1,200 Calories Not Enough To Lose Weight?

[waynef 25]

Does anyone have trouble losing weight when eating 1,200 calories? I am finding if I eat more than 1,200 I lose more?

[TKW 501]

yes, you need to find the balance. Where your body doesn't think you are starving. Lots of people I know add 200 calories when they stop losing so their body doesn't go into starvation mode. If it works for you do it. Funny how the body adjusts because at 1200 calories you'd think the weight would fall off!

[jen_1381 446]

You may have to play around with it until you find what works for you. I eat around 900 a day, but only because it works for me. When I plateau, I'll bump up to 1100-1200 and it seems to kick-start things again.

I know 900 sounds like very little, but I'm only eating lean Protein, veggies, and fruit, which are naturally low calorie. I'm taking in around 60-80 grams of Protein and I also take Vitamins.

[2muchfun 8,927]

Seems like 1200-1400 is my magic caloric intake number.

tmf

[kbliss78 123]

I have to be around 900 to 1000 to lose. But I have heard you should fluxuate your numbers so your body doesnt adjust. For example, one day I would eat around 800, then 900, then 800, then 1100......

Everybody is different. I would be happy if I could eat 1500 and still lose!

[brenty 27]

Unless you're immobile, your resting metabolic rate is almost certainly above 1200. If your body burns more calories than it consumes, you will lose weight.

The tricky part is that your body can and will consume muscle tissue for energy 'as needed' -- which is what 'starvation mode' is about.

Protein is super important, but it is even more critical that you consume enough in your diet while restricting to lose weight so that you're losing fat and not muscle.

A person who is trying to maintain their weight needs approximately a half gram of Protein per day per pound of body weight. But when your body is operating on a limited calorie budget, 1.5 to 2 times that is needed to ensure that your muscle mass is maintained.

And the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns daily even without exercise, which is a beautiful thing if you ask me.

[cbreeden28 23]

I have found the same to be true. I was eating 1000-1200 a day per my nutritionist, but I was constantly starving. I upped it to around 1400 and I started losing more steadily and wasn't so hungry. Each person is different and you have to experiment with calories to see what you can consume and still lose. I figure there is no reason to make myself miserable just to lose weight. I also fluxate my daily calories everyday to keep my body guessing. Some days, I will do only 1100 calories and the next, I will do 1500. I think this keeps the metabolism hopping because it doesn't know what's coming next.

I also allow myself cheat days about once a month. This involves some food that is on my "naughty" list. Such as ice cream, Cookies, chocolate, chips, french fries, etc. Just having one of these foods once a month has not sabotaged my weight loss, but it does keep cravings at bay and helps me to avoid binging due to stict restrictions against them on a daily basis.