When is 1200 calories appropriate? (hint: almost never)

PinkNinjaKitty

If you eat 90% of your calories from fruits/veggies/nuts/beans...you know real whole foods than you are getting enough nutrition to stay at 1200. I eat a mostly vegan diet and it is damn near impossible to get more than 1200 calories unless i want to eat bread or processed garbage. I do just fine :-D

peachfigs

If you eat 90% of your calories from fruits/veggies/nuts/beans...you know real whole foods than you are getting enough nutrition to stay at 1200. I eat a mostly vegan diet and it is damn near impossible to get more than 1200 calories unless i want to eat bread or processed garbage. I do just fine :-D

Absolutely... and much healthier than the folks that eat whatever they want as long as it comes under their calorie goal, without paying any attention to salt or sugar.

PinkNinjaKitty

Haha, I get into a lot of "fights" over my eating habits. I have been accused of having an eating disorder. NO I just refuse to eat processed garbage and suffering :-) I think there is more to nutrition than getting a certain number of calories. All calories are NOT created equal. I ate 4 cups of spinach for dinner, sauteed with garlic and that had very little calories, tons of nutrients and I was full. Im not starving to death...I only get 5-10% of my calories from protein and guess what??? I feel better then I ever have in my life. When I was eating 100 grams of protein a day I felt like crap and my muscle recovery was horrible. Now I barely get sore and I can go so much harder.

sixisCHANGEDjk

Keep it going

TheCaren

For about the thousandth time I've responded to a similar topic, I say "why are you (OP) so concerned with what everyone else is doing that you feel the need to give unsolicited advice"??? I'm not sure what your educational background is. For all I know you've been a nutritionist for 30 years.

But if you know how to eat, and nobody's asking you for advice, why do you care? I see people post on here "why am I not losing any weight", and they open the door for all sorts of dietary and exercise advice. Cool.

I started out on MFP at 1240 calories a day. I'm 5'4", sedentary and 43 years old. This was sanctioned by both my MD and a nutritionist I consulted to make sure I was making the best of those calories (macros). I'm at goal weight seven months later (I only had 40 pounds to lose). I did not do that by eating 1240 calories a day of garbage. But you'd be amazed how much protein and nutritional food you can eat for that amount. I was/am never hungry.

When weight loss stalled around month five, I tried increasing calories, and I tried varying my caloric intake. I tried different things until I found what worked FOR ME. That doesn't mean it will work for someone else.

What works for one does not work for all. So perhaps quit giving generalized unsolicited advice when you don't know someone's particular situation and just focus on what works for you.

BeckyLH

I've lost a stone on 1200 and no exercise but I do sometimes go over a little.

llcjmama

Ok I eat 1200 calories per day! Which is more than what I got on the biggest loser diet 1050! I feel fine on 1200 it's all in what you choose to eat for those 1200 calories. You can actually eat alot of food for 1200 calories if you choose the right types.:)

pucenavel

Gained what?
Extra 250 calories daily if it led to fat gain would be 1 lb in 2 weeks.

Where is this magical formula that defines the exact weight gain as it applies to every single person based on a 250/day surplus over their "exact TDEE/BMR/whatever"?

Why is it so hard for people to understand that there is, as with many, many things, a statistical average that only is an approximate of where the "middle set" of people would fall. There will be people outside of this narrow range on both sides. the VAST MAJORITY of humans will NOT fit the formula. Only those few that fall very near the peak of the bell curve.

Take a statistics class and get back to me.

metacognition

I am 4'10 and 105 pounds, but physically active and 1600 calories / day is getting results!

Boo to the 1200 calorie diet. I would binge after several 1200 calorie days in a row.

It worked for the first few months but I kept hitting a wall during exercise and holding back fitness gains.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

Yawns. *eye roll*

I'm always amazed at the amount of people so focused on what other people are doing and eating....

Less to do with focusing on what other people are doing and eating and more to do with having fallen into that trap ourselves, learning the science, climbing back out and back on track... and wanting to pass on that knowledge.

Don't like it? Then don't read it!

I just felt like quoting this.

elizabeth_1976

wow im new here, and im totally shocked, I think to good weight loss is a positive attitude and no mater what the topic is I see a lot of negative here, I have struggled with my weight for the past 4 years and I tried just bout everything and nothing worked, but now I have mfp that helps a lot, and a wicked support group here at home and that seems to have made all the difference, nocked out all the junk foods and turned to more fruit and vegies which I use to hate but now love as well as working out on my elliptical every day, as for how many calories I think that really depends on the person, what there body type is how active they are and whether they have a high or low metabolism, so to be healthy I think its about what your eating and doing rather then just the calories, good work to every one and keep it going and stay happy!!

freckledrats

When is 1200 calories appropriate? When your sedentary TDEE - 20% = 1200

(Mine's 1260, and I'll laugh at anyone who says that 61 calories matters enough to cause a fuss about.)

Shaylyn1986

I have to disagree.

I'm 26, 5'2, 138lbs. I did 1200cal or less for 6mo on weight watchers to lose 30lbs over 6 months in 2008. I've maintained 138lbs for 5 years STILL doing 1200cal most days. I'm a bit more lenient on weekends but if I feel myself gain any weight, I cut back for the next week to make sure I maintain. 1200 cal is perfect for me because I work 9-5 in IT then come home and do grad school work. I've found nothing wrong, dangerous, or unhealthy about eating 1200cal a day.

Math.

passionflwr1

Bump for later

mfpcopine

I have to disagree.

I'm 26, 5'2, 138lbs. I did 1200cal or less for 6mo on weight watchers to lose 30lbs over 6 months in 2008. I've maintained 138lbs for 5 years STILL doing 1200cal most days. I'm a bit more lenient on weekends but if I feel myself gain any weight, I cut back for the next week to make sure I maintain. 1200 cal is perfect for me because I work 9-5 in IT then come home and do grad school work. I've found nothing wrong, dangerous, or unhealthy about eating 1200cal a day.

Math.

From what I've read, it's not just math, metabolic function is complex. But at 5' 2", if I want to lose weight I need to be at 1200 or less if I'm not working out. As you said, there is nothing dangerous or unhealthy about a 1200 calorie max. The issue is whether it is sustainable for a particular individual.

volume77

agree

angbieb

Bump...I need to read through all of this!!

justjean

I must have been slowing down during the transition of switching up my calories. I only have 5lbs more to lose so eating above 1200 definitely works. I cycle my calories eating 1200 maybe once a week and then sometimes eating at 1700, but making sure that my weekly calories are still under my goal. I often feel like I'm full, but just trying to eat something to up my calories which is great because I always get to eat snacks in the end.

petitehealth

Looking to share food logs with other petite ladies. I'm 5'2 trying to manage a 1200 calorie goal. Currently think its not enough cal. Trying to keep under 1600 and workout everyday. Also started blogging healthy recipe ideas at www.petitehealth.com

melindasuefritz

the question is when is 1200 calories appropriate -
answer5 only if u are 120 pounds are less