eating 1200

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shellsy0424
shellsy0424 Posts: 127 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been reading a lot on here about eating more calories for success but what I am wondering is if anyone is having good results with NOT eating your exercise calories back and sticking to the 1200 recommended calories?? Curiosity has me wondering if it's possible to eat 1200, exercise and still lose. It seems that the hot topic is always about eating more but to me this just doesn't make sense, even though it is explained well.
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Replies

  • Coyla
    Coyla Posts: 444 Member
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    There's one big problem with it: It's not sustainable. And when you start eating more, you tend to gain everything you've lost.

    I'm in the market to lose slowly and keep it off. I'm not interested in crash-dieting now, then gaining it all back plus a few, then needing to crash diet again. I believe that's why so many women fail at maintaining healthy bodies. They take things too far. They either starve themselves or gorge themselves, no middle ground. As women, we need to develop a better relationship with food and our bodies.

    P.S. Constantly losing weight and gaining it back causes premature aging.
  • branditabonita
    branditabonita Posts: 30 Member
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    well I knw this is a hot topic, but personal experience is that I have lost 25 lbs NOT eating my calories back. My sister has lost 45...it works for some and not for others. It hink some people are so sensitive about it because they feel they NEED to eat the calories back because theya re so hungry, or want "eat your calories back" to be the right answer so they dont feel bad about doing so. Personally I don't care what others are doing I do what is best for me, and that is I eat 1200 calories, burn about 5-600 working out 5 days per week, and I have been doing so for nearly 3 months and I feel fine. Thas just my personal opinion :)
  • branditabonita
    branditabonita Posts: 30 Member
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    oh yea, and I have lost my weight 1-2.8 lbs at a time so I am still in healthy range for losing weight. Just do what makes you feel normal!!!
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
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    People do not eat exercise calories back because they feel like they need an excuse to eat more. This is simply the more sustainable and healthier approach to weight loss. You will have more energy in the long run and it will help you maintain the lean muscle you already have. If you want to hear success stories, that is fine, but these folks who are only half way to their weight loss goals are not good examples. Wait until they come back asking why their body fat percent is still high, or they have reached a stall in their weight loss. You have to remember that when you are losing weight, you are losing muscle as well. Eating enough and strength training is way to prevent losing too much of it.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    1200 calories per day here, not starving, I am sustaining.

    10lbs left to go.

    When on 1200 calories per day, WHAT you eat is vitally important.
  • shammxo
    shammxo Posts: 1,432 Member
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    It will only work for so long, and then your body will try to hang on to what it has because you're not giving it enough. I went from a size 11 to a size 3 and lost 31 lbs eating more than 1200 and working out. On days that I work/ed out, I eat/ate more. I eat when I'm hungry, and don't deprive myself of the things that I want.
    I don't always eat back all of my exercise calories, cause i'm not sure exactly how much I've burned (I don't really even trust my HRM) so I usually end up eating like half.
    But, whatever works for you. You just have to think about it in the long term...
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
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    People do not eat exercise calories back because they feel like they need an excuse to eat more. This is simply the more sustainable and healthier approach to weight loss. You will have more energy in the long run and it will help you maintain the lean muscle you already have. If you want to hear success stories, that is fine, but these folks who are only half way to their weight loss goals are not good examples. Wait until they come back asking why their body fat percentage is still high, or they have reached a stall in their weight loss. You have to remember that when you are losing weight, you are losing muscle as well. Eating enough and strength training is way to prevent losing too much of it.

    Exactly. I eat over 2000 calories a day to lose fat. I don't want to lose just weight, but fat. Eating 1200 a day and no exercise calories might work, but you lose a lot of muscle that way. So when people come back wondering why they are at a low weight put still look pudgy and not lean.. welll... there ya go.
  • donna_glasgow
    donna_glasgow Posts: 869 Member
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    I lost 28lbd while eating 1200 cals or under ... it took me about 4 months

    I then maintained the weight for a year before coming back to lose the last of my weight

    so it isd doable and sustainable .... my pics are on my profile of the weight lost :) as you can see I look perfectly healthy :)
  • JoKool
    JoKool Posts: 7
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    I was eating 1200 and I did lose....but I have since moved up to 1500 and I seem to be losing at the same pace....sometimes I eat my calories back and sometimes I don't.

    Since moving to 1500 I can say that I have WAY more energy....which in turn would make sense that I burn more. It takes fuel to burn fat!!!

    I also try to look at it as a weekly challenge.....if I go over one day...I try to go under another....it seems to be working...plus I don't feel so bad about it.
  • shammxo
    shammxo Posts: 1,432 Member
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    People do not eat exercise calories back because they feel like they need an excuse to eat more. This is simply the more sustainable and healthier approach to weight loss. You will have more energy in the long run and it will help you maintain the lean muscle you already have. If you want to hear success stories, that is fine, but these folks who are only half way to their weight loss goals are not good examples. Wait until they come back asking why their body fat percentage is still high, or they have reached a stall in their weight loss. You have to remember that when you are losing weight, you are losing muscle as well. Eating enough and strength training is way to prevent losing too much of it.

    Exactly. I eat over 2000 calories a day to lose fat. I don't want to lose just weight, but fat. Eating 1200 a day and no exercise calories might work, but you lose a lot of muscle that way. So when people come back wondering why they are at a low weight put still look pudgy and not lean.. welll... there ya go.

    Amen. The number on the scale isn't really what matters... Your numbers might be going down there, but you're losing valuable muscle and not that fat that you want to lose.
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
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    I think another important thing to add is that while it may work for whatever amount of time, it's unnecessary.
  • hiker282
    hiker282 Posts: 983 Member
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    It should also be noted that losing muscle means a slower metabolism and, therefore, a higher chance of gaining the weight back unless you intend to remain on a 1200 calorie/day diet for the rest of your life. That sounds like hell to me, but to each their own. I'll happily eat away my 2,800 calories a day and look awesome doing it!
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    You may lose, but you're not going to be fueling your body properly, so you won't really be getting healthier or more fit, which should be the goal anyway.
  • Crystal_Pistol
    Crystal_Pistol Posts: 750 Member
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    I just want to add that I am lurking around in here. Hello current pals who know well my motto :drinker:
  • branditabonita
    branditabonita Posts: 30 Member
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    It will only work for so long, and then your body will try to hang on to what it has because you're not giving it enough. I went from a size 11 to a size 3 and lost 31 lbs eating more than 1200 and working out. On days that I work/ed out, I eat/ate more. I eat when I'm hungry, and don't deprive myself of the things that I want.
    I don't always eat back all of my exercise calories, cause i'm not sure exactly how much I've burned (I don't really even trust my HRM) so I usually end up eating like half.
    But, whatever works for you. You just have to think about it in the long term...
    This is exactly my opinion..sometimes you do and sometimes you dont but you have to do what is best for you. I dont c y people get so rude about this topic..its NOT that serious! Just do what is common sense..if you are hungry..eat back some calories, if not, dont..simple as that! People lost weight before myfitnesspal was invented to tell them how many calories to eat back..so its definitely possible EITHER way
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
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    It will only work for so long, and then your body will try to hang on to what it has because you're not giving it enough. I went from a size 11 to a size 3 and lost 31 lbs eating more than 1200 and working out. On days that I work/ed out, I eat/ate more. I eat when I'm hungry, and don't deprive myself of the things that I want.
    I don't always eat back all of my exercise calories, cause i'm not sure exactly how much I've burned (I don't really even trust my HRM) so I usually end up eating like half.
    But, whatever works for you. You just have to think about it in the long term...
    This is exactly my opinion..sometimes you do and sometimes you dont but you have to do what is best for you. I dont c y people get so rude about this topic..its NOT that serious! Just do what is common sense..if you are hungry..eat back some calories, if not, dont..simple as that! People lost weight before myfitnesspal was invented to tell them how many calories to eat back..so its definitely possible EITHER way

    Just eating when you are hungry is not the best thing to go by. Ever heard of leptin and ghrelin, your hunger regulation hormones?
    Eating too little is going to do more harm than good in the long run.

    I also see no one being rude o.O
  • Pohudet
    Pohudet Posts: 179 Member
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    Over the last 16 years I had 5-6 periods of rapid weight loss, achieving my desired weight. I did it by limiting my calorie intake severely and adding exercise. In one case, I went on a medically supervised 5 day water fast. But each time I ended up gaining it all back, and then some. So now I am trying to do a slow weight loss process, in the hope that it will help me keep it off.
    With age it gets more and more difficult to lose weight.
    In my pre-menopausal years I lost 15 pounds in 2 months, and put them back on over the period of two years.
    Last summer I lost 10 pounds on my fast, kept this weight while I was on a no-salt, no-sugar vegan diet. I put back on 11 pounds in 6 months!
    That's why I decided to try the slow weight loss. I hope that there is some truth in this method. I am a little impatient that it is going so slow, but...
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    I'm sure you can lose weight this way. But why would you, when you don't have to?
  • Elizabeth_M
    Elizabeth_M Posts: 562 Member
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    This week I actually ate more than I normally do (averaged 1700 a day), I did my Ripped in 30 DVD 5-6 days and I lost 3 pounds. My goal every day w/o exercise was 1450 cals - so I basically ate my calories every day. Something to be said (perhaps) for eating MORE! :)
  • shammxo
    shammxo Posts: 1,432 Member
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    It will only work for so long, and then your body will try to hang on to what it has because you're not giving it enough. I went from a size 11 to a size 3 and lost 31 lbs eating more than 1200 and working out. On days that I work/ed out, I eat/ate more. I eat when I'm hungry, and don't deprive myself of the things that I want.
    I don't always eat back all of my exercise calories, cause i'm not sure exactly how much I've burned (I don't really even trust my HRM) so I usually end up eating like half.
    But, whatever works for you. You just have to think about it in the long term...
    This is exactly my opinion..sometimes you do and sometimes you dont but you have to do what is best for you. I dont c y people get so rude about this topic..its NOT that serious! Just do what is common sense..if you are hungry..eat back some calories, if not, dont..simple as that! People lost weight before myfitnesspal was invented to tell them how many calories to eat back..so its definitely possible EITHER way

    Just eating when you are hungry is not the best thing to go by. Ever heard of leptin and ghrelin, your hunger regulation hormones?
    Eating too little is going to do more harm than good in the long run.

    I also see no one being rude o.O

    I've definitely heard of these hormones. Reading up on these things ALSO taught me that it's really important to get at least 8 hours of sleep.
    Thing is, I'm always hungry. And I do usually eat 1900-2100 calories a day. Especially on lifting days.

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