Success With 1200 Calories?

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mindovermilesfitness
mindovermilesfitness Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
What's your take with the 1200 calorie diet? Is it successful? I've started it myself and been eating as clean as possible. I'm pretty full from it all. I run 2-5 miles per day as well. And Im doing the 30 Day Shed.
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Replies

  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    I hope you're eating back your exercise calories.
  • mindovermilesfitness
    mindovermilesfitness Posts: 5
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    I haven't been. Should I be??
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    This topic can get quite heated.

    Just in case you weren't aware of this feature, when you go to the message boards section, there is a button called search and you can type in a keyword/phrase (ex: 1200 calories) and you can see the threads that have already been created on the topic. Good luck! :flowerforyou:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/990386-results-with-1200-calories

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/990077-i-m-not-sure-my-1200-calorie-diet-is-working?hl=1200+calorie&page=1#posts-15137533

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/984986-1200-calories?hl=1200+calorie&page=3#posts-15055164

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/984986-1200-calories?hl=1200+calorie

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/992502-any-other-1200-calories-day-consumers-add-me?hl=1200+calorie

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/880850-so-why-is-only-1200-calories-for-weight-loss-bad?hl=1200+calorie&page=3#posts-15196597

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/991243-1200-calories?hl=1200+calorie#posts-15158774
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    I haven't been. Should I be??

    Yes. MFP tells you to, doesn't it?

    MFP assumes you're not going to do any exercise so it gives you a calorie goal with a deficit already built in. So you'll lose weight even without exercise. When you exercise, you further increase that deficit to a possibly unhealthy level. Fuel your body.
  • misanthropist319
    misanthropist319 Posts: 151
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    I haven't been. Should I be??

    Yes. MFP tells you to, doesn't it?

    MFP assumes you're not going to do any exercise so it gives you a calorie goal with a deficit already built in. So you'll lose weight even without exercise. When you exercise, you further increase that deficit to a possibly unhealthy level. Fuel your body.


    Nicely put!
  • mindovermilesfitness
    mindovermilesfitness Posts: 5
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    So I borderline need to net 1200 calories? But what if I'm just not that hungry. I don't think I could eat that much food.
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
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    I haven't been. Should I be??

    Yes. MFP tells you to, doesn't it?

    MFP assumes you're not going to do any exercise so it gives you a calorie goal with a deficit already built in. So you'll lose weight even without exercise. When you exercise, you further increase that deficit to a possibly unhealthy level. Fuel your body.

    Nicely put!

    Truth. //end of thread.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    So I borderline need to net 1200 calories? But what if I'm just not that hungry. I don't think I could eat that much food.


    I find it hard to believe that you're here trying to lose weight and can't possibly eat enough food to put you over 1200 calories. :huh:

    If you insist on claiming that you're "full", eat more calorie dense foods.
  • lnxjenn
    lnxjenn Posts: 64 Member
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    Just space out the food.. add a little more protein or something. You will need the protein to rebuild the muscles from your runs.
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
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    So I borderline need to net 1200 calories? But what if I'm just not that hungry. I don't think I could eat that much food.

    Two words: Peanut Butter. Ice Cream. Chocolate Bar. Whole Eggs. Wheat Pasta. Brown Rice. Big Steak. Pinto Beans. Olive Oil. Coconut Oil. Nutty Oatmeal. Bacon (it's so goooood, it counts as two words).

    There are lots of great, calorie dense foods out there. Heck, a PBJ on whole wheat bread can easily be 450 calories. It is very easy to reach 1200 calories. I ate 1200 calories for lunch!!!! Homemade whole wheat pancakes and turkey sausage. This is how I broke my 16 hour fast, after I lifted like a beast at the gym. For realz. :drinker:
  • raleighgoodwins
    raleighgoodwins Posts: 68 Member
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    I have been doing the 1200 calorie per day diet and have found that it is motivating me to exercise every single day because that is the only way I can stick to the allotted calories. Of course, I'm adding my exercise calories back in - at least some of them if not all of them. As long as with the exercise I can eat about 1500 calories per day then I'm okay. But if I don't exercise and can only eat 1200 calories I find it difficult. I can do it for a couple of days but then I become ravenously hungry and cannot keep it up. I'm actually considering going back to 1440 calories per day. I did that for a while, lost weight slowly but successfully, and it wasn't as difficult as trying to stick to 1200.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    So I borderline need to net 1200 calories? But what if I'm just not that hungry. I don't think I could eat that much food.

    Losing weight at a slow and sustainable pace is important because it teaches us all the good habits we need to maintain our weight once we reach our goals. If you can't eat more than 1200 calories now, what exactly do you plan to do when you reach maintenance? Will you just keep eating 1200 calories and losing weight forever (or until your metabolism bottoms out and you can't lose anymore?)
  • bettepower
    bettepower Posts: 73 Member
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    What is your BMR?
    Everyone is different, I need to be under 1200 to be at a deficit (without exercise).
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    So I borderline need to net 1200 calories? But what if I'm just not that hungry. I don't think I could eat that much food.

    You don't have to eat additional food if you feel fine. Use your own judgment.
  • GamerLady
    GamerLady Posts: 359 Member
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    I think it works if you don't exercise at all and need to lose a lot of weight, but it would suck being hungry all the time only having 1200 calories to use per day. Scooby's calculator is best to determine how much you should be eating imo.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • sa11yjane
    sa11yjane Posts: 491 Member
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    I spent a month at 1200 cals and didn't lose a pound sadly :(
    I do a couple of hours walking a day too and didn't eat back my exercise calories.
    Hope it works for you though!.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Here are some ideas for adding healthy calories:

    Chicken with the skin
    Steak
    Cheese
    Whole eggs (including deviled eggs, egg salad)
    Full fat dairy (including cottage cheese, yogurt)
    Fruit,
    Peanut butter or other nut butters
    Nuts
    Avocado
    Dried fruit (raisins, apricots, apples)
    Dark chocolate
    Salmon
    Add Chia seeds to salads or yogurt
    Olive oil
    Smoothies
    Granola/sports nutrition bars
    Whole grains or whole grain products (like brown rice, Quinoa, oatmeal)
  • JulieAnn72
    JulieAnn72 Posts: 795 Member
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    I spent about 2 1/2 months eating 1200 calories fairly consistently, and I lost about 12 lbs. That was without exercising at all. Then I stopped losing, so I added in exercise. I ate back the exercise calories but I still wasn't losing much weight anymore. However, I did lose more inches. A couple weeks ago, I changed my settings in MFP to bring me up to a higher recommended calories and I'm hoping to see some changes.

    My point is that eating 1200 calories did work for me, for a couple months. It was a nice way to lose the initial weight.
  • Sjenny5891
    Sjenny5891 Posts: 717 Member
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    men are supposed to eat no less than 1500 a day
  • vfett1018
    vfett1018 Posts: 131 Member
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    I'm doing the 1200 calorie diet with slim fast.
    You drink 2 shakes OR eat 2 meal bars a day. (190 cal)
    Eat three snack bars, snack chips, or your own snack out of fruits and veggies. (100 cal)
    Eat one 600 calorie meal.

    Everyone wonders why I'm not hungry, but honestly I'm always full when I stick to the diet. I eat every 3 hours now, and I use to induldge once a day. I usually only drink 1 shake before the gym since there is a lot of protein, then I replace the other shake with a 200 calorie snack or something along those lines.

    The only thing is that in a week and a half. I lost almost 4 pounds completely........my mom sent me 30 bags of my favorite chips this week....I'm in South Korea, and now I'm gaining the weight back haha.

    It works, but once you go off of it, you gain the weight back. I'm ready to get back to eating healthy. I love the shakes, but aside from that I don't eat healthy and I don't feel as motivated as I use to.

    I would say stick to something along the lines of 1200 healthy calories and an extra 300 of your favorites.

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