1200 Calorie Diet - please help!

[Monkey45]

Hi!

I've been on a 1200 calorie diet now for 9 weeks, and this is how it has gone:

Weeks 1, 2, 3 + 4 - went from 13st to 11st 13lb! Yey!

Weeks 5 + 6 - plateaued for two weeks solid, no matter what I did, fluctuating between 11st13 & 12st - frustrating!

Weeks 7 + 8 - had a week 'off' consuming normal (2000ish) calories / little exercise, thinking that this would 'jumpstart' the weight loss again, then a week on holiday abroad, so again, normal calories but just a little more exercise. Got home off holiday and hadn't put on any weight - had stayed at 12st (relieved!)

And now at Week 9, I am wondering what the next nine have in store for me! Has anyone had a similar experience to me? Do you think I'm likely to lose at the same rate as in weeks 1-4 again?!? Or might I stay on the plateau?

The suspense is really killling me - I'm working so hard & really need to know whether I'm going to be o.k! Any other advice would be welcome too!

Just in case you need it, here's some extra info - I'm 5ft6, female, and age 26. I was always very athletic up to the age of 18, when I started putting the weight on - I weighed 9 stone up until I was 21ish. I am currently weight training for 1 hour every other day (followed by 12mins interval training on treadmill), and walking the dogs for an hour on the days in between. I was doing a similar routine on weeks 1-4. I am looking to lose another 2 - 2 1/2 stone. My body fat is at 34% and muscle at 35%. Hope this helps?!

Thanks! Monkey45

 

[allyphoe]

I've been on a 1200 calorie diet now for 9 weeks,

Where by "nine," you really mean "six," because for 2 of those weeks you were eating at maintenance, and the 9th week hasn't happened yet. So you lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks, which is 2.5 pounds a week, or a 1,250 calorie per day deficit. Which says to me that at least some of that initial weight was water, not fat, because maintaining that kind of deficit is *hard.*

First off, 2 weeks with no movement on the scale following a period of very rapid loss is not a plateau. It's your body catching up to the scale. Have patience.

Odds are that you'll lose at a more-reasonable pace for the weeks to come. I'd guess a long-term average of 1.5 pounds a week, but that doesn't mean that you're going to see movement on the scale every week.

 

[Korrie]

I guess if I were to add anything to AP's post, it would be this....

I was on a 1200 cal diet for a few months and lost about 30 pds, of which I was THRILLED, but keeping up w/ that kind of cal intake was really hard and I eventually gained it all back. My 2 cents is this...aim for a more realistic cal intake that you will be able to maintain for life!

 

[XFactor Fitness]

I will tell you both from experience and through my profession, that a 1200 calorie diet, is a very temporary fix, that will not sustain. It is a very very sad truth. I am a Personal fitness coach/trainer. I was morbidly obese at one point in my life weighing in at 240Ibls on a 5'1" frame. I lost over 125Ibls and have kept it off for more than 7 years. The fact is, the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to change your lifestyle. You must have a combination of Cardio and resistence training, as well as a solid nutritional guideline. And though you absolutely do need a calorie deficit in order to lose weight, one of that extreme will cause you to lose muscle not fat, which in turn will cause you to slow down your metabolism. Once that happens, you will gain all the weight back, and probably more. A 1200 calorie diet is very difficult to maintain, so I would tell you, that it is probably not the best choice for losing weight. You need to understand how our bodies work, and what healthy eating is.

In order to do that, an individual must understand that we are carb sensitive beings. In order to remove weight and maintain it off, you must understand what a good carb is, and what a bad carb is. The Atkins diet didn't work because it removed all carbs, which is very dangerous, as our body needs a certain amount of carbs to function. In saying that an individual must also understand what are good fats and bad fats. Our bodies need fat to survive, but it needs certain types of fat. Some fats even assist in losing weight. I would suggest finding out what your BMR is, and then finding out what your total caloric allowance is per day. There is a formula that allows you to do this, but it is probably easier for you to go online. Once you have the Total caloric allowance number, subtract 2 calories per body weight(ie if you weigh 150 you would subtract 300 calories) from the total caloric allowance number, this should be your calorie intake per day.

What I am getting at, is I educate all my clients to understand what healthy eating is. Knowledge is power, and if you understand how our bodies function, it makes healthy eating very simple. This with a customized workout regimen is the key to successful weight loss, you should lose 2 Ibls a week if done right. More importantly it is the key to maintaining your ideal weight. I put out a free monthly newsletter to all my clients and anyone who wants some helpful tips, it also has some great recipe ideas. Feel free to go to my site and opt-in to receive it. It is under the fitness newsletter tab. I am very passionate about weight loss, as I remember all too clearly my struggles, and how badly I felt about myself. I don't wish that feeling on anyone!!!! Good luck and if there is anything else I can do please let me know.

 

[Steve]

In order to do that, an individual must understand that we are carb sensitive beings. In order to remove weight and maintain it off, you must understand what a good carb is, and what a bad carb is. The Atkins diet didn't work because it removed all carbs, which is very dangerous, as our body needs a certain amount of carbs to function.

I didn't realize atkins isn't around anymore?

What do you mean by, "our body needs a certain amount of carbs to function" ?

 

[XFactor Fitness]

I didn't realize atkins isn't around anymore?

What do you mean by, "our body needs a certain amount of carbs to function" ?

Atkins is still around...but they have reinvented the program, because they realized that removing all carbs was not a healthy way to go. As both a personal trainer and a nursing student, I can tell you that our body needs a certain amount of carbs to function. I do not however mean white bread...pasta...sugar...these our processed carbs...I mean natural fruits...veggies...grains etc. These are natural carbs...and contain natural sugar that our cells need to function. I hope that helps explain what I meant...Plus our endurance realizes on the energy we get from carbs..and again I mean "good" carbs!!!

 

[Steve]

Atkins is still around...but they have reinvented the program, because they realized that removing all carbs was not a healthy way to go.

The original way you worded it did not say this... hence my question.

As both a personal trainer and a nursing student, I can tell you that our body needs a certain amount of carbs to function.

lol

Let me repeat that in the way it comes across to anyone with a little bit of sense:

"I am awesome so you have to listen to me."

I'm not trying to step on toes... but you might want to redirect your approach if you're planning on reaching people on this forum. The people here are generally intersted in facts. Sure, some experience and trench-knowledge is great too... but not when it's pitched with the sole expectation of being listened to simply b/c "I am a trainer and a nurse."

I do not however mean white bread...pasta...sugar...these our processed carbs...I mean natural fruits...veggies...grains etc. These are natural carbs...and contain natural sugar that our cells need to function. I hope that helps explain what I meant...Plus our endurance realizes on the energy we get from carbs..and again I mean "good" carbs!!!

Here's the thing. I'm really against blanket statements. Especially when they're wrong. The body needs glucose. It does not need dietary carbs to survive.

Trust me, if you were familiar with my advice, you'd know that a vast majority of the time I recommend eating carbs. In fact I suggest that they're a large part of the diet in most cases.

But it's all about context. As a trainer you should know this. No routine or diet is good or bad on it's own merit. It's all about the context.

 

[Steve]

To boot, if you're going 'pimp' your awesome trainer abilities, I'd step up the certs. Certs mean jack shit regardless... but ISSA is.... well, let's just say from what I remember of it, it's a take home course.

If you've got experience and knowledge, I'm all for it being shared here. We could use all the help we can get here. That said, I'm all about maintaining the integrity of information and advice. Quite a few others are too, thankfully.

 

[XFactor Fitness]

To boot, if you're going 'pimp' your awesome trainer abilities, I'd step up the certs. Certs mean jack shit regardless... but ISSA is.... well, let's just say from what I remember of it, it's a take home course.

If you've got experience and knowledge, I'm all for it being shared here. We could use all the help we can get here. That said, I'm all about maintaining the integrity of information and advice. Quite a few others are too, thankfully.

Well..I will say that I am not trying to "pimp" anything...I was really just trying to help....The cert as you state doen't mean jack....I have life experience...I am not in any way trying to make myself seem like I am the worlds best anything...I am simply trying to help people who may be going through what I had gone through in the past...anyway...I do not want to get into a pissing match...as that was not and will never be my intention!!! I know what I know from experience...and you are absolutely right not everything works for everybody

And yes, you are correct..in your last statement...the body needs glucose...which comes mostly from carbs...but since most of the people on this forum might not necessarily know what glucose is...I was just trying to break it down into very simple form

 

[Steve]

Saying the body needs carbs and the body needs glucose are not one in the same.

Hence maintaining the integrity of information. Saying wrong things b/c some people may not understand is not what we're about here.