1200 Calories

jakeysnakey83 wrote: »

Hi all -

I'm wondering if anyone is a) actually able to eat only 1200 calories a day, and b) if so, is it really successful? How have you done it?

I'm finding that I am pretty hungry with only 1200 calories; I've planned out my meals for tomorrow and I'm already over 1200.

I'm 5'3 and 135 lbs, wanting to lose about 15lbs. I'm starting to get a little demotivated and am looking to hear your success stories.

Thanks!
Jaclyn

Eat at 1500 Calories, then burn 400 calories.

I eat 1200 calories. Not hard at all. I don't eat junk food and I don't cheat ever because I don't want to risk falling off the wagon. It's been really easy to just say no to anything that's not on my meal plan for the day. I've lost 27lbs since September 21 (about 2 months). I'm 5'8" and over 200lbs (but not for long!!!). I exercise 5x a week (cardio, weights) and don't eat back any of those calories either. I'm never hungry and I don't feel week. If I wake up too late on the weekends, I don't even get 1200 calories in. I eat higher protein meals. Add me if you'd like to see my diary. 1200 calories is a lot if you don't eat/drink empty calories. That takes commitment but I want to get healthy so it's totally worth it to me. If I was hungry, I would have no problem upping my calories. I'm definitely at a deficit and losing at a great rate. I just haven't been hungry so if it ain't broke...

About 4 years ago, I was much smaller and lost 40lbs in 5 months eating 1450 calories/day. Diet was mostly the same but more fruit, complex carbs and lean protein to make up the difference. If I had known 1200 was so easy I would have done it before. My challenge has been keeping it off, not getting it off. I try to eat like bodybuilders do and it's worked for me in getting rid of fat. I wound up looking very lean and muscular, not skinny-fat. Unfortunately, I let work, injuries, couch potato boyfriend, etc, capture my interests and it took me away from a lifestyle I really enjoyed. When I'm maintaining, it will be tough to get in about 1800-2000 calories but I will probably try to stick to the same types of food with some more calorie dense foods added in (e.g. raisins, nuts, etc.).

Also, I drink tons of water and for some reason I think it's really helped. Annoying side effect is always running to the potty and dry hands from washing so many times.

Good luck.

My goal is 1200 so if I don't calculate correctly I have a little wiggle room. However, I am only 2 days in and find that I am hungry at dinner time. Which makes sense, because that is where I usually went overboard on calories. Hoping we both get used to this... and that our work and hunger pays off

astrose00 wrote: »

I eat 1200 calories. Not hard at all.....

If I had known 1200 was so easy I would have done it before. My challenge has been keeping it off, not getting it off. I try to eat like bodybuilders do and it's worked for me in getting rid of fat. I wound up looking very lean and muscular, not skinny-fat. Unfortunately, I let work, injuries, couch potato boyfriend, etc, capture my interests and it took me away from a lifestyle I really enjoyed. When I'm maintaining, it will be tough to get in about 1800-2000 calories but I will probably try to stick to the same types of food with some more calorie dense foods added in (e.g. raisins, nuts, etc.).

Also, I drink tons of water and for some reason I think it's really helped. Annoying side effect is always running to the potty and dry hands from washing so many times.

Good luck.

I'm sorry, but body builders eat a lot more than 1200 calories per day.

I'm 5'3 also but 1200 makes me miserable. I'm a lot fatter than you at 189. I've got mine set at 1440. I also burn 300-500 calories 5 days a week at the gym and I eat back half of those calories...(ok, so maybe I drink those calories. I like my wine and beer). Any way, I'm still losing at a fair clip. It's hard when you are short. You don't get that much calories.

astrose00 wrote: »

Rays_Wife wrote: »

astrose00 wrote: »

I eat 1200 calories. Not hard at all.....

If I had known 1200 was so easy I would have done it before. My challenge has been keeping it off, not getting it off. I try to eat like bodybuilders do and it's worked for me in getting rid of fat. I wound up looking very lean and muscular, not skinny-fat. Unfortunately, I let work, injuries, couch potato boyfriend, etc, capture my interests and it took me away from a lifestyle I really enjoyed. When I'm maintaining, it will be tough to get in about 1800-2000 calories but I will probably try to stick to the same types of food with some more calorie dense foods added in (e.g. raisins, nuts, etc.).

Also, I drink tons of water and for some reason I think it's really helped. Annoying side effect is always running to the potty and dry hands from washing so many times.

Good luck.

I'm sorry, but body builders eat a lot more than 1200 calories per day.

I meant the type of food, not the quantity of food. And also eating smaller meals more often. No need to be "sorry". There are tons of fitness and figure models who eat at that level of calories when they are trying to burn fat. They are also considered bodybuilders.

I see your point, however ... if they have a very low TDEE they might eat at that level. But if someone is lifting weights and having a high level of activity that most body builders do, their TDEE would be much higher. Large deficits IMO would not be conducive to retaining muscle while losing fat.

But I'm agreeing with the other posters, if you are miserable, up your cal intake and workout some more

yarwell wrote: »

Put in a lower weight loss rate and you get more calories. Rome wasn't built in a day.

This^

1200 is MFPs lowest minimum default. It's not for everyone (heck, it's not even for most). A high weekly goal often leads to 1200. Petite, senior ladies may have to eat this low....young people....not.

Pick something sustainable. You don't have to be miserable all the time. Also note that 1200 is NET. That means when you exercise, those calories are added back. That way people who can't exercise will still lose weight.

I do it every day... and some days if I am overly active, I consume less. I have been doing it for 1000+ days so far. I modified my diet to only eat low calorie foods that make me feel full...

No candy or sweets anymore. After living over a decade considered "obese" I would rather live life thin, than consume the high calorie, high sugar, high fat foods. I found a few minutes on the lips is not worth the years of unsightly fat on the hips!

During the week, most days I'm at about 900-1100 calories. That is toast for breakfast and two low-ish calorie meals of about 300-400 calories for lunch and dinner. I also tend to run 5k most days so am burning an additional 500 calories (a conservative estimate). I've sustained this since March this year and I've lost 27 kilos (60lbs ish) so far. This includes a couple of boughts of illness which have knocked the training and the dieting. At this point I return to 'normal' diet of about 1900 calories a day and then I'm just level (no exercise either).

As far as hunger goes, I only notice after two or three weeks of 'normal' diet that I feel hungry when I transition back. This passes after a while, perhaps a couple of weeks.

That said my weekly calorie intake is offset by a 'big' day. So Monday and Tonight for example I'm off down the pub. Monday I had 4 or 5 pints + Thai Curry and various fried starters. Tonight, I dunno if we'll go for food but I'm banking on another 1000 calories of beer although I did hit the gym for my run and various other bits of cardio. That said this week is unusual in that I'm going to have more than one night out but it's starting to get into that time of year.

Even with the day's off routine I find I don't find I get hunger pangs, that starts to happen after a good couple of weeks.

swaistle wrote: »

I'm on 1200 and some days I actually struggle to get up to 1200.

I have cereal with semi skimmed milk for breakfast, that barely goes over 200cals.

For lunch this varies, but it tends to be either a soup or a jacket potato with cheese and beans. So that can be anywhere from 200-700cals

For tea, I tend to have Birds Eye frozen chicken (any of them, original chargrilled, garlic & herb breadcrumb, battered chicken, southern fried breadcrumbed...) and Birds Eye Frozen Steam Veg all in all can total anything from just over 200-300cals.

I ate like that from June to October and lost roughly about 35lbs.

Gonna admit though, with the colder nights, I'm getting lazier and just wanna slouch and eat chocolate hahaha. But yeah it's do-able.

P.s I'm 5ft3 was 213lbs and now down to 179lbs (thereabouts I keep fluctuating atm)

Weekly weight loss goals should be different for those with a little bit to lose VS. those with a lot to lose. The reason for this is obese people can eat very low calorie diets and their bodies will still support existing lean muscle.

When you get closer to goal a very low calorie diet will not support lean muscle efficiently and your weight loss will become fat+lean muscle.

Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

"Struggling to meet 1200?" it's very possible you are picking "filling" foods as opposed to high nutrition foods. Protein & fat are more calorie dense than veggies this and low fat that. Meeting protein and fat requirements are more important than maintaining a feeling of "fullness."

TeaBea wrote: »

Weekly weight loss goals should be different for those with a little bit to lose VS. those with a lot to lose. The reason for this is obese people can eat very low calorie diets and their bodies will still support existing lean muscle.

When you get closer to goal a very low calorie diet will not support lean muscle efficiently and your weight loss will become fat+lean muscle.

Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

"Struggling to meet 1200?" it's very possible you are picking "filling" foods as opposed to high nutrition foods. Protein & fat are more calorie dense than veggies this and low fat that. Meeting protein and fat requirements are more important than maintaining a feeling of "fullness."

Oohh I see! So maybe that's why I'm struggling a bit as of late cause I need to lose less weight now (about 40lb odd to my first big target of 130lb) I hold my hand up, I tend to fill up on veggies rather than protein filled foods like meat and what not. I struggle meeting my protein intake, but I need to find the right amount for me. I try have protein shakes, but if I have too much of them or put too much powder in they upset my stomach -.- yay for IBS! haha

Going off topic here though, thank you for your knowledge TeaBea!

astrose00 wrote: »

Rays_Wife wrote: »

astrose00 wrote: »

I eat 1200 calories. Not hard at all.....

If I had known 1200 was so easy I would have done it before. My challenge has been keeping it off, not getting it off. I try to eat like bodybuilders do and it's worked for me in getting rid of fat. I wound up looking very lean and muscular, not skinny-fat. Unfortunately, I let work, injuries, couch potato boyfriend, etc, capture my interests and it took me away from a lifestyle I really enjoyed. When I'm maintaining, it will be tough to get in about 1800-2000 calories but I will probably try to stick to the same types of food with some more calorie dense foods added in (e.g. raisins, nuts, etc.).

Also, I drink tons of water and for some reason I think it's really helped. Annoying side effect is always running to the potty and dry hands from washing so many times.

Good luck.

I'm sorry, but body builders eat a lot more than 1200 calories per day.

I meant the type of food, not the quantity of food. And also eating smaller meals more often. No need to be "sorry". There are tons of fitness and figure models who eat at that level of calories when they are trying to burn fat. They are also considered bodybuilders. I came up with my "diet" from reading books and magazines on these athletes.

Doubtful.

This thread makes me sad. I am 5' 4" and when I started MFP I was around 145lbs. I lost eating between 1400 and 1800 cals before exercise. You don't have to starve yourself and be miserable to lose weight so why would you? If you are not losing by eating so little you should know you are doing it wrong and instead of dropping your calorie intake even more you need to make sure you are measuring/weighing your food correctly and eating enough.

TeaBea wrote: »

Isabelle_1929 wrote: »

I am 5'3" too. I was at 1200. (Weight loss stopped after 6 weeks, so I reduced to 1100, and of I see no result on the scale in a few days, I may have to go down to 1050 cal. :-( ).

But 1200 is totally doable. I was not hungry (at 1100, now I am). However you will have to experiment and find what food and how many meals are filling for you. Some people here tell you to skip breakfast, other say the exact opposite, which is to have a big meal in the morning. We're not all the same.

Experiment !

Ugh!

What's hunger got to do with anything? Re: filling....a full stomach does NOT equal proper nutrition. Does your stomach know when your body is using lean muscle mass for fuel?

You want to see results on the "scale" like clock work.....lowering calories again and again....where does this stop? When you need to eat nothing in order to achieve results on the "scale"....are you done then? Weight loss is not linear.

The reason I quote the word "scale" ......that is ONE measure of success. Lowering body fat percentage is another....and reducing measurements is another still. The scale is over rated, just as "feeling full" is.

When you lose fat+muscle....you are not lowering body fat percentage very effectively. When you lose fat+muscle you are not reducing measurements as much as you can. This is the reason fast weight loss does NOT equal healthy weight loss.

What hunger has to do with anything? Well, any weight loss plan must be sustainable, especially when one plans on losing slowly, over several months.

Now I don't know if you enjoy that hunger feeling, but most of us can't stand being hungry all the time.
This means that we have to find a way to:

1. give our body all the nutrients it needs

2. but still lose weight

3. achieve the above WITHOUT being hungry (other than shortly before meals and sleep)

So yes, "hunger management" is part of the equation.