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Living off 1200 calories a day ?

J

joseph

New member
Hey guys,

I was wondering if it is okay to live off about 1200 calories a day, I have read varying information through the internet.

I am 24 and started gym about a month ago and have lost 3 - 4 kilos (I think its mainly fat as I have also been doing weight training with cardio 2 -3 times a week).

I have been living off 4 - 5 meal a day and counting my calories up to 1200 - 1600 and try to include 30 - 40 grams of protein somewhere in there, yet I am not going over 1600 calories, is this safe ??

I will admit on the other days I am fairly sedentary with just some walking around uni etc for a maximum of about 30 - 40 minutes.


basically is this safe to keep up continue as long as I am also taking multivitamins etc ??


Thanks Guys.
 
Might be OK for a short period of time but would not recommend it for long periods, I was doing between 1500 and 1800 for a long time and I am pretty sure it ended up stuffing up my metabolism which I am in the process of fixing, check out me thread in the nutritien section for a bit more info.
 
lol, well I mean I dont feel like shit or anything --is it possible to fluctuate from 1600 for a week or so and then spike it up to 2100 for a few days to ongo my metabolism ?
 
Joseph, 1200 calories a day is not very much.

You need to go and google BMR and find out what yours is (loosely) This will calculate the number of calories required for you based on your age, height and weight to maintain your current weight each day.

Like anything however, this number is just a guide to assist you when you're playing with your calorie and food intake, based on what it is you're trying to achieve (i.e. losing fat, or gaining weight).

I think you might find that 1200 calories a day, unless you're incredibly short, is probably a little too restrictive for you for long term fat loss?

Also have a read of this link. It will assist you in working out the macro breakdown you require per day. I have found that you can and should play with these numbers too and see how well your body responds to different %'s of carb/protein and fats. Everybody is very different. I respond beautifully to a carb sparse, protein heavy and moderate fat diet and the weight falls off. But for others, that may not work quite so well. So you should always find what works best for yourself.

Be interested for you to post up your current weight and height and your long and short term goals for your body.

Obviously you're trying to lose fat at the moment as your in definite calorie deficit and on a cardio intense program.

Post up what your goals are and what your stats are?

In the meantime :

Calculating your BMR : Calorie Calculator

Also, how to calculate your macro requirements : http://ausbb.com/nutrition-diet/15230-calculating-calories-macronutrients-bmr.html

Regardless, best of luck with your training and fat loss goals.

FYI, I'm a 5'8 female, still in fat loss mode and I roughly eat between 1400-1700 cals a day, depending on the day and the activity level. So 1200 calories for a 24 year old, active male is very low. I'm not surprised you've lost weight quite quickly.

For your long term health and sanity, it pays to educate yourself and do it the right way :)
 
You've had sound advice, I'd just like to throw in there that I hope the goal you have of 30-40g of protein is per meal, not per day, when you work out a better calorie goal.

Even if your diet is not protein-heavy, you need more than that. Also, most people will tend to fall towards a greater amount of carbs when they first calculate their goals... if this happens to you, at least give somewhat equal protein/carbs a go before you go carb-heavy. Protein is important when you're on a calorie deficit.
 
im on 2000cal a day in 2 meals(dropping weight for a event), and it is very basic 500cal lunch so I can still have a big dinner, i would love to see a break down off your foods in a 1200cal 5-6meals, put up your stats and your target weight and im sure you will get some good advice
 
2 timtams, 6 times per day = 1200cal...

look up Emma-leigh BMR to work out what you need.. or... 25-30cal/kg of bodyweight per day for normal lifestyle, plus calories for exercise.
 
I did that low for a little while, I just couldnt deal with the lethargy, constant headaches and general cloudiness..
 
Okay well, not sure exactly what stats entails but ill put up what I can and my general daily food diet -

Age - 24
Weight - 96kg
Height - 179cm
end goal is to be 83 - 85kg, started off at 100ish abit over a month ago

I used to play sports when younger etc but due to a bit of a stressful job with night time uni etc I have gained a fair bit over the last few years. Used to drink a fair bit but have cut that out of the equation for now.


(Using CalorieKing to calculate)

- Breakfast - 2 Weetbix (117) - Glass of milk (168) - 285
- Mid morning snack, probably an banana etc or slice multigrain bread - 99
- Lunch varies but I try and make it something around 400ish calories, possibly a tuna with lettuce meal so Tuna (213) and some lettuce (16) with a small amount of mayo (10ish) -- 239 minimum I guess but I sometimes have a bigger one sometimes chicken with veggies with brown rice etc which calculates around 400ish ?.
- after lunch afternoon snack - apple (68)
- Dinner, something small and yes it may be fast food but my mother cooks alot of home meals with high white rice content etc so I may go buy a Hungry jacks burger (329)
- after workout/dinner snack - BSc HyroxyBurn Lo Carb Balls (270).

Total - 1451, yet this obviously fluctuates slightly lower or higher as I don't eat the same exact thing everyday... but it is around that much.


Workout is 20 min treadmill with 2km rowing and then strength training using a variety of machines with 12 reps generally and 3 sets of each. -- this happens for 3 days and then some weeks I do also include 1 day of cardio in the mix of just bike etc.




Anyone got any ideas on what I should change to be more effective ? are free weights better ? whats the different between free weights and machine?
 
6 meals is always a hassle to count and prepare IMO...

One of the best things I ever did was to change from 6 plus meals a day down to 2 or 3....

Currently I eat 2 meals a day aiming at 2400 calories

Lunch - 1000 calories
Dinner - 1400 calories

Makes life so much simpler...

Will go back to 3 meals a day soon enough and 3000 calories... Will just add a meal in of 600 calories at breakfast....
 
We are of a similar build and height and I am aiming for 2000 calories per day, 5 days per week and 3000 for the other two, this has lead to approx 0.5-1kg weight loss per week. I lift heavy three times per week and do no cardio.

I would suggest significantly increasing your protein intake and bumping calories up a bit higher. Sorry for my first response, I thought you were trolling :p

Doing one of the many beginner strength training routines would be my choice over your current cardio/machine thingo.
 
Im currently 77.5kg was 78 about 2 months ago and Im about 172cm, 27yo male, train 3 times a week, surf occasionally.

I was eating 1800-2000 cals/day and my weight wasnt moving at all, in fact it was going up slowly. I dropped down to 1500/day and 2-2500 1 day a week and my weight has only just started to move down.

Ive gone down a bit over one belt notch in that time though.

I get those cals in 2 meals pretty much and I get about 170g of protein give or take each day.

Im tired a lot so I dont know if thats because of the calories or not but I thought it might help give you an idea of someone else with similar stats to yours.

I know people say I should be eating more but I just didnt seem to be losing any fat.
 
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