success stories from 1200 calorie dieters wanted

2horsestoride · March 2013

I've been eating 1200 calories since September. I'm averaging 7 pounds a month of weight loss. I feel great, don't feel deprived and am thrilled with my progress. It works for me. Should it reach the point that it no longer works, I'll reassess, until then I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

dont_give_up · March 2013

I eat 1200 calories a day. Some days I eat my exercise calories, some days I don't. I eat 3 meals a day, and sometimes snacks, it just depends on my mood. I try not to eat after 8 pm, and besides my coffee I drink only water and a glass of tea, or a glass of juice here and there. I have lost 60 lbs doing this, and I feel better about myself now than I ever have.
I understand that 1200 calories is not great for everyone, but when I first started MFP, I logged what I ate on a regular day, and couldn't believe the amount of calories I was consuming in one day! I was eating almost three times what I do now! I felt so bloated all the time, and was always tired, and never had energy. I gradually cut myself down to 1200, and I am pleased with what I've accomplished so far. I'm eating what I want, exercising, and losing weight gradually.

DebbieLyn63 · March 2013

Ok, will try to upload some photos. See if this works.

My highest weight of 237

I didn't take any pics when I started here in Aug at 228, but this one was taken about 6 weeks later when I was about 12 lbs down and really happy about that!

Today, at 190. Still a ways to go, but definitely getting back to the me I haven't seen in over 12 yrs!

Sorry the pics are so huge. Don't know how to fix that, but will work on it.

ColletteNicole · March 2013

I'm a 1200 gal I'm 25, 5 feet tall and need to lose around 100lbs to be where I want to be. I find eating 1200 cals a day easy and so far I have lost 20lbs in around 10 weeks so an average of 2lbs per week. It's working wonders for me and I feel like I'm losing at a realistic weight. It's staying off and there's nothing drastic about my eating or exercising habits! SUCCESS!

I don't call that success. I call that progress. See if you can lose the whole next 100 pounds on 1200. I have seen ONE post on this thread that actually sounds like a "success" story

^ this is exactly what drove me to find Eat More 2 Weight Less and up my calories to 2000. I was lucky if I found one or two "success" stories, TRUE success stories, of people losing the weight and keeping it off on 1200 cal diet. Instead, I found many, MANY success stories, as in reaching goal weight, looking toned and healthy, and keeping it off for years at a time from women who eat 2000+ calories per day, lift heavy, and eat what they want.

The kicker for me was.... what do women athletes do? They eat 2000+ calories per day and lift weight (even if their sport is not lifting). What makes me think I'm any different if I participate in a physical activity like lifting or running or whatever? Athletes calculate how many calories they need to fuel their sport and how many calories they need to maintain a physique—they don't just do whatever MFP says or what so-and-so over here says in some magazine, or even what a doctor said who is not trained in sports medicine. They calculate what they need based on their goals and activity and do it. Everyone should.

Not trying to bring anybody down here, just pointing out the facts...

I think it's awesome that it's working for you... but you don't have 100lbs to lose like the person in the post you're quoting. According to your ticker, your goal was less than 20. Some of us are facing 5x that goal or more. I've been directed to the eatmore2weighless site whose logo is in your ticker more times than I can count and it honestly disturbs me that people take this site as fact. The "facts" are that the 2 women that run that site aren't medical or fitness professionals, they have zero credentials.

Women athletes burn more calories because they have more muscle mass and burn more throughout the day, so they can maintain their weight with much higher calorie intakes. Obese people that need to lose large amounts of weight have different needs than someone who just needs to lose 20lbs, and they shouldn't be constantly attacked for "eating too little" because of it. Not attacking you personally, just sick of seeing this EM2WL propaganda and its formula promoted as gospel all over the forums when it's truly not a formula that is one size fits all.

redraidergirl2009 · March 2013

I will never understand the facination with TDEE. Mine is 2416. Guess how I got fat? Probably by eating that much or more. I consistently ate under my TDEE for over a month. Most days around 1600calories. Some days up to 2000. Guess how much weight I lost? 0.pounds. It works for some people, but obviously not everyone.

Mommy4812 · March 2013

I'm 30 years old, 5'4" and I eat 1200-1400 calories a day. I also exercise for an hour or two every day, both cardio and strength training, and don't eat my calories back. Since New Years, I've lost 20 lbs. I also have hypothyroidism, am not on meds and have been told by doctors that it would be nearly impossible to lose weight without my medication. At my calorie range, not only have I lost weight while building muscle (which is visible for the first time ever), but I'm not hungry, my physicals have come back totally healthy,i've minimized my low-T4 and no-t3 symptoms and I sleep great. When you eat tons of fruits and veggies, lean proteins and whole grains, you can eat lots of them and stay in a relatively low calorie level. There are those who need more calories to function and those who need fewer. Everyone is different.

I'm 45 years old, 5'4, 135-ish lbs (134.6 today) and I eat 2000-2300 cals a day. I also exercise 2-6 hours per day (yes, per day, my job entails exercise), both cardio and heavy lifting.

I used to have hypothyroidism (specifically Hashimoto's disease) for which I took meds for over 7 years to no avail. Back then I used to eat about 1200 cals a day. Back then I used to be about 15 lbs. heavier than I am right now.

Since I began fueling my body properly (eating avg 2000 cals/day), I lost weight, stopped meds, and no longer have any sign of Hashimoto's. No symptoms, nada. Cleared by ultrasound and bloodwork for over 2 years now.

Hypothyroidism is often caused and/or aggravated by VLCDs.

I just wanted to say that by your profile pic I honestly thought you were more like 25 so I had to go to your profile to make sure I was reading this right, "I'm 45 years old, 5'4, 135-ish lbs" , and I think you look amazing for being 45! I would hope to look that great at that age!!!

Matt_Wild · March 2013

Is there anyone who does 1200 calories who have succeed and the managed a lifestyle on that calories rather than bouncing back up 20-30lb when they stop? Does this not tell you anything about the diet you are doing not being sustainable.

1200 calories will indeed work for most, but you will be burning lean tissue mass and this is what makes weight off more difficult because your resting BMR drops, same with your TDEE.

Furthermore, do you not consider your future bone health important? Esp important as you age. I personally would eat more and enjoy a healthier and longer life.

Yo Lazarov ( www.myfitnesspal.com/yo_lazarov) my other half eats between 1600-200 calories a day and we train 5 days a week on average, for around about one hour, and do very very little cardio:

Yo before she started training with me...

yojustbeforegottogether.jpg&action=rotate

yojustbeforegottogether.jpg&action=rotate

Yo's results after 4 and a bit months of training with me...

Regardless, good luck all and I hope you all get the bodies and results you are looking for.

spamantha57 · March 2013

There are success stories at 1200 cals & 4000+ cals. There are people who don't/ can't exercise & people who train 2-4 hours a day. There are under 5ft people & over 6ft people & people who need to lose half their weight & people who just need to tone.

It's not all black & white which is why I'm not too fond of a lot of the acronyms here on MFP like IPOARM (don't shoot me.) 1200 calories can work for some. If you are short/ small & not active, maybe. If you are average or tall or regularly work out, probably not.

If and when I am able to exercise more, I will eat more calories. I usually plan to eat 1/2- 3/4 of them back. But if my body doesn't NEED something I'm not going to force it if I function & feel great without it, don't go hungry, have cravings, or lack energy. I do not believe ANYONE should go hungry no matter how much weight they have to lose.

When I began to gain weight a few years ago I had a doctor that kept telling me to eat less & less without even considering what I was eating. I was always hungry & tired all the time. When she eventually told me to eat below 800 calories a day I wrote her off as psycho & decided to take things into my own hands.

I may eat a little less calories now, but I eat more food than I did, and I am not hungry all the time like I was. = SUCCESS!

Matt_Wild · March 2013

Very good post that.

All I ask is people think about the long term, rather than short term weight losses.

Peace be with everyone tho, no argument or anger intended.

nurseangelamomof5boys · March 2013

I'm 44 years old started this journey in june I eat 1200 daily and dont eat back my exercised calories. I am doing fine on 1200 cals.
losing 2 lbs per week. down 54 lbs so far.

spamantha57 · March 2013

I'm 44 years old started this journey in june I eat 1200 daily and dont eat back my exercised calories. I am doing fine on 1200 cals.
losing 2 lbs per week. down 54 lbs so far.

Your other half has a hot body btw.

LinDiSm26262 · March 2013

LinDiSm26262 · March 2013

I am so confused by this thread! I am trying to lose this weight and the calorie thing is the most confusing for me. I have been recommended by MFP to eat 1200 a day. I am doing ok with it but I have not seen much progress... I just get aggravated with myself. so many different suggestions and to tell ya the truth im scared/nervous to eat more cause I cant afford to gain more weight. I am 5'1 and am 220...my goal is to be 140. I do the treadclimber every morning and burn about 270cal...i did one week of eating the calories back that I burned and gained .5lbs. I would love to see the photos as well and know How long they have keep it off.

MFP told me to eat 1200 calories. Someone told me to go back and change the amount to 1 pound I want to lose weekly. The reason is MFP thinks 2 pounds a week is too much to lose each week. When you put in two pounds it will warn you that it's too much. So, I changed it to 1 pound and it changed my calories from 1200 to 1430 per day.

You will gain the first several weeks but then once your body knows you're not starving it you will begin to lose again and you can eat the higher calories without gaining. At least that is what I was told. I just finished my 3rd week at the higher calories. I gained 7 pounds and this week lost 3 of those seven so now I'm starting to lose again.

Try that and I think you'll see that it makes sense.

Matt_Wild · March 2013

She looks scary to me

I'm glad you feel safe behind your monitor to say that. It is sad that you feel you have to attack others that have reached their goals by posting hideous comments like that, clearly you have a touch of insecurity inside to lash out at other woman like that.

I'm sure you have a picture of a cat as your profile picture and no other reason? Feel free to correct me but I think there may be other reasoning behind your hate?

Of course Yo's physique may be more than you wish to achieve however you should realise that one can stop dieting when you reach the point that makes YOU happy. She is on her journey and she is enjoying it.

For those that hate, as the lyrics go...

Because you're nothing but a wannabe
You're so easy when you're faceless
Why don't you focus on your misery?
Instead of focusing on me?

rm7161 · March 2013

I am 69 years old.

You really can't compare your caloric needs to the 25 year olds on here. They need to eat more than you do.

So you can only share your story if you're young.

Got it.

That's not what I said. My point was that the caloric needs of a 69 year old woman at 4'11" are going to be much lower than a 25 year old who is 5'6". She was trying to make it sound like what was an acceptably low number for her was also acceptable for someone with much higher metabolic needs.

But go ahead. Misinterpret what I said. There's a lot of that going on around here anyway.

I think you misinterpreted her. She never said anything about a 25 year old at 5 foot 6, or any younger person.

I reached my goals netting between 1100 and 1200 calories a day. Sometimes I ate all my exercises calories, and sometimes I ate only half of it.

I have been on maintenance for over two years, and I still eat more or less the same way. I am not hungry, starving or cranky, and if I want to eat more during the weekends (rest days), I do it without problems. I keep my carbs under 150 and my protein between 90 and 120 gr/day.

I am 69 years old. 4'11" and my weight fluctuate between 101 and 102lbs. According with several websites my BMR is between 1045 and 1075, so my net is well above those numbers. My TDEE is around 1600, so I am really eating (total) between 10 and 15% below.

No, I am not anorexic, or a "melted candle,"and I am not a prune either. I have small waist but wide hips and I am busty. I do weight training, limited cardio, Pilates, Yoga, Ballet, and some DVD workouts when I want a change in my routine. I have a sluggish thyroid and I am on meds, so I need to keep my weight under control. I know my body and I respect my body, and my doctor is very happy with my weight and lab results.

In my book, the quality of my calories is as important as the quantity. I don’t eat junk, I don’t eat fast food, and I don’t endorse any particular diet regimen, and even on the days that I go over my goals, I am very careful to make my choices as healthy as possible.

Do I want to eat more, can I eat more? NO to both questions! For me this is a long term goal that is very easy to maintain, and my stomach is not happy when I go above my limit. On the other hand, if I need more fuel, my body will tell me and I will oblige
.
Is this a success story? I don’t know just make your own decision. I am happy and that is all that counts.

This is just her success story... no comparisons that I see at all. In fact she is exactly the kind of person I keep talking about, where a lower calorie goal is most likely appropriate.

redraidergirl2009 · March 2013

She looks scary to me

I'm glad you feel safe behind your monitor to say that. It is sad that you feel you have to attack others that have reached their goals by posting hideous comments like that, clearly you have a touch of insecurity inside to lash out at other woman like that.

I'm sure you have a picture of a cat as your profile picture and no other reason? Feel free to correct me but I think there may be other reasoning behind your hate?

Of course Yo's physique may be more than you wish to achieve however you should realise that one can stop dieting when you reach the point that makes YOU happy. She is on her journey and she is enjoying it.

For those that hate, as the lyrics go...

Because you're nothing but a wannabe
You're so easy when you're faceless
Why don't you focus on your misery?
Instead of focusing on me?

Okay feel free to think what you want, but becoming a body builder isn't my goal and I think it looks creepy, not just on women, on men too, but if they are happy with it then what I say shouldn't matter.

jezama77 · March 2013

I am eating 1200 calories and eating my exercise calories back (which lately has been about 200 calories or so) and I know I'm not exactly a success story yet but I'm 5'3 and have a mostly sedentary lifestyle other than my 30 minute workout sessions. I don't feel hungry much of the time. I've read about other methods like TDEE and all that, for which I would have to eat about 1800 calories a day and that is just so much food for me. Seriously I think If I ate that much I would become lethargic and wouldn't want to exercise.
I understand if many people just can't eat 1200 calories but it's no reason for them to say that it just does not work EVER. It does work for some people in the long run, and for others it may only work for the first quarter of their journey then they have to reevaluate their intake etc just like everybody else does!
I notice that many of the threads people point out as being 1200 cal "failures" are actually just people who did 1200 cals, lost weight, then waited too long to reevaluate their intake.
The naysayers tend to kind of shrug off the part where these people had initial success at 1200 cals.

My set point is at 1200 on my diary, and I too eat back my calories. I used to not eat them, but I plateaued, so I thought I'd try eating them. Sure enough, I am losing again. I am on a plant-based diet, so it is hard for me to actually eat much more than 1400 or 1500 calories without eating total crap. (I've been trying to eat a clean, non-processed diet too.)

Just my input on 1200. I don't think I'd personally want to do it every day, but once in awhile, it's okay, and many people have been successful on it. If I eat my exercise calories, then it works for me!

Matt_Wild · March 2013

Okay feel free to think what you want, but becoming a body builder isn't my goal and I think it looks creepy, not just on women, on men too, but if they are happy with it then what I say shouldn't matter.

Change things around, if someone saw you lying on a coach, what would they think of you? Do you think you would appreciate similar comments?

I find obese people repulsive, I do not know how one can walk around looking like that. Does that sound nice? No. So how do you think it feels coming around the other way?

Diet until you reach the body of YOUR liking. She is dieting down using methods of lifting weights in a way she likes to achieve HER goals.

You don't like muscle? Don't lift weights. Like muscle but not as lean? Stop dieting when you are the body fat levels you are happy with.

Comprende mon ami?

ps - I do not find obese people repulsive, I am clearly trying to put a point across.

redraidergirl2009 · March 2013

Okay feel free to think what you want, but becoming a body builder isn't my goal and I think it looks creepy, not just on women, on men too, but if they are happy with it then what I say shouldn't matter.

Change things around, if someone saw you lying on a coach, what would they think of you? Do you think you would appreciate similar comments?

I find obese people repulsive, I do not know how one can walk around looking like that. Does that sound nice? No. So how do you think it feels coming around the other way?

Diet until you reach the body of YOUR liking. She is dieting down using methods of lifting weights in a way she likes to achieve HER goals.

You don't like muscle? Don't lift weights. Like muscle but not as lean? Stop dieting when you are the body fat levels you are happy with.

Comprende mon ami?

ps - I do not find obese people repulsive, I am clearly trying to put a point across.

Well I haven't had any complaints before.

tanyaslosingit · March 2013

This may not be exactly what you were looking for and it's a bit long but it may help:

I'm 48 years old, 5'5" tall and for most of my adult life I have weighed 125 lbs. Seven years ago, I fell into a severe depression and gained weight. This started a vicious Catch-22 system that I decided to break last year. I mention this because I think there might be a difference in the way people lose weight who have always been heavy versus the the people who were heavy for relatively short periods of their lives.

One year ago, I was obese, weighing in at over 191 pounds with a BMI of 30.10 and a waist measurement of 42". I led an extremely sedentary lifestyle and my caloric intake was anywhere from 2000-6000 calories a day. I ate a lot of processed foods, drank regularly and I was weak and tired all the time. When I started MFP, I focused on my calorie macro of 1360 and very slowly became more active. It should also be noted that I opted to move more by increasing my overall daily activity as opposed to doing workout sessions per se. I started walking around and taking the dogs for walks. I was very careful to eat my exercise calories back and tried to hit my calorie number as close as possible. You may laugh, but I would literally go find items that enabled me to get within single digits of my calorie goals for the day :laugh:

After only two weeks, I dropped enough weight to get out of the obese category (I was on the low end of that category) and was "just overweight." My calories goal was dropped to 1300. I was still only nominally active (parking farther away from the mall doors) and while I was still eating processed foods, I was very conscious of portion sizes and making sure I had enough calories spaced throughout the day. I starting eating three full meals and two snacks and drinking just water. I was still extremely focused on meeting my calorie goal to within single digits.

After six more weeks, I had dropped about 20 pounds and my calorie goal shifted to 1240. My activity level bumped up a little bit. I found I had more energy and so I found myself looking for excuses to not sit down. I started eating a little cleaner and changing the items in my diet every two weeks or so. I also learned how to manage my eating when I wasn't in control of the food situation (barbeques, restaurants and events like weddings.)

After ten more weeks, I had lost about 40 pounds and was in the high end of the "normal" range. My calorie goal dropped to 1200. I became more active my taking up hiking and made sure to get within 100 calories of my daily goal every day. There were a couple of days that I blew it either way: I ate something that I knew was high in calorie for the sheer joy of it or, I was so tired from some some adventure that at the end of the day I was too tired to eat ! On those days, I tried to keep the "margin" of error to within 500 cals.The thing is, I never tried to compensate the next day by over- or under-eating. I just moved on, taking each day as it's own. I hit a mini-plateau (about ten weeks) in the dead of winter. I wasn't active but I worked on eating eating cleaner and being patient. :grumble:

Then, a couple of weeks ago, the weather got a little warmer, the trails opened up and the mini-plateau broke! I was able to lose the last 5 lbs within two weeks. I was tempted to lose a couple of more pounds, but I found that I stopped feeling good: I started to feel weak, tired and hungry so I took that as my cue to call it!

It's taken me a little more than ten months to lose 67 lbs (5 lbs before MFP, 62 here on MFP) and I spent about 5 months or about half that time on the 1200 calorie guide. I didn't experience any weight fluctuations (only losses and a mini-plateau) and I wasn't hungry, or light-headed. The weight-loss and dietary changes also helped break the Catch-22 cycle I mentioned earlier

I'm currently at a 1500 cal maintenance level: I weigh between 125 and 130 lbs, my BMI is 20.8, and my waist measures 28.50". My energy levels are excellent. I'm eating cleaner than ever and as an added bonus, my hair and skin have improved dramatically as well. I'm at the low end of the normal range! Now I have to be careful not to slip into the underweight category! My current goals are to stay within the 125-130 pound range, continue eating cleaner and explore more trails.

So, it worked for me; but your mileage may vary

success stories from 1200 calorie dieters wanted

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