

Milliemocha

Great post. Really made sense to me. Thanks :-)

cococa

I'm am so impressed. Your account of weight loss and relating it to behavior change is very sound! You account for current behavior, the conditions under which your client "slips up," you break a very large goal down into smaller increments of behavior change and then gradually fade yourself out as a prompt. Just fantastic. Do you have any background in applied behavior analysis?

kvltcat

bump.

Sarauk2sf

Tagging to read later - it's long but has a 'thumbs up' in this thread from some people I respect so it's worth reading.

mmddwechanged

I like your explanation

CoderGal

I just had 3 cups of veggies stir fried in olive oil with some chicken, a chocolate bar, and a coke while reading this for lunch *burp*. And I'm not fat. woopie! If I was on 1200 cals that leaves me with um...pretty much nothing.

You don't want to see me if I'm not able to have my magnesium in the form of chocolate...

alevett

Wow, what a post. It is definitely another way of looking at weight loss and I can believe in it. It is funny how most (if not all) people that diet cut back considerably right at the beginning. When MFP set me at 1200 calories (which it seems to for every woman), I tried it for 2 weeks and went over constantly and felt like a failure. I bumped it up to 1500 and I also eat back all or part of my workout calories. It is working and I am losing weight at about 1 pound per week (40 pounds to lose in total). My BMR is around 1550 and my TDEE is around 1900 (sorry, can't remember the numbers off hand). I figure on the days I work out I can afford a little more than 1500 and the days I don't, I try to keep around 1500. This works for me and I try not to feel too guilty when I go over one day here and there because I am still so much better off than before I started this.
Thanks for the post.

lissaloue

Awesome post! *bump*

hsnider29

I think it is easy to lose on 1200 calories. It's also not that difficult to stay within your calorie goal if choosing the right foods. To all the people saying that the OP is completely wrong, get back to me in a year. I think the point he was trying to make is that 1200 calories probably isn't sustainable in the long run for maintenance. I think 1200 net is much better but many people are eating 1200 gross and exercising like crazy.

I'm small. 5' and 32. I'm averaging around 1800 calories a day and strength training 3 days a week. I'm not losing much weight but am losin inches. I'm trying to undo years of dieting and a crappy metabolism.

iveyroze3

Thank you so much. I am an RN and work night shift. I was easily eating 3,000 cals a day and usually only 1-2 meals a day,if you could call them that. I started out at 1200 cals a day.( Even my Bariatrician said to do this) Anyway I soon found I was just too hungry. I want this to be a lifestyle change I can do forever ,not just a little while . I don't want to get bored,feel deprived or quit because it's too hard to do. I upped my cals a day to 1400. Now I am thinking 1500-1600 . still way under my TDEE. I have researched on this a lot and understand you have to eat to lose.This is progress not perfection. I am 3 months in and am open to remaining teachable. I didn't get heavy overnight and it will take work and dedication to succeed. FYI I started at an all time high of 248lbs and 5'5.

CoraGregoryCPA

I read it ! When does the person start eating at the TDEE or BMI calorie level? I am pass the point of starting out at a high calorie point and decreasing. So I'm starting out (this month) with 1200/day calories as long as the scale continues to move. But this week I think I might creep up to 1400. The 1200 does affect my workouts. I workout a lot! I log it on the Polar website, not here. I think 1200 is "okay" for someone who doesn't workout.

jbonow1231

Excellent post - thank you so much for making it! I have a big long term weight loss goal, and went to visit a personal trainer who was adamant that I start on 1500 calories right away, and that anything less than that was unacceptable and that I was just wasting her and my time. I didn't make it more than two days, felt ashamed, and fell off the wagon, and stopped going to the gym for months out of shame.

I think people some people who have psychologically broken free of the mental vice grip that is the bane of overeating forget sometimes the true issue that it is. And those that have never experienced it might not truly be able to sympathize, and thus they assume (and they will sometimes make sure to be vocal about it) that someone can just "buckled down and stopped eating so much." But it is very difficult to overcome, it becomes second nature, but breaking yourself gradually is a lot easier on you mentally and physically than going "cold turkey" on food, so to speak.

My BMR as calculated on this site is 1,778, and currently I'm set my daily goal for 1,720 calories. Which - while that not seem like a lot, I've only been on Myfitnesspal for less than a month, but just that small change -and- beginning to actually be accountable to myself for how much and what I'm eating I've already lost one pant size.

So thank you for letting people know that going into things gradually -is- an option, and that better than that, that it is okay. That you didn't get here overnight, and you can't fix it overnight, but you can't fix it, every day, one change at a time.

wikitbikit

Very interesting read!

I think this is something I finally figured out for myself sort of recently, and having the long version (so to speak, giggle) laid out like this made it all ping so much the louder in my head.

I have a very... "If a little is good, a lot is better!" kind of mindset in many facets of life. As I'm nearing... an age with a zero... I think I'm starting to REALLY get why that isn't true, and this is a pretty perfect demonstration of it.

Thanks for taking the time (even if it was a month and a half ago).

ashleab37

Bumping to read later

Juleeroch

Very interesting... Maybe explains that following MFP on and off for over one year on 1200 cals a day (I'm 5ft 3in) my start weight was 147 - went down after about 6 months to 140 - now it is 146...................I think 1200 to start with is okay BUT personally speaking I think I found it quite limiting - long term - I got bored with the same old food etc etc etc.... Maybe this time I will increase my 1200 to maybe 1300 plus increase my exercise (must admit I dont exercise much at all). Maybe then I can keep at it for longer and loose more..........................ha who knows...............been yo yo dieting for about 30 years............. I think its more my body image that needs working on...............I know I'm not massively overweight - I'd just like to maintain at about 1stone (14 pounds) less than I am at the moment..

Thanks anyway - and thanks to anyone who reads this.
x

nik2710

:flowerforyou:

magicsnapper

bump