Less than 1200

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Edlets
Edlets Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Since starting my diet I have been eating less than 1200cal/day. Will my body switch to starvation mode and hang onto the weight or should I just keep at it? I do an hours walk/run every day and work in a nursery school so am always busy and on the move. Any advice would be appreciated
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Replies

  • xbleedingxglitterx
    xbleedingxglitterx Posts: 27
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    You should be eating 1200 calories minimum. Your body WILL go into starvation mode and make it harder for you to lose weight.
  • Broejen
    Broejen Posts: 413 Member
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    You should be netting your BMR minimum. Meaning eat your BMR as well as any exercise calories you burn.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
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    I wouldn't worry too much about starvation mode. If you don't hit 1200 calories minimum, you will die within a week.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Since starting my diet I have been eating less than 1200cal/day. Will my body switch to starvation mode and hang onto the weight or should I just keep at it? I do an hours walk/run every day and work in a nursery school so am always busy and on the move. Any advice would be appreciated

    You don't need to only eat a few hundred calories to lose weight.

    Learn about BMR and TDEE and eat!!
  • iwillbetinytea
    iwillbetinytea Posts: 264 Member
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    Lol YOU WILL DIE. No...you really won't.

    Eat to live don't live to eat.

    If you don't hit 1200kcals everyday so what. Try to aim for it but don't bust a gut. And for everyone who goes on about metabolism - I have been on silly crash/fad diets between periods of 1-2 years where I have gradually put on weight (around 5-10lbs) because I haven't watched what I eat and I've never had a problem losing weight.

    They work, never ran out of energy or had headaches/sickness.
  • Emily_20x
    Emily_20x Posts: 175 Member
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    I wouldn't worry too much about starvation mode. If you don't hit 1200 calories minimum, you will die within a week.

    Ha! That's bull****! I haven't eaten 1200 calories in over 3 months and I'm not dead..
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
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    Yeh, don't worry too much...............the signs of the damage you are doing to your body won't appear for a while.......


    In the meantime, while waiting, take at look at the following link.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/919346-still-think-your-1200-or-less-diet-is-a-good-idea?page=1#posts-13949561
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    It won't stop your fat loss but it will probably make it less efficient.

    There's two issues: nutrient availability and energy availability. You may be able to cover the first but the second is undetermined. Insufficient energy availability can lead to impaired recovery ability and lower NEPA / NEAT meaning an actual smaller calorie deficit than if you had eaten more and done more.

    Your calorie sweet spot is a personal thing but don't be afraid to raise calories if you desire.
  • iwillbetinytea
    iwillbetinytea Posts: 264 Member
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    Yeh, don't worry too much...............the signs of the damage you are doing to your body won't appear for a while.......


    In the meantime, while waiting, take at look at the following link.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/919346-still-think-your-1200-or-less-diet-is-a-good-idea?page=1#posts-13949561

    Just clicked on one at random, check out her diary - all she eats is lasagne and chocolate milkshake. Cos everyone knows you're gonna lose weight eating that. No wonder she wasn't losing weight!

    NB: and you won't get damage if you don't do it for sustained periods, I lived with a 30 year alcoholic for a while (till he was kicked out...obvious reasons) and he has managed to evade liver damage because he'll drink then stop for like a week to let his liver recover.
  • kathymhardy
    kathymhardy Posts: 266 Member
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    Yeh, don't worry too much...............the signs of the damage you are doing to your body won't appear for a while.......


    In the meantime, while waiting, take at look at the following link.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/919346-still-think-your-1200-or-less-diet-is-a-good-idea?page=1#posts-13949561

    Wow, too many links to read there, unless you have absolutely NOTHING to do all day and night, lol.
  • tpittsley77
    tpittsley77 Posts: 607 Member
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    I wouldn't worry too much about starvation mode. If you don't hit 1200 calories minimum, you will die within a week.

    Come on! This is a new person asking a serious question. With all of the information in the forums it gets confusing. But telling someone they will die is very rude. There is absolutely NO reason to respond this way.

    It's no wonder so many new people come on this site and comment about how rude people are in the forums.
  • prium01
    prium01 Posts: 306 Member
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    I wouldn't worry too much about starvation mode. If you don't hit 1200 calories minimum, you will die within a week.

    Very rude!
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
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    Yeh, don't worry too much...............the signs of the damage you are doing to your body won't appear for a while.......


    In the meantime, while waiting, take at look at the following link.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/919346-still-think-your-1200-or-less-diet-is-a-good-idea?page=1#posts-13949561

    Just clicked on one at random, check out her diary - all she eats is lasagne and chocolate milkshake. Cos everyone knows you're gonna lose weight eating that. No wonder she wasn't losing weight!

    NB: and you won't get damage if you don't do it for sustained periods, I lived with a 30 year alcoholic for a while (till he was kicked out...obvious reasons) and he has managed to evade liver damage because he'll drink then stop for like a week to let his liver recover.

    I am currently caring for an ex alcoholic who also did the same thing re the liver, but he also used to eat property at times too as well as stop drinking. Unfortunately I am currently his carer and have to watch him get worse day by day with heart failure and severe muscle pain. His body turned on itself for fuel and attacked his muscles. Remember your heart is a muscle too. It is dangerous to eat too low for any length of time, but the sad thing is we don't always believe until its too late.
  • qwertymh
    qwertymh Posts: 38
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    You will not die, you will not go into starvation mode, you will still loose weight, but very strenuous exercise may be difficult.

    I have probably 500-800 calories a day. Not because I am trying to eat that low, I just enjoy the food that I eat. I occasionally go out for meals or have a takeaway and exceed 1400 calories, so it all evens out in the end..

    If I was to do strenuous exercise for over an hour I would probably not have enough energy so on those days I eat more calories as I am hungrier or know I wont have the energy.

    Just don't worry about it, everyone's body needs different amounts of calories, so just see how you feel. If you are like me and function perfectly fine on fewer than 1200 and are happy that way, then go for it!
  • fayeonherway
    fayeonherway Posts: 204
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    Lol YOU WILL DIE. No...you really won't.

    Eat to live don't live to eat.

    If you don't hit 1200kcals everyday so what. Try to aim for it but don't bust a gut. And for everyone who goes on about metabolism - I have been on silly crash/fad diets between periods of 1-2 years where I have gradually put on weight (around 5-10lbs) because I haven't watched what I eat and I've never had a problem losing weight.

    They work, never ran out of energy or had headaches/sickness.

    So it works for you and therefore it works for all. Cool. She doesn't have a problem losing weight so why should we? Off to check which success story that has maintained their success for years because of silly crash or fad diets.
  • fayeonherway
    fayeonherway Posts: 204
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    Yeh, don't worry too much...............the signs of the damage you are doing to your body won't appear for a while.......


    In the meantime, while waiting, take at look at the following link.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/919346-still-think-your-1200-or-less-diet-is-a-good-idea?page=1#posts-13949561

    Just clicked on one at random, check out her diary - all she eats is lasagne and chocolate milkshake. Cos everyone knows you're gonna lose weight eating that. No wonder she wasn't losing weight!

    NB: and you won't get damage if you don't do it for sustained periods, I lived with a 30 year alcoholic for a while (till he was kicked out...obvious reasons) and he has managed to evade liver damage because he'll drink then stop for like a week to let his liver recover.

    You know weightloss comes from burning more than you eat right? So if the milkshake and the lasagna fit into her calorie intake for weightloss....what happens?

    Also so many other things wrong with your alcoholic example...my head will explode.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
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    I wouldn't worry too much about starvation mode. If you don't hit 1200 calories minimum, you will die within a week.

    Ha! That's bull****! I haven't eaten 1200 calories in over 3 months and I'm not dead..

    I think that's sarcasm actually.
  • PhearlessPhreaks
    PhearlessPhreaks Posts: 890 Member
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    Calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and BMR (basal metabolic rate) then figure out what you're comfortable eating in between those two numbers. TDEE is the number of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight, given your activity level and lifestyle; BMR is the number of calories your body needs to maintain proper function if you were to be completely bedridden. Typically, a healthy weight loss number is to eat 20% less calories than your TDEE.

    At the end of the day, it's ultimately calories out v. calories in, so if you're using more than 1200 cals, you *will* lose weight, but will you be healthy? Will it be sustainable?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    sighs...you can't be in starvation mode if you are eating every day ..it is impossible...

    People in Africa who do not eat for weeks at a time are in starvation mode....

    People who miss snack 20 out of 24 are not in starvation mode..and people who eat 1200 calories a day are most certainly not in starvation mode..

    If 1200 works for you ..keep doing it..if it does not then try a different method..whatever you try keep at it for four to six weeks...
  • abheshek
    abheshek Posts: 525 Member
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    telling from my been there done that experience.....it's dangerous and harmful and can damage your liver and kidneys

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