People Eating 1200 a Day

I could never do 1200 calories for more than 2-3 days in a row.

Almost gave up, but then I gave myself a range

ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 calories
TARGET: MFP lose 1 lb a week until that got down to 1200 then switched to lose 1/2 lb a week
HIGH END: Maintain calories for GOAL WEIGHT

As long as I stayed in this range I would continue to lose and it was much easier to stick with.
__________
SAFE VALVE: Maintain calories for CURRENT WEIGHT
I shouldn't gain.
No need to beat myself up with guilt... If I have a bad day, just breathe, take a break and move on when I'm ready.

I also disagree with some of the posts on here generalizing by saying 1200 is too low.
You just need to listen to your body and take it from there. It depends on how active you are. But tracking your calories is the first step. You'll see where you are wasting your calories and can adjust. (For me, I saw how much calories, sugar and sodium I was really intaking and its all about adjusting. I've worked on calories and sugar, but still have issues some days w/ sodium)

Except for my exercise routine, I am sedentary (due to working from home, and working long hours). So 1200 works for me. (I usually try to eat 1200-1300 as I eat back some of my exercise calories).
And it doesn't mean you're starving as some people will say. You should only be starving if you're still trying to eat mainly bad foods. As your portions will be very small..
You just have to eat the right foods. The healthier foods you eat, the more you can eat. Some days when I eat really well, I even find myself looking for a way to get my calories up to 1200 as I'm not hungry. I'll make a protein shake for a snack, eat apple slices with 'better than peanut butter' spread, eat hummus with red pepper slices, add a serving of blue chips to my "taco salad", etc...
Now of course everyday isn't easy. On weekends/going out to eat, it is harder for me. But I allow myself freedom on those days. I will allow an approx 1500-1600 calorie day about once a week (but I make sure I work out those days).

Good luck!!

She is RIGHT! I disagree on the persons saying 1200 is not enough, it is for some people, not everyone. So I think you should start as you are, if you do not lose and your eating the right foods and exercising up your calories. Iv lost 30 in 12 weeks before. I ate 1200 calories a day, one day I would go over probably 2000 or more, just ONE day. I would work out 4 or 5 days a week burning an average of 500-800 calories and only sometimes would I eat back those burned calories, some ppl told me I was basically stupid, but Im unsure why because I WAS NOT STARVING at all because I chose the proper foods to complete my 1200! I have a lot of friends that have lost a good amount of weight doing 1300-1500 calories so EVERYONE is DIFFERENT!!!

Op, what I recommend is experimenting and finding out what works best for you. Start with the 1200 calories. The way that weight/fat loss works is through an overall deficit in the amount of calories that you are taking in when compared to the amount of calories that your uses to fuel your daily activities. Think about it like a math equation. Weight loss = Calorie Input - Calorie Output. So as long as the calorie input is less than the calorie output you are slowly loosing weight. That is a steadfast truth!

With that logic you can drop your calories as low as you want in order to loose fat faster right? Wrong!!! There a few exceptions to this rule. Your body has defense mechanisms against extreme calorie deficits. That's where your metabolism/hunger/muscle loss comes into play. If your body notices that you are inputting too little calories, the first thing that it will do is tell you that it wants food. That's the way of telling you that it wants food to continue to process the activities for the day. That's why when you exercise, you get hungry soon after. Your body expended a lot of calories from exercises and it wants you to replenish them, by eating more food (though if you're trying to maintain a deficit you probably don't want to give your body as much as it wants as that will bring you out of the deficit).

If your body finds that it is getting WAY to little calories, it will then first try to get rid of any sort of unnecessary matter on your body. Muscle weighs more than fat, so your body will, in extreme deficits, get rid of it quickly. It takes more caloric expenditure to maintain over fat, which weighs less. That's why exercise/weight training is extremely beneficial to losing weight, as you will give your body a reason to maintain lean body mass (use it or lose it principle) and get rid of fat as there is no use for it. But all an extreme deficit with no exercise will do is make you skinny with a huge gut (I have experience there, it sucks!!!!)

Finally if your body is experiencing a calorie deficit over a long period of time, it will often adapt by lowering the amount of energy output, otherwise known as slowing down you metabolism. The body of people with high metabolism has no reservations in it's usage of calories and will burn them freely which makes it hard for them to put on any weight (ie genetically skinny people), while the body of those with low metabolism is much more selective about how it uses it's energy and is more likely to store it away in case of an "emergency". That emergency weight, if not careful will often times be fat (ie genetically chubbier people). Now, if your body sees that over time it's not getting as many calories as it wants it will begin to lean towards slowing your metabolism as it is afraid that it will soon starve. That's why people advocate even during long periods of weight loss efforts to have the occasional high calorie or "cheat day" (though the notion is widely abused). The excess calories trick the body into believing that you're going to start giving it more calories, and for people who hit plateaus due to a low metabolism this is a great way to speed it back up, making the body use more calories so that a bigger deficit can be created and more weight will be lost.

There is a principle that says "eat more to lose more" and that's sort of what I like to go by. Eat as much food as you can as long as your still creating a calorie deficit. To find how much you can eat, you can either try to use a calorie calculator (these have varying levels of success so take them with a grain of salt) or do a little experimenting. Start logging EVERYTHING YOU PUT INTO YOUR MOUTH! If you swallow a fly, you better count it hahahaha. Really though, if you don't have an exact look at how much your eating there will always be a huge amount of risk of error. Be strict, it's tough but worth it in the long run. For the first couple of weeks, eat the 1200 calories. Take your weight once a week on at the same day and time each week. After a couple weeks if you are seeing a consistent amount of weight loss, up the amount of calories by 200 or so. Repeat the process. If you are still consistently loosing weight up the calories a little more. Keep doing this until you find yourself loosing 1-2lbs a week on average and you don't feel too hungry. That's going to be the amount of calories you'll want to be eating at to lose weight. By eating a small deficit, rather than a large one, the body will be more inclined to take fat off before muscle as it doesn't feel the express to drop weight right away, rather it can be more relaxed about what your body wants and needs.

Now when it comes to choosing what you can eat, you can really eat anything to be quite honest (yes people will bash on me here). When in a deficit your body sees calories as calories (some small discrepancies, but not enough for most people to worry about). There is no such thing as a good calorie vs a bad calorie. If you are in a good deficit you WILL lose weight. Bottom line. Now do I say go out and eat junk all the time? Wrong. There are health concerns that come with eating an excess of bad foods vs eating more wholesome foods. But when it comes strictly to weight loss, calorie deficit is the only thing that matters.
If you look at my food log, you'll see that I've had pizza on multiple occasions and other things many would freak out about when loosing weight, but all I did was stay under my calorie limit and the weight comes off (I've went from 175-155 in 2 months this way). The only way that I will say whole foods are better for weight loss has to do with food satiety, which how full certain foods make you feel. Wholesome prepacked foods make you feel very full and therefore the body has less chance of getting hungry and you have less chance of going over your calorie limit, while the opposite can be said for junk.

That's weight/fat loss in a nutshell. It takes work and experimentation, but follow the deficit rule and you'll be good to go!!! Good luck!!!!

Good morning everyone!

Im also on my second day. I will be sure to be more detailed in my entries, hopefully it will help myself get the most out of 1200 and others too.

Thanks in advance for those I borrow ideas from : )

prepackaged food is also loaded with preservatives and things you cannot pronounce that your body cannot digest.

You can satisfy all your nutritional needs on 1200 calories a day -- I usually exceed my protein, fiber, and vitamin requirements -- but it really doesn't give you any wiggle room, and we all need some indulgence sometime, so if you're in this for the long haul, 1400 calories might work better for you. That said, you will find it easier to control your calories and feel well-fed if you cook from scratch. Trader Joe's (if you have one nearby) is a great source for marinades for lean meats and for whole grains. I'm completely converted to Greek yogurt; the Costco house brand is affordable and really delicious. Try it with Trader Joe's pumpkin butter -- yummy and very nutrient-dense! Homemade soup is my best friend. It's always satisfying, extremely nutritious, and you can make it in large quantities so you have a quick meal available every day for a week. It often freezes well, too. I'll see if I can make some of my recipes available. I make a pureed potato-mushroom-cauliflower soup that is great cold as well as hot (especially with a dollop of that Greek yogurt!). When you do indulge yourself, intense flavors make a little go a long way. I love Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Snaps, which seem to taste especially good when they're broken. Really good sorbet is a good bet, but my current favorite is good old Fudgsicles. 60 calories a pop!

prepackaged food is also loaded with preservatives and things you cannot pronounce that your body cannot digest.

Why does every CALORIE thread turn into a nutrition/health debate? This isn't about sodium and preservatives and there is no award for who eats the 'cleanest'. A lot of diet authorities recommend pre-packaged foods. Of course we digest preservatives.

People should really get off their high horses and show some respect for the choices of others. INCLUDING their calorie level choices.

:drinker:

I have found that logging what you eat before you eat it can help. It allows me to really see what I'm about to do. If I don't like the cal or fat or protein # it's easier to adjust before I've eaten then trying to make up for it later. Then I adjust portions or sub veggies or fruit for something to get the meal in the nutritional range that I was striving for.

I do this... I feel like it holds me accountable for what I'm about to eat. I don't venture off it either. My only problem is that I'm still a sugar fiend to some extent. Working on that though. Learning the difference between natural sugar (fruits) and sugary foods.

feel free to add my and look at my diary

You don't have to eat prepackaged food.

Look for example:
- 4 oz chicken breast is 120 calories. If you put some lemon pepper or w/e herbs and grill, that's pretty low.
- 1/2 cup of brown rice is about 80 calories
- vegetables (if you're into that) has to be low
- get those low cal salad dressings that are like 35 cals/tbsp

- sirloin 4 oz is about 211 calories
- medium potato is about 161
- ff sour cream is about 30 cals per 2 tbsp
- wedge of that Laughing Cow low fat cheese is about 35 cals
- broccoli should be pretty low

you can always get recipes, break them down into ingredients and make it work to your calorie advantage.

This! Prepackaged food will almost always be more calories and less tasty than food you can cook yourself.

TRUE!! And prepackaged foods typically have A LOT of sodium, which just makes you retain water weight... You can add me if you want, although many days I go over & some days I'm under. LOL

prepackaged food is also loaded with preservatives and things you cannot pronounce that your body cannot digest.

Why does every CALORIE thread turn into a nutrition/health debate? This isn't about sodium and preservatives and there is no award for who eats the 'cleanest'. A lot of diet authorities recommend pre-packaged foods. Of course we digest preservatives.

People should really get off their high horses and show some respect for the choices of others. INCLUDING their calorie level choices.

in this case, the argument is totally relevant: prepackaged foods rely on high salt, fats or reduction of fiber in effort to maintain shelf stability.

one will find that if he avoids prepackaged foods as often as he can, that 1200-1500 calories is more than enough food for a day. that's all.

Definitely add me and check out my food diary I have been eating 1200 calories since I started with my fitness pal!

I like to stay around 1200-1300 calories during the week so I can eat a little more on a night out or weekend party without stalling my weight loss. You get the psychological benefits of eating foods you love (within reason) while maintaining weight loss. This is better in my opinion than having a set goal every single day, it's not achievable for most people and difficult to maintain for long periods. Life happens and anything too restrictive will eventually fail.

If my BMR (cals needed just to stay alive) is 1623 thus making my sedentary life require 1947 (see links at bottom) then:

Sedentary BMR for 7 days: 13,629 cals

Sunday - Friday: 1,250 avg per day (7,500 cals total)
Saturday (one day off per week): 2,600 cals
Total Cals: 10,100
Fat Loss: ~ 1 pound per week (3,500 calorie deficit)

I also eat back my exercise calories because going any lower in net cals would not be healthy in my opinion. So I tend to eat around 1500 on weekdays since I exercise for about an hour. Another option I've done is to bank exercise cals during the week for a real splurge on the weekends. As long as your net cals for the entire week average over 1200 cals a day your body can handle it. It is very good at homeostasis and variation over a week doesn't hurt.

A final option is to fast one day a week or maybe every other week. Thus the rest of the week can have higher cals since the day of fasting gives you extra cals to spread around on the other days. See theiflife.com, but once again make sure your average daily cals over the week is over 1200, it just allows you more flexibility.

Sedentary BMR for 7 days: 13,629 cals

Monday - Friday: 1,250 avg per day (6,250 cals total)
Saturday (one free day per week): 3,850 cals
Sunday (one fast day per week): 0 cals
Total Cals: 10,100
Fat Loss: ~ 1 pound per week (3,500 calorie deficit)

OR

Monday - Saturday: 1,500 avg per day (7,500 cals total)
Saturday (one free day per week): 2,600 cals
Sunday (one fast day per week): 0 cals
Total Cals: 10,100
Fat Loss: ~ 1 pound per week (3,500 calorie deficit)

As I lose more weight and I need less cals to stay alive I will gradually lose less than a pound a week. I've lost weight fast and it always comes back with its friends in tow. This time I'm determined to make a lifestyle change. Never diet or starve again! I can sustain eating lower calories and healthy foods most of the time with a meal or day off every now and again. Even if I get down to losing just a pound or two a month that is preferable to being unhealthy or gaining weight. Maintaining is ALWAYS better than gaining, no matter where you're at.


BMR Calculator: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
Lifestyle BMR Calc: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/
Fasting & Refeeding: www.theiflife.com

HI All
My biggest tip is weigh your food before you cook it! This has been one of the single biggest factors for me in changing what I do. You inevitably underestimate what you eat otherwise. I'm talking about meat, pasta, rice and potatoes in particular.
Do eat your exercise calories back as much as you can, If you think 1200 isn't a lot than walk/use an exercise bike. I've lost just shy of 2 stone have lost inches off hips, thighs etc but diet wise I'm eating largely what I want but menu planning so I can treat myself when I need to. I make home-made pizzas rather than buying shop bought and avoid pre packed 'slimming' foods like the plague!

I agree i weigh everything and manage to sustain a 1200 diet without feeling hungry. i choose to eat 3 main meals and small fruit snacks to fill the gaps.