1200 cals. It seems that if i go over at all I dont lose. But i know that it is WAY to low. Especially since I work out a lot. Does anybody have this problem? Do i stay at 1200 or just give it time?

Why do you think 1200 calories a day is too low? I lost a lot of weight eating 1200 calories almost daily. Gastric Bypass patients eat 1/2 that. The kids on "Too Fat for 15" eat 1200 calories a day, as well as TBL female contestants. Working out (unless it;s HOURS a day) doesn't burn that many calories, especially if you are fairly sedentary aside from that. Unless you eat the majority of your calories in junk, (booze, fake sweets, fast food) then 1200 calories a day should meet all your recommended daily allowances.

oh ok. So it is alright? a lot of women on this site are against it. I guess also cause when I stop losing I cant really go any lower. but at that point i can always increase. Thank you Lori bell.

I usually average right around 1200 per day if you figure in my weekly totals. Some days I only hit about 1100..its not through TRYING to go that low, its simply that some days I get up late, or what have you, and see no reason to force another 100 calories down my throat when I dont particularly feel like I need something just to bump it up a bit. Other days I hit 1300 or so.
As long as you make those 1200 calories count, there is nothing wrong with that number. 4 snickers bars a day is probably not the way to go!
If the 1200 is working for you, and you feel healthy and have energy, stick with it.
Oh, and while I am smaller now, when I first started, and was just short of 200 lbs ( I might have actually gone over it by a little, but 197 is what I weighed when I finally got the guts to look, and I hadn't been working at it for very long at that point) I was eating the same calories that I am now. The weight dropped a bit faster then than it is now, but the 1200 still gave me plenty of energy even when I was much heavier.

hahaha yea i agree, no snickers for me.

That's the argument I see a lot too from the anti-1200 calorie folks. But who can say if you WILL quit losing? It's not the gospel fact that you will. I never-ever had a plateau. I lost consistently from 333 to 140. If I would go back to 1200 calories for a few weeks I would continue to lose. (I've tried it a couple times just to see if I wanted to go for a lower weight.) If I remember correctly there are several maintainers who have lost a significant amount of weight on the lower calorie end and never had plateaus either...and they are keeping the pounds off, for long periods of time. You do what works for you, but of course you should talk to your doctor just to get his/her okay. But for what it's worth, I've never personally heard a doctor cut down a 1200 calorie diet either. From what I hear, it is the most often recommended amount for women.

I am meeting with my trainer at the gym to go over nutrition tomorrow. She is going to go over what to eat to help me lose weight. She was talking to me the other day about sugars and how they can make it hard to lose weight. You may want to track a little bit more than just calories and see if there are little areas you can tweak? You might be able to go a little higher than 1200 (if you want to) if you do more protein, more fiber, and less fat and sugar/carbs.

I was eating under 1200 a day and my dietitian told me to try adding more calories to get around 1400 because of how much I was exercising. I am aiming for 1350 and it's working.

I remember seeing some posts started by you earlier that you were having problems with out of control eating and not going to the gym. Have you had a week recently where you've eaten 1200 AND gone to the gym? Try it a week at a time doing all the things you need to do.

I looked back over your past threads and I noticed two things:
1. 1200 did not seem to be working for you -- you said you were too hungry and couldn't stay on plan.
2. It hasn't been very long since you started at this higher calorie level. Maybe two weeks?

I think you should give it more time. Don't give up on a plan of 1600 or 1800 healthy calories until you've stayed on it consistently for I'd say four weeks.

You have to find a plan that works for you, that you can stick with, for a long time.

(I'm not discounting the fact that people have success at 1200 calories -- but if you don't want to do it -- and I sure as heck couldn't -- then maybe it just isn't the right plan for you)

I too never plateaued. NEver. Not once. There was no stopping losing to be had.

I kept to 1200 calories (though I started out higher, but fairly quick in took it down). But those 1200 calories were highly, nutritious, healthy, calories. ZERO junk.

But are you certain that's why you're not able to lose? Is it possible (and I'm not saying this is the case), that you're not adhering to your calorie allotment (whatever that may have been) consistently? Really, reallly consistently - day after day, week after week, month after month. Because even one off day, or one off meal, well wreak havoc with your weight loss. If that's the case, than you can't really blame it on being more than 1200 calories.

But please don't let that 1200 calories number scare you as if you're doing something wrong. LOTS of very successful and extremely healthy people have been sticking to that number for a long time.

I think the only reason i went up higher was cause i wanted to eat bad foods, but that made me gain 5 lbs back. When im on 1200 eating good foods im not hungry and I lose consitantly. i wasnt hungry on 1200. I just stopped my water consumption. 1800 gives me to many calories and then I eat more than a lotted. Strict works for me

I started at 1200 when I was 255 and I'm still at 1200 now. I honestly think that you aren't giving it enough time. From your previous posts it seems that you jump to conclusions a little bit. Please don't take it the wrong way! I remember reading a thread of yours that said that on 1200 you lose 1 pound/day. Well it takes 3500 calories to lose a pound so it just isn't very likely. Just as is gaining 5 pounds from eating 600 extra calories/day (if you went from 1200 to 1800). It would take 17.5 days to gain 3 pounds if eating 600 calories above maintenance, and you weren't even eating above maintenance! Hope that makes sense to you. Give it time. Good luck!

Thanks. I def do jump to conclusions. I just dont know what I should be at. And yes I was losing 1 lb a day or every 2 days. I dunno how but unless my scale was wrong i was. i did very well! it could have been water weight, who knows. Maybe im just not used to it being so slow. Ughh im confused

Breannaj1215 - whether or not you *should* be eating 1200 cal, it raises a red flag to me if you truly cant lose weight at a bit more reasonable level for your height and current weight.

If you have tried for more than a couple weeks at 1500, with close attention to the makeup of your food, I would def check with a doctor. It might signal a metabolic disorder of some sort. Have you had your thyroid checked too?

Its one thing to eat 1200 if you feel alert, energized and able to perform your workouts and other daily tasks. But to need to reduce your calories so low to see results, might not be a good idea?

I'm eating 1200-1300 a day too. I am eating healthy foods and keeping my protein around 100 grams a day. I'm thinking of trying some calorie cycling and having a couple of 1500-1600 days a week to see what happens since I hear if I do stop losing I will have no way to go lower.

but there are a few girls here that did lose on 1200, got down to their goal weight and they look smokin' (jkinboston89 being one)... I guess it just comes down to doing what works for you. I read the other posts where people said you were too hungry on 1200. If you are too hungry, ok then maybe you need to tweak things a bit. More protein maybe or slightly more calories?