1200 Calories a day!

brittanyhiatte

im at 1200 and its hard at first but if you dont cheat on it, mine got easier in just two weeks! add me if you want some food ideas or support!

Cynthiamr2015

I am 5' 4' and my Dietitian has me at 1800 or 2000 calories a day, when I started the program I weighted 230. I am now at 216 lbs. I am suppose to try each one or in between to see what number works for me. I found that I do lose weight and that on most days what I eat dose not even get to 1800 so 1800 is my calorie intake for now. The reason for this is because I am getting my body use to the amount of calories each day which in turn I am NOT starving myself but I am still losing weight. I am learning to eat right, watch my portions, and yes I'm even trying to make peace with the foods that are not good for me. I have not cut out anything other then I do not eat much cheese or drink milk (Silk Soy, unsweetened, in place of milk). I DO eat fast foods but I have cut down on them and I am working on making my own recipes. I DO NOT ADD SALT to anything, not even in recipes (salt make me blow up like a balloon)! I use Organic Stevia in place of sugar, I do eat sugar when someone else makes something but I do not put it in my coffer or tea. I drink more water then what I most likely log. Also, I exercise at least 5 days a week, I either go to the gym or if the weather is bad I do chair exercises and other exercises, and weights at home. I am not that active because of health problems so what I am doing now is working and I want it to be the new norm for me. Just like breathing!

SconnieCat

timtakel wrote: »

I stick to 800 to 900kcal. The hard part is to find nutritious food, so you can have less calories, while still getting all the nutrients - but is helps you building a healthy diet. You should be fine with 1200kcal.

What?! Oh Lord, no. You can't possibly be getting all of the nutrients your body needs. Why on earth would you be "sticking" to 800-900 calories?

ki4eld

A few thoughts...

--Whether 1200 is ok is based on a lot of factors. The "guided goals" is a good way to help make sure your food, lifestyle, and exercise goals are compatible.
--Don't just drop to 1200. You'll feel like you're starving to death. Drop slowly over a few weeks, say 100 a week, until you're there.
--If you're going to have low calories, every calorie you ingest must be high quality nutrition. Make sure you're prepared to eat that way.
--Don't just use MFP to track what you've eaten, use it to plan your food plan for the entire day. You can then make changes to ensure you're meeting your nutrition goals.
--Please ensure your doctor is ok with 1200 per day. Don't just do it.

Good luck!

sandimejia25

Thanks so much for all your comments!
I'm feeling just fine with what I am eating. Altough I am calculating how many calories I'm taking in according to the meals online. The 1200 calories end up being 1500 more or less since I don't use exact measurements.

I am 5'1 and currently weight 128. So the suggested calorie intake was 1200 to meat my goal of 120 in 5 weeks. With 2-3 days of exercise.

I have now men recording my meals for 5 days. 4 more weeks to go!


Good luck everyone!!

salaita1968

I'm on 1200 for the last 10 weeks lost 43 lbs

Ella_hana

Hmm I usually consume around 1,200 calories a day too! I am switching my diet Up to basically vegan because I am trying to lose both muscle and fat in order to slim down about 3 inches km both my waist and hips. Lmk if anyone has similar goals

HankD50

I'm supposed to take in a lil over 3000 calories a day. I usually can only get around 2800 in me.

psuLemon

sandimejia25 wrote: »

Thanks so much for all your comments!
I'm feeling just fine with what I am eating. Altough I am calculating how many calories I'm taking in according to the meals online. The 1200 calories end up being 1500 more or less since I don't use exact measurements.

I am 5'1 and currently weight 128. So the suggested calorie intake was 1200 to meat my goal of 120 in 5 weeks. With 2-3 days of exercise.

I have now men recording my meals for 5 days. 4 more weeks to go!


Good luck everyone!!

Remember that aggressive weight loss goals, can increase the amount of muscle loss. When you lose muscle, you aren't generally decreasing body fat. Body fat is what people actually wants to lose, but that is what is going to make you have a flat or defined stomach. But if you follow a lcd, don't eat enough protein (.8-1g per lb of lean body mass or .6-.8g per lb of mass) and not doing resistance training, you can be guaranteed to increase the amount of muscle lost.

Also, weight loss isn't linear so you can't expect to lose exactly as the math would suggest.

psuLemon

salaita1968 wrote: »

I'm on 1200 for the last 10 weeks lost 43 lbs

As a man, you should be eating more. The minimum recommended for a male is 1500 calories. At 1200 calories, you will not meet all your nutritional requirements. And if you are eating at the low, you should be supervised by a doctor or dietitian.

Alatariel75

timtakel wrote: »

I stick to 800 to 900kcal. The hard part is to find nutritious food, so you can have less calories, while still getting all the nutrients - but is helps you building a healthy diet. You should be fine with 1200kcal.

It's disturbing that you're starving yourself. It's distressing that you're on the internet telling other people it is ok to do so.

lamurano

I'm set at 1200 too....and it's not a number I would have chosen! It was assigned to me by the app. I would have went with 1500. I add in all my activity calories and let myself have cheat meals about once a week (though they don't always push me over on calorie count). The thing that is odd to me is that Garmin Connect will often say I have a few hundred activity calories, but when I look at MFP they only add a few calories for extra steps. I know they're synced correctly because other data is in both apps.

Anyway, I had 14 lbs to lose and am only 5'0" so maybe that's why I'm set so low. I've enjoyed reading the responses here but I'm pretty sure most of us at 1200 are there because the app said so, not a random choice. :-(

bb1lopez

Does anyone know what my total daily cals should be to lose weight? I am female and currently weigh 188.8kg/ 261lbs. My height is about 1.68-1.70/5ft6-7. The suggested calorie intake was about 1200 cals.
Feel free to add me.

psuLemon

lamurano wrote: »

I'm set at 1200 too....and it's not a number I would have chosen! It was assigned to me by the app. I would have went with 1500. I add in all my activity calories and let myself have cheat meals about once a week (though they don't always push me over on calorie count). The thing that is odd to me is that Garmin Connect will often say I have a few hundred activity calories, but when I look at MFP they only add a few calories for extra steps. I know they're synced correctly because other data is in both apps.

Anyway, I had 14 lbs to lose and am only 5'0" so maybe that's why I'm set so low. I've enjoyed reading the responses here but I'm pretty sure most of us at 1200 are there because the app said so, not a random choice. :-(

Keep in mind with MFP, those calories are pre exercise. When you exercise, you are supposed to eat more calories. And how many lbs per week did you select?

psuLemon

bb1lopez wrote: »

Does anyone know what my total daily cals should be to lose weight? I am female and currently weigh 188.8kg/ 261lbs. My height is about 1.68-1.70/5ft6-7. The suggested calorie intake was about 1200 cals.
Feel free to add me.

What did MFP give you? Do you exercise (if so, what kind and for how long)? Do you have any medical conditions (hypothyroidism, PCOS, etc..)?

6502programmer

bb1lopez wrote: »

Does anyone know what my total daily cals should be to lose weight? I am female and currently weigh 188.8kg/ 261lbs. My height is about 1.68-1.70/5ft6-7. The suggested calorie intake was about 1200 cals.

It all depends on how much you need to lose and how quickly you want to get it done. The general guidelines are .5 pounds of weight loss per week for every 25 pounds you are over your goal. There's a fair bit of debate on goal weights, and it's certainly not an exact science, but a smart approach seems to be based on lean mass and body fat percentage. Assuming you're looking to lose 100+ pounds, you can safely go 2 pounds per week, or approximately a 1000 calorie per day deficit below your TDEE. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is based on activity, height, weight, and age. Put in the data, let MFP crunch the numbers, and eat at that level while getting enough nutrition. Your MFP Goals will show you what your targets are.

erickirb

lamurano wrote: »

I'm set at 1200 too....and it's not a number I would have chosen! It was assigned to me by the app. I would have went with 1500. I add in all my activity calories and let myself have cheat meals about once a week (though they don't always push me over on calorie count). The thing that is odd to me is that Garmin Connect will often say I have a few hundred activity calories, but when I look at MFP they only add a few calories for extra steps. I know they're synced correctly because other data is in both apps.

Anyway, I had 14 lbs to lose and am only 5'0" so maybe that's why I'm set so low. I've enjoyed reading the responses here but I'm pretty sure most of us at 1200 are there because the app said so, not a random choice. :-(

1500 sounds more reasonable for you, if you are using TDEE method (not eating exercise cals back). with only 6 lbs to go you should set your goal to lose 0.5lbs/week and eat back at least some of the cals you burn from exercise.

The app wont let you go lower than 1200. And this is a goal based on what the user inputted for their weekly weight loss goal (most people put 2lbs/week when 0.5 or 1 is probably more appropriate for the amount they have to lose). and the 1200 goal assumes you will be eating back the cals you burn from exercise.

mrsdrshot

I'm 5'5" and MFP says the same - that I'm around 1200. I've definitely had to change how I eat, but I'm finding a lot of things I really, really enjoy and tend to eat the same thing for 2-3 days and then choose new foods. Always have breakfast and make sure you're having a lot of veggies and lean protein. I've started having veggies with breakfast too! Just look up your food beforehand at first until you get the hang of whats best for you to eat. Add me and we can chat some more

6502programmer

lamurano wrote: »

let myself have cheat meals about once a week

As long as you log and pay attention to what you're eating, you're just eating above target--Not cheating.

The thing that is odd to me is that Garmin Connect will often say I have a few hundred activity calories, but when I look at MFP they only add a few calories for extra steps. I know they're synced correctly because other data is in both apps.

Even if you choose sedentary in MFP, it assumes you have some level of activity, which is why Garmin Connect shows more activity calories than MFP. Do you have negative adjustments enabled? If you do, you'll see the effect at the start of the day when you've been in bed six or seven hours and not moving around, and will see where those "missing" calories went in moving them between Garmin Connect and MFP.

Anyway, I had 14 lbs to lose and am only 5'0" so maybe that's why I'm set so low. I've enjoyed reading the responses here but I'm pretty sure most of us at 1200 are there because the app said so, not a random choice. :-(

They really need to make the site and app pop up a warning when constructing a plan that says says you want to lose weight at 2 pounds per week when you're so close to goal. It will be extremely difficult and very frustrating and disappointing to try to lose weight at the same rate when you're 6 pounds over versus 56 pounds over versus 106 pounds over. Yes, you still eat at a deficit. Yes, exercise will still increase the deficit. Where it differs though is that your ability to create the same deficit at 50 pounds over a goal is very different than 10 pounds over that goal. The magic number--the deficit--is the same. Your ability to create it is what changes. Simply put, there's a lot more of you to keep alive at 50 pounds over versus 10, and there's a lot more of you to haul around.

bb1lopez

psulemon wrote: »

What did MFP give you? Do you exercise (if so, what kind and for how long)? Do you have any medical conditions (hypothyroidism, PCOS, etc..)?

I have just started "dieting" again. Today is day 5. I am going to try and exercise at least 3 times a week, but I've been sentinel for so long, that I want to start slowly. So far I have stuck to this and have done: 60 minutes aerobics, which also included strength training, 60 minutes of zumba twice, and walking which I only include when I am going to/fro the gym as an exercise. As it was week 1, I needed to rest, because I was in a lot of pain. I have no body strength whatsoever.

I haven't got any medical conditions, that I am aware of.

6502programmer wrote: »

It all depends on how much you need to lose and how quickly you want to get it done. The general guidelines are .5 pounds of weight loss per week for every 25 pounds you are over your goal. There's a fair bit of debate on goal weights, and it's certainly not an exact science, but a smart approach seems to be based on lean mass and body fat percentage. Assuming you're looking to lose 100+ pounds, you can safely go 2 pounds per week, or approximately a 1000 calorie per day deficit below your TDEE. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is based on activity, height, weight, and age. Put in the data, let MFP crunch the numbers, and eat at that level while getting enough nutrition. Your MFP Goals will show you what your targets are.

I put in the data and saw the goals, but MFP told me my total calorie intake should be 1200, which seemed really low to me, as I am only starting off. I didn't realise it was meant to be about 1000 below my TDEE. I will check this.
I want to lose a lot, I want to be about 57-60kg/125-132lbs, but I want to be realistic and lose it in a safe way.

Thanks for you replies!