The 1200 Calories a Day Myth

Have you ever gone online to find out how many calories you should be eating to lose a certain amount of weight and the calculator spits out something like “you should be eating 1200 calories a day to lose 10 pounds by… ” whenever? The fact that a 1200 calorie per day diet is healthy is an evil myth.

The idea behind the 1200-calorie diet is that it’s the minimum your body needs to maintain essential functions while allowing for rapid weight loss. It’s often described as the lowest calorie level a person can follow without severe health consequences. The only problem? For many people, 1200 calories per day is effectively starvation.

Despite its widespread popularity, this number is based on flawed science and outdated assumptions. Somehow, 1200 became a “magic” number in diet culture—one that’s rarely questioned, even though it harms more than it helps. The methodology is so fundamentally flawed, yet, somehow, that number became magic in the diet world.

A Personal Story from Experience

Years ago, when I was struggling with disordered eating, I met with a nutritionist. I proudly told her I was eating 1200 calories per day. She looked at me and said, “The World Health Organization defines anything under 1500 calories per day as starvation.” I’ve searched for that statistic for years, but I’ve never found it in the literature. If you come across it, please share it with me.

Still, I’ve seen the evidence firsthand in my practice.

The Dangerous Pattern of the 1200-Calorie Diet

I’ve had thousands of clients over the years who come in for therapy because they have been bingeing. However, when we get deeper into the situation, I learn that they have lost their periods, have lost hair, have physical symptoms of anorexia from living on a 1200 calorie diet for multiple months or even a year or more. Here’s the way the pattern usually goes. A client comes in and tells me she can’t stop bingeing, that she feels hopeless and out of control because she has been bingeing uncontrollably for months. She then tells me that she got her weight down very low by following a 1200 calorie diet. But then something happened, she fell off her diet, started bingeing and has now desperately been trying to get back on her 1200 calorie regimen.

Symptoms of 1200 Calorie per day dieting fallout:

Binge eating you can’t control
Losing you period
Hair loss
Constant fatigue
Food obsession

One story is heartbreakingly common:
A client loses weight following a 1200-calorie diet. Then, one day, they fall off the plan—perhaps during an emotional moment or a stressful day. Bingeing begins. They feel shame, guilt, and frustration. They try again to “get back” on the diet, thinking it’s their lack of willpower that caused the problem.

But the truth is, their body was never meant to survive on 1200 calories.

What Actually Happens to Your Body

Here’s what occurs when you follow a very low-calorie diet:

You lose weight quickly at first.
Your metabolism slows significantly to protect against starvation.
Weight loss plateaus, even if you continue eating the same amount.
You begin to feel intense hunger and cravings.
Bingeing sets in.
You gain the weight back—often more than you lost.
You blame yourself instead of the flawed method.

It becomes a vicious cycle, much like addiction. You chase the initial “high” of fast weight loss, believing that if you just try harder, it will work again. But your body remembers. It resists.

The Long-Term Risks

Sustaining a 1200-calorie diet long-term can lead to serious health issues:

Hormonal imbalances
Adrenal fatigue
Hair loss
Amenorrhea (loss of menstruation)
Reduced bone density
Social withdrawal due to food anxiety
Emotional eating
Increased cortisol and chronic stress

I have seen clients in their 30s with the bone density of 80-year-olds because they’ve spent years under-eating.

If It Really Worked, You’d Only Have to Do It Once

If a 1200-calorie diet were sustainable, people would do it once and maintain the results. But instead, forums are filled with people who lost weight, gained it back, and are now desperately trying to return to the same plan that initially “worked.” That should be a major red flag.

Like behavioral patterns around drugs or alcohol, if this weren’t a typical pattern, people would have gone on one 1200 calorie diet once in their life and never had to do it again. It’s almost like an addictive drug cycle. You repeat the same behavior again and again to achieve that initial high, but it’s unattainable now.

It is difficult to maintain because your body will be afraid of starvation and when you are tired, or emotional or your defenses are down, you will binge again. You will beat yourself up for it saying that it’s all your fault and that you can’t understand why you were able to do it once but you can’t do it again.

You are not alone.
>You are not broken.
The method is.

So Why Can’t I follow a 1200 Calorie per day Diet?

Because you will be starving, you will start to eat more and probably start bingeing. Then, rather than blame the diet, you will blame yourself. You will tell yourself that you are to blame because you couldn’t stay on your diet. You will try again and again to get back to that 1200 calorie per day diet. Because you’ve had the initial “reward” of weight loss, you will believe that you can replicate it by getting back to the 1200 calorie per day diet and getting your body back to where it was when you originally lost the weight.

Low calorie dieting creates adrenal fatigue, high stress issues (which can trigger emotional eating) and food obsession. It can also create additional stress for those who feel that they cannot do things socially because they are afraid of the food. In fact, studies have shown that a 1200 calorie per day diet leads to weight gain by increasing cortisol levels and emotional distress.

So, What Can You Do Instead?

Here’s how to move toward your healthy weight—without harming your body:

Stop restricting calories.
Prioritize high-density nutrition when you can but don’t beat yourself when you choose foods that might be considered less healthy or “empty calories” or “junk food.” No judgement no beating yourself up. Just allowing yourself to be a human.
Eat consistently. Don’t let yourself get overly hungry or overly full.
Be patient. Your body will settle into its healthy weight over time, especially when treated with compassion and nourishment.

Have Patience with Yourself

Finding your body’s natural balance isn’t a fast process—but it is a kind one. It’s a long term play, not an overnight scheme. The 1200-calorie route promises quick results but sets you up for years of struggle. A gentle, sustainable approach will bring peace and long-term health. The 1200 calorie game is tempting because it’s quick weight loss but it can set up years of dysfunctional eating and body distress. When you allow yourself to slowly let yourself settle in to the body that your body wants to be, the body that feels wonderful and healthy, you will find peace.

References:

Yes you should eat 1200 calories