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

rowanwood

I did 1200 a day for a while. Boy was I grumpy.

I'm up to 1650 and losing nicely.....I'm still on a bigger cut, 25% or so, so I will work my way up in time.

HappyElizabeth

I attempted to be at 1200 calories per day when I started using MFP. LOL!! I am way too active for that. Nothing against 1200 calories (it works great for my mom when she needs to lose, or maybe someone short), but my average daily burn from exercise alone is 700 calories, and I'm not overweight to begin with, so why screw up an otherwise healthy metabolism just to lose a little faster. My average intake is about 1700 calories, and now that I'm working out more, I'm closer to 2000.

musicmint

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.

Maybe that is my problem I do all areobics...running,elliptical,swimming...

OrionG

I'm just wondering...seems like I see nothing but 1,200 my daily goal is 1,600 and thats if I DONT exercise...?

I hold myself to 1600 / day, 7 days a week. My maintenance level is about 2450, or so. I'm averaging about 2lbs/week loss at this level. 1200 calories is quite low, especially if anyone is active. The body tends to get "wierd" at calories below.

aarar

I'm losing on about 1800-1900 per day (around 2100 or more on my long run days). I work out and run about 3-4 days a week; I have a full time desk job so I don't otherwise have a very active lifestyle.

sexymuffintop

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.

Maybe that is my problem I do all areobics...running,elliptical,swimming...

Well the more muscle you're packing the more you can eat, muscle is hungry stuff, it needs feeding! Lol. Also I'm generally active. I do cardio as well, though not loads, and I walk quite a lot. But its weight lifting that has changed by body the most by far.

Broejen

I eat 1600-2000 a day depending on my exercise, netting about 1600. I was eating under 1200 from August to January then plateaued and am just now slowly getting off of it.

moonshine_betty

I eat 2000-2300 calories daily REGARDLESS of activity and I lose a pound a week. The first time I lost significant weight on MFP, I was eating 2500 calories daily and still lost weight, although only 2-3 pounds a month. I've tried going lower than that so I can lose weight faster but it only makes me cranky and low on energy and I feel so deprived I end up binging which defeats the whole purpose. Slow and sane works for me.

FYI, I'm 5'8", female and work out 5 to 6 times weekly doing weights and cardio.

maiaroman18

I consume anywhere from 2200-2800 a day.

manique45

I started at 1200 cals a day realized through threads on here that I was netting 800-900 cals because I exercise 6-7x a week, like insanity, jogging and zumba among floor exercises... Using a HRM I calculate about 400-800 cals a day I burn through Exercise. Anyways I lost 15 lbs in the first 2 1/2 months then stalled and loss very little... I'm 5'3 and weigh 162.4 now... my first goal is 140 will re evaluate there, but I am a larger built and happier where I am at. I stayed at 166 for about a month... Slowly I started to add more calories to build up to 1600 a day. So scary for me as I have always thought I needed to be starving in order to see the scale move. So I think when people are saying eat more to lose weight its for people that have the wrong train of thinking... DUH you will lose weight if you are eating small amounts, but to have a life style change I think its hard for people to grasp moderation and calorie counting is helping me see this... So yes I am at 1600 right now thats with out exercise, I sometimes go over that as a total but never have gone over it by my NET because I rarely eat back my exercise cals...

ancutz

I eat 2000-2300 calories daily REGARDLESS of activity and I lose a pound a week. The first time I lost significant weight on MFP, I was eating 2500 calories daily and still lost weight, although only 2-3 pounds a month. I've tried going lower than that so I can lose weight faster but it only makes me cranky and low on energy and I feel so deprived I end up binging which defeats the whole purpose. Slow and sane works for me.

FYI, I'm 5'8", female and work out 5 to 6 times weekly doing weights and cardio.

Love your post! Same here. Going on a very low carb diet makes you lose muscle mass and by depriving yourself, you end up binging and putting even more weight than you lost.

Rays_Wife

1800 cals here plus exercise calories. 1800 is my sedentary to lose 1 lb/week. Some weeks I've lost more than MFP predicted. My sweet spot has been 1700-2200 depending on activity. I use the TDEE -20% method. Works for me.

__Di__

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.

Where did you get this idea from?

Many people lose on 1200 calories per day and many do not stall.

norahwynn

It's suggested that I limit my daily intake to 1200 cal/day, but truthfully it's difficult. I have a sedentary lifestyle (at work), and am up doing things most of the rest of the day till I go to bed. I'm on the treadmill or the Arc Trainer 4-5 times a week. I sometimes go over my limit in calories, but not by much. I guess that's why the calories are **very slowly** coming off...:grumble:

vjohn04

I eat 2k+ per day.

Coquette6

1500-1700 per day and losing on that. And I'm only 5'0" tall and 127lbs. Even at that fairly petite size, I'm starving and faint on 1200 per day.

ShaSimone

1800 calories here and that's with exercise factored in...trying to get down to 150 pounds from the 190's. It's slow going but I'm determined to change my lifestyle permanently

CorvusCorax77

I have done both 1200+ exercise cals, and TDEE.

Either way, I end up eating between 1500 and 1900 cals a day. I think i'd have to be sitting on my bum not even sneezing to just be on 1200.

shierrarobin

1200 cals a day is the minimum, not the ideal. I am 5'8" and I weigh between 152 and 160. My daily calorie goal is about 1940 because I'm trying to gain muscle. If I wasn't, then it would be about 1680. If I eat much less than 1680 a day then I stop losing because my body starts trying to hold onto the fat since I'm not feeding it enough. You need to eat to lose weight. Period. If you don't eat enough, you won't lose.

skinnydreams19

Ditto, my net goal is 1800. Netting 1200 is just ridic!

mattariah

for me it's about 3600-4000 calories minimum per day. But I do intense weight training so I suppose my body needs the extra nutrients and calories for recovery. It's still very hard to attain 3k+ calories with healthier choices. Especially if you are trying to do a paleo type diet.

herblackwings39

I eat between 1750-2250. Which is MFP set up for 1 to 2 lbs a week, but usually try to eat at least 1950 without exercise. When I do exercise I tend to eat most of those calories back.

FOLANDA

I average 1800 calories a day.

cwolfman13

My wife and I both use the TDEE method...she is 5'2" and 120 and maintaining on 2300 calories; she lost on 1800 gross calories after exercise when she did the NEAT method.

I maintain at around 2,650 gross calories and lose a solid 0.5 Lbs per week grossing around 2,300 calories.

aelunyu

I'm just wondering...seems like I see nothing but 1,200 my daily goal is 1,600 and thats if I DONT exercise...?

I'm closing in on 3000 just to maintain my current weight. 1200 is usually the cookie cutter they issue to sedentary individuals that are older than a certain age (35? 40?) and work out less than 2 hours a week or something....don't quote me on this.

lseed87

Mine is at 1700 right now.

chelctate

I'm comfortable at seeing less than 1200 calories a day. I eat when I'm hungry and log that way. If at the end of the day I'm below my 1200 calorie mark I don't eat just for the sake of eating. It's different for everyone!

jessiepiexo

I have to or else I'm not a person.

bobf279

My TDEE - 20% gives me 2200 ish calories per day for the amount of exercise I do. I don't really worry about the MFP figure but the count lets me know where I am and I do try to stay below goal

S_Arr_Uh

I eat 1700 on non-exercise days and hit around 2000 on all the other days. I 'maintained' at 2080 last week as I went away (so no exercise) and still managed to lose a lb lol.