STOP Under-Eating Folks!!

1200 cals.........a NIGHTMARE for me.
keep eating 1200 cals for a prolonged period of time thou..you will get "interesting" results eventually.

but hey, its every person to himself/herself. do whatever the hell you wanna do. i choose to eat more and lose fat at a healthy rate making my eating habit a lifestyle change for the good.

First of all, everyone is different and loses weight differently. I personally have to eat a low caloric intake and restrict simple carbs to lose. That being said...I have lost 20# in 7 weeks and never felt better or had more energy. Sure I could up my calories by eating things that are better left alone but then I would not lose, would get discouraged and want to quit. So everyone knows themselves and does what's better for them. If I'm not taking in a lot of carbs...I don't get hungry. So I will not be the one on here crying that I'm starving and not losing weight because neither of those statements are true...

Exactly! I have lost 36 # since Jan 1 eating 1,200-1,300 cals a day and I'm still consistently losing. I weigh less every week. And I'm not starving in the least. Believe me, I KNOW what works for me. This ain't my first rodeo, I have been at this for years. Nothing has ever worked for me before. I tried eating more and cried my eyes out in frustration wondering why I wasn't losing. I have come to the conclusion that, without medical tests, trial and error is the only way to figure out your BMR. I think it varies hugely from person to person and no online calculator can ever get close. Mine must just be very low, which would make sense as to why I was overweight to begin with. Anyway, I am so over the notion that there's only one "right" way to lose weight. As long as you are eating in a nutritionally positive way and not eating dangerously low cals or taking harmful pills, if you are losing then its the "right" way for you. People's bodies are just so different. You can't tell is that your way is best cause it works for you cause I PROMISE, I tried your way and it doesn't work for me.

Lol. I eat 1200 or less on most days and I have lost 46 pounds. And no, I'm not in starvation mode, neither is it "all water weight". Stop telling people what to do. We all know our bodies best and we all know what works best for us individually.

Then the OP isn't talking about you. Not all discussions about 1200 calories are about all people who eat that way.

Maybe you need to re read the original post. The poster did not differentiate they just made a blanket statement.

wow that is amazing. I am 5"4 inches tall. went from 250 to my 175 pounds.
I'll keep doing what I'm doing, it's obviously working. 130 lbs and counting! 1200 calories a day here, I'm also short and I guess older haha.

This thread...

HAHA! Love it, thank you... my laptop is now wearing my mint hot chocolate


Im on 1290 a day (but i eat back most of my exercise calories and get upto almost 1600)... yay im not in the 1200 group!! :laugh:

Tbh, i dont care what others are doing, this is my journey not theirs and ill do it my way.

I am classifying "hangry" as the most annoying and dip****ish word on MFP ...

Seconded

Thirded!

I'm 5'3 and 150lbs. 1200 to me is going to be a lot different than 1200 for someone who is much taller and weighs much more than me. The only way I lose weight is if I eat between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. I've tried upping calories and it just didn't work. At all. And 1200 calories from lean meat, vegetables, etc is going to go a lot farther for me than 1800 calories of junk, just because I 'need' extra calories. I'm not hungry. I'm losing at a decent pace. I control my cravings. If eating more works for you, awesome, enjoy. But everyone's body is not the same. Please realize this and stop assuming you know what is best for everyone.

This. As a contrast, I'm 5'10 and if I eat more than 1500, I blow up like a balloon.

Lol wow. When I first saw the op's post there were no replies and I knew people would take it offensively. Not because the op was trying to be some nutrition expert, but because if you don't take a very humble tone when discussing things, people will look for reasons to be offended because they don't like to be told what to do by someone they don't already respect.

If op would've worded it differently as in "I've noticed some of you having problems losing and in my opinion it can be because you have underfed yourself. I think if you upped your calories, you would see better results" the replies would be very different

Lets just all agree on this: different people require different calories and 1200 is not "starving". Some people get by just fine on it but there are indeed some people who exercise too much who create too large of a deficit that 1200 is not enough. And when that happens, their weight can stall for a bit

Cool?

You seem to have gotten a lot of negative responses, but I feel that those are not the folks to whom your message was directed. My guess is that you were addressing those who are struggling while simply not eating enough. It is different for everyone, and we all have to tweak our plans now and again to make things work. I'm doing this -- the eating part -- the same way as you, and I believe that this way I will be able to make conscious decisions about eating for the rest of my life. That does not mean I plan to stop having a Snickers Ice Cream Bar every night (yes, every night) after 8pm. It means that I plan. Loosely, but still, I plan. You clearly only meant to offer some helpful advice based, not on any expertise, but on experience and a bit of research. So to you I say, kudos! Keep up the good work. And good luck on your journey. :drinker:

People will learn in their own time. Took me a while too. I ate at 1200 calories and lost 25 lbs in a few months...thought I felt good...I didn't...I am very weak now because of my loss of lean muscle and I gained it all back. Now I am eating clean and eating about 2100 calories and steadily losing and I feel great while doing so and am getting stronger from lifting weights. Eating more is the key but they just need to figure it out on their own. Don't let the angry hungry people get you down darlin! You are just trying to help.

I generally eat in between 1200-1500 calories, but never starve myself...For me it is much about disciplining my body to not need to comfort eat. I understand why you bring this to the forefront. There are way too many young, girls especially, who feel this need to starve their pounds away. My daughter has a habit of doing that when she wants to lose a few...She is a grown woman and frankly nothing I say will convince her to do it the healthy way, and every time she gains it right back within a few months when she goes back to normal eating. So I try to lead by example. I remind myself daily that this is not a diet to get thinner, but a lifestyle change for a more healthy and fit life. That includes Body AND spirit.


Love&Light,
Nirvani

By the way, I think all of this angry defensive attitude from some is born out of insecurity. To become so defensive over something that is obviously true, is a lack of knowledge and understanding of how the body works and what is best to keep it functioning healthily. If all you need is 1200 calories, that is fine, but if you are starving all the time obviously your body needs more, or you are just eating empty calories that are not sufficiently fueling your body. Instead of getting defensive, why not take this as an opportunity to re-evaluate your priorities. Some change may be a good thing:)

Requesting some epic bacon pictures ASAP to calm down the angry members. Bacon always seems to make a forum topic go in a happier direction... too much hate here.

I agree.

Love this

Best to you OP on your journey to optimal health, keep up the great work and sharing and doing what works for you