Seriously ... 1200 calories or less

I'm not the sort to fast, but I do think that the timing of my calorie consumption plays a huge role in how I lose weight. For example, I find that if I eat a protien- or calorie-heavy breakfast, I have fewer issues with hunger or food cravings for the rest of the day, whereas if I skip breakfast I have a hard time shaking that hungry feeling for the next 12 hours. I've also found that eating right before going to bed slows down my weight loss or causes me to gain - I try to stop eating 2-3 hours before I plan to hit the sack.

I am doing a protein sparing modified fast and have lost 26 lbs (10% of my starting weight) since Jan 21. My typical daily intake is under 600 calories. I'm not starving, I have plenty of energy, and I really think about what I'm eating now. If I think I want something I know is bad for me, I don't just run to the fridge. I sit and think about it, "Do I really want this, or am I just bored?" "Am I actually craving this particular thing, or just some sort of food in general?" Different things work for different people.

I hope I'm misinterpreting this. You're sparing protein - as in, not eating it, eating under 600 calories a day and have lost 26lbs since January. Hate to say it, but if I have that right, it isn't primarily fat you're losing.

BMR and TDEE..... not the same thing. Find a calculator online for your TDEE, then 20% less than that number.

20% of my BMR is 1234
20% of my TDEE is 1984
That's a pretty big gap...do I set it to somewhere in the middle, and just not eat back my exercise calories? Why is this crap so confusing??!?!?

It's not. Take your BMI. Let's say it's 1800. You are Sedentary, so to find your TDEE, we multiply that by 1.2. Your TDEE is 2160. To subtract 20% from your TDEE, multiply 2160 by 0.8, which gives you 1728 - only that is too low, because you shouldn't eat below your BMR.

So, try again with subtracting 15% (2160*0.85) and you get 1836. Still a bit close and you should really consider a 10% deficit, but it's much better than eating below your BMR.


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My BMR for instance is 2475.
My TDEE, as lightly active, is 3465.

Because I have a lot to lose, a 20% deficit for me is safe for now and leaves me at 2772 calories per day. I have my goal set slightly lower than this in my diary to account for discrepancies and sauces, seasonings etc.

What everyone seems to have missed is that this is NET CALORIES!!! Walk every day for 30mins so you can consume more food! fill the appetite gap by exercise and burning calories...

I have trouble eating 1200 calories. In fact, I rarely get to 1200. However, I'm not gonna eat all high-cal foods or binge to reach the magic number. I'm not starving, I eat what I want, when I want, the only thing low-fat in my diet is my yogurt, AND, I've had no trouble losing weight either.

What everyone seems to have missed is that this is NET CALORIES!!! Walk every day for 30mins so you can consume more food! fill the appetite gap by exercise and burning calories...

Exactly! Today I have 1677 calories because I WORKED for 477 of them.

In my opinion(that's right, my OPINION), here is what I have learned from weight loss(and we are talking about a 15 year period here, starting at when I was 13)

Weight Watchers-only works if you read everything and go to meetings, for me. I lost 50lbs when I was 13 and I gained it all back, plus some. Because I was a kid and I wanted to eat like my friends. Tried it again as an adult, never lost more than 10-15 pounds.

Tried Atkins-wasn't sustainable for me, I'm Italian, I like pasta.

Finally, at age 30, I've learned that to lose the weight, it not only has to come from changing how you eat, but from inside as well. Your head will mess with you, tell you you can't eat a certain food, or tell you that you're fat when you look in the mirror. I've read a ton of health related things and I bust my butt while in grad school to work so I can pay for a trainer once a week.

I've learned that for me, 1200 calories a day doesn't work. I tried it for 2 weeks and stopped losing. Now, I'm at 1900 calories, give or take. I eat 40/30/30, and I do cardio 2x a week and lift 3x a week.

EDIT-forgot to mention that I've lost 15lbs in two months, 5 inches from my waist, and 5 inches from my hips. And I EAT FOOD. I just had a burger for the first time in two months, and it was DELISH. I'm not depriving myself anymore, If I workout, I can eat. And I know that now.

This is a lifestyle change for me, NOT a diet.

And for the people complaining that they are being picked on for eating 1200 calories a day, remember this site is called my FITNESS pal and those of us recommending eating more have learned to lift heavier and fuel the body, we've learned that FITNESS helps.

That being said, some people might be okay with 1200 calories. To me, I cannot fathom sustaining a whole lifetime on this.

In my opinion(that's right, my OPINION), here is what I have learned from weight loss(and we are talking about a 15 year period here, starting at when I was 13)

Weight Watchers-only works if you read everything and go to meetings, for me. I lost 50lbs when I was 13 and I gained it all back, plus some. Because I was a kid and I wanted to eat like my friends. Tried it again as an adult, never lost more than 10-15 pounds.

Tried Atkins-wasn't sustainable for me, I'm Italian, I like pasta.

Finally, at age 30, I've learned that to lose the weight, it not only has to come from changing how you eat, but from inside as well. Your head will mess with you, tell you you can't eat a certain food, or tell you that you're fat when you look in the mirror. I've read a ton of health related things and I bust my butt while in grad school to work so I can pay for a trainer once a week.

I've learned that for me, 1200 calories a day doesn't work. I tried it for 2 weeks and stopped losing. Now, I'm at 1900 calories, give or take. I eat 40/30/30, and I do cardio 2x a week and lift 3x a week.

EDIT-forgot to mention that I've lost 15lbs in two months, 5 inches from my waist, and 5 inches from my hips. And I EAT FOOD. I just had a burger for the first time in two months, and it was DELISH. I'm not depriving myself anymore, If I workout, I can eat. And I know that now.

This is a lifestyle change for me, NOT a diet.

And for the people complaining that they are being picked on for eating 1200 calories a day, remember this site is called my FITNESS pal and those of us recommending eating more have learned to lift heavier and fuel the body, we've learned that FITNESS helps.

That being said, some people might be okay with 1200 calories. To me, I cannot fathom sustaining a whole lifetime on this.

nice post, totally agree!! :-)

I'm sure MFP only states a 1200 calorie diet if it's a short term goal you've entered? (e.g. half stone rather than 4 stones)

I'm sure MFP only states a 1200 calorie diet if it's a short term goal you've entered? (e.g. half stone rather than 4 stones)

MFP is just a calculator. It can only go by what numbers you plug in. It won't tell you, "Are you kidding me? You only weigh 120 pounds... you can't lose 2 pounds a week!"

That's what the forums are for.

Dropping down to 1200 calories was just what I needed to get my butt in the game. I helped me be WAY more cautious about measuring out serving sixes of my favorite foods and stuff like that. It helped me get a better picture of exactly how poorly I was actually eating when I thought I was doing good.

I completely understand what you guys are saying about it not being for everyone and that MFP is not telling you you have to do anything but, it does work for some people and everybody wants something that works right?

I am perfectly content with my calorie intake, 1200cals a day seems to be perfect, right now. I dont feel like I over eat and I am not left feeling hungry because I planned my meals better than I normally would. Through my 1200 cals a day I learned that even a burrito, 1 burrito from tacobell can be bad because I use 400+ cals and end up being hungry 2hours later.

In my opinion(that's right, my OPINION), here is what I have learned from weight loss(and we are talking about a 15 year period here, starting at when I was 13)

Weight Watchers-only works if you read everything and go to meetings, for me. I lost 50lbs when I was 13 and I gained it all back, plus some. Because I was a kid and I wanted to eat like my friends. Tried it again as an adult, never lost more than 10-15 pounds.

Tried Atkins-wasn't sustainable for me, I'm Italian, I like pasta.

Finally, at age 30, I've learned that to lose the weight, it not only has to come from changing how you eat, but from inside as well. Your head will mess with you, tell you you can't eat a certain food, or tell you that you're fat when you look in the mirror. I've read a ton of health related things and I bust my butt while in grad school to work so I can pay for a trainer once a week.

I've learned that for me, 1200 calories a day doesn't work. I tried it for 2 weeks and stopped losing. Now, I'm at 1900 calories, give or take. I eat 40/30/30, and I do cardio 2x a week and lift 3x a week.

EDIT-forgot to mention that I've lost 15lbs in two months, 5 inches from my waist, and 5 inches from my hips. And I EAT FOOD. I just had a burger for the first time in two months, and it was DELISH. I'm not depriving myself anymore, If I workout, I can eat. And I know that now.

This is a lifestyle change for me, NOT a diet.

And for the people complaining that they are being picked on for eating 1200 calories a day, remember this site is called my FITNESS pal and those of us recommending eating more have learned to lift heavier and fuel the body, we've learned that FITNESS helps.

That being said, some people might be okay with 1200 calories. To me, I cannot fathom sustaining a whole lifetime on this.

nice post, totally agree!! :-)

Thanks Em!!!

That being said, some people might be okay with 1200 calories. To me, I cannot fathom sustaining a whole lifetime on this.

I don't plan on maintaining a lifetime of 1200 NET calories. I plan on losing weight on that. When I get to a maintenance level, obviously I would not stay at 1200 NET.

That being said, some people might be okay with 1200 calories. To me, I cannot fathom sustaining a whole lifetime on this.

I don't plan on maintaining a lifetime of 1200 NET calories. I plan on losing weight on that. When I get to a maintenance level, obviously I would not stay at 1200 NET.

^^^this times 9000

Sad but true for a shortie (5ft0) and a desk job girl!!!
>>But for the other 5 foot desk job girls, 1200 is not starvation

It doesn't put you into starvation mode if you gain additional calories by walking 35+ mins or so or doing some cardio to gain you some extra calories. Also logging what you eat makes you aware of how much junk is consumed in an office weekly. I used to eat 2/3 Krispy Kreme's when someone brought them in for their birthday, now I limit myself to 1 and do some light cardio (zumba, walking). Weekends I go for a jog as I know I may eat more and may have some wine.

I am finally shedding weight (slowly) eating around 1,200 calories. I have always worked out, but as I have gotten older the weight has gotten harder to shift eating 1,500 a day.