A Success story from someone who eats 1200 calories

fightininggirl

there has been a lot of bashing about people who eat 1200 calories. I thought I would post my success story about it.

I started out at 250 pounds when I began this journey which incidently I was eating the 1600-1800 calories in eating

I then began to reduce my calories and dropped to 220 pounds last January and am now to 179 pounds.

so all total so far I lost 71 pounds and none of it has been gained back at all. I keep on going down.

islandgirldl76

congrats! I hope I can keep at it. My doctor years ago told me I needed to be at 1200 calories yikes! My hardest part is when you make stuff from scratch it is hard to figure out calorie counts, so I have to wing it a lot. Hoping the 1200 pays off soon this sucks lol

tammytee93

Good for you!!!!! How long did it take you to lose the weight at just 1200 calories a day. Did you exercise? Did you eat back the calories gained from exercise?

tiptona21

The website has a great place to build your recipe and it will tell you how many calories are in a serving along with fat, fiber, and protein (I believe those are the three). It's really easy. Just an FYI.

I also believe that 1200 calories is the way to go. I know when I eat close to how much the app has allotted for the day, I gain weight, no matter if I exercise or not. 1200 I think is a great calorie goal.

ninakir88

I lost over 40 pounds eating 1200 calories a day.
When you make healthy choices, sometimes it's hard to even get to 1200.. healthy food can be very low calorie and filling.

fightininggirl

to get me from 220ounds to 179 pounds It took me a year. last January at my nephew's wedding I weighed 220 pounds. it took me about 2 years to get from 250 to 179 pounds. but then some was my own fault of being lazy and I had a realization and got motivated. as far as eating the work out calories back I do only if the net is lower than my calorie intake. if my net is 1200 calories as well then I don't

they do have two awesome groups for those who eat 1200 calories

the 1200 calorie club

and eating 1200-1300 calories per day group..

fightininggirl

make that 5 more pounds. I weighed in at 174 pounds.

MsPrettyAmazing

I lost over 40 pounds eating 1200 calories a day.
When you make healthy choices, sometimes it's hard to even get to 1200.. healthy food can be very low calorie and filling.

This is very true!

Nesa_3

wonderful wonderful wonderful. for myself, I do get satisfied from eating 1200 calories. with eating veggies, you can eat a lot more volume of food, be full, & still be w/in your calorie limit. i lose 2lbs a week on average from this.

jscheuf

Do you ever use the recipe builder? I store the recipes I use a lot in there and can usually get a pretty good estimate of how many calories it is.

Trilby16

Good to hear and congrats on your loss! Eating more, for me, has always meant weighing more. Plus, I am very comfortable with what I eat to get to 1200/day. Healthy meals, healthy snacks. If I force myself to eat more-- why would I do that???

There must be individual variations at work. Like, older women? Come on! We are not going to lose weight by eating more. Sorry. The weight packs on and eating more is not going to take it off.

runwmeNC

FTR, I eat over 3000 cals. Just sayin'. There's more than one way to skin a cat. And one of us will still look like this in two years. Can you guess which one?

I'm guess that you will still look the same in 2 years. I base that only on the fact that you've lost 0 of your 32lb weight loss goal and Fightininggirl has lost 71 lbs so far and losing more and more every week. Definitely feel she will look much different in 2 years. Contrats to you fightininggirl, you are an inspiration.

rm7161

there has been a lot of bashing about people who eat 1200 calories. I thought I would post my success story about it.

I started out at 250 pounds when I began this journey which incidently I was eating the 1600-1800 calories in eating

I then began to reduce my calories and dropped to 220 pounds last January and am now to 179 pounds.

so all total so far I lost 71 pounds and none of it has been gained back at all. I keep on going down.

I don't bash people who eat the calories they need, in proportion to the exercise they take in.

I eat more, in the 1600 to 1800 range and I've lost over 50 lbs by now. But I exercise nearly every day, and my job is pretty active, I would be starving hungry at 1200.

Btw, congratulations... losing that much weight is awesome. If this works for you, then go for it. As long as its nutritionally complete, that is all that matters.

fightininggirl

eatng more is what got me to 250 pounds. and put me at a size 26W. thanks runmeNC very kind. I lost 5 more pounds today weighing 174 pounds. I weigh once a week also.

ravenchick

Great job! I also eat 1200 calories and have had much sucess. You look great!

Donna6017

:happy: Congratulations!! To all the 1200 cal. bashers, there is NO one way fits all. Be Happy, get healthy. That is the goal.

EstiloPanama

I'm close to 250. I'm 245.2 lbs right now. I am eating 2000 calories with moderate exercise five times a week. I think I'm eating too much. But I'm afraid to go down to 1200. I don't know if I can do it, Lol....I wonder if I should lower to 1600-1800 like you did? Results are SLOW right now. I started tracking since December 27. I started at 247 then went up to 251, and now back to 245.2 as of today.

Well, it's inspiring and hopeful to see someone who started around my weight lose so much and gain a lot more. If you have any advice for me, please let me know! Thanks...

syrklc

thanks for posting fightininggirl x

Usually am totally satisfied with 1200 cal. Sometimes I find it hard to eat all 1200 calories because I feel so full at the end of the day. I feel healthy and I know losing it slowly is the best way. I don't want to be too thin so my goal number is not concrete. I don't want to be the person that looks like they lost too much weight or lost it too fast.

purplecharm

1200 calories threads never end well.

steph1278

I think that we, as individuals, need to find what works for us. I eat 2100 calories and have lost 114 pounds in 2 years. If I only ate 1200 calories, I never would have stuck with it this long. I feel that I can live the rest of my life the way I am living now. But congrats to you on your loss. It obviously has worked for you.

katieomalley3914

Awesome - I am on 1200 and it is working well. Planning good nutrition within that boundary has been the best habit to get into.

jg6511

I google everything. If you make a dish from scratch, google "calories in one cup of ...." and you'll probably find it. I've never not found anything that I've made at home.

kirstyfairhead

FTR, I eat over 3000 cals. Just sayin'. There's more than one way to skin a cat. And one of us will still look like this in two years. Can you guess which one?

I'm guess that you will still look the same in 2 years. I base that only on the fact that you've lost 0 of your 32lb weight loss goal and Fightininggirl has lost 71 lbs so far and losing more and more every week. Definitely feel she will look much different in 2 years. Contrats to you fightininggirl, you are an inspiration.

THIS

Also those on 1200 cals are looking to lose weight not to build muscle..... which is an entirely different concept and requires an entirely different plan!! Try eating 3000cals per day and not working out and lifting weights for hours.... much different result me thinks!!

jfang86

Congrats on your weight loss.

I agree with your sentiment that a combination of healthy eating of non-processed foods can make it challenging to eat more than 1200 calories, particularly if you are a small person to begin with. I eat between 1200-1400 calories a day without trying to control or limit my food intake; that's just naturally what my body feels comfortable with, and includes two normal-sized/large-sized meals and some snacks (I am NOT a breakfast person). I am not hungry eating this way, and I'm not TRYING to be hungry. I also hit up the gym like 4-5x a week for 2h sessions, so dieting is not my primary fitness strategy.

Yesterday, I (totally coincidentally not related to forum stuff) ate closer to 1700 calories. I felt stuffed and uncomfortable all night and still felt kind of icky this morning.

I've seen people eat 1200 calories or less as their primary weight loss strategy and do it totally wrong, resulting in a dietary plan that looks neither nutritionally nor physically satisfying. And I also think there are people out there who really, really, really just don't want to or don't need to eat more than 1200-1400 calories a day. For some of us, it's just how our bodies work. Why all the hate? Just because your body doesn't work that way and would be starving doesn't mean that my body reacts the same way.

emtjmac

congrats! I hope I can keep at it. My doctor years ago told me I needed to be at 1200 calories yikes! My hardest part is when you make stuff from scratch it is hard to figure out calorie counts, so I have to wing it a lot. Hoping the 1200 pays off soon this sucks lol

If you really want to maximize success, stick to eating things that are easily quantifiable.

thenewkayla08

Just want to say thanks for this post! I am currently at a weight more than where you started at, and just dropped mine down to around 1300 a day. I can honestly say I don't mind it too much and I'm losing now finally!
Your an inspiration!

KarinFit4Life

Congratulations on your weight loss! Thats awesome!

Im honestly just curious, will you be fine with eating 1200 for the rest of your life? Do you ever go over? Like birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, general parties etc?

rm7161

I'm close to 250. I'm 245.2 lbs right now. I am eating 2000 calories with moderate exercise five times a week. I think I'm eating too much. But I'm afraid to go down to 1200. I don't know if I can do it, Lol....I wonder if I should lower to 1600-1800 like you did? Results are SLOW right now. I started tracking since December 27. I started at 247 then went up to 251, and now back to 245.2 as of today.

Well, it's inspiring and hopeful to see someone who started around my weight lose so much and gain a lot more. If you have any advice for me, please let me know! Thanks...

I started at 253 lbs, and I am very careful to weigh all my food so I have a reasonably accurate calorie count.

I tried to go lower and I couldn't do it. Ease down into the 1600s like I did, and make sure you exercise regularly and you may see better results. I also do weight lifting (machines tho, mainly... and I do some resistance band work too) on top of cardio on the elliptical doing HIIT. (high intensity interval training)

KimberlyDCZ

awesome! You are an inspiration to me as I was 262 at my highest and joined mfp on April 24 at 257. I'm now 202 and my goal is to be where you are now, below 180! Congrats! I also eat around 1200 calories and on days when I make healthier choices, it's hard to get that much in. I tried an increase for about a month and I lost a few lbs at the start but then gradually gained it back. Now I have set my goal at 1360 but I vowed to do at least 20 minutes of cardio daily no matter what. This seems to be working so far!

ubermensch13

First, congrats on your success.

Second, it isn't that people are saying you CAN'T lose weight eating 1200 cals a day, of course you can! What the criticism is that MOST people have a hard time only consuming 1200 cals, especially if they are very overweight or taller. This leads to binge eating or making it harder to stick to the plan, or having less energy to exercise/weight lift. Plus, the question the remains, is what will your body do once you start eating at maintenance? If your Maint cals are in the 1800-2000 range, and you spend a year eating 1200, there is a pretty good chance you'll have a hard time keeping it off long term. THAT is why people are so suspicious of this way of losing weight. It isn't about "Hatin'"......

DebbieLyn63

I'm close to 250. I'm 245.2 lbs right now. I am eating 2000 calories with moderate exercise five times a week. I think I'm eating too much. But I'm afraid to go down to 1200. I don't know if I can do it, Lol....I wonder if I should lower to 1600-1800 like you did? Results are SLOW right now. I started tracking since December 27. I started at 247 then went up to 251, and now back to 245.2 as of today.

Well, it's inspiring and hopeful to see someone who started around my weight lose so much and gain a lot more. If you have any advice for me, please let me know! Thanks...

If you have been eating 2000 and exercising since Dec and have only lost 2 pounds, then you might try lowering it to 1600-1800 and see if you get better results. Not everyone has to eat at 1200, some do and some don't. You just need to create a calorie deficit that gets you losing at a healthy rate that you can live with.