How is 1200 Calories working for you?

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  • LiveEnjoyEndure
    LiveEnjoyEndure Posts: 98 Member
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    I pretty much feel hungry all the time. But this does not bother me so much as my cravings are low when I exercise in the morning, which gives me a dopamine high throughout the day. I also eat small and regular meals 6 times a day with 400 calories in each meal/snack. This helps me psychologically as it is never long till I am eating again :-) I aim to earn 800 calories a day thru exercise so I have around 2000 calories which allows me to eat 400 calories 6 times a day.
  • Kristina0202
    Kristina0202 Posts: 188 Member
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    I've been doing 1200 calories for almost a year and it's working for me. Sometimes I feel hungry but now if I eat more than 1200 calories a day I feel gross and bloaty.
  • GettinMyLifeBck
    GettinMyLifeBck Posts: 201 Member
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    I think it depends on your weight!! I went down to 1200 and I went into starvation mode and plateaued for almost a month. I increased my calories and started to lose.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    The biggest problem I had with 1200 was that I always felt like I had to stay UNDER it. Even though eating 1203 calories, for instance, is just fine, psychologically, didn't want the negative red numbers. It made me obsessive. I could stay under no problem on days I exercised and earned more calories, but it made me not want to take rest days because I wanted to be able to eat more. Several weeks, maybe a couple months, with no rest days, is not good.

    The second problem was that I did better netting around 1400-1500. :wink: I'm glad I realized early on that I could eat a lot more and get the same, or better, results.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    I would like to know how long 1200 calorie people stuck with their diet and what their results were in the long term?

    Anyone reach their goal with 1200 and what happened then?
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
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    When I first started this adventure in June, 1200 calories was out of the question. I would have been starving. I think I started out with 1800 in order to lose 1 lb per week. I am down to 1500 and for some reason, I feel like this is more than enough. The only time it becomes an issue is on nights when I go out to the pub because beer and stout are pretty calorie-rich. (as is most alcohol).
    I hope this doesn't change, but for the past week or so, I have found myself consciously eating enough calories, because with the food choices I have made, I am getting plenty to eat at around 1100 calories. That ain't enough so I have to make sure I eat a little more to put me over the top. This usually includes one of my most beloved foods: Ginger snaps. :)
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
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    1200 calories certainly motivates me to do high-intensity workouts every day so I can eat more.
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
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    I would like to know how long 1200 calorie people stuck with their diet and what their results were in the long term?

    Anyone reach their goal with 1200 and what happened then?
    As you get closer to your goal, 1200 is it for you. I lost my weight eating whatever was appropriate to lose 1 pound a week. Now that I'm like 3lb from goal, 1200 is what's appropriate for losing 1lb a week. It's not awful, but as I said previously, it does keep me motivated to exercise harder because I like booze and sugar so much. :smile:
  • Alka97
    Alka97 Posts: 74
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    im on 900kcl now for 1 month, i feel good on it before that diet i was 1200kcl and after i will be 1200 kcl again, it works for me and i feel like sometimes its even to much :/
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    I did 1200 calories for 7 months. The result was lost of muscle so I had to put myself at maintenance for 2 months, start strenght training. Right now I am back at 1200 calories but it's only for 2 weeks at a time in order to lose fat then back at maintenance.
  • Artemis_Acorn
    Artemis_Acorn Posts: 836 Member
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    I'm set to lose 1-1/2 pounds a week and MFP currently has whittled me down to 1220. I started closer to 1400, but MFP cuts you back as you lose. On rest days when I don't exercise, I fill up with veggies and a little fruit and I don't feel deprived. I do enjoy having a bigger allowance of calories when I exercise - so it's great incentive to be more active. If I decide I can't live with it, I'll reset to 1 pound a week and take the slower pace. I love that we have options.
  • bethdris
    bethdris Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I was doing a wide variety, and if planned correctly I am okay on pretty much any calorie range. (i dont eat back my workout cals). My diary is open if you need any ideas!:)
  • imafatloser
    imafatloser Posts: 31
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    I started out on 1200 calories...lost 28 pounds since June 1st. I'm about halfway to my goal. I didn't find it hard to stay within the 1200 range if I made good choices, and have felt really great the entire time. But...my weight has been stagnant for about a month now, so I just upped my calories to 1430 a day. Keep in mind I'm older (51), short (5'.1") and have a tiny frame. My activity setting is "sedentary" and I chose "lose 1 pound a week"...even if I choose .5 pounds MFP only gives me a 1200 calorie allowance. I rarely log my exercise...heck, I rarely exercise. ;) That's the next thing that has to change.

    To get my stats, I used calculations found here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/stroutman81?page=2 and then customized my settings.

    It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks. Hoping for the kind of results I've been reading about from the eat more to lose crowd. What they're saying makes a lot of sense to me.
  • Mmmary212
    Mmmary212 Posts: 410 Member
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    1200 calories does not work for me, I usually get close to 1000 just at breakfast.
  • hazelnutflav
    hazelnutflav Posts: 391 Member
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    1200 worked form me the first few months i was here bec i work out 5xs a week i was always allowed to eat back my workout calories, however i dont work out on the weekends and 1200 was not enough for those two days, so i upped them to 1350 and i have been fine ever since, i dont feel hungry or deprived i always drink enough water and shoot for a salad if i want anything more to eat..


    but as you can see everyone here is different so you just have to larn to adjust those calories to work for you try doing it for a month at a time and see how that goes.
  • jldr522
    jldr522 Posts: 4 Member
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    Initially the 1200 was difficult but it helped me time out my meals more appropriately as well as make better choices. Some days I go over but that's to be expected. If I want to eat more, I'll eat more... but I try to be reasonable. I've tried to change my mindset to eat for survival, not because food is delicious and this has helped tremendously. As long as you're not a foodie, it works pretty well too.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    I would like to know how long 1200 calorie people stuck with their diet and what their results were in the long term?

    Anyone reach their goal with 1200 and what happened then?

    The thing about the 1200 calorie goal/limit/whatever is that that's what MFP tells a lot of people to do *if they're not exercising at all*. Once you do some exercise and burn some calories, you get to eat more than 1200. My daily goal is 1210 calories, but today I did a total fluke thing and burned a little over 1000 calories. (kind of abnormal for me - usually I'd burn about 400-500, but I worked harder today b/c I wanted dessert! LOL) So today my goal was over 2200 b/c MFP added in that 1000 that I burned off. I think I'm only going to manage to eat about 2000. There comes a point where I just can't stuff anything else into my face that day. LOL I've been doing this for 3 months now and really have had no problems sticking with it b/c exercising means I get to eat more. The very few times that I've had a problem going over it was b/c I didn't have nutritional info in front of me at the time that I had to make my choices (eating at family's house, etc). And even then I managed to go over by less than 300, so I just worked a little harder the next day in my workout to burn a little more than necessary for that day.

    I'm about halfway to my goal. When I actually get there (or to a point where I'm happy even though I may not meet the exact 'number' - just based on how I'll look and feel) - at that point I'll switch my goal over to 'maintenance' and follow that plan, continuing to eat my extra calories that I burn during workouts.
  • Ifly4free
    Ifly4free Posts: 203 Member
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    I don't have a problem eating 1200 cals a day. If you look at my diary I actually eat quite alot of food. Some days i am more hungry than others, but for the most part 1200 is enough.



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