1200 Calories?! Can you lose weight no matter what you eat?!

Yes, you can eat any form of calories and as long as you maintain a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. If all you're eating is chocolate and crisps, you're probably not going to feel very full or satisfied, which may cause you to over eat.

Also, based on the numbers you gave us, it looks like you're trying to lose 1lb/week which, might be too aggressive since you only have 8lb left to lose. If you reduce your weight loss to .5lb/week, you would be able to eat 250cals more per day.

Theoretically, yes. However, it might be wise since you are dealing with limited calories to ensure that those you are afforded count! Fibrous and proteinous meals will allow you to feel fuller longer, making those calories go farther!

Yep.

Yes, you can eat 1200 calories of chocolate and lose weight. Strict loss of weight is totally about consuming less than you burn. That's it.

The reason certain foods are touted as "healthy" or "low-calorie" or "diet-friendly" have more to do with volume and long-term satiety than it does with anything else.

Ferinstance 200 calories of broccoli covers half a PLATE. 200 calories of chocolate will fit in the palm of your hand. Check out What Does 200 Calories Look Like to get an idea. If I eat a really big salad with lots of different veggies, a good amount of protein and a bit of fat (like, you know, dressing and/or cheese) to increase feelings of satiety, I am not going to be hungry for a long time. If I eat the same amount of calories as, say, a large serving of french fries, I might be hungry quicker and desire to consume too many calories.

The thing is, our food desires and needs are more complex than simply wanting/needing a large volume of food. While (to pick a number completely at random, honest!) 79 calories of broccoli might be a larger volume and have lots of nutrients I need, people also eat for pleasure. So, I might decide that in this instance, the Lindt truffle might be a better use of those 79 calories in this particular instance.

Don't get me wrong. I love veggies and eat some with most meals. Fruit is a favorite thing to eat as well. I'm all about nourishing yourself well.

But that Evil Foods mentality is nonsense and micromanages a macro problem with a MUCH simpler solution.

I eat around that much, and while you could, it wouldn't do much for your lean body mass as you lose weight.

Your muscles love protein.

You might also likely come to feel quite hungry after a while.

It's quite possible to fit either a small packet of crisps or a bit of chocolate in as a snack into an otherwise healthy day even on 1200 calories. Eat yogurt or oatmeal and fruit for breakfast or toast and eggs, some lean protein and salad for lunch, and protein, a small amount of whole grains and more veggies for dinner. This should leave you around 100-150 calories for a discretionary snack. You'll still have your treats, lose weight, and have better body composition once you do.

Technically yes, but there are two big things to consider:

1. With only 1200 calories to work with, you have a lot less room for error when trying to hit your RDAs on necessary nutrients each day, unlike someone eating twice that amount, who can afford to have more wasted empty calories. Being low on vital nutrients occasionally is no big deal. But if you have a long-term nutritional deficiency, it's gonna have consequences to your health.

2. With only 1200 calories to work with, if you consume a lot of empty calories, you're going to have a harder time feeling full and satisfied. Which, in turn, might lead to binging behaviour or feeling needlessly restricted and hungry all the time. Which is no fun, and probably means you'll be less likely to keep it up over time.

I agree with the others -- allow yourself some snacks, but try to make sure you hit your minimums on things like vitamins, calcium, iron, protein and healthy fats each day. If you're doing that, you can spend the remaining calories however you like.

segacs wrote: »

Technically yes, but there are two big things to consider:

1. With only 1200 calories to work with, you have a lot less room for error when trying to hit your RDAs on necessary nutrients each day, unlike someone eating twice that amount, who can afford to have more wasted empty calories. Being low on vital nutrients occasionally is no big deal. But if you have a long-term nutritional deficiency, it's gonna have consequences to your health.

2. With only 1200 calories to work with, if you consume a lot of empty calories, you're going to have a harder time feeling full and satisfied. Which, in turn, might lead to binging behaviour or feeling needlessly restricted and hungry all the time. Which is no fun, and probably means you'll be less likely to keep it up over time.

I agree with the others -- allow yourself some snacks, but try to make sure you hit your minimums on things like vitamins, calcium, iron, protein and healthy fats each day. If you're doing that, you can spend the remaining calories however you like.

All of this.

Google Mark Haub, he lost 27 lbs in 2 months on what he called his convenience store diet.

I love the freedom of eating a healthy diet and not feeling bad about a snack in the evenings. Because I'm fitting it into my calorie limit, I can actually ENJOY it instead of feeling guilty.