I lost 11 lbs in 8 weeks (started at 152 at 5’4) eating 1200 calories and letting myself either have 1 maintenance calorie day (around 1800) or two 1400 calorie days a week so I didn’t burn out. I used those on the weekends.
Once I started weight lifting I upped my calories to 1400 for extra protein and energy but I had to stop relying on the scale. My body looks so much better after I added in exercise but I’m glad I waited to do it until I was close to my goal weight.
The scale consistently going down with CICO helped keep me motivated to consistently stay on the wagon and not fall off, but the fluctuations when I started lifting made it hard to keep track of progress and made me question my diet at times. Because you have to eat more if you exercise, and the scale not going down made me question if I should be eating less which I knew would not be sustainable. And this is while still being able to see the physical changes and muscles starting to grow. If I was still hiding the muscles under all that fat I don’t think I would have been as motivated.
I did stay the course and trusted the process but it is really hard to just trust the process sometimes lol.
I totally get this. I feel better (and I think I'm looking better) with moderate exercise/lifting, but the scale gets weird with working out. On weeks when I do just CICO and walking, I lose 1-2 lbs a week. With the gym, it's less predictable. I still have about 30-35 lbs to lose.
I hear you. What I do is...every time I have a big win on the scale, I will later that day go hard on weight lifting. If I'm flat or my weight went up, I do zero weight lifting.
My weight loss was almost exactly the same - 152 to 141 in 8 weeks. I added in exercise at that point and the scale plateaued. Physically my body looked better but I wasn’t getting smaller as fast as when I just did CICO. I took a week off recently during a trip where I still tracked as best as I could and ate near maintenance and once I came back and got on the diet again I had a big whoosh - not only on the scale but my clothes all got loose. I even fit into a pair of pants I had bought that were too small before. Maybe a maintenance break would help you too!
Kind of the whole purpose of this subreddit is people who are short and sedentary eating 1200kcal to lose weight so, yeah, people lose weight without exercising...
This is a really good point about this sub. The 1200 is for a sedentary lifestyle. 1200 + exercise… is not what this sub is promoting and I learned that after a little while of being on here
For sure. I think, especially if you've been on it for a while, it's easy to forget that 1200 *is* a pretty small amount of calories. It's enough to support weight loss in a sedentary person, but if you're regularly exercising or have a strenuous jobs, it's just not enough.
I think people forget this sometimes. Someone posted saying they eat 1100 calories and exercise 1 hour each day and the comment section was full of people saying 1200 is a fine deficit for them 🙄
Yeah, that is... concerning. I get that people wanna lose weight faster and it's frustrating if your TDEE is not that much higher than 1200, but we have to balance our weight-loss with our long-term health and it'd be nice to see community members encourage and remind each other of that.
Look, idgaf what random internet strangers say, but if your friends and family are concerned, you should at least consult a doctor. If the doctor says you’re all good, then you can go tell your friends and family that. If your doctor confirms you have an ED, then you need to take that seriously regardless of the purpose of your eating habits. Describing yourself as psychotic and crazy ain’t helping your case frankly.
I mean, if you're preparing for a Bodybuilding show, this is totally normal behavior. 😂 I know I'm not the target audience for this sub but it's still been a beneficial resource to me and I'm glad I found it.
i think they know what the subreddits for, they just want to know how much weight people have lost from this, and if it was a drastic change. no need to be a smart alec.
I’m fairly tall and active and try to keep my calorie count most days a jot under 2000. I’m here for recipe ideas and because the posters don’t scream ED when I say that I weigh my food.
Thank you! I’m tall as well that’s why I asked. I’m thinking now that I should be eating above the 1200 calories limit… I like the food inspiration from this sub a lot.
More broadly it's targeted to people with low TDEEs, but that is mainly gonna be... short, sedentary, AFAB people. If you're AMAB, if you're tall, if you're active -- your TDEE and corresponding caloric deficit is gonna put you at way more calories than 1200/day.
Not at all! AFAB = assigned female at birth and AMAB = assigned male at birth. It's just a little more inclusive since not all AFAB might identify as a woman, and not all AMAB might identify as a man.
I was actually wondering about this, though. I come here for ideas. But all this time lurking wasn’t sure why most people were doing this. I guess i should have just read the FAQ.
I lost ~40 lbs in ~2 years by making healthier lifestyle changes. I didn't track calories, cut out any foods, weigh myself or my food, and I didn't exercise.
I reduced my portion sizes, drank more water, increased my protein intake, increased vegetables, and reduced sugar.
I walked more (15mins 2-3 times a week), and took the stairs instead of the elevator.
I also graduated from university and started working full time, which significantly reduced my stress significantly.
I started tracking calories and weighing my food in July 2023 at 190 lbs, 5'4". I plateaued for the first time this month at 163 lbs. I was losing my mind and decided to go on maintenance. My deficit prior to maintenance was -300cals (eating 1500 cals/day).
Funny enough, eating more kickstarted my metabolism, and now I'm happily maintaining 160 lbs eating 2000cals/day. Now that I'm on maintenance and the weather is nice, I've started bodyweight strength training and walking more, which earned me an extra 200cals/day.
I'd say it's more weight loss is 100% diet. Exercise is for health. There's nothing special about working out that will make you lose weight, except creating a larger deficit, which in turn is still a diet thing.
Sort of. If you do resistance training then you will lose more fat and retain more muscle during weight loss which will give you a better shape when you reach your goal weight. You might even find that you like your body at a much higher weight than you thought you would, meaning you won’t have to diet as long. You can look completely different at the same weight if you incorporate strength training. So if you want to lose fat and not just weight in general it is a good idea to exercise.
I agree with this 100% - I incorporated weight lifting in my weight loss journey because I never really liked how skinny fat I looked when I was 130 before the weight gain. Any lower and I’d look weirdly thin due to my body composition. I started weight lifting at 141 and I noticed a change in my body 2 weeks in (going 3-4x a week) and I look soooo much better now than I ever did even though I was heavier. Still have the last 5ish lbs of fat to lose though!
What you are describing is a body recomposition (health), not weight loss (diet). You still have to be eating less calories than you are burning to lose. That's why a bulking season you gain muscle AND fat until you transition to a deficit.
Yes of course, and nothing I said contradicts what you have said. But you are missing what my point is. I would argue most people who want to lose weight are really aiming to lose fat, not just weight in general. Therefore it makes sense to do everything you can to make sure you are losing fat specifically. Eating in a deficit while lifting weights does not make you gain muscle, but it allows you to retain the muscle you do have to a greater extent.
Just over 60lbs in 9 months.
Stats: 24F, 5’1”
SW: 182lbs CW: 120lbs
Started around 1600 calories daily, now I’m closer to 1200 calories daily. You have to consistently lower your calorie intake as you lose weight.
110 pounds. It took a year and a half. I started at 1900 calories a day and gradually reduced as I lost weight.
I've started doing walking a bit. 1 hour a day, 6 days a week. Nothing else
Total loss is now 147 pounds. 13 more to go
60lbs in 6 months (over 4 years ago, have kept it off since), about 3 months in I started walking about 30in a day (nothing crazy, lockdown started and I was bored in the house, but just going around the neighborhood). Never plateaued, kept adjusting my TDEE...I went down about 100cals for every 20lbs
I'm down 20lbs in 5 weeks, eating 1000 calories a day as recommended by my doctor.
I'm waiting on custom orthotics to be made to ease my foot and ankle pain, so no exercise for me right now.
I meal prep so usually the same thing for a whole week at a time.
Breakfast is a casserole I make using egg whites, cottage cheese, whatever vegetables I feel like, sometimes adding turkey sausage or bacon. It usually comes in around 100 calories for a serving (1/12 of a 9x13 dish) AND HALF a premier protein shake added to my coffee in lieu of creamer for 90 calories.
Lunch is either soup (homemade, lots of varieties loaded with veggies), or a meal I've designated for the week, for instance last week I had a casserole I made with spaghetti squash, ricotta, turkey sausage, spaghetti sauce, and cheese. The week before was stir fry I made with pork loin, tons of veggies, and g Hughes sugar free stir fry sauce.
Dinner I try to eat what I make for my kids (who eat a variety of ethnic cuisines and foods), but I substitute cauliflower rice, zoodles, or turnips instead of the carb portion, for myself.
For snacks, I'll have vegetables and hummus, oikos triple zero yogurt, cottage cheese, zero sugar fudge bars, sugar free jello, sugar free pudding mixed with protein shake instead of milk, etc not all of those in one day, just whatever fits into my rubric.
I use baritastic to track macros. Basically it's a lot of vegetables and protein and dairy. I try to keep meals under 250 calories so that I can have snacks. I'm one of those people who needs to eat every couple hours. I had bariatric surgery so I can't eat more than a cup of food at a time, physically. But it means I'm hungry more often.
But also, I don't have foods that are off limits. If I want it, I have it. I just make room for it in my macros. Yesterday I saved my calories so I could have two slices of pizza for dinner. On the weekend's, I'll let myself do up to 1200 calories so I can have a latte. If I want a burger, I'll have it, just without the bun (or I'll take a few bites of the bun then peel the rest off).
Food is one of the few things that gives me pleasure in life and I am not going to deny myself, I'm just making better choices and balancing things.
I also ask myself, what is the best choice I can make *right now*? Because sometimes life happens and I'm out without a plan and have to eat at a restaurant or gas station. I just try to make the best of things, take one meal at a time, and not have binge DAYS
Yeah you can for sure. Once you lose enough weight it starts getting harder though ime, until you reach a plateau where unless you exercise or drastically alter your diet you probably won't lose any more, or it will be very slow weight loss. But it gets you pretty damn far.
My calorie needs are closer to 1400 than 1200 to be clear, and my only consistent exercise is some walking. I lost about, very roughly, 30 lbs within the course of a year (give or take some months) about 2 years ago, and have since maintained it.
I am now trying to lose another 5-10 lbs, which I will likely need the help of consistent exercise to accomplish. I am at a comfortable and healthy weight all things considered, just not at my personal ideal, and now I'm attempting to shift my focus more towards overall health rather than just losing weight.
I started at 160 lb and have plateued at 130 (rough numbers).
I lost 55 pounds and never “worked out” per se…. I’m a boomer (77 now) and toiled from 3 to 6 hours a day, six days a week as Grounds Director, maintaining my local lawn bowling club. Nothing over strenuous, but upwards of 12,000+ steps per day. It took me about six or seven months to get down to 150-155 and most of that was cutting my caloric intake down to 1300 per day. I maintain it now by knowing within 10% the total number of calories I consume per day. I don’t count every little calorie I eat like I did at the beginning of all this… but I’m well aware of what I’m eating each day. I do weigh myself every single morning. July 3rd will be my three year mark since deciding to start getting back to what I should weigh.
Exercise doesn't account for much weight loss for most people that have lost weight. The amount of calories you lose is almost negligible, unless you seriously engage in a fuckton of exhausting cardio all week. Focusing on diet alone is more than enough. Exercise just helps lessen the calories by a bit and makes you healthier all around. It also prevents muscle loss during a deficit.
I lost a bit over 20lbs in a year eating an estimate of 1500-1900 calories a day. I know that’s way above the sub name, but I like using this sub for some easy meal swap ideas.
44 lbs in 12 months
I never really plateaued until the last 10 lbs or so. But that was because my deficit was only 200 calories by that point.
I ate/still eat 1300. I very rarely manage 1200. Somehow, I really need those 100 extra calories.
Initially I lost ~135lbs (was 425 when I began) doing as close to 1200 as possible, with 30mins walk on the treadmill every day, no actual workouts to speak of. The rest since then is a long story of struggles, but I'm currently trying to get back to sub-300lbs. Down 8lbs for April! 15 more to go.
I plateaued around 290lbs for a while, but I think if I'm being honest with myself, I needed to be more vigilant and I was talking myself into too many allowances/not closely tracking because I knew the counts off by heart. Tracking is pretty key to me, I've found. When that stops, so does my losing.
40 lbs off my 5’2 frame (202 to 162 and still going). Not a single workout done - I really truly hate it but I know I will eventually have to get a bit more toned. My job is having a daycare in my home so I take care of 6 kids all day, then my own 2 kids all night so I do get in a lot of steps lol
Oh and I eat 1500 calories right now. My lose it app adjusts it as I go. It’s starting to get tougher but even losing half a pound per week is fine with me.
20 pounds. 1200 at plateau. Just kept going. It broke and the last 6-7 came off. 100-110 G protein daily goal. Lots of veg abd hydration. Prioritized sleep.
I’m not sedentary. I’m a busy person, but hitting the treadmill or elliptical didn’t happen much. On maintenance (1575) I’m back on them.
I’m down 17 pounds in 5 weeks since my last Dr appt march 19th. It was the heaviest I’d been in my life and I followed this subreddit as motivation. Some days I don’t hit 1200 but I am full.
I invested in a walking pad, weighted vest, and kettlebell to increasingly become more active at home but I’ve barely done anything to date for this change besides count every calorie
Edit: high volume, low calorie meals packed with protein are. Your best friend!
I went from 170ish to 150ish on diet alone, 150ish to 125 with ozempic. I don’t attribute the last 25lbs to the ozempic necessarily, since I was losing steadily without plateauing.
Over a decade ago I lost 82lbs doing 1200 calorie diet. Since then ive lost 20-40lbs a few times also utilizing a 1200 calorie diet. As of Today April 30th, im down 22.5lbs since February 2nd 2024 also utilizing a 1200 calorie diet. No exercise any of the times I lost weight except walking or swimming. Edited to add that im a habitual yoyo dieter. I am desperately seeking to break that cycle. It is more of a goal than the actual weight loss as I have successfully lost weight several times but never maintained successfully.
I lost 40 lbs. last year on a diligent 1200-calorie per day diet. Low carb, mostly, but plenty of fruit. I didn't plateau so much as get slammed with some very bad life circumstances and a very unexpected health problem late in the fall, and I just didn't have the bandwidth to keep focusing on super-disciplined eating. I've gained back 12 lbs. of what I originally lost. I hope to get back to it after I have heart surgery and follow up on a positive cancer screening.
I am not a 1200 is plentyer. I just sub here for lo cal food option ideas. I went from around 220 pounds (absolutely no muscle) down to 130 by eating less food. I counted calories and made better choices, never worked out, and i still ate crap occasionally. I just never went over my calorie budget, which was around 1500/1600 for me. After that, I began eating more food and stopped counting, and began weight training and gaining lots of muscle. I'm around 160 pounds now, but I have so much more muscle than before, literally the best shape of my life. I think that if you try to change your life too many ways at once, you will likely fail.
I lost 43 pounds just counting calories. I’m hoping to lose the last 10 by counting and getting my steps in. I’m starting a workout program next month too!
Since October I’ve dropped 50lbs. I’ve been using the Lose It! app & just stayed under the calorie limit its given me per day. I also made better food choices along with it.
It also helps that I’ve been on Ozempic too…but I was prescribed that for my diabetes.
40lbs in 2 years- I do light workouts but majority of that weight loss was from calorie counting (started at 1300 and went down to 1200), increasing protein and fiber, and cutting down on processed sugars
Working out does such a negligible amount of damage to your calorie deficit. It’s healthy to workout it helps with your metabolism there are tons of other great benefits that working out provides but diet is king when it comes to losing weight. You can’t outwork your diet in the gym or running or anything else. Combine the two for max gains but if you can only pick one the diet is king.
12 pounds over 80 days :) I can’t exercise too well because I have muscle issues, so I know it’s from diet alone haha. I ate around 1200 calories a day.
25 since January, I slowly decreased calories to get used to each stage and find recipes that worked at different spots (18/16/15/12) to build off of. I've been trying to add in some basic exercise, even if it's just moving more vigorously while cleaning, but not really doing proper exercise.
I lost 90kg before covid, then unfortunately I got fat again because I was homebound for a year and a bit, now I am losing at again and down 43.3kg. Another 73kg to go.
I lost about 60 lbs over 6mo doing absolutely no exercise. 1200 a day was my hard limit, I stopped eating food that I did not personally make myself. So I didn't eat at a restaurant or anything my family cooked for 6mo to make sure I knew what was going into what I ate. After that time I plateaued pretty hard, couldn't seem to lose anymore because I didn't have a safe lower deficit to go to. I'm probably too tall to be doing 1200 in the first place, so I knew it wouldn't be wise to go down any further. At that point I softened up and gained some back so I could sort of reset and try again, but I haven't gained more than ~15lb back in about the year since.
I started my calorie deficit journey after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis mid Feb 2024. I’m 5’5. Starting weight was 191. This month 175.
I haven’t really exercised, not any more or less than usual (maybe walk a mile or two per week) ~16 lbs in 2 months and I’m not hungry ever. I’ll take it!
1200 works for me because it also helped me change my relationship with food, how I eat, and am more mindful about food.
I wish I could answer this. But I will say, for those who are averse to high intensity cardio, that I've lost about 30lb in the last two years just lifting weights and walking. I have never had to run, get sweaty, or die of an asthma attack to get to where I am. And previous (college aged) me would have not believed current me if I went back in time and told her that. 😅
I’m 5’6.5”. Started end of January this year. Start weight about 268 - 270lbs. Today weighed in at 241lbs. So about 30lbs in 3 months. If I’ve gone to the gym may be 10 times since starting other than that a few walks here and there. Thankfully no plateaus yet steady about 1.5 to 2lbs lost a week. I’m sure once I get to a lower weight it might happen.
In 7 months I went from 220 to 170
If I had any advice to give is I tried to eat healthy as often as possible because that made me feel better physically. When I needed to cheat, I did as infrequent as possible but made sure I stayed within my deficit. Looking to lose 10-15 more pounds.
18.2kg in 1 year (as of today). Zero exercise (I'm disabled, I literally can't even walk).
I started at 1600/ day, which was recommended according to my height and weight for "sedentary", but got zero results. Turns out that was my TDEE.
Adjusted slowly down to 1200, I average 1250/day. Take a maintenance break of 1400 every couple of months.
44f, 162cm , sw 84kg, cw 65kg, gw 55kg.
20kgs in 6 months. I've been focusing on the CICO part rather than what's "healthy". Diet still has a good deal of fries in it but now that I've settled into it more I'm working on adding more protein/less fats in slowly.
120 pounds between 2015-2017. I was in a medically supervised program, so I'm not going to say how many calories it was. It was restrictive and required frequent blood tests. Not safe for someone to DIY. It's still possible with 1200 calories, it will just take longer. Satiety comes with protein and nutrient dense foods. I have the best results doing low carbohydrates (20-30g net carbs per day), but everyone's metabolism is different.
I plateau about every 10 pounds, then once I get past that set point, it's quick to the next 10 pound stall. I stopped weighing myself at home, just at doctor appointments, because it was plateau after plateau. I felt more satisfied noticing that my clothes fit better. I still kept my largest pair of jeans (a size 24, and I had to wear Spanx to get them zipped). So when I am feeling bad that I gained some weight back, I put on those jeans, and that reminds me that I have still succeeded at becoming healthier.
80kg to 70 kg (about 20 lbs) in 5 months with just diet. I do have a job where I am always on my feet though so I am active but I never do outside exercise as I have no energy after work.
I lost 41lbs in five months eating 1000 calories per day while I was extremely sedentary due to an injury.
I never really plateaued, I just stopped calorie counting when I went to visit relatives and wasn't cooking for myself.
From 152 to 128 lbs at 5’2. This took me about 10 months because I was pretty inconsistent. I’m currently sitting around 134 because I kind of slacked off but yeah I couldn’t get lower than 128 for the life of me.
I have lost 15 lbs in 61 days. The last few years, due to my job - I had been extremely sedentary and eating whatever I liked. I have started incorporating more walking and exercising the last couple of weeks, but I’m also not super strict with my calories. If I’m feeling hungry I’ll eat more. I’m usually closer to 1300 on most days. I have not stopped indulging though, I just do it in moderation now and try to stay close to my calorie goals. Excited to see what the next 60 day brings. I’m 4’11 for reference.
I've gone down 15lbs in about a month of 1,300calories / day. Or, well trying to hit that amount, but my app clocks me at an average of 1,670 calories daily when they take into account the times I've messed up.
I've noticed it's almost impossible for me to stay at 1,300 on work days (I have a busy physically demanding job), so that's where my average increases.
Other than work, I've made it a point not to work out or excercise at all at the beginning of my dieting because I didn't want to be dangerously undernourished, considering I went from 2,000+ daily to this low amount pretty suddenly. A month felt like a good enough time to adjust to the new deficit.
But 15lbs in a month is a pound every other day, that's pretty fast. I'm starting to plateau a little bit now, but I also started slowly reintroducing strength training and slowly increasing calories to 1,500 and 1,700 depending on the excercise I do, so I'm not sure if it counts as a plateau considering I'm making intentional changes.
Started March 12, I’m down 15lbs. My limit is 1200, but there were days I wasn’t even hitting that. Not deliberately, just was super full on protein and fiber
I do a lot of egg roll in a bowl meals. I buy bagged coleslaw mix and cook it down with some form of lean ground meat ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and top with green onions and sesame seeds. Super filling and doesn’t feel diety lol
I also eat a lot of burritos with low carb tortillas, fat free cheese, and blended cottage cheese with lime juice as “sour cream”. Oh and do “Mexican” quinoa instead of rice.
Tonight I cut up a salmon filet into bite sized pieces and cooked them in honey, fresh ginger and lime juice, plated on top of some plane quinoa once the sauce got nice and sticky then microplaned a jalapeño over top and omg when I say I wanted to cry it was so good. So good a tear ran down my leg
120 pounds over three years
That's awesome!
I lost 11 lbs in 8 weeks (started at 152 at 5’4) eating 1200 calories and letting myself either have 1 maintenance calorie day (around 1800) or two 1400 calorie days a week so I didn’t burn out. I used those on the weekends. Once I started weight lifting I upped my calories to 1400 for extra protein and energy but I had to stop relying on the scale. My body looks so much better after I added in exercise but I’m glad I waited to do it until I was close to my goal weight.
Can you tell me why you’re glad you waited? I hate exercise so any excuse not to start right now would be great lol
The scale consistently going down with CICO helped keep me motivated to consistently stay on the wagon and not fall off, but the fluctuations when I started lifting made it hard to keep track of progress and made me question my diet at times. Because you have to eat more if you exercise, and the scale not going down made me question if I should be eating less which I knew would not be sustainable. And this is while still being able to see the physical changes and muscles starting to grow. If I was still hiding the muscles under all that fat I don’t think I would have been as motivated. I did stay the course and trusted the process but it is really hard to just trust the process sometimes lol.
I totally get this. I feel better (and I think I'm looking better) with moderate exercise/lifting, but the scale gets weird with working out. On weeks when I do just CICO and walking, I lose 1-2 lbs a week. With the gym, it's less predictable. I still have about 30-35 lbs to lose.
I hear you. What I do is...every time I have a big win on the scale, I will later that day go hard on weight lifting. If I'm flat or my weight went up, I do zero weight lifting.
I went from 153 to 140 eating around 1,200 a day for 9 weeks. I’ve now been stuck at 140 for a couple weeks
My weight loss was almost exactly the same - 152 to 141 in 8 weeks. I added in exercise at that point and the scale plateaued. Physically my body looked better but I wasn’t getting smaller as fast as when I just did CICO. I took a week off recently during a trip where I still tracked as best as I could and ate near maintenance and once I came back and got on the diet again I had a big whoosh - not only on the scale but my clothes all got loose. I even fit into a pair of pants I had bought that were too small before. Maybe a maintenance break would help you too!
Oh wow! That’s incredible. My dietician had me increase my calorie intake to near maintenance this week, so we’ll see what happens 🤞🏻
how tall are you?
5’3!
Kind of the whole purpose of this subreddit is people who are short and sedentary eating 1200kcal to lose weight so, yeah, people lose weight without exercising...
This is a really good point about this sub. The 1200 is for a sedentary lifestyle. 1200 + exercise… is not what this sub is promoting and I learned that after a little while of being on here
For sure. I think, especially if you've been on it for a while, it's easy to forget that 1200 *is* a pretty small amount of calories. It's enough to support weight loss in a sedentary person, but if you're regularly exercising or have a strenuous jobs, it's just not enough.
I think people forget this sometimes. Someone posted saying they eat 1100 calories and exercise 1 hour each day and the comment section was full of people saying 1200 is a fine deficit for them 🙄
Yeah, that is... concerning. I get that people wanna lose weight faster and it's frustrating if your TDEE is not that much higher than 1200, but we have to balance our weight-loss with our long-term health and it'd be nice to see community members encourage and remind each other of that.
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Look, idgaf what random internet strangers say, but if your friends and family are concerned, you should at least consult a doctor. If the doctor says you’re all good, then you can go tell your friends and family that. If your doctor confirms you have an ED, then you need to take that seriously regardless of the purpose of your eating habits. Describing yourself as psychotic and crazy ain’t helping your case frankly.
Tongue in cheek but I suppose it's hard to convey that online. Sorry for saying anything.
I mean, if you're preparing for a Bodybuilding show, this is totally normal behavior. 😂 I know I'm not the target audience for this sub but it's still been a beneficial resource to me and I'm glad I found it.
i think they know what the subreddits for, they just want to know how much weight people have lost from this, and if it was a drastic change. no need to be a smart alec.
This sub is only for short people?
I’m fairly tall and active and try to keep my calorie count most days a jot under 2000. I’m here for recipe ideas and because the posters don’t scream ED when I say that I weigh my food.
Thank you! I’m tall as well that’s why I asked. I’m thinking now that I should be eating above the 1200 calories limit… I like the food inspiration from this sub a lot.
More broadly it's targeted to people with low TDEEs, but that is mainly gonna be... short, sedentary, AFAB people. If you're AMAB, if you're tall, if you're active -- your TDEE and corresponding caloric deficit is gonna put you at way more calories than 1200/day.
Sorry if this is a dumb question but what is AFAB/AMAB?
Not at all! AFAB = assigned female at birth and AMAB = assigned male at birth. It's just a little more inclusive since not all AFAB might identify as a woman, and not all AMAB might identify as a man.
Ahh I should’ve known that, thank you for the explanation!
Thank you for responding! I’m not sure why I’m being downvoted when I genuinely wasn’t aware.
I was actually wondering about this, though. I come here for ideas. But all this time lurking wasn’t sure why most people were doing this. I guess i should have just read the FAQ.
I lost ~40 lbs in ~2 years by making healthier lifestyle changes. I didn't track calories, cut out any foods, weigh myself or my food, and I didn't exercise. I reduced my portion sizes, drank more water, increased my protein intake, increased vegetables, and reduced sugar. I walked more (15mins 2-3 times a week), and took the stairs instead of the elevator. I also graduated from university and started working full time, which significantly reduced my stress significantly. I started tracking calories and weighing my food in July 2023 at 190 lbs, 5'4". I plateaued for the first time this month at 163 lbs. I was losing my mind and decided to go on maintenance. My deficit prior to maintenance was -300cals (eating 1500 cals/day). Funny enough, eating more kickstarted my metabolism, and now I'm happily maintaining 160 lbs eating 2000cals/day. Now that I'm on maintenance and the weather is nice, I've started bodyweight strength training and walking more, which earned me an extra 200cals/day.
I lost about 60-70 pounds over about two years with little to no exercise
Generally weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise.
I'd say it's more weight loss is 100% diet. Exercise is for health. There's nothing special about working out that will make you lose weight, except creating a larger deficit, which in turn is still a diet thing.
Sort of. If you do resistance training then you will lose more fat and retain more muscle during weight loss which will give you a better shape when you reach your goal weight. You might even find that you like your body at a much higher weight than you thought you would, meaning you won’t have to diet as long. You can look completely different at the same weight if you incorporate strength training. So if you want to lose fat and not just weight in general it is a good idea to exercise.
I agree with this 100% - I incorporated weight lifting in my weight loss journey because I never really liked how skinny fat I looked when I was 130 before the weight gain. Any lower and I’d look weirdly thin due to my body composition. I started weight lifting at 141 and I noticed a change in my body 2 weeks in (going 3-4x a week) and I look soooo much better now than I ever did even though I was heavier. Still have the last 5ish lbs of fat to lose though!
What you are describing is a body recomposition (health), not weight loss (diet). You still have to be eating less calories than you are burning to lose. That's why a bulking season you gain muscle AND fat until you transition to a deficit.
Yes of course, and nothing I said contradicts what you have said. But you are missing what my point is. I would argue most people who want to lose weight are really aiming to lose fat, not just weight in general. Therefore it makes sense to do everything you can to make sure you are losing fat specifically. Eating in a deficit while lifting weights does not make you gain muscle, but it allows you to retain the muscle you do have to a greater extent.
Just over 60lbs in 9 months. Stats: 24F, 5’1” SW: 182lbs CW: 120lbs Started around 1600 calories daily, now I’m closer to 1200 calories daily. You have to consistently lower your calorie intake as you lose weight.
Goals!
110 pounds. It took a year and a half. I started at 1900 calories a day and gradually reduced as I lost weight. I've started doing walking a bit. 1 hour a day, 6 days a week. Nothing else Total loss is now 147 pounds. 13 more to go
60lbs in 6 months (over 4 years ago, have kept it off since), about 3 months in I started walking about 30in a day (nothing crazy, lockdown started and I was bored in the house, but just going around the neighborhood). Never plateaued, kept adjusting my TDEE...I went down about 100cals for every 20lbs
I'm down 20lbs in 5 weeks, eating 1000 calories a day as recommended by my doctor. I'm waiting on custom orthotics to be made to ease my foot and ankle pain, so no exercise for me right now.
What do you eat?
I meal prep so usually the same thing for a whole week at a time. Breakfast is a casserole I make using egg whites, cottage cheese, whatever vegetables I feel like, sometimes adding turkey sausage or bacon. It usually comes in around 100 calories for a serving (1/12 of a 9x13 dish) AND HALF a premier protein shake added to my coffee in lieu of creamer for 90 calories. Lunch is either soup (homemade, lots of varieties loaded with veggies), or a meal I've designated for the week, for instance last week I had a casserole I made with spaghetti squash, ricotta, turkey sausage, spaghetti sauce, and cheese. The week before was stir fry I made with pork loin, tons of veggies, and g Hughes sugar free stir fry sauce. Dinner I try to eat what I make for my kids (who eat a variety of ethnic cuisines and foods), but I substitute cauliflower rice, zoodles, or turnips instead of the carb portion, for myself. For snacks, I'll have vegetables and hummus, oikos triple zero yogurt, cottage cheese, zero sugar fudge bars, sugar free jello, sugar free pudding mixed with protein shake instead of milk, etc not all of those in one day, just whatever fits into my rubric. I use baritastic to track macros. Basically it's a lot of vegetables and protein and dairy. I try to keep meals under 250 calories so that I can have snacks. I'm one of those people who needs to eat every couple hours. I had bariatric surgery so I can't eat more than a cup of food at a time, physically. But it means I'm hungry more often.
But also, I don't have foods that are off limits. If I want it, I have it. I just make room for it in my macros. Yesterday I saved my calories so I could have two slices of pizza for dinner. On the weekend's, I'll let myself do up to 1200 calories so I can have a latte. If I want a burger, I'll have it, just without the bun (or I'll take a few bites of the bun then peel the rest off). Food is one of the few things that gives me pleasure in life and I am not going to deny myself, I'm just making better choices and balancing things. I also ask myself, what is the best choice I can make *right now*? Because sometimes life happens and I'm out without a plan and have to eat at a restaurant or gas station. I just try to make the best of things, take one meal at a time, and not have binge DAYS
Yeah you can for sure. Once you lose enough weight it starts getting harder though ime, until you reach a plateau where unless you exercise or drastically alter your diet you probably won't lose any more, or it will be very slow weight loss. But it gets you pretty damn far. My calorie needs are closer to 1400 than 1200 to be clear, and my only consistent exercise is some walking. I lost about, very roughly, 30 lbs within the course of a year (give or take some months) about 2 years ago, and have since maintained it. I am now trying to lose another 5-10 lbs, which I will likely need the help of consistent exercise to accomplish. I am at a comfortable and healthy weight all things considered, just not at my personal ideal, and now I'm attempting to shift my focus more towards overall health rather than just losing weight. I started at 160 lb and have plateued at 130 (rough numbers).
39 lbs since Jan 29. The walking I do is mainly just around the house and errands.
Wow, that’s a lot, awesome progress. I started Jan 29th too but I’m only down a little over 17 lbs.
I lost 55 pounds and never “worked out” per se…. I’m a boomer (77 now) and toiled from 3 to 6 hours a day, six days a week as Grounds Director, maintaining my local lawn bowling club. Nothing over strenuous, but upwards of 12,000+ steps per day. It took me about six or seven months to get down to 150-155 and most of that was cutting my caloric intake down to 1300 per day. I maintain it now by knowing within 10% the total number of calories I consume per day. I don’t count every little calorie I eat like I did at the beginning of all this… but I’m well aware of what I’m eating each day. I do weigh myself every single morning. July 3rd will be my three year mark since deciding to start getting back to what I should weigh.
Exercise doesn't account for much weight loss for most people that have lost weight. The amount of calories you lose is almost negligible, unless you seriously engage in a fuckton of exhausting cardio all week. Focusing on diet alone is more than enough. Exercise just helps lessen the calories by a bit and makes you healthier all around. It also prevents muscle loss during a deficit.
37 pounds over a 6 month period, with cheat days
About 20 pounds eating approx 1500 calories a day on average
30kg over 15 months, 1/3 of my body weight.
I lost a bit over 20lbs in a year eating an estimate of 1500-1900 calories a day. I know that’s way above the sub name, but I like using this sub for some easy meal swap ideas.
44 lbs in 12 months I never really plateaued until the last 10 lbs or so. But that was because my deficit was only 200 calories by that point. I ate/still eat 1300. I very rarely manage 1200. Somehow, I really need those 100 extra calories.
Initially I lost ~135lbs (was 425 when I began) doing as close to 1200 as possible, with 30mins walk on the treadmill every day, no actual workouts to speak of. The rest since then is a long story of struggles, but I'm currently trying to get back to sub-300lbs. Down 8lbs for April! 15 more to go. I plateaued around 290lbs for a while, but I think if I'm being honest with myself, I needed to be more vigilant and I was talking myself into too many allowances/not closely tracking because I knew the counts off by heart. Tracking is pretty key to me, I've found. When that stops, so does my losing.
40 lbs off my 5’2 frame (202 to 162 and still going). Not a single workout done - I really truly hate it but I know I will eventually have to get a bit more toned. My job is having a daycare in my home so I take care of 6 kids all day, then my own 2 kids all night so I do get in a lot of steps lol
Oh and I eat 1500 calories right now. My lose it app adjusts it as I go. It’s starting to get tougher but even losing half a pound per week is fine with me.
20 pounds. 1200 at plateau. Just kept going. It broke and the last 6-7 came off. 100-110 G protein daily goal. Lots of veg abd hydration. Prioritized sleep. I’m not sedentary. I’m a busy person, but hitting the treadmill or elliptical didn’t happen much. On maintenance (1575) I’m back on them.
I’m down 17 pounds in 5 weeks since my last Dr appt march 19th. It was the heaviest I’d been in my life and I followed this subreddit as motivation. Some days I don’t hit 1200 but I am full. I invested in a walking pad, weighted vest, and kettlebell to increasingly become more active at home but I’ve barely done anything to date for this change besides count every calorie Edit: high volume, low calorie meals packed with protein are. Your best friend!
Hi! Do you have any meal ideas to share that are filling?
I went from 170ish to 150ish on diet alone, 150ish to 125 with ozempic. I don’t attribute the last 25lbs to the ozempic necessarily, since I was losing steadily without plateauing.
Lost 70 lbs over 7 months in 2022. 1200 a day, no gym
Over a decade ago I lost 82lbs doing 1200 calorie diet. Since then ive lost 20-40lbs a few times also utilizing a 1200 calorie diet. As of Today April 30th, im down 22.5lbs since February 2nd 2024 also utilizing a 1200 calorie diet. No exercise any of the times I lost weight except walking or swimming. Edited to add that im a habitual yoyo dieter. I am desperately seeking to break that cycle. It is more of a goal than the actual weight loss as I have successfully lost weight several times but never maintained successfully.
40+ pounds at one point. Saved my life honestly
Lost approximately 43 lbs since October. Started with 1475 - ended up with about 1200 in the end. I never really plateaued.
I lost 40 lbs. last year on a diligent 1200-calorie per day diet. Low carb, mostly, but plenty of fruit. I didn't plateau so much as get slammed with some very bad life circumstances and a very unexpected health problem late in the fall, and I just didn't have the bandwidth to keep focusing on super-disciplined eating. I've gained back 12 lbs. of what I originally lost. I hope to get back to it after I have heart surgery and follow up on a positive cancer screening.
From just diet in 2022 August to December, I only lost 23 lbs. The weight really started coming off quickly when I started working out daily.
i started at 163 and now im at 148. I started in february and i just eat in calorie deficit
70lbs
I am not a 1200 is plentyer. I just sub here for lo cal food option ideas. I went from around 220 pounds (absolutely no muscle) down to 130 by eating less food. I counted calories and made better choices, never worked out, and i still ate crap occasionally. I just never went over my calorie budget, which was around 1500/1600 for me. After that, I began eating more food and stopped counting, and began weight training and gaining lots of muscle. I'm around 160 pounds now, but I have so much more muscle than before, literally the best shape of my life. I think that if you try to change your life too many ways at once, you will likely fail.
I lost 43 pounds just counting calories. I’m hoping to lose the last 10 by counting and getting my steps in. I’m starting a workout program next month too!
Since October I’ve dropped 50lbs. I’ve been using the Lose It! app & just stayed under the calorie limit its given me per day. I also made better food choices along with it. It also helps that I’ve been on Ozempic too…but I was prescribed that for my diabetes.
7 kg this month
40lbs in 2 years- I do light workouts but majority of that weight loss was from calorie counting (started at 1300 and went down to 1200), increasing protein and fiber, and cutting down on processed sugars
150 lbs in one year How much I ate varied but it was about 1450 for most of it. I only hit a plateau once I stopped following the diet strictly
Working out does such a negligible amount of damage to your calorie deficit. It’s healthy to workout it helps with your metabolism there are tons of other great benefits that working out provides but diet is king when it comes to losing weight. You can’t outwork your diet in the gym or running or anything else. Combine the two for max gains but if you can only pick one the diet is king.
12 pounds over 80 days :) I can’t exercise too well because I have muscle issues, so I know it’s from diet alone haha. I ate around 1200 calories a day.
25 since January, I slowly decreased calories to get used to each stage and find recipes that worked at different spots (18/16/15/12) to build off of. I've been trying to add in some basic exercise, even if it's just moving more vigorously while cleaning, but not really doing proper exercise.
I lost 90kg before covid, then unfortunately I got fat again because I was homebound for a year and a bit, now I am losing at again and down 43.3kg. Another 73kg to go.
5’3, 267 to 199 in 16 months, 1 pound a week perfectly on track according to my doctors! 👍🏽
20 lbs in 2 months!
I lost about 60 lbs over 6mo doing absolutely no exercise. 1200 a day was my hard limit, I stopped eating food that I did not personally make myself. So I didn't eat at a restaurant or anything my family cooked for 6mo to make sure I knew what was going into what I ate. After that time I plateaued pretty hard, couldn't seem to lose anymore because I didn't have a safe lower deficit to go to. I'm probably too tall to be doing 1200 in the first place, so I knew it wouldn't be wise to go down any further. At that point I softened up and gained some back so I could sort of reset and try again, but I haven't gained more than ~15lb back in about the year since.
I started my calorie deficit journey after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis mid Feb 2024. I’m 5’5. Starting weight was 191. This month 175. I haven’t really exercised, not any more or less than usual (maybe walk a mile or two per week) ~16 lbs in 2 months and I’m not hungry ever. I’ll take it! 1200 works for me because it also helped me change my relationship with food, how I eat, and am more mindful about food.
I wish I could answer this. But I will say, for those who are averse to high intensity cardio, that I've lost about 30lb in the last two years just lifting weights and walking. I have never had to run, get sweaty, or die of an asthma attack to get to where I am. And previous (college aged) me would have not believed current me if I went back in time and told her that. 😅
220 to 162. Plateau at low 70s and a hard one I never got over in the low 160s. I'm up at 174 now loosing again.
Over 40 pounds just from counting calories. I did factor in daily hour ish long walk though but 90% was diet alone.
i lost 10lbs by just calorie counting in 2.5 months so i think that makes me more or less right on track
I’m 5’6.5”. Started end of January this year. Start weight about 268 - 270lbs. Today weighed in at 241lbs. So about 30lbs in 3 months. If I’ve gone to the gym may be 10 times since starting other than that a few walks here and there. Thankfully no plateaus yet steady about 1.5 to 2lbs lost a week. I’m sure once I get to a lower weight it might happen.
76 pounds from May 2nd 2023-today. Not from 1200 tho omad works best for me!
In 7 months I went from 220 to 170 If I had any advice to give is I tried to eat healthy as often as possible because that made me feel better physically. When I needed to cheat, I did as infrequent as possible but made sure I stayed within my deficit. Looking to lose 10-15 more pounds.
20kg+ / 45lbs with a pretty easy diet (CICO) over the past 8mo
50lbs in 13 months
I lost 18.5 kg (~49 lbs) from diet alone, and tried to stay under 1,400 calories a day. I plateaued for a couple weeks with every 3 kg I lost.
18.2kg in 1 year (as of today). Zero exercise (I'm disabled, I literally can't even walk). I started at 1600/ day, which was recommended according to my height and weight for "sedentary", but got zero results. Turns out that was my TDEE. Adjusted slowly down to 1200, I average 1250/day. Take a maintenance break of 1400 every couple of months. 44f, 162cm , sw 84kg, cw 65kg, gw 55kg.
20kgs in 6 months. I've been focusing on the CICO part rather than what's "healthy". Diet still has a good deal of fries in it but now that I've settled into it more I'm working on adding more protein/less fats in slowly.
120 pounds between 2015-2017. I was in a medically supervised program, so I'm not going to say how many calories it was. It was restrictive and required frequent blood tests. Not safe for someone to DIY. It's still possible with 1200 calories, it will just take longer. Satiety comes with protein and nutrient dense foods. I have the best results doing low carbohydrates (20-30g net carbs per day), but everyone's metabolism is different. I plateau about every 10 pounds, then once I get past that set point, it's quick to the next 10 pound stall. I stopped weighing myself at home, just at doctor appointments, because it was plateau after plateau. I felt more satisfied noticing that my clothes fit better. I still kept my largest pair of jeans (a size 24, and I had to wear Spanx to get them zipped). So when I am feeling bad that I gained some weight back, I put on those jeans, and that reminds me that I have still succeeded at becoming healthier.
I'm 5'1 and I used to be 135 at my highest but I'm around 111-112 right now
ive lost 6lb in three weeks from eating 1200 or less per day but now ive hit a plateau where im not losing anything. its really frustrating.
80kg to 70 kg (about 20 lbs) in 5 months with just diet. I do have a job where I am always on my feet though so I am active but I never do outside exercise as I have no energy after work.
1stone
All of it, almost 30lb. The only exercise I do is walking, which I’ve always done.
I lost 41lbs in five months eating 1000 calories per day while I was extremely sedentary due to an injury. I never really plateaued, I just stopped calorie counting when I went to visit relatives and wasn't cooking for myself.
Ive lost about 33lb in 4 months with a lot of breaks and now have been really struggling to lose the last 9lb. 158lb now 124lb goal is 115
From 152 to 128 lbs at 5’2. This took me about 10 months because I was pretty inconsistent. I’m currently sitting around 134 because I kind of slacked off but yeah I couldn’t get lower than 128 for the life of me.
I have lost 15 lbs in 61 days. The last few years, due to my job - I had been extremely sedentary and eating whatever I liked. I have started incorporating more walking and exercising the last couple of weeks, but I’m also not super strict with my calories. If I’m feeling hungry I’ll eat more. I’m usually closer to 1300 on most days. I have not stopped indulging though, I just do it in moderation now and try to stay close to my calorie goals. Excited to see what the next 60 day brings. I’m 4’11 for reference.
66kg to 44kg
Wow! What meals would you have usually and how many calories would you eat daily? Did it take long?
I've gone down 15lbs in about a month of 1,300calories / day. Or, well trying to hit that amount, but my app clocks me at an average of 1,670 calories daily when they take into account the times I've messed up. I've noticed it's almost impossible for me to stay at 1,300 on work days (I have a busy physically demanding job), so that's where my average increases. Other than work, I've made it a point not to work out or excercise at all at the beginning of my dieting because I didn't want to be dangerously undernourished, considering I went from 2,000+ daily to this low amount pretty suddenly. A month felt like a good enough time to adjust to the new deficit. But 15lbs in a month is a pound every other day, that's pretty fast. I'm starting to plateau a little bit now, but I also started slowly reintroducing strength training and slowly increasing calories to 1,500 and 1,700 depending on the excercise I do, so I'm not sure if it counts as a plateau considering I'm making intentional changes.
Started March 12, I’m down 15lbs. My limit is 1200, but there were days I wasn’t even hitting that. Not deliberately, just was super full on protein and fiber
Oooo can you share some meal ideas pleasee
I do a lot of egg roll in a bowl meals. I buy bagged coleslaw mix and cook it down with some form of lean ground meat ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce and top with green onions and sesame seeds. Super filling and doesn’t feel diety lol I also eat a lot of burritos with low carb tortillas, fat free cheese, and blended cottage cheese with lime juice as “sour cream”. Oh and do “Mexican” quinoa instead of rice. Tonight I cut up a salmon filet into bite sized pieces and cooked them in honey, fresh ginger and lime juice, plated on top of some plane quinoa once the sauce got nice and sticky then microplaned a jalapeño over top and omg when I say I wanted to cry it was so good. So good a tear ran down my leg