Anyone successfully lose weight eating 1200 cal or less?

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  • Avengertk
    Avengertk Posts: 102
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    yes I lost 43lbs since Jan... you have to be very religious in logging and honest but you can do it. lots of water is only a key factor xxx
  • Echo_Dan
    Echo_Dan Posts: 312 Member
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    A colleague in my office is doing 1200 calories a day (on average) and 30 to 60 minutes in the gym every day and on his bike doing 20 to 50 miles every couple of days (he's actually doing the Southdowns Charity Bike Ride today.) He's lost about 4 stone and has dropped several jeans sizes.
  • trudy246
    trudy246 Posts: 5 Member
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    im currently eating around 1200 cals and its working well .I have lost 3pound in 2 weeks and im rarely hungry,However ,there is room for improvement with my food choices as i have a sweeet tooth!
  • aarilynn
    aarilynn Posts: 74 Member
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    Yes and i hit plateau after plateau that lead me to quit time after time. I feel I've had to "reset" my metabolism each time because of it. Currently trying to break the habit of thinking that 1200 is the magic number, because it's not, especially since I'm working out. 1200 is not my magic number and I regret believing that I had to eat that little to get results. We all have different calorie requirements, just stating that, 1200 calories/day is not for everyone.
  • letjog
    letjog Posts: 260 Member
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    Yes. I've been on 1000 calories a day and have lost 13kg in 2 months. I've also been exercising and not eating back the calories (apart from big workout days where i felt hungry)/ I'm 5foot 2.5 and now weigh 67kg
  • Happyirisheyes
    Happyirisheyes Posts: 121 Member
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    I found 1200 a bit low. i'm 5 ft 7.5 and started here at 163 pounds so I moved up to 1350 and it suits me better.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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    I think the title should read: Anyone successfully lose muscle eating 1200 cal or less? ;) I know what the answer will be. Have fun starving yourselves.
  • Tank_Girl
    Tank_Girl Posts: 372 Member
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    Im on 1200 but im going to up my cals to 1300 for inactive days as im increasing my exercise level, ive taken to buying a weightwatchers meal after a hard workout and I also increase my calories on a day where I intend to do a hard workout
  • NatashaB8
    NatashaB8 Posts: 202
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    I have been doing this since I started 3 weeks ago. First week I lost 2 pounds, 2 weeks later I have gained 3 :(
    I don't know if its because my body thinks im in starvation mode or because its muscle.. or fat?

    I don't usually eat much during day and I have a high paced job so I'm not sure what has caused it.
    My target is around 1600 a day and I am 6ft. I also try and eat back calories lost after exercise but can't always do it.

    I have realised after typing this to eat more. Have always thought 'eating less will make you lose weight' but I guess my body doesnt agree! Going to try and eat the 1600 a day and eat back exercise cals and see where I am at this time next week :)
  • phildawson75
    phildawson75 Posts: 205 Member
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    Im 5.7 and personally found eating 1400-1700 cal and exercising it back down to 1200 every single day has worked for me.

    19 lbs lost in 7 weeks = ~2.7 lbs a week

    By pre-logging a good breakfast, lunch, dinner I'm always full and satisfied :)

    I'll shortly be upping that soon as iv almost reached my target of 10st and plan to go back to having a net of ~2000 to maintain.
    I think the title should read: Anyone successfully lose muscle eating 1200 cal or less? ;) I know what the answer will be. Have fun starving yourselves.
    This isn't true at all. You don't lose muscle having a net of 1200. You would need to be eating ridiculously low for your body to start using muscle and a very low body fat %.
  • joerobinson1989
    joerobinson1989 Posts: 2
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    My BMR is around 2200 cal, and I've been sticking to 1200 calories per day since the 5th August. I've lost 11lbs.

    1200 calories per day is pretty easy for me now and I still have plenty of treats.
    A decent amount of fruit and veg is very useful as you get a lot of stomach filling fruit for not a lot of calories.

    For example a big 400 gram box of strawberries is just 136 calories whereas a 50gram bar of dair milk is 260 calories with loads of fat (A lot of which is saturated) and sugars.
  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
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    Thats too low!
    Depends on the person. I am small and close to goal. My bmr is only 1301.My maintenance calories are only around 1400.

    Your BMR is essentially what your body would need in terms of being completely comatose. To have a maintenance level of ~1400 with a BMR of 1301, you would literally have to do nothing all day in order to maintain.
    At an entirely sedentary level your maintenance calories would be roughly 1550 (this has nothing to do with height or current weight if you've already established a reliable BMR)... your actual maintenance calories would be between 1700 and 2000.
  • frando
    frando Posts: 583 Member
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    When I was in my teens I only ate about 900 cal, due to a lot of mental issues to be short, thinking it would slim me down instead my doctor reckons I put on two stone. So, please, stay around or above 1200
  • BarbaraC47
    BarbaraC47 Posts: 175 Member
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    Its working for me - but I do take a good multivitamin specially for my sex/age.....
  • Blondefitbarbie
    Blondefitbarbie Posts: 59
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    I think the title should read: Anyone successfully lose muscle eating 1200 cal or less? ;) I know what the answer will be. Have fun starving yourselves.

    Holy **** people are judgmental on here to the point of rudeness.
    I eat less than 1200, and i continue to lose. Different things work for everyone. Stop judging.
  • sazroy
    sazroy Posts: 262 Member
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    I did a program called Lite n Easy (in Australia) and I was on 1200 calories a day, and was very satisfied and lost nearly 10kgs in 3 months. So it was a healthy amount to lose each week, varying between 500g - 1kg a week. I am someone who was used to eating only breakfast lunch and dinner, but with the program I had to eat snacks and I even allowed myself very small dessert (which I never ate dessert before) so on 1200 calories I felt more full and more satisfied than I'd ever been but it all depends on what food you eat. After 4-5 months I stopped losing weight on the program because my body was used to the food etc.. (I lost nearly 10kgs without any exercise at all) but was too lazy to start exercising so I went off the program.. been off for 6 months roughly and have gained 2kgs and that's only because it's been winter where I live and I ate like a pig and wont walk in the rain so haven't exercised but that's all about the change, 2nd day of spring today woo!

    SO! The answer is YES of course you can lose weight doing that, but if you find yourself hungry, allow yourself to eat more. I did, and if I ate a block of chocolate worth 500cals.. I would jump on the exercise bike and burn off 500cals. BUT this was with a program that delivered all my food to my doorstep and I didn't have to count anything because I knew it totalled to 1200.. Now I'm eating about 1540 a day because preparing my own food I'm finding it difficult to stick to 1200 on most days. So really it's up to you.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    No. I lost weight successfully eating 1500-1600 net calories (total per day would have been between 1500 and 2400).
  • celb500
    celb500 Posts: 76
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    Yes - I have lost weight doing this and I am happy about it.

    It can be a long term thing because it teaches you to eat in moderation and think about your diet.

    Pair it with exercise and you can raise your cal limit.

    I go over some days but I am much healthier and thinner for it.
  • ladypenel
    ladypenel Posts: 88 Member
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    I struggle to eat more than 1200 cals and I do not have an eating disorder etc. Unless I eat junk ( which is rare) eating healthily i.e. fish, chicken, veggies, fruit etc they are so low in cals that it's difficult to get to the 1210 cal. I'm a large and older woman but so far have lost 16lbs and not been hungry or changed my regular life style eating too much Main difference for me is regular exercise (joined the gym) and this wonderful site and the people on it!
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,301 Member
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    I have been eating the 1200..but for me..it was work to make those calories last for the day.. I'm trying to increase my calories to 20% below my daily burn and see if I lose on a more sane amount. .plus I want to enjoy life and food is a part of that.
    I know in my heart..that I'll just regain if I have to eat that little. There is much talk on here about how losing at 1200 sets your metabolism up for regain as soon as you try to eat at normal maintenance.

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