Results with 1200 Calories
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I eat 1290 cals a day and it works for me. But I'm also 5'0".0
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Some interesting points of view here! Who is to say that 1200 calories is wrong (or right) it is entirely down to your body. I hear on here so often that loosing weight is a simply equation of eat so many calories and burn so many calories and that is all there is to it. It just isn't that simple.
I have a failing gall bladder which makes it difficult for me to process fat and hypothyroidism which has slowed my metabolism. I am very active, as a ski guide I often ski 5 days per week - and I am guiding experienced skiers - not teaching beginners, so it is energetic. I am often out all day in freezing temperatures (burning calories just to keep warm) and despite eating sensibly - I still gain weight. If I want to loose weight, I have to drop my calorie intake to around 1200 a day and work out too. I do sometimes eat back my exercise calories - if I am hungry. If I do it all the time, I don't loose weight.
I don't think 1200 calories is suitable as a maintenance diet, but I think it is important to remember that everyone is individual and just becuase something works for you doesn't mean that it is right or wrong for someone else. Let us not sit in judgement . . . .0 -
ME! Me! I had success on 1200 cals a day!
..If you define 'success' as: "losing muscle mass, developing a flat, saggy *kitten* that looked like melting wax, was always tired, and couldn't manage even one pushup", that is.
I am only 5 ft tall, and my BMR is 1280. So unless you're like 4'6" you have no reason to be eating that low.
^^^^ This is exactly what I wanted to say! Did 1200, didn't eat back my exercise calories. Had great succes; lost more than my goal was but lost any possible muscle mass I still had and looked skinny but definately not beautiful. Saggy butt, ribs showing, no muscle tone (I worked out 6 days a week, make no mistake).
I'm sticking at 1500 calories and that's low enough for me!0 -
OP, please listen to all these people telling you to eat more, they are right! You don't need to eat way more ,but if you do it will make it a lot easier to maintain the weight loss in the long term. There are no quick fixes!0
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I have had immense success on 1200 cals. I do not stick to it rigid all the time... its more a guideline now and it taught me to look at what was in what i ate before i ate it. i aimed for 3x400 cal meals or 4x 300 cal meals on average. I have never felt hungry nor have i deprived myself. I tend to do 500-1000 cals exercise a day with walking, exercise bike, x trainer, running, kettle bell, gym, weight lifting and other strength training. I LOVE my new body tho i still have some problem areas i need more work on.
If i found myself feeling hungry i would up my calories but for now i am doing better then fine. Being on 1200 calories is very easy if you eat good foods ie fish, fruit, veggies in abundance. However if your trying to factor in a mcdonalds breakfast and 2 full fat coke drinks a day it will be impossible. My snack go to items are bananas, apples, fat free yoghurt and cottage cheese.
I have managed to up my muscle mass and drop my BF% so apparently i am a freak of nature as this is impossible on only 1200 cals...One tip i can give you to prevent hitting your goal and being "skinny fat" is Weights... Doing strength training is UBER important so you don't end up as poster above said... sticky out ribs and flabby skin. I assure you.. the women out there who believe they will end up like the hulk are way off. The effort involved in building muscle definition like that is a mammoth task and will never happen by accident. By lifting your body might not allow you to build muscle on 1200 cals.. but hopefully it will stop you losing what you already have.
What i am trying to say is... this lifestyle change thing is not a one size fits all deal. Everyones metabolism is different as is their bodies and body needs. Do what is right for you. If you feel hungry on 1200 after trying it for a week or so then up your calories or exercise to earn more calories on your daily amount. If i was feeling hungry and drained for sure i would up mine. Good luck to all and feel free to add me xxx0 -
Bump for sure!0
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I actually didn't say you were going to lose your period, and you obviously have a bad relationship with food if you thinking eating what your body NEEDS to simply maintain it's functioning level is "loads of food." Also it is starving yourself, the average body needs at least 1700 calories to function every day, anything less than that is starving it.UUURRRGG here we go...'you're starving at 1200'. What a load of cr**. I have tons of energy, I'm losing weight, my periods haven't stopped, I've not suddenly gained weight and you know what, I enjoy not eating f*** loads of food.
I'll see you at the finish line (I'll be there before you)!
Do you expect your car to run without gas? Do you use your cell phone without charging it? Stop thinking of your body as a number on a scale, and start thinking of it as a machine that needs energy to function. The bottom line is losing weight at 1200 calories is not healthy because a) you aren't feeding it properly b) it's not ideal to live on 1200 calories for the rest of your life. The damage it does to your metabolism, and yes the potential harm it can do if your body goes into starvation mode and starts to consume it's own muscle. (Also your period doesn't need to stop for your body to be doing this, I was anorexic and my period never stopped not even when I was 115lbs
so that's a mute point.) Also talking about muscle and starvation, guess what's a muscle in your body? YOUR HEART
"Stop thinking of your body as a number on a scale, and start thinking of it as a machine that needs energy to function."
I love that statement. It puts fitness into perspective. I used to be anorexic in middle school. I ate very very little. I got a flat stomach in no time at all. It was not healthy though at all. Thankfully, I did not gain anything back because when I started eating again, I ate really healthy and slowly added junk food back into my diet. It is true that you can lose a lot of weight by eating 1200 calories or less, but your body needs more food than to just maintain. If you really want to lose weight, and you are worried about eating more then why not eat mostly clean, and after a while you could add unhealthy food back into your diet (80/20). But, please eat more.0 -
Im going by what mfp is recommending for me.
1280cals per day, but i do eat back my exercise calories too...
yesterday my diary when i finished logging looked like this ..
Totals 1,281 185 42 28 1,148 41
Your Daily Goal 1,629 223 54 60 2,500 33
Remaining 348 38 12 32 1,352 -8
Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar
*You've earned 339 extra calories from exercise today *
I could have easily ate back the 348, but i wasnt hungry, so instead i had another hot chocolate (options orange 38 calories when made with water)
Iv been doing this for about 4 weeks now, combined with my cross trainer and crunches and weights...
Im feeling ok, iv lost 9lb.....
eta: im 32, im 5'4 and currently as of this morning weigh 213lbs0 -
Let me tell you my story...
I started dieting after my son was born in 2003, I figured diet was simply "stop eating so much" and 1000 calories sounded like a good reasonable number to go by. I lost all of my baby weight, became weight fixated, and lost more weight. I went from the 1000 calories to anorexia (this doesn't happen to everyone, but let's face it eating 1200 calories is border line anorexia. After all 1000 calories is only 200 less!) I was super skinny, I had never been so skinny, 5'8" 115lbs. Eventually I ate normal again, because you know life is a good feeling, being alive and all that jazz.
2006 I decided at 5'8" 150lbs I needed to get my eating habits under control. I set my goal at 1200, and lost to 129lbs in a few months. I was constantly crabby, I had no energy, I was so ravenous that if I didn't get to eat my scheduled meal I would start biting heads off. I was a real peach to be around. However, I was super skinny!!! YAY! Guess what? Eventually I got sick of starving and ate normal again, and balooned to 150lbs in about a month.
2008 I started working out, still not eating enough but better 1400 calories with a good work out. I lost the weight pretty fast still, but always felt hungry! (I wonder why? I was burning all of my calories with daily calorie useage, and then I was working out and burning even more.) I eventually made my goal weight, and body fat, and I was very fit! However again, STARVING, again I ATE NORMAL again I GOT BACK TO 150lbs without blinking an eye.
This time? I am eating normal, feeding my metabolism, making smarter choices, working out like a champion. I would reach my "goal weight" in a few months with 1200 calories, have the worst attitude ever, and be starving 24/7. This time? I am eating 1700 to 2200 calories, the weight is coming off slow, my muscles are beautiful. I am not a complete *kitten* to be around, and am enjoying my work outs. I can eat whatever I want and not have my butt go up three sizes.
MY SUGGESTION? FEED YOUR BODY. WORK HARD. Or you can ruin your metabolism, and eat 1200 calories the rest of your life, or do it the other way. Oh yes, and lift heavy things up and down, you will not get bulky and your body will thank you for it.
READ THIS 1200 cals is not good long term x0 -
I really wish people would stop with the extremist assumptions on either end. If you eat 1200 calories a day you're not going to gain weight (unless you're an outlier and 1200 calories is over your TDEE). You likely won't fall over and die instantly, either.
By the same token, just because you 'feel full' or 'feel perfectly healthy' on 1200 calories does NOT necessarily mean that you are eating enough for your body to perform optimally.
MOST people have a TDEE substantially over 1200 calories. In general you don't want to restrict calories too heavily because under a large deficit a greater proportion of the weight lost will be LBM rather than fat. That doesn't mean you won't look good after losing the weight, or that you'll suddenly be massively 'unhealthy', but lower BF% at identical weights tends to result in a more desirable physique (to a point, of course, some folks don't like the ultra lean look, but something like that isn't going to happen on accident).
If you're dead-set on eating so little, ensure that the vast majority of your food is either lean protein or non-starchy veggies. This will be most likely to satisfy your nutrition needs. Just focusing on calories is NOT optimal (look up nutrient deficiencies if you care to educate yourself on it a bit more).
Now if you're on a large cut, are getting adequate nutrition, and you're relatively sedentary, you'll probably be ok. The issue arises when you add in large amounts of exercise on top of a steep calorie deficit. Your energy needs increase with that kind of activity. If your spending all day on a treadmill and not eating enough, you're likely jacking your cortisol levels and doing lots of bad stuff to your system (http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html if you care)
I tend to think being active is better. I'm more impressed with the person training for a marathon or a mud run or a some such than the person who isn't really doing much. I think people (even very busy people) should be more active in general, and they need to eat enough to do so effectively.
The last point is flexibility. If you're eating 1200 calories a day, the vast majority of your daily intake is dictated by your nutritional needs. There's only so many times I can eat chicken or tilapia and mixed veggies before I want something different. Even if you're trying to eat 'clean' or whatever, such a low calorie count pretty much prevents eating an entire range of foods (those that are calorie dense...and yes there are plenty of calorie dense foods that people consider 'clean' or 'paleo' or insert_whatever_diet_paradigm_you_follow).
I like food, and I like calorie dense foods. I like being able to eat some of those calorie dense foods, even while cutting weight. In my case (and the case of many others), in order to do that and still meet my base level nutritional needs as well, 1200 calories a day just isn't enough. If it's enough (taking into account the points that I mentioned above) for you that's great, good luck to you. Making the argument, however, that you feel full or that you're perfectly healthy or that 'well your diary has mcdonald's so you're clearly unhealthier than me!', isn't enough to prove that you're following the right diet.
Similarly, stop jumping in with 'you're going to gain weight and/or be skinny fat and/or die!!!!!1!' on low intake without knowing the person's stats beforehand...it just makes people defensive and is counter productive to the discussion.
TL;DR
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Just do what works for you people! Do you think the cave men sat around counting calories?0
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I've been at 1450 since I started a year and a half ago. I walk between 200-500 calories off every day (if I can) and I try to do freeweights (when I remember).
I've lost 60lbs and even though I've been "cheating" a lot, I've been able to maintain and only fluctuate by 3lbs or so.
Learn to balance more calories with exercise and maintenance. Starving yourself will just encourage you to binge in a maintenance phase and gain it back.
Feed your machine.0 -
Let me tell you my story...
I started dieting after my son was born in 2003, I figured diet was simply "stop eating so much" and 1000 calories sounded like a good reasonable number to go by. I lost all of my baby weight, became weight fixated, and lost more weight. I went from the 1000 calories to anorexia (this doesn't happen to everyone, but let's face it eating 1200 calories is border line anorexia. After all 1000 calories is only 200 less!) I was super skinny, I had never been so skinny, 5'8" 115lbs. Eventually I ate normal again, because you know life is a good feeling, being alive and all that jazz.
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Same and I lost all the muscle I built previously2008 I started working out, still not eating enough but better 1400 calories with a good work out. I lost the weight pretty fast still, but always felt hungry! (I wonder why? I was burning all of my calories with daily calorie useage, and then I was working out and burning even more.) I eventually made my goal weight, and body fat, and I was very fit!
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Me too except this was step 1 for me. I started on more calories and over exercising then dropped them and kept dropping them more and more until I had no energy to work out.MY SUGGESTION? FEED YOUR BODY. WORK HARD. Or you can ruin your metabolism, and eat 1200 calories the rest of your life, or do it the other way. Oh yes, and lift heavy things up and down, you will not get bulky and your body will thank you for it.
Yep0 -
First off, let me just say that I don't really care what other people say. It is 100% possible to eat 1200 calories a day, lose weight and be healthy. It depends on YOU!
There is no such thing as starvation mode so don't let people "warn" you about it.
I eat between 1000 and 1200 calories a day, healthy foods and I am not anorexic, I am healthy.
When I eat over that I will actually gain weight and no amount of working out will change it.
Some people CAN eat low calories and be fine.0 -
I've been on 1200 calories per day for about 18 months. I walk 2 hours or more per week. I started out at 195 and as of today have lost 55 pounds which was my original goal! I did this by completing changing my diet and eating smaller portions. There have been very few days when I have been hungry or craved food. Spend more time in the produce aisle, eat more fish and chicken. You can do it, too!0
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I have been doing the Jillian Michael's program which is about 1200 or less a day. You work out 6 days a week and let me tell you the results I achieved. I am down 4 sizes, 40+ lbs and over 8 inches total on my body!! That was a little over 12 weeks due to my vacation time. I am STILL eating the same now I am moving on to her new one the 30 day shred!! I hope this helps.
Kym0 -
*sigh...I don't even know why I bother.0
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I actually didn't say you were going to lose your period, and you obviously have a bad relationship with food if you thinking eating what your body NEEDS to simply maintain it's functioning level is "loads of food." Also it is starving yourself, the average body needs at least 1700 calories to function every day, anything less than that is starving it.UUURRRGG here we go...'you're starving at 1200'. What a load of cr**. I have tons of energy, I'm losing weight, my periods haven't stopped, I've not suddenly gained weight and you know what, I enjoy not eating f*** loads of food.
I'll see you at the finish line (I'll be there before you)!
Do you expect your car to run without gas? Do you use your cell phone without charging it? Stop thinking of your body as a number on a scale, and start thinking of it as a machine that needs energy to function. The bottom line is losing weight at 1200 calories is not healthy because a) you aren't feeding it properly b) it's not ideal to live on 1200 calories for the rest of your life. The damage it does to your metabolism, and yes the potential harm it can do if your body goes into starvation mode and starts to consume it's own muscle. (Also your period doesn't need to stop for your body to be doing this, I was anorexic and my period never stopped not even when I was 115lbs so that's a mute point.) Also talking about muscle and starvation, guess what's a muscle in your body? YOUR HEART
you... i like you...0 -
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pulls up a chair and popcorn
I hope you've logged that popcorn!!0 -
I do 1200 calories NET and I think it works...for me...here's why:
First, let me point out that I am only 5'0 and I have a desk job (I do workout daily so that is why I said NET calories)
Several years ago, I started weight watchers. While they don't calorie count or restrict what you can eat, the program does teach you portion control and to encourages making healthy food choices (an apple =0 points whilest a candy bar = 6...and I could have 21 points per day Anyway, if I were to calculate my calories for what I ate back then, I would imagine it would have been around 1200-1400. Without regular exercise, I was still able to lose around .5 - 1 pound per week. When I started a rigourous workout routine, I used WW as a guideline, but I stopped counting points because I was always hungry.
After I lost 30 pounds, life changed and I quit my rigorous routine. I still managed to lose 10 pounds just on diet alone (no tracking, no calorie counting), then I plateaued.
Eventually I found MFP and it recommended 1200 calories to lose 1 pound per week. I started losing weight again and as long as I made healthy choices I never felt hungry.
I am back to working out daily, eat 1200 NET calories now (generally I am consuming an average of 1500-1600 calories daily when I work out), and have seen my body fat melt away while still gaining muscle. While my weight has only dropped about another 5 pounds in 3 months, I'm down a pant size and I look lean (not flabby skinny). So...YES...1200 calories can work and you can be healthy if you are eating the right foods!!! 0 -
Depends on where you started. It was a healthy place for me at 5'3" and 129.5 lbs. Lost 15 pounds in four months. Took careful daily planning to space those calorie where I wasn't hungry, but it's what I needed to do until I started to build muscle, was able to exercise more through conditioning, and ate back those calories.0
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Great post! Especially the last paragraph0
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AGREED.0
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*sigh...I don't even know why I bother.
For the lurkers, of course.0 -
I actually didn't say you were going to lose your period, and you obviously have a bad relationship with food if you thinking eating what your body NEEDS to simply maintain it's functioning level is "loads of food." Also it is starving yourself, the average body needs at least 1700 calories to function every day, anything less than that is starving it.UUURRRGG here we go...'you're starving at 1200'. What a load of cr**. I have tons of energy, I'm losing weight, my periods haven't stopped, I've not suddenly gained weight and you know what, I enjoy not eating f*** loads of food.
I'll see you at the finish line (I'll be there before you)!
Do you expect your car to run without gas? Do you use your cell phone without charging it? Stop thinking of your body as a number on a scale, and start thinking of it as a machine that needs energy to function. The bottom line is losing weight at 1200 calories is not healthy because a) you aren't feeding it properly b) it's not ideal to live on 1200 calories for the rest of your life. The damage it does to your metabolism, and yes the potential harm it can do if your body goes into starvation mode and starts to consume it's own muscle. (Also your period doesn't need to stop for your body to be doing this, I was anorexic and my period never stopped not even when I was 115lbs so that's a mute point.) Also talking about muscle and starvation, guess what's a muscle in your body? YOUR HEART
You my dear are really making me rethink how I've been going about my weight loss plan. I've gained and lost the same 20 pounds numerous times. I even hired a personal trainer (last summer) who said it was okay to eat 1000 calories if you weren't hungry. However I'm on day 5 of 1200 calories (AGAIN) and last night I fought with everything in me to not eat everything in the house. Maybe it's time to visit a nutritionist. It would be great if my loss/regain issue was only due to going about it all wrong. Thanks for your posts!0 -
*sigh...I don't even know why I bother.
For the lurkers, of course.
Well I hope somebody's reading it. This 'ZOMG I'M SO HEALTHY YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS I'Z LOOOOOSING WEIGHT SO FAST!!!!!1!' and 'NUH UH! YOU'RE GOING TO GAIN 4,000,000 POUNDS AND DIE OF A HEART ATTACK OF THE FACE FROM STARVING YOURSELF TO DEATH' is pretty silly.0 -
I stick as close to the 1200 calories. But .... last December I started a Heavy Metal cleanse... (diagnosed by a professional) . My diet plan was made for me. Nothing white! To make a long story short.... 3 months on the cleanse...logged all my food with MFP. Lost 25 lbs... I eat "clean" food... very rarely eat packaged foods.
No my diet is not boring....vegetables ( I can have potatoes now), protein, fruits that are not too high in sugar.
I exercise, and I try to eat my exercise calories back, mainly because I get nauseous if I go to far into a calorie deficit.0 -
I actually didn't say you were going to lose your period, and you obviously have a bad relationship with food if you thinking eating what your body NEEDS to simply maintain it's functioning level is "loads of food." Also it is starving yourself, the average body needs at least 1700 calories to function every day, anything less than that is starving it.UUURRRGG here we go...'you're starving at 1200'. What a load of cr**. I have tons of energy, I'm losing weight, my periods haven't stopped, I've not suddenly gained weight and you know what, I enjoy not eating f*** loads of food.
I'll see you at the finish line (I'll be there before you)!
Do you expect your car to run without gas? Do you use your cell phone without charging it? Stop thinking of your body as a number on a scale, and start thinking of it as a machine that needs energy to function. The bottom line is losing weight at 1200 calories is not healthy because a) you aren't feeding it properly b) it's not ideal to live on 1200 calories for the rest of your life. The damage it does to your metabolism, and yes the potential harm it can do if your body goes into starvation mode and starts to consume it's own muscle. (Also your period doesn't need to stop for your body to be doing this, I was anorexic and my period never stopped not even when I was 115lbs so that's a mute point.) Also talking about muscle and starvation, guess what's a muscle in your body? YOUR HEART
You my dear are really making me rethink how I've been going about my weight loss plan. I've gained and lost the same 20 pounds numerous times. I even hired a personal trainer (last summer) who said it was okay to eat 1000 calories if you weren't hungry. However I'm on day 5 of 1200 calories (AGAIN) and last night I fought with everything in me to not eat everything in the house. Maybe it's time to visit a nutritionist. It would be great if my loss/regain issue was only due to going about it all wrong. Thanks for your posts!
Try a "Naturopath" . Iridology - they read your eyes - you could have food intolerances that are preventing you from losing weight.0 -
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