1200, and why it won't work

I am one of you...
...1200 calories a day is a paltry sniff of food. It's a dab of nutrients, and it's almost impossible to follow on a consistent (years) basis....

The number itself mocks you and makes you feel inadequate....You will live on...yes..but in misery.

well the thing is, you're not me.
You look like a rather muscular man, where as I am neither. When you turn into a 45 year old woman, then you'll be one of "me".
1200 calories a day probably is NOT enough for you, but its fine for me. I'm not starving. most days i'm not even hungry.
I woh't have to stay at 1200 calories for years, because I will get to my goal weight and eat more to maintain.

I'm not mocked, and I don't feel inadequate, and i'm not miserable.

perhaps you should change the thread title to end with "for me", since you can't stand there and tell me what's going to work for me.

I totally agree with this persons response and to be honest I got as far as this lady has quoted as I just thought its another one of those boring 'starvation mode' threads. But she is right you are not her and you are definitely not me. Until you walk a day in my shoes then you might understand more of what I do.

I have been on a 1200 and under plan since september. I am not weak and I am certainly not living a miserable life! I was miserable before starting the plan as I was over 300lbs but now I have lesser health problems and feeling very energetic to be honest. One of my closest friends has lost 167lbs and another has lost 87lbs doing a 1200 calorie diet so technically your theory is wrong. What is working for me obviously didn't work for your client and I am sure there will be a time when I will have to increase my calories but until that happens I will gladly prove you and many others wrong!!!!

Hi! I'm really happy you have found your way to weight loss...one way or the other. As I said before, in my OP, 1200 will make everyone lose weight. It all comes down to whether 1200 is a very easy number to keep, or if it is hard for most people. I can see that you are one of those that can stay under 1200, and I am grateful that you've shared your experience, in spite of my recommendations. Weight loss is a journey we all undertake personally. the fact that you've succeeded in this path only makes me feel that much better about being wrong.

What I have posed is not a theory at all. It is a roadmap for those that cannot follow the 1200 diet with much success, or are likely to slip up. I, for one, cannot. I have some experience crash dieting in my younger years on figures around 1200. I always gained it back. If your experience is different, and 1200 will be your number for the years to come, then that's great!

But, I must ask. Why eat only 1200 calories at 300 pounds when the math in either direction suggests that you may lose weight eating more? Why not find out for yourself, in any case how much you can get away with eating while still enjoying weight loss?

then again, I've always been one of those people who try to get away with the bare minimum required for success. But if success is our only goal, wouldn't we try to make our pursuit of it more rewarding?

When I started mfp last february I asked on here for advice and when I said I was doing a 1200 calorie diet because of what my doctor had suggested I was set upon in a very unfriendly manner from certain people on this site so I thought maybe they know more and I will do what they say. For 6 months I stayed on a plan of eating 2200 calories I gained weight in those six months and felt more depressed because I didn't understand what was wrong.

I then asked for other help and I met one of my closest friends on here who explained what she was doing so I thought I would try it for a month! In that month I had lost 12lbs, this was starting in October and to this day I have lost 51lbs. Just got weighed this morning and lost another 2lbs. Like I said I have never felt better and being over 300lbs I have enough reserves to be able to control my eating and believe me if you choose your calories wisely you can get a hell of allot of calories out of the daily limit to enjoy and feel full. Put it this way it is way better than what I used to be eating before this lifestyle change.

Probably I will have to increase my calories once I go below 200 but until that happens then I will continue doing what I am irrespective of what everyone else has to say because at the end of the day its my body and not theirs and what worked for them will not work for me! Everyone is unique in their own way its our weightloss journey not theirs. Don't get me wrong I have had many a bump and turn along the way but its a learning curve that I am currently enjoying and have no intention of changing! Like I said I will gladly prove you and many others wrong.

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I have just read ur message and must say it explains alot, im 49yrs of age 82kg 5ft 6in exercise 3 to 4 time a week and doing the 1200 calorie diet to no availle so as u probebly can imagin i have found this very frustrating! i generally do eat a varied healthy diet its just portion size that has been my problem i also feel that the fact i have stopped smoking as prevented me from loosing weight. If you can advise me on the best way to loose weight i would be very grateful. after all i'm not succeeding my way! I do apologise for the bad grammer and spelling.

I agree, I would challenge the people who are starving when eating around 1200 to look at WHAT they are eating. I have been doing 1240 for two weeks ( I know it's not a long time) and I have been perfectly comfortable and feel like I could sustain eating like this for the long haul. I choose my calories carefully, though, and make sure I get enough fat and protein along with the carbs and watch the amount of sugar. I also make sure I LOVE everything i eat. I don't waste calories on crap that I don't love, this really helps with cravings.

You sir, are a legend! Great post!

I'm so glad I went to the post,I'm your Monica.I joined WW 3 weeks ago first weigh in I stayed the same the next week I gained a pound. I tracked everything I ate. the leader told me to eat more as I was below my points by around 10 also below 1200 cal.I did eat more and this weigh in tonight I lost 2.2 pounds.I did loose almost 100 pounds in 2005 eating only 650 cal for 7 month but gained it all back plus 20, My Dr tested me and said my metabolism is very slow and should only eat 1000 a day, I'm 65 years old and for the past 5 years because of an injury stopped exercising. Im now slowly doing 30 min. a day of walking and working 30 min on a gazelle.I will refer to yor post and start increasing my caloies as you did with your client. Thank you so much for your post.very helpful,

What I don't understand is why any one would WANT to live on 1200 calories a day if they could eat more and still lose weight??

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As a 51 year old 5'2" woman (with a small frame) who is trying to lose 7 more pounds, I have to say that 1250 calories per day works just great for me. I am never starving. I am eating more healthy than ever (vegetables out the ying-yang!) and I have tons of energy. I agree however that if someone weighs 300 pounds and wants to lose half of that, 1200 calories might be a shock to the system, and that someone quite a bit bigger than me would have no business doing that. In any case, it is not really healthy to try to lose more than 1 - 2 pounds per week, so I agree with the progression idea. It just depends where you are starting and where you should end up. I tried the TDEE - 20% (to try and break a plateau) and it added more calories, but I actually gained weight. When I went back down to 1250 (MFP says I should do 1200), and changed what I was eating a bit, as well as when I was eating, the plateau ended. Since adding in way more vegetables in the form of fresh homemade soups and salads, I now sometimes have to work at it to get to 1250, and like I said, I'm not hungry at all and I'm losing weight at a good rate for me.

Really interesting post Couldn't stop till I got to the end! ^^

I started last October at 1200 cals for about 2 months, and lost 20 lbs. Since Jan (after my Xmas & New Year holiday madness), I've been eat at 1300 cals and considering upping it a bit more. Oddly enough, I seem to be going about it in the opposite direction - upping cals instead of going down over time!

I'm 25, 5'4" and started at 181lbs. I'm now 154 lbs ^^

Nice post! I want to blame MFP for this "magic" 1200 cals. You sign up and of course you select the most aggressive loss of 2 lbs/ week and next thing you know MFP has set you to 1200. Unless you really read up on stuff, most are going to assume the site knows best

ABSOLUTELY!! This is what I've learned from reading this post!! I DID think that the myfitnesspal site knew best!! Now, I've read the information on this page: http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/ and have come to realize that I am not eating enough! And I AM MISERABLE alot of the days that I'm sticking with this plan! I just fell off my diet for 6 days in a row because I got tired of being hungry. I'm wondering now if my scale isn't moving down on a regular basis "because" I'm not eating enough........... I also exercise my butt off just so I can 'earn' some extra calories so I can not be hungry that day. I will definitely be rethinking my weight loss plan now!

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I just wanted to say " THANK YOU SO MUCH!!" for sharing your knowledge in this post!! I have read the entire post and also the site http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/ and now understand that I am not eating enough!! I have been so hungry that I exercise my butt off just so I can have a snack in the evening and I've also just fell off my plan for a 6 day binge because I got tired of being hungry! I think my scale isn't moving much because I am actually not eating enough! I never understood this before!! So again, Thank You!! I am going to friend you on here as soon as I post this

Yep. It's important to remember that military docs who treated POWs when they were released understood that they way to make their patients gain weight was by restricting their calories severely one day a week and then allowing them to eat ad lib for the rest of the week. The calorie restriction would slow down their metabolism so that the calories they ate in the days following would go toward weight gain. They didn't start exercising them until they had gained sufficient weight to withstand the calorie deficit that came from exercise.

"Yep. It's important to remember that military docs who treated POWs when they were released understood that they way to make their patients gain weight was by restricting their calories severely one day a week and then allowing them to eat ad lib for the rest of the week. The calorie restriction would slow down their metabolism so that the calories they ate in the days following would go toward weight gain. They didn't start exercising them until they had gained sufficient weight to withstand the calorie deficit that came from exercise. "



Thanks! That is a Very Good Point you made!! And I think alot of my problem over the years......... also not eating often enough all day long and then eating a really large dinner. I'm excited to make the changes I need now!