Who has been able to lose with 1200 calorie diet?

I used to eat 1200 calories. I lost some and then I plateaued foreevverrrrr. So then I upped my calories to 1600-1900 and I'm losing again!

I eat at 30% below my TDEE so about 1570 a day. This is a new way of eating for me, though. I was eating at 1200 cals a day and eating back my exercise cals too but I lost and gained back the same 6 or 7 pounds for 3 months. I posted for some overall diary advice from MFP members and 1 PM'd me telling me to go friend request a wonderful guy in the EM2WL group. I did, he pointed me in the right direction to help figure things out for myself.

I haven't been eating at TDEE long enough to step on the scale yet but I will by Friday and we'll see what happens. I can tell you I'm no longer hungry all the time and I feel better about fueling my body rather than starving it to loose weight.

Feel free to check out the group, EM2WL. You'll be glad you did.

I have been doing the 1200 calories a day for about a month and a half, and it definitely works, recently had two cheat days just because the craving for sweets was so strong, but back at it again today. Have lost a total of 26 lbs in about 2.5 months. I will admit it is a total lifestyle change from how I used to eat, but it is worth it. To eat more, I just make sure I work out to earn some extra calories to spend and don't always eat all the exercise calories back, but if I'm feeling "deprived" I do eat the exercise calories back.

My MFP formula gave me 1320 calories per day for 1 lb. a week loss. So far, I've only lost 1/2 lb. a week. But, 1320 (plus calories out with exercise) has been really easy for me because before I started this program, I actually ate less (and didn't get anywhere) so maybe it's the magical number. I think if I stuck with 1200 I'd lose more, but I'm okay with 1/2 lb. a week if it just keeps up. Hope that helps!

I'm just a few weeks in and have lost 4lbs so far.
I feel like the 1200 is doable. Planning ahead and knowing what I'm going to eat ahead of time/for the day has been really helpful.
The problem I have is that I workout at night after my kids are in bed and I am not going to eat back those calories at 9:00 at night.

Don't worry about it - the body doesn't magically not need them stopping at midnight, so be willing to eat them back the next day before the next workout, bigger breakfast and lunch.

I rarely exceed 1200 and stick with lower carbs, no white stuff. I occasionally eat back exercise calories if I'm hungry. Take my vitamins, omegas, etc. Choose lean meat and veggies. So far, so good. I feel great. Lost 40. 15 to go!

Weight loss is different for everyone and each body reacts differently. As long as what you're doing isn't harmful to your body and is working for you, go for it!

Good luck on your journey.

It works very well for me (more so than if I were doing 1500 +)

I have lost around 35 lbs so far in the past 1.5 months... and that includes 2 weeks of total cheating.

35 lbs in 6 weeks?? and 2 of those were cheat weeks? That's an average loss of almost 6 lbs/wk without even factoring in the cheat weeks...

Not quite sure what to say about that...

Well if you want to say anything, you could say congratulations.... a morbidly obese person can lose more quickly than someone with 40 lbs to lose.

Actually, math is math. morbidly obese can lose 3-4 lbs sometimes weekly. But usually not unless it's more than fat.

Fat has about 3500 calories of energy in 1 lb.

If you think that 35 lbs was just fat, that means 122,500 calories deficit for 6 weeks, or 42 days.

That would mean a daily deficit, every single one of those days, of 2916 calories, if you think you really lost fat.

Let's throw out the traditional 5 lbs first week of water weight lost switching to a new diet.

30 lbs is 105,000 calories over 42 days or daily deficit of 2500 calories.

So, do you really think you burned 1200 (eaten) + 2500 (not eaten) = 3700 calories each and every day, so that you could possibly have a deficit of 2500 daily, in order for that to all be fat.

And that is precisely the problem with eating so low - you burn muscle off.

Muscle provides 600 calories per lb - so much easier to lose a lb of muscle. Lose almost 6 lbs of muscle to provide the same energy as 1 lb of fat.

Wow, you may eventually reach a weight where you don't need that extra muscle you lost - but bummer losing it first.
Muscle is what keeps a metabolism high, if you eat enough.

bump

It works very well for me (more so than if I were doing 1500 +)

I have lost around 35 lbs so far in the past 1.5 months... and that includes 2 weeks of total cheating.

35 lbs in 6 weeks?? and 2 of those were cheat weeks? That's an average loss of almost 6 lbs/wk without even factoring in the cheat weeks...

Not quite sure what to say about that...

Well if you want to say anything, you could say congratulations.... a morbidly obese person can lose more quickly than someone with 40 lbs to lose.

Actually, math is math. morbidly obese can lose 3-4 lbs sometimes weekly. But usually not unless it's more than fat.

Fat has about 3500 calories of energy in 1 lb.

If you think that 35 lbs was just fat, that means 122,500 calories deficit for 6 weeks, or 42 days.

That would mean a daily deficit, every single one of those days, of 2916 calories, if you think you really lost fat.

Let's throw out the traditional 5 lbs first week of water weight lost switching to a new diet.

30 lbs is 105,000 calories over 42 days or daily deficit of 2500 calories.

So, do you really think you burned 1200 (eaten) + 2500 (not eaten) = 3700 calories each and every day, so that you could possibly have a deficit of 2500 daily, in order for that to all be fat.

And that is precisely the problem with eating so low - you burn muscle off.

Muscle provides 600 calories per lb - so much easier to lose a lb of muscle. Lose almost 6 lbs of muscle to provide the same energy as 1 lb of fat.

Wow, you may eventually reach a weight where you don't need that extra muscle you lost - but bummer losing it first.
Muscle is what keeps a metabolism high, if you eat enough.

I am very active now too. I would like to preserve all my extra muscle, but I am more interested in getting a good amount of the fat off first. Once I am in the overweight range I will slow down. I am going to do weight training to try to preserve what I have, in addition to lots of protein in my diet. It is not possible to keep all lean mass when losing weight, although one does lose more when they lose more quickly/have a lot to lose. Like you said I won't need as much when I get lower weight.. but I will have to build it up when I get halfway or 3/4 the way there.

Being as fat as I am is more unpleasant than losing a bit of extra muscle which I can (with hard work and patience and time) rebuild later. At the same time, I believe a great amount of what I am losing is fat... what % ? I don't know.

Edit to add: I didn't mention this because I wasn't planning to explain it all again, for the purpose of this thread it isn't relevant... but I often do not hit 1200 calories. I am usually lower.

I had previously lost 17 lbs before coming on here doing weight watchers. I started logging on MFP in January on 1200, and weight loss slowed down and eventually ground to a halt around March/April after another 3/4 lbs loss. I then plateaued gaining and losing the same 3/4 lbs back. After three months on 1200 I was starting to feel tired and listless. During that time, I exercised sporadically. I upped my calories and ate around 1400-1600, but that did not make much difference in terms of my weight loss. If anything, it felt like I was maintaining.

However what DID work for me was stepping up my exercise regime and consistently going to the gym to do cardio, strength training, and Body Pump classes. I did that consistently for four weeks, at least three times a week and lost 2lbs. This is still only a small amount, but it got me away from my plateau. However owing to TOM weight gain, that 2lbs came back for a couple of weeks and has now gone again.

Psychologically it is very undermining to see the same weight over and over again, so I have now put my calories back down to 1340 (my BMR is 1366) and set my activity level to "lightly active", in order to kick start my weight loss. I aim to continue with my regular and consistent exercise routine and not eat back exercise cals unless I am hungry.

I have 34lbs remaining to lose out of my original 56lbs goal. There is no magic number that works for everyone. You have to try different things and do what works for you. The key is whatever you try, you need to do it for long enough to see whether it works, and then change things up a bit so that your body does get too used to it, or if you have tried it and it isn't working.

I have stuck with the 1200 never ever really going over it and have lost 80Ibs since the beginning of february! I am also on the visalus program and absolutely love it and the 1200 seems perfect for this plan also. Interested in the visalus part, check out my site: http://lavagrl.myvi.net/

I have! I don't eat back my exercise cals and eat a lot of food, just not high cal food. A lot of fresh and raw fruits and veggies. Since I started on this site I've lost 21 lbs at 1200 cals a day and 91 lbs total over the past year on a low cal high negative cal food diet with lots of exercise.

I've lost 30 pounds on 1200, then gained a few pounds back in muscle. Some days I'm starving and go over but some days I'm always full and have trouble meeting the recommendation. It took me about a month to get used to it, I think my stomach shrank in response. Then 900 calories was sometimes as high as I could get without feeling uncomfortably full. Your body WILL get used to it! I promise.

Hello, there - I'm on Day 2 of a 1200-calorie diet, with my daily physical activity being 40-45 minutes of walking at a 3.5 mph pace. I'm pushing 34 years old, 5'3" tall, and weigh around 142 lbs. I realize that I'm only slightly over the "normal" weight for my height, but I was attracted to this diet because I could lose weight gradually (it touts 1 lb/week) and eat somewhat freely as long as I counted the calories and made smart choices.

Anyway, my question is whether or not I should've introduced this diet gradually rather than throwing myself into it full-force. I was consuming far more calories before (some days, over 2,200); my fiance is an incredibly picky eater who won't eat anything but junk, so I was catering to his likes rather than acting as a short-order cook and preparing separate meals. Also, with my daily walking routine, I'm hoping that I don't get sopped of energy. Would 1,500 calories have been a better choice for me?