1200 Calories or 1500 Calories!? Help!
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I am 5.5 ( so shorter than you)
50 years ( so older than you)
And i lose on 2000 calories a day ( TDEE so this is included my exercise burns). I lose slow yes...maybe a pound a month. But this is because i am trying to figure out maintenance for myself.
I lost 118 lbs since October 2014.
And i had to start ( under medical support) on 1200 and no exercise the first time. When i started to exercise i ate 25 to 50 % back of the burned calories MFP gave me. So this was on top of the 1200 NET calories. But as soon my body was calming down and healing from the injuries they upped the calorie allowance.
Their ( the medical team) advice was also eat as much as you can and deficit of about 1% of your body weight.
I could do the 1200 easy btw...for me it was all about filling up with veggies and fruits. This is very personal of course
But to be honest...the moment i upped my calories it got easier and easier.
I ate everything btw except added salt and added sugar ( for medical reasons). I used MFP to see my NET calories sticking around that number every day, with an occasional dinner out party or booze...it never harmed me.
I went from 1200 the first months to 1300, to 1400 and the jump to 1600 when everything stayed stable. BP, Sugar, heart etc. And the more i got in calories the harder and intenser my exercise became..which gave me more calories to eat back again
.
But everything that had calories i logged...EVERYTHING! yes even coffee ( i drink 10 to 14 cups a day so that is good for 28 to 50 calories and on a 1200 calories a day that is a lot)
I do my spices and herbs ( because i have to watch my potassium and they have a lot of potassium)
But my general rule was everything my body count as calories get on the food scale before i eat it.
So that means that only water is left out.
My calories allowance went up and up and i got stronger and stronger. From a 261 lbs woman at the start who was very sick/unhealthy and not able to walk normal i went to a now fit and strong person who can run 4.3 mph and exercise every day. I feel good, strong my medical issues that i had will always remain but they are fully under control. And from not able to walk normal i went to walking between 10 to 20 thousands steps a day ( yes every day) And even jogging my miles a couple times a week. I teach twice a week BWB Body-Robics™ Plus in the summer i swim an hour a day.
For me logging honestly, eating everything even pizza and ice cream but a balanced diet and exercise made it possible to lose all this weight in a short time ( for me short it was 400 days to reach my goal weight) and trying to eat as much as possible.
Patience helps, moderation, not flipping out over fluctuations ( after all you weigh your food so you know you dont or didn't eat enough to gain (water)weight...the lbs will be gone in some days)
And yes there were difficult days, but isn't that life? I just kept on going. and i can say now the more you can eat and not being in a hurry the better you stick to what you are doing.
So eat enough!!! you will be stronger, happier and have the energy to do things which will result again in more burned calories because you are more active.
Don't look at others, just do it.
If i were you i would eat as much as possible and still lose weight..shoot for that 1 lbs a week and eat 50% back of your exercise on top of you calorie allowance. But it is your journey and life i wish you luck and determination.
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ivvassileva wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »ivvassileva wrote: »I am on 1200, I usually have between 1000 and 1100 in food and I don't eat back my exercise calories. And I feel great. In my opinion, you should listen to your body. If you feel hungry, tired, sick, etc. then something is not right. But if you feel good, keep going.
Good luck
What are your stats: height, weight, goal? Why so aggressive with the calorie deficit?
I'm 167 cm, 85.7 kg as of this morning, my goal is to get to 57-60 kg. I don't feel starving or even hungry as I eat 3-4 times a day and I don't really think I am going aggressive. On the contrary - I feel very good
That's wonderful that you feel good! The one suggestion I'd have to keep things that way is that you check your macros, and make sure you're getting plenty of protein, adequate fat, plus enough veggies & fruits to have a range of micronutrients. If you can do that & keep your calories low, you may not be doing too much long term damage.
I'd suggest making sure you get at least 75-105g of protein daily, and maybe 30-50g of fat (as much of that healthy fat as possible, like avocado, olive oil, nuts, rather than saturated fat). There's decent research evidence that we need extra protein while losing weight to minimize muscle loss. On top of that, 5-9 servings of fruit and veg would be good - for many of these, a serving is 1/2 cup or so.
I'm almost exactly your same height, so I've done the macro calculations a bunch of times while losing (I started at close to your weight, and am down 27+ kg since April, now at 55kg and still losing slowly at 1560 calories/day . . . and I'm 60 y/o. IF you're sacrificing nutrition to get to extra-low calories, I think it's not a good plan.
@Day_knee, sorry to hijack your thread. Based on my experience, I think you could lose at something >1200 - I was at 1200 briefly at a SW of 183 (5'5"), and didn't need to be. In your case, I wouldn't sweat the macros toooo much right away, just get used to tracking calories, then when that's routine in a couple of weeks, you can start looking at good macros & thinking about which foods in your daily eating don't really provide the best nutritional or satisfaction payoff for their number of calories. It's a process!0 -
I would go with the 1200 and see your results...i did that for about 6 months and lost about 15 pounds and then raised to 1450 and lost about 1 pound a month for the last year...this week i just lowered my intake to 1350 as i have gained a few pounds back and not watched my macro's-too many carbs lately(for my body). I'm 5'6 128 and feel best around 120 eating 20Carb/45fat/35 protein...i think you just need to experiment! i have changed my macro's a few times and go with what gives me the best energy and results...(and less hunger pains!)0
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janicelo1971 wrote: »I would go with the 1200 and see your results...i did that for about 6 months and lost about 15 pounds and then raised to 1450 and lost about 1 pound a month for the last year...this week i just lowered my intake to 1350 as i have gained a few pounds back and not watched my macro's-too many carbs lately(for my body). I'm 5'6 128 and feel best around 120 eating 20Carb/45fat/35 protein...i think you just need to experiment! i have changed my macro's a few times and go with what gives me the best energy and results...(and less hunger pains!)
I eat high carb... about 300 mg a day. For all that time now. My big ...really big bowl of popcorn each night is the contributing to that. lol
Its not the way you eat what determent your weight loss ( when you dont have medical issues with food groups) It is how much calories you eat.
But we all have our way to do it. high in fibers Low in fibers no sugar or a lot of sugar. It doesn't matter you all have your own ways. But in the end the deficit you have will make you lose weight. Even eating only carbs if you want to. Now if that is healthy is a whole other discussion. 0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »OP have you read the Most Helpful Posts at the top of the Getting Started forum section? I would read all of those, but in particular the "So You're New Here" one I think boils everything down quite succinctly (sorry I'm on my phone so I can't link it here). I think you have a lot of preconceived notions about diet and weight loss and threads like that, in addition to the helpful specific advice you're getting here, can really help it all sink in.
Just to address a couple of points you've made, which have already been covered but want to reiterate them. There's no such thing as starvation mode as you are describing it. Your prior eating habits have not made it impossible for you to lose weight. You seem to be stuck on either 1200 or 1500 as an optimal target. As others have said, follow the guidance of MFP. It you can sustain the 1200, that's good, but make sure if you're exercising to eat back some of those calories. Continue using your food scale, that's great. Be patient! You're seeing quick loss this first week, a lot of that is water weight. You won't continue to lose at that rate, and the loss won't be consistent either. Weight loss is not linear due to so many complicating factors. The important thing is to stick with it and watch the downward trends over time.
For what it's worth, I'm 5'2, 41, and lost my 30 lbs eating 1600-1800 calories and am maintaining eating >2000 calories. So you don't have to starve yourself in order to lose.
Good luck.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1
Thanks doll!
At 5'2" and in my 40s I am losing on 1700cal/day. I let FitBit determine exercise burn and add when appropriate. 42lbs down so far, and have close to 50 more to go. I didn't feel I had much to add to WinoGelato's post.
@Day_knee Try whichever way you like for 4-6 weeks to get enough data. See how it is working and what your outcome is. If you are losing too quickly (>2lb/week), then increase your calorie goal. I know it's nice to see the progress on the scale, but you need to continue to ensure your body is getting enough nutrition to stay healthy. This is harder to do on 1200 cal/day. Not impossible, but does require more attention to foods that you are consuming for health.
Weight loss is just about the numbers. Sustainability and health are about the choices you make and what you learn from them while along the way. Okay, I am guessing about the sustainability, because I'm not in maintenance at this point, but I have learned that I can lose on 1700, not feel deprived, enjoy some treats, and still get enough protein, fats, carbs, fibre, vitamins and mineral to stay satisfied and energetic along the way. I don't feel like I'm on a diet, and therefore am fairly certain that I can continue this for another 50 lbs.
ETA: If you are going to stay with 1200 cal/day, do consume your exercise calories (50-75%) of them. You need the extra fuel for the workouts. I also suggest reading the other threads that are stickied with the one I linked earlier along with the ones at the top of the General Diet forum. Particularly on logging accurately.0 -
I started around 200lbs. The first two weeks I ate between 1500 & 2100 cals. Cardio daily. No weight came off. Week three I stuck to around 1500 calories, 60 min of walking a day, and the weight is coming off. Can only speak for my own experience, but I'd suggest giving your body at least 3 weeks to adjust. Then just trial and error. Stick to a week of 1500. If that doesn't work, the next week drop to 1400. I know it's a pain and super frustrating, but you have to give it time.0
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Wow, you sound very obsessed with losing weight at a rapid pace. I would relax and let your body do the talking to figure things out. I've been doing MFP now for 6 weeks and have lost 9 lbs. I think 3 lbs in a week is a bit aggressive. Don't be so hard on yourself!0
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I'm 5'4.75", 47 years and started at 195. I'm at 170 now and set at sedentary and mfp gives me 1270 calories a day for a 1 pound per week loss. I had my goal at 1.5 for a while and it gave me 1200. I do sometimes eat back some of my calories if I feel like I need to. Typically I will eat between 1150 - 1400 and I have been losing. I worry sometimes because people on here talk about 1200 being so low, but so far it is working for me.
Thank you this is good to know. Because after sticking very hard to 1200 this whole week I just ate an 8 oz steak with brussle sprouts! I am sure the brussle sprouts wont kill me but the steak might haha. But having the steak didn't put me too far over. I am really good with staying at 1200 but working hard not to go over 1500!
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Suzanne106 wrote: »Wow, you sound very obsessed with losing weight at a rapid pace. I would relax and let your body do the talking to figure things out. I've been doing MFP now for 6 weeks and have lost 9 lbs. I think 3 lbs in a week is a bit aggressive. Don't be so hard on yourself!
Wait...you think >I< sound very obsessed about loosing weight? hahaha...ok....thanks.
I mean seriously...I was just asking a question regarding the 1200 and 1500 calorie intake of food. If I lost 3 pounds this week I say YEEHAA! How dare you be so rude and act like I sound "very obsessed with losing weight at a rapid pace" . Have some decency towards your fellow human beings. I am hardly obsessed about losing weight at a rapid pace.0 -
I started around 200lbs. The first two weeks I ate between 1500 & 2100 cals. Cardio daily. No weight came off. Week three I stuck to around 1500 calories, 60 min of walking a day, and the weight is coming off. Can only speak for my own experience, but I'd suggest giving your body at least 3 weeks to adjust. Then just trial and error. Stick to a week of 1500. If that doesn't work, the next week drop to 1400. I know it's a pain and super frustrating, but you have to give it time.
Thank you for responding. That sounds like a great idea also. Since I am so new to this way of eating I could really use any and all helpful advice. I appreciate it!
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nutmegoreo wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »OP have you read the Most Helpful Posts at the top of the Getting Started forum section? I would read all of those, but in particular the "So You're New Here" one I think boils everything down quite succinctly (sorry I'm on my phone so I can't link it here). I think you have a lot of preconceived notions about diet and weight loss and threads like that, in addition to the helpful specific advice you're getting here, can really help it all sink in.
Just to address a couple of points you've made, which have already been covered but want to reiterate them. There's no such thing as starvation mode as you are describing it. Your prior eating habits have not made it impossible for you to lose weight. You seem to be stuck on either 1200 or 1500 as an optimal target. As others have said, follow the guidance of MFP. It you can sustain the 1200, that's good, but make sure if you're exercising to eat back some of those calories. Continue using your food scale, that's great. Be patient! You're seeing quick loss this first week, a lot of that is water weight. You won't continue to lose at that rate, and the loss won't be consistent either. Weight loss is not linear due to so many complicating factors. The important thing is to stick with it and watch the downward trends over time.
For what it's worth, I'm 5'2, 41, and lost my 30 lbs eating 1600-1800 calories and am maintaining eating >2000 calories. So you don't have to starve yourself in order to lose.
Good luck.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1
Thanks doll!
At 5'2" and in my 40s I am losing on 1700cal/day. I let FitBit determine exercise burn and add when appropriate. 42lbs down so far, and have close to 50 more to go. I didn't feel I had much to add to WinoGelato's post.
@Day_knee Try whichever way you like for 4-6 weeks to get enough data. See how it is working and what your outcome is. If you are losing too quickly (>2lb/week), then increase your calorie goal. I know it's nice to see the progress on the scale, but you need to continue to ensure your body is getting enough nutrition to stay healthy. This is harder to do on 1200 cal/day. Not impossible, but does require more attention to foods that you are consuming for health.
Weight loss is just about the numbers. Sustainability and health are about the choices you make and what you learn from them while along the way. Okay, I am guessing about the sustainability, because I'm not in maintenance at this point, but I have learned that I can lose on 1700, not feel deprived, enjoy some treats, and still get enough protein, fats, carbs, fibre, vitamins and mineral to stay satisfied and energetic along the way. I don't feel like I'm on a diet, and therefore am fairly certain that I can continue this for another 50 lbs.
ETA: If you are going to stay with 1200 cal/day, do consume your exercise calories (50-75%) of them. You need the extra fuel for the workouts. I also suggest reading the other threads that are stickied with the one I linked earlier along with the ones at the top of the General Diet forum. Particularly on logging accurately.
Thanks for the great advice! I am still learning all this and learning what it means to consume my exercise calories or a percentage of them. That is something I didn't know ...I saw others talking about that but I didn't know what that meant. Makes sense
I hate having to learn new things and losing weight is the ONE thing that always seemed so hard! 0 -
I started around 200lbs. The first two weeks I ate between 1500 & 2100 cals. Cardio daily. No weight came off. Week three I stuck to around 1500 calories, 60 min of walking a day, and the weight is coming off. Can only speak for my own experience, but I'd suggest giving your body at least 3 weeks to adjust. Then just trial and error. Stick to a week of 1500. If that doesn't work, the next week drop to 1400. I know it's a pain and super frustrating, but you have to give it time.[/quoivvassileva wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »ivvassileva wrote: »I am on 1200, I usually have between 1000 and 1100 in food and I don't eat back my exercise calories. And I feel great. In my opinion, you should listen to your body. If you feel hungry, tired, sick, etc. then something is not right. But if you feel good, keep going.
Good luck
What are your stats: height, weight, goal? Why so aggressive with the calorie deficit?
I'm 167 cm, 85.7 kg as of this morning, my goal is to get to 57-60 kg. I don't feel starving or even hungry as I eat 3-4 times a day and I don't really think I am going aggressive. On the contrary - I feel very good
That's wonderful that you feel good! The one suggestion I'd have to keep things that way is that you check your macros, and make sure you're getting plenty of protein, adequate fat, plus enough veggies & fruits to have a range of micronutrients. If you can do that & keep your calories low, you may not be doing too much long term damage.
I'd suggest making sure you get at least 75-105g of protein daily, and maybe 30-50g of fat (as much of that healthy fat as possible, like avocado, olive oil, nuts, rather than saturated fat). There's decent research evidence that we need extra protein while losing weight to minimize muscle loss. On top of that, 5-9 servings of fruit and veg would be good - for many of these, a serving is 1/2 cup or so.
I'm almost exactly your same height, so I've done the macro calculations a bunch of times while losing (I started at close to your weight, and am down 27+ kg since April, now at 55kg and still losing slowly at 1560 calories/day . . . and I'm 60 y/o. IF you're sacrificing nutrition to get to extra-low calories, I think it's not a good plan.
@Day_knee, sorry to hijack your thread. Based on my experience, I think you could lose at something >1200 - I was at 1200 briefly at a SW of 183 (5'5"), and didn't need to be. In your case, I wouldn't sweat the macros toooo much right away, just get used to tracking calories, then when that's routine in a couple of weeks, you can start looking at good macros & thinking about which foods in your daily eating don't really provide the best nutritional or satisfaction payoff for their number of calories. It's a process!
Oh no worries...I don't mind thread hijacking..I'm easy going. I appreciate all the sound advice. And I think you are right too. I think I will try this for a couple two or three weeks and see what happens and then make adjustments as I need to. I love this site..most people are SO helpful. Thank you!0 -
BurnWithBarn2015 wrote: »I am 5.5 ( so shorter than you)
50 years ( so older than you)
And i lose on 2000 calories a day ( TDEE so this is included my exercise burns). I lose slow yes...maybe a pound a month. But this is because i am trying to figure out maintenance for myself.
I lost 118 lbs since October 2014.
And i had to start ( under medical support) on 1200 and no exercise the first time. When i started to exercise i ate 25 to 50 % back of the burned calories MFP gave me. So this was on top of the 1200 NET calories. But as soon my body was calming down and healing from the injuries they upped the calorie allowance.
Their ( the medical team) advice was also eat as much as you can and deficit of about 1% of your body weight.
I could do the 1200 easy btw...for me it was all about filling up with veggies and fruits. This is very personal of course
But to be honest...the moment i upped my calories it got easier and easier.
I ate everything btw except added salt and added sugar ( for medical reasons). I used MFP to see my NET calories sticking around that number every day, with an occasional dinner out party or booze...it never harmed me.
I went from 1200 the first months to 1300, to 1400 and the jump to 1600 when everything stayed stable. BP, Sugar, heart etc. And the more i got in calories the harder and intenser my exercise became..which gave me more calories to eat back again.
But everything that had calories i logged...EVERYTHING! yes even coffee ( i drink 10 to 14 cups a day so that is good for 28 to 50 calories and on a 1200 calories a day that is a lot)
I do my spices and herbs ( because i have to watch my potassium and they have a lot of potassium)
But my general rule was everything my body count as calories get on the food scale before i eat it.
So that means that only water is left out.
My calories allowance went up and up and i got stronger and stronger. From a 261 lbs woman at the start who was very sick/unhealthy and not able to walk normal i went to a now fit and strong person who can run 4.3 mph and exercise every day. I feel good, strong my medical issues that i had will always remain but they are fully under control. And from not able to walk normal i went to walking between 10 to 20 thousands steps a day ( yes every day) And even jogging my miles a couple times a week. I teach twice a week BWB Body-Robics™ Plus in the summer i swim an hour a day.
For me logging honestly, eating everything even pizza and ice cream but a balanced diet and exercise made it possible to lose all this weight in a short time ( for me short it was 400 days to reach my goal weight) and trying to eat as much as possible.
Patience helps, moderation, not flipping out over fluctuations ( after all you weigh your food so you know you dont or didn't eat enough to gain (water)weight...the lbs will be gone in some days)
And yes there were difficult days, but isn't that life? I just kept on going. and i can say now the more you can eat and not being in a hurry the better you stick to what you are doing.
So eat enough!!! you will be stronger, happier and have the energy to do things which will result again in more burned calories because you are more active.
Don't look at others, just do it.
If i were you i would eat as much as possible and still lose weight..shoot for that 1 lbs a week and eat 50% back of your exercise on top of you calorie allowance. But it is your journey and life i wish you luck and determination.
wow great! thank you for sharing all of that with me. I appreciate it so much. I am anxious to see how things go on 1200 but I will definitely up it if I feel any adverse affects. I feel fine and I don't feel tired or crabby or anything. I feel like I am actually eating quit a bit if you can believe that. I will for sure adjust it though and just go by trial and error!0 -
Suzanne106 wrote: »Wow, you sound very obsessed with losing weight at a rapid pace. I would relax and let your body do the talking to figure things out. I've been doing MFP now for 6 weeks and have lost 9 lbs. I think 3 lbs in a week is a bit aggressive.
Sounds like OP is fairly new to this, at least for this round of weight loss. For some people (not everyone), a surprisingly large drop happens in the first week because of changes in the mix of what they eat - they lose some extra water weight in addition to an initial fat loss. I wouldn't assume that she's trying to lose at that rate. She said she'd picked "2 pounds per week" in her MFP settings, which isn't unreasonable in her circumstances, as long as it's sustainable.Don't be so hard on yourself!
No one needs to be stressing over this stuff. It's just a real-life science project utilizing arithmetic and behavior.
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You could always mix up your intakes if you want. If you are not digging 1200, try 1500. If you're ok though, see what happens next week. Often one loses water weight quickly at the beginning of calorie counting.
There. I really on entered this thread to say that veganbaum is awesome for liking wonder falls!0 -
ivvassileva wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »ivvassileva wrote: »I am on 1200, I usually have between 1000 and 1100 in food and I don't eat back my exercise calories. And I feel great. In my opinion, you should listen to your body. If you feel hungry, tired, sick, etc. then something is not right. But if you feel good, keep going.
Good luck
What are your stats: height, weight, goal? Why so aggressive with the calorie deficit?
I'm 167 cm, 85.7 kg as of this morning, my goal is to get to 57-60 kg. I don't feel starving or even hungry as I eat 3-4 times a day and I don't really think I am going aggressive. On the contrary - I feel very good
That's wonderful that you feel good! The one suggestion I'd have to keep things that way is that you check your macros, and make sure you're getting plenty of protein, adequate fat, plus enough veggies & fruits to have a range of micronutrients. If you can do that & keep your calories low, you may not be doing too much long term damage.
I'd suggest making sure you get at least 75-105g of protein daily, and maybe 30-50g of fat (as much of that healthy fat as possible, like avocado, olive oil, nuts, rather than saturated fat). There's decent research evidence that we need extra protein while losing weight to minimize muscle loss. On top of that, 5-9 servings of fruit and veg would be good - for many of these, a serving is 1/2 cup or so.
I'm almost exactly your same height, so I've done the macro calculations a bunch of times while losing (I started at close to your weight, and am down 27+ kg since April, now at 55kg and still losing slowly at 1560 calories/day . . . and I'm 60 y/o. IF you're sacrificing nutrition to get to extra-low calories, I think it's not a good plan.
@Day_knee, sorry to hijack your thread. Based on my experience, I think you could lose at something >1200 - I was at 1200 briefly at a SW of 183 (5'5"), and didn't need to be. In your case, I wouldn't sweat the macros toooo much right away, just get used to tracking calories, then when that's routine in a couple of weeks, you can start looking at good macros & thinking about which foods in your daily eating don't really provide the best nutritional or satisfaction payoff for their number of calories. It's a process!
Thnks a lot for the reply I am, actually, eating pretty much everything - a lot of fruits and veggies, meat or fish every day, nuts, bread, etc. I've been on far worse diets and I got to know my body, I know how much I need and I know when to stop. As soon as I feel like I'm not getting enough, I will surely start eating more.
My overall point was that we should worry less for the numbers and listen more to what our own body tells us 0
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