1200 Calorie People..How do you do it and stick with it?

I've been eating 1200 a day for about 3 weeks and lately I find myself having to add things to come close to 1200. I am never hungry. I guess it's because I'm eating very low calorie foods. If you find you are hungry I would suggest trying to find lower calorie replacements for what you're eating throughout the day. I've stopped eating anything past 10 pm(9 would be ideal but I start my day a little later) which hasn't been a problem now that I'm used to it. So that means my meals are closer together and I hardly have time to get hungry before my next meal. I think also I've realised I'd been planning meals that were bigger portions than I really needed. It's nice to get a better sense of what you really need to satisfy yourself (from the girl who could never finish what she ordered at a restaurant).
I'm not sure if everyone does this but I plan everything the night before as opposed to logging as I go. Then I won't get stuck with no calories to spare

I guess it depends on what you're eating.

If you eat a big leafy green salad with a nice piece of fish that's a pretty awesome meal and banking about 250 calories. But if you have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich it can easily hit 500 calories.

1200 calories is so low! You guys should really check out the EM2WL group (Eat More 2 Weigh Less) and calculate your TDEE, BMR and take a 15% cut from there. Huge deficits can actually inhibit weight loss.

1200 may be too low for you but it is right for others. Don't judge unless you want to be judged yourself.

Hi there,
I am eating 1200 a day. Add me if you'd like to see my diary

1200 calories is so low! You guys should really check out the EM2WL group (Eat More 2 Weigh Less) and calculate your TDEE, BMR and take a 15% cut from there. Huge deficits can actually inhibit weight loss.

What if your EM2WL and TDEE% comes out into the 1200's?

You must be calculating something wrong. I'm 32, 5'0 and 146 pounds. My BMR is around 1400 and my TDEE is somewhere between 1800 and 2000. Even someone that doesn't exercise is bound to have a higher TDEE than 1200.

I just started the 1200 calorie intake about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I have been going over by 200 calories or so. I also eat my exercise calories. I am doing okay with this... feel I can do it (by that I mean get to 1200 and maintain). My problem is that I am not seeing any results!! I've toned up some but no seeing weight loss.... so frustrating!!!

The number on the scale does NOT reflect muscle gained or many other important factors. If you have toned up its because you are gaining muscle which is awesome and I'm sure you know that muscle weighs more than fat! Not losing weight is not always a bad thing and often times is a good thing (if you are exercising regularly.)

I eat 1200 calories a day and exercise by walking between 2 and 3 miles a day at a moderate pace (about 17 minutes/mile). I'm not eating back my calories burned yet, because I still have some pounds to lose. When I hit my goal weight, I'm planning to try to end up with a net intake of 1200 calories, after eating back what I've exercised, and see how that goes. If I keep losing weight, I'll increase the calories. If I start to gain, I'll pull back again or change up the exercise.

I eat 1200 NET and I believe that is the key. I eat between 1500-1900 calories per day and never feel deprived.

THIS!!!!!!

I started at 1200 cals a day, and I walked for 90 mins a day - giving me a NET of 700 ... the weight would not budge .... I was starving..... SO - my approach to this was - this is a lifestyle change and if I am miserable and starving half the time, no way this is going to stick. I upped my allowance to 1200 NET and voila! I am happy, not starving AND losing 1-2 per week

I tend to log my breakfast, snack and lunch first thing in the morning since I know what I brought with me to work. I also log my mornign excercise - this way I can estimate what I am going to have for dinner and how hard I need to work at night. My averages are anywhere from 1300-1800 cals consumed daily. Some weekends are not great, but hey - this road is not a prison - it's life.

GOOD LUCK!

Feel free to friend me if you want to look at what my diary looks like.

I generally find that as long as I plan my meals, it's easy to stick to 1200 calories a day. I try to make sure I factor in snacks and drinks as well so that I never feel like I'm depriving myself.

Also try not to stress if you do go over 1200. At the end of the day s*** happens. Just try not to lose your motivation, work harder when you exercise and watch the calories a bit more for the rest of the week.

I fill up on veggies, high protein and good fats. Im low carb so not much rice, pasta and bread. It's mainly lean meats , veggies and olive oil. I'm not starving at all, with these food you can get a decent amount to fill you up.

I'm on 1200 calories a day and i find that on the days i dont exercise, im starving. When i exercise and i eat back some of the calories i feel soooo much better and less hungry.

I just looked through your diary, and it look slike you are super high in carbs and quite low in protein. If you just started on this diet, it's going to take at least 4-5 days worth of discipline so your body can get used to this adjustment...but it looks like you went a little over yesterday, which i going to reset your body. Dieting and eating healthy is NOT easy. No one ever said it was. But if you truely want to do it, it's mind over matter. 1200 seems very low since your body needs at the very least 1200 calories to function every day just to walk, breath, pump blood...etc.

Also, remember every calorie is NOT made equally. The low carb diets work for a reason. You are re-balancing your body and getting rid of excess insuline and glucose that you would need to lose weight or that is stopping yoru body from losing weight. when you have a large carb intake, you add more insulin to yoru body and it has to work to get rid of that before it can work on getting rid of your fat.

Not all carbs are bad. But you want to take about 1-2 weeks to go super low carb, like between 50-100 carbs a day only then gradually put them back into your diet according to how yuor body reacts. Unforunately, I know my body eats and holds onto carbs, so I stay away from all processed carbs and only get them from fruits, veggies, and yogurt.

If you ar eexercising, you are going to want to up your cal intake to about 1400-1600. At 1200 calories you'll loose weight for abou ttwo weeks but once your body adjusts to it, it'll stop losing weight. Then you'll have to drop to 1000 calories and eventually if you follow this pattern, you'll be eating 100 calories a day, which is obviously not going to happen.

Always remember clean and original foods are much easier on the body to digest and turn to nutrients than processed foods. so if you have a 100 calorie pack of chips vs 150 calorie banana, the banana wins. Your body wants that WAY more than the chips.


Good Luck! Everyone is different and it takes everyone different speeds to learn and get used to healthy living and dieting. Hope this helped!

I'm eating 1200 calories and exercising. I don't really eat breakfast and just have coffee(I know, don't lecture me). I usually have a shake or a salad for lunch. I don't eat bread or pasta or potatoes, but I occationally have some chocolate if I have some calories left over. I also try to eat things with lots of bold or full flavors so I'm not craving something when I've finished eating. One major change I made - I don't drink. I realized I was drinking too many of my calories with alcohol or just sugary coffee drinks, so I gave it up. I eat a lot of broiled meat and veggies. I find that protien leaves me feeling more full than a bowl of lettuce or celery though.

Protein and lot's of it would be my suggestion...I don't count calories-I count carbs-- BUT, I have noticed that I eat WAY LESS calories in general by counting carbs instead of calories. Also, I would suggest eating REAL FOOD...not the packaged edible PRODUCTS (those products are not REAL FOOD) if you eat real food you will probably discover that you are more satisfied and eating less calories in general. Good luck to you!

Agree 100%

You should try intermittent Fasting