A Success story from someone who eats 1200 calories

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.

perfectingpatti

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?

Go start your own success thread, then.

Congrats on your weight loss, OP.

perfectingpatti

1200 calories threads never end well.

That's not what this is. This is a success thread in the success section.

dalgal26

Awesome! Congrats on your success!:drinker:

I too, stay within the 1200 calorie range. From the beginning (July 27, 2011), through today....And I have lost 147 pounds! WooHoo!

Sometimes it is hard to get in all of those calories, because when you make good choices, you find that you can eat more.

I do not get hungry, nor do I get deprived of the foods I love. I eat those foods in moderation and fill up on healthier choices.

Feel free to go to my page and see my before and now pics!

Wishing you continued success in your journey to a heathier life! :flowerforyou:

Helloitsdan

Congrats on your loss!
Can you detail how much body fat vs lean muscle lost since you started?
Do you have progress photos?
Can we see your progress thru this journey?

I'm asking because most women "want" weight loss but really "need" fat loss.
So eating 1200 calories will help you lose "weight" but the end result can sometimes leave one lighter but not really with less fat.
Do you catch my drift?

If you do calculations on body fat and you are at goal weight but with 25% or higher BF, you probably should evaluate what your end goal should be and work to fix it now.

Congrats on your weight loss.

gaylemorgan1980

Perhaps I am niaive, but I did not realise there was such an issue with 1200 cals. Isn't this the whole point of this app. To work out how many cals our bodies need on a daily basis for basic functioning, by our statistics (age, weight, height, activity) and make sure we are in a deficite?? Hence weight loss. This is the whole point of using it, surely?

emmycaitlin0304

1200 calories is the daily minimum for a woman so I don't understand why anyone would bash someone for that. Going below 1200 is unhealthy and while I wouldn't bash anyone I would strongly suggest they try to make the 1200 because going to low can cause damage to your body. I think so much depends on what is included in those 1200. Is someone eating 1200 calories of junk with no nutritional value, or 1200 calories of fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, and seeds? I follow Eat to Live and on days I do not workout I eat around 1200. I bump that up when I workout to meed the needs of that. Good for you on your loss!

GetHotIn2014

Not sure why people hate on 1200 cals. I understand that it's not easy for people who are just starting to restrict themselves that much. But that problem is mostly for the people who still want to eat mostly high calorie foods instead of mostly clean food and non-energy dense food. It is easy to fill up on 1200 calories if you're eating mostly fruit, veggies, whole grains and small portions of lean meat, and drinking water and tea. I'm at almost 1700 right now and I don't really eat that great, and it's still easy for me to feel very full on that. I'm working on eating cleaner, though, so that when I have to restrict more I'll be better at it! lol

zahid222

I have to eat 1200cal Iam only 4'7" . I do well untill 3pm after that I am so very hungry and can not keep my resolve . I blow everything after that .Is ther a way I could see your food diary so I could make better choices

cayadear

Alright, here's the thing.

April 2011 I set myself on 1200 calories a day. It worked. I lost 25-30 lbs. Then I plateaued all over the place for months and months and months. 1200 calories? No longer worked for me the smaller I got.

1200 calories WILL MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT. However, it's not the healthiest way to lose weight, nor will it work as effectively the smaller you get. I had to raise my calories (even though it didn't make sense in my brain) to 1600 calories a day, and then I started LOSING weight again.

So yes. 1200 calories was, technically, my success story. It made me lose the weight I wanted. It did not help me with the last 10 pounds. It did not help me learn to eat healthier, just less. It hindered the last ten pounds I had to lose, technically. And it also disordered my thoughts on eating.

So I'm happy you lost so much weight! That's great, that's awesome! Whatever works for you, make it happen. But be healthy about it, and ultimately, love your body regardless throughout the journey.

KimberlyDCZ

Congrats on your loss!
Can you detail how much body fat vs lean muscle lost since you started?
Do you have progress photos?
Can we see your progress thru this journey?

I'm asking because most women "want" weight loss but really "need" fat loss.
So eating 1200 calories will help you lose "weight" but the end result can sometimes leave one lighter but not really with less fat.
Do you catch my drift?

If you do calculations on body fat and you are at goal weight but with 25% or higher BF, you probably should evaluate what your end goal should be and work to fix it now.

Congrats on your weight loss.

He has a great point. This is what I'm going for!