Why am I not losing weight when I'm eating 1200 calories a day?

Why am I not losing weight when I'm eating 1200 calories a day? This is a very common frustration and often comes down to tracking accuracy, metabolism changes, or hidden calories.

Apparent lack of loss at 1200 calories can come from several factors: inconsistent logging, portion underestimation, higher-than-expected maintenance needs, or metabolic adaptation. Liquid calories, cooking oils, bites and tastes, and unlogged snacks often add more energy than people realize, shrinking or erasing the intended deficit. As you lose weight, your body burns fewer calories at rest and during movement, so an intake that was once aggressive may become closer to maintenance. Short-term water retention from salt, hormones, or soreness can also hide fat loss on the scale for days or weeks. Tighten logging, check measurements and clothing fit, and consider slowly cycling calories or adding strength training rather than only cutting lower.

To see whether 1200 calories is truly a deficit for you, start with our calorie needs calculator to estimate your current maintenance calories based on your body and activity level.

Explore more answers and related topics in our Calorie Calculator FAQs.