Thoughts on 1200 calories?

I can usually eat way less then 1200 and not feel hungry even on days when I'm burning through 600-800 at the gym. I think it might depend on your weight and if your body is used to a a low cal diet.

Not good advice for OP.

When you are close to goal you want a "moderate" weekly goal because eating too little won't support lean muscle mass. Losing weight too quickly will result in fat+muscle loss.

1200 less 600 = 600 NET calories. Unless you are under medical supervision and very overweight......bye bye muscle.

I can usually eat way less then 1200 and not feel hungry even on days when I'm burning through 600-800 at the gym. I think it might depend on your weight and if your body is used to a a low cal diet.

Not good advice for OP.

When you are close to goal you want a "moderate" weekly goal because eating too little won't support lean muscle mass. Losing weight too quickly will result in fat+muscle loss.

1200 less 600 = 600 NET calories. Unless you are under medical supervision and very overweight......bye bye muscle.

This guy is actually eating around 700 cals a day and should be banned from giving advice in the forum on calorie goals :noway:

Hello Everyone ????

Just a little post on 1200 calories, honestly I am still hungry on this amount so I think I will up to 1400/1500 as if I am hungry 1200 isn't enough, what do you think of the 1200 calorie diet, is it working for you, do you lose weight on higher amounts?


Edit : I am 5,3 and 117 - 120lbs

Thank you!

I know this wasn't your original question but out of curiosity why are you trying to lose weight if you already weigh that little?

http://www.healthdiscovery.net/links/calculators/ideal_bw_women.htm

Even if you are small framed you are approaching underweight status. If you look pudgy or have high bodyfat at that weight it means you are very low muscle which means you probably should be eating a lot more and lifting weights if you want to improve your asthetic look and health.

Eating 1200 calories is going to do the opposite of what you probably should be doing right now.

Thank you for pointing that out... great advise!

I've lost 40 lbs this year on 1200 calories. It's been doable. I'm not full, but I'm not hungry either.

Similar here, although not the huge drop! 1200 is easily doable if pocket sized (5'3) a little mature and not moving much. You can eat a mountain of veg and fish for that many calories and not feel hungry.

I do eat back most exercise cals and throw in odd glass wine and treats if numbers allow...

Edited to say this is in response to OPs initial question, not suggesting she loses weight as already pretty light. What's the story there?!

Will be updating ticker and posting "After" pic shortly because, I weighed today and I am 111 pounds, BMI of 19.1, body fat percentage 18.7%.I HAVE LOST TEN POUNDS IN 25 DAYS!!! My diary is set on public view. Feel free to read. Take notes. SUCCESS!!!! I Love My Metabolism

DO NOT DO WHAT THIS WOMAN HAS DONE

she lives on 600 cals of prune juice and Pringles. Her diet is not healthy and should not be copied or held up as a good example.

Btw if you post a success story I will report it for promoting VLCD

That diet plan sounds literally explosive! WTF?!?

Will be updating ticker and posting "After" pic shortly because, I weighed today and I am 111 pounds, BMI of 19.1, body fat percentage 18.7%.I HAVE LOST TEN POUNDS IN 25 DAYS!!! My diary is set on public view. Feel free to read. Take notes. SUCCESS!!!! I Love My Metabolism

DO NOT DO WHAT THIS WOMAN HAS DONE

she lives on 600 cals of prune juice and Pringles. Her diet is not healthy and should not be copied or held up as a good example.

Btw if you post a success story I will report it for promoting VLCD

That diet plan sounds literally explosive! WTF?!?

Sorry it was diet coke not prune juice. Still not advisable at all :noway:

Will be updating ticker and posting "After" pic shortly because, I weighed today and I am 111 pounds, BMI of 19.1, body fat percentage 18.7%.I HAVE LOST TEN POUNDS IN 25 DAYS!!! My diary is set on public view. Feel free to read. Take notes. SUCCESS!!!! I Love My Metabolism

DO NOT DO WHAT THIS WOMAN HAS DONE

she lives on 600 cals of diet coke/Pepsi and Pringles. Her diet is not healthy and should not be copied or held up as a good example.

Btw if you post a success story I will report it for promoting VLCD

Yeah, don't listen to the 600 calorie eater. She's notorious for spreading unhealthy and terrible advice. I'm not sure how she's not banned for constantly promoting dieting that's against the TOS of this site.

I keep wondering this myself.....

I'm 5 ft and MFP has me set to 1200 as well. My Fitbit has me at a little more than that, depending on how active I've been. I'm not usually starving or anything either. And I don't feel like it's restrictive. I've lost weight just eating more healthy (cutting out soda, HFCS, fast food, processed food). I'm pretty small and weight shows up easily. I don't see an issue if it works for you and doesn't cause distress.

ETA: Who can survive off of 3 diet cokes and chips a day?!!

Will be updating ticker and posting "After" pic shortly because, I weighed today and I am 111 pounds, BMI of 19.1, body fat percentage 18.7%.I HAVE LOST TEN POUNDS IN 25 DAYS!!! My diary is set on public view. Feel free to read. Take notes. SUCCESS!!!! I Love My Metabolism

Well your metabolism is probably hating hard on you since you are wrecking it eating 600 cals a day.

I'm 5 ft and MFP has me set to 1200 as well. My Fitbit has me at a little more than that, depending on how active I've been. I'm not usually starving or anything either. And I don't feel like it's restrictive. I've lost weight just eating more healthy (cutting out soda, HFCS, fast food, processed food). I'm pretty small and weight shows up easily. I don't see an issue if it works for you and doesn't cause distress.

ETA: Who can survive off of 3 diet cokes and chips a day?!!

This is basically what I'm doing, fitbit is great for adding those extra cals for the finer things in life, like cheese and wine

diet coke and crisps sounds grim, the prune juice would actually move that along quite nicely!!

Thanks guys. I am bumping up my calories today. I appreciate everyone's input so much knowledge here and lots of encouragement.

Im currently eating way less than that and not feeling too hungry at all.
I think it is very personal, I am managing about 800-900 cals a day and don't feel like I need more.
Why would I eat more food if i'm not hungry? I guess it depends on your size/weight loss/height and what your like.
I am exercising for 1hr a day 5 days a week and am trying to lose 7 more lbs.
I am not going to eat more just because someone tells me to! It is working for me

Just because you are not hungry doesn't mean you are getting enough for nutrition. Hunger is controlled by hormones. When you are not eating a lot, your appetite is suppressed due to these hormones. It is one of the body's defense mechanisms, our ancestors had to survive periods of famine.

Honestly, it's very individual. Everybody is going to burn calories just a little differently than another individual, and we really don't have good ways to track that yet.

As an example - a sedentary person who is very still is going to burn a different level of calories than a sedentary person who is very 'fidgety' and constantly bounces their leg, fiddles with their pens, and so on. Then there's one's metabolism, how many calories you are burning to stay hot or cold enough during extreme temperatures, all sorts of things.

Feeling a little hungry on lower calories is normal. Feeling a little tired after exercise is normal.

But feeling like you are starving, or feeling consistently fatigued or tired, seems to me a good indication that you are not getting enough calories (or potentially nutrients, which can cause these feelings too, actually) for your own personal needs.