has anyone had success eating 1500 a day?

You're not a piggy at all, I found it impossible. This site tells me to eat 1500, and my Doc told me to eat 2000 and I can still lose. So I just started eating 1700, and not logging workouts. Ill let u know how it goes. You have to see what works for you,. trial and error ; )

Without exercising practically every day, there's no way I could get anywhere close to the 1800 MFP tells me I need to get every day. I have to be honest though, more often than not, I've been skipping dinner. Personally, I try to stick to the no eating after 8:30PM rule, and since sometimes I find I just can't dinner in by then I find I skip it. It's worked to train me to eat more during the day, and to have more regular snacks too. Even little things like a handful of walnuts 20-30 minutes before a meal helps me to eat less during lunches and dinner when I can get it in.

I up'ed my calorie intake on here from 1200 to 1700 because I was having the same problem. Although I also increased my exercise as well, I reduced my lbs per week goal to 1. I've actually found that I eat less calories with it set at 1700, than I did when it was set to 1200 (and I was going over more than I'd like to admit). And I rarely ever even make it to 1700+. I actually started losing weight this way because I was less stressed about the calorie count.

I was also told by a nurse practitioner that 1200 or less is actually bad for you too, because your body goes into starvation mode and that ends up slowing your metabolism. Not to mention that it's also a matter of finding healthier foods you enjoy, because those are normally the ones that will fill you up. Something I myself took a while to learn haha.

My goal is the same as you though, 20lbs by the end of the year...so hopefully this advice helps!

Good luck!

I eat around 1,200-1,300 cals pretty consistently without much of a problem. To be honest subway has become my best friend. If I eat there once a day a 12' is around 550. Sometimes I eat there twice a day. Leaving me 150 to play with. I also eat 4-5 meals most days splitting up the subs to leave me full more often. I have done this for around 100 days so far and lost 40 lbs. I would also urge you to not do 1,200 everyday. When your body gets used to burning a fairly consistant about of calories a day it can be come more difficult to burn more calories, once and a while eat over 1,200 or even over your suggested cal. limit, like once a week. Keeps the body guess and can help a lot. This is easily done with candy, something not filling but very tasty.

I've lost 7# in 5 weeks by eating 1500 calories a day + most of my exercise calories.
I agree to track your exercise. It's kind of like a game to earn calories. (That's the way I view it.)

I'm eating 1430 a day and I'm having a steady loss. I'm 5ft 91/2 and currently weigh 160. I started at 1200 but after a couple of weeks I hit a plateau and just couldn't shifit it. i upped my intake to 1430 and I've lost consistantly ever since.

Do you have it set to lose 2 pounds a week? You should set it to lose 1 pound a week...1200 is too generic for everyone.

As a general rule, eat more on the days you work out, and less on the days you don't. So try 1500 on the days you work out, and 1200 on the days you don't. See how it goes for a couple of weeks, and then adjust from there.

I personally believe 1200 calories per day every day is a recipe for distaster.

if you were on 1200 and not logging exercise and eating those calories, that is why you were famished. I don't blame you, I don't think I'd make it through the day.

I eat about 1450 as my before-exercise base. That's about 1.2 lbs a week for me (weird, I know, but I'm in the process of a slow increase). Then I work out and eat back 1/2 to 3/4 of those calories (I don't have an HRM, so it's all estimates).

I am having success with that many calories consumed. It's slow for me, but I'm nearing my final goal. I haven't been on 1200 calories for MONTHS because I felt restricted. Not hungry, just frustratingly restricted.

Make sure you log your exercise, so you can get a real idea of how much you burn and eat that back. That will help immensely. 1200 is recommended net, so if you're only eating 1200 and working out, your net could end up being only 800 or even less.

How come everyone's suggested calorie intake is so low? MFP says that I should eat 2530 a day. (I think that's too many, and I'm shooting for 1500).

You automatically have more calories since you are a male. Also, the more you weigh, the more energy it takes to "run" your body so you get more to eat! My husband is 5'10" (I think) and weighs 240 so he gets about 2300 a day--pre exercise. If 1500 works for you, go for it, but don't drop so low thinking it will be faster. You might end up getting frustrated with feeling hungry, and you could possibly slow your loss down by not providing yourself with enough energy.

I workout 6 days a week. I can burn anywhere from 400 to 980 calories a work. Sometimes I get in double workouts. I was losing weight while I was eating 1700 calories. When I dropped to 1500 calories my weight loss stall. I'm now back up to 1700 calories. It works for me.

I don't think that ANYBODY that is exercising should be on 1200 calories. Period.