1200 Calories

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kellymoore104203
kellymoore104203 Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone have great tips I do not find this a lot of calories and I do not want to eat my exercise calories would appreciate any good tips ... Thank you in Advance trying to really embrace and enjoy this journey
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Replies

  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    First I need to know why you are insisting on 1200 calories and not eating back exercise calories? No need to starve yourself to get the weight off. You only have 20lbs so you shouldn't be set to lose much more than 1lbs a week. I lost 10lbs in exactly 2 months by eating between 1300 & 1600 calories a day and not exercising. Unless you are under 5'0 or in a wheel chair there's not need to do something so severe.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
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    OP is older, which is probably why she is set at that low. I'm 56 and petite, 5;1.5". My BMR at sedentary is only 1136, so at 1200, if I don't work out, I'm just maintaining. I have actually set my "base" to 1000, but eat back exercise calories, so I tend to eat between 1200-1500 a day. I try to eat nutrient dense, lower calorie foods. I also eat nutrient-rich snacks between meals. You can look at my diary which is open. Yesterday was a "high calorie" day because I worked out and shoveled, but Monday is more typical for me.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Depending on what type/intensity of exercise you do you probably should eat back some of those calories. 1200 is low, and your net calories will be really low if you don't.
    You may also benefit from dropping your goal from 2 to 1 lb of loss per week if you are having a hard time on 1200.
    No need to be miserable.
  • LoveLiveLife27
    LoveLiveLife27 Posts: 48
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    how is that severe? MFP tells me to only eat 1200 a day because I'm not very active at work (a sit all day job). I'm not starved either.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Unless your exercise is so little that it doesn't amount to much, you should be eating more. Your body needs fuel. Having a large calorie deficit will cause you to lose weight faster, but faster isn't always better.
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    My mom is 5'3, 156, and 61 years old and is losing .5lbs/week on 1400-1500 calories. And is a breast cancer survivor on daily estrogen suppressant meds. Sorry if you don't think that my advice is sound but I'm not that big of dumb butt. The age card is BS.

    I may be 36, and 5'11 and eat more to lose weight that most, but I do know that my mom is successful at higher calories and is older than you.

    Not everyone is like you.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    If you are exercising, you need to make sure you are properly fueling your body for those workouts, which means eating more calories. To not do so with such a low calorie goal would be foolhardy and unhealthy. There's no need to make yourself miserable.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
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    If you are over 40 and smaller, your TDEE is not that high. Even active, my TDEE is roughly 1500-1600 calories. 1200 is not unreasonable for a smaller woman who is sedentary. Even at that level, I would only lose .5 to 1 lb. a week because it's a very small deficit. Our metabolism is much lower than that of younger people due to age and size; this especially true for post-menopausal women. The "1200 calories is too low" rule is not one size fits all.
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    rosebette wrote: »
    If you are over 40 and smaller, your TDEE is not that high. Even active, my TDEE is roughly 1500-1600 calories. 1200 is not unreasonable for a smaller woman who is sedentary. Even at that level, I would only lose .5 to 1 lb. a week because it's a very small deficit. Our metabolism is much lower than that of younger people due to age and size; this especially true for post-menopausal women. The "1200 calories is too low" rule is not one size fits all.

    Are you purposely ignoring my post? I'm pretty sure 5'3 and 61 years old is a shorter, older, post menopausal woman. And she's been though cancer treatment. Not everyone is like you.
  • shellrae1973
    shellrae1973 Posts: 66 Member
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    MFP has me at 1200 Calories per day. I have around 15lbs to lose. I tried last year with 1200 calories and I was miserable and starving which lead to binging at night. Needless to say I didn't lose any weight. I started again in January and trying to eat 1500 Calories (some days more and some days less). I found this more manageable and have lost about 5 lbs so far. Everyone is different but I could not stick to this lifestyle change only eating 1200 Calories per day
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    kristen6350 wrote: »
    Not everyone is like you.

    And not everyone is like your mum. I ate 1200 for months and felt fine, and had no problems sticking to it.

    Though I do agree that she should really be eating back her exercise calories, or at least some of them! OP, eat back half if you're worried about over estimating your burn. Plus, if you get to eat some of them back, it might motivate you to exercise more... it certainly motivates me!

    In terms of sticking to low calories, lots of vegetables can fill you up with few calories. I sometimes have a huge salad from Tesco which is a tiny amount of calories (<50) but I can never even finish it it fills me up so much. Also drink lots of water, it's surprisingly good at keeping you full (and of course drink only water, no point in drinking your calories if you're struggling to stick to your goal).

    Ultimately you've seen two examples from kristen and rosebette - for some people 1200 is fine, some people can (and need) to go higher. You need to find out what works best for you :)
  • alliemay1024
    alliemay1024 Posts: 83 Member
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    kristen6350 wrote: »
    rosebette wrote: »
    If you are over 40 and smaller, your TDEE is not that high. Even active, my TDEE is roughly 1500-1600 calories. 1200 is not unreasonable for a smaller woman who is sedentary. Even at that level, I would only lose .5 to 1 lb. a week because it's a very small deficit. Our metabolism is much lower than that of younger people due to age and size; this especially true for post-menopausal women. The "1200 calories is too low" rule is not one size fits all.

    Are you purposely ignoring my post? I'm pretty sure 5'3 and 61 years old is a shorter, older, post menopausal woman. And she's been though cancer treatment. Not everyone is like you.

    Geez! Angry much?
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    rosebette wrote: »
    If you are over 40 and smaller, your TDEE is not that high. Even active, my TDEE is roughly 1500-1600 calories. 1200 is not unreasonable for a smaller woman who is sedentary. Even at that level, I would only lose .5 to 1 lb. a week because it's a very small deficit. Our metabolism is much lower than that of younger people due to age and size; this especially true for post-menopausal women. The "1200 calories is too low" rule is not one size fits all.

    kristen6350 wrote: »
    My mom is 5'3, 156, and 61 years old and is losing .5lbs/week on 1400-1500 calories. And is a breast cancer survivor on daily estrogen suppressant meds. Sorry if you don't think that my advice is sound but I'm not that big of dumb butt. The age card is BS.

    I may be 36, and 5'11 and eat more to lose weight that most, but I do know that my mom is successful at higher calories and is older than you.

    Not everyone is like you.

    Agreed. Everyone is different. My sedentary TDEE is 2300+ at 46 years old and I'm not a large woman. And the only way to really know is to track your intake and monitor your daily fluctuations, etc. over a long period of time. MFP is a tool you can use to help you get informed of what is best for you.

    OP: This place is designed for you to eat your exercise calories back. Unless you absolutely know what your maintenance calories are and what a safe deficit is for YOU, you should follow the advice of the folks who designed this site until you get it down for yourself. Best of luck.
  • maggierenee88
    maggierenee88 Posts: 352 Member
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    I eat 1200 cal comfortably. If I'm hungry because I worked out hard I'll eat more. Just listen to your bod. I'm gluten free so I find it easy to eat 1200. You can look at my diary if you need some ideas.
  • kellymoore104203
    kellymoore104203 Posts: 25 Member
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    I am turning 50 and in menopause I have been having a hard time lost weight but I don't want to use that for excuse but losing weight is not as easy at it used to be for my body
    I thanks for all the replies and feel more educated because of them thank you
  • trina1049
    trina1049 Posts: 593 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Hi, I'm 65 at 5'2.5" and have lost 42lbs out of 50 eating anywhere from 1,260 to 2,000 calories depending upon my exercise schedule. I was losing at the rate of one pound per week and I'm now at .3oz to one half pound per week.

    If you're exercising you need to eat back at least half to two-thirds of your exercise calories. I figure out my calorie burns by wearing a heart rate monitor for steady state cardio exercise and a pedometer for everything else which gives me good estimates of calories burned.

    You have to fuel your body for exercise. When I'm not at the gym four days a week I'm pretty sedentary, so I dial back my calorie intake for those days, closer to 1,260 - 1,400 depending on my pedometer estimates.

    Let MFP work for you, it's designed for you to lose weight - don't create too much of a calorie deficit or you will not be able to maintain it for the long term. It takes time to lose the weight, you can't rush it.
  • kellymoore104203
    kellymoore104203 Posts: 25 Member
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    Thank You will definitely follow some great advice from all your experience
  • tinascar2015
    tinascar2015 Posts: 413 Member
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    Not to throw shade on this discussion, but I read the MFP terms and conditions documents last week when I first entered the forums. There was a specific suggestion to avoid any thread with "1200" in the subject line, and then it went into a very logical justification for that.
  • kellymoore104203
    kellymoore104203 Posts: 25 Member
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    Thank you am looking for that document you refer to cant find it but I was put on this many calories with my goals and sedentary with exercise it varies from 45 minutes to 90 minutes per day
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    tinascar2015 wrote: »
    Not to throw shade on this discussion, but I read the MFP terms and conditions documents last week when I first entered the forums. There was a specific suggestion to avoid any thread with "1200" in the subject line, and then it went into a very logical justification for that.

    Can you link to where? I was curious so went through the Terms of Use and the Community Guidelines and couldn't find anything about that.

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