1200 Calorie a day diet-- Need some insight :)

Hey there...I've got 38 lbs to go and am on the 1200 calorie plan also. When I'm doing what I'm supposed to, I typically lose 1-2 pounds per week. I'm going for the lifestyle change as opposed to rapid weight loss - small weekly changes to diet and increasing exercise.

I'm around a 1200-1400 diet. If I work out, I eat back my calories so my net is at least 1200.

It's been working for me so far. I eat alot too (diary is open).

3-4lbs a week might not be realistic! If you look at your goals section on mfp it will tell you how much of a deficit you're creating and how much you should be able to lose each week. For me, 1200 calories a day results in a deficit large enough for a 1.8lb loss/week. If you except to lose double that, you'll end up disappointed!

I have cut out junk food. And during the week I don't eat fruit or starchy carbs. I eat veggies, beans/lentils, and protein for every meal. Have a 'cheat' day once a week. I work out 6-7 days a week. I eat back some if not all of my exercise calories. I started on 1/1/11 at 303.4lbs. I am currently at 192.2lbs (down 111.2lbs). I'm 30 years old, 5'6''.

Wow!!! Awesome accomplishment!!!

Hi

Before I had baby I lost about 2lb per week on the 1200 cal per day diet. It was steady weight loss and while I stuck to it the weight stayed off so I am now doing this again now baby is here. I have a treat day though which is Mondays. I don't overeat but I eat what I want and don't count calories (its mainly a carb fest for example toast for breakkie, a baguette for lunch, chips for tea and choc for snack). This does not seem to affect the rest of the week and I still lost weight doing this.

I think if you don't treat yourself you end up cheating.

xx

I am on 1200 cal a day I dont typically eat back my exercise cals, though if I really want something and can work it into my 1200 cals I go for it. I dont cut out anything all together but pay careful attention to portions. I have lost 100 lbs but it has taken me 21 mths. some weeks I have lost 4 lbs and some weeks I havent lost any , there are many weeks I have only lost a few oz but it all adds up. The important thing is to just stick with it and dont give up

Hello! Im pretty new too and doing 1200 calories a day..I lost 4 lbs so far. I started the gym on Monday Im sore but Im determined! Add me if you like and good luck to you!

Stacey

U TRY 2 LOSE 3-4 LBS A WEEK & U WILL ALSO LOSE A LOTTA LEAN MUSCLE PLUS A LIL FAT BT U MAY ALSO HAVE A LOTTA LOOSE SKIN. PLEASE DNT DO IT LIKE DAT. ITZ JUS 2 RAPID I DNT CARE HOW EAGER U R 2 GET DA WEIGHT OFF

i lost about 50lbs in six months by cutting rubbish out, and walking 6 miles a day 5 days a week, after the first month or so i added in wii fit, i didn't stick to a calorie restricted diet, but i was a lot heavier than you are. this was last year, i didn't discover mfp until January this year, i have followed a 1200 calorie diet since then as i had come to a standstill with weight loss, i have managed to lose another 31 lbs but i have started exercising more, i didn't restrict anything because if i cut something out, i end up thinking of nothing else and eventually binging on it, so for me its better to have anything i want but in moderation.
good luck xx

I am also on a 1200 calorie diet. I limit myself to 90g protein /day, 50g carbs /day and 30g sugars /day. I eat protein every 3 hours that I am up and snack on low glycemic fruits and veggies. I have lost 7lbs so far and my belly fat has reduced dramatically. I used to have insomnia very bad, and since I started eating this way I've been sleeping soundly. The first week was the most difficult with not eating refined carbs and starches, but now I dont miss them at all. I do have a cheat day where I will eat a small bowl of ice cream or a piece of garlic bread. I wish everyone in here good luck and love watching everones progress

Hi there!

I'm currently on a 1200 calorie/day diet too! 2 years ago, I was really determined to lose weight after I got back from a trip to Paris. I was 162 lbs then. I worked out 5 times a week (30-35 min) treadmill-running on the weekdays before work (no weight training) and eating salads for lunch and dinner. If I were to eat starches, I would eat a small portion of rice of not more than my cupped palm. I would give myself some cheat opportunities on the weekend but I would go right back on Monday. I found that doing these 2 simple things really made a difference:

1. Weighing myself Monday AND Friday mornings after doing bathroom things and before I changed into my gym clothes. This made me motivated to stay accountable and if I messed up on say, Tues, I could adjust my intake to still do well on my Friday weigh-in!

I was able to lose 2 lbs between my Monday and Friday weigh-ins and if I was absolutely disciplined on the weekend, I would lose 1 pound as well. So 3 pounds by the next Monday.

2. Drinking at least 8 cups of water per day. It is highly important to drink ICE COLD to COLD water as your body take more energy, therefore burns more calories heating it up to your body temperature. You may think that it doesn't count for much but in a week, you lose 70 calories doing just this. EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

When I got used to running on the treadmill, I started including a little incline of about 1-2%. Good training to challenge your body and I was doing this to improve my stamina for the Grouse Grind in the summer.

I noticed that the pounds came off slowly but steadily, 2-3 lbs per week (not crazy amounts like what you see on the Biggest Loser ie. 10lbs/week). Slowly but surely the scale reflected a smaller number and I weighed in at 142 lbs after the summer doing the Grouse Grind. My ultimate goal has always been to be 120lbs. Sadly, I went through some family financial issues that really got to me and I threw my plan aside and gained all the weight back in time.

Now, I just have to follow what I did before and not let anything stop me. Just sick and tired of this downward spiral in life and I'm turning 30 next year.

Good luck girl! We can do it!! I know it can be done!

Congrats!! Good for you!! I'm currently at 194lbs and would like to get down to 150lbs. I really want to do this! I'm so motivated. I'm tired of feeling bad about myself. I don't even like to go out places, I'm so insecure. Thanks for your reply!

Sounds just like me. I was so self conscious about my weight, whenever someone said the word fat, i assumed they were talking about me. I started at 223lbs now I am at 197. My original goal was 150, but now i am chaning that to 130. I am 5'2. I figured if I am going to work this hard why not get the results I want, instead of settling.

I have tried everything in the past. This time around if different for some reason, but i am not going to complain. I started out using this site just to count calories but not changing my eating habits except for portion control. I quickly learned that changing what I ate allowed me to eat more during the day. I started slowly with the exercise and moved it up a notch little by little.

Some days are easy , more days are hard. I lost that 18 lbs quickly at first. Now it is more slow, but I am also learning the the scale can be my enemy (check out recent post). It is more about how clothes are fitting because of inches lost.

Keep at it. We can do this.

Add me if you like. I would be happy to have another person to compare with.

Sound EXACTLY like me!

Hey!

I'm on a 1200 calorie diet now. I've read that if you weight less than 200 pounds, it's safe to lose at most 2 pounds a week. My goal is to lose about one pound a week, and usually it's a little less than that. I would of course recommend exercising too, simply because then you can eat more to make up for the calories that you use. I'm not a nutritionist or expert here, but I would recommend setting your goals to lost 5 pounds at a time, and to plan on losing only 1-2 pounds a week. It can be daunting wanting to lose a lot of weight quickly.

I think this is all really sensible advice. If you lose weight reasonably slowly it is more likely to stay off permanently. Dividing up your goal into little chunks does feel more productive, too. You still notice the difference quite quickly! And if ever you feel discouraged or unmotivated- get online and chat to somebody! Good luck.

3-4 LBS A WEEK IS NT SAFE BT 2 IS OK. U PROBABLY WILL NT FEEL 2 WELL BCZ OF DEPRIVATION. U WILL B CREATING OVER A 10,000 CALORIE DEFICIT A WEEK. DATZ INSUFFICIENT

....is this English?