Anyone have to consume MORE than 1,200 calories a day?

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Replies

  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    The key here is to use the program properly. Your program may only say 1200 a day, but that is doing absolutely nothing in the way of exercise. You also have to enter all your activities. That means mowing the lawn, cleaning house, walking the dogs and any other form of exercise you may perform. This will add to your allowed calorie intake and is accounted for with MyFitnessPal. The idea is at the end of the day, to be in the Green with calories.

    My example is this. One day I consumed 1900 calories but I recorded 800 calories of exercise, leaving me with a net intake of 1100 hundred calories. This means I was in the green by 100.

    Of course the more you work out, the more nutrition and food you need and MyFitnessPal considers that for you. Just follow the program and it works.

    Did you not clean the house before you used MFP then? I wouldn't count that as exercise if it's something you've always done.
  • cindy5761
    cindy5761 Posts: 28
    I ate 1400-1500 when I lost my weight.
  • DocMarr
    DocMarr Posts: 132 Member
    I lost 30lb eating an average of 2000 calories per day. I have been on maintenance for 7 months and still eat an average of 2000 calories per day. Sedentary maintenance for me would be 1600 - I just make sure I do 400-500 extra calories worth of exercise to allow me to eat 2000. If I want to lose, I do 500-600 calories of extra exercise. I found that my best weight loss (consistent and regular) was when I ate about 1500 calories a week (yes a week) less than I burned. A couple of times I dropped my calories and I stopped losing. So my experience has been that it's been best to keep my calories high (just below maintenance) and just walk and workout more.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    1200 calorie people post a lot because they have problems with losing weight. Eventually they stall or something happens/ hangry. This isn't to say some people should be eating only 1200 a day. Maybe they do, the ones who should eat more have the issues.
    I'm at 1980+ a day.
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    I'm losing 1lb a week typically on a cut of around 2000-2200 cals a day.
    What do you do to work out???

    Weight train like a boss.
  • Maribel_1986
    Maribel_1986 Posts: 457 Member
    1,440 here
  • Queen_JessieA
    Queen_JessieA Posts: 1,059 Member
    Mine is set for a bit more than 1400. I would starve to death on 1200 cals. And I try to eat back most of my exercise cals.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    my daily goal BEFORE exercise is 1350. I usually end up eating between 1650 and 1750 with exercise.
  • ancutz
    ancutz Posts: 26
    1200 is way too low for an active person. I put mine at 1700 and I exercise 6 days per week. Sometimes I go over 1700, to around 2000.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I dropped down to 1200-1400 calories a day for a while. And plateaued for over two months before I got frustrated and increased my calories to 1500. Now I'm eating about 1900 calories a day to lose and I'm much happier for it.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    my maintenance is somewhere around 2700-3200 depending on how/if i exercise. i tried 1200 and it just wasnt sufficient. i was cold all the time and i had nothing to filter my natural ******ness :laugh: right now my goal is 1600+ exercise calories if i feel like eating them

    last year i had the best results with fat loss when i ate very close to my maintenance (maybe 10% below)
  • JoD929
    JoD929 Posts: 377 Member
    I'm eating 1729 calories and currently resting from exercise. Still steadily losing weight.
  • NikoM5
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
    <
    3400 Cal/day
  • PriceK01
    PriceK01 Posts: 834 Member
    I just bumped mine to 1700 net for maintenance. I lost ~30lbs since November on 1400 net.
  • Mainebikerchick
    Mainebikerchick Posts: 1,573 Member
    1700 a day, more if I exercise since I usually try to eat back the exercise cals.
  • DocMarr
    DocMarr Posts: 132 Member
    [/quote]
    "Did you not clean the house before you used MFP then? I wouldn't count that as exercise if it's something you've always done"
    [/quote]

    Actually I would disagree - any movement counts as 'exercise' - walking, running up and down stairs, doing gardening and housework. I use a fitbit and it records movement and steps. You can do a lot of steps during a day of housework (if it's vigorous), which all counts as extra calories burned.
  • mandtangedahl
    mandtangedahl Posts: 9 Member
    my goal is 1450 without excercise. I usually end up eating between 1600 and 1700 with excercise. I think people want to lose weight fast, but I've been losing consistently without feeling like I'm going hungry, which is key for me to continue.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,467 Member
    The only way I can get MFP to give me more than 1200 calories is to set it for 1/2 pound a week weight loss. Everything else is 1200. I think it's just that MFP has a cut off of 1200 net and won't let you go below that.

    I do eat more than 1200 because I use custom settings (roughly following the roadmap).
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    I lost just over a pound a week on 1550 net cals (usually 17-1800 total). I am 5'9 and started at 172lbs. Now I eat anywhere between 1700 and 2200 calories a day total while lifting weights and I'm shrinking though I am not losing weight. Oh and my biceps are far from shrinking lol.
  • KPMP1992
    KPMP1992 Posts: 66
    My goal is 1500 net calories per day to lose .5-1 lb/week. There is no way I can manage on that without being hungry all the time...so I burn 200-300 calories each day so that I can have 1700-1800 calories (i.e., EAT). ;)
  • CCusedtodance
    CCusedtodance Posts: 237 Member
    I have a minimum of 1400 a day without exercise and I have found that to be a perfect spot.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    I eat 1800 to lose weight.
  • hmc4
    hmc4 Posts: 27
    Uhh, I average 1,700. Up towards 2,000 if I exercise. I tried losing weight on 1300 calories and I was so angry all the time. I upped gradually and dropped weight.

    I am right there with you. I average 1700 a day, with a lightly to moderately active job. (Hair Stylist in a busy shop) On my off days I try to do something at home or go to the gym. If I fail to do that, I eat less that day.

    My bottom line "sweet spot" is keeping about a 1k deficit each day.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    <---- this girl eats 2000 per day. I did the vlcd at the beginning of this journey and lived to regret it. Took me months to sort out my metabolism after that mess.
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    "Did you not clean the house before you used MFP then? I wouldn't count that as exercise if it's something you've always done"
    [/quote]

    Actually I would disagree - any movement counts as 'exercise' - walking, running up and down stairs, doing gardening and housework. I use a fitbit and it records movement and steps. You can do a lot of steps during a day of housework (if it's vigorous), which all counts as extra calories burned.
    [/quote]



    :smile: I don't think any movement counts as exercise. But I suppose it all depends on your goals and what you hope to achieve from counting your calories at the end of the day, each to their own as they say ;-))
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    "Did you not clean the house before you used MFP then? I wouldn't count that as exercise if it's something you've always done"
    [/quote]

    Actually I would disagree - any movement counts as 'exercise' - walking, running up and down stairs, doing gardening and housework. I use a fitbit and it records movement and steps. You can do a lot of steps during a day of housework (if it's vigorous), which all counts as extra calories burned.
    [/quote]

    This to a point. You must be set at sedentary for this to work, and I would say it has to be something a little extra. For example, if you cook dinner for 15 minutes and do dishes for 15 minutes, I wouldn't count it. If you vacuum, dust, and scrub the whole house, definitely count it! If you walk from your car inside to do grocery shopping, don't count it. If you take a 20 minute "extra" brisk walk at lunch, count it!

    If you are losing too fast or feel hungry all of the time, count more of your exercise. If you are losing too slowly, try counting less of it.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member


    Actually I would disagree - any movement counts as 'exercise' - walking, running up and down stairs, doing gardening and housework. I use a fitbit and it records movement and steps. You can do a lot of steps during a day of housework (if it's vigorous), which all counts as extra calories burned.

    Yes, and no. Because MFP uses the calculations for BMR + NEAT (anything that is not eating, sleeping or purposefully exercising), these calories *should be* included in the amount that MFP gives you to eat. If you told MFP that you are sedentary, but you really do more than just lay in bed all day, then yes, you need those calories. But if you chose a reasonable activity level, then no, don't log every day things.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I eat up to 2500 calories depending on how active I am for the day. I'm losing at an average of 2lbs per week, so I could actually probably eat more. :tongue:

    1200 calories...well that just isn't for me. :drinker:
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I am 5'4", 154 (today anyway) and lost all the weight on my ticker at roughly 1600 a day, with an extra 200 on weight days.

    Im doing some jillian Michaels videos alongside NROLW (comes to roughly 4 and a half hours working out a week, total.) so im gonna try bumping up to 1800, with an extra 150 on weight days. So fingers crossed for that.
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
    Right now I am doing 1,300-1,900 based on activity level with most days over 1,600. I had lost on 1,200 but then stalled. I am 5'2", 46, menopausal with an extremely low resting heart rate (38-42) all excuses women use that they can not eat more. Eating that little lowered my metabolism so I would have had to gone down to 1,000 or less to keep losing.

    Instead I upped my calories to 2,000 for a bit to correct my damaged metabolism and then lowered again but not too low and then was able to continue losing. I also can not lose if I do not exercise my body just shuts down and I become a coma-zombie.

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