Why Not Less Than 1200 calories

Everything I read says not less than 1200 calories per day with no explanation. Here is one I found:


Determining a safe minimum amount of daily calories can be difficult as well for the same reasons listed above. However, extreme restriction of consumed calories can significantly slow the metabolic rate, and hinder your weight loss goals. The American College of Sports Medicine states that you shouldn't send signals to your body to conserve calories by detoxing or fasting. They recommend that women should eat at least 1,200 calories per day, and men should eat at least 1,800.

The reason that the metabolic rate slows with prolonged dieting of less than 1,200 calories per day is a chain reaction of physiologic responses to the stress associated with such a restricted diet. Your body initially adapts to the stress of low caloric intake by engaging the "fight or flight" stress response, which has several negative consequences, despite you seeing lower numbers on the scale. The "fight or flight" response stimulates the breakdown of muscle in order to supply the body with enough fuel (glucose) to maintain the blood sugar levels in the absence of sufficient



dietary calories. This "fight or flight" stress response will eventually wear out, thus slowing the metabolic rate to compensate for what the body perceives as starvation.
Some studies referenced at LiveStrong.com indicate that long-term dieting and calorie restriction can lower your metabolism by up to 40 percent and can take up to one year to correct.

In summary, Medline Plus recommends these three guidelines to safe and effective weight loss: aerobic physical activity, gradual changes in eating habits to encourage a lifestyle change, and a slow weight loss of one to two pounds per week.

THis is a great article. Thanks for sharing. I know MANY get some questions answered here. Thanks again.

Thanks so much for posting this article! I log 1100-1200 per day but probably get up to 1300-1400 - I like a margin for error!

I really liked this article. I'm new here, so it's good to poke around and get some info and inspiration on this crazy journey! Thanks!

I was just looking at my RDI and calorie amounts moments ago, and wondering if 1200 was a good place to set it. I'd been watching my carbs and not monitoring my calories too much, but recently switched back to more of a calorie counting program so this article couldn't have come at a better time for me! Thanks for sharing it!

Look at this one, more of the same caution on eating enough:
http://www.coachcalorie.com/not-eating-enough-calories-to-lose-weight/

Thanks. I really believe this. Every time in the past that I fell off my more extreme diet it seemed I gained weight back so so fast. I think this helps to explain part of it.

I highly recommend you to read Tom Venuto's e-book, "burn the fat, feed the muscle" you can download it at BFFM.com, it explains in simple terms all about the starvation response,the knowleadge he shares is a tool for life...I have been following it and I feel great! I am never hungry and I have lost quite an amount of fat!

I have learned that when it comes to nutrition, there are many varying view points. It can get confusing. Often, knowing what's best for your body is a matter of trying it out. A view point which varies from this one is the Johnson Up Day Down Day Diet (JUDDDD, www.johnsonupdaydowndaydiet.com). It's a calorie cycling diet, restricting calories on alternate days, which has a lot of research support, and is getting a lot of recognition from doctors. I am trying it now after seeing a lot of positive results in friends. I won't say that it fits all people, but it has proven helpful for many.