1200 Calorie Diet Newbhie! Please Answer!!!!

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lhenzki5781
lhenzki5781 Posts: 5
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Hi, I am new here, just joined 1 week ago, I am following 1200 calorie diet with 1 to 1 and half hour of cardio exercise, I am currently 143 Pounds and my goal is 120 pounds, i am afraid about starvation mode i saw on the websites! But with 1200 Calorie diet i made sure that all the nutrients my body gets is from GOOD source and my Carb intake is just 160GM and below and 20-30% of Fat and the rest calorie I get from Protein. Can anyone tell me if i'm doing the right thing? is there anyone here have done the same thing and loose weight fast? I want to reach my GOAL till April do you think it's possible? Please give me idea and motivations! Please add me as well! Thank you!

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  • katiew00t
    katiew00t Posts: 164
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    I'm guessing 1200 calories is way too low for you, especially if you are working out that much. Your body will go into starvation mode, and you won't get healthy results. Don't try to lose more than 1 pound a week.
  • healthytiger
    healthytiger Posts: 20
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    Hi!

    I'd say if you eat your exercice calories back, there's no problem with a 1200 kcal diet! But...you have to eat them back ^_^!
  • TRMite
    TRMite Posts: 60 Member
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    eat more. add a protein smoothies (I do vanilla muscle milk powder with banana, milk and coffee or with the powder with OJ and milk) so you get about 300 more calories or so in a healthy way. at least on the exercise days, do that right after your workout. will help with the recovery too.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,701 Member
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    Hi, I am new here, just joined 1 week ago, I am following 1200 calorie diet with 1 to 1 and half hour of cardio exercise, I am currently 143 Pounds and my goal is 120 pounds, i am afraid about starvation mode i saw on the websites! But with 1200 Calorie diet i made sure that all the nutrients my body gets is from GOOD source and my Carb intake is just 160GM and below and 20-30% of Fat and the rest calorie I get from Protein. Can anyone tell me if i'm doing the right thing? is there anyone here have done the same thing and loose weight fast? I want to reach my GOAL till April do you think it's possible? Please give me idea and motivations! Please add me as well! Thank you!
    Guessing that you're about 5'2", your BMR is 1427. Add on the daily activity and exercise, your TDEE is probably around 2000 or a little more. So by eating 1200 then burning off at least 450 calories your NET calorie intake is 750. Way too low for you. You should be eating at the very least 1500 calories a day to lose a pound a week.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • BrienJD
    BrienJD Posts: 541 Member
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    Quit with the 1200. Am I missing something? why are there so many folks on these 1200 or less calorie diets?????? No offense OP it just boggles my mind. Everyone seems to want to lose weight, but come on, 1200 calories for an active person is just nuts! I have trouble enough at nearly 1900 on days I don't exercise, I would go insane if I had to be resticted to 1200. I don't think most people can sustain a 1200 calorie (if you have a choice in the matter, realizing that there are people that subsist on less, although involuntarily) diet for very long. I am new as well, so I don't claim to know much of anything and I don't claim any superior knowledge of fitness, but it just sounds so wrong. For me, I WOULD go bonkers and this diet would be like all the other restrictive and denial based plans I have seen before. EAT and stay healthy! I eat, and I have lost 13 pounds. Off the soapbox. Restated: No offense intended whatsoever to you personally OP.
  • StrawberrySt
    StrawberrySt Posts: 235
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    Hi, I am new here, just joined 1 week ago, I am following 1200 calorie diet with 1 to 1 and half hour of cardio exercise, I am currently 143 Pounds and my goal is 120 pounds, i am afraid about starvation mode i saw on the websites! But with 1200 Calorie diet i made sure that all the nutrients my body gets is from GOOD source and my Carb intake is just 160GM and below and 20-30% of Fat and the rest calorie I get from Protein. Can anyone tell me if i'm doing the right thing? is there anyone here have done the same thing and loose weight fast? I want to reach my GOAL till April do you think it's possible? Please give me idea and motivations! Please add me as well! Thank you!

    I'm very similar to you and it's so important to eat your exercise calories back! Don't deprive your body of fuel to have energy.

    You won't lose 23 pounds by April in a healthy way, so it's not going to be a sustainable lifestyle for you and you may regain the weight. Do you want a healthy, fit body for the long term? That should be your goal.

    Good luck!
  • poundsgalore
    poundsgalore Posts: 99 Member
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    I think people are getting confused with 1200 calories a day. I think some are not including their exercise calories in. It can be confusing to some starting out. I believe some think they need to only consume 1200 calories even if they are working out and are not aware they should be adding more calories for the workout. Seems to be a common issue.
  • lhenzki5781
    lhenzki5781 Posts: 5
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    Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts! i really don't know that i am not doing the right thing as i thought that i should exercise while keeping 1200 calories.. Because i also have seen that there is no such starvation mode unless your body fat percentage is only 10%.. But now i am afraid that if i add more calories maybe i will gain weight! oHHh dieting really makes me crazy!
  • tracy337
    tracy337 Posts: 199 Member
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    OP its trial and error. Everyone is different. Some can't eat back exercise cals without gaining some Have to eat them back or they stall. If you notice what your doing isn't causing loss then try adding cals up them by 100 or 200 and give it 2 weeks for your body to adjust. One you find the right amount of calories for YOUR body and activity level and you will lose.
  • katiew00t
    katiew00t Posts: 164
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    Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts! i really don't know that i am not doing the right thing as i thought that i should exercise while keeping 1200 calories.. Because i also have seen that there is no such starvation mode unless your body fat percentage is only 10%.. But now i am afraid that if i add more calories maybe i will gain weight! oHHh dieting really makes me crazy!

    oy. where are you reading these things? bottom line, if you are exercising and are only consuming a total of 1200 cal, you are playing with fire. don't do it.
  • capricorn0120
    capricorn0120 Posts: 109 Member
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    If you're excercising that much you need to add more food (eat back the calories you burned). Are you tracking everything in your food and exercise trackers? If you are, you will notice how many more calories you should be eating after exercising.

    Losing weight fast isn't a great thing to do because at some point it will alll come back, I know, I've done it. So take your time losing the pounds and doing it right.
  • Bellamia4910
    Bellamia4910 Posts: 11
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    How many calories does MFP recommend? I think you should stick to their recommendation and should be good. It's working for me. :happy:
  • cassy30
    cassy30 Posts: 18
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    Hi im new here too! im 5.1 and weigh about 155! MFP also put me on a 1200 calorie count! Now, when i workout i record my workouts too! When i say how much cal i lost, the calorie count changes. I loose 400 working out it allows me to eat another 400. sometimes i do sometimes i dont, i havent really been on top of my game for a while, i guess i too need help and motivation!! I'll help u and u help me!!!
  • lhenzki5781
    lhenzki5781 Posts: 5
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    Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts! i really don't know that i am not doing the right thing as i thought that i should exercise while keeping 1200 calories.. Because i also have seen that there is no such starvation mode unless your body fat percentage is only 10%.. But now i am afraid that if i add more calories maybe i will gain weight! oHHh dieting really makes me crazy!

    oy. where are you reading these things? bottom line, if you are exercising and are only consuming a total of 1200 cal, you are playing with fire. don't do it.


    Thanks katie.. How much calorie should i maximum?
  • mcma2011
    mcma2011 Posts: 2 Member
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    1200 is reasonable, but as others had already pointed out, these should be total calories. That means that you have to calculate your workout calories and add them back to your daily budget.
  • SwimKitty
    SwimKitty Posts: 122 Member
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    This site could help you figure out how many calories you should eat:

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Good luck! And if you are working out that much, do consider eating at least half of the calories burned as well.
  • Snowbunny95
    Snowbunny95 Posts: 47 Member
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    Honestly, I don't bother with the math. MFP starts me with 1200 everyday (kinda nice to see that in the morning). I just watch the green number and try not to turn to red. MFP automatically adds the workout calories to what you can eat everyday. Sometimes if it is a ridiculous number of calories, I cannot make up (I get a couple thousand when I ski all day) I try for 1500-1600 and let it be. Otherwise, if I know I'm just working all day and no chance of working out (thanks damn unknown muscle causing knee pain), then I just stay with the 1200....just watch the number at the top. Try to get it as close to 0 as I can. 1200 is supposed to be the minimum number of calories per day - gotta support your body somehow. The recommended dietary allowance is still around 2000, so 1200 is a good bare minimum.
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/317868-rda-calories-per-day/

    Just my $0.02

    Good luck with your loss and remember it is supposed to be a lifestyle change, not just a fad. :)
  • lhenzki5781
    lhenzki5781 Posts: 5
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    Hi im new here too! im 5.1 and weigh about 155! MFP also put me on a 1200 calorie count! Now, when i workout i record my workouts too! When i say how much cal i lost, the calorie count changes. I loose 400 working out it allows me to eat another 400. sometimes i do sometimes i dont, i havent really been on top of my game for a while, i guess i too need help and motivation!! I'll help u and u help me!!!


    Hi Cassy! Yes let's support each other!

    You know guys what i am feeling even my MFP says that i still have 400 or 500 calories to spend, i feel guilty..because really 1200 Calories is enough for me, i don't feel deprived and hungry because i am getting those Calories from GOOD sources. Just one Question, Does anyone know why some Dieticians advise their patient to undergo Very Low Calorie Diet which is 400 - 800 Calories per day and became successful in loosing weight fast? why they didn't experience starvation mode which will slows down the weight loss? 400-800 is too low but still they loose fat why?
  • katiew00t
    katiew00t Posts: 164
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    Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts! i really don't know that i am not doing the right thing as i thought that i should exercise while keeping 1200 calories.. Because i also have seen that there is no such starvation mode unless your body fat percentage is only 10%.. But now i am afraid that if i add more calories maybe i will gain weight! oHHh dieting really makes me crazy!

    oy. where are you reading these things? bottom line, if you are exercising and are only consuming a total of 1200 cal, you are playing with fire. don't do it.


    Thanks katie.. How much calorie should i maximum?


    As long as you stay under your calorie total (which includes what you've earned from exercise) you'll be fine.
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
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    "Quit with the 1200. Am I missing something? why are there so many folks on these 1200 or less calorie diets?????? No offense OP it just boggles my mind. Everyone seems to want to lose weight, but come on, 1200 calories for an active person is just nuts!"

    It is because MFP puts many people at a 1200 calorie per day goal. Of course that does not include extra calories for exercise, but many people feel bad about using those or don't want to for other reasons. I, for one, am leary of the amounts that MFP estimates for exercise. The calorie totals that the machine gives are much, much lower than those MFP estimates for me. I usually do eat a bit more on days I work out, but not the full amount that MFP gives.

    I also wanted to say that I have never heard of a dietician putting someone on a 400-800 cal diet. But, I do wonder how much the contestants on The Biggest Loser eat since they are working out all day. Seems that you would have to be eating a huge volume of food if you are eating a very low fat diet.

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