Is a 1200 calorie day really realistic???? Is that what most of you are doing????
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1,200 is do-able. If you choose well, you will not be hungry. But prepared to eat lots of lean protein (chicken breast, fish fillets, sushi, eggs, tofu).and vegetables.
You'd have to basically cut out sugars, and restrict carbs and "healthy fats" like almonds, peanut butter, avocado..
I did it and lost 25 lbs of baby weight. But I was super strict.
Sweetened yogurt and a handful of almonds could eat up half my day's calories.
But - I have to say it works. And, no. You will not starve yourself.
I suffered at 1,200 for many months. It's only sustainable for so long.
Now I am maintaining at 1,500, doing weights and loving it!
Good luck
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Everyone's calorie needs are different - you'll have to experiment a little to see what works for you. All of the calculators that say how many calories you need to consume are estimates, not exact numbers. If you can continue to lose weight at 1400 or 1500 calories and you're satisfied that is a good thing to me. You can always cut more calories if you have to do that.0
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Personally I've done it, but it depends on your height. I'm 5' tall. Sometimes its hard, since I have always been a big eater. Just try to settle on your sweet spot.0
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MFP started me off at 1000 calories; but the Medical Weight Loss Program set me at 960 to lose weight. I drink two protein shakes and eat one protein bar a day; then I can have the rest as a regular meal. They gave me 4 or 5 pages of meals for less that 550 calories a day; occasionally I will go over, no matter what I do . . . but that is 'rarely'. The meal plans they gave me are substantial and have been easy for me to do.0
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i just wanted to day that I thought I was doing 1.2k but really it's closer to 1.4k because I eat about half my exercise calories0
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I just started and my goal is 1570 and I've got 100lbs to lose. I'd starve if I tried to adhere to 1200 a day. I've tried that in the past and got hunger headaches and then gave up.0
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I was worried too that the 1200 would actually cause me to hang on to weight not lose. I am going to the gym 4-5 times a week and mix cardio and weights! I am totally confused by all the weight loss info out there and not sure at all what carbs/protein/fat to be eating. I think 55% carbs is too much but not sure......I would like a 1-2 pound loss a week but I guess maybe thats quite a lot....I set my calories to 1250 for now :-/0
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35pds2newme wrote: »Are most people generally going with a 1200 calorie goal for the day. Just out of curiosity it seems that is what I am seeing posted. How realistic is this really? I am only at day 2--Any thoughts?
I am at 2000 and I have been losing an average of 1.5 lb a week (currently it has slowed down to closer to 1.2 lb a week which I am still happy with). 1200 is realistic for a small person who does not work out but there aren't many who fit that description.
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I do 1200 most days. I do not need a big break fast or lunch. I work in an office so I do not burn much sitting on my *kitten*. I will have a nice supper though. Not saying this is for everyone, but it works for me.0
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I eat around 1400 calories a day during the week. I usually earn another 300-400 from exercise and I "bank" those for weekend booze and food since I fall apart on weekends. Ultimately I do eat back those exercise calories, just not on the day I earned them.0
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I'm on a 1220 cal per day diet and honestly if you exercise and stay active you can supplement and have more calorie intake per day. Also even if you do go over, as long as it's clean healthy eating you should be okay. Stay strong, it can be done!0
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I'm on 1200 a day only cos I literally do excersice what so ever, so I'm trying to lose a bulk of weight first the slowly introduce excersice and up the healthy calories to find a healthy balance xx0
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I do 1200 because I'm old.0
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My current daily allotment is 1530 and once it gets to 1500 I'm switching to maintenance because no.0
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I think it's definitely doable. With working out and eating back those calories. I'm struggling to do 1500 though, so there's that..0
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Right now my goal is 1340 but I'm also in the process of establishing a good relationship with food again. I'm learning what actual portion sizes are and finding that I'm actually full on this amount. I don't know if I could do 1200 because that's so low but I guess it's doable. As long as you're feeling comfortable and not starved.0
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I think 1200 is way too low for the long term. Probably fine to do that one or two days a week though. I can't imagine anyone getting the nutrition they need on so few calories.0
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I currently upped my cals from 1500 to 1600. It really depends on how much exercise you do. If you're sedentary (no exercise) then I'm sure 1200 is fine but if you do any type of exercise I would recommend upping your cals. I work out 6 days a week and have been maintaining (at 97 lbs) with 1600 daily intake + some of what I burn through exercise. Hope this helps!0
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3dogsrunning wrote: »Urban_Princess wrote: »The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.
Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.
For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.
holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800
@Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!
If MFP gave you 1000 calories you set up you goal during the glitch. MFP is not supposed to give you less than 1200 calories and it has been fixed now.
I should also add, I've done the lower calorie and tons of cardio, lost a bunch of weight and looked great. The real struggle came when I moved into maintenance.shadow2soul wrote: »Urban_Princess wrote: »The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.
Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.
For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.
holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800
@Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!
@ptkat28 - You might want to re-set your goals. There was a glitch a while back where people were getting calorie goals below 1200. 1200 is the minimum calorie goal MFP will give a woman (excluding glitches).
You can read more about the minimum here:
https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals
Thanks you guys!! I will re-calculate and see what happens! I don't want to do something wrong!!! I have tried to eat up to 1200, but I am just too full!!!
3 words........calorie dense foods
Nuts, nut butters, avocado, eggs, cheese, olive oil. When people start a diet the tendency is to find low calorie-high volume foods, diet this, and fat free that. It's not just about the calorie #....there is a nutritional element also.
Try to meet you protein & fat goals. You should have no problem getting "up to" at least 1200. Faster weight loss generally means a higher percentage of lean muscle loss. Pick something sustainable.
@TeaBea
If you look at my diary, you can see exactly what I eat. Low carbs/good carbs, high protein, not much sugar at all. To me this is not a diet! This is my lifestyle change. I am 45 and have been on the "diet rollercoaster" long enough.
Well, your diary is closed. But I don't see any reference to fats in your foods list. Are you meeting fat goals or is there a medical restriction there? Dietary fat doesn't make you fat....that's so 1970's.
If you're having trouble meeting 1,200 now, then you're likely going to have trouble meeting maintenance calories (when you get there).
I've done the roller coaster thing too. I'm not doing low carb (no medical issues) because that won't be a forever thing for me. I still have a bit of chocolate most days.0 -
1200 is perfectly fine if...
1. You had weight loss surgery and that's all your doctor allows you to eat.
2. You're three feet tall.
3. You enjoy being hungry and having no energy for the sake of losing weight quickly.
4. Your goal is to be skinny fat.
5. You'd like to rage quit in less than a month and gain all the weight you lost back because omgsohungry.
6. You're a petite woman who is currently in a coma.
If you like to eat while still losing weight at a reasonable rate, I'd suggest eating more than 1200 calories per day. I used to eat 1200 calories per day, which is why I was dieting for the majority of my life from the age of 15 to
24. I'd eat 1200 calories for a few days, then go nuts and essentially binge because I was so hungry my stomach was eating my spine. I was moody and barely had any energy to work out.
I ended up losing the weight this time around on 1850 calories/day. I was losing about .5 lb/week, lifting weights, and not being miserable. It was pretty great. 1200 calories is torture. I had myself so deep in denial that I was perfectly happy and satisfied on such a low calorie goal at one point, but I was kidding myself. I like food way too much to be running on so few calories per day.0 -
I'm 5'1.5" and 115 lbs and I maintain on around 1600-1800 calories. 1200 makes me feel weak and dizzy and ravenous all the time. Honestly I found that I look a lot better eating more calories and lifting weights than I did when I ate almost nothing and was skinny with zero muscle tone.0
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LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »1200 is perfectly fine if...
1. You had weight loss surgery and that's all your doctor allows you to eat.
2. You're three feet tall.
3. You enjoy being hungry and having no energy for the sake of losing weight quickly.
4. Your goal is to be skinny fat.
5. You'd like to rage quit in less than a month and gain all the weight you lost back because omgsohungry.
6. You're a petite woman who is currently in a coma.
If you like to eat while still losing weight at a reasonable rate, I'd suggest eating more than 1200 calories per day. I used to eat 1200 calories per day, which is why I was dieting for the majority of my life from the age of 15 to
24. I'd eat 1200 calories for a few days, then go nuts and essentially binge because I was so hungry my stomach was eating my spine. I was moody and barely had any energy to work out.
I ended up losing the weight this time around on 1850 calories/day. I was losing about .5 lb/week, lifting weights, and not being miserable. It was pretty great. 1200 calories is torture. I had myself so deep in denial that I was perfectly happy and satisfied on such a low calorie goal at one point, but I was kidding myself. I like food way too much to be running on so few calories per day.
#7. You are a petite senior lady. Plenty of older people with lower TDEEs, it's the lean muscle loss associated with old age. Use or lose it!
OP - you don't want lean muscle loss. It's so much harder to get it back than it is to lose it. Google #4 (not pretty)0 -
My daily goal is 1,200, although my FitBit burns usually bump that number up. Most days I'm usually below 1,200 net though. I find that my digestive system slows right down, so about once a week I eat at maintenance, which seems to help keep things moving.
I've found that the diet that keeps me satisfied is as follows:
Breakfast - 3 eggs w/ ketchup, coffee w/ 18% cream, and an apple if I'm still hungry
Lunch - plain or coconut yogurt with frozen blueberries
Dinner - protein, vegetable, starch (usually potatoes or rice)
There's a lot of variation in my diet because we only go grocery shopping every two weeks, and my hubby and kids like to eat high-carb foods (hubby can't gain weight, and my kids are incredibly active), but that's the diet I strive for because it works for me.0 -
3dogsrunning wrote: »Urban_Princess wrote: »The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.
Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.
For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.
holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800
@Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!
If MFP gave you 1000 calories you set up you goal during the glitch. MFP is not supposed to give you less than 1200 calories and it has been fixed now.
I should also add, I've done the lower calorie and tons of cardio, lost a bunch of weight and looked great. The real struggle came when I moved into maintenance.shadow2soul wrote: »Urban_Princess wrote: »The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.
Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.
For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.
holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800
@Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!
@ptkat28 - You might want to re-set your goals. There was a glitch a while back where people were getting calorie goals below 1200. 1200 is the minimum calorie goal MFP will give a woman (excluding glitches).
You can read more about the minimum here:
https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals
Thanks you guys!! I will re-calculate and see what happens! I don't want to do something wrong!!! I have tried to eat up to 1200, but I am just too full!!!
3 words........calorie dense foods
Nuts, nut butters, avocado, eggs, cheese, olive oil. When people start a diet the tendency is to find low calorie-high volume foods, diet this, and fat free that. It's not just about the calorie #....there is a nutritional element also.
Try to meet you protein & fat goals. You should have no problem getting "up to" at least 1200. Faster weight loss generally means a higher percentage of lean muscle loss. Pick something sustainable.
@TeaBea
If you look at my diary, you can see exactly what I eat. Low carbs/good carbs, high protein, not much sugar at all. To me this is not a diet! This is my lifestyle change. I am 45 and have been on the "diet rollercoaster" long enough.
Well, your diary is closed. But I don't see any reference to fats in your foods list. Are you meeting fat goals or is there a medical restriction there? Dietary fat doesn't make you fat....that's so 1970's.
If you're having trouble meeting 1,200 now, then you're likely going to have trouble meeting maintenance calories (when you get there).
I've done the roller coaster thing too. I'm not doing low carb (no medical issues) because that won't be a forever thing for me. I still have a bit of chocolate most days.
@TeaBea , I thought my diary was open to public! I am on vacay right now, but will check it out! I really don't look at the fat content of my foods, just try for low carbs and high protein
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I am at 1460 because I only want to lose 1/2 - 1 pound a week. I exercise to earn more points but, I still stay around 1400. I read that if you want to weigh lets say 150 lbs you should eat 1500 a day to sustain that weight. So I follow what the program says to do if you want a less aggressive weight loss then you can change your goals to lower your weight loss per week requirements and it will give you more calories to eat each day. Hope this helps.0
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I just completed one week of 1200 calories per day. It was an eating plan I found on the internet. I ate 3 meals a day of good food (meats, chicken, fish, fresh vegetables, fruits, rice and potatoes). For the most part I was satisfied. Day 2 was the hardest for me. After day 3 I altered the plan by keeping some fruit of vegetables back from my meal and eating it as a snack. It worked out well for me. The hardest part was the preparation (mostly lunch - the night before or early am.). I lost 8 lbs - but I had 100 lbs to lose and I'd say 1/4 to 1/2 of that was water. Moving forward, I am going to develop my own eating plan based the that plan, but I am going to allow myself addional calories for snacks - vegetables, fruits and yogurt. I hope this helps.0
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MFP has me at 1570 for a 2-pound-per-week loss. I am averaging .8 pounds per week over 12 weeks.0
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I think if u are very very tiny or a rabbit
BUT i would die on 1200 cals
I started here with baby weight and ate 1800 cals total (didnt add back in exc cals) and lost..adjusted to 1600 to maintain when hit goal
Go under that I will pass out
kim
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I was originally at that. I've since changed it to 1600; I lift for 1-2 hours a day, and am on my feet at work and such for 4-10 hours a day. I'm also 5'8.5'' and around 155/60 lbs. I just recently changed it, because I was consistently going over my 1200 calorie goal and feeling bad about it, which caused me to stress eat and it just all snowballed pretty badly haha. So I'm hoping that this new goal will work okay for me, but honestly the only reason you should have a 1200 calorie daily goal is if you're barely active and trying to lose weight by a calorie deficit alone and no exercise. Figure out what works for you and your lifestyle, and like everyone else is saying: if you're unsure, talk to a dietitian. MFP can only help out so much(:0
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I try to eat more than 1200 but I am full at the end of the day and see that sometimes I barely reach 1200. I work out consistently (HIIT/bodyweight training) and I'm trying to up my calories so I can lean out and lose weight. UGHHHH0
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