1200 cals / day and success?

Hanna1983 · March 2009

Hi

Has anybody been on 1200 cals per day from start to finish and reached their goals (obviously I know to add exrcise calories where necessary). I was just wondering if any of you stuck to 1200 cals all the way through and achieved the results you wanted?

Looking forward to hear about your experiences.

Hanna

Hanna1983 · March 2009

Hi

Has anybody been on 1200 cals per day from start to finish and reached their goals (obviously I know to add exrcise calories where necessary). I was just wondering if any of you stuck to 1200 cals all the way through and achieved the results you wanted?

Looking forward to hear about your experiences.

Hanna

Pattyisgr8 · March 2009

Hi,
I stuck to the 1200 cals my first 2 weeks and lost 6 lbs, but for the last two weeks I ate more on workout days and don't feel that I have lost any more. I weight in tomorrow so I'll see what works best for me. Hope it helps.

Tamishumate · March 2009

Hi, I have been doing the 1200 calories for a few months with a weight loss of about 2.5 lbs a week. I sometimes eat my exercise calories back, but not even all of them when I do. I weigh 230, so I still have alot of weight to lose, but its working for me ! :drinker:

kaleohone · March 2009

Hi,
I stick to the 1200 cal limit except for days I workout...then I eat a little bit more. It's been 2 months and I've lost 14 lbs. Good luck. javascript:add_smiley('smooched','post_body')

Hanna1983 · March 2009

Thank you so much for replying and letting me know how you get on.

There are so many opinions about how many calories to eat and so on... It is good to hear it from those of you that have experienced the results.

Tamishumate, well done, 85 lbs is alot you have lost already! :flowerforyou:

I will try it with 1200 and see how it goes for me.

I only (...) have to lose 32 lbs. More impossible things have been achieved. :bigsmile:

Paeonia · March 2009

Hanna, for me it's pretty slow at 1200...like .5 lb/ week. I exercise daily and eat back most of my exercise cals, but the closer you are to your goal weight, the slower the process is. At first I set my expectations too high, seeing other people losing 2.5 lbs/week, I figured I would as well. But once again, those people had more weight to lose than me, so it really wasn't a fair comparison....So yeah, keep in mind that it may take longer than you think, but you WILL lose the weight over time.

guamchar · March 2009

I started out at 237 and I've lost 19 pounds in about two months. My goal is 1200 cal/day, but there are many days when I go over (1500 or so). I rarely exercise, although I enjoy it when I do. I haven't reached my goal, but I've almost met my first mini-goal of loosing 10% of my body weight. 4 pounds and I'm there. I think I've been losing fairly quickly because there is alot to lose. If I weighed 140 pounds, I highly doubt that I would have lost 19 pounds in two months. I know it can be done!!!

mnj2001 · March 2009

Hello.. I just started about 2 weeks ago and have been doing the 1200 calorie count. I have lost 7 pds. I think it is working for me but I also exercise about 4 to 5 times a week for about 45 mins. I sometimes eat my calories burned. You should give it a try. I also found out that Im not ever hungry which is good for me cause thats what I always thought about. If I was eating lunch, I was thinking about what to eat for supper. I havent been doing that since I started. Good Luck

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beyondchowhound · March 2009

I've been doing this for 3 weeks and have lost 7 pounds. In the beginning I was having a problem eating things that I thought were probably ok like cheese or lots of pecans etc. and then when I would log it on later, find out it was way too many calories. Now I log it on before I eat it and if it's just a crazy amount of calories I delete it and look for something else to eat. I also had a day when I probably ate 2500 calories but mostly I eat about 1200 maybe a bit more and it's working for me. I love the fact that if you do go over a bit, you can just get on the bike or go for a brisk walk and bring yourself back down to the 1200 mark. I love this site. It works. Good luck!

Hanna1983 · March 2009

Thank you for your posts everyone.

While it was vey easy for me before xmas (5 lbs lost in 4 weeks on 1350 cals/day) I have recently stuggled to be consistent. Some days I dont even make it to 1000 cals/ day, others I am around 2000 cals/day. This week is a new start. I want to aim to stick to 1200 cals / day and should I be weak and go over a little, I will make sure I exercise that day to get close to 1200 cals again.

It is nice to see that all of you are losing weight and it is working for you.
I hope I can soon show off some lbs lost on my little ticker too

Dreaj79 · March 2009

On rest days or days when i miss a workout, I'll eat around 1200. The rest of the time I stick to 1500.

goldenreef · March 2009

Hi Hanna,

I just finished my 1st month and lost 11.5 lbs total on 1200. I work out 3x a week for 50 minutes. I too used to yo-yo with calories. I found that if I eat at 6 times a day, I don't feel hungry, ever. If I skip eating, I'm ravenous!!! Definitely utilize the menu planner on MFP, it really helps! I use it every morning and plan my meal day, this way I am not "tempted" to go off!

GOOD LUCK! :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

scrappy11 · March 2009

Hi Hanna, I started out with the 1200 cals a day in the first month and a half and then transitioned into losing 1lb a week instead of 2 because I was down to 148..I am now 143 and hit a plateau so just today I switched it to losing 1/2lb a week. Some others can go with 1200 cals the whole way through but I am only 13lbs to my goal weight so it's a little harder for me. If you are hungry with the 1200 cals and feel like its not enough I would go with 1lb a week just because you don't want to starve yourself because than you won't lose any weight! Do what feels right..Good luck!
Nikki

1crazymom · March 2009

The 1200 didn't work for me.(3 wks 1 lb, exercising 5 days). Other members suggested I bump up my cal. intake, I did to 1340 and lost 3 lbs in one week. (exercising 5 days). Good luck!

chrissyh · March 2009

It worked for the first 40 pounds but since then I'm at 1350-1400, I stopped losing at 1200

Hanna1983 · March 2009

Wow, so different feedback now.

I am not a very patient person and I thought with 1200 cals (1.3 lbs per week projected weight loss) I could reach my goal quicker than with the recommended 1340 cals / day (recommended 1 lb / week weight loss)... :ohwell:

I definitely dont want to hit a plateau by eating not enough calories. I know that if I would stop seeing results I would give up. So a plateau worries me the most.

I tried to go back in my food planner and see how many calories I consumed when I lost the 5 lbs before xmas but my food planner seems empty for the past year. :frown:

I am not sure if maybe I dont have enough to lose that I should do 1200 cals / day?

I "only" want to lose 32 lbs. Now to me that is an awful lot, but I heard before that 1200 cals is really for those who have more to lose.

What do you guy think?

Sparksfly · March 2009

I usually do 1200 calories a day whenever I am trying to lose weight. The last time I tried to lose 20lbs it took me 3 months or so to lose 20lbs and at least an hour of cardio 4x a week.

I look back now and I think that 1200 might have been too low. Maybe if I had raised it to 1400 a day I would have lost it faster.

This time around I am at 1200-1300 calories a day (that extra 100 as a cushion) and not really exercising (I live in a city so I really walk everywhere) and I think I have lost weight rather quickly. I have yet to weigh myself since I began at the beginning on Feb 09. I am planning for a drs. appt at the end of April so I will use that as my official weigh in. I think I would become obsessed with the number if I weighed myself once a week.

I guess it's all trial and error to see what works for you. People have commented on my weight loss so far and I can definately wear my smaller clothes easily so I think its working.

I probably could lose 30lbs total overall. We will see!

1200 cals / day and success?

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