any 1200 calorie success stories?

I started with netting 1200 calories. That is I tried to stay right around 1200 calories but sometimes if I exercise more I allowed a little more for the day. The big trick for me is to look at the whole week. Allow for some flexibility on certain days just keep the week under or at your net calorie goal. I've lost 18 lbs that way. Now that I'm so close to my goal weight I've reset my allowance for 1320 this week and will come up some again in two weeks. That way I don't just start eating 1700 calories and freak my body out. Also, I'm 5'3'' and small-ish. I weigh 128 lbs now. So just be sure that your not too far from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure or you could hit some hard plateaus. Good luck! I hope this helps!

Hi OP,

I did very well on 1200 calories, as it was the right amount for me. I'm short, not overweight, and didn't get a huge amount of exercise or have a very active job. In the time I ate 1200, I was lifting weights and progressing. I lost weight without stalling, and I usually felt fine. I treated exercise calories as a bank--I ate them if I felt I needed them or wanted them and didn't worry about it otherwise because of days when life happens and I ate more than planned or went out with friends. (MFP calculated that I would lose no more than .7 lbs a week on this, so it wasn't a result of my settings. Even setting myself to the construction worker level of activity only gave me 1330 calories.)

Now, my focus has shifted. I am not really counting calories much at all, but I'm working out more consistently and am more interested in fitness. I weigh a bit more from not counting, and I would like to trim back down, but I'm going to continue focusing on the fitness and exercise for awhile and see where I end up. If I need to, I'll probably implement some kind of calorie cycling based on my workout schedule to do this.

1200 is enough for some and not enough for others. My advice to people who ask is to follow MFP as it is designed, including eating exercise calories for the most part. (If you aren't losing, try eating less than the full amount back to account for miscalculation.) The roadmap has been great for some but to me doesn't seem that different than MFP's program. (The roadmap has me eating less calories than I would if I consistently ate the 1200 MFP gives me + exercise calories.) This isn't to bash anyone, but using this site as it is designed is perfectly appropriate. Follow the guidelines and adjust as needed for your individual needs (hunger, energy, satisfaction, enjoyment of life.)

1200 calories worked for me, and honestly, when I got a handle on what foods make me feel full, it wasn't all that terrible. I only wanted to lose 5 pounds, and I'm petite.

I think there is a big difference between male and female metabloism....Being a female in my later 40's I have to stay at around 1200 calories and work out to lose anything at all...I am envious of those of you who can eat more and still lose but it doesn't work that way for me...I havr quite a few friends who are regulars 5-6 dyas a week at the gym who say the same thing they of course are also women in their forties and fifties.

You can eat that much, but I seem to be losing more weight by eating more, including treats. I don't know if it's just my body. I'm doing the 30 day shred too which has helped a lot. Find out your TDEE and eat 20% less. It's working for me! Sometimes, I eat more than it, and I lose inches or weight. Weird, huh?

Basically, TDEE -20% is pretty close to 1200 plus exercise for me. (About 20 cals for me). I guess that's why netting 1200 , while making sure to log and eat back exercise worked for me.

Ya know, if I calculate my TDEE and subtract 20% of it, as recommended by so many people, I come up with a number slightly under 1200 calories a day. So it's no big surprise that 1200 worked for me.

I have a hard time on most days to get to 1200 on a healthy living diet; I am way too full and overeat, basically feeling ill..

Give me crap to eat and I'm good to go!

Eat real PB and don't toss out the egg yolks.

I will probably be doing this! I think it'll help a little

Some days I do only 900 net calories, some days upwards of 2400 net calories. I tend to feel best around 1600-1800 myself, but I still lose weight at the upper end of the calories too. I lose more weight faster at the lower end but still felt hungry many of the days.

Do whatever works for you.

I have been at 1200 calories for awhile now. You actually adjust to the 1200 calories, but remember that exercise will enable you to eat a few more calories. I am certainly not losing as much weight at such a rapid pace as the first 50 pounds. Try the 1200 and see how you feel. I don't know if knowing that I am only supposed to eat 1200 calories is linked to the lack of motivation at this point or not. The issue isn't the calories for me at this point; it is maintaining motivation. I suddenly want to eat everything in sight with no regard to calories.

I am on 1200 calories and losing weight. Happy to stay at 1200