Does the 1200 diet work?

Hello,
I'm 5'1 and work with a registered dietitian to make sure I'm fueling my body right.
I have been on a 1200-1350 cal for almost 6 months. It has worked great for me, but you have to make sure you are eating the right cals. It's easy to become malnourished while eating fewer cals. It took me a few weeks to find my sweet spot to lost weight. I will lose about 0.5lbs if I eat 1200 cals and do not workout. I will maintain my weight at 1300 cals without working out and if I eat 1200 cals and workout (3 mile fast walk) I will lose 1-1.5lbs a week.
Find what works for you and make sure you are eating enough of the right foods to stay healthy. I would also recommend doing some research, reading books and talking to a R.D or your M.D.
I also love the book Choose to Lose: The 7-Day Carb Cycle Solution. It has some great information, and it worked really well for me.
Everyone's body is extremely different and will respond differently to cals and food intake.

Hope this helps,

Good luck!!

Yes it does work as far as losing lbs. I lost 41 lbs eating 1200 calories(I gained back 30 and am currently on my journey to be the healthy wife and mother that my family deserve. This time though NOT on a daily1200 calorie diet. I eat the recommended calories by mfp which is like a1350 and I do 30-40 minutes of moderate cardio (brisk walking) and heavy lifting on alternating days resting Sunday's. I must add that I have lost 19lbs this time and gained (a little) lean body mass (muscle), I look better this time at 214 than I did before at 200. The scale does not always show everything you need to see. You may drop 50lbs but if half of that is muscle loss, which WILL happen with extreme diet and no exercise, then it does very little for your body composition, you will simply be a smaller version of how you already look, which for me is unacceptable. I intend to work my fanny off and be FIT not skinny... skinny fat just isn't very attractive. Whatever you choose to do make sure it's something you can stick to the rest of your life. There are no quick fixes that will give lasting healthy results. I use to swear by1200 cal diet but now I wouldn't recommend it. Just my $0.02 worth. best wishes.

It worked for me at the start of my weight loss. I would eat back SOME of my work out calories. Eventually when I got closer to the weight I wanted to be and began working out a lot more seriously I HAD to increase my calories or I'd be starving. Just make sure you're eating good for you foods.

BFDeal wrote: »

Can we please start calling the "1200 calorie diet" the "18 year old diet" because that's pretty much the only ones on it.

Either that or the uninformed. I am pushing 30 and believed whole heartedly in it. And it does give fast results but in my opinion it's because you have to border line starve yourself. Faster isn't always best and certainly not healthiest. A little bit of study on the subject of healthy fat loss would profit a whole lot. Slow and steady usually really does win the race.

Ok, so I'm 34 (not 18) and I'm on the 1200 diet..Here's the deal. I lead a sedentary life, my work requires me to sit for long periods of time. The biggest workout I get is walking my dog, a 7 year old chihauhau who walks about 50 feet and gets tired. I'm 5'11" and when I started 6 weeks ago I was 213lbs. I'm down to 196, is it huge? Not really, but I can see it, and feel it. Yes 1200 works, but you have to get 1200. If you come in more than 50 under, your body will go into fat storage mode. 1200 is really the absolute minimum your body needs. I don't plan on doing this for the rest of my life, but for the 40lbs I need to get rid of, 1200 works for now.