Is 1200 calories a day enough??

I'm on 1200 calories and for the first time ever I feel great - I feel full and healthy from what I'm eating, it feels like the right amount for me.

I am only short (less than 5 foot) so I set my mfp settings to sedentary, and then I add in the exercise that I do, which means there are frequent days when I can fill my face and still have a ton of calories left over. It's also a good motivation to exercise, if I feel like having something nice later on. But if I have a lazy day and do nothing, 1200 calories feels like the right amount for me.

For example today I cycled to and from work, which takes about 70 minutes in each direction and burns about 1100 calories in total. I've eaten 3 solid, filling meals, drank milk for drinks and had fruit for snacks and I'm still only at 446 net! Yet I'm sat here feeling like I have a 'food baby' because I had such a big dinner and I'm full. It would seem ridiculous to me to go and try to cram in another 800 calories that my body is not in the slightest bit hungry for, just because of some myth about less than 1200 calories net being bad for me.

There is a lot of scaremongering about calorie amounts. I agree with others who say that 1200 calories is fine if you are eating healthily, lots of fruit and veg, lean meat, nuts, etc. I think the important thing is to listen to your body and be aware of your energy levels. If you feel good and active in yourself then it obviously works for you, and I'm a big fan of finding out what works for you.

It's worth thinking about those who have gastric sleeve operations. They are on significantly less than 1200 calories a day for a very long time, hence their drastic weight loss. Now I'm not saying that gastric sleeves have no side effects, but if a severely reduced calorie diet was so bad for us, then doctors wouldn't recommend them, would they?

tl;dr - if 1200 calories works for you, then great, go for it. If not, figure out something else and do that instead. But do what works for *you* as that is most likely to succeed in the long run.

i'm actually eating 1200 calorie a day, you just have to watch what you eat. I snack every two hours or so while i'm at my desk, eat a good lunch and by the time I get home i'm so full that i barely eat dinner but I will snack on something.

You have to keep in mind that working out on 1200 and inputting your workouts, you get more calories since you burned someone off during your workout.

Unless you are WELL under 5ft and sedentary, in my experience....No. Not enough.

Your probably should set your weight loss at a much lower rate ie .5 to 1lb per week.
You don't have much to lose and it would be effective to lose it slowly as you would then probably keep it off.
Eat back some of your exercise calories is also a good plan.

I'm trying to get down from 155 or so to 135 at 2 pounds a week and MFP targeted me at 1200 a day. I work out everyday. I try to do 3 miles on the stationary bike at least 3 times a week, and most days I do a set of 300 various crunches and 3 sets of 40 pushups. I don't track steps or anything like that.

I've hit my goal in about 2 months and feel great. My abs are starting to look decent and overall I feel healthier. 1200 calories a day/2 pounds a week can be done IF you are eating the right foods. My diet consists mostly of fresh fruits, hard boiled eggs, baked poultry, and spinach, but I do let myself eat whatever I want on the weekends. I come up short on fat and carbs most days, but I would think my weekend splurges make up for this.

BUT everyone is different and short of consulting a medical professional, the best thing you can do is use common sense. I'm a 32 y/o 5'9" male with a somewhat sedentary lifestyle so this works for me, but it might not be right for you. If you are larger or get more exercise 1200 a day is probably too little for you. If you are smaller it may be perfect.

Not unless your a 120 lb girl even then it's dangerous

I got the same thing and my boyfriend says 1200 calories is not enough....I'm wanting to find out about this too..