The 1200 calorie limit is too high for me

rankinsect

aislingeach wrote: »

I have an issue with the minimum of 1200 calories per day and an absolute minimum of 1000 calories per day. I am a 54 yr old woman who is 5' 1.5" tall and have finally reached my goal of 115 pounds. The last 5 pounds were incredibly difficult to achieve and looking back I blame the calorie limits in MFP. I recently calculated my BMR and at 120 pounds it was 1212, while at 115 pounds it is 1190. In order to lose weight, you have to drop below your BMR x activity level (use 1.2 for light activity) by 500 calories per day to lose one pound per week. At 120 pounds that was 1455-500=954. It is no wonder that my last 5 pounds were incredibly difficult to reach. How am I supposed to use a tool that is so flawed? If someone is even shorter than me, and there are quite a few of us, they would have troubles using this tool even more than I do.

At 120 pounds, you really shouldn't be losing 1 lb/week; you will lose a lot of lean mass at that point just because your body can actually only burn fat at a relatively slow rate. Half a pound per week would have given you as 1204 goal and been a more appropriate rate to lose given your smaller body.

aislingeach

Thanks everyone. That was a lot of useful information. I started this calorie counting AFTER I cleaned up my diet due to some serious allergy issues with food. Before that even counting calories was not working. So now I avoid the foods that my body doesn't process well, I watch my protein intake, and I have found that grains are not my friend - so I stick with lots of non-starchy veggies mostly for my carbs. It makes sense that the bottom 5-10 pounds are harder to lose due to the all the things people have said above. I think I am just scared at switching to maintenance; I don't want to gain weight again. I want to concentrate on getting my muscles toned and staying where I am. I think I need to make an appointment with my nutritionist (alternative variety) for advice on how to do that the right way and stop being scared of it.

macgurlnet

aislingeach wrote: »

Thanks everyone. That was a lot of useful information. I started this calorie counting AFTER I cleaned up my diet due to some serious allergy issues with food. Before that even counting calories was not working. So now I avoid the foods that my body doesn't process well, I watch my protein intake, and I have found that grains are not my friend - so I stick with lots of non-starchy veggies mostly for my carbs. It makes sense that the bottom 5-10 pounds are harder to lose due to the all the things people have said above. I think I am just scared at switching to maintenance; I don't want to gain weight again. I want to concentrate on getting my muscles toned and staying where I am. I think I need to make an appointment with my nutritionist (alternative variety) for advice on how to do that the right way and stop being scared of it.

The most important thing for me is to remember that my weight is a range. I've been tracking my daily fluctuations the whole time, and I generally find that I have a range of 3-5 pounds that is my "true" weight. If I get to the high end and stay there for more than 2 weeks, I know I need to tighten up my logging, maybe cut back a touch, and get back to the middle.

It sounds like you've made awesome progress!!! Massive kudos. Good for you figuring out what works best for you and sticking with it.

~Lyssa

NikkiMichelleS

girlinahat wrote: »

amyoliver85 wrote: »

Hiya, Teabea is pretty close. But really 1200 calories is about the low limit for SURVIVAL. And that's only supposed to be a short term solution. When you eat 1,200 or fewer calories per day over the long term your metabolic rate slows down and your body starts to go into starvation mode. This means that (1) you're not burning fat anymore because your body is holding onto it for dear life (literally), and (2) your body start burning muscle, so you get left with...FAT. And when your body holds onto every little bit of fat that you put in, you'll start getting...fatter.

This article on Pop Sugar does a pretty good job of explaining that: http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Why-1200-Calories-Day-Important-When-Dieting-13080864
.

No

Second NO. Please don't reference Pop Sugar as valid and expect others to buy it. Just...no.

scolaris

middlehaitch wrote: »

The MFP programme is not flawed. It is set up to give a safe deficit for the majority of the population.
1200 cal for women and 1500 cal for men has been set as the level at which an adult could reach all their daily nutrition.
If one has circumstances that require a lower calorie level it is recommended to lose weight under a doctor and dietician's guidance.

One does not have to drop below ones BMR to lose weight. I and many others didn't. One has to eat less than the energy one expends. CI<CO.

It is recommended and frequently posted on the forum that when one is down to the last 5-10 lb one should aim for, and expect to lose .5lb a week.

I. Am 62, 5'1 and maintain between 100-105 lb. yes, it took quite a few months to lose those last 5 lb, but they were vanity pounds, I was in no rush.
My BMR is between 950-960, sedentary maintenance 1200, every day winter TDEE 1400-1450.
I went from 130- 105 eating 1200 cal and 50% of my exercise constantly.

Cheers, h.

This!

MarcyKirkton

lol......well, ok then

tincanonastring

amyoliver85 wrote: »

Hiya, Teabea is pretty close. But really 1200 calories is about the low limit for SURVIVAL. And that's only supposed to be a short term solution. When you eat 1,200 or fewer calories per day over the long term your metabolic rate slows down and your body starts to go into starvation mode. This means that (1) you're not burning fat anymore because your body is holding onto it for dear life (literally), and (2) your body start burning muscle, so you get left with...FAT. And when your body holds onto every little bit of fat that you put in, you'll start getting...fatter.

This article on Pop Sugar does a pretty good job of explaining that: http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Why-1200-Calories-Day-Important-When-Dieting-13080864

And it's important to know what your personal burn rate is. Just being alive every day and going to work and not doing anything special, I burn about 1,575 calories. So just to get through the day I need that many calories to fuel my body. If I put a deficit in that by working out, I never let it get below 1,200 and I usually eat more than that. If you're starting with a goal of 1,200 per day and then you work out, you HAVE TO EAT BACK those exercise calories or you'll starve your body.

Knowing what your personal burn rate is is really the better way to determine how much of a deficit you can create in the short term to burn calories. But that also won't help you burn fat.

Burning fat is about bigger changes. You have to increase your muscle mass which means that you need to lift weights. You have to change your eating habits. When I first started getting into all of this many years ago, I thought calories in/calories out was the only way to look at things, so even if I ate 500 calories of crap, I called it good. But that doesn't work. Proper nutrition is essential to cleansing your body and ensuring that all of your systems are in peak performance.

I also would like to suggest that you consider the reality that the last 5 pounds is going to be harder anyway because it's been sitting around longer. I once saw some fat cells. The ones that had been starved by proper nutrition and exercise were withering and brown and they were easy to get rid of. The new ones were small, so they were easy to turn into brown ones. But then there were these huge ones. And they had been growing for years...you have to make them smaller before they can go away. And the bigger they are, the more stubborn they are.

Also...going back to metabolic rate, know that your age does have something to do with it, but when you're losing weight your metabolic rate also can decrease. So essentially, losing weight makes you less efficient at losing weight. Pretty cruddy, but true. But that doesn't mean that you get to eat way less than everybody else. You do get to eat less, but frankly your metabolism is probably higher when you're active and lighter, so it all evens out.

Sorry for the diadem. Please feel free to friend me. I've got a martial arts/personal fitness boyfriend, I'm a homeopath, and we're both dead set on fit living and getting to all of our goals so we're always happy to help.

Holy moly! That is just a mountain of nope! From the base camp of starvation mode to the peaks of vanishing fat cells, almost that entire post is wrong.

arditarose

So...the app worked for you...great.

zcb94

I see that everyone else's feedback helped the OP, but just have to chime in to agree with the idea that the suggested limit can be way too much. Due to limited mobility, my nutritionist ordered me to stick with a calorie count that I won't mention here due to MFP rules. Everyone is different!

jemhh

zcb94 wrote: »

I see that everyone else's feedback helped the OP, but just have to chime in to agree with the idea that the suggested limit can be way too much. Due to limited mobility, my nutritionist ordered me to stick with a calorie count that I won't mention here due to MFP rules. Everyone is different!

Well obviously everybody is different. The fact remains that 1200 worked for the OP even if she didn't like it. The fact also remains that any nitwits can call themselves nutritionists.

zcb94

zcb94 wrote: »

I see that everyone else's feedback helped the OP, but just have to chime in to agree with the idea that the suggested limit can be way too much. Due to limited mobility, my nutritionist ordered me to stick with a calorie count that I won't mention here due to MFP rules. Everyone is different!

Sorry, I forgot to mention that my doctor is a bona fide expert on all things health, and wrote an awesome book on low-carb life. I hope she and I can slowly increase my intake when I lose a little more weight. It was my fault for not saying that. Sadly, being permanently confined to a wheelchair takes away the use of less than half of my muscles, so running it off isn't an option. Now I see what you mean. Sorry again. *backs away slowly, embarrassed.*

brianpperkins

zcb94 wrote: »

zcb94 wrote: »

I see that everyone else's feedback helped the OP, but just have to chime in to agree with the idea that the suggested limit can be way too much. Due to limited mobility, my nutritionist ordered me to stick with a calorie count that I won't mention here due to MFP rules. Everyone is different!

Sorry, I forgot to mention that my doctor is a bona fide expert on all things health, and wrote an awesome book on low-carb life. I hope she and I can slowly increase my intake when I lose a little more weight. It was my fault for not saying that. Sadly, being permanently confined to a wheelchair takes away the use of less than half of my muscles, so running it off isn't an option. Now I see what you mean. Sorry again. *backs away slowly, embarrassed.*

You said nutritionist, then doctor. Which is it as the two are far from the same.

zcb94

Technically, both. Dr. C is a really talented, friendly RD (Registered Dietitian)!

mirrim52

zcb94 wrote: »

Technically, both. Dr. C is a really talented, friendly RD (Registered Dietitian)!

Registered Dietitians and nutritionists are two different things.
RDs are regulated and, in Canada anyway, need to have at least Bachelor degrees in nutrition, often Masters or Doctorates.
Nutritionists are not regulated. In a lot of places, I could go take a weekend seminar somewhere then set up shop as a nutritionist.
Obviously, I don't know about every country's regulations though...
Glad you are seeing a good one!

choppie70

I do not think it the app is flawed, or not in tune to short people.. I think it was the expectation to be able to lose 1 lb a week so close to goal weight. No matter what height you are, your weight loss is going to be a lot slower the closer to goal weight you are.