Will 1200 calories put me in starvation mode?

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  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/865024-1200-and-why-it-won-t-work
    How weird! When it's worked perfectly fine for me. :drinker:

    Talk to me in 15 years. :tongue:

    1200 calories a day is NOT sustainable.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/865024-1200-and-why-it-won-t-work
    How weird! When it's worked perfectly fine for me. :drinker:

    Talk to me in 15 years. :tongue:

    1200 calories a day is NOT sustainable.
    Who said I'd be on 1200 calories for the rest of my life? I have 8lbs to get to my goal, at the rate I'm going I'll probably lose that in 8-10 weeks. Then I will slowly raise my calories to maintainence, which for me is around 1700 sedentary.

    I don't see how this is such a big deal for people to grasp :huh:
  • reid95
    reid95 Posts: 18 Member
    take your and subtract 500. that is how many you should be eating.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I'm sedentary

    Most of the women who report doing well on 1200 calories are twice your age or more.

    You're young. Very young. Take advantage of that healthy metabolism and have an appropriate deficit for the amount of weight you want to lose.

    Set your goal to 1 to a half pound a week, and when you exercise, eat those calories.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    No it will not
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    "Starvation Mode" is basically a myth. If it were true, people wouldn't die from starvation. It is possible that eating less than 1000 calories will slow down your matabolism a bit, but you will still lose weight. For example, if you expected to lose 1 lb a week on 1500 cals, and 2 lbs a week on 1000 cals, then you would likely expect to lose 3lbs a week on 500 cals but actually you would only lose something like 2.4lbs on 500. So bottom line, you'll still lose, just not as fast as you might expect for such restricted calories. But you have to ask yourself. If "starvation mode" is such a scary thing and it makes you supposedly gain weight, then why does the medical community (and not just a few quack Dr's, but MOST of the medical community) put people on VLCDs of 800 cals or less for drastic weight loss? How are people so successful with weight loss surgery where they're eating only 500-800 cals a day? I have been eating approx 800 cals for two months now and have been very successful. I feel great and haven't had any problems. I take plenty of multi vitamins to ensure I'm not losing out too much nutritionally. I must admit though, I haven't lost weight as fast as I would have thought. I've had weeks were I've lost nothing. But I've had weeks like that on every other diet I've ever been on.

    Now, all that said, do I reccomend that diet for everyone? No. Especially if you don't think it's something you can maintain for a significant amount of time. But if you don't feel like eating over 1200 calories every day, don't worry that some big bad fat monster is going to come and pack you with pounds. Dont stuff yourself with food just because you feel like you have to hit a magic number of 1200 when you're really not in the mood to eat anything more.

    well said!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I agree.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    The short answer is probably not. If you are already lean or don't eat enough protein, your body could start using it's internal protein sources as food (muscle). This would lower your lean body mass and BMR. If you get enough protein and a good bit of body fat to lose, you should be fine.

    If you find you feel fatigued or otherwise unwell, you could up your calories and possibly still lose weight (depending on quite a few other factors).

    I have been at it for a while and haven't experienced any negative effects (including losing any muscle mass or feeling hangry, etc...) I am very careful about my macro and micro nutrients and I prioritize protein and resistance training.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    But you have to ask yourself. If "starvation mode" is such a scary thing and it makes you supposedly gain weight, then why does the medical community (and not just a few quack Dr's, but MOST of the medical community) put people on VLCDs of 800 cals or less for drastic weight loss?

    VLCD are recommended for morbidly obese, when the risks of eating so little aren't as high as the risks of remaining so overweight. The OP wants to lose 20 pounds, so she's not morbidly obese.

    Probably the biggest problem with very low calorie diets is muscle loss. Anytime anyone loses weight, we lose a combination of muscle and fat, but we can minimize the loss with an appropriate calorie deficit and resistance training. Conversely, too high of a deficit will result in a higher amount of muscle loss.

    With someone morbidly obese, this isn't such a big deal. They already have a higher muscle mass just from carrying excess weight. In people who are already a "normal" weight and want to lose "vanity" pounds, it becomes a very big deal.
    How are people so successful with weight loss surgery where they're eating only 500-800 cals a day?

    The extreme restriction after weight loss surgery is short term, and mostly because a liquid diet is required while the surgery site heals. A friend of mine has a FB group for WLS patients, and I've asked them how much they eat. Most who are at least 6 months post surgery eat about 1000-1200 calories a day, some a little more. The successful ones are meticulous about nutrition, too, which was the focus of the group. One acquaintance who had the surgery and isn't so meticulous has been in and out of the hospital dozens of times since her surgery because she can't catch a common cold without it turning to pneumonia.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    for each person to say that 1200 cals is fine, there is one who will say its not. for each post about plateus at 1200 cals, theres also a post for those struggling plateus on higher cals. for every "study" supporting the myth of starvation mode, there is also a "study" showing it to be nothing but fiction... you know what, find what works, and go with it. there is a bottom line, reccomended by the medical community of 1200 cal for females and 1500 cal for male. try to stay above that. other than that, your going to get a bunch of its my way or the highway attitudes, who will swear that you are going to grow elbows out of your forehead if you eat 1200 cals a day. i eat 1200-1300 cals a day, and ive lost 65 pounds in 6 months, so, to each thier own.
  • emmab0902
    emmab0902 Posts: 2,338 Member
    The operative word here is "ME" and only you can discover the answer. Numbers are not a one size fits all. For example I have to stay below 1200 due to medication I am on but I still eat healthily and exercise and have improved my swimming and running no end.
  • 2gurl45
    2gurl45 Posts: 32
    I've never really eaten as low as 1200. My lowest was 1450, and that's when i first started off. it helped me lose my first 6 pounds within a month, which was way quick! but then I plateaud for the next 2 months at the same weight, and it was so annoying. So I decided to up my fitness regime but I still plateaud. I guess that's normal to plateau, because that's what usually happens, you lose real quick and then plateau. Then after that I sorta slacked off, ate more, had more sweet treats, didnt log in for ages. And then suddenly boom, dropped 8 pounds! I still kept my work out regime, but I did more toning rather than cardio so it was basically just ab toning exercises and lunges, squats things like that. Not as intense as before. Now I've upped my cals to 1600 a day. I'm kind of already at the body shape I want to be, I want to tone up and hopefully drop one jean size and I'm done for the summer! ^^ taking it really slow. I started off at November and I've lost 15 pounds in total and hope to lose another 4 more for the summer. I'm not too concerned about my weight but more about being toned atm :)

    So i think when you start off drop your cals, but then as you plateau up your cals abit, it'll make a whole lot of difference!:) dont forget to watch your fat and carb intake, those are super important as well !

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