1200 calories a day.

I stay around 1200 for a 1 pound loss. Exercise helps me lose another 1/2 pound or so per week. I eat higher protein and good fats, and limit my simple carbs, sticking mostly to fresh fruits and veggies. Never have problems staying under goal. Lost 23 pounds in 2 1/2 months and never felt better. Feel free to add me and check out my diary if you like.

ETA I used to eat pizzas and burgers and other stuff and eat around 1800, then I decided I was tired of gaining weight and feeling like crap. I like seeing the scale go down now. That's why I signed up.

I was eating 1200 a day for over 2 weeks and working out, I didn't drop any weight. So I upped my calories to 1300 or 1400 and now I am dropping weight like crazy! I say do what works for you

anyone can add me as well.. I try and eat between 1200-1300..

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I've pulled many a people out of the 1200 pit.
Read this and understand that 1200 probably isnt your number unless you are 80 years old, under 4 foot tall with ZERO activity.
That is unless you are eating back ALL burned calories.

how YOU doin?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I've pulled many a people out of the 1200 pit.
Read this and understand that 1200 probably isnt your number unless you are 80 years old, under 4 foot tall with ZERO activity.
That is unless you are eating back ALL burned calories.

how YOU doin?

I look good naked!

How you doin?

Heh.

Mine is 1,200. Feel free to take a look at my food log.
I'll admit it can be unhealthy sometimes with my processed frozen diet dinners, but I've been unable to give them up just yet...:P

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I've pulled many a people out of the 1200 pit.
Read this and understand that 1200 probably isnt your number unless you are 80 years old, under 4 foot tall with ZERO activity.
That is unless you are eating back ALL burned calories.

^^ This!!
Ok, let me see how I'm gonna put this... I started here back in 2011 at 1200.
Then I fell off the wagon, 'cause I was getting slow on my workouts, and cranky all the time and really, really tired. So stopped logging for some time.

Fast forwarding to 2012, I realised not logging my food and my workouts wasn't, plain and simple, the answer!
So, I started logging again, while doing Jillian's Body Revolution, where I was at 1200cals again...
I stuck to that, brave girl that I am, for a few weeks. But cranky old me, came crawling back again and I was searching MFP desperately for someone who could tell me I was doing it right, to keep going, I was in the right direction!

Of course, I didn't. What I found was everybody telling me I was eating too few calories for the amount of exercise I was doing.
Sooooooooooooooo, I started following the EM2WL group and upped my calories to 1500cals.
I was feeling better for a while. But I kept on reading everything I could in here. My mind started shifting interests.
I no longer wanted to loose weight. I wanted to change my appearence. Body recomposition was the key!!

So, one day, this gentleman posted something really interesting that started me thinking about what I really wanted and showed me how to get it!
I read the whole post, marked it to read some more and I've been following it for some time now.
Then I reached out for Dan's help and he probed my numbers...
What can I say? Dan's the man!
He started me at 1800cals, working out 3x a week.
Since then I've started a whole new life, with lifting weights and I mean heavy! And now I'm up for 2030cals... and you know what?

Dan, I've got some news for you my friend... At first I gained weight to 76kg and now, since yesterday, I'm down to 74kg!!
But the real interesting thing is, I'm on a bulk cycle - So I eat like a horse! And I'm loosing, on 3 workouts a week!!!
Just imagine when I start cutting, and start workin out every day!!!

So girl, if you really want help, just pop over to the link above and reach out to Dan.
He'll help you more than you think. Soon enough you'll be doing your own math and experimenting with your body composition and you'll be changing in every way, not only your weight.

Don't just trust me, or MFP, or any other person in here. Read the post, contact Dan for the numbers and then start trying stuff, start thinking about what you really want for you! You can do this without being hungry, without loosing muscle and still loosing weight and, above all inches!!!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I've pulled many a people out of the 1200 pit.
Read this and understand that 1200 probably isnt your number unless you are 80 years old, under 4 foot tall with ZERO activity.
That is unless you are eating back ALL burned calories.

This^^^^^^^

Sure, you can survive on 1,200 calories per day, but why would anyone want to when it's absolutely not necessary?

I'm 5'4" and 131.5 pounds. I eat 1,800 calories per day and I am still losing weight.

I started MFP at 1,200 calories too. I quickly became miserable, tired, and eventually plateaued. When I upped my calories I started losing again at a reasonable and healthy rate.

you can look at mine

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I've pulled many a people out of the 1200 pit.
Read this and understand that 1200 probably isnt your number unless you are 80 years old, under 4 foot tall with ZERO activity.
That is unless you are eating back ALL burned calories.

I am 49, NOT 80, 5'6" NOT 4 ft tall, and am fairly sedentary other than 30 minute bike ride 4-6 days per week. My TDEE (maintenance) is around 1700. A 500 calorie deficit puts me at 1200 for a 1 pound loss. An extra 150-200 calorie exercise burn gives me a bit more if I don't eat them back. Of course I could eat more if I exercised more and lifted weights, but medical issues and injuries prevent that for me, as well as many others on here. Or perhaps they have jobs and families and don't have an extra 10 hrs a week to spend in the gym. It is not that we CHOOSE to eat the least amount of food that we can, we eat at an appropriate level for us, to get in the nutrients that we need, without STARVING ourselves, but losing an appropriate 1-2 lbs per week.

Dan, you are a smart guy who has indeed helped a lot of people on here, but when you make such ridiculous statements like those, you start to lose credibility. Like I have mentioned before, I know a 60 yr old lady who is 4'10" (almost 5 ft) is fairly active and MAINTAINS her weight on 900 calories per day. She has been a WW leader for 30 yrs and is very healthy. Why is it so hard to accept that for many people, 1200 a day is perfectly healthy and acceptable for them when they are trying to lose weight? No, it is NOT appropriate for EVERYONE, but it is certainly NOT unhealthy for EVERYONE either.

And they don't have to be 80 year old bedridden midgets. Please keep your comments a little more realistic.

I'm also set at 1200 if I want to lose a pound a week, and I also don't have that much left to lose. My max amount of exercise at the moment is an hour of fast walking as that is all I can manage in my schedule.
That aside, if weight loss is about calories in vs calories out at the end of the day, I still don't understand this claim about raising the amount of caloric intake to help weight loss. I just don't get it. I'm 5'3, about 60kg, and 38 by the way. I'm pretty sure, given my lifestyle, if I eat more, I'll most likely won't lose weight any faster.

I am on a 1200 calorie per day diet and I feel like I eat plenty. I am never really hungry, even after completing Insanity everyday. I am new here and would love positive friends to help motivate me through my weight loss! I use to be in awesome shape, then I had a baby and for the last year I have tried to stick to a workout/diet regimen but keep losing the motivation. With my son's first birthday and the holidays arriving I really want to stick with it and get back in shape...8 more pounds to prepregnancy and then hopefully some more!

Hi there!
I'm on a 1200 daily diet, feel free to check out my diary, but I eat alot of frozen meals due to 12 hour shifts.

Hi I'm fairly new to this too, but MFP also calculates the amount of carbs, fat, and protein you take it with your calories. Goals are set for these nutrients also. I have to keep a close eye on my carb intake because I looove them! But yes, it does matter what kinds of food you eat.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

I've pulled many a people out of the 1200 pit.
Read this and understand that 1200 probably isnt your number unless you are 80 years old, under 4 foot tall with ZERO activity.
That is unless you are eating back ALL burned calories.

I am 49, NOT 80, 5'6" NOT 4 ft tall, and am fairly sedentary other than 30 minute bike ride 4-6 days per week. My TDEE (maintenance) is around 1700. A 500 calorie deficit puts me at 1200 for a 1 pound loss. An extra 150-200 calorie exercise burn gives me a bit more if I don't eat them back. Of course I could eat more if I exercised more and lifted weights, but medical issues and injuries prevent that for me, as well as many others on here. Or perhaps they have jobs and families and don't have an extra 10 hrs a week to spend in the gym. It is not that we CHOOSE to eat the least amount of food that we can, we eat at an appropriate level for us, to get in the nutrients that we need, without STARVING ourselves, but losing an appropriate 1-2 lbs per week.

Dan, you are a smart guy who has indeed helped a lot of people on here, but when you make such ridiculous statements like those, you start to lose credibility. Like I have mentioned before, I know a 60 yr old lady who is 4'10" (almost 5 ft) is fairly active and MAINTAINS her weight on 900 calories per day. She has been a WW leader for 30 yrs and is very healthy. Why is it so hard to accept that for many people, 1200 a day is perfectly healthy and acceptable for them when they are trying to lose weight? No, it is NOT appropriate for EVERYONE, but it is certainly NOT unhealthy for EVERYONE either.

And they don't have to be 80 year old bedridden midgets. Please keep your comments a little more realistic.

I have done 100s of numbers for old, young and in between.
I've only had 1 BMR come out below 1200.
She was 21 and 4'11".
If you get out of bed and you want to get in good shape and look good naked then you wont eat 1200 calories.
If you want to lose "weight" and you arent too concerned with how you look at the end of your road then by all means eat 1200 daily.
I can assure you that skinny-fat is neither pretty nor easy to get rid of.
So spend as much time as you want cutting calories and getting weak then come see me when you are ready to look good naked.
I'll have you eating above TDEE for a few months to build up the lean mass youve lost then cutting all over again next year.
Stop wasting your time and do this right.

My case and point on this is if you look at most of the people who claim 1200 is the cure, look at their join date and how much they have lost.

Eating more allows your body to work naturally to lose "fat" first.
Eating too few calories gives your body reason to store "fat".
Why give the most important machine in the world the bare minimum.
Doesnt make any sense.

bumping for later