Anyone on 1200 - 1300 calories / day?

Well said. I can tell you know how this thing works. I used to be one of those 1200 calorie a day people while trying to workout for 2 hours 6 days a week, and yes I lost weight but then it stopped and I tried to eat even less and workout even more. I became frustrated and binged, eventually gained everything I had lost back times 2. Haha, I lost 80 pounds in 2003 and by 2008 I gained back 120lbs. So here I am again. If I knew what you just said a long time ago my fat gained could have been prevented. I still struggle but with increasing knowledge I am winning the battle.

I find it tough, but after a lot of mucking about, the following works for me:

breakfast fruit and a coffee, lunch a salad (broccoli with something or salad from somewhere), dinner lots of stuff. It's possible to get a pizza with a mozzarella salad for less than 400, for example. The pizza being a tortilla base with tomato sauce and finely grated cheese (optional), and the mozzarella salad being two mozzarella sticks (80 kcal each) with a tomato, some onion, some apple cider vinegar and salt. I also wanted dumplings and chocolate almonds today, so I ended up going over my calorie count by 176, then went for a jog. That really seems to be the trick with 1200 calories, getting some exercise in. I don't always eat back the exercise calories but I often do and it really helps with the motivation to do some exercise

All of you 1200-calorie folks, feel free to yell at me and tell me how you're totally full on 1200 calories per day and you gain weight if you eat more than that. I'll be over here eating while you try to convince me that you're a unique flower whose body works totally different from everyone else's.

I agree with your point, but why are you trying to say that everyones' bodies are the same? o.O

That's not what I said. Everyone's body is different. However, barring any medical condition, women of average height do not need to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight. All of these girls that are dead-set on these super low calorie diets make themselves feel better by attempting to convince everyone else that they're unique and, even though everyone else can lose weight eating more, they can't. It's BS. They're not nearly as unique as they think they are.

My advice regarding calorie amounts you eat is to go by your weekly feedback from weight and body fat and measurements. If your numbers are going in the right direction, keep eating what you eat and doing what you do regardless of what others tell you.

I'm short. I stay around 1200-1300. A high day for me is 1400.

For MOST of my meals I mix non-starchy fibrous carbs (veggies) with a lean protein. If my calories allow I'll have a small side of starchy carbs like quinoa or potato. I allow myself 1-2 treats like a fiber one brownie to accompany some coffee. To save calories on coffee and still enjoy a good tasting coffee, I mix 50/50 portions of regular milk and almond milk to pour on my coffee.

I find that protein is CRUCIAL to satiety when eating at a low calorie like I do. Also combining with fibrous carbs is a good strategy for decreasing calories in a meal.

Because my TDEE is lower than most people I also ensure to get a minimum cardio burning at least 200 calories. I seek to burn more calories in exercise though if I'm hyper-focused on losing fat.

With these strategies I'm being successful at losing body fat, inches and lbs at the scale consistently on a weekly basis. Being on a low calorie deficit it is normal to feel slightly hungry, just not so hungry you are out of control. If you do feel hungry eat a high protein food.

For convenience you may try protein shakes. Mini babybel cheese light has 50 calories and 6 g protein so it's a good option for snacks. Tuna fish is also an excellent low calorie high protein food. Make yourself a 1 slice low calorie bread tuna salad "sandwich" for about 150 calories and 20 g of protein. It's a perfect snack, low calorie, high protein.

I have my goals set at 1300 because it's a bit easier to follow than 1200, and so far, I'm losing more weight at a higher cal goal.

Breakfast:
Hard boiled egg ~70
A little yoghurt + granola + berries ~150
whole wheat toast 78

Lunch
Small soup and half a sandwich, usually 450 (I get a lot of hale & hearty)

Treat: a few sour patch kids or a piece of chocolate

Dinner:
Half a ham sandwich w/ a little cheese
maybe a class of wine?


It's really all about portion size. And starting small. I ate 1400 calories the first week, then 1300, then 1200. Eventually went back to 1300.

Also, some days I'm just not that hungry and eat closer to net 1000 (often exercise days) and some days I'm super hungry and eat 1500/1600. It evens out, so I really just look at the week average to gauge my progress.

I am and I also am vegetarian and eat low carb. I eat pretty much the same breakfast and lunch every day and dinner varies.
Breakfast is eggs with cheese and coffee
lunch is a spinach salad with olives, veggies and ranch
Dinner is veggie burger and a vegetable or I make Mock Mack and cheese using cauliflower.

What is this "mock mac and cheese" that you speak of!??! Mac and Cheese is my ultimate favorite food and I don't eat it anymore because I can't eat it without having a whole box or plate full etc. I must know your ways!

I am still feeling around my 1200-1300 diet, started about 7 weeks ago and I have lost about 13.6lbs with a 1 hour boot camp three times a week (burning on average 400-500 calories per class according to my HR monitor). I always eat a banana pre-workout, and then try to eat something light after. I have found the best way to still eat the things that I love is to just try to eliminate (or minimize) mayo, cheese, sugar, and bread. My saving graces have been the Oikos Greek Frozen Yogurt (150 cal/1/2 cup serving) or angel food cake with fresh strawberries or blueberries in the evenings I don't bust my net calorie goals. (net=food-exercise). I eat a lot of dill pickle chips for a crunchy snack (very low cal!!) and stick to a standard lean meat and steamed veggie kinda dinner. I looked in to the Paleo diet and a gluten free diet - but I found myself stressed out wondering "is this going to ruin my diet?" I love food. I love giant cheeseburgers off the grill on a giant bun oozing with cheese and mayo and lettuce washed down with an ice cold local craft beer (easily a 1500 calorie meal)- and I had to learn to say no more!! I have learned to eat slider sized burgers with just tomato and lettuce and maybe a smear of yellow mustard and be just as satisfied. I am also learning to eat smart when I have no choice but to eat out by following the no Bread (includes fried & battered foods) Cheese Mayo philosophy. I have 2 boys ages 2 & 7 and sometimes for dinner we have to deviate from Mom's healthy plan to eat kid food. I still eat it, just in moderation. I have a long way to go but I am bound and determined. I love reading the success stories and seeing the before & after pics!!

i am on 1330 calories a day and its very difficult. my diary is public if you want to have a peek. i guess the best thing to do is just to figure out what foods fill you up the most of the fewest calories through trial and error. i like things like tomatoes cut up with pepper and a pinch of salt to be a filling snack for under 50 calories.

Well I don't count my calories on MFP, I prefer the old fashioned pen and paper method, but I'll write out my average day. I've been doing 1,200 to 1,300 calories for a few months now with great results.

8 AM: bagel thin with an egg white on it- 140 calories
11 AM: mini bag of doritos- 150 calories
1 PM: 30 special K cracker chips- 120 calories
2 PM: 6 oz. baby carrots with 1 Tablespoon light ranch- 105 calories
4 PM: 3 fun sized snickers bars- 240 calories
6 PM: 2 oz. pasta with 4 Tablespoons italian dressing- 270 calories
6 PM: 1 cup fresh green beans- 70 calories
7 PM: 72 grams Sugar free ice cream with 5 Tablespoons light whipped cream and 2 tablespoons sprinkles- 150 calories

To a grand total of 1,245 calories today.

Hope this helps.If you need any hints or tips you can message me

Doritos, crackers, Snickers and ice cream? Where's the nutrition?

I never claimed to be a clean eater. :P

Hahaha! I love your response! Some people can be so judgmental!!! It's all about making this work for you, as an individual, so you can stick to a lifestyle! If you are happy, keep doing what you be doing!

Exactly. When I first started here I only occasionally lurked but I've been reading more of the Community posts to get some inspiration. What I'm seeing is some positive post but there is a lot of judgment, inappropriate comments, and some downright meanness. Thank you for being one of the positive ones.

This what the above said.

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If it works for her it works for her. Don't hate because it works for her.

Me! I need to eat 1200 a day to lose 2lbs a week. My Mission is to Reach 60 kilos And i notice that my clothes are more loose now

I NET around 1200 most days..of course I eat somewhere between 2000 and 2500 calories a day - more if I am hungry, less if I am not. I'm also about 10 lbs from goal so I have to set MFP for 1lb/week loss in order to lose about .5 (which is what I have been averaging since dropping to 1200) THUS based on my 2 years of spreadsheet tracking this is a reasonable goal for ME.

If we are talking 1200 without eating back exercise then no.. I like FOOD. I only work out so that I can eat more of it which is the way MFP s designed. I would suggest that if you are hungry you start working out more to get a few more calories OR just start eating back some of your exercise calories if you haven't been.

I sometimes have meals that are around 1200 calories, so I'm probably not going to be of any help to anyone

Thank you everyone for the replies! - I am 5 feet and so far I have been struggling to manager withing 1200 - but doing it.. I do see a progress and my ticker supports it! However, I am trying to keep that 1200 calories on the healthier side with more protein...
As a vegetarian it is a challenge for me.
Thank you all for sharing your diaries

I'm on more than 1200 calories, but here are some snack ideas...

One snack I like that gives me a lot of protein is 1% cottage cheese with some fresh or frozen berries. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I have come to enjoy my cottage cheese! It is a bit high on sodium though.

I also enjoy having a meal replacement shake for my breakfast just because it's quick and gives a balance of carbs and proteins. Some people don't agree with this, but it works for me.

When I first started (19 days ago) I was hungry all the time because of the huge drop in calories from what I was doing. Now, if I start to get hungry and I'm running low on calories, I've been making a cup of tea and find that it works quite well.

Good luck!

PS - after posting this, I noticed you are a vegetarian...not sure if that excludes cheese or not...

I tend to stick to 1200 Mon to Thurs then use my exercise cals to go up to 1500 - 1750 at the weekends. If you want to add me you can see my diary... This is very effective for me.

Hi, I usually try to eat 1,200 a day for my weightloss goal. I just started logging on this account because I forgot the password for my old one with all of my old diary entries on it.
I think my diaries are public though if you want to take a look.

For breakfast I either have nothing, or I have something really small. Like today I had half a waffle with peanut butter.
For lunch it's usually not until about 2:00pm so I'll have something pretty large, usually homemade. The calories usually come out to like 400ish for lunch.

For dinner it's the same, usually homemade and about 400 calories.

Then I have fruits or low calorie cheeses and crackers for a snack which is like 200ish calories.

So yeah! That's how I try to stay under 1,500.

I try not to eat any ice cream or fast foods because those totally just raise my caloric intake through the roof!!
If you want to be buddies and help each other stay by our calorie goal that would be cool with me