Yes, 1200 calorie diets work!

So people speak from experience …. Just like your speaking to your experience of a whole 5 months. I’m glad your head didn’t get too big from losing that weight.. happens to some people and they think they know everything cause they’ve lost some weight over a couple of months…

Anyways if your happy with your life and your results then good for you, dance on roof tops go out and party bud. Your backhanded way of bragging, while trying to be supportive to a unhealthy way of losing weight, while looking for negative attention is hilarious to me.

Wow, what a response. Some positive (Thank you!) mostly negative. Let me clear some air.

I usually work out. At least a LOT of walking. Usually Biking and racquetball. Do I eat back the calories? Sometimes but usually not. Do I feel hungry everyday? NOT AT ALL. The first week, going from 5000+ calories to 1200 was hard but then I adjusted and was fine.

I was on 1200 calories for 2 months, 1400 for the next two months and now on 1600. By end of summer, I will be at 1800.

I am not angry, cranky, moody, tired, etc. I get up at 5am and usually not in bed until 11pm everyday and I feel alert and great. I usually only drink water, occasionally passion tea but stay away from caffeine.

Seems like many people read the headline and then commented and actually never read the post. They would have seen that I STARTED at 1200 and increased, That I feel the best I ever have, etc.

The main take away. DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU! If you can not do 1200 calories, don't. But those of you who really want to lose weight and then gradually increase, do it. Don't listen to the naysayers. But just be focused on what is happening around you. (If you do become sick, tired, etc.)

Although I am getting a lot of back lash, I wish EVERYONE the best on their weightless, whether I agree with your methods or not. I just wish those of you who "know everything" could support everyone as well.

Off to work, I will defend my position later!

If 1200 calories is sufficient (your words) why are you upping your calories?

I agree that a 1200 calorie plan can work. That is my target daily calorie goal, and when I exercise I generally try to eat a bit more. Occasionally, I go a bit over, but as a rule, I find it pretty easy to stick to. I have lost 38.6 pounds in about 3 1/2 months, so it is working for me as well.
Everyone's body is different, so for anyone to claim that they know the secret to weight loss and that it applies to everyone is just wrong. Use common sense. Use your food preferences to your advantage (and that includes ALL food, even stuff others may have fits about). Only you know what is working for you, what you can afford, what is available to you, and what you will stick to. If you don't like salads, you aren't going to lose weight on a salad based diet. If you have been eating junk food all your life, you are not going to change things overnight. When I began my journey at over 500 pounds, I could literally eat an entire cake. It would make me sick, I would get headaches, I had stomach problems, I was sluggish, etc., and I honestly did not realize just how much WHAT I was eating affected how I felt overall on a daily basis. When I really started losing and feeling the differences, I was able to cut out more and more, or choose healthier alternatives. I still love the junk, sad to say, lol, but I find ways to satisfy what has been a lifelong addiction my altering recipes, etc. People will say to eat fruit (which I do) instead of cake, but sometimes, you just want cake, right? I make mine with the diet 7Up trick, and it works for me. Once in a while, I have the 'real' thing. I am still losing, so I do what works and ignore nasty comments, and I don't try to preach to others to do things a certain way because it is what works for me.

We all have to sail our own ships...or paddle our own canoes, or bucket bail our own dinghies depending on our situations. Just do it. If you stumble, get back up and keep sailing, paddling, rowing, bailing...

Congrats on your success!

So in...

Okay OP..you are a 29 year old man eating less than 1200 calories of course you are losing weight but you are also losing fat and muscle...congrats to you.

In the long term you will notice the following as well...

Low energy
Lethargy
brittle nails and hair
Hunger cues will diminish
Your metabolism is going to slow eventually too

You will do damage to your heart and muscles
You will not be able to exercise much

And then...you will break...you will eat a wad of food

Long term you become nutrient deficient, your metabolism will adapt and make it hard to lose weight, your bones will become brittle due to lack of muscle...

But hey you lost weight...good on you.

As for the will power...naw...my goal is to be healthy and happy not weak, lethargic, unhealthy and skinny with no muscle mass...

Self control means eating as much as I can while I still lose weight not as little as possible as a form of self punishment for gaining weight.

There is no way as a man at 1200 calories you are getting in adequate nutrition...1200 is the bare min for a woman ...

But hey do what works for you...flay yourself as much as you want, don't learn to eat all food in moderation and when you come off this 1200 calorie a day diet and go back to "normal" and gain your weight back because you didn't learn moderation in all foods only self deprevation you will understand why there are those of us who say no to 1200...

Hey Sexy,
Your adivce is very valuable, however is it really necessary to be so Sarcastic and Pessimistic to the OP? It may be more effective to offer your advice based on your experiences in a more positive manner.

Don't let the detractors trick you, 1200 calories totally rock. This is a shot of me when I did that in my twenties.



I especially like the collarbone definition and my elbows were especially pointy. The neat thing, even though I was stupid light, I still had a roll of fat around my midsection because of my total lack of upper body strength.

I was going to do the same thing again this time around but I decided I would opt for a plan that didn't have people asking me if I had AIDS or cancer all the time instead.

I truly wish people would stop spreading this GARBAGE!

And don't call me a troll, because it's the "1200 calorie diet" that gave me an eating disorder.

"It's hard the first few weeks cause you go to bed hungry" Think about what you just said, seriously. Why in the hell would anybody want to go to bed hungry just to lose an extra 1 pound a week.

I speak from experience, this is NOT healthy and it is not sustainable. 2 years ago, I went from 140 pounds to 105 or so in VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, I was eating 1200 calories a day, some days even less, working out like a mad women. The result? Sure I was skinny, but I looked extremely unhealthy as I lost all my muscle, I was what you call "skinny fat". I had loose skin everywhere, I was hungry, I wasn't sleeping good, I was cranky, my hair was getting thinner. I became anemic as I wasn't getting enough iron. And I couldn't stop, I loved that i lost the weight so fast that I kept going. 105 was no longer good enough for me, I wanted to be 95 and so on.

And wanna hear the best part? I gained all of it back when I started to to eat normally again because I could no longer go on the way I was going. You can not live off 1200 calories a day for the rest of your life.

This time, yes, it's taking me longer and I've messed up a few times, losing 2 gaining it back. But this is a process for me. I want to be HEALTHY, I don't just want to lose weight.

Stop spreading this *kitten*.

I'm tired of hearing this works, IT DOESN'T. It works at first, you lose 2 pounds a week but your putting your body under stress and once again THIS IS NOT SUSTAINABLE.

SO you did 1200 cals for a whole two months then raised your calories, haven't yet met your goal and haven't maintained at a reasonable calorie amount.

I don't think you can claim that they work without causing issues.

Of course you lost on 1200, nobody says they don't you'll lose on 500, doesn't make it healthy- what they say is that they aren't healthy and you'll do damage to your body and find maintaining at a good calorie level difficult, not to mention the large % of weight loss that will be muscle.

This is the type of misleading thread title I expect from trolls.

soooooooo you're *not* on a 1200cal diet.

cool.

Don't let the detractors trick you, 1200 calories totally rock. This is a shot of me when I did that in my twenties.



I especially like the collarbone definition and my elbows were especially pointy. The neat thing, even though I was stupid light, I still had a roll of fat around my midsection because of my total lack of upper body strength.

I was going to do the same thing again this time around but I decided I would opt for a plan that didn't have people asking me if I had AIDS or cancer all the time instead.

But are you a registered nutritionist? HAHA ::sarcasm::

because other people won't eat a 1200 calorie diet, that means your wrong.

Eating well below your basal metabolic rate is not a good long term solution.

Congrats on your weight loss!
My problem is the WAY people dismiss ALL 1200 Calorie Diets. While the haters have some very valid points about not being able to gain muscle while restricting your intake that much and they are not wrong. Everyone is in here for support, so while facts may be appreciated, Sarcastic Meme's are not! Blankets statements like 'don't net less than 1200 Calories ever or you'll enter starvation mode' are not helpful and don't apply to everyone. They say instead eat or net at your BMR. and you can eat much more calories. Well my BMR is between 1100-1400 depending on which calculator you use. So for me to net 1200 is following 'their' rules and breaking them at the same time. People lifting weight, Exercising, etc will have a higher calorie need than those who may just have a lot of fat to lose and are focusing purely on diet for the time being. OP you mentioned that you have been increasing your calorie limits as you go through this process, so I suspect you are listening to your body. Which of course is the most important thing and doing what works for you and helps you reach your own goals. Weight loss is simple math everyone here can agree on that. Fitness and health are much more complicated. We are all built different coming from different starting points and different goals so I take in everything I read and use what may apply to or work for me. Adapt. Improve. Always put yourself first. (and forget the haters). CHEERS! and I wish you continued good luck.

I don't see how "1200 calories is sufficient" is any better than saying "you shouldn't do 1200 calories".

I agree that for some, 1200 calories is appropriate - but - there are far more that it probably isn't the ideal goal for.

ETA - for a male, there would be far fewer people who 1200 calories would actually be an ideal goal for. They would definitely be the exception.

Very few people are likely to burn fewer than 1200 calories a day. Of course they work. You're also more likely to fall off the wagon if you're severely restricting your calories.

So, you know, do what works for you I guess.

So in...

Okay OP..you are a 29 year old man eating less than 1200 calories of course you are losing weight but you are also losing fat and muscle...congrats to you.

In the long term you will notice the following as well...

Low energy
Lethargy
brittle nails and hair
Hunger cues will diminish
Your metabolism is going to slow eventually too

You will do damage to your heart and muscles
You will not be able to exercise much

And then...you will break...you will eat a wad of food

Long term you become nutrient deficient, your metabolism will adapt and make it hard to lose weight, your bones will become brittle due to lack of muscle...

But hey you lost weight...good on you.

As for the will power...naw...my goal is to be healthy and happy not weak, lethargic, unhealthy and skinny with no muscle mass...

Self control means eating as much as I can while I still lose weight not as little as possible as a form of self punishment for gaining weight.

There is no way as a man at 1200 calories you are getting in adequate nutrition...1200 is the bare min for a woman ...

But hey do what works for you...flay yourself as much as you want, don't learn to eat all food in moderation and when you come off this 1200 calorie a day diet and go back to "normal" and gain your weight back because you didn't learn moderation in all foods only self deprevation you will understand why there are those of us who say no to 1200...

Hey Sexy,
Your adivce is very valuable, however is it really necessary to be so Sarcastic and Pessimistic to the OP? It may be more effective to offer your advice based on your experiences in a more positive manner.

Yes. Yes it is.

I'm so excited to read your post because I am in a similar situation. I started at 280 at the beginning of this week, 6/01/14 is my start date (highest weight was 305 in January 1, 2013) and I've decided to do a 1200 calorie diet! So far, I've lost 5 lbs this week so I'm thrilled!

Did you not get dissuaded by all of the advice against this sort of diet?

Congratulations on 5 lbs in the first week but have a look through this thread and others about 1200 cal diets and do a bit of research into why a max 2 lb per week loss tends to be recommended by many sites, including medical ones.

This will help you make a more informed choice rather than just taking the OP's word for it