Still think your 1200 or less diet is a good idea?

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  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
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    hvbhgcfthrcdrex mnjkbnyfcrtesd rtdresdtrdfytfym hiuhiuhiulhilhiu.......................
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    What MFP needs seriously is a poll where the 1200 or less eaters and the over 1200 eaters both state how long they kept the weight off. What is your guess as to who wins long term?
  • FattieBabs
    FattieBabs Posts: 542 Member
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    Bump for later
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    When I first signed up here, it asked my weight height etc and asked my goal weight and how much I wanted to lose each week. It gave me a dropdown with several choices. One of them (1 lb a week) said "recommended" beside it.

    But there was absolutely nothing beyond that, nothing like, "recommended because if you choose 2 lb a week with not much to lose, it's not going to work well and you're also likely to be hungry all the time, feel like crap and maybe even get weak and dizzy and not lose extra and may hit a plateau anyway and have nowhere to go from there."

    IOW, it practically dares you to set your goal to 2 lbs a week, because who (without having done tons of research first, and what percentage of people have when they are first signing up for a site like this) is going to choose only 1 pound a week when you can "just as easily" choose 2?

    The point being, I suspect the vast majority of these threads (and all the people who suffer the same fate but just give up and never post threads) wouldn't need to exist if the signup process had more of a warning about (a reason/explanation for) going against the recommended weekly goal.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
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    'Nuff said...... I'm changing my setup....... 1200 has worked for me to get me going, but now I am starting to plateau............



    DUN!!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    When I first signed up here, it asked my weight height etc and asked my goal weight and how much I wanted to lose each week. It gave me a dropdown with several choices. One of them (1 lb a week) said "recommended" beside it.

    But there was absolutely nothing beyond that, nothing like, "recommended because if you choose 2 lb a week with not much to lose, it's not going to work well and you're also likely to be hungry all the time, feel like crap and maybe even get weak and dizzy and not lose extra and may hit a plateau anyway and have nowhere to go from there."

    IOW, it practically dares you to set your goal to 2 lbs a week, because who (without having done tons of research first, and what percentage of people have when they are first signing up for a site like this) is going to choose only 1 pound a week when you can "just as easily" choose 2?

    The point being, I suspect the vast majority of these threads (and all the people who suffer the same fate but just give up and never post threads) wouldn't need to exist if the signup process had more of a warning about (a reason/explanation for) going against the recommended weekly goal.

    Good points. Part of the reason is that they may be intentionally keeping MFP as just a tool/calculator, and not actually providing any fitness and nutrition advice. Maybe that would lead to liability issues. Not really sure.

    I think a large part of the problem here is people think MFP can help them lose weight in and of itself. They treat it just like any other weight loss "fix" or gimmick. When in reality it's just a calculator and logbook. There are no guidelines here (outside of forum threads). The only way this really works is when the user is educated. MFP can help you lose weight in the same way that a calculator can help you do your taxes. You still need to know what you're doing. And the calculator itself does not provide that.

    I don't think the forums provide that either, quite frankly, as hard and as futily as we try. The signal to noise ratio is horrendous, due to garbage threads and people relentlessly arguing that black is white and up is down.

    Only a small percentage of people will actually commit to educating themselves, do the research, follow a solid plan, and succeed. Just like in real life...
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    Yeah, I think you can lose weight eating more than 1200 cals :laugh:

    1421cals 112P/138C/50F 36g fibre, 2040 potassium in 3m 21s

    peri peri fish & spinach soft tacos & smores pop tarts with pb crave cookie dough pb

    2012+-+1

    vid:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja9HjB1nETg
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    ^^PB cookie dough on pop tarts....genius! Would have been more genius if you had them with ice-cream :wink:
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
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    Yep - now next you should try and find "success stories" where people ate 1200 or less - and are proud to post their results(including pictures) spent an interesting hour the other day trying to find some :-)
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
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    I love that you did this.
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
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    with so much time on your hands, You could also do a search and find lots and lots of success stories of people eating 1200 cals and losing heaps of weight.

    Nope - suggest you try and find those success stories - including pictures showing their awesome results - sorry to burst your bubble - they do not exist!
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    Yep - now next you should try and find "success stories" where people ate 1200 or less - and are proud to post their results(including pictures) spent an interesting hour the other day trying to find some :-)

    Elle I just wanted to say you are my new hero! I just saw your diary. So much for older ladies having to eat like a bird. Thanks for showing that isn't true.
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
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    Great post as always Taso.

    :flowerforyou:
  • midnite81
    midnite81 Posts: 162 Member
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    standing-ovation-o.gif

    Brilliant post (and great pic) :)
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    with so much time on your hands, You could also do a search and find lots and lots of success stories of people eating 1200 cals and losing heaps of weight.

    Nope - suggest you try and find those success stories - including pictures showing their awesome results - sorry to burst your bubble - they do not exist!
    Perhaps you should put on your glasses on. They are there.
  • Xianpu27
    Xianpu27 Posts: 70 Member
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    Just wanted to add my little story to this :laugh:

    I'm 26, 5'9.5 and pretty active and I started out on 1200 cals to lose... back then I actually remember searching the internet for "How to lose 20lbs in 30 days!" so of course I started off by saying I wanted to lose 2lbs/week!

    I was absolutely starving for the first week or two, but then it got easier and I felt a lot more satisfied on that amount. I was dropping weight ridiculously fast: over 7lbs in the first week alone, and I only had around 40lbs to lose! I kept on losing around 1-2lbs a week so it was pretty addictive. I never hit the plateau and I think if I'd have carried on I'd have reached my goal scale weight a long time ago now...

    BUT! After a couple of months of being on MFP and doing a lot of research I wondered if I was losing weight too fast? This may have been in my head but I noticed the skin between my thighs was becoming very 'loose' and wrinkly looking, and it made me wonder. When I thought about it too... since being on 1200cals I'd get home from work and need a couple of hours sleep (6 hours at a desk job), I'd start my workout on the elliptical machine and my legs would feel exhausted from the start and I was like a zombie 99% of the time.

    So I upped my calories to 1650 and ate back any exercise cals, I didn't lose or gain for a couple of months but then the scale started to go down again... VERY slowly but I'm able to have awesome work outs, I've started lifting heavy and I don't feel tired all the time. My focus now has changed to losing body fat NOT just weight, as one of my goals is to look good in a bikini.

    I worry though because I see other girls my height and weight or heavier, who look a lot firmer and slimmer than I do. I wonder if I lost a lot of LBM when I cut my calories so drastically and now even when I get to my goal weight I'm not going to be happy as my body fat % is pretty high... I'm even considering eating above maintenance to build muscle and then trying to lose the fat after. I really wish I'd have worked out the right calories for *me* when I first started here and not just tried to lose it as quickly as possible...

    Sorry that was long, not little :laugh:

    TLDR: Make sure you know the right number for you and your goals - 1200 helped me lose weight very quickly but that loss more than likely included LBM, not just fat. I'm near my goal weight now and still at a high body fat % :sad:
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    with so much time on your hands, You could also do a search and find lots and lots of success stories of people eating 1200 cals and losing heaps of weight.

    Nope - suggest you try and find those success stories - including pictures showing their awesome results - sorry to burst your bubble - they do not exist!
    Perhaps you should put on your glasses on. They are there.

    Santa Claus had an awesome success thread, and the Easter Bunny looks totally hot in a bikini now. Both on 1200 cal diets.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Being that I'm 5 feet nothing tall and down 32 pounds, why yes, I DO think it's a good idea!! Keep up the good work though, scout.

    I'm 5'1" and currently losing on 1850 calories a day. This was supposed to be maintenance calories, turned out I underestimated and really that number is a slow cut.

    Why eat 1200 cals/day or less when you can lose weight eating far more than that?
  • sohmui
    sohmui Posts: 108 Member
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    Took me five months on 1200 calories to reach my goal of 120 lbs, down from 147 lbs. My maintenance calories - on the days I exercise - are just over 2000 per day. I average around 1700 a day and am still losing weight slowly. Need to up my calories gradually to remain static, but basically satisfied with the 1200 diet.
  • 89nunu
    89nunu Posts: 1,082 Member
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    Yay you go taso!! :drinker:

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