success stories from 1200 calorie dieters wanted

DebbieLyn63

Yet another thread was created recently to state that 1200 calorie diets are wrong, and the declaration that there are not ANY success stories with pictures from people who have lost weight successfully eating at 1200 calories. I personally have around 200 women on my friend list who are succeeding quite well eating around that range, and have had no problems with it. Surely I am not friends with the ONLY people on here, for whom 1200 is an appropriate calorie level for their particular body and situation.

I certainly am not saying that EVERYONE should be eating at this calorie level, but there definitely are many on here that it is an appropriate calorie level.

I do not wish for this to turn into a debate over calorie levels, but just want to provide an opportunity for those who ARE succeeding at this calorie level, to share their success and pictures.

Personally, my TDEE is only around 1600. I am 49, 5'6" and am fairly sedentary due to injuries and arthritis, so 1200 plus a few moderate bike rides thruout the week, puts me losing about 1 pound a week pretty steady now. I started here at 228 the end of August and I am just under 190 today. I still have 35-40 pounds to go, so I will continue eating at this level until I get closer to goal, then I will start working my way up to maintenance. When I was heavier, my deficit was a bit larger and I was losing 1.5-2 pounds a week, but as I have gotten lighter, it takes fewer calories to move my body around, so therefore I am not losing quite as quickly, as I did not want to lower my cals any further.

I have lost 7 inches off my hips, 6 inches off my waist, and 2.5 inches off my thighs.
I am stronger than I have been in 12 years. I sleep better, my resting HR is lower. My pain level is drastically reduced. My hair is not falling out, nor is my face breaking out. I am not starving, or binging, nor do I have fatigue. In fact, my energy levels are higher than they have been in years. I have not lost much, if any, of my muscle mass. I do not have medical testing to prove this, but I can only go by the way that I look and feel.

Again, this thread is not intended to be inflammatory in nature. I just really think that a lot of people who need to eat at a higher calorie level, cannot understand that there are many people who DO need to eat lower amounts to lose at an appropriate rate. Perhaps seeing a collection of those who ARE succeeding, will help broaden their understanding, and they will see that we AREN'T all 16 yr old girls trying to fit into Double Zero sized jeans, living off Diet Coke and Tic Tacs.

I am having trouble getting my pics to post lately, so as soon as I can figure it out, I will post some pics of my results so far. I am only halfway to goal, so I'm no supermodel, and am not really comfortable with showing pics to people outside my FL just yet, but if it will help to create a more friendly and welcome environment here on the forums, I will make the sacrifice! (I did mention I was 49, right?)

So come on 1200-ers, show us how you are doing!

Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door

I know a lady who ate 1200 calories she started out at a size 26W and is now a size 6 she looks amazing. I was eating 1200 calories and I lost 64 pounds with eating that way. incidently Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels all say that 1200-1400 calories is good for women.

loisfritz

I am 43 and eating 1200 calories, I do not add my exercise calories. I started on 2/25/13. I feel better than ever.

chrisjathompson

I tried to eat 1200 calories, but it was too much, had to stop eating breakfast at 946

If 1200 works, awesome! Better than the 4000 a day that got a lot of us here.

kimmytjoy

I am eating 1270 calories a day, or less. I have lost 37lbs since Sept. 26th. I have 13 lbs to go to reach my goal. I could not be happier!!!! The best part, I am not going hungry like I did on other diets. And I get to have my wine when I want it!!!!!!!!!

SadKitty27

My goal intake is set for 1200 and I never go over that. I joined MFP last Dec. (mid Dec.,) and am down 26lbs and counting; I'm not starving, my hair is not falling out, and I contrary to what a lot of people seem to think here I feel, and am doing fine.

teachermegan

I'm eating between 1200 - 1250 and not eating my calories back....I will do this until I begin to stop seeing results and then I might change it up. I am also lifting heavy weights and doing cardio.

I eat 5 times a day, about 100 g of protein and no more than 35 g of fat. I feel amazing!

mahanaibu

I'm a relative beginner, but I average aabout 1,100 carefully selected, protein- and nutrition-dense calories a day. I also cannot exercise a lot because of a back and hip problem, but I try to average 300 calories a day now on exercise and have started strength training in addition to walking. I joined at the beginning of the year and have lost almost 23 pounds so far.

So much is said about this on MFP that I consulted the nutritionist I used to work with. She's the one who taught me how to eat correctly and how to exercise better, and working with her, my husband lost 45 pounds that he has kept off for more than two years now. He also totally changed his way of eating.

Anyway, she responded that I'm doing fine, eating well and on a good track.More importantly, she started out her response with the following, which I think are good words for all the more judgmental people of MFP to keep in mind:

"First I must say that if there was one solution to weight loss for everyone- no one would be heavy."

Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door

i set mine to 1400 but I net 1200 calories incidently mfp reccomended me at 1200 calories. so it must not be as dangerous as what they think it is. I lost 64 pounds eating 1200 calories, dropped 4 more today. this was from the lady who last year weighed 220 pounds. when I reach my goal only 41 pounds to go I will have a total weight loss of 110 pounds.

whitecapwendy

I keep my calories between 1200 and 1400--usually closer to 1200, I try not to go under that because you can go into a metabolism crash. I am losing consistently-- since January 4 I have lost 28.8 lbs. But I have a lot of weitight to lose. In response to the thread referred to earlier in the thread, I have changed my goal to (lightly active) 1300 calories.

AliceNov2011

I'm 55 and lost 50 lbs last year on ~1200 calories--eating nutrient-dense, whole foods and lots of them. It's amazing how much more you can eat when you abandon fake food.

My vitals are perfect, my clothes fit, my TDEE is about 1540, and I do some pilates and take walks, but I will never be an athlete, gym rat, or exercise maven, nor do I want to be.

Don't feed the trolls.

sleepytexan

don't hold your breath . . . .

Lissa_M

1280 calories a day. 137 lbs since Jan '12.

funhouse77

I'm just under 5ft 3, 35 years old, and have lost 50lbs netting 1200. And I'm still losing at a rate of 1lb per week. I eat back most if not all my exercise calories, and workout 5/6 days a week, mixture of cardio and weights/strength training.

I have added before and current weight pictures to my profile.

annepage

I've been doing 1270 for roughly 2 months now and am down 13 lbs. since doing so. That's with a 'sedentary' lifestyle and not much outside exercise.

Brunner26_2

Ok, OP. I challenge you to show me where anybody said that nobody has had success on 1200 calories a day.

Mads1997

1280 calories a day. 137 lbs since Jan '12.

wow what a success story..............Congrats

taso42

tagging

can you also provide your height, weight, age, gender, activity level, and duration of your success?

thanks!

sleepytexan

tagging

you're it, Taso. I think I had about 1200 cals for dinner last night.

c_ramey

I lost 61 pounds with 1200 calories.... I maintained for over a year, before having major health issues at the end if last year that contributed to gaining 20 lbs back. I am now starting back with my 1200 calories to lose it! I

redraidergirl2009

Ive eaten 1200 calories before and lost 12lbs in a month. Going to go back to that since it worked and nothing comes off at 1600. At the time I was not working out due to an injury.