How many calories?

morey235

I am on a 1200 calorie plan. Just wondering how many others are on 1200 calories.

quiksylver296

No way! 5'9", currently 179 pounds, 40-year-old female. Losing on 1930 calories a day.

RachL235

I did 1200 before and its hard takes alot of thought and planning to get filling meals!
Im on 1550 and I have to be careful but still can fit snacks in and im not hungry. Not great to go too low x good luck x

Michael190lbs

every morning for BreaKFAST

cardertaxidermy

I am 1200. Been doing it for 3 weeks now. I kinda seem to eat a lot of the same things cause it makes it easy.

chulipa

Ive been on 1200 since August and i do fine the longer im eating at 1200 the easier it gets and now sometimes i dont want to eat that and have list around 75 lbs

elaineamj

Only 5ft tall and on 1200 calories (I set MFP for 1lb/week). It's been OK - very rarely do I get hungry. But I do eat back half my exercise calories so average about 1300 calories for the week. But I am wondering if I have been overestimating too much (to be safe). DH says I look more tired and have been acting fairly scattered in this past week (only 3 weeks in).

I am considering eating back all MFP's generous allowance of exercise calories to bump me up to an average 1400 a day. I just got a food scale on Saturday - so we will see. Going to weigh carefully plus continue to monitor trendweight. If I continue losing too fast (currently averaging 1.6lbs/day) by the end of the week, I will increase my intake.

It's interesting that I've been pretty full today and struggling a little to eat more. I've hit 1300 calories today and still have another 142 calories to go (and this is only counting half today's exercise calories). Quite seriously considering attacking to caramel popcorn (which I haven't had since before I started this). But having a hard time justifying the "empty calories" and keep thinking I should just get a fruit instead.

morey235

elaineamj… go for the fruit.

morey235

chulipa…. I also have a hard time once in awhile to get to 1200calories, and sometimes eat less. They say this isn't good for you to eat less.

morey235

I'm not hungry at 1200 calories. But the scale just won't budge.

morey235

cardertaxidermy… I eat a lot of the same thing also, but I switch up my food for lunch and dinner.

elaineamj

@morey235 I ended up carefully weighing out some caramel popcorn LOL! I did also have a few cherries AND a blueberry/cottage cheese "ice cream". It was like gorging on desserts last night - only all carefully within my calories. Still, I kinda wish I had saved 50-100 calories for today instead. Forgot that we have birthday cake in the office this afternoon. Ack!

morey235

Just eat a tiny piece of cake, or just let it go…

enterdanger

I started at 1200 and lost a lot of weight quickly (like 35lbs in 3 months, but found I couldn't stay at 1200 without being a complete *kitten* to everyone around me. Now I'm at 1490 and much happier. I'm only losing about a pound a week but I don't feel as deprived.

TeaBea

enterdanger wrote: »

I started at 1200 and lost a lot of weight quickly (like 35lbs in 3 months, but found I couldn't stay at 1200 without being a complete *kitten* to everyone around me. Now I'm at 1490 and much happier. I'm only losing about a pound a week but I don't feel as deprived.

This^

OP - 1200 is MFP's default minimum (before exercise). Sometimes we get "assigned" 1200 because it's appropriate (petite and/or senior) and sometimes we get "assigned" 1200 because our weekly weight loss goals are aggressive.

Either way, find a number you can live with for awhile. I eat more (5'5" - 54 YO) because losing slower helps me retain a larger percentage of lean muscle.

"The scale won't budge" - for how long? When you get within 10-15 pounds of goal, a 1/2 pound a week loss is good progress. A 1/2 pound loss can easily be masked by water weight (high sodium, TOM, sore muscles retain water)....one week is not a very long time.

Double check your entries. Some foods are entered incorrectly (by MFP users). Measure solids with a scale for the best accuracy.

LuanaBean

I am losing on 1600 a day. Also watching carbs, though, because I have pre-diabetes. I reached my goal of losing 22 pounds in four months (I lost it in three).

awolfamonglilacs

I'm 5'1 and 168 and on 1300 Cal. I was actually kind of wondering if I anyone else was near that. I feel like it sounds low but any macro calculator I try gives me about that number.

aimeelee76

morey235 wrote: »

I'm not hungry at 1200 calories. But the scale just won't budge.

Me too. so frustrating!

morey235

I am really depressed today. Going on 4 weeks now, I go down 1 lb and then gain 2 lbs.. keeps going on and on,
I stay on 1200 actually a little less, but NOTHING>

_lyndseybrooke_

Not since I learned it was completely unnecessary. I stick to about 1850 when losing and refuse to go below 1700.

janejellyroll

morey235 wrote: »

I am really depressed today. Going on 4 weeks now, I go down 1 lb and then gain 2 lbs.. keeps going on and on,
I stay on 1200 actually a little less, but NOTHING>

Are you sure this isn't a logging issue?

TeaBea

morey235 wrote: »

I am really depressed today. Going on 4 weeks now, I go down 1 lb and then gain 2 lbs.. keeps going on and on,
I stay on 1200 actually a little less, but NOTHING>

Weight loss will not be linear. Water weight can mess with the scale (TOM, sodium level, sore muscles hold water, waste, etc).

Are you weighing your portions on a food scale? Much more accurate than measuring cups.

Double check your database selections? There are some entries in MFP that are way off.

Are you logging every single bite, lick, taste, etc.

Most women can lose weight eating more than 1200. Petite and/or senior ladies need 1200. If that's not you, then I would double check your logging.

Reasonable weekly goals ..... pound per week
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

PlanningBea

I'm with you ladies. I was on 1200 since the beginning of January, but decided to change it to 1400 couple of days ago.

It was really hard for me to stay satiated, even though I was eating healthy and I didn't loose any significant weight either.

My mental well being was in danger as well. I started to feel sad after logging in breakfast consisting of 1 egg, slice of Ryevita bread and some cucumber and avocado. I couldn't understand how small things like that made the numbers grow so fast! I had to cut my fruit intake, to 1 a day, sometimes not even that, because there was too many calories is them and I love me some fruit!

It made me feel really deprived. I I was still hungry, but didn't have any wiggle room for any snacks, not even a veggie smoothie or an apple.

This morning I'm 1kg down, so hopefully 1400 is the way forward.

elaineamj

@planninglola that sounds so much more sustainable! For me, I was satiated on 1200 cals - but getting mentally frustrated with how little wiggle room I had. I now eat back all my exercise calories. If I work out a lot, I can eat 1700 cals in a day (it blew my mind lol). My avg now is 1400-1500/day.

I also bank calories over a week and keep a close eye on my weekly net. Had a 2000+ day on Sunday and STILL stayed within my weekly net. I feel like this makes a more sustainable lifestyle.

I can do 1200 on a normal day (yesterday was1100 total, 900 net and was satiated), but like to bank for social stuff. Going for a sushi buffet on Friday to celebrate my 15th anniversary - YUM!!

Melmo1988

Me. 1200 calories plus exercise. I have lost 9.8 lbs

rustie45

I'm on 1200 cal., am having a hard time getting that amount and keeping with the sodium, fat and sugar. So I'm paying more attention on the last three and so far my calorie count is under 1000 cal. Is this ok? Trying really hard to lose the weight.

Melmo1988

Under 1200 is not enough.

briezyt23

I'm on 1200 cals and I feel STARVING constantly

elaineamj

briezyt23 wrote: »

I'm on 1200 cals and I feel STARVING constantly

If you are hungry all the time, then either
a) consider the types of foods you are eating - are they satiating?
b) are you genuinely hungry or are you thirsty (try a big glass of water first), habit eating, or emotional?
c) exercise more so you can eat more calories
d) reconsider your plan and up those calories. it's OK if you slow down your weight loss - losing slowly is better than losing too quickly and then giving up.

I was hungry in my first week as I got adjusted and learned what real hunger was (vs thirst, habit, etc). I am actually satiated on a 1200 cal diet. BUT, I have upped my cals because it was endlessly frustrating dealing with social situations. Now I can easily handle social stuff.