Just wondering.. 1,200 calorie diet?

I was just wondering if any teens here are on a 1,200 calorie diet.. and if so what are your stats (hieght, age, weight, workout regime if any, etc.) And how much have you lost in what amount of time?

I am curious as to this, I know msot teens aren't on this kind of plan though. Responses would be appreciated though!

"most teens aren't on this kind of plan" because it's DANGEROUS & insanely unhealthy. Restricting to so few calories as teen will cause you SO many more problems in the future. it's really not worth it. You can lose weight eating far more than that.

The absolute bare minimum for a teenager is 1800 calories daily.

Thank you for the replies so far, and starcrossed, I am aware and that is why I said that. I know the dangers of eating too few calories, I have already suffered from an ED, and am educated on my own body. As I said previously though, I am curious as the to answers of my question, no intentions implied.

Again, thank you both for you replies though. (: Anyone else?

I went on a 1200 calorie diet once. Here's what happened-

I started at 136, got down to 125, lost my period, developed a binging problem, started gaining weight, then tried starving but it didn't work for more than 2 days so I started binging myself stupid some more, continued the binging and starving process for 6 months, with some occasional purging, gained 15 pounds and became depressed.

Don't eat less than 1500 a day, you'll regret it. If you choose not to listen, well.. I guess you'll learn the hard way.

EDIT: I guess, you've had an ED before, I didn't read that before. So you have learned the hard way and you still want to eat only 1200 calories? No offence but you aren't recovered and you need help.

krisie....... could NOT have said it any better myself.. you are one smart cookie!

pls follow that krisie has said!!!!!

I went on a supervised 1,200 calorie diet a little while ago. I'm 5'3" and I started at 138 pounds. I had no work out regimen prior to the program. After six weeks of lifting weights three times a week and 20 minutes of light cardio every day, I lost only four pounds but about 11 inches. Shortly thereafter it spun out of control, I restricted for too long, then I couldn't control myself. My metabolism is still recovering from the tailspin. It was a terrible year.

A 1,200 calorie diet is reasonable for women beyond childbearing age but as teenagers we need a lot of nutrients that can often be hard to find in the modern diet. I was warned by my nutrition professor last semester that I need to be eating AT LEAST 1,500 calories a day, and that's still very much on the low end. It's best to lose weight by way of exercise and a healthy diet rather than restricting your calories too low.

By the way I'm now back up to 142 pounds and not losing any time soon, as my metabolism is still recovering and mentally it's hard for me to eat more than 1300 or 1400 calories a day. Especially at 14 you should really just be eating as much food as you can, as long as that food is mostly fruits and vegetables with some protein and carbohydrates =) I know it's hard to do it right after dealing with an eating disorder... it was hard for me to start eating more again and having to bloat up, and even now I sometimes can't stand the sight of my own wrists. But it gets better, it really does.

Anyways, I'm sorry, I know you just wanted to see how the 1,200 calorie diet worked for some people. It might work for a while, but the general consensus is that it's quite short lived.

Thank you again for the responses, juniwolf, your was especiialy insightful. Krisie, I do have help, I have a therapist, nutritionist and visit my doctor regularly. And I know a 1,200 calorie diet isn't anyones, especially a teens, ideal way to loose weight, but I never said my intentions were to go on this type of diet, again, I am curious a to what the questions ask. I don't want to come off as rudde or anything, I'm sorry if it sounds that way! But anyway, thank you all so much for the responses(:

hey, i'm alex. i started off at 170 pounds in november, and went down to 145 by february. i'm 5'4 and seventeen. so that was just by doing a 1200 calorie diet, no exercise. i think i have a fast metabolism or something. anyway, i stopped doing it but still lost about three pounds. now i just barely started back on it about a week ago and lost two pounds. it's a great diet if you aren't too active, otherwise you will GAIN weight because you aren't eating enough. people often think it's difficult to acclimate your body to only 1200 calories but honestly, it's not, and you get used to it. (: goodluckk!

just don't do it is what im saying!!!

 

it's extremely unhealthy.

 

there was a point in my life where i would only allow myself 300 calories or none at all, yes anorexia over took my life. AND IT IS NO WAY TO LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!! that kind of diet is very bad for you!!!!!!

i say if you wanna loose weight do it the healthy way. your body needs good nutrition.

 

keep it balanced and excercise.

 

your body will apperciate it.

 

stay beautiful,

bee

brooke

1200 is the minimum for adult females.

sedentary teens need at least 1500. please don't go lower than 1500, you're really going to regret it.

i stuck to a 100-500 calorie diet (with exercise) for 8 months and went from 170 to 107, but i was skinny-fat. after awhile my body and mind rebelled and i started to binge. now i'm sitting at 150 lbs and i'm nothing but a mess of fat and cellulite because my body fed off of my muscle tissue when i starved myself.

you can still lose weight eating 1500.

Hey, i eat around 1,200 sometimes less depending on the day. Im 5"2, 20 years old. I started at 116 and i'm now down to 103. Ive been a member since May but i started dieting around March. Its been a slow process, going on and off of the diet but ive pretty much reached my goal.

I'm a little bit confused.....I've been trying to eat around 1200 (or a little bit more, 1300ish) per day, only just started though, to try and lose about 3.5 kgs in a month. Sorry I don't know what that is in pounds...I'm a girl and I'm 17 - At the moment I weigh about 67kgs and I'm 173cm tall. That's within the healthy range for my BMI except I know I have a little bit of extra 'meat' on me. I don't think I'm fat, I just want to lose a bit of weight (I'm going on holiday soon - want to look nice overseas!!!) and I know that in the past I have been eating a bit too much junk.

So, cutting out junk etc, my diet has naturally gone down to about 1200. I try to exercise (cycle, jog, walk) about 4 times a week. I feel a bit hungry during the day at times but don't think much of it? Here's what I've eaten today to get me to about 1200:

B - An orange and a bowl of muesli

Snack - 2 pancakes

Lunch - Lettuce sandwich and a banana

Snack - 1 piece of toast

Dinner - Spaghetti bolognese

Snack - A kiwifruit and 1/2 an orange

.....To me this seems like I'm eating healthily and I don't think I would be missing out on any nutrients or starving myself? Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm on a 1300/day thing, but I found that after getting rid of the Pringles and sticking to a lot of grains and produce and a bit of meat, I usually hover around 1100-1200 and I'm never left hungry. I'm not quite the active sort (the most exercise I get is running around a restaurant, serving). I'm Asian, and I've been raised on healthy, low calorie foods at home; my mom's usual dinner consists of half a cup of steamed rice, a piece of meat or fish the size of a tennis ball, and a LOT of steamed vegetables. Same goes for lunch, and breakfast was something small like toast and a glass of milk (2 percent's the best!)

When I was eating that in high school, I stayed at 105, but college has ruined me and introduced me to corn dogs =( So I'm eating like my high school days again to try to get healthy.

So it depends on your body, activity, and what kind of foods are making up that 1200 calories, and I definitely wouldn't say it's bad for you if you're making the right food choices. 

Original Post by jsharshar:

I was just wondering if any teens here are on a 1,200 calorie diet.. and if so what are your stats (hieght, age, weight, workout regime if any, etc.) And how much have you lost in what amount of time?

I am curious as to this, I know msot teens aren't on this kind of plan though. Responses would be appreciated though!

Why are you even asking this?

1. you've had an ED, so you should know better...and if you don't then you certainly aren't recovered.

2. what good is it doing for anyone? all this is going to accomplish is making other teens feel guilty about eating more than 1200...especially if lots of girls post back with "yeah i eat 1000-1400 calories and i lost so much weight, blah blah blah"

this behavior is unhealthy, it shouldn't be discussed or promoted...or whatever you were trying to achieve.

Hi jsharshar ~

Calorie Count Plus's mission is to promote healthy and sustainable weight management.

Your post is subject to modification or deletion by our moderators.

Promotion of starvation diets or habits that exhibit signs of an eating disorder ("pro-ana", "pro-mia", etc.) is prohibited.

The calorie minimum is 1200 calories for a female and 1500 calories for a male.  Add 300+ calories if you are a teenager and even more depending on your activity level.  Most teenagers require 1800-2000 calories and even more if they are active. 

Remember that the tools on CC are geared towards adults.  Please use the following links that are catered specifically for teens if you are 19yo or under.  

Calculator and calorie information for Teens

Nutrition, Exercise & Weight Management for Teens

More Nutrition & Health for Teens

Weight Management for Kids/Teens   

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actually your lowest calorie intake depends on your weight it also depends on y but if you excersise up your cals by like 200 cus  excersise at least 5 times weekly now nd ive lost ten pounds on a 1200-1300 but i lose  2 lbs a week nd im on week 5 so dnt listen to this dirt bag talkn bout 1800 nd drink half your body weight in water

nd eat 6 times every 2hours =]]

Text within this quote has been previously moderated and therefore cannot be displayed

jsharshar, you see, that's what will happen to you if you only eat 1200 cals: You will be phisically and mentally ill, like tofu_freak. ''Oh I'm only eating 1200 cals, I'm going to go lower, it's so cool!'' ''I'm almost at my goal weight, how about less?''

i'm 18, and 5'3. when i was 16, i was 150 pounds and went to a nutritionist. she told me to eat 1300, and i exercised a few days a week. i soon lost 10 pounds. i felt my weight loss after that was "too slow" and i should cut down 100 calories, to 1200. soon i found 1200 felt like "too much" and i cut down to 1000. i lost another 10 pounds. i felt like 1000 was "too much" and cut down to 800. you see the pattern here. i got down to 111 pounds (1 pound away from my "goal weight") in less than a year and was eating 500 calories a day. to make a long story short, i "recovered" myself and gained 8-9 pounds soon after eating a "normal" amount of food. i was then 17. i maintained the 119-120 pounds for about a year, still eating 1200. i started running and upped my calories to 1300, sometimes more. lost 5 pounds. the maintained on 1500 calories. i maintained 115 pounds for a while, until i started responding to a stressful event (sort of a long story) by picking at food and gained 5 pounds. became terribly discouraged. then lost 3 pounds by trying to stop picking and binging. gained it back after picking and binging when i got sick for a week. continued to binge. weight went up to 120. 125. 130. and here i am. trying stop myself from starting any kind of terrible cycle all over again and trying to lose the weight again while not restricting, or any other dreadful behaviors.

long story short, just eat enought to fuel yourself for your age, height, weight, etc so it doesn't cause you any grief.

I'm 21 so only a couple of years out of my teens. I'm 5'2 and spend about 16 hours a day doing PC related work which means im sedatory.

For me 1200 isnt dangerous at all, because of my height and activity level it actually only gives me a defecit of 400 calories, my burn rate is only 1600 a day.

SO if your short,and sedatory 1200 is ideal, if your over 5'5 and active then Yes it can be dangerous.

I Eat breakfast, two large cooked meals per day and even have room for snacks because i eat high fiber,filling healthy food and eat on average 1.5kg of food in my 1200 calories plus 6litres of water a day. 1200 is VERY manageable IF you eat the right kind of foods, im very rarely hungry now and i think i was averaging over 3000 calories a day before i changed my diet and that was less than a month ago.

So many people look at 1200 and say its dangerous, but they don't know all the facts. I weigh 132lb but my figure compares to other woman who are 165+ (i am a size 14US 16UK) because of my height and if i ate the 1800 suggested by the second posted id actually be eating ABOVE maintenance.

The majority of teens are growing and if they are not sedatory then 1800 is about right, but please dont scare and lecture people on 1200 without knowing their stats.

*Edit* Ive been 5'2 since i was 14years old and pretty much stopped growing at that age, so my burn rate in my teens is pretty much the same as it is now.

windra06,

YOU are an adult. For an ADULT female, 1200 is the minimum calorie intake. These kids are exactly that- KIDS. For a child/teen, 1200 calories a day is extremely dangerous.

You don't know how dangerous what you are saying is. You are telling kids to be unhealthy. As an adult, your intake has no fair correlation to the other posters on this topic.

Also, no one stops growing at 14. Even if you don't grow in height, your body is still changing. Your not the same as a teen.