1200 cals a day?!
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I'm on 1200 cal-a-day diet, too. Sometimes it's too low of a count, but as long as I don't get the crunchies while watching tv in the evenings, I'm fine. (munching on grapes helps). Fiber and water are supposed to be the keys to feeling full longer. Proteins (small pieces of a lean pork tenderloin, etc) are helpful to munch on to keep you feeling full longer.
I've been advised to steer clear of anything flour-based (breads,pastas, etc) because those carbs give you cravings, and if you have an intolerance to wheat, you don't aways know it, and you'll stop losing weight.
I'm told by nutritionists that less than 1200 calories a day puts your body into "starvation mode". That means your body will automatically hold onto the calories, you won't lose, and you slow your metabolism.
I lose slowly, about 4-5 lbs a month, but that's a good rate, I'm told.0 -
P.s. forgot to mention I'm 5'2"
FML hate being small!
i'm 4' 11-3/4" and eat 1525. i'm on my second and final 15lbs to loose. i'm down 1lb as of today. you need to eat more.0 -
Nom Nom! on my 1600cals.
burn about 300cals.0 -
Hey
Is anyone else on 1200 cals a day?
I'm finding it impossible.... It's ok on days I go to the gym (usually 5 x a week burning 600 cals each time) but when I don't I'm always over 1200.
It means every week I'm over my net amount.
Tips/advice/reassurance appreciated!
I was to lose the last 5 lbs according to the set up on MFP. Yes it worked and I wasn't starving - if you want you can friend me and check my earliest daily food diaries and get some suggestions. I also made sure I was taking all my supplements just in case. Really not that difficult. Right now I am at 1354 cal and sometimes having to eat a big handful of nuts, or a couple of servings of full fat cheeses. I am 5'8" and 133 lbs now. On maintenance which will be upped once I can do more exercise - I won't get into it here but you can see more on my profile.0 -
it was a typo. I even updated the original to match.
.5lb per month?! Way too low.....change your settings to .5lb or 1lb per month. welcome to the world of still eating and still losing.
Okay, starve then. Wear down your adrenal system from eating too little. Then when you get to your goal weight and resume eating "normally" again, gain it all back and then some. Welcome to the perpetual life long diet of misery.
QFT
Read it again. It says 0.5 lbs PER MONTH.
One can lose more than 0.125 lbs per week without wearing out the adrenal gland.
amazing restraint with your answer! :drinker:0 -
On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.
If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.
Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.
You are a man, you should not eat that little.
Maybe. But I've lost 90 pounds and I just had a full physical, and the Dr. says I am a helluva lot healthier than when I was fat.
Dude is also in his 40's. Do I think it's healthy and that muscle mass is most likely being sacrificed, yes, but 1200 probably isn't as far off for him as others.
Myself, if I were under or at 1200 at lunchtime I'd be light headed...
When I get rid of this last 10 pounds of belly fat I'll start worrying about my muscle mass, but I'm not exactly wasting away at 185 and 5'11.
Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.0 -
It's because they have no idea how difficult it is to put on muscle mass. And sadly, they won't believe anyone when you tell them that it is 10 times harder, so once they figure it out, the damage is already done.Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.0 -
Bump, saving for later0
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Just wanted to add really quick:
I am petite (5'0ft, 113lbs) and was recently gifted a Fitbit. I was SHOCKED to find that I burn on average 2300k a day - sometimes 3000k a day!! Granted, I am a waitress and an aerobics instructor but even on my day off I burned 2000k. I have struggled with trying to force my self to eat less for years and now I realize why that was always so hard. If I did succeed in eating 1200k, I would eventually binge and undo everything I had done. I would have saved my self a lot of time by just aiming for 1700-1900 in the first place.0 -
I'm a relatively new member and these threads leave me feeling so confused.:sad:
I'm also 5'2", hoping to lose about 15-20 lbs. I'm supposed to eat about 1250 and then I read threads that I'm supposed to eat more.
I've heard not to rely on MFP because it tells me to eat 1250 and according to so many people 1200 is bad so I've looked at other websites.
According to Scooby my
BMR: 1316
TDEE: 1580
Daily calories to lose .5 lbs/week is 1343
So I don't understand when people give others a hard time about eating at 1200. Am I doing something wrong?? I've set my goal low. I'd love to lose more than .5/week but I can't eat that low. How are others my height eating at 1700 and losing weight????? Color me confused…. I don't get it.0 -
I'm on 1200 - 1300 calories per day, I eat 1600, but it ends up as 1200. That's the best way to do it. It would be away harder if I was just eating that w/out exercise.0
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I am, but like you it is only possible because I also eat some of my exercise calories. It is certainly not a lot of food.
Wait...1200 is the minimum recommendation for females, not males...and too low for most females too (IMHO).
(And with that...I'm in and catching up.)0 -
I have been on 1200 calories a day for about a month now....and I find it very easy. I log everything I eat and find myself checking nutrition labels before I buy anything. I probably dont drink as much water as I should but I don't find myself getting hungry. I don't follow the schedule on the weekends however...but I still try to eat things in moderation. (ex burger NO FRIES OR POP, 1 slice of thin crust pizza and salad vs. 2 sllices of pizza and 2 breadsticks) Hope this helps!
Then you are *not* on 1200 calories a day.0 -
I drink an herbalife shake for breakfast and lunch and have a snack mid morning and afternoon of fruit/cheese or veggies. For dinner I have meat/chicken and a salad. Staying away from bread, pastas, rice makes it easier to stay at 1200 calories. For snack after dinner I have been enjoying an orange.:flowerforyou:
First post in almost two years of being on MFP...and it's to pitch herbalife. (This happens so frequently, I'm almost convinced it's in the sales materials.)0 -
1200 SUCKS I won't go under 1400. And even that is lower than where I like to be lol. I like a cool 1750 lol but my stomach doesn't0
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When I was still an omnivore, I was down to 1,000 per day working out 5x per week. I lost 60+ pounds but there was one change I made to the diet that helped me tremendously---RAW fruits or vegetables... I did not count. :glasses:
Truly, RAW fruits or vegetables will add fiber & nutrition but will NOT make you gain weight. It's the best bet when you have a calorie count that low.
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On days I don't exercise I don't have any problem staying below 1200 calories. I will eat 2/3 of a cup of oatmeal in the morning, which is 200 calories, then do a tuna salad with lettuce at lunch for 250 calories. Then i will eat 2 chicken breasts and some vegetables at dinner for 300 calories, and a half cup of frozen yogurt for 100 calories. I still have room for another serving of oatmeal at 200 calories and another 150 calories to spare.
If you eat healthy stuff all day, it isn't really that difficult to stay under 1200 calories.
Did bad today though, went to the Thai buffet and pigged out lol. Ate mostly vegetables and chicken though.
You are a man, you should not eat that little.
Maybe. But I've lost 90 pounds and I just had a full physical, and the Dr. says I am a helluva lot healthier than when I was fat.
Dude is also in his 40's. Do I think it's healthy and that muscle mass is most likely being sacrificed, maybe so, but 1200 probably isn't as far off for him as others.
Myself, if I were under or at 1200 at lunchtime I'd be light headed...
I would lose almost three pounds/week if I ate 1200 daily...and I'm in my 40s...and that's without any exercise at all. I can't under any reasonable circumstance imagine a situation where a grown man eating 1200 daily is optimal.
It's mind-boggling, actually...0 -
You may want to go back and change your settings.
From what you've said you're in the very active category (burning 600 cals at a work out session), and that should give you a different caloric goal. Also, take a look at how aggressive your weekly weight loss goal might be.
My goal had been to lose 1 lb a week and that dipped me down to 1300 calories. At 1/2 a lb a week, I get an additional 300 calories.
I think that this has to be an approach you can sustain. If you lose 1/2 a lb a week, that's 26 lbs in a year. 0 -
1. if you weren't counting... how do you know you were eating 1000 calories per day?When I was still an omnivore, I was down to 1,000 per day working out 5x per week. I lost 60+ pounds but there was one change I made to the diet that helped me tremendously---RAW fruits or vegetables... I did not count. :glasses:
Truly, RAW fruits or vegetables will add fiber & nutrition but will NOT make you gain weight. It's the best bet when you have a calorie count that low.
2. Your body doesn't care if you're eating TRULY RAW fruits or buckets of deep fried chicken skin... if you eat over TDEE, you gain.
3.
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It's because they have no idea how difficult it is to put on muscle mass. And sadly, they won't believe anyone when you tell them that it is 10 times harder, so once they figure it out, the damage is already done.Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.
Muscle mass is not all that difficult to gain. Up calories gently, while adding protein.
I eat 150 g or more protein a day.0 -
It's because they have no idea how difficult it is to put on muscle mass. And sadly, they won't believe anyone when you tell them that it is 10 times harder, so once they figure it out, the damage is already done.Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.
Muscle mass is not all that difficult to gain. Up calories gently, while adding protein.
I eat 150 g or more protein a day.
and again... 0 -
It's because they have no idea how difficult it is to put on muscle mass. And sadly, they won't believe anyone when you tell them that it is 10 times harder, so once they figure it out, the damage is already done.Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.
Muscle mass is not all that difficult to gain. Up calories gently, while adding protein.
I eat 150 g or more protein a day.
It's true this is why weightlifting make me super manly.0 -
Ok I have an odd problem. So I started working out 4-5 days a week for 45min in january and I have lost 10 pounds then and I have not changed my diet except for having breakfast and coffee at home with less sweetener and carby pastries. I have a moderately active job and live in a highly pedestrian city. I find it hard to reach 1200 calories with out pushing my self to eat more. I often only eat one regular size meal a day with snacks of fruit veggies and hummus. I'm now wondering after logging my calories and reading more if I have a possible problem. I've always eaten less than friends and family and been heavier than they are. Any suggestions?0
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1. Change your goals in mfp from sedentary.Ok I have an odd problem. So I started working out 4-5 days a week for 45min in january and I have lost 10 pounds then and I have not changed my diet except for having breakfast and coffee at home with less sweetener and carby pastries. I have a moderately active job and live in a highly pedestrian city. I find it hard to reach 1200 calories with out pushing my self to eat more. I often only eat one regular size meal a day with snacks of fruit veggies and hummus. I'm now wondering after logging my calories and reading more if I have a possible problem. I've always eaten less than friends and family and been heavier than they are. Any suggestions?
2. Don't eat diet foods. Magically, you'll be able to hit 1200 calories and beyond.
3. Create your own thread. Click on the general weight loss heading up there, then you should see a button that says new topic.0 -
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1. Change your goals in mfp from sedentary.Ok I have an odd problem. So I started working out 4-5 days a week for 45min in january and I have lost 10 pounds then and I have not changed my diet except for having breakfast and coffee at home with less sweetener and carby pastries. I have a moderately active job and live in a highly pedestrian city. I find it hard to reach 1200 calories with out pushing my self to eat more. I often only eat one regular size meal a day with snacks of fruit veggies and hummus. I'm now wondering after logging my calories and reading more if I have a possible problem. I've always eaten less than friends and family and been heavier than they are. Any suggestions?
2. Don't eat diet foods. Magically, you'll be able to hit 1200 calories and beyond.
3. Create your own thread. Click on the general weight loss heading up there, then you should see a button that says new topic.
Thanks, I guess this is its own topic. I'm not complaining it just surprised me how low my calories where once I started logging them.0 -
My goal is 1420 and most days I am under by a couple hundred...I don't feel that restricted MOST days...key word most..lol, but I guess overall calorie budget wise that means most days I'm right with you guys. Granted I do workout 3-5 times a week too.
:ohwell:
Hmmm..I definitely don't want to up my calorie intake though...geez...am I eating too little?!
MFP set me at 1420. It's been working so far so I guess no reason to change for now. 0 -
1200 calories a day is basically starving yourself to death. you will not see any gains having that low of a calorie intake. whoever told you to do that doesn't have a clue about anything. I'm sure they told you not to eat carbs either. you feel the way you do because you are starving and your body is going to fight back by not burning anything. you should try iifym.com and see just what you are suppose to be intaking everyday. Its really a simple process. Flexible dieting is the way to go. not this 1200 cal nonsense. I am currently on a cut and my macros are 200carbs, 228protein, 63fat. my numbers were higher last month. I will try these numbers for 4 weeks and adjust how i see fit.0
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It's because they have no idea how difficult it is to put on muscle mass. And sadly, they won't believe anyone when you tell them that it is 10 times harder, so once they figure it out, the damage is already done.Ht and wt says nothing about bf%. You are sacrificing muscle mass...plain and simple. Why would you want to lose mass to get to a number on a scale in order to work 10 times harder to put just a shred of that muscle back on. It boggles my mind every time someone says that.
Muscle mass is not all that difficult to gain. Up calories gently, while adding protein.
I eat 150 g or more protein a day.
LOLwut?
:huh:0 -
lol... 1500 maintenance. work out daily & eat what you want......0
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How many 1200 eaters on this thread actually weigh their food? I've seen two or three that don't log on weekends, two or three that add a handful of nuts or fruit, an extra apple here or an extra something there... That is not 1200 calories. I'm sorry to say. And no man should eat 1200 calories. Starvation mode as it has been thrown around in this thread is a myth.
And I'm so glad I got to see the Trog head shake today.
P.S. When I ate 1200 calories I lost all my hair and did not look good. I am 40, 5'4 and still losing at 1900 a day minimum making sure I net my BMR.0
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