Only 1200 calories?

MMarvelous · February 2012

I eat my BMR which is 1600 calories. Then I workout and eat some of my workout calories back but I try to leave at least 500 workout calories. I tried the 1200 calories for 2 DAYS lol...

GStar99 · February 2012

I am 5'9 and was recommended to eat 1200 calories when I signed up. However, after 2 weeks I have changed my goal to 1300. It has really worked for me. I have found its not always what your eating but when your eating it. If I eat protein in the morning it takes me through till lunch and healthy carbs for dinner will take me to bed time. Planning my meals at the beginning of the day really helps. Otherwise its stressful and too easy to just give in to cravings.

CoderGal · February 2012

I think this is ideal compared to 1200.

Debbiegh3303 · February 2012

Try doing HCG diet. Its only 500 calories a day.

PinkEarthMama · February 2012

I am " kinda " at 1200. ( I am 5'7 and start weight of 203.3 )

I put my activity level at sendentary. Therefore, I log MOST exercise related activities.

Going to the store? Counts as walking.

Spend two hours cleaning? Yep, I log that!

Went to the gym? Logged!

Then I eat back most, if not all of my exercise calories. Sometimes, this is 1500 total, sometimes 2000 total. Sometimes more, too! I try to NET 1200.

I've lost 10 lbs in a month, so it is currently working for me.

CoderGal · February 2012

Holy cow, do you do this? Today seems to be the "this is how you don't eat" day. I seriously just read a bunch of anorexic threads and profiles and then went and ate a sandwich because I was afraid the obsession would rub off on me (I'm not even joking).

I don't think starving yourself is for anyone, for anyone who's on this, I suggest being healthy instead.

http://www.2medusa.com/2010/05/simeons-protocol-dangerous-hcg-diet.html

wendinbill · February 2012

I'm 5'5" and started at 195...I do just fine at 1200. After the first couple days at least!

It's a lifestyle change, so I didn't adjust overnight. And some days I want to eat more, so I exercise more. (I do cardio at least 5 times a week) If I don't workout, I don't eat anything over 1200.

GurleyGirl524 · February 2012

I am 5'4" with a starting weight of 218. I have been at 1200 calories the whole time. I learned how to adjust my food and eating schedule in order to stay full. Lean proteins keep me full and I try to avoid processed/packaged food when possible and I definately try to stay away from fast food. It's not always easy and sometimes we just have to do what we have to do with what is available. You can do it, you will just have to figure out what works for you.

Di3012 · February 2012

Mainly because 1800 calories would be my maintenance weight, I would lose nothing on that.

I have done 1200 before, it works. What did not work was me eating crap after reaching my goal.

I do not consider it restricting either, I consider it eating less in order to lose weight.

rebeccazeno · February 2012

I have always found, that for me, the easiest way to cut calories is to watch what I drink. Drank a large lemonade yesterday and it had almost as many calories as my meal. I'm a soda adict too that's the first thing I cut. Water and coffee for me for a while and I will probably save about 200 - 300 calories a day plus the water is good for you...:-)

marycmeadows · February 2012

I'm 5'6'', started at 303.4 - currently at 200.8 - when I was eating 1200 - i plateaued. upped to 1400 -- lost and then plateaued again -- upped to 1600 -- lost and got stuck again. now I stagger my calories and eat between 1600-2000 calories a day, depending on exercise. works well for me.

ATT949 · February 2012

I rarely ate that much when I was losing weight and I started my journey at 294.5

In the seven months when I was losing, I was hungry a total of five times. I don't know if it helped but I switched my protein and carb percentages so I was about 50% protein and 25% carbs. Check my diary for the gory details. :-)

http://cbeinfo.net/weight.htm

misscaligreen · February 2012

I want to set my daily goal at 1200 calories but MFP has me at 1310. Is there any way to change it? I realize that I can just eat 1200 a day and ignore my MFP goal but I want it all to match up?

crystalmangold81 · February 2012

I've eaten only 120 calories or less since September 2011. I am 5'4 and was 197lbs, I am now 152lbs. It is doable... it takes dedication and drive, but it can be done. The first two months are the most critical if you ask me, but it has been very worth it. The last couple of months, I have hit the gym and started running alot, as my weightloss has slowed down... but I'm telling you, saying no to all those calories is well worth it in the end. I was a size 16/18 and now I'm an 8/10.

Good luck and stick to it!!

Crystal

jessicart77 · February 2012

I recommend that you start out at the 1500 calories alotted if your goal is to lose a 1 lb a week. I've changed my eating before and went straight from my old eating habits to 1200 calories and was starving all the time. I was about your weight at that time.

I've had a baby since then and started out at 209 lbs @ 5'3" (I've lost 11 lbs in 35 days!) this time of eating better. I started out at the 1500 calories and hardly ever went over and as the weeks went by my body automatically adjusted itself and I'm at 1200 caloreis each day now. Sometimes I may even have to have a glass of milk before bed because I'm below 1200 and I never finish a day below 1200. And that's even the vitamin D milk and not the 2% that I'll normally drink.

CoderGal · February 2012

I think you missed a zero :P

numindan · February 2012

^ THIS!!

I've been working on my weight loss for just over 2 years (I lost 65 lbs before registering on this site). It took a year to lose 65 lbs on an 1800 cal diet but I was never hungry, never felt "denied", never needed to "cheat" or "treat" myself. My motto was everything in moderation and it worked wonders. I then spent 8 months maintaining that weight loss before I signed up here to work on losing the last 25. Because I lost slowly at a non-ridiculous calorie level & had built new lean muscle mass, my metabolism never slowed down and my maintenance calories were well over 2200/day.

[rant]
I expect the women on this site are not 80 year old comatose patients 5'0 or under. So why does everyone try to eat like one? Sure, you'll lose weight quicker than I will, but the long term health implications just don't seem worth it to me. At minimum I believe it's best to eat your BMR and adjust that number as you lose weight.

Also, drives me bonkers when I read posts by men claiming to be healthy on a 1200 calorie diet!

The minimum calorie intake for a dying male family member (5'10, 175 lbs) when he was in a coma was 1650. His calorie alotments for tube feeding were written on the charts. For the two months he was in the coma he lost weight and he wasn't moving at all! Just basic body functioning.

I can't imagine how 1200 calories can be healthy or sustainable for a walking, talking, breathing male.
[/rant]

Di3012 · February 2012

Personally, I just explained why I am on 1200 calories per day.

Why do people continually try to question the 1200 calories per day as if it is a starvation diet?? It is not, it is completely and utterly doable if the food eaten is healthy and contains protein.

For your information, I have tried eating 1650 calories per day, I stopped losing weight. I've done all this before, it works. What does not work is eating crap after reaching goal. That is what I did and hence why I am back again.

My BMR is 1380

Di3012 · February 2012

duplicated post

ForeverSparkleandShine · February 2012

I tried MFP's suggested numbers, but I finally had to do my own research; 1800 calories is what works for ME. With this, I lowered my unhealthy carb intake, upped my healthy carb and protein intake, and lowered my fat and sugar intake. This works flawless with my lifestyle and my workout routine. If 1200 calories is what works for you, awesome. It just baffles me as to how someone could commit to such a low calorie intake and be successful. I know I couldn't!

ForeverSparkleandShine · February 2012

P.S. Please don't take my posts offensively; I'm not trying to attack your lifestyle, nor your choice in diet. It's your body, your life! I salute you in your weight loss and I only hope for the best results. If 1200 works for you, keep it up!

jadedone · February 2012

I am going to be completely honest. 1200 calories doesn't work for me. Maybe 1 or 2 days in a week, but it isn't sustainable for me. I need 1350-1500 if it isn't a workout day.

What happened to me, I'd feel ok after dinner, and then at about 9p I would have an extreme hunger attack.

psuLemon · February 2012

The downside to this approach, eating below your metabolic rate for extended periods of time will cause your body to adapt and slow your metabolism. You can confirm this by tracking body fat as well as weight loss. This is very apparent with programs that have VLCD's. The few that have provided me their data slowed their metabolism by 30% due to the high amount of lean muscle mass loss.

Now, I understand it's possible to offset some of it by eating additional protein and ideally with weight loss you want to minimize loss of lean muscle mass to 10% or less but why not prevent it by eating a few extra calories? Long term success will come faster when understanding the conditions.

Also, for all those on 1200 calorie diet, how long do you think you will be able to stay on it?

ps- I eat 3000 calories and i still lose weight, cut body fat and maintain lean muscle mass. BTW, i am 5'11 male at 200 lbs. And for those that say, well you are a guy... of course you can eat like that... I have worked with tons of women that are eating 2000+ calories. See sources below.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/395881-people-who-lost-weight-eating-more

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/395948-caloric-intake-results?hl=caloric+intake+results&page=1#posts-5425208

ClaytonRosa · February 2012

As others noted, this really varies and it is based on your current weight, your goals, your level of physical activity, etc. There are lots of variables at play.

Personally, I'm 5'9 inches, and weigh about 198 lbs, which by most calculations makes me "heavy" but I have a body fat percentage teetering around 9.5%. You also want to consider your body fat percentage when determining what your caloric intake should be. This will also be informed by your goals. For me, I want to drop a few pounds and also decrease my body fat (don't want to lose too much muscle). Considering men have essential fat up to 5%, this means I have about 4.5% of fat I can drop, which equates to about 9 lbs.

A few other folks here shared helpful resources that can help you learn how many calories you burn on an average. Because of my physical activity, on average I burn about 3,300 calories. This means I have to eat, eat, eat. So I consume about 2,200 calories on a daily basis, which leads to dropping about 1 lb per week.

lambertj · February 2012

"Also, for all those on 1200 calorie diet, how long do you think you will be able to stay on it? "

I plan to do it until I hit my goal weight (about 10 weeks, give or take) and then slowly add more calories per day/per week until I find the amount that is my maintenance level. I'm thinking it will be close to 2000 as long as I keep working out 5 days a week. What I am doing now is what I truly feel will be sustainable for the long haul, I'm eating very clean and not ever hungry. I get one cheat meal and dessert a week, my stomach no longer hurts and I no longer take medication for digestive issues (IBS)

Di3012 · February 2012

The reason I know I can stay on 1200 calories per day, exercise on it and not have a slowed metabolism is because I did it for six months a few years back. Shock, horror, because 22 years ago, I went on a 1000 calories per day diet for three months and had the same effect.l

Please do not tell me I can eat 2000 calories per day, that makes me gain weight and I have absolutely no need to eat that much in one day, what would happen, for instance, if I were eating such large amounts such as 2000 or 2500 calories per day and suddenly fell ill and was unable to train. I tell you exactly what would happen the weight would pile on, because I would be unable to burn it off.

I do not need to eat more and my diet worked before and it is working just fine now.

ps to be even more shocking to many people, I also run up to 10k on 1200 calories and do not eat back my exercise calories and guess what.....my metabolism has not slowed down and will not, because I am exercising. Exercise keeps the metabolism going. It is not all about food.

Di3012 · February 2012

I think we are wasting our time trying to explain how it works. We know it works just fine, it has been proved again and again, I don't know about you, but I'll be sticking with it, I only have 15lbs left to lose anyway, be onto maintenance then and will be doing as you are going to do, adding food bit by bit until I reach the level that will stay roughly in the same place. :flowerforyou:

chattipatty2 · February 2012

that's what i did. I decreased it to 1lb per week which is what mfp recommends. this put me at 1380 calories a day. this was reasonable. and i put my exercise calories in at the end of the day. but not hungry enough to try to eat enough to eat them back.

chattipatty2 · February 2012

5'4, 170 lbs with a 20 lb wt loss goal. going with mfp 1 lb per week wt loss recommondations, and that put me at 1380 cals per day which so far, day 3, seem to be plenty.
then i go work out, and it gives me back 300-500 calories, I log them in towards the end of the day. but am never hungry enough to eat them.
hope im doing this right too. Patty

psuLemon · February 2012

Can I ask a legitimate question without thinking it's an attack? How do you know you haven't decreased your metabolic rate over time? Did you have it tested before and after? Or do you know your body fat now as compared to when you started? I ask because it's actually kind of difficult to maintain a metabolism through weight loss. Heck,it's normal to lose 10% of your weight from LBM.

In the end, I know there are multiple views on weight loss. Some only care for weight and some care about body fat. Some care about hitting a specific pant/dress size and so forth. My biggest thing is make sure people understand, to my best knowledge, what and how they are losing it. Yes, it is very possible to lose on 1200 calories per day but yes it's possible to lose on 1800 calories or in my case 3000. And yes, losing weight is a slightly different approach than doing body recomposition (eliminating bod fat and maintain lean muscle mass). And with either way, I just want to make sure people know how this site is set up and what it means to do each approach.

I am very glad you found what works for you :drinker:

Only 1200 calories?

Replies

Categories