Is a 1200 calorie day really realistic???? Is that what most of you are doing????
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That's great. My nutritionist has me between 1700-2000 calories a day and hitting specific macronutrient ranges. I'm 5'10 and 145. I workout 4-6 days a week (walking, swimming, Pilate's, light lifting) nothing crazy! I find it is all about balance and if I hit my numbers I'm able to lose .5 a week and maintain the weight I want.Thanks kgracesch, because I am at 1900 calorie and workout 2-3 times a week. I am still losing 1 to 1.5 lbs a week.
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That's great. My nutritionist has me between 1700-2000 calories a day and hitting specific macronutrient ranges. I'm 5'10 and 145. I workout 4-6 days a week (walking, swimming, Pilate's, light lifting) nothing crazy! I find it is all about balance and if I hit my numbers I'm able to lose .5 a week and maintain the weight I want.Thanks kgracesch, because I am at 1900 calorie and workout 2-3 times a week. I am still losing 1 to 1.5 lbs a week.
I have to add I enjoy food too! Soemtiwms I eat a huge burger from a bar or ice cream on the weekend! Moderation is friendly.
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MFP says I should eat 1200 cal/day to lose 0,5 kg/week but I increased it to 1400 cal. Feeling pretty good with the amount of food now.0
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Everyones needs are going to be different, based on their goals. Personally, I see 1200 as a base, where you are earning more through exercise.0
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3dogsrunning wrote: »Urban_Princess wrote: »The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.
Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.
For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.
holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800
@Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!
If MFP gave you 1000 calories you set up you goal during the glitch. MFP is not supposed to give you less than 1200 calories and it has been fixed now.
I should also add, I've done the lower calorie and tons of cardio, lost a bunch of weight and looked great. The real struggle came when I moved into maintenance.shadow2soul wrote: »Urban_Princess wrote: »The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.
Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.
For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.
holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800
@Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!
@ptkat28 - You might want to re-set your goals. There was a glitch a while back where people were getting calorie goals below 1200. 1200 is the minimum calorie goal MFP will give a woman (excluding glitches).
You can read more about the minimum here:
https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals
Thanks you guys!! I will re-calculate and see what happens! I don't want to do something wrong!!! I have tried to eat up to 1200, but I am just too full!!!
I'm SO jealous you get full after 1000 calories. I'm on 1850 and sometimes go to bed with my tummy rumbling
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maillemaker wrote: »start lifting heavy ***** and you won't need to go that low in calories lol
I don't see how exercise helps though.
If you have to eat X calories to lose Y amount of weight each week, and you exercise and eat it back, you're back to the same X calories. So why go through the discomfort of exercise on top of it just to end up where you started?
I'm not understanding this objection. One of the benefits to exercise is you get to eat and imbibe more.
I lose at around 1700 kcal per day, but when I am losing I eat about 2200-2500 per day because I exercise hard. Those extra several hundred calories make a huge difference to me.
So I still net 1700 or so, but I get to eat a heckuva lot more food.
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I started at 1200, but found that I my body did not do well at all. I have a higher metabolism, so I have to eat every 4 hours. I have set mine at 1380. I feel better now. I can sustain my lifestyle changes at the higher calorie count.
For reference, I am 5'4" and 127 lbs.0 -
I get
16200 -
I'm a five-foot, 56-year-old relatively sedentary female, and I do nicely on 1200, meeting macros and micros, and fitting in a small treat every day. I don't get hungry, and I'm able to eat pretty much anything I like. Part of what I do to help myself is to make the time to eat; to relax while I'm eating; and to really enjoy it.0
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Urban_Princess wrote: »The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.
Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.
For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.
holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800
@Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!
Somewhere along the line you had to have been eating more than 1000 calories. If I am correct your profile says that your goal is to lose 108 lbs. How did you gain that.
I started out with 100lbs to lose...I know how I gained that weight...I ate waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than 1000 calories.
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1200 is NOT a magic number. It works for some people and not for others. Personally I think your BMR is what you should be eating MINIMUM (you can find a BMR calculator online). Your BMR is how many calories your body would burn if all you did was rest all day, and eating below this number can slow down your metabolism and hurt your progress in the long run. When I started, I ate 1200 calories every day and honestly felt hungry/deprived all the time, this is what ultimately led to me falling off the wagon. I now eat to BMR and actually find it soo much more easier to be consistent with and progress with. Remember that consistency is key! you can't eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life!! good luck 0
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mmmoniqueee wrote: »1200 is NOT a magic number. It works for some people and not for others. Personally I think your BMR is what you should be eating MINIMUM (you can find a BMR calculator online). Your BMR is how many calories your body would burn if all you did was rest all day, and eating below this number can slow down your metabolism and hurt your progress in the long run. When I started, I ate 1200 calories every day and honestly felt hungry/deprived all the time, this is what ultimately led to me falling off the wagon. I now eat to BMR and actually find it soo much more easier to be consistent with and progress with. Remember that consistency is key! you can't eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life!! good luck
This is excellent advice for people tall enough to reach top shelf at the grocery store (I personally am thankful that my shopping friends are at least 5'5" because whatever I want is almost always out of my reach). But out of curiosity, I ran my current TDEE on the IIFYM site. As a 5'0" female, 56 years old, 111.8 pounds (as of this morning: yay!) and giving myself couch potato status, my BMR is 1016 and my TDEE is 1219. So there I go. Not much lee-way there!
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It depends on your goals, your age, how weight you want to gain-lose-maintain, how your body metabolizes ( medications, health issues, etc) an other things. We're all different and we all have different needs. Try a number between MFP and IIFYM settings, decide your deficit and try it for 30 days. some of us use customize settings from nutritionists, doctors, and personal trainers. You need to find what works for you.0
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Remember to factor in your Basal Metabolic Rate, this is the amount of calories your body burns every day just doing things like breathing, pumping blood etc... One of the websites i use shows that at my ripe old age (42), and my current weight (186) I am burning around 1821 calories a day prior to my workout. There is a formula such as BMR x 1.2 to work out the amount to eat to just maintain weight. It's called the Harris Benedict equation. You can find out more on bmi-calculator dot net/bmr-calculator/
I work out with dumbbells 6 days a week and have just completed the 90 day Body Beast program. I lost 3 inches around my waist in 90 days, but my weight stayed about the same due to losing fat but gaining muscle.
Remember if you are strength training to get enough protein in your diet. Nutrition is a large part of getting / staying healthy and losing weight. I read somewhere that you should never go below 1200 calories as your body needs a certain amount to maintain bodily functioning, respiration etc; however, if i am not working out i get by pretty well on 1300 calories per day.
At present I consume 1985 calories per day, with 50% of my daily intake coming from carbs, 25% coming from protein, and 25% coming from healthy fats. i set these in my goals in MFP.0 -
When I started it said my calorie goal was over 1900. I never wanted to eat that much. I've been trying to stay between 1200-1500 calories per day0
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Urban_Princess wrote: »The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.
Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.
For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.
holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800
@Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!
Somewhere along the line you had to have been eating more than 1000 calories. If I am correct your profile says that your goal is to lose 108 lbs. How did you gain that.
I started out with 100lbs to lose...I know how I gained that weight...I ate waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than 1000 calories.
@Annie_01 , I know where my excess weight came from! From overeating! My dad passed away in April of 2013, and for the past 2 years I have been severely depressed and just gave up and did not care. 3 months ago, I got motivated and told myself that daddy would not want me to be doing this to myself, and changed all my eating habits! Started eating healthy, and exercising! I still have a ways to go, but I am a work in progress 0 -
I know everyone has said this, but it does 100% depend on you. For some reason, MFP gave me a goal of 1650 or so (I don't remember what I put into it to get that goal, I set it up a year before I actually started using it LOL) but I like to keep myself to anywhere between 1100-1400 a day, with my goal as a max. I usually average out to around 1200. Some days I'm just not hungry and I have to force myself to get to 1000. Other days I struggle to keep below the goal.
I don't measure my food a lot, (sometimes I do, it depends on what it is. I don't own a food scale yet) so eating way under my goal does give me wiggle room due to likely inaccuracies. I also don't put in my workouts, because while I workout every day, my routine is a little too complicated to put into MFP and get an accurate reading (also, because I don't know how much I burn to be honest, just that I'm exhausted after). I'll be getting a fitbit soon, and when I do I'll start logging my exercise. I have never felt like I've been really hungry on 1200. What I feel are hunger pains because I'm not letting myself eat a large bag of chips by myself like I used to. I've only lost 12lbs so far (I'm trying to lose 110 as a final goal, give or take) but I've also only been trying to lose for about a month. So, with my lack of experience on here, take all of this with a grain of salt. But, it has worked for me so far.0 -
1200 here and I struggle to meet 1400 to eat back half of my exercise cals five days of seven, so I'm switching to a zig zag plan.0
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Eh, I more or less do 1200...
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1200 a day is tough and that's what I get
I have to add exercise in order to get more so I use that as my motivating factor for treats etc.,
I only want to drop 8-10 pounds now and I think those last 5-10 are the hardest.
Water is also the trick-lots of water to help reduce crazy cravings.
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