Only 1200 calories? Really?
 

I was listening to Jillian Michaels today and she was telling a caller who had about 100 pounds to lose that she should be on 1200 calories, maybe 1400 or at the absolute most 1600 but that weight loss would be very slow. Well, is 1200 really enough for a beginning calorie counter? I had read I needed to eat 1800 but I admit I hadn't lost weight eating that many. Will I starve with only 1200? Is it okay to try it out?

There isn't an expert in the world who can devise a diet that will work for anyone who happens to hear it. Be your own expert and devise what works for you!

I personally wouldn't start with 1200. What's the point if you can successfully lose on more calories? Losing weight shouldn't be spent starving, at rock bottom, unhappy or constantly on the razor's edge. It can be quite a positive experience, and more food certainly helps!

I have found that the more quality the food I eat, the harder it is to get in calories unless I eat beyond full which is a habit I am trying to break. I do eat 4 to 5 times a day and unless I throw something something "bad" in there, its hard to get in a lot of calories when eating lots of fruits and veggies, good proteins,good fats and whole grains, keep portions size to serving size..ect. If this caller has a very slow metabolism then 1200 might be all she can burn a day. I know I don't burn more than that unless i work out really hard

It's all about trial & error. Our bodies are very different. We just need to find our own personal balance. I ate 1,200 calories and lost 1 and 1/2lbs a week. At 1,600 - 1,800 calories, I've lost up to 3 and 1/2lbs a week.

My recommendation is to start at 1,800 calories. Try that for a few weeks. If you're not happy with your results, either add or subtract 200 calories and try that. It may take a while, but you'll find your niche.

Believe it or not, Jillian was probably right. I once asked my doctor for some dieting advice. He said I should eat no more than 1200 calories per day or else my weight loss would be so slow that I would lose my motivation very quick. I think they are perhaps taking into consideration that the person is fairly inactive...as I was at the time; therefore, they need to take in much less calories than someone who is active on a regular basis. With that said...I chose to eat more than 1200 calories and simply get my butt off the couch and be more active. Also, I'm more than happy losing at a 1-2 pound rate per week. As long as my weight goes in the right direction...down!

BTW...I'm new to posting here, but I have been reading the 3FC's forum for quite a while. Y'all are a great bunch!

My only problem with someone that large starting at 1200 is where do you go when you get stuck?
For me, I have trouble getting in all my nutrients that I need if I don't eat at least 1400 calories. My losses are slow, but I would rather be eating enough food than totally starving myself.

Did you know that WHO considers eating less than 1900 calories per day to be a starvation diet? :eek:

personally, I think that's way too low for you. 1200 is not a good place to be for most people- it's right on the border of being able to get enough nutrition, and also on the border of starvation mode. Only people who are "losing the last ten pounds" should be at 1200.

I would recommend, for someone your weight, somewhere between 1500-1600.

Good luck with your weight loss!

I sometimes wonder ... does she suppose most folks will miss the mark? Ya know? If someone tells us to exercise everyday and we actually do go for a walk five times a week. We're doing very well.
If she tells folks to eat 1200 calories assuming they will mostly overshoot ... their average will still be low enough to lose weight.

Did that make sense?

that sounds a bit low. it depends what your time frame is, probably. through my calculations using fitday, i'm only supposed to be eating about 1250 calories per day on days that i don't go to the gym. i've only been doing it for a week but i'm finding it really challenging. i've pretty much missed the mark on every single non-gym day. i know when i'm getting worried that there are so many calories in plain oatmeal and a medium apple that this plan is going to be a problem for me. still haven't worked out a solution. i'm probably just going to have to readjust my time frame for achieving goal weight. good luck!

I am not a calorie counter but i eat tons of fruit and veggies and salad and i never feel hungry. That with loads of water really helps me feel full. It works for me. I eat lots of chicken, turkey and fish, keep carbs to a minimal and only have a treat at the weekend. Good luck with whatever path you choose to go on. Katie x x

Just to let you know I've thought it over, I did get this same number from my doctor. Now, I'm sure this is with mild exercise. Jillian said 4 half hour sessions a week. So, if I exercised more I could surely eat more. I'm meeting with a dietician next week for a one hour sit down. I'll report back what I hear. I want to be healthy and I don't want to lose too fast. However, I can't stay motivated if I'm losing an ounce or two a week. I need to see something happening.

I'm glad you're seeing a doc and a dietitian. That's the only way you'll really know. Let us know what the dietitian says!

I agree that it depends on the individual person. A dietitan recommended 1200 calories to me. I couldn't stick with it. I increased it to 1500 and have been very happy. It may take me longer to lose weight but I can live with this. My goal is to make new habits and establish permanent weight loss. It takes as long as it takes.

I agree, 1500 is a nice place to be. It's just enough food that you're satisfied with what you're eating and with what you're losing.

Now granted, I'm currently trying to lose what I gained over the holidays, but I lost over 60lbs and almost never dropped below 1400 calories (originally I got down to 150.) It didn't come off excruciatingly slow either. When I started losing, I was eating 1600-1700 calories per day, without exercising. The only exercise I ever did after that was walking.

1200 seems incredibly low for just starting out. I've seen many "experts" claim this is a good place to start, but then other "experts" say to never go below 1500 calories. I've never seen any scientific evidence that says there is a magic number that will work for everyone. You have to find out what works for you personally.

I would be petrified of really slowing down my metabolism if I tried to eat even only 1400 calories day.

What are your opinions on fluctuations? For instance, 1200 calories on some days, 1400 calories and maybe even 1600 calories on some days.

While I have a set number that I'm trying to stick to, I already know that some days will be higher or lower. One of the tutorials I watched while setting up my bodybugg stated a good point...the main number to be concerned with is the deficit. It also explained that as long as you have a deficit of calories at the end of the week, you will lose weight. For example...if I have a deficit of 7000 at the end of the week, I should lose about 2 lbs. Of course we should strive to keep the numbers close. I surely would not do a 2000 deficit one day and 1000 the next. I guess I'm just saying I personally think it is okay to fluctuate but at the same time keep it fairly close. I would think that a 200-400 difference would be okay as long as it all balances out.

I haven't read many of the other responses so sorry if this is a repeat.
1200 cals is not a good place to start because in order to stay healthy and get all of the things you need you cant really lower them any more when you hit a platue. I started at 1600 @ 200 lbs wanting to get down to 125 I have lost 7 lbs in less then three weeks with very little exercise. So I think it works well for me and if at all my weight loss stops or slow down I still have wiggle room to cut my cals back at the most to 1200 but I will do 100 at a time and thats the lowest I will go 1200 that is. If you are working out then I think 1600 is plenty no need to starve just move a little more lol!

oh and to add about fluctuations I have heard that when you do that it throws you metabolism off and makes it burn more idk if thats true just something I do. and to be honest I do it some but not on purpose I dont ever go over 1600 but some days I am really under but I really regret it come bed time (those are my super busy days!)

Some people don't find it hard to function on 1200 calories. If you don't exercise and are trying to lose weight and you feel satisfied on 1200 calories and it's working for you, then great.

Personally, I just can't do 1200 calories AND exercise.

Seems awfully low to me too. Granted if you do a week of 1200 and then go up to a healthier amount of calories it seems like tons of food! lol

I am currently on 1,200 but just for a few days to compensate for a FoodFest I had on Saturday. Normally I eat 1,500 on weekdays and 2,000+ on weekends (i try to maintain on weekends)

I think fluctuations are good - check out the thread called Calorie Cycling for thoughts on that ...

I think one of the things to keep in mind is that if you can't live the rest of your life eating a set number of calories, you probably shouldn't diet at that rate. If you can't see yourself eating 1200 calories a day for the rest of your life, then it's going to be hard to keep the weight off when you reach goal.

1200 is awfully low, and at your current weight you should be able to eat more than that and still lose weight well. I've tried 1200 calories and didn't lose a single pound. Currently, when I stick to it, I can be completely and entirely inactive and still lose weight with 1700 calories a day.

But, once again, it's different for everyone.

I find that happening with me too. I'm actually finding it hard to get to 1600 calories a day without drinking a non-fat latte or some kind of snack. On just meals alone (whole foods, veggies) I go into the 1200-1300 range.

I started at 1200 and I felt fine- and sure I was loosing about 4-5 lbs a week but that's not healthy... I uped my calls to 1400-1600 a day trying to stay at about 1500 and I feel great! I can even treat my self to a mcdonalds happy meals once a month or so! and I still eat a dessert every night ;)

1200 is the very lowest you should go. this is the bare minimum you need to consume in order to make sure your getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.

i'm losing around 2lb a week atm and i'm eating around 3000 a day. i just work hard the more i burn the more i eat. i could never go hungry i'd rather go for a run and have another meal than sit going hungry infront of the tv

There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice, i was playing with this nintendo DS game called My Health and Weight loss Coach (or something like that) and i put in all my details and food etc, and when i got to 1000 calories, it told me id eaten plenty for the day! I bet lots of teenage girls bought that game, its a bit worrying.

My dr put me on 1500 per day when i weighed 306. I am still able to lose on 1500, but its alot slower now. He has recommended that I go down to 1200 but i am not doing that yet. Maybe when i get down to the last 10lbs or something.
FOr me I have found what kind of calories i eat matter more than how many.I can eat less than 1400 and if its not good calories then i dont lose. I can eat more than 1400 good calories and still lose.

More like horryifying :(

I think 1200 is okay, but anything less that that would be way too low. I personally feel just too deprived at 1200 calories. I usually keep my total at 1600, but I work out A LOT. If I couldn't work out as much as I do, I'd have to eat less.

I love to eat, so I have to burn the calories. I refuse to give up delicious food, I just keep it healthy. Lots of veggies and whole grains filll you up for less calories.

It seems like for a lot of people (based on reading blogs, forums, etc) eating too few calories ends up being a problem, because your body starts doing starvation-mode stuff, not metabolizing calories the way it would if you were getting enough. I stick to around 1500-1700 calories a day but I think I may end up raising that because it seems like on my higher-calorie days I lose more.

The way to up your metabolism is fairly simple -- build muscle. At least according to my old spinning instructor, who had the most perfect butt of all the women I've ever met, a pound of muscle burns something like 45 calories an hour just by existing, where a pound of fat burns nothing. So, the more lean body mass you have, the more you can eat, even without necessarily pounding out tons of cardio.

Lifting weights can be intimidating (even after doing it off & on for years I feel kind of sheepish in the weight room with the boys), but it really helps and you can eat way more!

Just my $.02, good luck figuring out what particular combination works for you!

Wouldn't that be 1080 calories a day PER POUND of muscle???

45 x 24 = 1080

Just to chime it - I've heard Jillian give calorie counting advice before on her show, and she usually qualifies the answer by saying that most people underestimate their calorie consumption by 20% or so. So she gives a lower calorie goal, with the idea that most people will probably exceed that number.

I don't know if I agree, but I can see that at least her internal logic is consistent.

Julie, you're totally right. I think she must've been saying per day, which my cursory online research on the subject kind of backs up. There seems to be some dispute as to whether it's true, but I believe it because I lose weight way faster when I'm also building muscle and eating around the same amount.

When you don't want to lose weight anymore, you eat more calories. Not so much more that it will make you gain weight, but enough to make you stop losing. So I don't think you need to worry about whether you can keep up a 1200 calorie diet for life.

I have been staying around 1200 calories for my diet and I don't find it hard, especially when I get enough veggies in. But I still look forward to the day (soon now), when I'll bump it up a little. I love eating and want to eat more! I only lost 1.25 lbs/week when I am exercising regularly and eating 1200-1300 calories a day, so I'm estimating that I'll be able to maintain at 1700, but I'll find out for sure once I get there.

I've been eating 1200 calories 4 days/week and 1500 3/days a week for a year and have lost 140 pounds. The first month or so of serious calorie counting I ate 1200 calories every day. I'm a veggie queen, and eat massive amounts of low calorie vegetables to keep me full and to add vitamins and minerals.

I could have eaten more calories per day, and I will when I enter maintenance, but I was sick and tired of being morbidly obese and wanted faster results. I talk with my Doctor fairly regular and he says as long as I don't "spend" my daily calories on nutritionally deficient foods, (like 100 calorie packs of cookies and chips) I am getting enough nutrition. If a person eats 1200 calories worth of crap, they'll feel like crap and be nutritionally starved. I can honestly say, without a doubt that I get more vitamins/minerals/lean protein in at 1200 calories a day than I ever did at 4000 a day a year ago. 4000 calories worth of butter/cream/pasta/sugar is NOT healthy regardless of the number of calories.

I never went BELOW 1400 calories per day. Most days I ate over 1500 and I lost fairly consistently. I have no worries in regard to my metabolism. After I lost the weight I went back up to 2000-2100 calories per day without problem (or weight gain.) Which means I ate WAY too much at Christmas to have put on the few pounds I did gain back.

You made a very good point Lori. I totally agree with you. Some of my days are around 1200, but it is all good food...not junk like I used to eat. I've broken up with my boyfriends...Ben & Jerry! LOL

By the way...You have AWESOME stats! Congrats on losing so much and Best Wishes for continued success!

I am currently eating 1500 and am losing, and yes, it is somewhat slow--maybe just a pound a week at times. I also calorie cycle and workout every day.

Lori, I find the exact thing to be true for me. I am eating far healthier than I ever did consuming my mass quantities of junk before. 90% of what I eat, if not more is exactly what I NEED--not just processed, overpriced garbage that happens to be tasty. Congratulations on all of your success.

Hi there - I'm new!

I totally agree with what you guys are saying. I've been on a 1200 calorie a day diet and I was not a nice person to be around also I tended to have a bit of a blow out in the weekends. I'm currently setting myself 1500 calories a day and it seems to be just right - its amazing that extra 300 calories satisfies you so much more. I agree if the weight is still going down I don't see the point in decressing the amount of calories. You don't want to start at 1200 and have no where to go - Going under 1000 is not good for the people who live with me!